Holy Hell High

[Reno]

Roxas just stuck his tongue right back out at Ventus when he heard the emphasis on the Ham part. Hey HE liked it. Only losers liked plain pepperoni!

After the call was done and Ven announced the time both boys cheered. "Alright now what?!" Sora said.

It was Ven's idea to play video games.


Something Reno said must of gotten through to Axel though because just as the red-head was sitting back down at the table, his little brother came running down the hall and out the door for the phone.
Course maybe he just wanted the quarter. Yeah, that cheap bastard always only wanted his quarters!
"I'll play you for them!" Axel said, as he rushed to the nearest game in the small arcade. Consequently, it was to his favorite one.
"For my quarters?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright." He went to the machine, taking out one of his.
"Reno I need a quarter."
"Oh right." He took out another and put one in each slot. They played. Axel lost.
"Two outta three!"
"Alright."
A few games later.
"Nine outta eleven!"
"Uh... I'm out of change.... DAMN IT AXEL!"
The younger laughed and ran away from his sibling's grasping hands.
Bastard!


"Hahahahahaha what?!" Sora and Roxas asked, grinning widely as they got ahead.
"Come on Ven, you know there are no pauses in our games!" Sora teased with a laugh as they went into the last lap. He stuck his tongue out, concentrating hard. For once he wanted to win one of these damn racing games!!
Roxas just grinned, shaking his head as they served throughout the course, Ven messily eating beside them while still trying to keep up.

"Ahaha I'm in the leaaad." Sora said, shaking his hips with excitement as the final lap came closer...
Roxas smirked, as he gained speed, getting astride Sora. He pushed his analog stick to the left, smashing into Sora and knocking the brunette off course. "Hey!!"
Seconds later Roxas went sailing over the finish line as he set down his controller and got up to do a dance "Whoo I win!"
"Argh you cheater!" Sora dropped his own controller only to get up and pounce on Roxas, tackling him onto the bed.
"Aaah hey! Don't be such a sore loser!" Roxas flailed, laughing as the other pinned him and started to mercilessly tickle him. "Ahh no stop! Stoooop!"
"Say you're sorry for dishonoring the ways of fair play!"
"The whaaa-ahahahahaha! Sora noooooooo!!!" Roxas cried, squirming.
"Saaay it! Saaaaaay it!"
"A-Alright hahahahaha I'm so-hahahaha I'm sorry!!" The blonde's chuckles started to subside, rubbing at the tears in his eyes, still grinning. "W-Wait a second... Sora it was your idea to keep playing even after Ven said to pause!"
"Huh? No never!" Sora said, trying to look innocent.

[Rikugurl]

OOC: HAHAHAHAHA AXEL!

Even if Sora could pull off a really good innocent pout, another blonde easily looked over it. Dark blue eyes glared at his two brothers as a smirk ran over his face.
"DOG PILE!"
He cried suddenly before throwing himself a top his brothers.

The pile turned into a tickling fight with some miner injuries due to large feet being flailed all over. After that, Sora found a pillow... and that was that.
Pillows flew all over the place and it was a good thing that the studio was hardly cluttered with anything.
Another good thing was that the pillows held together... so no feathers exploded.

Ventus also got to test out how loud they could be before someone came and complained... but no one did. The guy next door really MUST be deaf!

A few hours later... if Bryna or Sirocco could see what their boys looked like, they'd get out their camera's and camcorders.
All three boys managed to snuggle in the full size bed together. Sora was against the wall, Ventus was in the middle and Roxas was at the edge. Arms, legs, and hair all blended together as they snuggled under the warmth of the wolf blanket.

They slept soundly until...
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP...
"Mmmmnaa..." Blue eyes opened and he could feel his brothers slowly wake up around him. "Roxxxxx... hit the......snooze....."

[Reno]

"Waaaaah!!!" Sora cried as Ventus was suddenly pouncing on TOP of him.
"Hey!" Roxas also cried as he got the weight of not one but two of his siblings on him. "Get off you fatties!!"
He got an indignant call from Sora and Ven of which Roxas countered both.
"I'm not fat I'm big boned!"
"How can you be big boned when you still can't reach the top of the fridge?!"

"Muscles wears more than fat damn it!"
"What muscle?!"
"This muscle!" Ven flexed his arm and Roxas squirmed a hand free and poked the flabbiness and Sora burst into laughter.

While the brothers were distracted, Roxas managed to throw his brothers off and squirm free and suddenly got his revenge on Sora by tickling him back.
"Get his ribs!!" Ven had cried, knowing Sora's weak spot.
"Nooooo-ahahahahahahaha!!!"
But the blonde turned against Roxas because once Sora was a quivering mass of laughter, Ven pounced on his identical twin to tickle him instead. The two wrestled with each other, spluttering laughs as they got good shots in. Unfortunately they were so busy they didn't notice Sora crawling away...

