The Highwayman

Discussion in 'Archives' started by 2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009.

  1. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

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    WARNING: This fanfic is rated PG13 and contains AkuRoku, teens getting drunk, and a MASSIVE cursing spree. If you no likey, the back button is right there, but I promise it will be worth your while if you manage to sit through it. :3

    DKJGNBV RFDGTNBHTDE

    I. TOLD. MYSELF. I WOULDN'T DO IT.

    WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF?

    AKUROKU?1 EW.

    BUT I SUDDENLY GOT THIS INSPIRATION GAIZ - I SWEAR - I COULDN'T HEP IT! DDD8>

    I cannot BELIEVE how ****ing long this stupid thing has gotten. Can't ****ing BELIEVE it. It was SUPPOSED to be done over the weekend.

    IT ENDED UP TAKING 3 FUXING MONTHS. >.<;;;

    And it's TWENTY-EIGHT ****ING PAGES IN WORD, TIMES NEW ROMAN 12 PT FONT WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.

    BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT! ;w; I am SOOOO glad this ****ing thing is out of my head so that I can move on with my life! And it kinda works out, too, with AkuRoku Day around the corner and all. XDDD DEMMIT - LEAH IS GETTING HER FREAKING FANART IF IT MEANS WHORING OUT EVERY SINGLE BELIEF SHE HAS ABOUT TEH ORGANIZATION OOOORRRZZZ.

    If you know me on DA, you're in luck! XDDD Congrats on getting to see it five whole days before it's officially updated on my gallery for AkuRoku day in its full glory! ALRIGHT - LET'S GET THIS ***** STARTED.

    Oh, BTW, here's BG music for when you get to the lake part. (You'll know what I'm talking about.) XD "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The Highwayman​


    Loud, almost deafening music pulsed through the house, creating a wild, intoxicating atmosphere. The air reeked with alcohol, cigarettes and sweat, adding to the overall excitement. Bright lights blinked and flashed wildly to the beat of the song, every-so-often illuminating the teens that were on the dance floor, grinding their hearts out. In the darker corners, there were a few young couples swapping spit as if their lives depended on it.

    I am SO done with this...

    This very thought was constantly gnawing at Roxas's mind as he wearily glanced around. “Come to the party!” Hayner said. “You need to start getting out more!” Hayner said. “All of the cool kids will be there! You need to start getting a life! And, to top it all off, a girlfriend!” Hayner said, said, said. The blonde rolled his eyes. Puh-LEASE. If this is what they call having a life, I’d rather be DEAD. And, seriously – if being cool means getting wasted and degrading yourself in front of all these people like those idiots over there are, I'll PASS. Seriously – where do people get OFF telling me how to live MY life – as if I don't know what I want, or—

    “Yo, ROX!”

    Roxas immediately snapped out of his daily mental rant with a, “Huh? What – what's all the yelling about?!”
    Hayner grinned at him, his cheeks a rosy-red color – probably due to the wine cooler in his hand. “Hey, man – I was callin' you for, like, ten minutes now!” He laughed, wrapping his free arm around his girlfriend Olette's waist. “Why aren't you on the dance floor, bud? You ain't gonna get no action skulking in the corner like that!”
    Roxas's eyes flashed with annoyance as he glared at Hayner. “... I ain't SKULKIN'...” he muttered.
    “Yeah, yeah... You gonna get movin', or what?” Hayner laughed.
    Roxas sighed, shaking his head. “Ya know, Hayner... This just isn't... isn't me... Ya know? I'm going home now before my mom founds out I took her car.”
    Hayner shrugged. “Kay, man. Your loss.”

    He and the giggling Olette began inconspicuously climbing upstairs for more “private” time. Roxas rolled his eyes, knowing EXACTLY what the two were up to, and took off outside.

    The cool, outdoor air washed over him like a wave, making him utter a sigh of relief. It's like walkin' out of a damned oven... He carefully picked out his mom's car out of all of the ones parked on the grass and such, checked over it to make sure that none of the idiots had maimed it, and carefully pulled off.

    I hope to God that no police officers pull me over this time. I've already gotten my permit taken away – I really don't need this, too... To keep his mind from thinking about anything that alarming, he turned on the radio and turned it down to a low volume so that he wouldn't violate the peaceful night's air of the country side.

    And then, it happened. The gas ran out.

    The. F*cking. GAS ran out!

    “F*ck... F*ck...! C'mon! I don't need this – I do NOT need this...! The nearest gas station is, like, 20 miles away – don't DO this to me!” Roxas cried, flooring the pedal again and again. The engine whirled, stuttered, coughed, and finally died. And no amount of cursing was going to bring it back.

    Roxas was stranded on the side of the road in the middle of NOWHERE, at one in the morning. He slammed his head into the wheel at least four times. “Mom is going to KILL me when she finds out...!”

    After a few more moments of bitter cursing he finally got all of his stuff, slammed the door, and stomped outside. Guess there's nothing else to f*cking do but f*cking HITCHHIKE my way back to the suburbs! Damnit, I am going to KILL Hayner for dragging me into this...! The boy leaned against the car, waiting for a car to come by so that he could put out his thumb.

    He waited... and he waited... and waited...

    AND WAITED.

    By the time the first car came rolling by he'd practically jumped in the middle of the street waving his arms around like a maniac.

    The sleek, cherry red Safari Arachnid gently rocked to a stop. The window on the passenger's side rolled down, revealing a grinning, attractive man with a black suit on. His tie was a deep crimson color, as rich and powerful as blood itself, and it was almost surprising to see that his spiky hair was nearly the same exact same color. “Car trouble?”
    The relief on Roxas's face was painfully obvious. “Y...Yeah...”
    “Need a lift?”
    “That'd be AWESOME. Thanks...”
    The redhead leaned forward, and popped open the door. To Roxas's surprise, it opened UP, not out. “C'mon in. It's chilly out.”

    Roxas was happy to oblige, immediately scrambling into the passenger seat, and slamming the door (with some difficulties), rubbing off all the goose bumps on his arms. The car gently purred back to life and pulled away.

    The first few minutes went by in complete silence, though Roxas could feel the stranger's intense, emerald eyes flickering to him every so often. Roxas was pointedly staring out of the window, hoping to prolong the inevitable. He's probably wondering what a kid my age was doing on the side of the road like that by myself... he thought bitterly.

    “You're pretty young to be stranded out on the road at...” The redhead checked his watch. “... Two-thirty in the mornin'...”

    Speak of the flippin' devil. Roxas sighed, rolling his eyes. “You sound like my mom,” was all he deemed fit to say.
    The man let out a pleasant laugh that seemed to ring through the air. It made Roxas shiver slightly. “Well... That's certainly the first time I've heard THAT one.”
    “Heh... Yeah – I guess...”
    “But, seriously, kid... It just ain't safe standing out in the middle of nowhere at all hours of the night. You could've gotten hurt. Got it memorized?”
    Roxas crossed his arms, glaring out of the window some more. “... It's not what you THINK, okay? You can save the lecture. If I'd had my way, I wouldn't even BE here now,” he seethed.
    “Oh...?” The stranger glanced over at him again. “Then why don't you tell me the whole story from the beginning?”

    The next part was quite unexpected, really. Roxas had already mentally prepared an entire quiver of excuses for his parents, just READY to be shot out of his mouth like arrows. There was a FORTITUDE of places where he could've been, and hundreds upon THOUSANDS of witnesses, hours, times, and claims. Any one of those he could have told this guy.

    But... For some strange reason, he told the complete truth. Everything – from him never having a girlfriend – or really wanting one for that matter, how he couldn't STAND being with a huge group of people for more than five minutes at a time, and how his STUPID party-loving friend Hayner had DRAGGED him to this even stupider house-party, and how, when he'd had enough, he tried to go home, but his f*cking CAR broke down, and now his mom would KNOW that he'd been somewhere during the night!

    “It's ALL of f*cking Hayner's fault!” the blonde ranted vehemently. “I didn't even want to GO to that f*cking party, and now I'm going to be up to my EYEBALLS in sh*t once I get back home! I could've been in bed, asleep by now, or playing ‘Struggle!’ on my X-Box!”

    This seemed to spark the man's interest. “You play ‘Struggle!’?”
    Roxas shrugged. “Yeah. I'm a beast at that game. What I love most about it is that it's not just a stupid fighting game – it's a strategy game, too. It's almost like playing chess. Only there's better graphics and you can chop people's heads off.”
    The redhead let loose another of those laughs. Roxas felt himself blushing a bit, though he wasn't entirely sure why. “Wow, kid – you sure have a way of putting things... Hehheh...”
    “Yeah... I-I get that a lot...”

    The man let his gaze linger on Roxas for what seemed to be a long time, and finally asked, “What did you say your name was, again?”
    “Roxas.”
    “I'm Axel.” He grinned again, the moon flashing playfully on his pearly whites. “Pleased to meet ya, Roxas.”
    “Er... Y...Yeah. Me, too.”

    There was another long silence, though this time it was Roxas who kept glancing at the redhead, fidgeting and biting his lower lip slightly. Axel was staring straight into the distance, his expression calm and lax.

    Roxas stared at him for an extremely long moment, and looked down at his hands. Oh, God... Oh, God... Er... Baseball. Hockey. Skateboarding. Struggle. Combat boots...

    “Where did you say you lived?” Axel asked casually, effectively snapping Roxas out of his thoughts. “I just sort of assumed you lived near the city.”
    “Hmmm? Oh – right... Um... 813 Twilight Street.”
    “Where's that?”
    “It's just down Firelight Road... Here – I'll show you, okay?”

    After about fifteen more minutes of, “Turn here”s and “Stop there”s, Roxas had finally arrived home. “Thanks, Axel,” the boy sighed, slamming down the car door behind him. “My parents are going to KILL me when they find out, but at least I made it okay. At first, I thought I was going to have to walk all of the way here!”
    “Don't mention it, kid,” the redhead chuckled.
    Roxas nodded, and began to walk down the driveway.
    “Hey... Wait...”
    Roxas turned around, blinking. “Yeah?”
    Axel shot him another of his grins. “You like ice cream?”
    Roxas shrugged. “Yeah, I guess...”
    “Come meet me by the parlor a few blocks away next Friday, okay? My treat.”
    Roxas could feel his cheeks growing warm all over again. “Uh... S-Sure! What time?”
    Axel thought for a bit. “I have to work during the day... So... How about somewhere arooound... 11?”
    “Done.” The boy gave cheesy grin, and waved a little as he backed away from the car. His heart was thumping mercilessly at his chest.

