A/N-Hello again! (Or for the first time in which hello! Welcome!) Here it is! You Found Me ReMastered! Contains all the yummy goodness of the first with lots of extra details (funny how much a second draft can add to a story XD). I will warn you right now if you do not like smut/slash/general malexmale fluffiness, than please turn around now. O.o I will not be making a citrus free version this time around (if you want to read one see the original citrus free version on my DeviantArt, link's on my profile page). Still do not own anything about Kingdom Hearts (that's all Square's territory). I own no rights, I did not come up with these characters, and all respected rights go to their respected owners. Only thing that's mine is the story. Mentioned song lyrics go to their respected owners (don't own them either). And with that out of the way, read and enjoy my final fic! :D (Bless you all you beautiful readers!) Reviews are wonderful but not mandatory (but they do make me :D).

The road sped past as the hours continued to drag on. There wasn't much to see on the sides of the road save for the occasional billboard, fence around a farm or pulled over car where someone failed at pretending they weren't speeding when they passed a cop hidden amongst the various ditches. Roxas exhaled loudly and glanced at the clock on his dashboard. The little red number glaring back at him informed him he had been on the road for over six hours. Between taking much needed rest stop breaks to stretch or grab a candy bar form the vending machine, it had taken him almost seven hours to reach his destination.

'Just a little bit longer and I can finally get off my ass,' Roxas thought happily. He scowled as the music station he was followed flipped to a commercial where a couple of men, who clearly didn't want to be in the studio on a Sunday afternoon, chatted idly about a recent murder in the area. Roxas rolled his eyes and punched the CD button on his dashboard, his car filling with the sounds of bass and guitars once more.

"Just keep trying to inform me of your useless shit and I'll just keep caring less," Roxas muttered. His finger tapped incessantly on the steering wheel, informing him the 100 Grand bars he ate an hour ago had worn off. His eyes scanned the horizon and he perked at the sight of a sign with the University logo plastered all over it, pointing him towards an upcoming exit. KHU. Home of the KHU Keyblades. Whatever the heck a Keyblade was Roxas didn't want to find out. He also didn't want to know why the University had to plaster bright pictures of Papou fruit next to their name on everything from brochures to even the free pen they sent Roxas in the mail when his application was accepted. Hell, even the application had a Papou fruit stamped in the corner. Roxas had never liked the tropical fruit and seeing everywhere made him detest it even more.

His car drifted along as it took the leisure exit towards the direction of his new home for the next four years. Or more if he managed to stomach it through grad school. Roxas felt himself almost vomit at the thought of extra school but he reminded himself it was all for a good cause: getting away from home. He had never seen the University in person but reading the nearly glowing reviews online, and seeing it was hundreds of miles away from where he lived, was enough for him to apply. Normally he wouldn't have applied to such a prestigious school but KHU had offered him a scholarship that paid for half of his tuition. Roxas couldn't say no to free money, particularly since he was running off a very light bank account of part time job money he saved up from high school.

As he crested over a large hill, he found his eyes widening at the first impression of KHU. The University was massive. Centered around a large hill, or more of a mountain in Roxas's opinion, dozens of buildings sat near the top where classes took place. In the very center was a skyscraper of an administration building flanked by what Roxas could only guess what the buildings held. At a distance, the place looked more like a castle with the dozens of housing developments surrounding the campus on all sides. Most of the town surrounding the University held the larger chain stores but Roxas had read students hardly needed to leave campus since various 'Mom & Pop' stores offered a variety of cheap food and basic necessities. Roxas's eyes wandered over the expanse of the campus before he became too close to see it all in one view. He took a deep breath to steel his nerves and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Alright. Just pretend you belong and no one will pay attention to you," Roxas reassured himself. He turned onto the street leading to the entrance and found himself stuck in an extensive queue of cars waiting for their turn. The blonde poked his head out the window to get a better view of what lay ahead. A pair of large, golden gates sat to the right and left of a beautiful stone bridge. Roxas knew the campus was close to the Trinity River but he didn't think the outer edge of the campus was the river. Beyond the gates, he could faintly make out hundreds of dots where students milled about the sweeping campus with their parents or friends. As he crept closer, he could see several people carrying furniture into buildings they were moving into or tightly gripping sheets of paper in their fingers as they desperately sought out the buildings their classes resided in.