Until a pillow smacked Ven right up over the head.

Being as boys were, yells and war cries were uttered and pillows flew through the air. Nothing was broken thankfully, but the boys still managed to have a great time knocking themselves all over the place.

It was Sora though who finally decided when it was time to sleep. He signified this by taking one of the beaten pillow, crawling to the farthest side of the bed and promptly falling into the bed with a yawning good night.
Ventus chuckled tiredly, and after Roxas and him quickly cleaned up the pizza boxes, balled napkins and empty glasses they collected the other pillows, the alarm was set, the lights were cut off and the triplets snuggled together for sleep in a way they hadn't done since their elementary years. Before it was cool to have your own room.

No one cared about personal space or if arms or legs were touching. They just slept, two of them feeling as if all the tension had left their bodies, one of them just happy not to be alone. The night was long, restful and dreamless.

Until, that is, a consistent beeping announced the still, dark, winter morning. "Uhhnnnn...." Roxas groaned a hand braving the cold air around them to smack at the clock that was reading 6:00 A.M. It took a few tries, the beeping only getting louder and louder until finally there was a click and the room was silent.

Sora sighed in relief, snuggling closer to Ven and smiling in content. The bed shifted some on the other side as Roxas also came closer and in seconds the boys were all asleep again.

Until the brunette of the three suddenly awoke again for no particular reason at all. He blinked glancing around the lightening area before sitting up and glancing towards the clock.
6:43
"Crap... GUYS GET UP!"
School started in twenty-seven minutes. Their mother would be there any second to drive them there.

It was a mess of flying clothes and hurried yells. At least for two of the boys. Ven probably found it all a tad amusing and possibly irritating. At least his brothers hadn't changed.
"I thought you hit the snooze!"
"I did! I thought! Maybe I turned it off!!"
"Well great now we don't even get breakfast!"
"Are you blaming me?!"
"Uh... maybe!"
"Well jeez next time you can sleep on the edge!"
"Fine I will!!"

[Rikugurl]

When the beeping stopped, the scared teen smiled, feeling his brothers nestle up next to him. He snuggled back to the both of them the best he could before falling back to sleep.

UNTIL SOMEONE STARTED YELLING IN HIS EAR!
"WAAA!" Ven yelped as he shot out of bed and looked around. What was going on!? He blinked as his other two brothers shot up and the race was on. Still in mass confusion, the blonde looked down at the clock and rubbed his bed head, sleepy face quite apparent.

6:43?
....
...
..
6:43!?
WHY DID SORA WAKE HIM UP SO EARLY!?

With a groan, he threw things at his brothers as they were looking for them.
"WHERE'S MY SHIRT!?"
Ven threw a shirt next to the bed at Sora.
"WHERE'S MY OTHER SHOE!?"
A shoe went flying across the room.
"OUCH!"
Ven only mumbled an apology as he laid back down and pulled the pillow over his head. Tooooo early!

He could hear Sora and Roxas grab their backpacks and yelled a goodbye, Ven almost back to sleep. Well.... he was before his brothers jumped on him again to give him a goodbye hug. He mumbled some more before the two were out and he was in silence once again. The blonde sighed and turned to his side... before turning again. It wasn't as warm as before...


Riku rubbed his arms as he waited at the school, not in the usual spot like before. He was under the underpass at the front of the school... and he already knew that Sora and Roxas were spending the night with their brother... so that meant that Bryna was driving them. The drop off was at the front of the school... so he know he would be able to catch Sora there.

IN their usual spot waited Axel and Demyx. The redhead was rather quiet but Demyx knew pretty much about what happened. They got into their first fight... but Demyx didn't have to tell him much. Axel was already going to apologize.

[Reno]

Sora and Roxas couldn't help but feel bad as they gave Ven their hug goodbyes - Roxas' small and gentle, Sora's large and tight.
"Thanks for inviting us, it was fun." Roxas said softly to his dozing brother.
"If you need us to sleep over again, just ask!" Came Sora's cheery voice before the two were out the door and racing down the hall - and nearly ran into their mom.

"Well there you two are! Late are we?"
"Noooo not at all mommy!" Sora said with a grin.
Bryna reached in her purse, handing each boy a peppermint. "I can smell your morning breath honey. Now come on lets go."
The boys blushed as they were caught but quickly followed after.


