Another wonderful three-shot! And no, this time, I do plan to update it! Lol, it's been a long time since I've been able to get on here, school has been crazy since it started up. Let me tell ya, AP classes are no joke.

So. This just refused to leave my head until I had to get it down. As I said, I plan for this to be a three-shot...it might turn out to be more, but let's not get too carried away! Alright, that's all I have to say! Get reading!

Prologue

If you've ever seen the way he looks at me, you'd understand why I'm willing to lie to my friends and family to be with him. It's almost as if I'm his catnip- his never ending desire; his unwavering addiction. And somehow, he manages to convey all of that in one lust-filled glance; so quick you're not sure if it was real, but long enough to immobilize you by turning your knees to jelly.

His name is Axel Highwind, and he's the most sought out senior in all of the islands, least of all our school, the Jecht Academy (for the supernatural). Well, okay, they don't say that. But that doesn't mean that they shouldn't! It's just a little suspicious that half of the students who go here have some kind of supernatural gift. There are normal students, of course, like my best friends, Hayner, Pence and Olette. But really. The second floor of the school is entirely devoted to paranormal courses designed for those gifted students. My math, science, English and history courses are all on the first floor, but my paranormal courses, like Weapon Maintenance, Potions 101, Final Form Fundamentals (Sora, my older brother, is the best in the school. Me? I suck at FFF), and AP Combat. And those are just the basic courses, well minus AP Combat.

That's where I first met him. We were partnered up in class, to my horror, by our conflicting age and height. (He's tall, I'm short, and he's a senior, and I'm a lowly sophomore.) I had been devastated- not because I didn't think I could take him (please, I don't want to brag, but I'm good). But because this was Axel Highwind! The object of every girl's wet dreams (not to mention mine). If I laid a hand on him, I'd be shunned completely.

But even so. That didn't mean I wasn't willing to give it all I had. And really, at the time, I thought he was kind of a jerk. He kept sending his friend Demyx to give me these really sappy love letters, and while they were cute and all, they always found a way to mix something innocent with something dirty. Can you imagine me trying to show my friends that kind of thing, when I'm supposed to be the angel of the group?

Not only that, but I'd seen him flirt with many girls and in some cases, guys, in the hallways, when he thought I couldn't see him. And to add insult to injury, I'd actually seen him flirt with Olette, right in front of me. I mean, it's not like I cared…but still! It was the principle of the fact!

So this was all enough incentive to kick his ass.

"You're pretty good, Angel." Axel whistled as he deflected another one of my attacks. I growled at him as he tried to singe my clothes with a couple of controlled flames.

"What did you call me?" I hissed, blocking one of his chakrams with one keyblade while I attacked his side with the other. No such luck, he easily blocked it with his second chakram.

"I called you Angel. Because isn't that what you are? Everyone else says so." He explained as if we were having a conversation over coffee. He swirled his weapon in the air menacingly as I hopped back a couple of feet to catch my breath.

"Okay class, notice how Roxas just took a couple of steps away from his opponent, in order to gather strength. Also take note of Axel, who is showing off his skills in a move of intimidation." Mrs. Mulan announced to our spectators, but we both ignored her.

"But you know something?" Axel continued, placing his chakrams down on the ground and kneeling in front of me in a gesture of peace. "I don't think you're as innocent as you look. I don't think it's that much of a stretch for you to go out with me."

I narrowed my eyes at him- was he really comparing me to him?! -and sent one last slash to him while he was off guard. The keyblade in my right hand cut off a few strands of red hair while the other settled itself into the ground no more than two inches besides his face.

I gave him a sickly sweet smile and offered out a hand to help him up. "And that is why you never let your guard down Axel."

Around us, the entire class burst into applause, the boys congratulating me and the girls letting out sighs of relief. Axel rolled his eyes at me but let a dry half-smile appear onto his face. He grabbed my collar and pulled me down so we were eyelevel.

"It has to get lonely like this. When you become everybody's angel, no one can see the real you. So you place a fence around your heart, so no one can get inside. I get that." He murmured into my ear. My eyes widened. What? That couldn't possibly be true; it made no-

"You don't have to pretend with me. Be yourself. Get mad. Argue. Speak up…there's no such thing as a perfect person, Roxas. And really…I'm not looking for one. I'm looking for someone real, someone interesting. Someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind."

I shoved his hand away roughly and chanced a glance to see if anyone was listening to us. Sometime within Axel's little…dissection of me, the bell had rung, indicating that school was 

over. If I didn't hurry up, I would miss the bus. It wasn't really a big deal if I did; everyone was always nice to me, so it'd be a snap to catch a ride. But still. I always rode the bus home. People expected me to ride the bus.

It made me…angry that he was making me reconsider my routine with just a couple of whispered words. It made me really pissed off, actually.

"You want me to speak my mind?" I hissed at him, throwing my keyblades to the ground and hearing them fade away. "You want me to speak my goddamn mind? Fine. I think you are the most egotistical, falsely philosophical, supercilious, discourteous, uncouth, brash, wrong asshole on the entire planet. So here's a little advice from me to you: fuck off!"

