A/N: ADAlasffdufnasf, I hate the first half of this one, oh my god. I wasn't sure exactly how the scene would play out in reality, so... yeah. I'm talking about the part when they're at school by the way. I like the very beginning. :3 Angst is delishiouse.
It wasn't supposed to be so cold.
It was summer, for god's sake!
Then why, why was Zexion so cold?
It was a cold that started in his spine, slowly, slowly slithering eerily along his bones and turning his skin to ice. He shivered, running his fingers down his arms furiously, but it did nothing.
"What?"
"Take me home." Demyx mumbled lamely, stumbling back a step. His eyes, half-closed, watching the pavement.
"Why?"
Demyx stepped back, leaning on the streetlamp. His eyes were fully closed now, head tilted to the sky. "I-I can't do this anymore. I just… I can't." A choked sob broke through his facade, and he attempted unsuccessfully to disguise it as a cough. As soon as this was done, another sob followed, and another. His cheeks were red and glistening with tears.
"I hope you're having fun." Zexion's hands balled into fists, eyes squeezed shut and head hung low. "Toying with me like this."
"No-!" Demyx cried, unable to find the words. "…no…"
"What's your angle, then? Just fucking with me for the hell of it?"
"No, I just… I wanted to make you happy."
"By pretending I meant something? Making me think I mean something only to tell me it was all just make-believe?!" Zexion's head shot up, sporting tears to match Demyx's.
"When I got you away from Xemnas, I thought you would be happy." Demyx's palm crushed into his eye, attempting to wipe away tears of hopelessness. "But you weren't. I wanted… I wanted to be able to make you happy."
"But you got in over your head." Zexion said, no longer in hysterics. His voice was monotone, his head hung once more. "You were afraid of taking it too far." He lifted his head and blinked, the tears had stopped. "You completely ignored what I wanted and pretended you knew what was going on, pretended you knew what could make me happy to clear your own conscience and in the end you couldn't finish what you started!"
Demyx's vision was blurred with tears and confusion and too many emotions that he as a male wanted to come in contact with. Zexion turned around. "Goodbye." He whispered hands stuffed in pockets.
Only twenty minutes ago, Zexion felt warm and alive.
Then why now, did he feel so cold and empty?
---
Zexion was so out of it, he barely heard the banging against the door. Part of him wished it was Demyx, and another part berated the other part for wishing that, a third wondering what feeling he still had for the skater, and a fourth confused and a fifth just for the hell of it. The handle turned and Zexion really didn't care who it was, only slightly surprised when a carpet wearing a police uniform walked into the room. He hadn't drank that much, had he…? Apparently so, 'cause the carpet was talking now.
"Are you Zexion Gainsborough?"
What…?
Who is that…?
"S'me…" He said, answering his own question. That's right. That was his real name, before he changed it. After his mother died, after his brother left his life, he wanted to leave too. He left behind whatever remained and changed his name to Mulligan, after a bar that burned down the day his mother died. He wanted to start anew, like the bar, the owners relocated out of town.
"Your father has been looking for you…"
Zexion sprang up, stumbled back, regained his balance and looked at the carpet person thing with astonishment that quickly faded into nausea. He leaned forward, releasing several bottles of alcohol onto the floor of his already filthy apartment. The magical carpet didn't say anything, simply grabbed Zexion's shoulder with a tassel and pulled him out the door.
---
The final exam. It counted for a quarter of your final grade, and for most, it meant pass or fail. Zexion had nothing to worry about, he just had to show up and mark on the paper and he'd pass, thanks to the power of blackmail. All he had to do was show up, and Zexion couldn't even manage that. Demyx was at wit's end, just short of tearing his hair out. Mr. Xemnas was going over procedures, don't cheat, blahdy blahdy blah. Zexion wasn't there. The test would start in five minutes. Demyx raised his hand. "When we finish the test, are we allowed to leave?" Mr. Saix was sitting in a chair next to the blackboard, watching the class.
"Technically, completion of this test means that you are finished with Summer School." He answered coolly.
"I'll be back." Demyx said, standing up and making his way to the door.
"Where are you going?!" Mr. Saix demanded.
"Shaddap." Demyx snorted, "I'll be back in time to finish the test."
Xigbar gave him a look and Demyx simply shrugged it away, his friend standing and following him. In turn, the surfer looked back at Luxord and the brit stood and scooted to Xigbar's side. Before they could motion to anyone else, Demyx grabbed them both by the wrists and led them from the room. Saix stood and left the room. Xemnas stood, almost timidly at the head of the class for a moment before diving headfirst on the bandwagon and following his principal. Kirux was the first to speak. "PARTY!"
"Where exactly are we going and why?" Xigbar asked.
"To find Zexion."
"I figured he wos sick today…" Luxord said, walking quicker to keep pace with his friends. "But that would mean he would… fail, right?"
"Last night-" Demyx stopped walking. "Last night we talked, and I think I… made him mad." He said, delicately. Xigbar and Luxord didn't exactly know that the two went out. Though technically, it wasn't a date. Technically.
"MISTER Bullet! MISTER Cromwell-!" Mr. Saix stopped abruptly. Luxord was the only one to turn and look, idly he did, and did a double take. Mr. Saix was there, standing sideways, his head turned back to Mr. Xemnas, who was holding on to his wrist. He appeared to be whispering something, that the brit couldn't make out.
"You still haven't told me…"Luxord shivered and turned his head, stride turning into a run to keep up with the other two.
"How you're going to fix it…""Where the hell do you think he is, anyways? You have no idea." Xigbar scoffed, grabbing Demyx by the shoulder and turning him around. "What the hell's gotten into you? Ever since we started hanging out with Zexion you've been all weird. You're changing."