    Axel smiled and waved back, then pulled out from the driveway, the red Safari sports car roaring off into the night. “...” Roxas began searching for a way into the house, finally entering through the back door. Steak... Football... Beer... Hunting...

    Luckily for Roxas, no one seemed to be awake. He quietly slinked through the dark house, tip-toed up the stairs, and slipped past his parent's bedroom. So far, so good... Maybe no one has noticed anything...? he thought as he slowly turned his doorknob to prevent any noise.

    Wrong.

    As soon as he had the door open, the lights flicked on, revealing two severely p*ssed off, blood-shot eyed, scowling parents. Roxas's twin brother Ven sat up, grinning wickedly. “Ooooh – you are IN for it now!”

    Sh*t.

    **************************************************​


    Grounded for three months?

    Yawn.

    No driving – EVER – until he was in college?

    Been there.

    No TV, video-games, or computer, seeing friends out of school, OR allowances until he was FORTY?!

    Seriously – was that all they could do?

    Just like with Axel, Roxas found it natural to tell his parents the TRUTH for once, and, not surprisingly, they threw a fit. But Roxas wasn't too concerned. He'd play the good boy for as long as he could managed, and when that eventually got tiring, he'd just sneak out if he needed to. No biggy. But from now on, he'd be a lot more careful about Ven. B*stard had a mouth the size of Russia.

    That Monday, Hayner was shooting him all sorts of guilty looks across from his first period class. Roxas ignored him coolly. I'll let him stew in his own juices for a while...

    The second the bell rang for the next class, and in a split second, Roxas was out of the room without so much as a glance behind himself. He made sure to go slow enough so that Hayner could eventually catch up with him, but fast enough so that it'd be a struggle, all the while blissfully ignoring Hayner's desperate cries.

    Three... Two... One.
    “Roxas! Didn't you hear me calling you?!” Hayner cried, finally able to catch Roxas by his shoulder.
    Roxas hardly spared him a glance. “Yeeeees...”
    Hayner blinked. “And… You didn't turn around?”
    “Nooooo...”

    Hayner sighed. “Look, Rox, I know you're p*ssed at me – hell, I'm p*ssed at myself! You have EVERY right, okay? I would not mind if you hated me until the day I DIED.”
    “Now, Hayner, why on earth would I want to do that?” Roxas asked in a deceptively kind voice with a tiny, evil gleam in his eye.
    “Don't play stupid with me, okay? I KNOW what happened. Ven's been blabbing about it since Saturday morning. Squeaker and text messages are ablaze with what happened, and... Well, I know it's all my fault – after all, you didn't even want to go, and now... Well... I heard you got grounded for life.”
    “Nah. Just until I'm forty. And with any luck, they'll forget all about it and let me move out when I'm 35,” Roxas laughed.
    Hayner blinked. “So… Wait. You're NOT gonna slap me on the back of the neck and call me a moron?”
    “Hmmm... Maybe not this time,” Roxas laughed, stopping at his locker. “Besides – it wasn't all bad. In fact, without your help, I wouldn't have met my, uh... 'possible someone'.”

    “Roxas...” Hayner's eyes bugged. “No... WAY, man! You got yourself a GIRLFRIEND?!”
    “I didn't say that...!~” he chuckled.
    “Well, don't be a stranger, man! Details – details! What does she look like?! Is she hot?”
    “Weeeeell...” Roxas drawled. “They're... older than I am... Really red hair... Dark green eyes... Sexiest body I've ever seen...” He shot Hayner a grin. “Rich, too.”
    “Dude – that is AWESOME! You sly DOG! How come you never told me about this?”
    “Well, they were the one who gave me the ride home when mom's car broke down. Iunno, though – it seems that they don't even really want a boyfriend – just a little brother. But I don't care.”

    He blushed a bit as he slammed the locker door shut. “We're supposed to meet again this Friday night. By the way, if you tell ANYONE about this, I'll be forced to kick your *ss for real.”
    “I won't! DUDE. That's awesome! Look – I can give you some tips I used to get Olette if ya want! Though I'm not sure they'll work the same on older women... How old did you say she was, again?”
    “I... I don't know, exactly! Everything about them is so mysterious... But I don't think you have to worry about the advice – I think that we... really share a special connection.”
    “God, Rox – this is GREAT! Keep me posted, okay, man? Good luck meetin' her on Friday! Oh – and I don't really think I need to remind you about this, Mr. Responsibility, but no glove, no love, alright?”

    That earned Hayner a HUGE slap on the back of the neck.


    **************************************************    ​


    The days passed in a complete blur. For some reason, all throughout the week, Roxas found his mind wandering back over to the meeting he and Axel had agreed on. … I bet he's not even going to show up… the boy thought idly, sipping on lemonade the afternoon before their date. … Is it even worth going through the trouble of sneaking out again, and risking even MORE trouble…?

    To leave or not to leave… THAT was the question. But it really wasn't much of a contest. Roxas needed to at least SEE… He needed to show up, and hang out for an hour or two in case Axel was late… And if he didn't show… Well… He didn't want to even think about that.

    Compared to how the rest of the week had gone, those last few hours crawled by like years. The poor blonde was a ball of nervous energy, franticly glancing at the clock every two seconds. “Mom, I have a headache! I'm goin' to bed early!” he declared when the clock struck eight.
    “Okay, hun – I hope you feel better,” she sighed from her room.

    He waited in his room for hours with his lights turned off and his blankets covering his eyes so that no one would notice the eCapsule ear buds cranking loud, energetic music inside of his ears so that he wouldn't fall asleep.

    Time ticked by. He was bored beyond all reason, but not sleepy in the least. After he'd seen the last light go out, he checked his watch. Only 10:12! This is gonna be easy! He waited 45 minutes or so to allow some time for them to drift away to sleep, and then began stealthily climbing out of the window. Wasn't too hard for him, considering he'd done it many times.

    He wasn't going to risk taking the car again, so he decided to jog the whole way to the restaurant, glancing at his watch every few minutes. Crap! I'm going to be late! I hope he doesn't get there first!

    To his surprise, and slight embarrassment, when he'd arrived, Axel HAD arrived first, and was messing around on his Strawberry phone inside of the parlor. He seemed to be dressed in the same exact outfit as before. Roxas blushed slightly and stepped inside, wincing at the loud ting the door made as it opened.
    Axel looked up at him and smiled. “Hey, Roxas! For a second, I didn't think you would show!”
    Roxas blushed a bit a more. “S...Sorry. I had to wait until everyone was asleep. My parents grounded me.”
    “Ah, sorry about that...” Axel smiled a bit. “Well, while we're here, how about I buy you that ice cream? This is the only shop that stays open at night, too.”
    “Oh... Wow! That's really nice of you, Axel,” Roxas laughed.
    “Eh – it's no problem.”

    Roxas went up to the counter, his stomach rumbling. He hadn't had dinner, after all. Ummm... Let's see... Vanilla...? Hmm… Too plain. Strawberry? No, no... Chocolate... Meh... OOH! “Is sea-salt ice cream any good?” he asked the cashier.
    The woman shrugged. “Try it and find out.”
    “Okay – one please! Unless...” Roxas turned to the redhead, blinking. “Axel, did you want some?”
    “Nah – I ate before you came. Is that all, Roxas?”
    Roxas nodded a bit, blushing a little more. He avoided Axel's eyes, afraid that he'd get sucked into those dark, intelligent irises once more.

    The girl handed Axel the ice cream bar, smiling. “That'll be 2 munny, sir!”
    Axel handed her a lump of cashed, waving his hand nonchalantly. “Keep the change.”
    The girl stared at the wad of cash, blinking. “Um... sir, you gave me 50 munny!”
    “I know.”
    The duo strolled out.

    “Wow, Axel – are you ALWAYS so generous?” Roxas laughed, licking his ice cream contently. It tasted a lot better than he'd expected.
    “Only when I want to be,” Axel yawned, unlocking his Safari casually. The two climbed in, and before long, they were out on the road again, driving to… Well, who cared? The first few minutes of the ride went by in blissful silence. Then, bored, Axel decided to turn on the stereo. Suddenly, the room was lit up with joyful, upbeat music.

    Roxas happily slurped on his ice cream bar, bobbing his head slightly to the beat of the song. “Whoa – I love this song! Where'd you find such an awesome remix?”
    Axel shrugged. “Internet. You'd be surprised all of the stuff you can dig up in that thing.”
    “No kiddin'.”
    “Wait a sec.” Axel glanced at Roxas again, grinning. “You like techno?”
    “Well... Not really, but if you have more songs like THIS, I could be convinced otherwise,” the blonde laughed.
    Axel rolled his eyes. “To be honest, I've never really cared for it, either. I’m not really picky about things, but my love lies with classical music.”
    Roxas gasped. “Th…That's SO weird! Me, too! My friends think I’m crazy, but I just LOVE it! Especially Ludwig van Beethoven… His entire story is just SO inspiring!”

    The boy sighed. “I couldn’t IMAGINE losing something as important as my hearing – especially as a composer, where music would be literally my life… But his compositions just kept getting better and better, despite all of that!” He smiled, gazing out at the starry skies. “… That takes a lot of courage… To continue your life’s dream no matter what stands in your way…”
    Axel glanced over at Roxas. “Since when did you get so sentimental?”
    “Oh, shut up.” Roxas blushed slightly, and began licking his ice cream once more.
    The redhead just laughed in that purely blissful way that was his alone.

