Hearts Academy - Chapter Three

[Roxas' POV]
--
"Band practice is every day after school. Starting at 3:45 and ending at least 15 minutes before football practice. Our gigs… well… we don't have any yet." Axel explained to Roxas.

Roxas nodded slowly, staring at the ground.

Why did I say that!? I'm so stupid… Maybe… I can tell him later. Yeah! That's what I'll do…

Roxas' mood slightly lifted at that thought, though he still wasn't listening to anything Axel said.

"I also had sex with every guy on the football team six times," Axel said "and I only said that to get his attention, Demyx." He added, upon seeing Demyx's stunned reaction.

Roxas continued nodding while his thoughts raced.

How am I going to tell him? What am I going to say…..DAMNIT I'M OVER THINKING THIS. I'll just say it.
--
[Axel's POV]
--
"Roxas… Hello? EARTH TO ROXAS," Axel waved his hand in front of Roxas' face. "Is nothing going to work with you, child?"

"You could kiss him. That might make him come to his senses." Zexion offered, a laugh hidden behind his words.

"Good idea, Zexy." Axel said, smirking at Zexion.

He tilted Roxas' head up, and then kissed Roxas forcefully.  He tried to look like he wasn't enjoying it. Roxas blinked a few times, realizing what was happening. He didn't pull away, but his face got extremely red. Axel pulled back, smiling.

"Alright, Now that he's back, what were we talking about?" Demyx said loudly.

Why didn't he pull away?
--
The bell rings loudly, but doesn't reach into the soundproof walls of the music room. The four get caught "skipping class" by the principal, Xemnas, and are given after school detention.
--
Not many important things happen within the next week, the four go on normal schedule, school during the day, band practice after school, and spending most of the night doing homework. Roxas gets little to no sleep each night; he spends those hours trying to work up the courage to tell Axel how he feels. Axel, as well, gets little to no sleep – but for a different reason.
--
[One night at Axel's house]
--
He lies in his bed, staring at the ceiling, loving the silence for the time being. He checks the clock, only 11:30. His sister would be home soon, with yet another guy. His parents would soon be shrieking at each other, about how fucked up their children were, and whose fault it was. Thanks to the sounds of sex coming from upstairs, and the angry yells coming from the room next door, it was impossible for him to sleep. Even if it was silent, it'd be hard for him to sleep. The things his parents say ring through his mind in the silence. He rolls over and opens his phone.

'Two New Text Messages!'

He opens the inbox. Both messages are from Roxas.

'Hey… are you awake?'

'I guess not. Can we talk…? Tomorrow, like after school? I don't care where.'

Axel hits the reply button, and presses the buttons softly.

'Yeah, I'm awake. I just checked my phone. Sorry. Yes, we can talk tomorrow. How about, after band practice? I can afford to be late to football.'

His reply only took about 30 seconds.

'Really? Okay. Don't forget! It's kinda important.'

Axel smiled, and then snapped his phone closed. He'd known the kid for a week, and he'd already fallen for him. His sister, when she wasn't high, drunk, or with a guy, was the only person he could talk to about it. She swears that he's head-over-heels in absolute complete total L-O-V-E with Roxas.


And maybe he was.
--
[Band Practice; Roxas' POV]
--
"Band names: GO." Demyx says, slamming a paper onto the table.

Roxas shrugs.

"How about 'the Nobodies'?" Zexion offers.

The other three spin around to face him.

"I like it." Axel says, nodding in approval.

"We like it too. Okay, it's settled. We're the 'the Nobodies'." Demyx says, scribbling it down on the paper.

"Now what?" Roxas asks.

"We chill for the rest of the time." Axel says, standing up and walking behind Roxas.

Demyx walks over to Zexion, and the two begin talking.

I… I'll pull him away from Demyx and Zexion, and I'll tell him how I feel. How I really feel… WHAT AM I SAYING!? THIS IS AXEL. DAMNIT, ROXAS… It has to be… right? I don't know. Damn. I'll figure it out… somehow.

He began humming a song from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" without thinking, and twirling a lock of his hair.

Axel rolled his eyes and pulled Roxas back against himself.

"Hey Roxas, how about you stop being so damn cute?" Axel said, laughing softly.

Roxas laughed too, it sounded as fake as it felt, and he stared at Axel's hands. Axel stared at Demyx and Zexion, who were not flirting, as they'd so defensively said. Roxas put his hands over Axel's, still staring down at them.

…Axel! I lied… I really do like you. Maybe, now is the right time? …. Damn, why does my brain always get so jumbled like this when he's near me!?

"Roxas, I don't care if you like me, or if you don't know, or even if you don't like me at all... But… I'm falling for you. And every day I don't acknowledge it, I'm falling harder." Axel whispers into Roxas' ear.

Roxas freezes. His heart practically stops, but he relaxes against Axel.

"And last week, when I said I didn't know – I was lying. I did know. I do like you. And… I'm here to catch you." Roxas whispered back, a soft blush crawling over his face.

Axel smiles as he hugs Roxas tightly from behind.

I don't know what any of this means, but I like it.

Demyx looks over towards Axel & Roxas, then squeals loudly. Roxas covers his face with his hands. Axel laughs then kisses Roxas softly on the cheek. Zexion and Demyx share a look. They both grin largely at Axel.