I was so surprised that he'd managed to bring out such a reaction in me, that I couldn't move. I was so disturbed at that lack of control that I was shaking. Something inside of me had wretched itself free within that proclamation, something that refused to crawl back inside. And that frightened me.

Axel stared at me for a second before standing up and walking the little couple of meters that separated us. I stared at him, my eyes wild and wide, as he leaned forward so that we were eye to eye. He was so close…too close for my taste…

He smelled like cinnamon and red spice and something reminiscent of fire, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was a weird combination of scents, but somehow on him, I liked it. It just…fit.

"Not bad, Roxas." He whispered, for once his face absent of its usual smirk. He looked so sincere and proud of me, that I couldn't help but blush. And then, I did the one thing I knew I shouldn't have. I looked into his eyes. It was such a bright, neon color of green that it took my breath away and made my heart beat faster. Within those eyes, I found a whirlwind of emotions, things that flashed too quickly to register in my mind, but slow enough to bring an ache to my groin.

And all too soon, it was over.

I looked up as Axel pulled away from me. Where was he going? Suddenly I was mad again. He made me contemplate myself and then he was just going to walk away? Just like that?

"See ya tomorrow, Roxas." He paused, not even bothering to turn around, although I could hear the smirk in his voice. "That is, if you're not too good enough to speak to the likes of me."

And just like that, I had been hooked. Too bad I didn't know what I was getting into.

Title: Angels Never Lie

Song: Devil Inside by Utada

Rating: M

October

There was no way it was October. It was far, far too cold. I mean, sure, Riku had warned Sora and I when we moved back here that due to global warming, the weather had changed dramatically since our day. But still…this just wasn't right. It's like Summer and Winter ganged up on Fall and kicked it out of the seasonal changes.

I wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck and sighed. There. That was a little better, at least.

"Oh Roxas! You look so adorable wearing that scarf I made you!" Sora cooed, his eyes going all big and sparkly. "It's almost…too cute!" He pulled me to him and squeezed me against his chest, efficiently making me feel like the biggest dork in the world.

"Sora, do you want Roxas to have a good social life?" Riku asked rhetorically, suddenly appearing next to us. Riku lived like, three houses down from ours, so whenever Sora and I walked to school, like today, Riku would wait for us outside on his porch and walk with us. Personally I didn't know how he did it. It was just too freezing to sit outside.

"Of course I do, Riku. Ass." He tossed out teasingly, giving him a playful scowl. Then he frowned. "Although, it's not as if Roxas even needs one. I never even knew it was possible to be so well-liked like he is until he came to Jecht Academy."

Riku considered this before shaking his head in disagreement. "Nah, I think Axel Highwind pretty much has that award in the bag."

I paused in my walking at the name while Sora and Riku kept walking, too lost in their daily bickering to even notice that I'd stopped.

"Who even says that anymore?"

"What?"

"'In the bag'? God, what are you, eighty?"

"I know you're not talking, Mr. I-Looked-Everywhere-For-You-So-I'm-Going-To-Get-On-My-Knees-For-No-Reason-And-Cry."

"Ri-ku! I told you about that in confidence! It's not my fault I have weird dreams about keys!"

I wasn't listening. I was too busy trying to push out the memories of Axel. It'd been two weeks since I freaked out and screamed at him and I'd been doing a pretty good job at avoiding him. If I passed him in the halls while I was with someone, I would shoot him a small, forced smile. But if the hall was absolutely empty, I ignored him completely. It annoyed me that he was affecting me so much, but I couldn't help it! He was…unnerving.

Not only that, but my dreams were tainted by him too. For the past week, I'd been waking up in a sweat and in sticky boxers, which, let me tell you, is not a clean feeling. Especially not for someone who prides themselves on being a clean, good little boy like I do.

"Rox? You coming?" Sora asked me, his voice suddenly right beside me. I looked up quickly, shaking off my own thoughts. Today, like I'd been telling myself for the past two weeks, I was not going to think about Axel. I was going to live my life as I intended for myself, and I was not going to consider what that stupid, sexy, beautiful, deliciously tall, lean-

"Yeah, sorry, just reviewing in my head." I replied swiftly, halting my own mind. No more thinking today. God, I couldn't even trust my own head.

"Reviewing for what?" Sora wanted to know, his pure blue eyes locked on mine nervously as we made our way closer to the school. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, sharing a look with Riku. Sora never studied for tests; not because he was lazy, but because it didn't really interest him, and he never remembered things that didn't interest him. I.E., tests and homework. And most times than not, he ended up just copying off of me or Riku before it was due anyway.

"He's probably referring to the AP Combat three chapter test that's today. You know…AP Combat? We have it first period, he has it last period?" Riku offered up pointlessly. Sora had already forgotten what we were talking about and was now mindlessly walking in front of us with his hands behind his head.

Riku sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

I grinned at him and chanced a glance at Sora. He wasn't listening but what else was new? "Because you loooove him."