Roxas turned down the music on his stereo as he started to approach the bridge. Without the hum of the road filling the car with a loud drone, the music blared against his eardrums, although he honestly didn't mind as that's how he typically listened to music. He figured it was worth a few minutes of background noise as many of the nearby parents were shooting him disapproving looks. The last thing he wanted was to get scolded before he even got to his first class. His fingers drummed on his steering wheel as he waited for his turn to make his way across the bridge. The sounds of Bullet for My Valentine played softly through his speakers while his eyes stare unfocused ahead of him. The drive had drained every last bit of ambition he had and the prospect of unpacking his bags in his new room sounded exhausting.

After nearly an hour of waiting in the queue, Roxas finally made it to the bridge and rolled down his window. He watched as a staff member strode over to his car with a thicker looking tablet in their hand and a walkie talkie strapped to their belt. The man asked for Roxas's information and the blonde handed over his school ID card he had been sent in the mail with his "oh-so-fabulous" pen. He had submitted the photo online so he didn't have to drive for two days just for a piece of plastic, which he was grateful for. Apparently it wasn't all that uncommon for students to live far away from home at KHU since it was a fairly prestigious University.

Roxas glanced over at the staff member as they swiped his card and punched in some information he could only guess at. There was a beep and the tablet and it printed out a small receipt. Roxas was handed the slip of paper with his ID and frowned as the man leaned against the side of his car.

"Alright, so this is your ticket for all of your University information: parking, dorm room assignment, class schedule, book list, etc. Turn this in at the desk in your dorm and they'll get you all of your materials listed on this print out. Parking tags go on the rear window or rear side windows. If you find yourself lost, there are plenty of staff around to give you a hand. You ready?"

"Um, sure," Roxas replied half-heartedly.

The man grinned and patted the window sill. "Well, don't have too much fun while you're here. Welcome to KHU," he greeted.

"Right…" Roxas crept his car forward as another staff member waved him onwards to get the next lot of cars registered. His eyes constantly darted to the sides of the street in case some idiot decided it was safe to cross without looking themselves as he crawled towards the parking ramp near his dorm. He pulled inside the rather large building and found himself a place to sit near the top so there was less traffic. Switching off the ignition, his car was bathed in silence. His ears began to ring and his muscles tingled as though they had endured a seven hour massage.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the car and stretched his sore limbs. Then he piled on the baggage from his backseat onto his shoulders like a pack mule and headed for his dorm. Thankfully, it was only a five minute walk along the sidewalk to where he would be living his freshman year. His first sight of Destiny Hall was rather plain: beige stone accented with sandy colored window trims and plenty of bushes hugging the walls. Stepping inside, he immediately wanted to turn around and go sleep in his car for the next week. The building was packed with students and parents to the point he felt like he was suffocating, although that could just have been the bags stacked on every possible angle of his body.

Roxas shuffled over to the front desk and set down the bundles in his arms before handing a RA his ID and receipt. The RA raised an eyebrow at him before riffling through a bin of thickly filled folders. "I see you're having fun on your first day," the RA teased, his charcoal black hair sticking in nearly all directions with a few pieces falling into the man's eyes. "My name's Vanitas. I'm the fourth floor RA. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Zack. He's the RA on your floor," Vanitas stated, pulling Roxas's folder from the rest. He handed over the folder with the ID and shot Roxas a smirk. "Just watch out for his activity nights. He's pretty persuasive when it comes to dorky get-togethers."

Roxas nodded and accepted his folded, tucking it under his arm while his ID was shoved into the depts of his pockets. "Thanks for the heads up," he stated.

"Sure." Even though Vanitas was wearing the electric yellow RA t-shirt, he offset the sharp color with his dark colored jeans and various onyx rings on his fingers. It was rather refreshing to see someone who looked relatively normal compared to the higher energy staff members floating around.

"Room 506. Feel free to take the stairs because the elevators are packed," Vanitas warned. Roxas nodded and gathered up his belongings before plunging into the sea of people towards the stairs. The less he had to interact with people the better. Reaching his floor, his shoulders were growing sore from the weight of his belongings. He gritted his teeth and pressed onward, shoving past the waves of unpacking freshmen as he tried to find his room.