    “So, uh… Axel. Tell me about yourself!”
    “Axel blinked. “Tell you about myself? Well… What is there to tell?”
    “Don’t you play coy with me!” Roxas laughed. “There’s a TON about you that I wanna know! Like, first off, how’d you become so RICH?!”
    Axel rolled his eyes. “How’d I know that would be the first thing you’d asked?” He sighed. “Well, I had a pretty great start. I was born into a pretty well-off family to begin with. When I was eighteen, I became a young entrepreneur, which also landed me a huge amount of cash…” He paused, seeming to consider something for a moment. “Of course, the huge amount of cash my parents left to me in their will made things a lot easier, too. Being an only child has its benefits…”
    Roxas gasped. “Y…Your parents died…?”
    Axel nodded.
    “Oh… I… I’m sorry I asked…”
    “It’s alright. It happened a while ago. I’ve had plenty of years to move on past my grief.”

    Roxas cracked a tiny smile. “Y…Yeah. Right… Well, sorry if this next thing offends you, but… I HAVE to ask. Just how old are you, anyway?”
    Axel barked out a laugh. “OLD. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
    “You can’t be any older than 25!” the blonde responded cheekily.
    Axel laughed again. “Yeah – give or take a few centuries!”

    They both laughed at this, but were immediately cut off as Roxas’s ice cream began dripping. Axel gasped. “HEY, HEY! Watch the leather seats, buddy! I gotta keep this chick-magnet pristine!”
    The boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, MOM.”

    Suddenly, Roxas got an idea. He coated the ice cream bar thickly with saliva, and offered it to Axel. “Here – want some?” he asked softly. If Axel licks it, then, technically, it means that we’ve Frenched! Damn – it’s messed up, but I have to try it! Just once… For bragging rights!
    Axel blinked, glancing down. “Eh… Nah – I already told you that I ate before, Roxas – it’s fine.”
    “B…But, c’mon! I wouldn’t feel right – you bought it for me and everything… Here – just take a lick.”
    Axel sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine…”

    He took the ice cream bar, licked it a few times as Roxas watched intently, and handed it back. “There ya go, buddy.”
    Roxas blushed, and took his first lick. Well… I guess this’ll have to do until I actually drum up the courage to actually try to kiss him for real…

    After he gave the ice cream a second coating of saliva, he handed it back to Axel. “Here you go.”
    Axel rolled his eyes and took it. “Aren’t you afraid of getting my germs or something?” he asked.
    “D-Don’t be silly!” Roxas chuckled nervously. You’re so perfect, I bet you don’t even HAVE germs.
    Axel gave a few tentative licks once more, and handed it back.

    Roxas was trying to offer it for a third time, when the car suddenly veered off of the road. The blonde yelped, holding on tightly to his seat and ice cream bar. “Axel, what are you—?!” He screamed again as the redhead slammed on the brakes, nearly bashing out the poor blonde’s brains on the dashboard. He shook his head, feeling as if he’d be stuck with a permanent case of whiplash. Or at least one that lasted until he was 39.

    He rubbed his neck a bit, glaring up at Axel. “Hey, you ****** – what’s the big id—?!”
    “You don’t need to do that, you know…” Axel murmured, his dark, emerald eyes gazing intently into Roxas’s.
    “Wh…What? Axel what are you—MMMMFFFF!”

    The boy gasped sharply as the man suddenly seized him by the shoulders, and yanked him close, pressing a searing – forceful, even – kiss to the young blonde’s lips. Roxas froze, his eyes bugging. Was this really happening?! Or had he REALLY banged his head on the dashboard and was now having some kind of weird, concussion-induced dream?!

    Meanwhile, Axel continued his assault, his warm, moist tongue soon invading the younger boy’s mouth. Roxas was completely at his mercy, his cool, ice cream-flavored breath giving slight, strangled gasps of pleasure as Axel reached under his shirt and scratched ever-so-gently at the boy’s smooth, flawless back. His blood began boiling with anxiety as the older man allowed his mouth to drift down and began lining tiny kisses down his face to his neck, stopping to suckle gently just below the boy’s pulse point. Roxas groaned softly, tilting his neck back to give the man ample room to work his magic. “Oh, gods, Ax…” he breathed at the feeling of the slick tongue gliding over his skin.

    Suddenly, the boy gave an uncontrollable yelp as the redhead gave the slightest of nibbles on the boy’s tender neck, and Roxas felt his hips jerk forward spastically in response. Then, as quickly as the man had started the assault, it ended. Axel pulled away, wiping away the saliva, and smirked at the younger boy. “Next time you want a kiss, just ask – got it memorized?” he purred with a tiny wink.
    Roxas, still completely dumbfounded, could only gasp out, “O…Okay… I… I will…” His face was as red as Axel’s hair by now.
    The redhead smirked again, pulled back into a driving lane, and began driving again as if everything was completely normal. Roxas, still stunned by the sudden attack, continued licking his rapidly melting ice cream bar. But he couldn’t help feeling as if he wouldn’t need it anymore.

    The blonde shifted uncomfortably, and crossed his legs so that the tent pole sticking up from between his legs would seem just a bit less obvious.
    Axel politely pretended not to notice.


    **************************************************    ​


    Thankfully, Roxas arrived that morning without a hitch. No one had apparently noticed his absence, and thought nothing of him sleeping so late – it WAS the weekend, after all. He could hardly WAIT for their next meeting coming the following week!

    When he woke up and glanced in the mirror, he noted with delight that Axel’s tiny nip had left an even tinier scab. Love bite… the boy thought gleefully, rubbing his thumb tentatively across it. It sent a minuscule shock of pleasure through his body, making him shudder and grin. Just wait until I tell Hayner! He is going to FLIP! He thought as he wrapped a light scarf around his neck. Couldn’t let the family see it, after all, could he?

    The following Monday, Hayner could tell right away that Roxas was hiding a dirty secret. That sly DOG! I hope he has a good story to go along with that smirk of his!

    He caught up with the smiling blonde after class, grinning eagerly. “SO?!”
    “So, what?” Roxas asked with his signature smirk on his face.
    “Don’t bullsh*t me, man – give me the low-down on what happened! Wait…” Hayner raised an eyebrow. “You… You didn’t get LAID did you?”
    “Nah, I didn’t… But I DID get this!” Roxas chuckled pulling down one of the sides of his turtle neck.

    Hayner peered for a second, and gasped. “No WAY! A love bite?! Feisty lady, huh?” He clapped Roxas on the back, his grin only getting wider. “I KNEW there was a reason you were wearing a turtle neck in freakin’ early fall! Not even YOU’RE that emo!”

    Roxas gave him THE eye.
    “… I’m gonna get necked, ain’t I?”
    “Oh, big time, moron,” Roxas replied, fwapping him across the back of his neck.

    **************************************************​

    For some reason, Roxas felt like an ENTIRELY different person when he was with Axel. It was as if, during his entire life, there was no one who ever really UNDERSTOOD him. He was either a nerd or a trouble maker – a big mouth or anti-social. Even Hayner, his best friend, found it hard to understand him, though the poor guy gave it his all. But he and Axel were on the same wavelength. Everything between them just… Clicked. And the making-out was fun, too. He worshipped the way the godlike redhead was there whenever Roxas needed him, but wasn’t too intrusive. The blonde even jokingly nicknamed Axel his Highwayman (mostly because that was where they’d first met), and was delighted when Axel indicated that he knew what the boy was referring to.

    In his entire life, Roxas had never felt anything like this. Like someone UNDERSTOOD. So he continued their meetings, weekend… after weekend… after weekend. Then, he decided to extend their visits to twice a week – Friday AND Saturday night. Eventually, he was visiting Axel every night of the week, no matter what the consequences were.

    And there WERE consequences.

    The first few weeks or so his secret meetings went without notice, but once he started trying to meet Axel during the weekdays, it became increasingly apparent that something was wrong. Roxas suddenly became almost nocturnal, and was always tardy at school, IF he bothered to show up at all. His grades, which were usually all A’s plummeted immediately and his teachers called constantly about him being rude and disrespectful in class, assuming he even woke up. He even let most of his friendships go to waste. The only one who was still sticking with him by the end of the year was Hayner. And Hayner did it mostly because he was concerned – not because it was “fun”.

    His parents tried in vain to punish the boy, but his life completely belonged to Axel now. He was totally nonresponsive to even the harshest sentences like completely taking his computer away and disabling texting for his phone. Even when they discovered where the boy was meeting Axel, and called the manager to inform the parlor not to let the two in at any cost, the two simply began meeting elsewhere. Roxas was spinning out control – out of reach, and they felt helpless to do anything but watch.

    Roxas could feel that things were growing a little intense as well, but he liked it. As far as Axel was concerned, he would battle the world just for another moment with him. They were MEANT to be together, no matter what anyone else said. Axel probably noticed that something was amiss in his personal life, but if he ever asked him what was going on or if something was wrong at home, Roxas would usually say something vague like, “Oh, everything’s fine,” or just flat-out lie. He could tell that Axel rarely believed him, but the redhead wouldn’t ask him anything else about it for at least a few weeks or so. Roxas liked that about Axel, too. He showed concern, but knew when he should just BACK OFF. Roxas wished his parents would learn how to do the same, too. He wasn’t a child, nor an imbecile. He KNEW what he was doing, and they needed to respect that.

    One day – just a little over the eight month anniversary of Roxas and Axel’s first meeting, Roxas dragged himself into class over 15 minutes late, slammed his head on the desk without even acknowledging the teacher, and immediately drifted off to sleep. It was finals week, and the teacher shook his head, wondering why he’d figured that Roxas might actually give the smallest hint of effort, even now. He’d given up on trying to actually prod the blonde into doing work a long time ago, so he handed the boy’s test over, not caring if Roxas actually picked it up or not. Hayner shot the boy a worried glance from across the room, but of course Roxas wasn’t awake to catch it. With a disgruntled sigh, Hayner shook his head, and began filling out answers.