"You realize, your mine now." Axel whispered to Roxas, as his arms tighten around Roxas' waist.

Roxas nodded happily, because nothing could make him happier at that moment.
--
Another week passes, with no major events. Roxas and Axel don't really come out and tell people that they're dating, so they tend to act in a normal way towards each other during the passing periods. They do leave small notes for the other in their shared locker. But they're usually just something small, and meaningless. Like: "I'll call you after school." Or "Football game: 8:30 PM. Home game." From Axel. Or, from Roxas: "Don't forget. 9:30." Or "Demyx & I will definitely be at the game. See you there."

But, what they really mean?

"I'll call you after school, and then I'll pick you up."

"My house, 8:30. No one will be home."

"Don't forget to pick me up by 9:30."

"I'll be there, but I'll tell my mom that Demyx is coming  with me."

They left these notes, in a sort of.. Code, so if they did happen to drop it, anyone who happened to pick them up would only think it was some small, meaningless note.
--
[Axel's POV: His house]
--
"Mom, Roxas is coming over. I hope you don't mind?" Axel says through his the bedroom door.

"Your boyfriend? No, I don't mind. Are you going to let me meet him this time?" She replies, a smile hidden in her voice.

"If you want!" Axel laughs, walking out to his car.

He throws open the door, then steps into the small car, slamming the door behind him. He starts the car, pulls out of the driveway, then begins driving. He drives around the block about a million times, just thinking. Everything had been much quieter at home, but still extremely tense, since his mom filed a divorce with his dad. His dad, in sheer anger, had hit him a few times, and then decided to move out.

Axel guessed that it literally took him a total of two hours, before he'd left no trace of himself at their house. It's not like he cared very much about his dad anyways. His dad didn't support anything he'd ever done. The day Axel told his parents that he was gay, his dad might've well had disowned him.  He was totally against all of it. Even though he and Axel had been very close before then.

Finally, after a sufficient amount of time, Axel finally drove to Roxas' house. He pulled up in front of the house, and, instead of walking up to the door, called Roxas.

"Hello?" Roxas answered.

"Hey. I'm outside."

"You are so lazy." Roxas sighed, but shuffled around. He yanked open the door, snapped his phone closed, and ran over to Axel's car.

He pulled open the door, and stepped inside clumsily. He sat down, pulled the door closed, and looked over at Axel.

"You look nice." Axel laughed, taking Roxas' bright red shirt collar into his hand.

"Shut up." Roxas replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"It's cute!" Axel replied defensively.

Roxas rolled his eyes and slid back further into the seat of the car. Axel put the car into gear and backed out of the driveway. Roxas hummed to
himself and stared out the window. Axel pulls into a random parking lot, puts the car in park, and turns to look at Roxas.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, Nothing. I'm just thinking." Roxas replied softly, turning to face Axel.

About what?

Axel sighs; disregarding the thought and reaches over for Roxas' hand. Roxas takes Axel's hand happily, lacing his fingers with Axel's. Axel pulls out of the parking lot, and turns towards his house.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Axel asks after a few minutes.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything is great. Perfect, actually." Roxas replies softly, squeezing Axel's hand reassuringly.

Axel smiles softly, then pulls into the driveway of his house.

"Do you wanna eat dinner with us?" Axel asks, stepping out of the car.

Roxas smiles largely, then, instead of nodding his head happily, his arm 'spasms' and he throws his phone in the floor. He sighs loudly and leans down to pick it up. Axel jogs around the car and opens the door for Roxas. Roxas looks up, notices that Axel was waiting for him, blushes softly then steps out of the car.

"T-thanks." He says, sighing softly.

"My mom wants to meet you… officially." Axel announces as he opens the front door.

"R-really?" Roxas gulps, then smiles softly.

"She already knows. And she's okay with it. Calm yourself, kid." Axel laughs.

Roxas nods, then steps into the familiar house. Axel closes the door.

"Mom! We're back. We'll be in my room. Yell at me if you want us." Axel says, dropping his keys on the table near the door.

He leads Roxas to his room, and sits on his bed. They leave the door open, mostly because Axel's mom wanted them too. Axel lies back, staring at the ceiling. Roxas puts his hand on Axel's chest, and stares down at him.

"What's up?" Axel asks, staring back at Roxas.

Roxas shrugs then balls his fist up around Axel's shirt.

"Why don't you ever kiss me?" Roxas whispers, breaking their eye contact.

"Is that what's bothering you?" Axel asks, sitting up and laughing softly.

"Yes. It is. And it's not funny." Roxas replies, his tone suddenly really serious.

Axel rolls his eyes, pulling Roxas forward, their faces only inches apart.

"I don't want you to think kisses should just be expected. I want them to be slightly special. I don't just throw them around. But for you, I will." Axel says, staring into Roxas' eyes.

Roxas blinks a few times, then nods slowly. Axel presses his lips softly to Roxas', letting the kiss linger for only a few seconds. He pulls away, then looks at Roxas. Roxas' heartbeat had sped up increasingly, and Axel could feel the pulse through the palm of Roxas' hand. He pretended not to notice.

"You know, Roxas, I really, really like you." Axel says, repeating words Roxas had once said to him.

"Shut uUuuUpPpPpPppp." Roxas replied, pouting childishly.

"I'm not jooOoOoOoooOking." Axel said, mocking the pout.