"I never said that." He snapped, glaring at me. My grin only widened.

"But you know that he likes you and that doesn't bother you at all. In fact, you've only gotten even more affectionate towards him. The only thing missing here is your side of the puzzle." I observed smugly, but that probably wasn't the best idea. People like Riku get defensive easily. Like scorpions. And it sucks to be stung, trust me, I know.

"Oh yeah? Well I've been hearing some rumors about you and Axel around school, so what's up with your puzzle?" He retorted and I frowned. Rumors?! Who was talking about us? What were they even saying, nothing happened!

"What rumors?" I demanded, stopping completely and staring at him. Riku just smirked and kept walking, giving me an ominous shrug. I could've thrown something at him just then. Jerk. Now I was going to have to start my school day off feeling completely paranoid. Great.

Just…great.

I forced myself to smile happily as I waved to basically the entire student body as the three of us approached the school doors. Maybe people weren't talking about me.

Yeah. It was all just in my mind because of what Riku said.

I was fine.

I was not fine.

Riku may be many things…but he's not a liar.

From the moment I was inside the school, all previous conversation halted and there was a joint sympathetic sigh of, "poor thing!" the second the doors closed behind me. Even Sora had turned around to give me a confused look.

"Uh, Rox, what's going on?" He hissed as a really hot senior gave me a teddy bear that said, "I'm so sorry!" when you squeezed it. I shook my head at him and immediately shrugged on my black hoodie over my uniform, placing the hood over my head. There, that was better. A little. Normally anything that covered the uniform wasn't allowed, but the dean and I were really good friends. He thought I was the sweetest thing since candy canes.

"Sora, hurry your ass up. Mrs. Mulan is taking points off for tardiness and-" He paused as we all watched Seifer Almasy, probably the meanest kid at school- well, at least up until Leon started pursuing him; now he was a lot more chill- walk right up to me, even without his posse.

"Look, Roxas, I know I'm not the nicest guy here. But you're practically a saint, and everyone here, including me, is very protective of you because in a way, you're our light. So, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry Axel made a play for you, made you make-out with him and made you cry. I think he's worse than me for that."

And with that, Seifer went back to his cold exterior, pushing some freshman out the way as he crossed back down the hall.

Sora's eyes widened before suddenly narrowing angrily, and he opened his mouth to say something…

…As Riku just gave me an apologetically knowing look before dragging my brother to their first period class.

Sighing because I still had to go to my locker, I trudged down the hall. By the time I made it to my locker, I was already tardy by two minutes because I kept getting stopped by people showering me with gifts and condolences, like someone had died or something!

Before I could think another depressing thought about how I wouldn't be able to even go to the bathroom at this rate (someone would have the balls to give me a pity hand job- I'm not overreacting, it's happened to me before!), I was slammed roughly against my locker. I growled- oh hell no- and prepared to give whoever just slammed me into the metal a beat down (no one would see- they were all in class) before a flash of bright red caught my eye.

"Axel?" I demanded, lowering my vision to meet his eyes. I immediately averted them. Damn, he looked pissed. And for some reason, seeing that emotion directed at me made my chest pang painfully.

"Yeah, you better fucking believe it is. What the hell do you think you're doing? I know you like to pretend and shit, but don't you think spreading rumors is a little low for such a perfect angel like you?" He snapped, his grip tightening. Understanding washed through me like a tidal wave…which was being followed quickly by a flurry of rage. He thought I started these rumors?

"Excuse me? You think I started this? I can't even walk through the halls without getting showered with pity! You think I want that? You think I'm just so fake…so playing into that scenario, how would that help my image? How is being the victim of a forced make out session going to make me seem pure?!" I exclaimed harshly, starting to lose control again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Calm down. Calm down, Roxas.

But I couldn't stop the words falling from my mouth in rivulets. I'd been controlling my emotions and covering my voice for so long, that just a tiny taste of freedom was ruining any and all power I'd had on it.

"And if, by chance, I really did plan all of this, why would I be acting so confused and startled? Wouldn't I be, I don't know, playing the victim card? I don't know about you, but I find something so heart-breaking in watching depictions of an angel crying." I shouted, my rage making me stronger than him. I pushed him off of me and into the adjacent lockers, pinning him by his shoulders and glaring into his green eyes. I willed myself not to melt.

"You don't know me at all, if you think I started those rumors. I'm more like the angel people say I am than the horrible person you want me to be."

I let him go after that. I panted heavily, still scowling at him, before the sun from the window next to us hit my face. The light reflected off of my face, and my emotions quickly placed themselves back into the perfect mold they'd been trained to be in at the sight of it. Oh no…I'd let my feelings take over again.

I'd let him get to me…again.

I chanced a small glance up at Axel. He was clutching his chest where his heart was, blushing, and I noticed that by the way he was breathing, it was beating irregularly. My eyes widened. Did that mean that I…made his heart race just now?

His green eyes caught mine and trapped me, making me lose myself in a sea of green; in a sea of honestly and truth and imperfection. That world, the one reflected in his eyes, appealed to me so much. But I couldn't just bring myself to join it.