    Roxas was the last person to leave when the bell had rang, and got up, leaving his drooled-on, but otherwise blank test behind for the teacher to pick up. He was surprised to see Hayner outside waiting for him, a disgruntled frown on his face. “Roxas, we have to talk…” he hissed, grabbing the boy’s arm.
    “What about?” the blonde yawned. He was smiling distantly. I wonder if Axel’s going to take me to another cheesy romantic movie again today…
    “This… girl, or woman, or whatever. Look, man, she’s totally bad news. You need to dump her and get your life back under control, or else—”

    Roxas gave a tiny sigh, rolling his eyes. “Well, jee, Hayner. You are NOT the one I’d figure to be giving me a lecture about this out of all people. Especially sense, ya know, if it weren’t for YOU, I wouldn’t even know Red.”
    “Roxas, QUIT treating this like it’s a game because it’s not. I’m SERIOUS, okay?” Hayner retorted sharply. Roxas rolled his eyes again, and began speeding off, and Hayner followed to the best of his ability. “You… You’ve changed since you’ve started going out with this chick! It’s like being friends with a freakin’ hippie! I just want you to live a good life, okay? And it looks like it’s not going to happen if you keep this relationship going! It’s all give and no take! How come YOU have to kill yourself staying up to all hours of the night just so that you can meet her?! How come she’s never offered to meet you during some NORMAL time, huh?! Oh, wait. Don’t tell me – she’s got ‘work’ to take care of.”

    Roxas began turning his locker dial. “C’mon, Haynes – you’re making Red sound like a total monster. You don’t even know them – they treat me like a total prince! So what if I have to miss school a few times a week?” he chuckled, placing his books inside. “Love is love, man. Sides – I’m taken care of even if this DOES get in the way of school! Red is LOADED, remember?”
    “‘So what if I have to miss school a few times a week’?! Roxas, would you LISTEN to yourself? YOU’RE supposed to the responsible one! This whole deal has turned everything topsy-turvy!”
    Roxas sighed heavily, slamming the locker door closed, and tried storming off again. He could feel his temper starting to flare again, and he most certainly did NOT like where this conversation was going. “Just leave me alone, would ya?” he grumbled.

    Hayner sighed and began following persistently. “Roxas, STOP trying to run away from me. You have to face this! This is CRAZY – do you even really KNOW anything about this woman? Sure – you know she’s older than you, but that’s basically it! Damnit, man – do you even KNOW what her real name is?! ‘Red’?! Yeah right – that’s a TOTALLY fake name!”

    The blonde was beginning to grind his teeth together irritably as he stepped outside into the school courtyard so that they could talk without anyone staring at them. “Damnit, Hayner, just shut up. Shut up right NOW before I say something we BOTH really regret…”
    “No, you know what?! I won’t. I’ve been quiet for TOO long if you ask me! It’s as if she’s ****ing BRAINWASHED you, Roxas! What’s next?! Drinking? Smoking CRACK?! Or doing heroin?! Or f*cking our English teacher Miss Aerith?! Why not make it a threesome while we’re at it?! And why not get your *ss tattooed while—”
    “DAMNIT, Hayner!” Roxas exploded. “You don’t know ANYTHING about Axel, so you can just SHUT THE F*CK UP! He’s been NOTHING but a good influence to me! What I do with him is MY business!”

    Hayner looked as taken aback as Roxas looked satisfied.

    There was a long, awkward silence before Hayner’s hesitant voice asked, “D…Did you say… ‘he’ just now…?”
    “………” Roxas did a frantic mental recount of what he’d just said, and cursed inwardly. Finally, he sighed. “Y…Yeah. Yeah, I did. ‘Red’ is actually a guy… A guy named Axel. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal so I never really mentioned it—”
    “You’re… gay?” Hayner said it as if it were a curse word.
    Roxas shrugged with a tiny, embarrassed grin. “It was a shocker for me, too… But, hey – I’m still the same Roxas you know and love, right?”
    “……………”
    The smile grew weaker as the boy tried to pat his friend’s shoulder. “Ri—ight…?”
    Roxas fell silent as Hayner ducked away from his outstretched hand as if his had some sort of ghastly, contagious disease. “… No… You’re not.”
    “… Hayner…!” The blonde’s face fell.
    Hayner continued backing away, looking at Roxas as if he were a stranger, and finally shook his head, jogging back inside of the school.

    Roxas stood there, frozen, until the bell rang. Then, his hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched tightly, he strode out of the school over four hours before it was scheduled to end. Tears streaked down his face as he began the long walk home. Out of everyone, Hayner was the one I figured would always be with me, no matter what… He gave a short scoff that was more of a dry, broken sob than anything else. How stupid of me. Axel is the only one I can trust. The rest are dead to me.


    **************************************************    ​


    As soon as Roxas was back home, he collapsed on his bed, and tried to go back to sleep. Since he’d gone home so early, and both his mom and stepdad worked in the day, no one was home when he came, so everything was calm and peaceful. Until, of course, Ven came home in a few hours, and tattled on him as soon as he found that Roxas has skipped just about the whole day. Cretin. Until then, the ideal thing would be to sleep so that he’d be wide awake for the meeting that night.

    But… He found he couldn’t sleep. Something that Hayner said DID sort of worry him. Of course, he couldn’t help his sexuality. Nothing could change that. But what exactly DID he know about Axel? He’d never really asked anything about his personal life – he felt it wouldn’t be right to after dodging all of the personal questions himself, but all he basically had was tiny snippets of information – most of which he’d pieced together himself.

    What had Roxas told him about himself? Well, he shared that he was 15 – well, 16, now since he’d just had a birthday, liked classical music and videogames – especially ‘Struggle!’, that his full name was Roxas Alexander Fair, that his mom was remarried, and Axel knew where his house was and everything – the only thing that the redhead didn’t know about him was how badly he was getting along with his folks and how he was doing at school with his grades. He didn’t know any of that stuff about Axel. He didn’t know what his last name was, or the type of business he ran, or where he lived, and, now that he thought about it, how come he couldn’t – even once – cancel one of his appointments at work so that Roxas wouldn’t have to stay up so long all of the time? Just once! He’d already sacrificed so much for Axel – wasn’t it enough for him?

    The more he thought about it, the more doubtful he grew. “Red” was a name he’d made up to appease Hayner for a time, but how could he be sure that “Axel” was his real name? Okay – that’s a little silly, but it can’t hurt to ask him a FEW more things about him… I’ve been going out with him for nearly eight months, and all I know is what type of music and videogames he likes! I guess it’s kinda MY fault, because I never asked, though. Hopefully this will bring us closer together… was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep.


    **************************************************    ​


    The house was oddly quiet when Roxas’s eyes finally fluttered open once more. I must’ve woken up before anyone’s gotten home yet… he thought hazily as he rubbed his head. He glanced at the clock hanging on his wall opposite from his bed – the only thing besides a tiny lamp on his desk that his parents had deemed as harmless and boring enough for him to keep in his room. All of his posters, pictures, and even things like his skateboard, TV and all of his games and game systems had been removed from his room. It was probably as bleak as Antarctica and twice as depressing.

    “… 6:27?!” the boy gasped, staring at the clock. “What the HELL…?!” Both of his parents were guaranteed to be back from work. Usually, if they’d found Roxas sleeping in his bed, they’d go call the school and, as soon as they found out he’d skipped over half of the day… Well, it’d be appropriate to guess that he’d be waking up to a total screaming spree. Even if his parents weren’t home, Ven usually woke him up as soon as he’d gotten home from school. Mostly just to tell him that he was home and try – TRY to talk him going to school the entire day next time, and… all that goody-goody-two-shoes crap. Ugh.

    But, seriously – what was going on?!

    Suddenly, there was gentle knocking at his door. Roxas sat up as the door swung open and revealed the red-eyed face of his mom. “Hey, Sweety…” she sniffled with a weak smile. “Are you awake?”
    Roxas sighed and shrugged. “Yeah – I guess. My eyes are open, aren’t they?”
    “Yes, well, may I… May I have a word with you, Roxas? I think that it is very important that I talk to you again.”
    The boy groaned and rolled his eyes. “Well, alright. Do what makes you happy – after all, who am I to keep you from wasting your time?”

    The woman sighed, and sat on the end of his bed, seeming deeply troubled. There was silence for a long time. “I… We called your school today when Ven found out you weren’t on the bus today…”
    Roxas rolled his eyes again. “C’mon, Mom – I CAME, didn’t I? So what if I skipped the last few hours? I actually came BEFORE 10-ish. Isn’t that enough for you guys?!”
    His mother shook her head. “R…Roxas, you were already failing your classes… I’ve already e-mailed your teachers, and all of them say that you never really finished your tests… Most say you didn’t even begin! Your Grade Point Average is in the toilet – you’re going to have to take summer school or else you’ll repeat the 11th grade!”
    “Summer school?!” Roxas scoffed. “Yeah RIGHT! You can forget that.”

    He expected a snappy retort from his mother, but instead she just shook her head and buried her face in her hands. Her whole body began shaking with tiny sobs.
    “… M…Mom, come on…” Roxas sighed, looking away. “Cut it out… S…Stop…”

    “R…R…Roxas, I just don’t know what to do about you!” the middle-aged woman wailed, wiping at her eyes. “W…We’ve been trying so hard to reach you, but you won’t listen!” She shook her head. “You’re ruining what you’ve worked so hard to accomplish since the 5th grade! I just want what’s best for you – you’re my baby… My little boy… I’ve always wanted what’s best for you…”

    Roxas shook his head. “Mom, you don’t understand. Meeting my one true love IS what’s best for me! Don’t you want me to be happy?!”
    “Of course I do, Sweety! I’ve always wanted you to be happy – since I first held you in my arms as a newborn! But… Please understand, Roxas – this… relationship, or whatever it is, is simply getting too unhealthy! Just because you love someone, it doesn’t mean you have to throw away everything else that’s important to you!”
    “Axel IS the only thing that’s important to me!” The blonde snapped.

    His mother jerked back as if slapped in the face, and shook her head, placing her face in her palms once more, this time sobbing a lot more openly. Roxas sighed a bit, and looked away, shaking his head. After a moment, he began patting his mother’s back slightly. “C… C’mon, Ma – you know I didn’t mean it like that…”
    “No, Roxas…” the woman sniffled. “You’re wrong… I think that’s EXACTLY what you meant…”
    “…” The boy looked away, feeling completely ashamed of himself. What if… she’s right…? What if I’ve taken this too far? I’m sure that Axel would have no problem only meeting me on the weekends again… The real question is, can I wait that long? He’s like a drug to me now – I HAVE to see him! He turned his attention back to his sobbing mother. But… I can’t let my family suffer like this… Especially Ma… Oh, man! What a mess!