The ride to school was, surprisingly a solemn one. It was like walking out from a fairytale world and remembering reality could never be as sweet. After the questions of if they had fun and if Ven's place was nice and such and such, Roxas slumped against his seat his eyes turning stormy as he remembered his fight with Axel and realized just how hard it was going to be to... face school.

Sora just tried to smile and be enthusiastic for his brother as he pat his shoulder. There was still hope right? It was just a fight and fights could always be forgiven, right?
All this the two tried to communicate silently while their mother drove - it wasn't exactly like they could go around speaking it verbally.

What did surprise them was this: "Oh yeah! Roxas, Axel called last night."
Both boys looked up in surprise.
"D... Did he say what he wanted?"
"Um no, he didn't. He just wanted me to let you know he called."
"Oh... okay..." Roxas said softly, his eyebrows furrowing. Was that... a good sign?
Or a bad one?
Maybe Axel was calling to make up!
Or maybe he was calling to officially break up...
Or, or maybe he really was sorry and wanted to still be with him!
Or maybe he was madder than ever and never wanted to see him again...
Or maybe, just possibly, he still cared at least about him as a friend and wanted to still hang out with him!
Or maybe he was just calling to break their dance partnership once and for all and hated his guts...

Roxas fell further down his seat his face full of worry and nervous tension as his gut rebelled and twisted. He sucked at optimism. It only made him feel worse.

Sora smiled sadly at his silently panicking brother patting him on the shoulder again. He'd never seen him get so down before over something so small - heck he wasn't even this sad when he broke up with Olette!! The only other time he'd ever seen Roxas this wrecked... was when they nearly lost Ven.
But could he really care about Axel that much already?

"Alright boys here we are!" Bryna said as she pulled up to the circle. "Have a good day alright?"
"Thanks mom!" Sora said cheerfully as he unbuckled his seatbelt and he looked out the window and his face brightened as he saw Riku, even saw him wave. He waited for him!! His eyes however, caught something red seeing Axel standing in the distance... and watching their car intently. Roxas must of seen him too because as Sora got out of the car and looked back, the blond shook his head furiously. He wasn't ready for this! His heart was pounding, his hands were sweaty and he was pretty sure if he HAD had breakfast today, it would be long gone by now.
"Come on Rox!" Sora said yanking his brother by the arms out of the car. "Bye mom!!" The door shut and their mom drove off as the boys turned around and started walking, one to his friend, the other to his doom.

"Why is he standing there?!" Roxas whispered as he kept his eyes glued to the ground.
"Well, he's looking at you I wonder why!!" Sora whispered back.
"Is he glaring at me?"
Sora looked up, tilting his head. "No."
"You sure?"
"Roxas, if you feel so bad you should just go apologize!" Sora said with a sigh as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Bu-bu-but!!"
Sora rolled his big blue eyes and shoved Roxas in the direction of the redhead. The blonde stumbled a bit and glared back at the other.
"Go, go!!" The brunette urged with a grin. "It'll be fine!"
Roxas wasn't so sure, but as his twin went off to go join Riku he sighed and realized he had no choice but to confront it head on. He wasn't a coward!

The blonde walked over to Axel and Demyx determinedly as he stopped in front of them. Then all his bravery was gone as he realized how freaken' TALL the two were compared to him! He looked away uncomfortably as he fingered the strap of his bag and swallowed. "So uh... I heard you... called yesterday."
Axel confirmed this but said nothing else. Why not?! And Demyx, just standing their watching, was NOT helping!
"Well..." Roxas hesitated then met those green eyes. They almost seemed... nervous too? "Axel listen... about yesterday I didn't mean it like that alright? I wasn't... I wasn't mad at you or anything and, and I didn't mean to say those things to hurt you I just... I don't know... I don't think much when I'm pissed off."

Demyx glanced at Axel curiously, finding this all very interesting. Axel had stood here in the cold to say sorry to Roxas and instead he was getting the apology. Heh, it looked like they both felt bad about it.

Sora grinned as he threw his arms around Riku in a great hug. "Hi!" He chirped cheerfully, though he made sure to keep one eye out for his brother to see how he did. He looked like a nervous wreck but the great thing was, Axel did too. It wasn't so obvious of course, but Sora could tell. "Aren't they cute? Their first kiss and make-up!"

[Rikugurl]

Riku waved as he saw the familiar car drive around the circle and couldn't help but laugh when he saw Sora YANK Roxas out of the back seat. He wondered why the blonde wasn't interested. Didn't he like band...?
Then again, he knew of the horrible time the two of them had yesterday... though they had a night alone, he didn't know if they felt any better.