Seeing the door brought him a wave of relief, although he tensed as he noticed his roommate was already present in the space. He had forgotten about that. He cursed under his breath and hoped at the very least they would have nothing in common so they would leave each other alone. Roxas glanced to the open bed and lazily started tossing his bags on top of it. His roommate turned at the noise and grinned, standing up and rubbing his hands on his pants.

"Hey! You must be my roommate. I'm Pence," the teen greeted. Roxas tossed the last of his bags on the bed, much to his shoulders' relief, and found Pence offering a hand to him. The blonde shook it hesitantly and was surprised at how strong the larger teen's grip was. Pence looked chubby but boy was he strong. He wore a red sports jersey and black shorts to offset the humid temperatures of the dorm while his busy mahogany locks were pushed out of his face with a backwards baseball cap.

It was rather the sharp contrast to what Roxas looked like. His blonde hair was unkempt and looked like it had been through a hurricane. He wore a black tank top and white cargo pants with several pockets littered down the sides. His wrists sported several varieties of bracelets and cuffs while a black dog collar hung low on his neck. His ears were pierced with a pair of small black loops, ending in a point behind his lobes. With some face paint, he might have been a long lost member of Kiss.

"Roxas," the blonde introduced without much emotion. The pair's hands disconnected and Pence started shoving his things out of the way to allow Roxas some space to unpack himself.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas. Is that all you brought with you?" Pence asked, nodding to the bags piled on the bed.

"No, I have more in my car."

"Want some help?" Roxas paused for a moment as he was taken aback by Pence's offer. Usually people avoided him and he disliked people touching his stuff, however the dull ache in his shoulders told him he shouldn't be so stubborn.

"Sure. Let me find my parking pass first and find my room keys," Roxas replied. Pence nodded and mentioned he was ready to go whenever the blonde was. Roxas dug through his folder and pocketed his room keys. He found his parking pass, which looked like a crown for some reason, and shoved it into his pocket next to his ID. Then he motioned to Pence and they left to retrieve the rest of Roxas's belongings. "Wouldn't you rather be unpacking?" Roxas asked.

"Nah, it's cool," Pence replied, tucking his arms behind his head. "My parents are bringing in the rest of my shit now and it gets a bit crowded with eight people in the room."

"Eight?!" Roxas spluttered. Pence burst out laughing.

"Yeah. Everyone wanted to help me move in, although I was totally fine with just my parents. What about you? Any family helping?" the brunette asked.

Roxas shook his head. "No. I didn't want them to come." Pence frowned but didn't press, which the blonde was rather grateful for. They walked the rest of the way in silence, Pence pausing twice to wave to people calling out to him. Roxas felt the feeling of vomiting returning to his gut but pushed past it to make it through the day.

Reaching the top floor, Roxas pointed to his car and began walking towards it. Pence stopped short and whistled, his eyes absorbing the details of the vehicle. "Holy Shit. How the heck can you afford to drive this thing?!" Pence asked, hurrying over to where Roxas was popping open the trunk of his Lexus. The blonde shrugged and frowned at the contents of the rear compartment.

"Birthday gift from my dad," Roxas replied. "Although it's the last gift I ever got from my parents. Mom doesn't like spending money on me." The blonde quickly bit his tongue before he said anymore. Pence frowned and nudged Roxas on the side.

"Hey, it's cool. I know a lot of people here come from bad families and go to college to escape," Pence stated. He grabbed a couple of totes after slinging a bag onto his shoulder. "Don't feel like you have to tell me anything." Roxas felt a bit better with Pence's words and figured the brunette wouldn't be that of a roommate. At the very least he knew how to mind his own business. "Besides, I can't help being jealous of your sweet ride. I'm stuck with my mom's van." Roxas felt a flicker of a smirk tease his lips and the pair gathered the contents of the trunk before heading back to their room.

When they returned, they found even more tote boxes and bags piled up in the center of the room. The pair shifted the horde of belongings so they could place Roxas's down beside them. Pence wiped his sweaty brow and took stock of what they had in their room. A small frown passed over his features.