"I'm not!" Demyx said, brushing his friend's hand off. "I haven't changed at all."
"You have." Xigbar said, almost miserably. "You're an entirely different person."
"Look." Demyx grunted, shoving open the double doors and pulling his friend into the early august day. "I don't give a damn. All I know is that I did something I know wont be forgiven and if we don't find Zexion then he'll fail. He'll be in Xemnas class for another year, Xigbar. I wont let that happen."
"How you're going to fix me."
"We can take mai car." Luxord said. He didn't know what was so horribly urgent about now being in Xemnas' class again, but it sounded pretty important and serious. He pulled the keys from his pocket and led the two around the corner to the parking lot, stopping at a grey four door. "S'my parents really, but you know wot I mean…"
"I'm sitting up front." Xigbar grunted, shoving his friend out of the way. "After all-"
"Yeah, yeah. I got enough of that from Zexi-" Demyx froze, realizing what he was about to say. I got enough of that from Zexion. The other two were staring at him. "H-he's really fruity…" He choked out a bitter laugh. "He was depressed, so I took him to see a movie…" He stopped, seeing a sly smile form on Xigbar's face. "It's not like that!" Demyx cried in protest, but his friend was already laughing. It totally was anyways.
"Monkey see, monkey do." Xigbar said with a laugh, opening the car door fully and sitting inside. He glancing up at Demyx and then, "Oh Luxord, we've trained him so well."
"Shut it!" Demyx growled, slamming the door firmly. "Just drive. East Reno Street, that's his apartment."
"You would know!"
"SHUT UP."
"He's not here…" Demyx sighed, looking in on one of the filthiest, shabbiest apartments he'd ever seen. He had no idea where else to look. They were no other places Zexion went. Demyx realized just how little he knew about the younger man. Exactly how much did Zexion know about Demyx, anyways? Sighing under his breath, he entered the small apartment. There may have been a bed at one point, but it had long since been burned for warmth. In fact, one of the arms of the couch was missing, the only thing left of it was ashes in a tin. A pool of vomit lie reeking next to the tin, small blots of it leading out of the room and stopping at the doorway. Zexion left. But when, and to go where?
"This place smells. Like. Really bad." Xigbar said, one hand resting on the doorframe. "He's not here, so can we leave?"
"We need clues as to where he might be." Demyx answered, poking a mostly empty bottle of beer lying on its side, contents partially on the floor. He felt sick, from the smell and knowing it was him who caused Zexion to drink so much. Zexion had vomited and them dragged himself to the door, obviously drunk. But when did he do this? Where did he go?
"We're going nowhere." Demyx announced. Luxord was standing against the wall, avoiding touching anything. Xigbar laughed.
"Tissues in the trash." He said evilly, looking over to Demyx.
"Yeah, so?"
"Guess what's on them."
"…We're leaving."
"What's on them, Xiggy?" Luxord asked, smirking. He knew damn well what Zexion did with those tissues. More picking on the questionably straight guy.
"It looks to me like—"
"GOODBYE." Demyx yelped, leaving the room rather quickly.
"Who tha' hell is makin' all this racket?!" Demanded someone in the absolute highest voice Demyx had ever heard. He turned to see the biggest slut girl he had ever seen. Her clothes were tiny, all the fabric put together would hardly made a tank-top to cover her small chest. Despite this, she continued to stare at them as if they were total freaks.
"I'm looking for my friend, he lives here." Demyx said, tempted to scoop up that vomit and throw it on her, she was that obnoxious.
"You mean that freaky kid?" She demanded.
"That's my friend you're talking about." Demyx pointed out.
"Calm the fuck down!" She cried loudly, giving him a weird look. "You mean that kid, Zeblin or whatever? Don't bother. The police can over here last night and like, took him."
"What? Why? The police? I don't understand…"
"He was real smashed too," There was a hint of glee in her voice at this prospect, "He was talkin' 'bout carpet and some shit." At this point, Xigbar and Luxord had both left the room and were listening. "He's a weird kid, though. I offered to y'know… make him feel better, and he just walked away! Like, aren't I hot? Because like, otherwise, how else could he have resisted me? I mean like, there was this guy, and he was all 'I'm gay.' And I was like, 'It's only like, fifteen dollars!' so he let me do it and he said it was really good even if he was gay so maybe gay people aren't really gay but-"
"WELL, we have to get going." Demyx said loudly. The girl scoffed angrily, then dug into her pocket and pulled out some paper.
"You're cute though, so like, here's my number!" She shoved the paper at Demyx and giggled madly. The skater, dumbfounded, took the paper and she all but skipped off down the hall. A moment passed.
"'Maybe gay people aren't gay'?!" Xigbar repeated what the girl had said moments earlier. Luxord laughed and patted Demyx on the shoulder.
"Congrats, chappie! You got a whore discount!" He said with a laugh.
"A whore discount?"
"That one'll give you a discount if she thinks ya' cute." Luxord explained.
"…How do you know this…?" Xigbar asked, looking sideways at his boyfriend.
A moment passed
A very awkward moment.
"The police station." Demyx said finally, shaking his head somewhat. "Is halfway across town. The test ends in four hours." His voice had an air of finality, and several seconds passed before anyone spoke up. Finally, Xigbar broke the silence;
"Are you really going to risk it…?"
"Yes." Demyx said firmly. Maybe he had changed. At this point, he really didn't care who he was anymore. "We are."
And somewhere, somehow, Zexion wasn't so cold anymore.