He did look over, seeing Roxas head in the direction of Demyx and Axel though. Before he could think much more, there were arms around him. "ACK!" Wasn't expecting that!
His aquatic eyes looked down, seeing those bright blue as he stumbled back a bit.
He looked over at the two again and rolled his eyes slightly. "Yea, adorable."

What did catch his eye was when Axel took Roxas's hand and led him into the building, leaving Demyx behind... but the blonde seemed to wonder off as well.
"Hmmm...." He hummed thoughtfully before shaking his head and looking back down at his best friend. "Oh.... Sora? I... need to talk to you about something..." When he got Sora's interests and concerned look, he sighed, his breath visible due to the cold.

"Look.... I talked to Kairi last night for a few hours and.... we called off the relationship..."


Axel swallowed as Roxas walked closer, his green eyes having a hard time looking at him. He supposed being taller had it's disadvantages seeing that he could still see Roxas even if his eyes were on the ground.

When the blonde stopped in front of them, he glanced at Demyx before slowly looking down at Roxas. When the short blonde spoke, he could only nod, his mouth feeling as if it was shoved with cotton and he couldn't open it.

But when his exotic eyes met those of the beautiful blue, he couldn't look away. That was when the apology kicked in. He blinked, not expecting Roxas to apologize... or at least not first. It was him who had... been the real ass... He shook his head and gave Roxas a soft smile. "Come on..." He took Roxas's hand before nodding at Demyx... and led the short blonde into the school. The warmth met them and the collecting flesh felt better than it had outside.

The boy's locker room was opened and the two went inside. They turned the corner were some lockers were and Axel stopped, looking back at Roxas. "Roxas... I.... My brother talked to me last night... and.... I feel like the ass here. I just.... I just guess you and I take things differently than each other... but that shouldn't be a bad thing, right? I'm sorry I got so mad... and I said some things that I didn't mean either." Skinny fingers ran through red hair as he sigh softly. "I just hope whatever I said didn't hurt you because... I really don't want to lose you... I hope... you can forgive me because I still want to be with you..."

Green eyes looked into blue before he continued. "I love you Roxie..."

[Reno]

Sora watched Roxas get hauled off, but blinked when Riku's sadder tone got to him and he quickly looked over at the other, his face concerned as always. That was him, always had a good heart and a worry for others.

His eyes widened at the news. "W-What?!" He frowned more, shaking his head. "Why, what happened?!" He was a bit shocked at himself at his reaction... he thought he was supposed to be happy about this. After all, he was the one with the major crush on his best friend.

Why wasn't he?


Roxas waited for an answer - and to his shock and pleasure he felt Axel's hand in his and just like that day on the ice it sent a pleasant tingle up his spine and made him feel warm and... well he wasn't sure how else he felt, it was something he just didn't understand yet. It... was like finding the last piece to an especially difficult jigsaw puzzle and finally realizing this was it. You're done, it's complete.

He followed the other inside, barely noticing when Demyx didn't come with as well. In the back of his mind it finally clicked why the other was there - to give support to Axel. A friend's support... didn't Axel just give him that definition yesterday?

He blinked as they stopped and Axel turned to face him their fingers still clasped between them. The blonde looked up at the red-head... and was surprised as he got an apology back at him. He wanted to say so much like how they were both being silly since it was such a stupid fight anyways and that he certainly didn't want to lose Axel either and that he still wanted to be with him too-

But his breath was stolen away as he heard it.
"I love you Roxie..."
Love...
Someone... loved him...
Axel loved... him...

He looked up at the other, hesitantly letting go of Axel's hand... before throwing his arms around the others neck and hugged him tightly, having to stand on his tiptoes but not minding at all. "Oh Axel..." The blond breathed.

He wanted to say it back, he really did - but he couldn't. He knew better than that. If he said it now it would mean nothing. He would just be throwing Axel's words back at him. He wanted to mean it. He wanted be utterly and completely sure before he said something so... so meaningful.

Roxas smiled as he felt the hug returned and Axel bent down some so it was easier on them. He sighed happily, running his fingers along the other's cheek. "I think this is where we kiss and make-up."
He chuckled as he tilted the other's head down and closed the distance, their lips meeting in a soft but warm kiss. He didn't care if the whole damn world saw.

[Rikugurl]

Riku looked away as he frowned and Sora was looking up at him. He breathed out slightly before looking back at his best friend. "Because Sora.... she told me she... doesn't really like... homosexuals... I mean... she wasn't all too happy when she found out you were gay... but was ripped when she found out that you... were crushing on me."