    His mother wiped away at her eyes once more, and laid her hand over Roxas’s. “Please, son… I’m not asking you anymore… I’m begging you. PLEASE, son, STOP this nonsense while there’s still time to turn your life around! We’ve long given up on making you stop seeing this… ‘Axel’, but for God’s sake, PLEASE think of your family! We’re all so concerned! I miss you… Zack has literally developed ulcers worrying, and Ven especially misses you!”
    Roxas wrinkled his nose. “Ven? REALLY? Yeah, right.”
    The woman gave a tired smile. “You’d be surprised. I knew you two tend to squabble a lot nowadays, but you would never believe how worried he was when he called me after he came back from school today.”
    Roxas rolled his eyes up to the ceiling with a grin. “Yeah, yeah…”
    A sigh. “Really, Roxas… Just think – would your father like for you to waste your life like this?”

    Roxas’s gaze suddenly turned steely and cold. His muscles tensed and his mother gasped a bit, knowing immediately that she’d made a dire mistake.

    Roxas rose suddenly to his feet, fists clenched. “Don’t you DARE bring him up!” he hissed.
    “R…Roxas, I—”
    “I can’t believe you’d try to use him against me! That’s low – even for YOU!”
    “Honey, please, calm down – I-I didn’t mean to!” his mother cried.
    “NO! I’ve had enough compromising with you! You just want to keep me away from him! Well, here’s news – I wouldn’t give him up for the world! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

    His mother began to scowl. “Roxas, enough of this! I know you’re hurting – we all are! But you need to come out and accept your feelings instead of keeping it bottled inside of you! It’s not healthy!”
    “Mom, you can shut up and get out of my room now. I’m not interested in ANYTHING you have to say.”
    “You used to be such a good boy before the accident, Roxas – where did my little boy go?” the woman reminisced. “Ven turned out to be an absolute angel – always helping me in my time of need, but you just became so introverted and bitter…”
    A feral growl. “Oh, and you’re comparing me to Ven now?!” Roxas spat. “Typical! Are you done yet?! I’ve got a visit with Axel tonight and I don’t want you to make me late!”

    His mother stood with a regal sort of grace and poise. “Not quite, Roxas. We were hoping it wouldn’t have to come to this, but you leave us no choice. It’s about time we started getting the law on our side.”

    Roxas blinked. “The… Law…?”
    The woman nodded. “Yes, Roxas. You remember the nice policeman down the street from us? Mister Lexaeus Stone? We’ve gotten in touch with him and contacted him with our concerns. Tonight, he has made a few minor changes in his schedules, and… Well, just know that he’ll be on the look-out for you, alright? It’d be best for everyone if you just stopped this yourself.”
    Roxas stared at her as if she’d suddenly sprouted a second head. “… You… WHAT?!”
    “I’m sorry, honey… But it was our last resort. This. Ends. NOW.”
    “………………”

    Roxas stared at her for a particularly long and unsettling time, his jaw clenched so tight, he feared his teeth might break. “… Get out of my room. Get out of my room NOW!!!”

    In a fit of rage, he picked up his lamp and flung it at the wall, screaming, “DAMN IT, YOU CAN’T KEEP ME AWAY FROM HIM!!! I HATE YOU ALL!!!”
    His mother shrieked as it smashed across the wall beside her and made a speedy exit, tears brimming in her eyes. Please, Roxas – make the right decision… We all love you, but we need the REAL Roxas back. This has gone on long enough.

    Roxas began punching his pillow time and time again with tears brimming his eyes. With each punch, he envisioned a person who had hurt him during a time he needed it most. Ven, Hayner, Mom, my family, my friends… A glassy tear rolled down his cheek. Traitors… Traitors ALL of them! They don’t want to see me happy! They don’t understand ANYTHING about me! They don’t understand anything about HIM! How DARE they judge our love?!

    He paused. … They’ve all betrayed me… Why am I even still hanging out in this dump? There’s nothing left for me here. Nothing but traitors and baboons who hardly know anything more than how to scratch their butts! I… His mind whirled. I… should… Run away with Axel! It’d be perfect! I’d be able to stay with him all of the time! We could even elope! Oh, it’d be so romantic… And so easy! I probably wouldn’t even have to pack – Axel’s so well off and generous, he would just buy me anything I need! Perfect!

    He flopped on his bed, eyes burning with determination. Well, that settles it… I know I was having doubts about our trust before, thanks to Hayner, but he’ll open up eventually. He has to. I’ve made up my mind – I’ve grown sick and tired living with people who don’t appreciate me for who I am. It’s time for my Highwayman to come riding to my rescue once and for all…


    **************************************************​


    Roxas began getting showered and dressed at about eight that night to get ready for Axel and his meeting. He brushed his teeth, spiffed up his hair, put on cologne – EVERYTHING that he needed for it all to be just PERFECT. He slipped a pack of gum in his pocket just in case a breath emergency popped up at the worst of times. Then, he sat on the bed, and waited silently, in the dark, until the other lights in the house all went out.

    A few hours later, he was slinking through the darkened house like an expert, his feet hardly making a sound on the otherwise creaky floor. During the day, he clomped around on purpose – mostly so that anyone within the house could tell when he was out of the room and get the hell out of his way, but also so that no one would know how quiet he could be when he wanted to be. Usually, however, he would just climb out of his window instead of risking alerting his parents by going through the old, creaky house. But this time he needed to pay a very… special visit.

    The boy slipped into the kitchen, thankful that the room had nice, solid tile instead of rickety old wood. Very quietly and slowly, he slid the silverware drawer open, took a long, deep breath as he prepared himself for what he was about to do, and carefully slid out a long, glittering butcher knife.

    He gazed at it sadly as the blade glinted in the moonlight. I didn’t want it to come to this, but… I don’t think I have a choice anymore. I HAVE to see Axel, no matter what. His hand shook as he trailed his finger over the sharp tip, his eyes growing dark and fierce. But it’s okay. Axel’s got my back, lots of brains, AND he’s got munny. I know that even if I get in trouble, my highwayman will come rescue me. He has to… The boy closed his eyes, as if by willing hard enough, it’d be destined to come true. He… He HAS to!

    After a moment of trying to figure out a way to conceal the knife in his pants in a way that wouldn’t cause him any harm, but would be quick and easy to get out in a pinch, the boy snuck out of the front door, and disappeared from the house he had been lovingly raised in for the last five years.

    It was the last time he’d ever step foot in that place again.

    **************************************************​

    The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees…

    Roxas tugged his loose-fitting jacket over his body, gazing off into the distance, his expression calm and serene. A slight breeze sifted through his hair as he waited. He was standing beside an old, abandoned parking lot standing beside a crumbling warehouse downtown. This had been his and Axel’s meeting place ever since the parlor closed its doors to them.

    The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.

    The darkness of the night was washed away as the moon, full and bursting with light seeped out from behind a veil of indigo clouds. Roxas turned his face up to the pale light, his azure eyes flashing a bright frost-color, then turned his attention back to the battered road before the lot.

    The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor. And the highwayman came riding… Riding. Riding!

    The blonde grinned as he caught a glimpse of something along the horizon. My highwayman came riding! Up to the old inn door.

    Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, and he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred! He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there, but the landlord’s blue-eyed daughter. Bess, the landlord’s daughter. Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long, blonde hair.

    Roxas, who was tugging gingerly at one of his blonde spikes, blushed as Axel’s sleek, red, Safari Arachnid purred to a stop beside him. The redhead flashed one of his signature smiles, and opened the passenger door with a, “Get in.” Roxas nodded and jumped in, happy to oblige.

    He’d a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin, a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh! And he rode with a jeweled twinkle. His pistol butts a-twinkle. His rapier hilt a-twinkle. His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky!

    Roxas gazed appraisingly at Axel as he buckled up. He loved how the redhead’s suit was always ironed to perfection and how his tie was always straight and tight – no matter how late it was or what had gone on through the day. Expensive, well-polished Italian leather shoes rested on his feet and his fingers were studded with diamonds and rubies that glinted with light with the slightest movement.

    “One kiss, my bonny sweetheart. I’m after a prize tonight! But I shall be back with the yellow gold, before the morning light.”

    “Hey, babe – how about a kiss for your main man, huh?” Axel chuckled, brushing his lips against the younger blonde’s.
    Roxas grinned and deepened the kiss, pressing as urgently as he dared. This made Axel smirk slightly, but, feeling a strange urge to get back on the road as quickly as possible, he ended the kiss early, and immediately began speeding off into the countryside.

    “Yet…”

    As Roxas watched him silently, his eyes shining quite blatantly with naïve adoration, he silently recited the last few lines he always thought of every time he met with Axel. “If they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, then watch for me by moonlight… Watch for me by moonlight… I’ll come to thee by moonlight! Though hell shall bar the way!”


    **************************************************    ​


    “You’re sure looking sharp this fine evening, Roxxy…”
    Roxas blinked, and chuckled with a slight blush staining his cheeks. He twirled a strand of hair daintily around his index finger, looking away from the attractive redhead. Indeed, the boy WAS wearing his best clothes today – he figured that if he was going to run away with nothing but the clothes on his back, he might as well wear the best things he had hanging in his closet.

    He was wearing his favorite graphic T-shirt sporting a giant orange heart in the midst of grey, shadowy figures lurking in the background. The heart had a keyhole in the middle, and pure white wings bursting from either side. Two ornate keys were crossed over from behind the giant heart, and on the bottom corners were two grey skulls which were noticeably darker than the rest of the shirt. Beneath them were balls of flame – the same color orange as the huge heart in the middle. It fit snugly, showing every dip and curve on his young, agile body.