"You know, you didn't bring much," the brunette noticed, seeing his pile was at least twice as large as the blonde's.

Roxas shrugged and began opening up bags to put his clothes in the closet. "I didn't have much to bring," he replied. Pence opened his mouth to press for details but shut it again as he remembered what Roxas had said in the parking ramp.

The boys unpacked around each other in relative silence, their only vocalized words were muttered apologies for being in each other's way. Soon their wardrobes were packed with clothes and desks covered in their personal effects. The boys agreed to loft their beds to save on space in the cramped quarters so Roxas had his bed put on the upper bunk. Must to Roxas's distaste, they had to have an RA help them with the process, which meant an overtly vehement handshake from Zack as he introduced himself. The man refused to even leave the room until Pence agreed to come to the RA's floor meet-and-greet that upcoming Monday night. Roxas was thankful for dodging the bullet but Pence looked less than pleased about attending the event.

The pair finished off the room once Zack left, Pence shoving his mini fridge and microwave in the corner. He was kind enough to offer Roxas use of the devices as he saw fit. They each picked a wall to place their posters with Roxas needing more space than his roommate, although Pence thought it was fair as he had more floor space. The brunette had a Deathly Hallows poster hanging near his desk while Roxas had several metal and rock posters ranging from Slip Knot to Five Finger Death Punch peppering the wall.

Pence reached his arms above his head and stretched his tired limbs. "Well, I have to go meet up with my folks. I think we're grabbing snacks somewhere. You're welcome to join us if you want," the brunette offered.

"Nah. I need to get to the bookstore," Roxas replied. He really had no ambition to meet Pence's family or be around other people who wanted to pry information.

"Okay. I'll see you later," Pence said with a small wave. He pocketed his keys and took his leave from the room, leaving Roxas alone to his thoughts. Taking once last look around, he figure he should actually do what he made an excuse for evading interpersonal contact. Roxas doubled checked he had his keys and slipped out of the room, locking the door behind him. As he wandered across campus, he dug out a piece of paper he had tucked into his pocket earlier containing his class schedule and book list. His eyes glanced over the overpriced texts with a scowl.

As he had expected, the bookstore was like visiting Disney World during peak season. Everyone talked far too loud while they squeezed through cramped aisles to reach their books and last minute school supplies. Roxas managed to find a gap near a water fountain to check over his list again, tapping his empty basket against his legs. 'English Lit, Chem I, Physics I, Intro to Engineering, Intro to Architecture, University Studies, Advanced Trig and Algebra,' he read. 'Well, at least it will keep me busy.' He stowed the list and pressed his way back into the crowd, the overbearing sensation of claustrophobia nagging at his mind.

Once he had all his books in his basket, he went to find the line and instead found the queue snaked through the bowels of the store. Roxas steeled himself for the long wait and ventured to the end of the line. During the wait, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and started roaming the internet. His basket of books, which felt like it weighed fifty pounds, sat nestled by his feet so he could toe it forward each time the line moved. It didn't help he needed eight different books for his Literature class and they took up half the space in the plastic vessel.

"Hey, no cutting!" he heard someone growl. Roxas felt his nerves fray has he was abruptly shoved into the girl ahead of him, his feet tripping over his basket. The girl gave a shout and scolded Roxas for not paying attention while the blonde regained his footing. Deciding it wasn't worth the effort of arguing, he turned to glare at the person behind him. He found a tall, platinum blonde man with a black, knit cap on his head, white vest, and ripped jeans. The pair of blondes exchanged glares before Roxas ripped his gaze away and found himself glancing at the line snaking out behind him. He hadn't realized he had moved so far, although checking the time on his phone alerted him he had been in line for over an hour.

The second he left the bookstore, Roxas couldn't have been happier. With his shoulders weighted down with fabric bags, printed with the heinous Papou fruit logo, Roxas stepped outside and released a sigh of relief. He found himself torn between following the crowd in finding his classes or to retreat back to his room. Double checking his class list, he failed to recognize any of the names of the buildings. He internally groaned and hoisted his books higher onto his shoulders. His room would have to wait. Getting lost on the first day of class was not on his list of priorities.