He closed his eyes and sighed as he continued.
"I... She called me last night and told me I had to talk to you. To tell you to stop crushing on me. I told her I wasn't going to... because it's not my business to tell you something like that. I can MAKE you. She got pissed and said that I HAVE to. I told her no and if she had a problem with it, that was too bad. I don't have a problem with anyone as long as their good people... and your a great person Sora. She started to go off on me and that was when I told her that... I was done. I didn't want to date someone who didn't like other people because of who they're attracted to. That wasn't how I was raised and... we've been friends forever... and I wasn't going to do anything to you that might hurt you."

His eyes opened slowly as he looked off. "So... we're not together anymore. I told her I'd still take her to prom because I helped her pick out her dress and everything... but other than that... we're through..."


Oh... Nice one Axel.... you scared the poor kid.... Axel thought as Roxas let go of his hand but his eyes widened when he felt the familiar arms wrap around his neck. It sent a warm shiver down his spine and all he could do was lean down and wrap his arms around the boy's waist. He pulled Roxas in closer, fingers wondering the thin waist as he wrapped more of his arms into the embrace.

Narrow green eyes were now level to the bright blue. Roxas didn't say it back... but that was alright. He knew of Roxas's ordeal... and he's say it when he knew it was right. If... he did.
His eyes widened though as he felt the other pull him closer... and only widened more at the words that ghosted over his lips. A soft smile ran over the redhead as his eyes lidded and closed slowly as he was pulled into a kiss.

The second kiss ever... and the first that really meant something. His fingers gripped onto Roxas's school sweater as he pressed his lips against the others, only to pull away slightly... but only did it again.

[Reno]

Ah that was why. Because he felt like he won the wrong way.

He looked at the ground guiltily, this time feeling bad because again if he wasn't gay things would just be so much simpler for everyone around him. His dad and mom were going to be pissed... and now Riku lost his girlfriend just because he had a crush on him. What else could possibly happen?

How could he feel so proud of who he was and yet still feel so bad when things got complicated? He didn't think it'd be such a big deal!
"Ri..." Sora mumbled softly, catching the silverette's attention. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't... I didn't mean for this to happen." He looked at the ground, scuffing his shoe on the concrete. "I... can't help liking you though and I'm sorry. And don't... don't tell me its alright I just lost you your girlfriend. If anything you should be mad at me."

He looked up caught by aquamarine. "You're right we are best friends, and I should of been a better one by letting this crush go... I know you can't return my affections like that so, really none of this should of ever happened. I should have... but I can't. And it's kinda silly and really stupid that I can't."

He sighed but smiled weakly as he spread his arms in a welcoming way. "I know you must be hurting too, even if you try to act tough so... Need a hug?" He sure as hell did.


Roxas' eyes lidded as Axel pulled away, breathing out slowly, before shutting his eyes as those lips met his again. He hummed softly his fingers tangled into wild fire-red hair and he swiped his tongue across the seam of the others lips. He was welcomed easily and his tongue tentatively rubbed against the other's, exploring the others mouth for the first time. And, thanks to the peppermint his mother gave him, their kiss was very minty.

It was sloppy and inexperienced but it didn't really matter to either of them. It was... single-handedly still the best kiss of Roxas' life.

[Rikugurl]

The tropical ocean eyes darkened in concern. Maybe... he should of lied... He DIDN'T want Sora to be this way... but of course... he couldn't lie to him.

He smiled softly at the wide arms and came close, wrapping his arms around Sora in a hug. He didn't know if he needed it so much... but he knew Sora did. Now... you don't see two boys hugging in public everyday... so in a way.... Riku was a bit special too...

He closed his eyes and sighed as he enjoyed the warmth. "Sora... this really... has no blame on you. If I found out about Kairi's dislike in another way... I still would of probably dumped her." He pulled away as he placed his hands on Sora's shoulder. "I'm going to vote for Rufus Shinra when the elections come up. I want... everyone to have the right to be who they want to be... legally and...."
It wasn't know if it was the cold that was making Riku's cheeks pink but... "And I really don't mind you crushing on me... like I said... I can't stop you from feeling the way you do and..."

He was cut short when the bell rang. Five minute to get to homeroom. Riku frowned as he watched the kids slug their way to the entrance. He looked back at Sora with a smile. "Cheer up. Come on~" He waved over as he headed inside as well.


Axel hummed as well as he felt those fingers in his hair. God that felt good. He was, though, a bit shocked when he felt that tongue on his lips. It also felt familiar but... this was Roxie... it wasn't familiar. This was a...
"Mmmnn...." Axel opened his mouth slowly and it wasn't a second later that a sweet tongue found its way inside.