"Okay, okay. I believe you. And believe it or not, I don't think you're fake. But I also don't think you're the innocent little angel that everyone makes you out to be. So that leaves me in a pickle, here, Roxas." He told me carefully, but something was clouding his eyes. It was making them smolder, actually.

"Because I really, really like you. But I don't know how to like you, because all I see is the Roxas you want everyone to see. And that makes it hard for me to tell when you're fucking with me, and when you're being sincere." He continued, taking a couple of steps towards me. I backed away almost immediately. He was getting too close again.

"And really, I think you like me too." He murmured, efficiently having pinned me against the lockers again. Although, to be fair, this time it wasn't with an aggressiveness. It was with something more…tender. Gentle.

Sultry.

"Why do you think that?" I murmured back, lost in his eyes and everything that they were promising me. Truth. Peace. Self-realization.

"Because I-" He had started to answer against my lips, but a clacking against the lockers from a little ways from us made me lose focus with his eyes and slip away from under him. I quickly fixed my clothes as the figure that interrupted us came closer and closer.

Axel scowled and started muttering under his breath. Something about drowning him but he would like that? I don't know, I couldn't hear him well. But I did know that this was not the kind of behavior a good boy should be displaying.

"Demyx…there just happened to be something in your locker that needed retrieving right next to us and at that exact second, right?" Axel growled at the new stranger. I eyed him politely.

He was tall, almost as tall as Axel, with a strange Mohawk hair style and bright marine green eyes. He was wearing a black hoodie under his uniform and oversized uniform slacks with chains attached. I glanced down absently at his shoes. He had on a pair of worn down converses with doodles of what looked like…a sitar (or was it a part of the male anatomy?) strewn all over.

My eyes wandered back up to his face. He had a goofy smile on his face and was...

Staring at me?!

I jumped, startled for a moment, before he began to laugh. He held out a hand towards me.

"Since Axel over here seems to have left his manners in his backpack, which, as you can see, isn't with him right now, I guess I'll introduce myself without his help. I'm Demyx, Axel's best friend and fellow Help-Roxas-Be-Himself supporter. Nice to meet you!" He said brightly. I narrowed my eyes at that last part. I was being myself, dammit.

I shot a dark glower at Axel before turning back to Demyx with a wary smile. "It's very nice to meet you too, Demyx. But…the thing is, I am being myself. So there's no need for you to try and help me, because, as indicated, I don't need it." I said politely.

Demyx gave Axel a grave look. "Damn, it's worse than we thought. He's definitely been swimming in a vat of toxic Splenda."

"I know, I told you, didn't I?" He agreed before reaching down and grabbing my hand. I stared in disgust at it and tried to shake him off, but apparently Axel wasn't having it. His grip only tightened.

"Ah, ah, ah, Angel, you're coming with us." He smirked, and Demyx followed suit, making shivers run down my back. I had a bad feeling about this. But nevertheless, I tried to sweet talk my way out of it, just like with everyone else.

"Please guys. I appreciate your concern. In fact, it makes me very happy to know that you guys care about me so much. But I need to get to my class. My first period is AP English, and I struggle quite a bit in there, so I'll need to really catch today's lesson. So please…for me? Can you let me go?"

Axel and Demyx took a look at me, shared an amazed look, and promptly dragged me down the hallway with both hands, both discussing me like I was a specimen as they walked.

"He really does learn the art of bull shitting others fairly quickly, doesn't he, Demyx?"

"Oh yeah, he definitely does. He also seems to have mastered the puppy dog eyes too."

"Dude, you're right! I was wondering why I felt like a heartless bastard when I looked at his eyes!"

"The trick is to focus on something else when he looks at you like that."

"Really? Okay, I'll-"

I scowled. They were making it hard to be nice here.

But maybe that was the point.

The two best friends had dragged me unwillingly into their "lair", or as our student body liked to call it, the "make-out spot." But according to my kidnappers, it wasn't the kissing cove until after dusk, which was when they all went their separate ways anyway. It was kind of like kindergarteners taking turns, Demyx had reasoned. That wasn't what I was focused on, though, when I first got there. There were two other figures besides us in the spot; Axel's other closest friends. And well…how did I explain this nicely?

Axel's friends were exactly like him. Brash. Overbearing. Psycho.

And very, very opinionated.

"So, do you like being a liar? Is it like a hobby for you? Or is it more like a job?" Larxene, the mean but beautiful blonde leader of their threesome wanted to know. She was also a senior, like Axel and Demyx, I learned, and had deemed herself the Princess of Truth. And apparently, I didn't make the cut.

"Larx! Way to be a bitch!" Demyx exclaimed chidingly, shoving her on her shoulder. She glared at him before shoving him roughly back, sending him stumbling into me. I straightened him back up gingerly with a smile before shooting it towards the blonde bitch.

But she didn't have to know I thought that.