Roxas stuffed the list back into his pocket and checked the time on his phone as his feet began guiding him towards one of the large maps located on the campus. He was rudely interrupted as he slammed into another person and bounced off, his fingers almost losing the grip on his phone in the process.

"Watch it!" the man protested.

"Speak for yourself, asshole," Roxas shot back, adjusting the bags on his shoulders. The stranger towered over him with a large mass of red hair splayed out down his neck and on his shoulders. Roxas wondered how he wasn't sweltering in the late summer heat but his thoughts were interrupted by the red head's friend.

"It's just a freshman. He's not worth your time," the other male state, his head sporting a strangely stylized mullet. The red head nodded and brushed passed Roxas, purposely slamming his shoulder into the blonde's. Roxas shot the pair the finger before angrily turning back towards the campus map.

It was over an hour before he dropped his bags on the floor of his dorm room. His shoulders were numb and his tank top felt like it was glued to his back. Pence was still missing so Roxas took a moment to put his books away before hitting the showers. The cold water felt good on his sweat-caked skin. He scrubbed his body raw before running his locks under the stream of water. He felt his head clearing of the pressure that had built up behind his skull since the moment he stepped on campus. Deeming himself clean, he ventured back to his room and lied on his bunk, his eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling. A million thoughts wanted to race through his mind but Roxas never gave them the chance. He covered his ears with his headphones and let his brain wash away all hints of musings with the blasting music.

His eyes blinked the film from his gaze as he was awakened by Pence returning to the room. Roxas rolled onto his side and glanced at the time on his MP3. Apparently he had fallen asleep as it was now venturing on the evening hours.

"Oh, hey," Pence greeted, noting Roxas was awake. "I'm about to head down to supper here if you want to join. I'm meeting up with a couple of friends at the dining hall." Roxas wanted to make another excuse so he didn't have to leave the comfort of his bed but the gaping hole in his stomach reminded him his candy bars were a figment of the past.

"Sure. Why not," Roxas muttered. He rolled out of bed and attempted to fix his hair before the pair ventured to the dining hall a block over.

And by dining hall, Roxas was sure it was more like a five star restaurant. Tables were covered in white satin tablecloths and set with china, silverware wrapped in cloth napkins, and various table décor. In the center of the domed ceiling hung a massive chandelier littered with thousands of crystals. Large columns lined the sides while a vast mural spread across the ceiling. Various fairy tale stories were depicted from Alice in Wonderland to Sleeping Beauty to Pinocchio.

Pence led Roxas over to a smaller table where two other people sat, the girl giving a large wave as they approached. There he was introduced to Hayner and Olette, old friends of Pence from high school. Olette was rather bubbly while Hayner thought far too highly of himself, and yet Roxas found he didn't abhor the company. If anything, he didn't have to eat alone during his evening meals. The group coordinated their schedules to figure out who could eat together for breakfast and lunch. Roxas found he would be eating alone in the mornings, not that he minded, and Olette was thrilled she could eat lunch with him three times a week. The other two days Roxas would be eating with Pence. The food served in the dining hall was just as good as the table settings, although according to Olette it was only fancy during special events such as the start of semesters and holidays. Once Monday came the food would go back to being generic.

With their meal finished, the group parted ways. Pence and Roxas settled down for the night with the brunette watching a movie on his laptop with a bag of popcorn in his lap. Roxas found himself browsing the internet with a bored expression the rest of the evening. When Pence finished his movie, they got ready for bed and retired for the night. Pence fell asleep in minutes, snoring softly from his lower bunk. Roxas put on his bulky headphones and turned on his MP3 player to drown out every possible sound around him. With heavy metal crashing against his ears, he slipped off to sleep.

XxXxX

The next morning was technically still a day off from classes, however freshmen were required to go to a mandatory assembly to learn about the University, codes of conduct, honor systems and other various garbage Roxas didn't care about. He had been dragged along by Pence, despite his attempts to burrow deeper under his covers, and sat with his new meal group. Olette worked on filing her nails while Hayner fell asleep on his arm about halfway through. Roxas kept himself busy with the use of his phone but even that could only drown out so much of the monotone speakers.