His bony fingers scratched at the bottom of Roxas's shirt, his pads on his fingers suddenly touching soft, warm skin. The redhead tilted his head, letting the mint flavor tongue what it wanted as his rubbed against it gently.
Unfortunately... and problem seemed to.... um....rise. Axel's eyes widened as he felt something going on and---
RING!!
SAVED BY THE BELL!

Axel pulled away and shoved his hands down into his pockets, pushing them forward so a bulge couldn't been seen. "Heh... guess it's uh....time for class..."

[Reno]

Sora shut his eyes as the arms wrapped around him, relaxing in the warmth of his best friends arms. How he wished he could have this every day... this comfort and care...

But he knew he couldn't. That Riku was straight and that wasn't going to change. Why wouldn't his heart let this go...? It would only hurt him more in the end.

He blinked as the other pulled away but he smiled faintly as he heard the others words. However the moment was broken when he heard the bell. He chuckled, but smiled and followed after. Guess he had no choice but to cheer up!


Roxas shivered as he felt hands gently touching the skin of his back, making him arch a little against the others. His eyebrows furrowed curiously as he felt the other press against him almost unnaturally as if-

The bell rang and the two broke apart, faces red and Roxas chuckled uneasily, backing away a little but smiled brightly. "Right! See you at lunch!" He gave the other one final sweet kiss on the lips before he turned and went down the hall. That... had actually been... kinda nice. Kissing Axel... was so different...

[Rikugurl]

Riku smiled as the two walked inside. At least now with Kairi done holding him down with a collar and leash... he would be able to spend his time with Sora like he use to. That would be nice. As they walked down the hallway, the silverette glanced down at his brunette friend. "Hey Sora... now that Ven is going for his GED instead of going to school or having a tutor... are you going to talk to the school board about bumping you back to your right grade? I mean... you'll be able to graduate with me and it must be boring doing the same thing over again... especially if you passed it."


Axel blushed at the last kiss and nodded, waving Roxas off. Man oh man.... nothing could of been more sweeter than...that.
Only problem was.... was this thing in his pants.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around, seeing the boy's bathroom. He never... had to do this in the school before...


The rest of the day went the same... except for lunch time really. Instead of Roxas sitting with Olette, Pence and Hayner.... he sat with the older class; Axel and Demyx.

Olette only pouted, saying how she missed spending time with the blonde... and all Hayner and Pence could talk about was trying to get a cheesy picture of the two lovebirds to use as blackmail.


As for Ven, he woke up around noon, took a shower and brushed his teeth. He promised his mom that he would keep up good hygiene as well as being tidy in the studio. Already Roxas was a big help. He took the bus to work and worked his usual night shift. When he got off, he did some shopping done to fill the fridge. Terra would be coming home soon...

When he went back home, he put all the food in the rightful place and even made himself up some mac and cheese for dinner. After that, he payed some more video games and worked on some of his lessons before crawling into the empty bed.
It really wasn't so bad... the loneliness that is.... thanks to his headphones.

He laid in bed and sighed though. Now he was lonely...
He reached out, as if Terra was there... but there was no warmth. The blonde shivered before he closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.


A black haired man dodged behind a bolder and panted, looking over it to see enemy troops rushing down the hillside.
"Shit..." He looked down at his equipment. He was out... and backup was no where to be found. "Alright... I gotta do this." He closed his eyes and sat their for a moment, as if he was praying before dashing out from the cover of the boulder.

He should out as much as he could, some men falling but nothing too damaging. Not like the gunfire that was coming at him.
FFFT
FFFT
FFFT
One after one, bullets hit his armored vest and he was pushed down onto the ground. He panted harder as the enemy troop came in closer, one going right up to his side.
"You..."
The muzzle was placed in the middle of the man's forehead, right between his blue eyes and

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The blonde shot up in bed, panting and sweating like crazy. He looked around the room and then down at his clock.
1:43
He sprang out of bed and rushed to his phone, calling a number that he didn't call very much.


Ring
Ring
Ring
"Mmmnnnnnn...." A woman stirred in her sleep as she heard the phone downstairs ring. Who would be calling at this time of night unless it was a...
She quickly got out of bed and pulled on her robe before running downstairs... and caught the phone RIGHT before the answering machine got it. "H-Hello!?"

