Axel slowly raised his head from his pillow and sat up in the bed. He watched the glowing red numbers on the alarm clock on the table beside his bed.

6.00 am.

He sighed and lied down on his back closing his eyes, but was unable to fall asleep. He turned on the side, facing the wall, and then turned again, now looking out over his room.

He sighed again and got up. He grabbed a red T-shirt and a pair of black jeans that lay on the floor at his feet, pulled the T-shirt over his head and drew his hand through his red, spikey hair while putting on a pair of shoes.

Quietly he opened the door to his room and walked toward the kitchen. The smell of alchohol filled the hallway and made him feel sick.

In the kitchen he opened the refrigerator, and the stench of rotten food and more alchohol hit him like he'd walked into a wall.

Axel quickly closed the door and opened a cupboard above the clogged up sink. There he found some crackers that he ate while standing.

He then walked out of the kitchen and out through the door to the apartment where he lived with his parents.

The black and red backpack on his back weighted a ton and his steps echoed with a hollow sound as he made his way down the stairs.

After three floors he finally stood in front of the front door. He pressed down the handle and forced the door open, stepping out on the front yard.

The sun was just about to rise and made the waterpuddles on the ground glow in different shades of red and pink. But Axel hardly noticed, he simply walked right through the puddles while heading for the town square.

At the town square he looked around, not knowing why he was there in the first place. It had just become a habit of his to come here, exactly why he didn't know.

Then he spotted something by the fountain in the middle of the square. He hid behind a bush while focusing his eyes on the boy who was sitting on the egde of the fountain. He had blond, spikey hair and appeared a bit younger than Axel.

A sudden 'beep' broke the silence and Axel pulled back behind the bush when the boy took out a cellphone. The boy watched the display before putting the phone back into his pocket. He stood up and walked away.

Axel remained behind the bush, even after the boy had disappeared. He didn't know why, he just stood there. After a while he took out his cell and sweared as he saw the time.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna be late." he said and started half running towards the school.

"Axel, late again." the teacher said as Axel casually walked through the classroom door. "That's the third time this week."

"Yeah, yeah..." Axel muttered while walking to his usual seat in the back of the room.

All the others were whispering and giggling, some casting admiring glances, and some glaring angrily at him.

Axel didn't care about any of them, he never did. He simply took out his books from the backpack and opened them. The rest of the day went on just as all the others; slowly and painfully.

At last the bell rang, announsing freedom for all the students.

All of the others in Axel's class talked about what they were going to do after school, while Axel quietly sneaked past them on his way to his locker.

On his way to the locker his emerald green eyes caught a glimpse of something behind a storage house. Without knowing what he was doing, he started walking toward the storage house.

As he looked around the corner he saw the blond from this morning, surrounded by Seifer and his gang.

"You chose the wrong person to bump into." Seifer grinned.

"I said I didn't do it on purpose!" the blond said, his voice shivering.

"Why, did you now?" Seifer teased before leaning in to the blond. "Well, what's done is done, and you'll pay for what you've done." he said, his face only a few inches away from from the blond's.

"That's enough." Axel said and stepped forward.

Seifer turned around and glared at him. "What're you doin' here?" he growled.

"Watchin' the most pathetic beatup in my life." Axel said casually and walked closer. "Makin' 'im pay is understandable, but doin' it three on one's just lame. Even for a guy like you. Got it memorized?"

The blond boy about to get beat up looked up at his red-haired savior, amazed by his calm attitude.

"Hey you, Seifer's still older than you, y'know, so you better start showin' some respect!" said Rai, one of Seifer's companions.

"Then why don't you pick a fight with me and leave that shrimp out of it?" Axel teased.

Seifer opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Lexaeus, the strongest guy in the whole school, and Zexion, the smartest guy in school, came walking towards them. They were both third year students, and they were also part of the school's disciplinary committee.

"What's going on here?" Zexion asked.

Lexaeus quietly stood behind him with his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, making Zexion look ridiculously small since Lexaeus was at least a head taller than him.

"Nothing." Seifer muttered and started to walk away. As he passed Axel, he whispered: "I'll get you next time." in a dark, threatening voice.

Axel didn't move a muscle, not in any way showing that he had hear the older boy's threat.

"Well, we should get going." Zexion said and he and Lexaeus walked away from the schoolyard, leaving just Axel and the blond left.

Axel also started to walk, but stopped as the blond called out to him.

"Wait! Th-thank you for saving me."

Axel didn't reply and started walking again, but was once again held back by the blond boy calling.

"I'm Roxas." He said. "What's your name?"

Axel slowly turned around and looked closely at the boy named Roxas before answering. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He then turned around and walked away, leaving Roxas standing alone in the empty schoolyard.

"...Axel..." Roxas said to himself, smiling. "Thanks."

Axel opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock.

6.00 am.

"Why do I keep wakin' up this early?" he muttered to himself while getting out of the bed. He got dressed and walked out into the hallway, whitch was filled with the smell of smoke and alchohol. In the kitchen he found a bag of chips, whitch he took with him as he walked out the door to the apartment.