    Over his shirt, he wore a simple, green-and-white checkered hoody with short sleeves. The hood was casually thrown over his mess of blonde hair, and the zipper was up only about halfway up. He also had on tight-fitting denim jeans that were as inky blue as the midnight sky on a starless night. There was a hole in one of the knees and Roxas had looped a belt with the design of an eagle on the buckle around his waist. Green-and-white checkered Confer shoes rested on his feet – lovingly and painstakingly cleaned just for the occasion. He also had on a dog-tag necklace holding a locket with his mom, annoying twin brother, and idiotic stepfather giving bright, cheesy grins to the camera man, and a Mickey Mouse keychain. He loved that keychain, and wouldn’t give it up for the world. Disney World had been the last place his family – or, at least, what he considered his family – had visited before…

    He glanced over to the redhead. Axel, as always, was dressed in his signature suit and tie. Boring. But at least he looked DAMN hot in it.

    As always.

    “Did you have more trouble with your folks today?” Axel asked idly.
    Roxas’s eyes flashed for a split second. “Mmm… Yeah. A little. But it’s fine – **** like that happens all the time.”
    “…” A sigh. “Well, alright… If you say so…”

    Roxas sighed at Axel’s uneasy tone. Oh, jeez… How am I supposed to tell him about all of this crap? Damn it – Axel is such a nice guy – I don’t want to have to dump all of this on him… But… Will he mind? We’re destined to be together, right? Like he always tells me…

    He shook his head. It was luck – pure, dumb luck – that I managed to escape my house today without running into that police guy. But can I do it tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that? No – this isn’t going to work. I can’t keep doing this. I’ve either gotta ask Axel if he’ll be willing to spend his life with me TONIGHT, or never see him again. He pouted slightly, the fear of rejection stronger now than it had ever been before. Be strong, Roxas… You can do it…

    Axel glanced over at him. “Hey, man… You’re making all sorts of weird faces over there. You sure you’re okay?”
    “Yeah! Yeah… Just fine.” Roxas blinked, looking around. He sure didn’t remember this scenery! “Hey, Ax, where’re ya takin’ me? I don’t remember this place at all!”
    The redhead gave a quiet, soothing chuckle that melted the young boy’s heart. “Let’s just say that I’ve got a surprise for you today, my sweet little angel.”
    Roxas tried his best to play it cool and not let Axel know just how much that last comment had him swooning on the inside.

    But Axel was a pretty good guesser, anyway.

    Roxas turned on the CD player, and lost himself in a recording of “Moonlight Sonata” by his favorite composer. The two listened silently as the trees and hills rolled by.

    The song was halfway through repeating the third way through when Axel finally pulled off the main road to a dirt trail leading into a dark cavern of trees. Roxas blinked, looking on curiously. He shot Axel a puzzled glance that read, “Uh… You mind telling me where we’re headed NOW?” but Axel blatantly ignored it. Wow – this forest is so thick! I can barely see my hand waving in front of my face! I hope that stupid redhead knows what he’s doing dragging me out here like this…

    He was about to make his complaints known to Axel, when suddenly he was blinded by the sudden flood of moonlight washing over him as they pulled into a clearing.
    “Here we are, Blondie,” Axel drawled, shifting the gear into PARK and turning off the engine.
    Roxas gasped, his eyes widening in a way that almost made Axel start chuckling again. “Th…This is…”
    Roxas drew another breathless gasp. “Oh, Axel – it’s so BEAUTIFUL…!” he whispered faintly.

    The cherry red Safari was at the crest of a gentle slope leading out to a beautiful lake, seemingly untouched by the malicious grip of humankind. The beautiful, pale moon reflected perfectly off of the tranquil waters as fireflies danced around like tiny fairies. A plethora of large, white flowers were blooming all around the lake, turning their eager faces to the sky. Their strikingly beautiful, yet simple and fragile forms made them seem entirely ethereal in the silver moonlight. The tall, wild grass swayed gently in the light breeze, their stalks ever dancing with the slightest gust. Roxas could feel his heart flutter at the very sight of this beautiful, untamed place, and swore he could even feel tears stinging his eyes.

    Axel was nodding, staring out at the vast expanse of land stretching before them as well. “I had a feeling you’d say that… Found this place a few years back during one of my first trips down this area. I was feeling a bit adventurous, so when I saw the trail, I thought, ‘Why not?’ and the next thing I knew… Here I was…” He gave a gentle sigh, his dark eyes gazing out onto the faintly rippling waters. “I’ve never shown anyone else this, you know… I’m sure that it was probably some sort of camp site for all sorts of hard-core hikers or whatever looong before I happened upon it, but… I don’t know. Every time I used to come here, I just couldn’t help but think of it as MY own, private thinking space. But now…” His gaze flickered over to Roxas once more. “It seems that I can’t stop thinking about you, whenever I visit…”

    “Of… Me…?” Roxas squeaked, cursing inwardly at how stupid he must have sounded. His heart was pounding wildly by now, and his face was cherry red with both embarrassment and pride, if it were possible to share such contradicting emotions. Oh, GOD, he was eating this **** up. It’s so cheesy… But I love it!

    “Yes…” Axel murmured softly, those deep, soulful eyes enrapturing him once more. “It’s just like you, if think about it… Wild, free, untamable… Yet gentle and nurturing in the oddest of ways.” He stroked the boy’s face gently. “You’re tough and strong willed, but at the same time, so fragile…”
    Roxas couldn’t help but stare silently at the gorgeous redhead, a huge, goofy smile plastered over his reddening face.
    Axel chuckled. “Cute…” he murmured, kissing Roxas gently on the lips.
    Roxas moaned slightly, leaning into the kiss. “Y…You know, Axel… I…” He paused for a moment, trying to hold back the emotion swelling into his voice. “I… I… Gods, Axel, I love you more than anything else in the world – you know that?”
    Axel blinked and quirked an eyebrow. “Huh? Rox, where did that come from?”

    Roxas, feeling that Axel wasn’t taking him seriously, huffed and persisted, “But I AM, okay? I’ve never been so sure of ANYTHING! Ever! I… I-I’d do ANYTHING for you! I already have!” Bright blue, desperate eyes were starting to shine with tears. “My parents, Axel! My family! My friends! I ran away! I left them ALL!” He grasped the redhead’s hand urgently. “They didn’t believe in us, Axel! They wanted to rip us apart, but I wouldn’t let them! I’d rather DIE than never see you again!”

    Axel’s mouth was hanging open. “R…Roxas… If you were having problems at home, you could have told me! I… I didn’t know it was this bad – I-I could have rescheduled—”
    Roxas shook his head silently with a sad smile. “No, Axel. I… I’d rather give all of them up for all of eternity than go one more moment without you in my life.” He wiped away the tears that were now streaming down his face and smiled slightly. “I… I want to be with you… Always. Axel, I… I hate to be a bother, but… Could I stay with you? Please, Axel – I have nowhere else to stay, and if I go back home tonight, I… I might not ever SEE you again!”

    There was a long, awkward silence.

    Axel continued staring at Roxas, an unreadable expression on his face. With each passing second, Roxas’s expression grew more and more disconcerted. “… Please, Axel…” he begged softly, the tears beginning to spill once more. “I… I NEED you…! You’re all I have left…” He closed his eyes, praying silently to some god he’d never believed in the first place. Please, God… Please, please, PLEASE, God…!

    Axel gave a long, suffering sigh.

    “Well, damn – who can say ‘no’ to a face like that?”
    Wait – wut? Roxas looked up in disbelief, his eyelashes still twinkling with unshed tears.
    Axel chuckled softly, and tapped the boy on the forehead gently. “I KNOW you’re not deaf, Blondie Bess.”

    Roxas swore he could feel – FEEL – his heart explode with joy. “Oh, AXEL!!!” he cried, throwing his arms around the older man in a loving embrace. “Oh, God – you’ve made me the happiest guy in the WORLD!”
    Axel chuckled a bit. “Don’t mention it, kid – really. It should be a piece of cake payin’ for your expenses, and… Well, I’ve always wanted a little company—”
    “Shut up and kiss me, you bonehead!” Roxas laughed, blinking away his tears.

    Axel rolled his eyes and leaned forward, brushing his lips across the younger blonde’s. Roxas gave a tiny, sensual coo, wrapping his slender arms around the redhead. He felt so warm and safe… He knew without a doubt now, that everything was going to end perfectly. His own little happy ending. Axel’s going to take care of everything… he thought as their tongues did battle. He’s going to pay for me to stay and we’ll always be together and nothing would ever separate us, ever. Ever! He gave a tiny, satisfied smirk as Axel once again began suckling at the favorite spot of his neck – right below the pulse point. Ha. Take THAT, everyone who didn’t believe in us! I guess I’m going to be riding into the sunset with my Highwayman after all! Which only leaves…

    The boy smirked and tilted Axel’s waiting ear next to his mouth, and murmured in as low and sultry of a voice as he could manage, “You know I’m not wearing any underwear, right…?” He followed it up with a tiny nibble on the outer shell juuuuust like in the gay cowboy porn novels he most certainly did NOT read.

    Axel immediately turned as red as his hair. He jerked away from Roxas. “Wh…What…?!” he gasped incredulously.
    Roxas giggled slightly, gave the thigh of his pants a little pinch, and released the rough fabric. It snapped back with an audible POP! “Mostly buhcuz there wudn’t any room, but… Ya know what I’m gettin’ at, right?” he drawled in a horrid imitation of a country accent.
    Axel groaned. “Oh, no, Roxas – not this AGAIN!”

    Roxas huffed angrily. Damn it, this was getting frustrating now. Yes, the making out was great. Hell – it was MORE than great. But as great as it was, he was starting to get the feeling that he needed something MORE than that now. At first, Axel’s reluctance to dive into anything too physical was refreshing. NOW, it was simply annoying.

    He needed to get LAID. Plain and simple. To HELL with virginity.

    “Axel, what are you going on about now?” Roxas asked, his voice come dangerously close to a whine. “I’m AT consenting age now. We’re going to be freaking LIVING together, and obviously this isn’t some heat-of the moment-type-deal! I freaking CAME without underwear! How much more obvious do I have to make this for you?! I. Want. It. NOW.”