"AERITH!?"
"VENTUS!? Are you ok!? What's wrong!?"
"Aerith! I..." He panted as he ran his hand over his face, feeling it get soaked from sweat. "I... I need to... I need to get Zack out of boot camp!"
"W-what? Venny, now you know---"
"I don't care! Zack needs to come home! He.... He's going to die and... and he won't even know that Terra has cancer! He needs to come back! He needs to see his brother! AERITH, PLEASE!"
"ALRIGHT! Calm down, calm down. What do you want me to do?"
"Drive me to the camp!"
"What!? You know we're not all--"
"I DON'T CARE! BRING ME THERE RIGHT NOW!"
"VENTUS!" Aerith cried, frowning as she heard silence and the panting. She could only sigh. "You go back to sleep... and we'll go to the camp first thing in the morning.... alright?"

There was a pause and then a sigh. ".......Alright...." Ven shook his head and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Aerith.
"You're welcome... now get some sleep. Good night~"
"Night...."
With that, Ven hung up the phone and looked around the dark, empty place.

[Reno]

Sora laughed some at Riku's question but nodded. "Yeah I was thinking about it." He smiled. "We'll see what happens."


Roxas smiled ecstatically as he went to band, cheerfully saying hello to his friends and was glad when all three of them said hello back, just like it was any other day. Ah but today was better than any other day!

This was the day he (officially) kissed Axel. Nothing could be better.


The day for the boys went rather naturally. They still got stares and whispers and a jeer or two, but for the most part, things went well. Roxas passed his history test, Sora did a stunning speech for his English class and everything was good with the world. Lunch was a grand event, even if Riku and Sora could see Kairi sitting with Namine and the others and giving them glares across the way, they still laughed and joked like normal.

Roxas meanwhile had to ignore the flashes of Pence's camera whenever he smiled at Axel or got close to him in any way. He knew what his friends were doing and did his best to ignore them... though they WOULD make good keepsakes later...

Neither brother were called on by their twin that day and took it as a good sign that he was alright. They didn't know how lonely he really was.


But he wasn't the only one.

Terra dimly looked around his confined area, knowing it was night out because of how dim the lights were. He was completely quarantined from the world he hardly saw a nurse or doctor and he had absolutely no visitors. By his guess it'd been about two days since he'd last seen anyone.

It didn't matter too much because of how lethargic he felt from the surgery and the sickness but for the times he was awake, like now, he never awoke to anything cheery like a flower from Aerith or a hello from his mom or a kiss from Ven... it was just silent, cold, steel walls that stared at him. It was enough to drive a guy insane.

He wanted to go home, have his old room and his nice warm bed to greet him. He wanted to go to school and share notes with Aqua and bug the hell out of Ven. He wanted to see his parents, his brother, and most of all he wanted to see Ven... to kiss him and hug him and just have him be there...

Terra sighed, hearing his body temperature 'bing' but he just turned his head away, not interested. He shut his eyes and frowned unhappily as he started to fall asleep again. Unlike Ven however, he wouldn't have nightmares. He was already living one.


Morning came. Most did most wake until after the sun was in the sky - but for some, they had no noise.

Blue eyes snapped open as the horn sounded and he sat up in his cot, yawning tiredly. Unlike most mornings when he just flopped back down and went to sleep until Terra came in and yelled at him, the sheets were thrown aside and he started to get cleaned up and dressed, like the many others around him. His camp-mates or... whatever you'd call them.

After getting dressed and cleaned and get checked over by their drill sergeant, as one the unit went to the chow hall to get breakfast which, for some, would be giving them a second visit after the mornings intense training of gun work, running laps and obstacle courses. It was this kind of stuff that made the black-haired male wonder: What the HELL was I thinking?

[Rikugurl]

OOC: HAHAHAHAHA ZACK! And poor TERRA! TAT/

It also wasn't a very restful morning in a studio at Hallow Heights. A blonde was shaking as he pulled on his coat, gloves, hat and pull his bag over his shoulder with his wallet, cell phone and keys.
He quickly left his place, not bothering with breakfast as he locked the door and quickly went to the stairs. He rushed down them and out the door were he saw a flower truck waiting.

That was Aerith.

He got into the passenger side of the van and sighed, feeling the warmth of the vehicle warm him up a bit... but not by much.
"Ven... I really don't know if this will work."
"It'll work... come on, we need to hurry."
Aerith just looked a the boy for a moment before pulling away and off they went. It was a two hour drive to the camp... in which Ventus actually fell asleep during.

When they arrived at the gate, some men stopped the van and walked over to the driver side. "Hello, miss... may I ask what your business here is? I don't think anyone has order flowers he---"
The door to the passenger side opened, catching the attention of the man. "H-HEY! YOU!"

The kid they saw running like hell... was Ventus.
"STOP! YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE! THAT'S---"
The blonde was gone. The man growled as he looked up at Aerith. "You stay right were you are."
Aerith just put her hand on her face and nodded. "Yes, sir..." What kind of plan was this!?