He sat down for a moment outside the door and ate some chips before continuing down the stairs. After opening the heavy front door he started walking around aimlessly, and ended up at the town square.

"Axel!"

Axel looked up hearing someone call out his name, and saw Roxas, the blond boy from yesterday, sitting on the fountain's edge.

"Hey, Axel, why don't you come over here?" Roxas called, waving and smiling.

But he stopped waving as Axel walked right past him and in among the houses on the other side of the square. Roxas lowered his hand and a wondering look replaced the smile on his face. "What was that about?"

"Axel, you said?" Roxas's new friend, Sora, asked him during the lunch later that day.

"Yeah, that's him." Roxas said.

"That guy's nothin' but bad news." said Riku before putting a piece of food in his mouth.

They were all three in the same class, since Roxas moved to town last week in the middle of his first year of high school. Sora had immediately welcomed him to their little group, and Riku didn't seem to bother.

"What do you mean 'trouble'?" asked Roxas curiously.

"I take it you haven't heard anything yet." Riku said.

"There are lots of rumors going 'round about him." Sora said. "For example..."

"Hey, I'm the one talkin' this time!" Riku interrupted. "Okay, so here's the deal. Axel's a second year student, and a real troublemaker. He's always late for everything, drives the teachers completely insane and gets into fights every day. I've even heard that he shot a guy that wanted to pick a fight."

"I've heard that he stabbed a guy once." Sora said, shuttering by the thought of it.

"And there are more stories similar to those, I once heard that he pushed someone off the school building." Riku filled in.

"Well..." said Roxas slowly. "I just don't believe he's actually done all of that."

"Belive what you want, it's true." Riku said. "Everyone knows."

"Well, I don't know." Roxas said to himself. "I just don't know..."

School was over and Roxas was on his way back home, he was the last person there, when he heard a strange sound coming from a place near the school wall. He slowly approached the source of the faint sound, and stopped at what he saw.

Axel was sitting behind a big tree, crouched, his arms wrapped around his legs and his forehead resting on his knees. As Roxas slowly walked up to him, the redhead raised his head and looked up at him. His emerald eyes were filled with such sadness and pain, Roxas almost started crying just by looking into them.

"What do you want?" Axel said with a mix of sadness and anger in his voice.

Roxas didn't reply. He quietly sat down beside Axel, who looked at him with a slightly irritated, but also surprised look on his face.

Roxas slowly reached out his hand and gently placed it on Axel's bare arm. Axel looked even more surprised, but didn't try to shake off his hand. He then, slowly and hesitantly, placed his hand on Roxas's knee. Roxas smiled a little, and didn't move.

They sat like that a while, Roxas's hand on Axel's arm, and Axel's hand on Roxas's knee.

"I don't believe in the rumors about you." Roxas suddenly said.

"Oh, so it seems you've heard 'bout me then." Axel said.

"Yes, I have." Roxas confirmed. "But I don't think you've done all that."

"And why not?" asked Axel in an amused tone.

"Well..." Roxas said. "I find it hard to believe that you've stabbed or shot someone, and I don't think you'd actually push someone off the roof."

"Then what if I told you my dad's been in jail for killin' someone?" Axel asked.

"Then I'd probably say that just 'cause your dad's killed someone, that doesn't mean you'd do the same."

"And what if I said I've actually shot someone?" Axel asked, sounding quite amused.

"Then I'd say that you probably just want to get rid of me." Roxas said, smiling at Axel, who gave him an amused smirk in response.

"Any other guy would've ran away a long time ago, or not even come here in the first place." he said. "But you...you're...different somehow."

He then stood up, starting to walk away, and Roxas quickly got on his feet.

"Wait!" he called, and Axel stopped, looking at the blond running up to him. "Where do you live?" Roxas asked.

"Pretty close to the town square." Axel responded.

Roxas smiled. "Me too." He then followed as Axel walked towards the square, the smile still on his face.

"My house's in that direction." Axel said as they reached the town square, pointing to the left.

"Mine's in that direction." Roxas said, pointing to the right.

They stood there a while, not moving nor talking.

"Roxas..." said Axel suddenly.

"Wha..." Roxas started saying, but got interrupted as Axel pressed his lips against the blond's.

Roxas pulled away, surpised look on his face. "What're you doing?"

"Just had to..." said Axel, moving closer to Roxas again. "...check...something." His lips met Roxas's again, but this time the blond didn't move away.

Axel put his hands on Roxas's back, pulling him closer, as his tongue slipped inside the other's mouth.

Roxas closed his eyes, slowly wrapping his own arms around the redhead.

Soon their lips parted, but they continued holding each other, neither of them wanting to let go.

Roxas leaned his forehead against Axel's chest, feeling the other's heartbeat trough the tight T-shirt.

"Hey, it's gettin' pretty late." Axel said, stroking Roxas's hair.

"Yeah, you're right." Roxas said, slowly starting to pull away.

They slowly let go of each other, both looking down at the ground.

"Well...see you later!" Roxas said, not looking up before running away in the direction of his house.

"Yeah..." Axel said, wind blowing through his hair and making the red spikes move. "See ya, Roxas."