"It's nice to meet you too Larxene. You are quite gorgeous, aren't you?" I grinned. Axel coughed from behind me and I turned to shoot him a dangerous look. I didn't want to hear anymore out of him. Larxene blushed and began to primp.

"Oh, you think so? I wasn't sure these bangs were doing it, but I really appreciate your-" Almost as soon as she started, she stopped, pausing almost as if a light bulb had just went off. She narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, you're good."

I frowned. "What do you mean? I'm only being honest and-"

"And this is Zexion. He's kind of a sexy mystery, or so I hear. Girls are always infatuated with him because they think the emo thing is in." Axel explained to me with a smirk, grabbing my hand and tugging me mid-sentence over to a small slate haired boy. He gazed up at me, and I was struck with how beautiful he was. If Axel was sexy, Larxene was gorgeous and Demyx was cute, Zexion was beautiful. I smiled at him.

"Hi, I'm Roxas." I introduced myself, holding out a hand for him to shake. He squinted his eyes at me and studied me intently. So intently in fact, that my smile kind of froze and I dropped my hand. Um…what? I glanced over at Axel in confusion.

"Zexion has a way of seeing right through people." He explained in response to my bewildered expression, my hand still in his. I looked back at Zexion. He was now watching me in curiosity, his inspection seemingly over with.

"Sorry." Zexion murmured, and his voice was almost angelic. His gaze bored into me. "For everything."

I suddenly felt very exposed. For everything…? Was he referring to my past? How would he even know about it? Maybe Axel was right; maybe he did have a way of seeing through others. It was kind of…I don't know, disturbing?

"You'll have to meet everyone else later. They're all in class right now. But maybe, lunch, maybe?" Axel offered hopefully, and I suddenly felt like a jerk for having to let him down. What would people say about me, Roxas, sitting next to a sex pot like Axel during lunch? But…I considered, taking a look at the way Axel was looking at me and feeling my heart pound painfully…maybe I could sit with them, at least for a little while.

"Well…" I hedged, looking away from his pleading green eyes. He was just so persuasive…I was slightly surprised he'd taken the pouting route and not the convincing, sexy route. Maybe he was trying to show me that he was willing to behave?

"Okay." I finally allowed, and Demyx and Axel broke out in cheers. I couldn't help it; I grinned and laughed. And what surprised me even more was that it was…genuine. I glanced at Zexion. He was watching me again with that same look of curiosity, but now it was mixed with…encouragement.

I don't know, it kind of made me feel…good. And that was something I hadn't felt in a long time.

After that, Axel had walked me back to class, insisting that he was, in fact, a gentleman. I don't know if I believed that, but I was having some difficulty ignoring the way he made me feel. Every unexpected glance from that face, and my knees turned to jelly. Every accidental touch made me break out in shivers. And the worst part? He noticed.

"You know Angel," He drawled as we walked slowly to my AP English class, "I still don't understand why you're playing so hard to get. It's obvious you find me attractive. So what's the problem?"

I sputtered indignantly, ignoring the slow blush that was coating my face. "Where did you get that idea?" But I really shouldn't have said that. I was only giving him permission to call me out on my already noted reactions.

"Oh I don't know, besides the fact that you're acting like you're totally wired?" He laughed. "Whenever I touch you, you practically jump ten feet in the air and start blushing. And all I do is look at you, and you have to clutch the lockers to keep your balance."

I glared at him and prepared to chew him out, but the light from the window hit my face, giving me a reminder. A warning. I was supposed to be the angel. The good boy.

"Thank you for liking me, Axel, but I can't say I return the feelings. As for your observations, I don't know what you're talking about. But thanks for pointing them out. I'll be sure to work on that." I said kindly, and he suddenly sighed in annoyance.

"Don't get all nice on me, Angel. I already told you, I'm looking for someone real. And real people don't just get all nice and sweet like they turned on a switch." He told me, running a hand through his unruly red spikes in irritation. I glared back at him.

"If you don't think I'm real, why are you interested in me? Obviously I don't match your standards, so what is it that you want from me?! Why are you pursuing me?" I demanded, struggling to keep my tone under control.

Axel narrowed his eyes and looked like he was about to say something, but one look at me and he faltered. He winced. "I…uh…"

That was the last straw for my control.

"You don't even know why you want me to go out with you? What, do you think my feelings are some kind of joke?! You know what, forget it. I don't even want to waste my breath talking about your obvious ignorance and stupidity. Do you think making me mad is funny? Do you think that I'm your goddamn source of entertainment? Well I'm not! I'm much more than that!"

And with that, I stomped down the hall away from him, stopping only until I was in front of my classroom door. Suddenly I felt the familiar emotion of guilt bare down on me. My face cleared of its scowl, and I stared down at my shoes in a sudden wave of shame.

I looked back down the hall. Axel was still standing where I left him, running another hand through his spikes and cursing something to himself. I bit my lip. Really, I shouldn't have done that. I'm not supposed to hurt people's feelings like that anymore.

"Axel." I called down to him. He looked up in bewilderment and curiosity.

"I'll see you at lunch."