As the blonde raced around, men called after him and trainees were trying to catch him. It was actually pretty comical and unfortunately for everyone who was trying to stop him, they didn't know how well this boy could jump, dodge and skid to keep moving. He got practice at the store... or when running away from Terra and Aqua.
He panted as his coat made him sweat and he actually lost it when someone grabbed a hold of it. They tore it right off him.

Blue eyes looked around frantically until he saw what he was looking for. Quite a familiar ass. He rushed right for the black haired man who was turned away and suddenly collided with him. His arms wrapped around Zack's waist as he pressed his face against his back. He could smell Zack's scent even now, remembering the many nights he slept cuddled in his warmth.

"Zack...."
When he was finally pulled off the Tellus boy, the guards started to pull him away... "ZACK! Zack, Terra needs you!" He cried as he struggled... and of course, Zack stopped them.

[Reno]

OOC: Well, I figure he'd be real lonely, I sure would be XD and AHAHAHAHA Ven!!!
Terra: What the hell are you doing staring at my brother's ass, eh Ven?! I'm not dead yet!


Zack sighed as he trudged out to the field his arms hurting some from the workout they went through. Gun work was not his favorite part of the day - he hated having to be timed on how fast he could put together a gun, shoot it ACCURATELY at a target way too damn far away, and then take the gun apart again. And then do it all over again!

Serious why dud he have to do that again? Just give him a sword he;d take out everything with a gun! Yeah a big, flat broad sword that was taller then him... and could cut through a boulder! That would be awesome! And then he could single handedly take out troops and stuff, and dodge bullets and-
"Tellus stop spacing out!"
"Sir yes sir!" Zack said, grinning innocently.

"Alright you fucking worms, get yo asses on the track! Fifty laps!"
"Ugh!" Some of the wannabe soldiers complained.
"Fucking seventy then!"
Off they went no complaints about it.

Their drill sergeant was a scary guy Not only was he tall and mean, he was big and dark-skinned and was missing a hand and always had this mean pissed off look on his face. He cussed too much, and if you even dared make fun of him when he was with his daughter Marlene you were skewered and placed over the campfire to roast. His name was Barret Wallace and he was, in laymens terms, one mean son of a bitch (and a Mr. T wannabe apparently).

Zack sighed as he started out on the laps, knowing without much of a doubt, that he would probably be one of the few losing his breakfast this morning. Seventy laps was pushing it and the heat of the run was not going to mix well with his stomach. Zack sighed, doing his best to pace himself and made sure to expand his lungs correctly. The days of PE never looked sweeter.
5....
8....
11....
17...
22...
29...
33...

By the time Zack was reaching forty he already felt ready to collapse and give up. Sweat had darkened his hair and collected along his brow, and his clothes stuck to him uncomfortably despite the chill of winter. He panted some shutting his eyes and trying to concentrate of more happy things. His mom making him a BIG bowl of ramen noodles... Terra, Ven and him going to some concert to rock out... a nice, long swim in the ocean and flexing for the hot babes on the beach...

Zack was grinning from ear to ear with that last though - but something interrupted his thought pattern. Thins arms suddenly around him, stopping his 'running' abruptly. He blinked, but heard a familiar voice breathing his name, one he'd heard plenty of times when talking to him on the phone, or waking up beside him in the morning. He reached up tentatively, wondering if he was still in the midst of his daydream when suddenly it was ripped away from him.

He spun around at his friend's call. Terra...? "Ven!" He hurried forward as they started to drag the blonde away. "Hey let him go he's a friend of mine!" Surprisingly they listened, letting the small teen go. He grabbed Ven's shoulders instead, his face twisted with concern. "What do you mean? Whats wrong with my brother?"

It was... strange seeing Ven here again. He hadn't seen the short blonde before the 27th... the day before he left. He had... bravely decided to go and made amends with him despite what had happened. He... never had been on bad terms with any of his other exes, he didn;t want to start with Ven... and certainly if he could forgive Terra, he could forgive the blonde too.

It was a full conversation full of apologizes (from Ven), forgivings (from Zack), and questions to answers of what are we now? and what to do now? They talked about the ups and downs of their relationships, the good times, the bad, their fights, their memory keepsakes; they talked about moving on and about Terra and him and Ven. And of course... the promise ring.

"Promise me... you'll come back... and I'll promise you that I'll never do something this stupid again... and let's promise... that we can both still be friends..."
Zack smiled and nodded. "Yeah Ven, I promise. I will come back and... we'll always be friends." He took the ring before, surprisingly, hugging the small blonde. "See you soon."

When he said soon though he didn't mean this soon!