"The thirteen of you who stand before me are here for one reason; the judges reviewed your submission videos, looked at your photos, and though that you each had model potential." Tyra said softly. She looked at the line of people in front of her; 12 girls, one guy.

"This season officially marks a first in Top Model history." She continued, her gaze fixing on the tall redhead at the end of the line. "This is the first time that we have ever had a male model."

He grinned at her, straightening up and squaring his shoulders. There was clapping and cheering, and when it died down Tyra's expression had gone from solemn and serious to a virtually uncontainable smile.

"A driver will take you, in a limo, to your house. There, you will be free do whatever you please. You will be called on for photo shoots, etc. And don't forget, you're on America's Next Top Model!"

At the last part, cheering and clapping erupted threw the small crowd, Tyra somehow being enveloped and becoming the center of an overly sized group hug.

"You're all beautiful!" She yelled above the screams and cheers and what not. This only caused it to escalate, but soon enough she had been released, the limo was in the driveway of the small building in which they had been told to wait, and the 13 models-to-be were on their way to their new home.

--

The atmosphere in the limo was filled with an electric excitement, even though none of the contestants spoke. Some were on their phones, texting eagerly to friends and family at home, some were just staring out the window, memorizing their new surroundings, and some where exchanging elated looks of joy.

The house, a huge mansion capable of accommodating 13 people, was about twenty-five minutes away from where they had been staying. Each of the contestants grabbed their suitcases and went running inside, screaming about how beautiful and amazing it was.

The redhead was the last inside, bag slung over his shoulder, milling around. Each of the girls was jumping on a bed in an eager rush to claim it as their own, but he was perfectly content with whichever bed he would be stuck with. Regardless, he was going to be forced to sleep in a room full of girls anyway.

He found a bed in a modern looking room. It was a standard twin with black and white checked sheets and bright green pillows. He tossed his bag down on it, sat down, and pulled his phone out of one of the pockets of his cargo shorts. He flipped it open, but remembered he had turned it off, and opted to just shove it back in his pocket.

It took about another hour for everyone to get settled in, but once they did, a small brunette started coming around to the rooms and yelling that everyone should go into the living room/mini home theater so that they could introduce themselves to each other.

The redhead sighed and rubbed his tired eyes and the odd, teardrop like tattoos underneath, forcing himself up off the bed and into the hallway. He saw that all of the others were coming out, looking just as tired as he was, but wanting to get this done and over with anyway.

The camera crew was following them studiously, almost like a bunch of lost puppies with high quality recording equipment. They were moving slowly, but they all made it into the room nonetheless. The couch, loveseat, and lounge chairs were all already taken, so the redhead opted to stand behind one of the chairs.

"Alright!" The brunette said. "Well, I'll start, and then we'll just go around in a circle or something. Um…well, my name is Mary, I'm 22, and I have a degree in interior design." She smiled at everyone, turning to see who would go next.

"My name is Miranda." The voice came from the chair that the redhead was now leaning on. He looked down and saw that she had strawberry blonde hair and had her hands on her lap. "I'm 21, and I'm a dancer gone model, I suppose."

They continued on like this with all the girls in the room; another brunette named Emily, a blonde name Brieanna (not Brianna, Brieanna), a redhead named Sarah, yet another brunette named Rachel (there were, in fact, quite a few brunettes), another redhead named Katrina (but everyone called her Kat), a girl with black hair named Venus (her parents were astronomers), a girl with mahogany colored hair named Amber, a blonde named Mischa, a girl with mousy brown hair named Marianne, and yet another brunette named Jackie.

"So, what about Mr. Male Model over there?" Kat called, grinning. The redhead grinned back at her.

"My name is Axel, I'm 19, and…" He raised his eyebrows at the girls, smirking. "My boyfriend is about two feet shorter than me."

There was silence, and then the reaction that he had been hoping for exploded throughout all of them.

"Boyfriend?"

"You're gay?"

"What's his name?"

"Is he cute?"

"How old is he?"

Axel grinned, not at all minding being assaulted by so many questions, and cracked his knuckles.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, ladies. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some sleep I have to catch up on." He chuckled softly and walked around the stunned group of girls, back into his bedroom, and flopped on the bed, pulling his phone out again.

It took a while for it to start up, but once it was powered on, Axel saw what he had been hoping for: One new text message.