Even from my distance, I could see Axel's hand fall to his side and his alluring green eyes roll in a sudden rush of exasperation. He waved me off and turned around to walk back down to his own first period.

"Go to class, Angel, and stop being so goddamn nice."

"Axel Highwind, probably the most disliked yet secretly yearned for senior of the entire islands right now, is staring at you." Olette whispered to me, sounding amazed and in awe of me. I sighed and slumped farther down in my seat.

It was lunch time, which meant that I was supposed to go over there and sit with them, as promised. But...now that everyone was watching me, expecting me to be the victim and be the innocent little Roxas they all expected, my courage was being shaken.

And right now, staying right where I was sitting next to Olette and Hayner at our lunch table sounded like a better plan.

"If I pretend like I don't see him, he'll stop." I reasoned to her, taking a bite out of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was acting like it didn't faze me, but in truth, knowing he was watching me like this kind of thrilled me. But that didn't mean I liked him or anything. Who would like him?

Uh, everyone, a tiny voice in my head pointed out.

But not right now. At least not out in the open. It seemed to be a school-wide snubbing in effect for him right now out of respect for my "attack." I don't know who started that rumor, but it was definitely unneeded. Now everyone hated him, and it only made me feel like an asshole, which didn't help when I was trying to act like a Good Samaritan.

Hayner peered over at me in irritation. "Go tell him to stop. It's so fucking rude to stare like that."

I sighed deeper and lifted up my sandwich to hide my face. Maybe that would put a damper in his ocular fire. Pence just lifted an eyebrow at me and said, "Uh, now he's laughing at you."

"So are you going to like, kick his ass for being a perv, or are you just going to look the other wawy?" Hayner finally asked in frustration after a moment of silence, and Olette gasped and smacked him on the arm. "What? It's not like he hasn't before!"

I sat my sandwich down slowly and stared down stormily at my food. He was right. I totally had done that before.

"Hayner! Now look! Don't you remember? Roxas isn't like that anymore! He's trying to be a good person now!" Olette hissed. Hayner bit his lip and looked ashamed in himself for a second before getting defensive.

"Well…it's not my fault! I think I liked it better when he was acting like himself than the sugary angel he's pretending to be now!" He shouted, and I finally looked up at him. He was glaring down at me angrily, but now I could see a trace of something in his eyes.

But my instincts won over my maternal side, and I glared back at him, not even noticing that we had more than a few spectators. "What's your problem?" I demanded.

"You're my problem! Since when can you beat someone up almost to death one day and then be a perfect little angel the next! It's not a fucking faucet, Roxas!" Hayner yelled, and I froze. Actually, I think everyone froze.

Olette stood up shakily and glared pointedly at Hayner. "That's a lie, and you know it Hayner!"

That seemed to thaw out everyone who was staring at me like I was a murderer. They all switched their glares to Hayner now, who had sat down, seemingly surprised in himself for his outburst.

"Whatever." He murmured angrily, but I could tell he was really ashamed in himself. But what did I care? He almost gave out my secret to the entire school. Some best friend.

I grabbed my brown paper bag lunch and stood up from our table, shouldering my backpack and packing up my stuff, even though there was a whole twenty minutes left of lunch.

"Wait, where are you going, Roxas?" Pence asked in concern, and Olette mirrored his expression. I looked down at Hayner. He didn't even look up. Well, that settled that.

"I'm going to sit somewhere else. With people who don't give away my secrets." I snapped, and Hayner did look up at that, only it was a glower. I stalked off, ignoring all the sets of eyes who watched me, and finally found myself in front of Axel's table. It was the second fullest table in the lunch room, second only to my normal table, which had half of the lunch goers at it.

"Can I sit with you?" I asked them quietly, averting my eyes from Larxene's knowing gaze and the rest of the people I didn't know. Demyx grinned at me.

"You said you would, didn't you? Here, have a sit! Have a sit!" He enthused, scooting over so I could sit between him and Axel. The sexy red head merely winked at me before going back to copying the answers off of what looked like Zexion's paper.

"People are staring at you. They're probably wondering why a goody two-shoe like you is sitting with a bunch of shunned losers like us. That rumor about Axel attacking you got us completely shut out from the rest of the student body, you know." Larxene sneered at me, but I think she was only kidding. I think.

Axel didn't think so at least. "Leave my Angel alone, he didn't start the fucking rumors, alright? And no one gets to tease him but me, got it memorized?"

"Yeah guys, you'd better leave the perfect angel alone, because according to that prep in the cargo, he might beat us up to a bloody pulp!" Some blonde guy with one earring in his ear and a strange accent jibed, causing most of the table's inhabitants to laugh.

I began to shake. They didn't know anything. They didn't even know me. How dare they-

"Shut the fuck up, Luxord, you don't know him at all. Just because you're unconfident in yourself doesn't mean you have to use someone who you believe is perfect to harp on so you seem cooler in comparison." Zexion snapped. My eyes widened. Zexion…talks?