The entire freshman student body praised the sun when they were told they were dismissed from the ginormous stadium, which Roxas learned was used for basketball and volleyball when classes weren't using it. Pence broke off with Hayner and Olette as they wanted to leave the University to explore the city outside of the campus to which Roxas declined his invitation to tag along. The blonde was still dreaming of going back to sleep under his now cold sheets. On the way back to his room he picked up a soda from a vending machine yet by the time he reached his room the summer heat had taken what little chill was left in the beverage.

The blonde sat at his desk and stared out the window that took up most of the far wall behind their desks. He watched people mill about, either returning to their dorms or leisurely enjoying their day off. With a sigh, he looked up at the books lined up on the shelf of his desk. His fingers picked one at random and he flipped through the pages with little interest. When he returned it to its hole, he noticed the math book sitting on the end and cringed. It looked more like a gravestone than an actual piece of literature. Roxas averted his gaze and tried not to think about the torture he would have to endure during the semester with his math class. He wasn't bad at mathematics; he just took twice as long to comprehend what was on the page than everyone else, which made it his least favorite subject.

The rest of the day went by in a monotonous drone. Roxas sat around his room with vague attempts to trying to hold his interest in just about anything only to find his mind zoning out. He only left to eat supper alone and to strategically "go to the bathroom" when he heard Zack knocking on doors for his meet-and-greet. Roxas silently applauded Pence's excuse to leave the campus as he too managed to avoid the corny event looming close over their heads. The brunette came back to the room late with various bags of his purchases to find Roxas lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He managed to coax Roxas out of his perch to watch a Japanese horror flick, although Pence wondered which zombies were more realistic: the ones in the movie or the one sitting next to him.

Tuesday came with the many groans of students across the campus. Roxas found himself waking to Pence's alarm, cursing himself for not making a longer playlist to listen to as he slept. He was used to waking up at noon or later over the summer and Pence's 7:00 AM wakeup call was not what he wanted. Yet he was a bit grateful for the alarm from snapping out of his deeper realms of sleep as he had to be up at7:15 for his 8:30 class anyway. Through squinted eyes, he watched Pence practically drag himself out of bed, grab a towel and shuffle to the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth. Roxas closed his eyes and prayed he would fall asleep again until his own alarm went off. The blonde cursed when he had no such luck and moved with the robust energy of a sloth verging on a coma as he got ready for his first class.

Stumbling into the dining hall an hour later, he found the fancy atmosphere had vanished into fiction like the characters hovering over his head. Roxas toasted a bagel and took it with him to his English Literature class. His backpack barely pressed on his shoulders, as it only contained a notebook, folder, pen, pencil and calculator, yet even the light pressure hurt his sore shoulders. The blonde nibbled on his bagel to help keep his mind off of the pain. Despite not having an appetite in the morning, he had been scolded by his parents for passing out in class during grade school for skipping the meal. So, Roxas forced down the bland piece of carbohydrate in order to give his body some sort of nutrients to chew on while he listened to his professor lecture.

He found his classroom and picked a seat near the back of the room, settling in his desk as he waited for the class to start. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched more students fill the space with equal sleep deprived faces, save for the few upper classman who were smart enough to go to bed at a decent time. Roxas checked his phone was on vibrate when a flash of color caught his eye.

The man with the red hair.

Roxas blinked. The man sat in the seat directly in front of him and, guessing by how the man made no notion of recognition, he either didn't notice Roxas sitting behind him or was simply ignoring the blonde. 'Who is this guy?' Roxas leaned to the side as the man rifled through his backpack to get a better look at his face. 'Definitely not a freshman but he's too old to be a sophomore. Did he fail the class before?' Roxas snickered to himself but was cut off from further musings as their professor walked in.

The class was run by Professor Xehanort, a bald man with a very hunched posture. He spoke gently in a monotone-ish voice and yet Roxas found himself compelled to listen to the man's every word. He made the stories seem enthralling instead of pieces of dying literature that needed one last chance in the spotlight before fading into obscurity. Roxas couldn't remember the last time he was so invested in what a person was lecturing.

During the middle of class, the girl next to Roxas received a text, announcing the message's arrival to the class with a loud PING! Master Xehanort stopped short in his lecture as the girl awkwardly turned her phone on silent with a sheepish smile and an apology. Roxas rolled his eyes and turned back to the front. He froze as he noticed the read head was staring at him from over his shoulder, a single piercing green eye cutting through him like a hot blade. As Xehanort began speaking again, the red head turned forward to continue his notes. Roxas forced himself to return to his own notebook, finding it harder to concentrate than before.