"And it is from?" He mumbled to himself, clicking on it and grinning as he recognized the number immediately. "Roxy."

The message was so obviously written by the small blonde, Axel couldn't help but chuckle again. Thirteen weeks without any Roxas was definitely going to be difficult.

Hey Mr. Famous, it started. Don't let living with a bunch of girls go to your head, okay?

Please, Axel started, licking his dry lips and cracking his toes (which had come free of his boots the minute he was inside). You know I have eyes only for you.

He wondered idly how many people at the organization were going to give Roxas hell for watching America's Next Top Model, then realized that Roxas would definitely bitch about it to him when it started.

He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and grabbed his bag (utilizing the skills of his overly long arms), prepared only to throw on an overly sized t-shirt over his boxers and pass out in that, but then decided that he'd better get his unpacking done now.

By the time he finished, it was three-thirty in the morning. Not too late (or early) for Axel, but when you've flown from God only knows where to L.A. and then been forced to drive for 'x' number of hours, one gets pretty tired.

--

Axel didn't remember falling asleep when he woke up. All he knew what that he must've slept on his shoulder wrong or something, because it was killing him. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only eight in the morning, figured that none of the girls were up, and decided to attack the kitchen before they got their hands on it.

However, he was too tired to navigate through the plethora of hallways that were in the house. Somehow, he ended up in the front hall in front of the giant poster of Tyra and, what do you know, new Tyra-Mail.

He cleared his throat, stared at it for a second, grabbed it, then called, "Tyra-Mail!" Throughout the entire house. Almost immediately, he was surrounded by a swarm of tired girls and the camera crew.

"Tomorrow is your first photo shoot." He read, rubbing his eyes. "Y'all better pray that you're cool enough to fly with your crew. Love, Tyra."

There were whispered, 'What does that mean's and 'What's before Axel spoke up, only slightly dismayed that he was going to be stuck with girls who couldn't even decipher riddles.

"Its going to be in the air." He said. "The forecast for tomorrow is heat, heat, and more heat. That's what she means by 'cool enough to fly'."

They all stared at him in awe for a moment before they started to freak out about the challenge. Axel sighed and, taking advantage of the moment, somehow managed to slip undetected into the kitchen.

Much to his dismay, however, he was not alone. Kat was sitting at the small round table they had to use as a dinner table, a plate of eggs in front of her and a book in one hand.

"Good morning." She said, sipping her cup of coffee.

"Good morning." Axel replied, making his way to the fridge and looking around.

"Hey, if you want my eggs, you can have 'em." She said, turning around to look at Axel over her shoulder. "They're still warm. Made with butter and parmesan cheese."

"Why don't you want them?" Axel asked, walking over and sliding the plate from in front of her to in front of where he was about to sit.

"I don't like the brand of butter they have stocked here." She answered, folding her book up and setting it down. "I didn't realize it until after they were finished."

"That's too bad." Axel mumbled, digging into the food with the ravenous hunger that only a teenage boy could manage (almost twenty or not, he was still a teenager).

"So, nothing like living in a house full of bimbos, huh?" She asked, grinning. He smiled back at her, unwilling to expose his teeth for fear that there would be pieces of egg caught in them.

"I just hope I get eliminated before I go crazy or I win." She said, chuckling softly. "What about you?"

He finished the last of the eggs in two bites that should've been too big for him to fit in his mouth, and shrugged. "I'm here because I lost a bet, and everyone's always telling me how gorgeous I am." He laughed a little a pushed the plate away from him.

"Well, good luck to you." She muttered, sipping her coffee. He nodded.

"And you as well."

--

The photo shoot was miserable. They had to wake up at about seven in the morning as to get there on time, and it wasn't quite as hot as they said it would be, but it was still ridiculously warm.

In his wife beater and jeans, Axel was already starting to sweat. He prayed to God that he could be one of the first to go, so that by the time he had to look pretty for the photographer he wasn't a crisp.

"Hello ladies, and Axel." Tyra greeted them, looking very relaxed with her bikini and wet hair. "Are y'all excited?"

There was a murmured chorus of 'yes's and 'yeah's, the heat and curiosity about the shoot taking a little of the excitement out of it.

"Well today, you're going to be shooting in the air." Tyra continued. "We're going to hook you up to a bungee cord, and you're going to have to pose as you're falling into that river," She pointed behind her back. "And be fierce!"

