In My Eyes

The Author Says: We're sorry about how long this chapter took to post! It's been a very busy week for the both of us; we've had graduation parties and dead fish and visitors and other things that distracted us from writing. @_@ We're sorry!

Special shoutouts: Micky (you always leave such incredible reviews! Thanks so much!), Parker Rowe (Thanks for the ideas! We definitely look forward to your constructive reviews!), Bbritishchik (You leave such simple but amazing reviews, thank you!!), and ButterflySoup (XD Yes, you're right, neither of us have ever smoked pot, but we figured we could get away with what we had--thanks for the advice and compliments!)

Chapter 6.

   Zexion stayed as quiet as he could when he woke up. Last night had not been a good one for his dad; something bad had happened at work, and Zexion had made sure to steer clear of the man’s path. Luckily, he’d managed to get to bed without facing the wrath of his father.
   He pulled his uniform on and brushed his hair and teeth and made his way downstairs for a meager breakfast of toast. This was completely normal; his parents slept in until he was already on his way to school.
   “Zexion,” a quiet voice said behind him. Zexion turned around and his eyes went wide.
   “Why did you avoid me last night, boy?!”
   Smash!

[~~~~~]

   Luxord looked up from his computer where he was taking attendance and repeated the name he previously called out.
   "Zexion...?"
   Silence.
   Luxord's brow furrowed in concern, he stood up and looked around before addressing the class
   "Has anyone seen Zexion this morning? It's not very common of him to be absent or tardy..."
   Zexion pushed the door open and raised his hand in a semi-wave at Luxord.
   “Sorry I’m late, sir, I missed the bus,” he said quietly, staggering ever so slightly to his seat and making sure his hair was covering his face better than usual. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to get the nauseated feeling out of his system.
   Thankfully, Luxord’s class was immensely boring and half the class was already asleep, though it was barely ten minutes into the session. Zexion was more than relieved by this.
   Still looking concerned and more than suspicious, Luxord marked Zexion present on the attendance roster before standing up and walking to the door, looking back to the class.
   "Zexion...Can I see you outside for a moment? Everyone else, open your books to chapter 4 and just start taking notes," he said, opening the door and waiting for the boy to join him.
   Zexion felt his stomach sink, but he couldn’t say he didn’t expect this to happen. Luxord was practically made of worry. He joined his teacher out in the hall and waited for the man to shut the door.
   “Luxord, I’m fine,” he said. “I’m okay, I promise…I just feel nauseated today, so I woke up late and missed the bus.”
   Luxord sighed and shook his head, pressing the back of his hand against Zexion's cheek.
   "Well...You don't feel warm...But I want you to see the nurse anyway. Maybe we can get you some pills to sooth the nausea..." he mused, keeping very calm, all things considered.
   "Come on, we'll get you to the office," he nodded, taking Zexion's hand and leading him down the hallway.
   Honestly, Zexion didn’t mind that Luxord had his hand; if he were to try to make it to the nurse’s office on his own, he’d 1) get lost, and 2) probably need to keep his hand on the wall to hold himself steady as he walked. He was so dizzy he couldn’t see straight.
   As he was pulled into the nurse’s office, he was greeted with the sight of the prettiest man he’d ever seen. Fluffed-out and flipped pink hair, feminine but obviously male features…
   This was the nurse?
   Nice.
   "Lux-! Oh..." Marluxia has started to squeal with delight before he noticed someone else with his lovely blonde friend.
   "Oh my! What happened to you, dear?!" Marluxia rushed over to Zexion and leaned down cupping the boy's cheeks with his hands and looking him over thoroughly, patting down the boy's body, completely checking him over--even going so far as to start removing Zexion's clothes.
   "Marluxia!" Luxord snapped. "He just needs meds! Calm down!"
   Zexion frowned over at Luxord. “It’s alright…we’ll figure it out, don’t worry. You should probably get back to your class,” he said.
   Luxord almost pouted as he reluctantly left Marluxia and Zexion alone, leaving to attend to his abandoned class.
   Sitting down on the cheap, beige cot that the nurse’s office provided, Zexion sighed when the nurse—Marluxia—asked him of his symptoms.
   “Well…I’m dizzy, I feel nauseated, and I vomited twice before I came to school, but I can’t miss any school, so I had to come late…”
   Zexion looked up at Marluxia. “And my head hurts.” He reached back and touched a tender spot on his head, wincing when his fingers came into contact with a bump there. Father must’ve shoved me harder than I thought…