    Axel was quite honestly reeling from how straightforward the tiny blonde was being. “But—”
    “But NOTHIN’!” Roxas squealed, his dependable temper flaring once more – for the first time aimed at Axel. “You knew this day had to come sooner or later! If you REALLY only wanted me for casual kissing sessions, then that’d mean you were leading me ON! Don’t play with me, Axel!” Damn it – if only he’d brought condoms to let Axel know he was REALLY serious. Hopefully, though, Axel had him covered… He hoped.
    “Hey, heeey…!~” Axel drawled, resting his hands on the blonde’s narrow shoulders. He shot Roxas a 200,000 watt version of his signature, disarming grin, and cooed, “Relax… Let your Highwayman take care of ya, ‘kay, Blondie Bess?”
    Roxas, having been reduced to a blushing, dithering mess, could only stutter, “Uh… U-U-Ummm… K…Kay…” Smooth, Roxas. Smoooth.

    Axel began running his fingers up and down Roxas’s silky arms. “Wow, Roxas… Your skin is so… Soft. Like a baby’s bottom…” he whispered, dipping down for yet another kiss. “Warm, too…”
    Roxas wrinkled his nose and gave a soft, whiney sort of sound. “You only like saying **** like that just to get a reaction out of me, don’t you?” he muttered past the redhead’s lips. It’d worked. Thank GOD for baby oil and deep, penetrating body lotion!
    Axel offered no answer besides another chuckle.

    Roxas honestly had no recollection of what happened after that. For a guy who took well over half a year before even considering paying a visit to second base, Axel sure as hell worked FAST! In a five-minute blur of kisses, gasps, whirling noises, and ties being franticly yanked off, and ****ing HEAPS of saliva being exchanged, Roxas found himself shirtless, sprawled across his leveled passenger seat with his legs spread and his tight pants getting increasingly uncomfortable, with Axel on top of him – fully clothed disregarding his missing tie and jacket, but Roxas expected that to be solved soon enough.

    Axel was sucking blissfully at the blonde’s neck and giving tiny moans of pleasure, his hands exploring the boy’s bare chest. Roxas was literally shaking with anticipation. I’m ****ing 16 getting ****ing sucked off by a ****ing hot as HELL redhead – who happens to be a ****ing millionaire – inside of his ****ING Safari. A tiny, blissful sigh. This is it. I’m officially livin’ the dream.

    Seconds… ticked by… like………

    Eons……………

    … Okay, I KNOW this f*cker can go faster than that after tearing off that jacket like he was f*cking Superman, Roxas grumbled in his mind. Axel was STILL nipping gently at his neck. Amusing, but could they PLEASE hurry it up?

    Trying to drop a hint while still being seductively subtle, the boy eased Axel’s hips closer to his. Nothing. With a tiny, discontented grunt, the boy tried again – this time a pressing their hips together a lot HARDER. Axel gave a tiny grin and a faint chuckle, but STILL didn’t make a move.

    Roxas was LIVID. Damn it, Axel! Are you going to f*cking make me BEG or something?! F*cking cruel b*stard…

    He was just about to do so, when suddenly Axel bit down again. HARD. Roxas squealed with pain, and slapped Axel away, clutching his now bleeding neck. “OW! You f*cker! What the hell’s the matter with—”

    SLAM!

    Roxas instantly fell silent as Axel shoved him against the back of his seat. His bright, blue eyes were wide and filled with shock… And fear. He stared up at Axel, who was smirking down at him in a particularly disconcerting manner, pinning Roxas’s hands above his head. “You… REALLY shouldn’t have done that…” he murmured in a low, silky tone that seemed to be hiding a faint hiss. His dark eyes glittered with a sadistic sort of evil.
    Roxas could feel his heart skip a beat. What was going on?! “A…Axel…?”

    Axel smirked slightly, giving the growing pool of blood on the blonde’s neck a tiny lick. “Mmmm… Oh f*ck – that’s some good sh*t there…” he rasped. A chuckle and another lick. “Sorry, kid, but I just can’t hold back any longer. The smell of you is driving me nuts. It’s time I end this little charade.”
    “A…Axel, what the hell are you TALKING about…?!” Roxas grunted, trying to jerk free. “G…Get OFF of me, you freak!”
    Axel continued holding the boy down in a viselike grip. “I told you that I had a surprise in store for you, didn’t I…?” The redhead slowly lifted his head away from the blonde’s neck, and grinned toothily. “Surprise.”

    Roxas stared. He blinked. He stared some more. He blinked again. Hard. If he’d had any use of his arms, he would have rubbed his eyes. Am I REALLY seeing this?

    Fangs. Two long, slender fangs, seemingly filed to a point. The boy couldn’t seem to believe it. But… That’s…

    “Impossible?” Axel snorted, as if hearing his thoughts. Obviously he’d gone through this many times before. “Oh, but falling in love with a rich, attractive redhead you know nothing about and riding off into the sunset with him IS?” he asked in a demeaning, mocking tone of voice. Laughter. “Stupid, worthless, PATHETIC humans… You lot do make such easy prey. There are no such things as fairy tales.”

    “I… D…Don’t understand…” Roxas stammered quietly with an odd type of calmness that surprised even him. “You… You never had any feelings for me? N…None at all?”
    Axel burst out into wild laughter. “So single-minded! You REALLY still think I have some sort of FEELINGS for you, human? But, no – I suppose you DO with your blood smelling so good.” He snorted. “Typical. You poor, idiotic thing, you.” Contempt OOZED from every single word the redhead uttered.

    “It was a f*cking set up from the beginning!” he continued gleefully. “When I picked you up from the road the night we met, I had NO intentions of letting you walk away without being sucked dry first. You were never anything more than a snack to me – got it memorized? Food. A free meal. Cattle for the slaughter. And you FELL for it, you little shithead!”

    He laughed, drinking in the pained expression of Roxas’s face. “It made me laugh to think that you found yourself SO high and mighty over the rest of this pathetic race, thinking yourself so smart and so clever not to find yourself trapped in the ridiculous, wild-goose chase your kind call love, yet at the same time, you have the NERVE to give up everything you know and love for a f*cking stranger! You never even NOTICED the somewhat obvious threats right in front of your nose, you idiot! And all for a few recited lines from a poem I grew up with!” Another snort. “I’ve never cared for you on a sentimental level. Breaking your arm would be like breaking a glass for me. Here; I’ll even demonstrate.”

    Roxas gasped as one of his hands was wrenched down and bent sharply at an utterly unnatural angle. Damn, he was strong – how come Roxas had never realized that before? “Take a deep breath, Blondie – this is gonna hurt a lot!” Axel cried gleefully.

    There was a loud POP and several sickening crunches. Roxas threw his head back and howled in agony, the tears finally springing to his eyes.
    Axel cackled, his eyes glowing a bright red color as the scent of blood filled his senses. His clawed fingers dug into the boy’s creamy white skin sadistically. “So now you finally understand the f*cking pile of sh*t you’re landed yourself in, huh, Qu**r Boy? But, lucky for me, there isn’t anyone for MILES out here. You’re. F*cking. MINE.”

    “You f*cking b*stard!” Roxas choked out past his tears. “DEMON! Why didn’t you just f*cking do this when we first met and save me the misery?!”
    Axel gave a very low chuckle. Roxas found that the sound that used to makes his very soul turn summersaults was now starting to make his STOMACH do the same. “It’s been a bit of the urban myth amongst vampires that nothing is richer than blood flowing from a broken heart. I’ve decided to put that up to the test.” A grin. “I was actually supposed to wait a little over a year instead of eight months. But, alas, eagerness got the better of me.”

    A tiny sigh. “I’ll be honest – when I first met you on the side of the road, my first intent was to drive you somewhere dark and deserted and suck you dry then and there. What a waste that would have been. But, luckily, I wasn’t hungry – I’d just eaten before coming across you – and it wasn’t long before I could smell your attraction to me. So I decided to ride the train and see where it took me. Made sure I ate every night I woke up so that I wouldn’t be too tempted before you were ready.” He licked his lips. “Forgot today. Oopsie.” A chuckle. “If you ever decided you just plain didn’t like me, or got put in a situation where you couldn’t meet me because of your folks, I’d just break in your house and kidnap you or something. I DID know where you lived, after all…” Another booming, sickening laugh. “Such. A. ****ing. TWAT.”

    “It… It was all… It was all a… a… sick game for you, wasn’t it…?” Roxas sobbed tearfully.
    “Course it was!” Axel laughed. “I’m ****ing 239 years old! I’ve gotta find SOME way to occupy myself, ya know. Why not, when I have money to waste, time to kill, and sweet blood to gain? Speaking of which…” His bright, red eyes flashed once more as he let his mouth hover over the blonde’s tantalizing neck. “No more stalling, okay? As fun as it is to play with my food, your sobbing is REALLY starting to grate on my nerves.”

    “No… No, no, no…!” The blonde boy whimpered as a fresh barrage of tears flowed down his face. “This can’t be real… It CAN’T be! It’s all a dream – a horrible nightmare!” He screwed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the screaming pain shooting up and down his broken arm, whispering urgently as if by saying it aloud, it’d come true. “I don’t believe in vampires… I don’t…!”
    The corners of Axel’s mouth quirked into a tiny smile. “… Yeah… You believe whatever the hell you want to believe, kid. Whatever the hell you want.” And then, his sharp fangs sank inside of the boy’s neck, sending blood immediately bubbling to the surface.

    Again, Roxas screamed.

    It was different than he’d ever expected or read in the novels. Painful still, but different. Axel didn’t suck at his neck, or at least not forcibly. It seemed, rather that he would let the blood well to the surface and lap it up with his tongue, or slurp it up noisily. It was a noisy and thoroughly sickening experience, and he almost felt nauseous just thinking about what was going on. Axel was slurping blissfully, giving tiny hisses of pleasure or low guttural moans, as if this was the best thing that’d ever happened to him. Roxas could only imagine what it tasted like to…

    Ugh… he thought with a tiny shudder. On second thought, I don’t really WANT to…

    It was pretty obvious that Axel was slipping into his own little world with each gulp. The tenseness in his body was loosening up – his shoulders slowly going slack, his thirsty, eager gulps slowly turning into long, methodical draws, and Roxas could even feel his iron grip loosening until the point that Axel’s hand had dropped away from his wrist. Roxas’s thoughts were hazy and a bit muddled from the lack of blood, but something immediately flashed through his mind.

