Sequel! For those who have come here and have not read my story Truth, I advise that you do so.

Now, I shall be brutally honest right now. This will be something totally different for me. Seriously. As readers from Truth (and some of my other stories) may know, I love to write as realistically as possible. And honestly, that's what I'll be doing.

I don't want to give anything away. I'm going to be exploring the ideas of human desperation and deprivation as well as typical struggles and whatnot. If you don't like the sounds of this, I'm sad to say reading this may not be for you.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Pairings: Axel/Roxas, Riku/Sora, Demyx/Zexion, Seifer/Hayner, Cloud/Leon, ?/? (you'll see later on)

Warnings: language, young adults acting like young adults, substance abuse mentions, alcohol, lemons, limes, other (?)

Please enjoy and happy reading!

The moment seemed to extend for an eternity. Sitting in the plastic folding chair, Mariana on his right, some unknown joyful parent clutching her purse on his left. Cheers, clapping, cat calls, hollers. Groups would stand together, applauding like enthusiastic fans at a sporting event. The booming voice in the speakers rattled off names and the further down the list they got, the tighter and tighter his throat seemed to become.

Because it was finally starting to seem plausible, that this was all really happening. The streaming colors of gold and red surrounded him and excited students pranced across the stage, shaking hands and accepting that piece of paper that said they've done something with their life. Speeches were made before, speeches would be made after. Music that was being played on college campuses across the nation was playing now. And it was all so real.

There was Demyx, grinning like the happy kid he was, taking his diploma and looking out, catching his mother's eye. The blonde beside him was standing and screaming, too overjoyed for her baby boy to maintain any kind of decorum.

More names were called, more students walked, more cheers erupted.

He knew the day was coming, but he hadn't really realized that it would actually come. The ensured future this day held was overwhelming and it was finally, finally sinking in. There wasn't much time after this day, and he would just have to suck it up and make the best of it.

More and more names. They were closer, now.

His hands were clenched into tightly balled fists, resting on his bouncing legs. Mariana placed a hand on his forearm which did nothing to ease him. Her hand moved to his back and she could see the realization clicking in those beautiful blue eyes.

"Axel Shaozi."

And his throat closed entirely upon seeing the tall redhead cross the stage, graduation robes swishing back, his cap slightly crooked and tassel dancing with his ungraceful walk. Axel looked absolutely thrilled, eyes shimmering with a sense of accomplishment and meeting his beloved's wetly shining blue eyes. His grin didn't falter, probably mistaking the wet eyes for a different emotion.

And like that, the moment passed and Axel moved off the stage to join his classmates waiting to be seated. A moment that would last a lifetime, gone in mere seconds.

The names were finished, the students were all standing before their chairs and the dean of students stepped forth to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to give you the class of 2012!"

And everyone clapped and cheered, caps were tossed, tears were shed, relief exploded through the room.

Roxas clapped along too, realizing that he only had a few more months with Axel until he was gone.

Short prologue, as I wanted.

This story. It should be explosive ^^

Please leave a review, informing me of your take. I know this isn't a lot to go on, but anything would be nice.