All the girls craned their necks to get a good look at the river (Axel was so tall he could see it already) and a chorus of groans echoed throughout their ranks.

"Now, off to hair and make-up with you!" And they scuttled into a waiting trailer.

First, the hair stylist tried to convince Axel to cut his hair, which he politely declined. Then, the hair stylist said that he wouldn't do Axel's hair unless it was cut. Subsequently, Axel was done much faster than the girls because he just had to go straight to make-up. He was, as he had hoped, the first person to go.

"Why, don't you look charming." Tyra said as he approached, giving him a once over. He looked down, realizing for the first time that he was going to have to do a photo shoot, falling through the air, wearing swim shorts that were only just hanging onto his skinny hips.

"I try my best." He answered, scratching his neck and crossing his arms. "When do I get to start?"

"Right now." She answered, smiling and patting his shoulder. "Can we get someone to hook this guy up?"

--

Ah, elimination. In all of the three episodes that Axel had seen in his life, it was the most stressful, most teary part of the competition. It was the first one, too, so there was hardly any criteria for eliminating people except for the judge's predictions.

Axel was the last one to be called forward, and he had to admit that he was a little nervous, despite the fact that he hadn't yet developed an attachment to the show. Hands shoved in pockets, he walked up the short runway and stood before the judges.

--

"Hey Roxy! Whatcha watchin'?" Demyx called, jumping on the couch next to Roxas and staring at the TV.

"America's Next Top Model. Axel's on, remember? Someone's about to get eliminated." Roxas didn't tear his eyes away from the TV.

"Oo. Interesting." Demyx said, moving into a more comfortable position and watching with him.

"Now, Axel, as I understand it, you had a little problem at hair and makeup?" Tyra asked, glancing down at something that was sitting in front of her, then back up at Axel.

Axel returned this with a nervous smile. "The hair stylist wanted to cut my hair, and he said he wouldn't style it if I didn't let him and…well, its like my trademark." He ran a hand through his fiery red mane, grinning. Tyra grinned back.

"Alright. I can relate to that. Now…let's look at your best shot."

An imagine showed up on the flat screen to Axel's left, and the image was unbelievable. It showed Axel's body, attached to a bridge by a bungee cord with a cityscape in the background, contorting impossibly in the air.

"Oh my." Miss J said, leaning back. "Can we get a close up on that?"

The image zoomed in on Axel's face, staring intently, almost angrily at the camera. It was…fierce.

"Wow." Tyra muttered. "That's an amazing shot." Axel smiled again, shuffling his feet.

"He never shuffles his feet." Roxas muttered, in awe. "That's such a good picture."

They finished their critique, the show went to a commercial. Roxas and Demyx sat in silent anticipation, and, just as the show was coming back on, Xigbar showed up.

"Hey guys." He said. "What're you watching?"

They both shushed him, but after a moment Demyx grabbed his hand and pulled him over. "Axel's on America's Next Top Model, remember?"

"I have 13 potential models in front of me." Tyra said, blinking slowly and melodramatically. "But only 12 photos in my hands. The person who's name I do not call must immediately return to the house, pack their belongings, and go home."

She looked at each of the contestants in turn, then slowly slid a picture out of her hands.

"Axel." She muttered. He grinned, came forward, and took the picture from her. "For Top Model's first male model, you're doing pretty well. Keep it up. Congratulations."

Axel smiled wider and muttered thank-you before going off to the side, Roxas's squeal of pleasure very hard to miss.

Tyra called 9 more names, until only Mary and Emily stood left, both looking very nervous.

"Will Mary and Emily please step forward?" Tyra whispered. They came forward, as instructed, both looking like they were on the verge of tears.

"Two beautiful girls stand in front of me." She said. "One," turning to Emily. "The judges think is very beautiful, but so far hasn't had any strong shots. And another," turning to Mary. "The judges think isn't all that pretty, but if she's given the right makeup and the right photographer, can be the most beautiful girl here. So who goes home?"

She looked between the two of them before drawing out a photo; Mary's. "This competition is all about potential. Congratulations."

Mary nodded, taking the photo, hugged Tyra, hugged Emily, then stepped away. But Roxas saw none of this.

"Axel got called first!" He yelled to both Demyx and Xigbar, who were now watching intently. "He's going to the next round!!!"