    The knife. Do I still have it…? He weakly shook his right leg, and drew a sharp breath at the feeling of something flat and hard across his ankle. YES! He uttered a short prayer of thanks to that one god he STILL wasn’t so sure he believed in, but gasped, realizing that he’d have no way to get to it. With a tiny grunt, he tried to sit up and move his leg closer, but it was no use. Axel always pushed him back down, and he was in no position to struggle. Damn it…! His one ounce of hope already crushed so soon. His entire body felt sluggish and strangely numb. He felt like surrendering to deep sleep, but, no. Not while this f*cker was still on him. He’d fight to the end, just to spite him!

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Axel stopped. He licked his bloody chops with a sigh of satisfaction, and blinked in surprise. “You’re still conscious?”
    Roxas glared icily at Axel through a veil of unshed tears. I hate you SO much…
    “Huh. That’s a surprise.” Axel laughed again. “I like your spunk, kid. Now, the transformation will be taking place soon. First, you’re gonna feel a bit light-head, then a little dizzy, then nauseous, and then you’ll black out. You’ll go through a series of epileptic seizures while you’re out as your weak, human body will try to fight the changes taking over, and when you wake up… You’ll be one of us. Trust me – you’ll thank me. Once you’re stripped of these weakling human emotions, things become so much clearer.”

    Roxas let out a tiny cry of pain as Axel suddenly flung open the passenger door, and shoved him onto the ground. He’d landed on his bad arm. “Good luck, Bessie!” the redhead laughed, revving the engine. “By the way, it’d be a great idea if you found shelter before dawn… We lose most of our newbies that way. Oh, and if you’re still alive tomorrow night, meet me up in the usual place, m’kay? We can finish where we left off.”

    A laugh. The Safari engine roared out a loud good-bye, and the tires squealed, sending dirt and rocks spraying all over the boy, and the next thing Roxas knew, the laughing redhead was just a distant memory. A far off hum in the distance.

    Everything was quite for a long, long time, and then a tiny sob cut through the lonesome night’s air. “Damn it…” was the only thing Roxas could think to say. “Damn it, damn it, DAMN it!” USED! he thought venomously. I was being played a fool the entire time! That ******* never gave a damn about me! The sobs grew and grew, fueled by his hatred and regret, until his entire body was shaking with sobs. “I… I can’t believe I was so stupid…” Axel was right. He should have noticed something right away. The way he was always was nipping at his neck, the fact that Roxas had never – not ONCE – seen Axel eat, besides that one time he kept offering his ice cream, and, of course, the fact he would never agree to see Roxas unless it was in the dead of night…

    A wave of dizziness hit him. That was the first sign, wasn’t it? Or was it the second?

    His bleary eyes scanned the beautiful scenery sprawled about him. Damn you… Damn you for being so beautiful… Don’t you care that my one f*cking true love was a f*cking heartless, sadistic *******? Doesn’t anyone give a ****? He gave a quiet snort. Like anyone WOULD… I’ve been such a f*cking d*ck to everyone who cared about me… Damn it… I should have listened… He shook his head. Not that any of that matters any more… I’m not going to see them ever again… I gave up a perfectly good life for a happy ending, riding in the sunset with my one true love – my Highwayman. Sobbing. It hurts so much… It DOES… To think he literally meant everything to me… And I meat jack SH*T to him…

    Another tiny sob, followed by a tiny moan. Suddenly, he was starting to feel queasy…

    Oh no… Panic immediately shot through his body. NO! I won’t! I’ll NEVER be another Axel! He struggled a bit, straining to reach the bottom hem of his pants. He rolled up the edge of his pants, and curled his slender fingers around the handle of his blade. He’d worn two pairs of socks today and had slipped the knife between the folds so that he wouldn’t accidentally cut himself while walking and doing things like that.

    As the blade glinted in the moonlight, the tears began flowing from his eyes as he recalled what his original intent for the use of this knife had been… And what he was about to do with it now.

    He closed his eyes with a final, sad smile. “I’m sorry…” he whispered to the fleeting memories of his loving family.

    “And goodbye…”

    The next day, police officials found the corpse of a dead blonde boy abandoned next to the lake, a fatal stab wound in his chest.

    (The End...?)​
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    #1

  2. Juicy Chaser

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    OH MY GOD THAT WAS HORRIFYING.

    Your storytelling is flawless, not going to waste time commenting on that. Only ONE spelling mistake in the whole thing- you spelt road "rode"- here-

    "He's probably wondering what a kid my age was doing on the side of the rode like that by myself... he thought bitterly."


    And here's me hoping for a happy ending :v I kind of got suspicious when Axel was driving him to the lake...I REALLY didn't expect the truth though o__o

    Wouldn't the police have seen the bite marks on the body?

    Ugh, Axel is messed up x: I kind of started to dislike Roxas when he started becoming a little...insane though. I like sane main characters, thanks :v

    Excellent story. Although for a while there I thought I was going to have to warn you about going over the PG13 limit >3
     
    Juicy, Aug 8, 2009
    Juicy, Aug 8, 2009
    #2

  3. Amber PLUR

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    ....

    Holy. Freakin'. Crap.

    You know how I feel about AkuRoku.

    You know how I feel about vampire stories.

    But oh my gawd.    ​
     
    Amber, Aug 8, 2009
    Amber, Aug 8, 2009
    #3

  4. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

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    BAAAAWWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POINTING THAT OOOUT. *FIXFIXFIX*

    I never would have caught that! Thank you for ur eyes! *was honestly sick as wut about staring at this stupid fic*

    And yeah. They would have. They would have noted a strange lack of blood, too. But I figured it'd be best to keep it short and sweet. XDDD

    ... I don't know why, but I love insane characters. XDDD I'd usually make them more bearable than Roxas was, but what fun would that have been? X'DDD (BTW, it technically wasn't his fault... Vampires have strange seducing powers and Axel was pouring on the juice like WUUUUT when Roxas was around. Considering how I had him before my beloved proofers came and showed me the light, this is as good as it gets. XDDD)

    ................. Me? Go over the PG 13 limit? Never. >3

    YAY I MADE AMBY JOYGASM! 8DDDD
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    #4

  5. Firekeyblade Hollow Bastion Committee

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    Dude.....that took forever to read! And I don't know.....I think the whole vampire thing was kind of a.....weird....out of nowhere twist. but yes.....the storytelling was fantastic. As usual.
     
    Firekeyblade, Aug 8, 2009
    Firekeyblade, Aug 8, 2009
    #5

  6. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

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    Yeah - someone said that before, but if you read it again (though I don't encourage you to XD), you can see that I DID drop little hints and foreshadowing here and there. I know a few people will be all, "lol wut" but the reaction has been generally good, soooo I'mma go ahead with it and not apologize. =3
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 8, 2009
    #6

  7. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

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    Thank you! XDDD I wanted to portray Axel in a way that suited the real him perfectly. Enough SENSITIVEGUY!Axel, plz. Moar b*stardly CoMnezz is where it's at.

    This story really pushed my limits, and I'm glad I had the courage (YES. COURAGE.) to write it. ^^
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 9, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 9, 2009
    #7

  8. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

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    No clue, to be honest. Probably some random, nameless OC. *shrugs*

    Look - if you don't like it THAT much, why'd you bother saying anything? I worked REALLY hard on this, in case you couldn't tell, and while I'd be more than happy to accept helpful criticism, I don't think, "I hated the ending twist" is all that helpful. If you could tell me why you think it's so bad, and possible ways to fix it (though, admittedly, I doubt I'll change the entire ending), I'll be happy to listen.
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 9, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 9, 2009
    #8

  9. Firekeyblade Hollow Bastion Committee

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    528
    I suppose so. Well....>_> I guess it's because vampires seem so overrated now thanks to Twilight....and I guess I jsut wasn't expecting that of you. I'm sorry if it seemed I was being too hateful, but yes I understand that this was seriously pushing your comfort zones......i think it might've been pushing on my comfort zones too. I think you could've dropped a few more hints about Axel, because when they were in that car, and it was revealed, it seemed like you dropped the bomb a bit early.







    Bah. It was a surprise ending and it was very well done. SHocked me as much it did when I read The Lottery by Whatsherface. *pats back* I think I still prefer reading your funny stories. They're funnier.
     
    Firekeyblade, Aug 10, 2009
    Firekeyblade, Aug 10, 2009
    #9

  10. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2006
    Location:
    The internet! Duh!
    91
    1,408
    Um... This is definitely not Twilight-inspired, plz. You know me better than that - there ain't gonna be no sparkling vampires in MY stories. EVER. Well, I suppose you CAN say this was sorta\kinda written with Twilight in mind, though it's more to redeem vampires' kick-assed reputation in the midst of this ******ed, new-age "sparkly" vampire ****. Seriously, man. Comparing this to Twilight is kind of the closest thing to an insult for me. The differences are pretty obvious. And it was SUPPOSED to be a shock the first time, but if you read it again, the foreshadowing is quite obvious. Quite a few of my proofreaders were even able to guess the ending before it even happened. So I feel like I did the best that I could, and the best that was expected of me.

    Also, if you feel that I'm really getting on your case about this, sorry. But I have not been a happy bunny of late. I just had my first day of school today, and it seems like EVERYTHING just seems a thousand times more annoying and more upsetting.
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 10, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 10, 2009
    #10

  11. Amber PLUR

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2007
    Gender:
    Female
    320
    1,725
    Foxxie, if it makes you feel better, you made vampires look badass for me again after being ruined by Twilight.​
     
    Amber, Aug 10, 2009
    Amber, Aug 10, 2009
    #11

  12. 2Foxxie4U ~The Forgotten Crusader...~

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2006
    Location:
    The internet! Duh!
    91
    1,408
    Thank you... *hug*

    Gah... I should go now... Gotta do stuff for.... SCHOOL.

    GUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh.............................. *hiiiissss...*
     
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 10, 2009
    2Foxxie4U, Aug 10, 2009
    #12
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