'I swear I've seen that look before,' Roxas thought. 'But where?' When the class ended at 9:50, Roxas shoved his belongings into his backpack so he could flee from the room with the rest of the students in a hurry to their next class. He wove his way through campus until he stood outside the Administration building, the skyscraper casting a shadow over him as the sun continued to rise. He turned to head back to his dorm when he slammed into someone's chest. As he muttered an apology, he found himself face to face with the red head from class. Roxas's eyes widened while the piercing green eyes narrowed. Then the red head walked around him without another word.

That evening, Roxas couldn't get the stranger out of his head. He mused over the familiar expression while his teeth gnawed on his pencil eraser, his eyes staring blankly at the first few pages of 'A Tale of Two Cities'. It had been an hour and he had yet to turn the page. Shaking himself out of his thought stupor, he glanced over at Pence, who with an equal amount of attention at his notes sprawled out before him on his desk.

"So what are you reading?" Roxas asked. Pence jumped at the sound of his roommate's voice since he wasn't expecting it. Roxas typically kept to himself, hardly speaking even when he was with Hayner and Olette, so it was odd to find him starting a conversation.

"Oh, uh, anatomy," Pence replied, shuffling some of his papers around. "We have to memorize the anatomical terms by Thursday."

"Like axillary and sacral?" Roxas asked, his mind vaguely remembering the topic from high school.

"Yeah!" Pence chuckled. "Yeah…I'm probably screwed. What about you? I see you're thoroughly invested in your book."

Roxas smirked and shut the lid on his book, deciding to read it later, and set his mutilated pencil on the desk. "I'm just a bit distracted, I guess. It wasn't my idea to take a Lit class but that's what was open at the time."

"Oh, that's your elective this semester?" Roxas nodded. "Gross. Reading is the absolute worst! But I suppose that's better than what I got. Go ahead and guess. I bet you ten bucks you won't get it," Pence urged.

The blonde thought about it for a moment. "Badmitten."

"Pottery I."

Roxas burst out laughing. "That's fucking stupid."

"I know right? What am I supposed to do with pottery skills when I'm out in the working world? I doubt my knowledge of making pinch pots will save a company from going under," Pence ranted.

"What are you going for?" Roxas asked, pulling his legs up onto his chair.

"Undecided. You?" Pence shot back.

"Same, although I was thinking maybe engineering or architecture," the blonde stated. Pence whistled, leaning back in his chair.

"That's some heavy stuff. I heard you need some crazy high grades to make it into the programs," Pence recalled.

Roxas shrugged. "I'm not worried about the grades."

Pence thought it over for a moment when realization hit him. "Right. You got that scholarship from the test scores. You're lucky the campus is paying for half your ride. My grad-dad's paying for my tuition this first year but then I'm on my own. Which means loans, loans and more loans. It'll be a miracle if I get out of debt before forty," Pence mused with a frown.

"Are you working at all?" Roxas asked.

Pence shook his head. "Not yet. I'm thinking of getting a job at one of the gigs here on campus so I don't have to commute. I'm guessing you're not going to work."

"I never really had a need to get one before." Roxas poked at his pencil while Pence returned to his desk. The brunette glanced at the clock and moaned.

"Ugh…I think I'm turning in early. Morning classes are brutal! Whoever thought of them should be checked into a mental institution." Roxas snorted and tried to hide the smile that broke out on his face, but Pence caught it. The brunette broke into a grin. "So you do smile!"

"I'm not dead," Roxas shot back. Pence chuckled and started packing away his notes. The blonde looked back to his book and opened the cover. His thoughts instantly returned to the mysterious red head and all ambition to read suddenly evaporated.

XxXxX

Roxas was ready to snap his pencil in half with the way he was gripping it. He glared at the text in his math book as he failed to decipher any sort of meaning from the pages. "This is so fucking stupid," the blonde growled. He released an angry huff before trying another problem with similar results. For the first time ever he wished he had someone to help him. He would have even sufficed with Pence, however the brunette was away at a night class so he was left alone to smash his brain against the evil of his math homework.