   "Hmm...Let me look..." Marluxia said, kneeling down to Zexion's height. He pressed a thermometer into Zexion's mouth before gently making him tilt his head forward so he could move his hair around and check the wound.
   Father would kill me if he found out I’m missing class. He’d kill me if he found out that somebody knew about all of this...Respectively, I should be dead right now.
   Zexion flinched when Marluxia put pressure on the bump.
   “That hurts,” he said, gritting his teeth. “All I need is some ice and I’ll be okay.”
   He ignored the look that Marluxia gave him, a frown marring the man’s pretty face.
   “I promise I’ll be okay if I just had some ice,” he reassured the worried-looking nurse.
   "Hush and keep your lips closed and that thermometer under your tongue or else I can't get a proper temperature," Marluxia snapped, standing up and walking over to his desk to retrieve a clip board and pen to take notes with.
   "Stand please," he said, commanding Zexion gently but commanding him all the same.
   Zexion stood, nervously awaiting Marluxia’s next move.
   If he finds out, he’ll surely tell someone. He’s not on the same level of trust as Luxord is with me. He will tell, then father will get the call, and then I’ll be in big trouble. Please, Marluxia, please don’t make me take off my clothes.
   He shifted his weight from foot to foot as the nurse filled out several things on his clipboard, lips pursed in thought.
   "Strip to your underwear, please. I'd like to take your weight. Judging on that I'll decide what the best course of action to take is," he said, not looking up from his clipboard.
   Zexion didn’t move a muscle.
   "If you're embarrassed about undressing, I'll turn around," he said, turning anyway so that his back was facing Zexion, who began to tremble lightly.
   “I’d…I’d rather not, I think I’m fine, just a bug or something I ate,” he mumbled, taking the thermometer out of his mouth and setting it on the nurse’s counter.
   Zexion straightened his shirt and put his uniform jacket back on, making a move for the door, stumbling along the way and catching himself on the wall, panting. The dizziness wasn’t gone. He didn’t dare chance a look back at the nurse, who he could feel was staring holes into his back, and he knew he’d get a speech.
   "Zexion," Marluxia snapped, abandoning his effeminate, cheerful voice for the manly one he was born with.
   "A nurse is like a teacher. Therefore disobeying a nurse would be like disobeying a teacher. And disobeying a teacher can get you into a lot of trouble. Now, the only reason I haven't slapped you with some drugs and sent you on your way is because of my respect for Luxord. Now sit your ass down and let me do my fucking job!" Then he paused and a wicked smirk split across his lips.
   "Unless you rather I call your parents to take you to your own doctor. Would you be more comfortable then? Hmm?" he smiled, using his woman voice again.
   Zexion glared back at the nurse.
   “I hate you,” he said simply. He walked back over and kicked off his shoes, folded his uniform jacket neatly and began unbuttoning his shirt.
   “I seriously hate you and I could care less if you’re Luxord’s friend, I will never like you,” he said, glaring at the floor as he removed his shirt and began unbuckling his belt.
   He knew the first thing the nurse’s eyes were drawn to was the fading green and yellow bruise on his side. It was a hideous thing, yes, but it was healing nonetheless.
   Zexion’s uniform pants soon joined the neatly folded pile on one end of the cot. He walked over to the scale where Marluxia was waiting, stepping up onto the cold metal, watching as a digital number appeared, telling him how tragically thin he was.
   101 pounds.
   "Well, I'm not too fond of you either, Lolita-chan," Marluxia snarled venomously, taking more notes now than ever. It was a good five minutes before he stopped writing.
   "Alright, get dressed," he muttered, walking away from Zexion to set his clip board down and open up a cabinet where he kept his medical supplies.
   "I'm going to give you some pain killers and something for the nausea. Then I want you to stay here till lunch and I want you to sleep," he said, shooting Zexion a glare. "Got that? Sleep! That's the only reason I'm not sending you home. If I come back before lunch and find you gone or not sleeping, you're going home and I'm calling your parents."
   Zexion pulled his uniform back on sloppily, nodding. The throbbing in his head was intense and he suddenly didn’t feel like arguing anymore. He lay down on the cot and put his arm over his eyes to shield out the light.
   “If you see Luxord…tell him I’m sorry,” he said quietly, unsure whether the nurse had even left yet.
   Marluxia paused and sighed, setting the pills next to a bottle of water for Zexion to take when he woke up or when Marluxia left the room.
   "...Yeah, I'll tell him, kid..." the pink-haired nurse muttered, leaving the room, turning the light off as he did so. A minor favor for the boy he couldn't seem to stay mad at.