"Ooooh! Dissed by my cute little scholar!" Demyx cried out, grinning wildly at "Luxord." I blinked. Wait, was Demyx dating Zexion?

"Dem and Zex are an item, Angel. They're kind of a big deal." Axel explained in my ear at my confused look. "We call them Zemyx."

"Why? And don't call me Angel."

"Eh…I dunno, really. I guess it's because it's cute. Kind of like you, when you're mad and screaming at me. Like today, for instance." Axel joked, but he was actually right. I really had blown up at him. Twice.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but he anticipated it and beat me to the punch.

"You're sorry, yeah, I know. Now that that's over with, I should introduce you to the people who just laughed at you." Axel smirked. I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips. Axel was out there; way over the top. But at least it never got boring with him around, even if he did make me angry easily.

I soon learned that the rest of Axel's friends were all considerably psycho, like him, but kind of made up this…well, organization for lack of better words, with their outlandish personalities. The first person Axel introduced me to was Marluxia, a pink haired Abercrombie and Fitch model who was very sneaky and liked to prank on people. He was very opinionated, like Larxene, only he seemed to be the leader of the pack due to his outgoing nature. (Unlike Larxene…)

Then I met Luxord, the British guy who'd made the crack at me. As it turned out, he was very silly, kind of like Demyx, only he liked to gamble all of the time, and he was a wee bit more serious. He was best friends with Saix and Xigbar, who I'd had yet to meet, because 

they had already graduated. Xaldin was the weird guy with side burns, who didn't really talk much, but when he did say something, it was usually very colorful and sarcastic. Lexeaus was the final senior of the bunch, and probably the nicest of them all. He was big, as in, burly, muscled big, and he had a very brotherly feel to him.

Some other friends of theirs were at the table- Paine, Lulu, and about five others- but the impression I got was that they were not in the exclusive group of "organization" members.

"And this, guys, is Roxas Strife, AKA Angel. And it's our duty as his new closest friends to get him to loosen up, take off the fake halo, and be himself." Axel finished, tossing me a smirk at my dropped jaw from the last part. "Angel, say hi."

I growled at him. And then I remembered I was being watched. I gave them all a merry smile I usually reserved for introductions like this. "Hello! As Axel introduced, my name is Roxas, and I'm a sophomore here. It's really nice to meet you."

Demyx slipped a Nacho cheese Dorito in his mouth loudly, so loudly that we could hear the crack of the chip from his teeth. "Doesn't it get tiring, Roxas, pretending to be nice all of the time?"

Lexeaus shot me an incredulous look. "Tiring? Forget exhaustion, don't you get lonely?"

Axel threw his arms up dramatically. "Thank you! That's exactly what I asked him!"

I felt like hitting myself in the forehead with a four ton brick made of cheese. This wasn't funny anymore; now all of his friends were starting to think I was some kind of a phony. That really isn't fair, either. I didn't do a thing to Axel! Why was he attacking me like this?!

"Okay, well, I think I'm going to leave now. I have something else I need to do. So if you'll excuse me, I-" I started, standing up, before Axel grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down. He gave me an exhausted look.

"Oh sit down, Angel, no one is judging you. Besides," he looked away awkwardly, "I like having you sit by me. I want you to stay."

I stared at him as his cheeks stained a bright, rosy red, and almost immediately blushed myself. We both averted our eyes from each other. Man, oh man, how did I get myself into this mess? It was obvious that he was serious about dating me…but then why was I still here?

"Okay." I mumbled in spite of myself, unable to resist a blushing Axel. Then I looked up. Minus Axel, who was still averting his eyes in embarrassment, everyone at the table was staring knowingly at us. I frowned. What was going through those judgmental minds of theirs…?

"So…" I started, desperately trying to think of something to say to get them to stop looking at me like that. Axel looked up at me, all traces of embarrassment having melted away. Great, now he was staring at me too! Think Roxas, think! "Axel, all those girls who used to want to sleep with you kind of hate you now, huh?"

I meant to say it teasingly, but unfortunately I think it might have come out sounding petty and jealous. Which I was not! Really!

Demyx laughed from next to me. "Girls? Please, Axel has been stuck on the same person for like, the last five years. And that person is-"

"Axel has just been keeping his options open." Zexion quickly butt in, covering Demyx's mouth with his hand and giving him a pointed look. "Nothing to be envious of, Roxas."

I blushed again. "Hey, I never said I was-"

"You know, I do have a voice. And a very sexy one, if I do say so myself…but the point is, I'm right here, you know." Axel interjected with a whine. Then he turned to me. "Come on Angel, I'll answer your question as we walk to AP Combat."

My eyes widened. Whoa, school was practically over now! This day went by fast now that Axel was stalking me and I met his friends. Even so, I gave him a skeptical look.

"Lunch isn't even over!" I proclaimed, but just as I said it, the bell rang. I frowned. Of course.

Axel pulled me to my feet and took my books from me. "Here, I'll carry your shit for you. Now come on. We have that test next, and I'm ready!"