His mind flicked to Pence's friends, although he dismissed Hayner without another thought as the cocky teen was planning on passing college with a C average. Biting his lip, he sent Olette a text in hopes she would be able to give him some idea as to what he should be doing. Yet his hopes weren't high as Olette was going into communications, which did not require higher levels of math. His eyes flicked to his phone went it screamed at him like a grunge band singer, alerting he had a text.

From: Olette
Try a tutor

Roxas frowned at Olette's text. He had heard there was a tutor center at the library for students struggling with their subjects yet Roxas detested the notion he would have to stoop so low as to grovel for assistance. Running a hand through his hair, he stared off out the window at the purple sky. "It can't be any worse than what I'm doing here," he reasoned. After ten more minutes of brooding, he shoved his math homework into his backpack and headed for the library.

Yet his luck did not seem to hold as, when he arrived, the tutor center was closed. It was only open until 8 PM and double checking the time on his phone, as he silently prayed the library clock was wrong for some reason, gave him the bitter news it was quarter to nine. Roxas ground his teeth together and tried not to curse aloud, ignoring the sudden urge to tip over a bookshelf in his frustration. As he turned to leave, he couldn't help but cast a glance over at the students sprinkled throughout the various desks and tables. His foot stopped mid-step as something caught his eye.

Red hair.

'You again…' Roxas seethed. He remained rooted in his spot as he watched the man from afar. From his view, he could see the red head reading his Literature book for their upcoming class. The man's shaggy mane was pulled back behind his head to show his ears and the headphones tucked inside of them. A pair of slim glasses sat on the lower part of his nose bridge, giving him a rather scholarly appearance. If anything, he looked ordinary, save for his obscenely fire-red hair. Yet Roxas found his feet betraying him as they seemed to move on their own accord towards the stranger and before he realized what had happened, he was standing on the opposite side of the man's table.

Roxas waited in silence for the red head to make the first move. Deep down he secretly hoped the stranger wouldn't notice him scowling from across the table but he found the green eyes flickering on him for a millisecond as the man turned the page of his novel. The red head looked up with a puzzled expression at the sight of the blonde across from him.

"May I help you?" the stranger asked with a cold edge in his voice.

"No," Roxas replied. There was a long pause where neither moved and their eyes stared at each other's as though they were trying to reach each other's thoughts.

"If you have nothing to say, I'd rather get back to reading. In case you forgot, we have a quiz in the morning," the stranger reminded.

"I'm aware," Roxas snapped. "I didn't think you would have recognized me."

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. "Seriously?" he asked. He removed his glasses and set them on the table next to his book. "I'm pretty sure there's only one blonde on this campus who walks around with a scowl and a dog collar. You don't exactly blend in. Plus you sit in the same desk every class period."

"Well, so do you!" Roxas shot back. The man shrugged.

"You got me there. You like the class?"

"If I didn't, I certainly wouldn't be showing up for it," the blonde argued.

The man smirked, a reaction Roxas wasn't expecting. "You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? My name's Axel. Got it memorized?" The red head tapped a finger against his temple.

"Why? Are you going to quiz me later?" Roxas quipped.

"I might," Axel replied. "And what about you?"

Roxas's brows pressed together. "What about me?"

"What's your name?" Axel asked.

"Why do you care?!" Roxas barked. He flinched as he earned a round of shushes from nearby students trying to work. His cheeks burned from embarrassment while he continued to attempt to burn a hole through Axel's skull with his glare.

"Look, I'm not asking for your social security number. All I asked for was your name. It's common curtesy when someone introduces themselves," Axel stated.

"Roxas," the blonde hissed. "Got it memorized?"

Axel shrugged and slipped his glasses back on his face. "Sure. See you around then, Roxas." The man returned to reading his book as though the conversation never happened. Roxas let out a huff through his nostrils before storming back to his dorm, the man's smirk locked in his mind. When he returned to his room, he threw his backpack under his desk, changed into pajamas and crawled into his bed. He didn't care it was too early to retire. He slipped on his headphones and blasted his favorite playlist in his ears until his frustration mellowed into a mild brooding. Then he dozed off into an uneasy sleep.