[~~~~~]

   Sora chewed idly on his sandwich as he walked around the track with Leon, one of the school’s security guards. Leon was a good friend of his; he was somebody who was easy to talk to, and he knew stuff about relationships: Sora often came to him when he hit a snag in his relationship with Riku.
   “Leon, Riku’s getting…weird. He’s gotten a lot meaner lately and he’s just…different. I don’t know what’s going on, and nobody wants to tell me anything, but I don’t think…I don’t think I can handle him if he gets out of control,” Sora said, giving half of his sandwich to the security guard.
   Leon thanked Sora for the sandwich and took a bite as he pondered the situation.
   "Well..." he paused to swallow, "Knowing Riku from what you tell me...I doubt Riku would take any of his aggression out on you. He seems to love you too much. I mean, really, he does just about everything you ask..." he gave the smaller brunette a slight smile before looking serious again.
   "But with that said...That also means he probably wouldn't be very willing to share his problems with you and that's what I think is wrong. He's got too much pent up frustration about whatever's going on in his life," he looked back down at Sora.
   "Does that make sense?"
   Sora met Leon’s gaze and nodded.
   “Yeah, I guess that makes sense…but still, it’s not the same between us, and…I don’t know how to fix it. I really like Riku, Leon, I really, really do.”
   Sora licked one of his fingers and frowned in thought.
   “There’s gotta be something I can do. Do you have any advice?”
   "Hmm...." Leon thought for a moment. "Well, I think you need to talk to Riku. Take him to a private place where it's just him and you and tell him what you've been thinking lately. Let him know he can trust you with anything and everything. Let him know you're there for him and he can confide in you."
   The two walked in a comfortable silence for a few minuets as they both finished their halves of the sandwich.
   “Does that help at all?”
   Sora smiled brightly up at him and nodded, saying, “Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll let you know if it works, Leon. Thank you!” Sora said and hugged Leon tightly. He let him go and then continued to walk with him, a smile on his face.
   “Thanks for being such a good friend, Leon. It’s so easy to talk to you because I know you’re listening and not just pretending.”
   Leon ruffled Sora's hair gently.
   "What can I say...? You're like a little brother to me, Sora. I'm happy to help," he smiled slightly.

[~~~~~]

   Zexion didn’t know how long he was out. All he knew is that when he woke up, the first urge he got was to vomit, so he rushed to the small bathroom in the nurse’s office and was hanging his head over the toilet in an instant, regurgitating the toast he’d eaten for breakfast and possibly some of last night’s dinner.
   He rinsed his mouth in the sink and found a rubber band in a drawer and tied as much of his hair back as he could so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting sick in it.
   A gentle knock came from the door before it was slowly opened and the blonde English teacher peeked in.
   "Zexion...You ok...?" he called softly, not sure if the boy was awake or not.
   Luxord hesitantly opened the door wider and leaned in, looking around. When he spied Zexion walking out from the bathroom, his face lit up and he opened the door the rest of the way and came in, a small brown bag in his hand.
   "Hey, Zex, how're you feeling...?" he asked, closing the door behind him.
   Zexion sat back down on the cot and smiled up at him.
   “I feel terrible, but I’ll be okay. I think it’s just a bug,” he said, vaguely reaching up to touch the bump on his head. Or this.
   He raised an eyebrow at the brown bag in his teacher’s hand.
   “What is that?”
   "Ah..." Luxord opened the bag and pulled out a small microwave-able can of soup. He smiled and held it out.
   "I figured you'd be hungry but I also figured you'd want something light," he said, walking over and kneeling down to Zexion's height. He leaned forward and gently pressed his forehead to Zexion's.
   "Shit...You're burning up...Didn't Marly give you some meds?" he asked, leaning back and reaching out to stroke Zexion's face gently.
   “Actually…” Zexion looked around and spotted the pills next to the bottle of water. He took them slowly with the water, cringing slightly at the taste of the pills. He looked up at Luxord and gripped the water bottle tightly.
   “Thanks for the soup…Luxord, I think I have a concussion,” he said quietly. “Feel this bump.”
   Zexion felt Luxord’s warm fingers lightly touching the bump and he leaned his head forward.
   “It’s from…a table.”
   "Jesus H. Christ..." Luxord muttered under his breath. He sighed and leaned over to press a light kiss to the wound.
   "Was it...Your dad...?" he asked, cupping his hands to Zexion's chin and guiding his head up so they were eye-to-eye.
   “…yeah, it was,” he said slowly. “He just…had a bad night at work and I avoided him last night, but he got up early this morning.”
   Zexion pushed Luxord’s hands away and hugged the man instead, laying his head on his warm chest and listening to his heartbeat, calm and steady.
   “What time is it? School’s not out, right?”
   Luxord squeezed the boy gently, sighing sadly and shaking his head.
   What could he do?
   "Don't worry, it's still the lunch hour," he said softly, rubbing Zexion's back affectionately.
   "...Zexion...Please...Won't you let me do something to help you...? Anything to help you...?" he whispered.
   Zexion shook his head and closed his eyes.
   “I can’t let you do anything, and I can’t let him know that anybody knows…I know it sounds bad, but it’s really not. It’s just a little bit here and there, it’s not a big deal. I’m strong, I can handle it,” Zexion said softly, fatigue evident in his voice. “This was kind of my fault anyway…he shoved me and that was it, but I slipped on my own and fell back into the table. That might’ve happened even if he wasn’t there.”
   Luxord grit his teeth and squeezed Zexion a little bit harder without meaning to.
   "I'm so sorry...I'm so, so sorry, Zexion..." he muttered, holding the boy tight. "I'm being so useless right now..." He sighed and let the blue-nette go, stepping back and walking away from him.
   "I'll go make you that soup, okay?" he said, not looking at him.
   Zexion pulled the scratchy blanket from the cot around him and sat on the cot against the wall, knees curled to his chest. The dull throbbing in his head was beginning to die down, he noticed.
   “Thank you so much, Luxord,” he said. “And you’re far from useless…without you here for me, I don’t know what I’d do. I could always talk to Axel, but…I don’t want him hugging and kissing me, that’s just weird,” he added, attempting humor so that Luxord would at least smile for him.
   Luxord shook his head and chuckled.
   "I'll have to keep an eye on that Axel. He might prove to be competition for me," he joked, leaving to go make the soup.