"So…does your question have a hidden meaning?" Axel asked me as we walked together to class. But I wasn't really listening. Everyone was staring at us! It was kind of intimidating…everyone was whispering as we passed by!

"Huh?" I finally realized Axel had spoken. "Did you say something?"

Axel smirked at me. "The gossip mill getting to you?"

I frowned. How did he know? Jeez, was I that transparent? "Maybe a little bit…" I admitted.

"I don't see why, seeing as how I'm the one that went from most sought after to most avoided." He pointed out, scratching his cheek. "Which, you know, kind of leads me back to my original question: did your question have a hidden meaning?"

"No…" I lied, ignoring the wave of guilt that came flooding from the act. "I just wanted to know."

Axel was quiet for a moment, and I chanced a glance up at him. He was biting his lip, hiding his eyes from me. I furrowed an eyebrow at him. What was the matter? Did he realize that I was lying? Did that bother him or something? I instantly felt remorse for lying. Wasn't I supposed to be a good person now?

"That was a lie. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" I pleaded, looking up at him hopefully. That seemed to break him from his distance. He glanced down sharply at me and gave me a disgusted look.

"Don't ever ask me to forgive you ever again, got it memorized?" He snapped, and a sharp pain of hurt waved through me. Well that was mean! Was that necessary?! I was just apologizing!

"Whatever." I mumbled, and I walked faster. I was through trying to get along with him; if he was going to be a jerk like this, I didn't want to walk by his side.

"Eh?!" Axel called out in surprise, and with three long strides he was back next to me. I huffed in annoyance. Obviously I had sped away from him for a reason! He sighed. "What now? What did I do?"

"Don't ever ask me to explain something like that to you ever again, got it memorized?" I snapped at him, making him wince. "Oh." He intoned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. I lifted my hands in a "WTF man" gesture but remained silent.

"I wasn't trying to be mean, Angel. It's just…I don't like it when you lower yourself on my accord. It…hurts me…to see you beg like that. That is, unless it's for me to fuck you." He confessed. But I was still a little confused at that last part. What'd he say?

"Wait, what?"

"What?" He repeated quickly. I rolled my eyes. As long as what he said didn't have anything to do with anything sexual, I could deal with him.

There was a comfortable silence between us as we walked. But of course, Axel just had to break it, just as we approached the gym.

"No, it doesn't bother me. Actually, to be honest, Angel, I only flirted with those girls to impress you." He admitted. My mouth dropped. What?! "I mean, sure, there were one or two girls I genuinely liked, but…they didn't amount to you."

I blushed. I didn't like talking about his feelings like this. It made me…I don't know, kind of uncomfortable. But it also made me blissfully happy, and that was the emotion that really scared me the most.

He opened the door for me, bowing like a gentleman, and now that I was in the public eye of my peers, I laughed blissfully and smiled. I heard a couple of onlookers coo, and I felt a sense of smugness wash over me. Axel rolled his eyes but returned the expression.

"That's right; enjoy it while you can, Angel. Because once I'm through with you, you'll never act perfect again."

When the bell rang, I couldn't even find the energy to move. None of us could, really. That three chapter test was the single hardest thing I had ever taken. And against Axel no less. When he had told me to enjoy it while I could, I didn't know what he meant. But I know now. I think maybe he planned to beat the perfection out of me!

Axel collapsed on my desk in front of me, and I didn't have the strength to push him off. "I don't think I can make it to the bus." I breathed, watching with half-closed eyes as the class all exited the room. The bell had rung bout three minutes ago, so if I planned to ride it, I needed to make my way down there now.

"I got you, Angel, I can give you a ride." Axel offered, finally managing his breath and sitting up. He swung his legs on each side of the desk so now I was sitting in between his legs, practically eye level with his crouch.

"Um…" I hedged, tearing my eyes from the fairly large bulge in his pants and raising my gaze to his face. He was smirking knowingly at me. "I'm not sure my brother would like that. He's already pretty suspicious of you due to what everyone's saying."

Axel leaned in closer to me, and I think I stopped breathing all together. "Do you always do everything your brother says, Angel?"

"He wants what's best for me." I murmured, gazing down at his lips. A light pink tongue darted out to slowly lick seductive, parted lips. A soft groan of desire bubbled in the back of my throat.

"I know what's best for you." He whispered back seductively, and on their own accord, my lips moved to meet his…closer, closer, almost there…just as my lips met his, with the feeling of skin on skin, he moved his head away!

I stared at him, pouting, but he just laughed shakily and grabbed my books. "Ah, not yet, Angel, not yet. Anyway, come on. Let's get you home."

And with that, my second school encounter with Axel was over, leaving me regretful, embarrassed…

And wanting more.

I apologize for any mistakes, I think I got most of them, but if I miss any, sorry. So...? Do you like it? Expect an update soon, I'll try to finish the next part of this fairly quickly, but I'm also working on my other one-shot as well, along with school, so it might be a little while. Or it might be soon. You never know when inspiration strikes!

Feedback would be much appreciated! Reviews feed my inspiration monster.