[~~~~~]

   Roxas was quiet at lunch, eating slowly and watching for any signs of Demyx and Axel having a secret relationship or something like that. That scent—the scent of drugs that he smelled on Axel when he met him in the hallway but didn’t want to bring it up—was in the air.
   He looked up at Axel.
   “I didn’t want to bother you about it earlier, Axel, but I smelled pot on you. Is that what you didn’t want to tell me?”
   Axel choked on his bite of apple and took a moment to save himself by hacking it up then chugging down his milk and gasping for breath. Then he, very calmly as if nothing happened, asked:
   "Why would you think that, Roxy-dear?"
   “Because you know how much I don’t like drugs,” and as he said this, he shot a look at Demyx, who was blissfully unaware of their conversation due to the headphones blaring on his ears. Roxas looked back at Axel with a frown on his face. “You know how much I hate drugs, and I know you remember I said I’d beat your ass if you ever did it. So you must’ve had a good reason. What is it?”
   Axel sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
   "I was...I was just really stressed this morning...Shit with Zexion and the ma-..." he turned red and cleared his throat, looking around to make sure no one was listening before he continued in a whisper, "The math meet coming up."
   It was a very little known fact that Axel was in the Math Group at the High School; a fact that Axel preferred to be just that. Very very little known. Only Roxas and the other members knew about it. And the other members, by penalty of death, knew to keep quiet about it.
   Roxas smiled. He’d almost forgot about Axel’s…mathleticism.
   “What’s going on with Zexion that’s got your undies in a bunch?” Remembering what Riku had said made Roxas nervous.
   Axel sighed and leaned back, palms on the grass behind him and looked up at the sky.
   "I...I can't tell you Roxas...I promised I wouldn't....And you know how I am about promises," he said, looking to Roxas sadly. "Hell, I still haven't told anyone about your third grade crush! So...I can't...I'm sorry..." he sighed again, looking back up at the sky.
   Roxas shook his head.
   “Don’t worry about it. As long as you’re not cheating on me, I don’t care,” he said. He laid on his back in the grass next to Axel. “You really are a great friend, Axel, you know that? You do keep your promises, you’re very loyal…you’re probably one of the most honest people I know…”
   Axel smirked and leaned down to kiss Roxas.
   "You know how to compliment a guy...Why would I cheat on you...?" he purred.
   He sat back up very suddenly.
   Axel pulled back just as Roxas sat up, so as not to collide heads with the blonde.
   “Axel, we have to get Sora to break up with Riku,” he said quietly, looking up at Axel. “Riku’s a complete ass. I don’t want him to hurt Sora.”
   He blinked. He stared. Then he smirked again.
   "Gosh, Roxas. What happened to your 'Riku makes him happy so I don't care' speech?" he taunted.
   “Sora talked to me last night; he said Riku’s been changing and he’s not sure if it’s the same anymore. So we have to help him. Riku’s trying to ruin our lives, Axel.”
   Roxas shook the grass off of his shirt and looked at Axel.
   Demyx looked over at them, mouth full of sandwich and face covered in crumbs.
   “Bewh nurh reeh, ninnrrh?” he said.
   Roxas stared. “What?”
   Demyx swallowed and said, “You look like you’re getting up. Did the bell ring?”
   “No, Demyx, the bell didn’t ring,” he said, looking back at Axel. “Anyway, are you in?”
   Axel grinned and got to his feet, brushing grass off his rear.
   "Ruining Riku's life? Hell yeah, I'm in," he said, throwing his arm around Roxas's shoulders. "Darling, you're becoming more and more like me everyday...And it's sexy as hell."

[end chapter 6.]

Alex says: :) Another chapter finished! Hooray!
Ren says: o__o I barely remember anything about this chapter....is that bad?