InsaneJournal

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Friends.

That was what they were.

They often hung out and joked and laughed together.

It was normal for friends to spend a lot of time together because that was what they were supposed to do…

Right?

Even now, in the glorious sunset, they were walking side-by-side and heading home. Best friends. Close friends. 

Just friends.

And nothing more.

But as always, others-- their classmates-- often misinterpreted their little friendship, tainting and twisting it with their malicious words.

And as always, the virulent rumors and the plausible lies had dire consequences. Sooner or later, it would cost them the very bond that have always kept them together.

***

***

A few minutes ago, in the dimly lit streets of Twilight Town, somebody had screamed--not in pure terror, but in pure defiance. From the window of Roxas’ home, he saw six teenagers running away. What had happened? After putting on his black pants and a white shirt, he decided to check it out.

He walked out of his house and began to roam the streets. At first, it seemed that nothing was out of the ordinary. Not many people walked in the night for the fear of being mugged, and then he saw someone leaning against the gritty wall of an alley.

“Sora,” Roxas whispered. Without any hesitation, he ran to his best friend and took a long look at him. With Sora's messy brown hair, his dirty white T-shirt and his bloodstained khakis, he appeared battered, but not defeated. He was panting slowly, looking at his bruised hands. Then he turned his wide, blue eyes to Roxas.

“Are you okay?” Roxas asked worriedly. He gasped as he saw a long thin cut across Sora’s swollen, bleeding cheek. He ripped a part of his own white shirt and wiped the blood off said cheek. Damn, that cut was going to take a few days to heal.

Was this the first time it had happened? Why Sora? He wished he had taken a closer look at the people he had seen earlier. There was a chance that those attackers were also the ones who had started the vicious rumors, but even if Roxas and Sora were to confront the attackers, how would they go from there?

“I’m okay, Roxas,” Sora said softly and smiled a hesitant smile that gave Roxas a sudden feeling of dread. He wrapped one arm around Roxas’ neck and stood up shakily. They began to walk, though with Sora injured, it’d take a while to get to Roxas’ house. “See, I’m still alive!”

Roxas shook his head and sighed in exasperation. “You could have been killed.” He wanted to know what had happened, but he knew Sora wouldn’t tell him if he tried to force it out of him. He’d give Sora some time and space.

“You could have been targeted instead,” Sora replied and from the way he paused, it seemed like he was going to say more, but then they resumed their little stroll in the haunting streets.

“It doesn’t matter, it was still dangerous,” Roxas said with another sigh. “We need to take care of this, Sora.”

“I already did,” Sora replied in such a soft voice that Roxas had to lean to the side and ask Sora to repeat it again. “I told you, I already took care of them. They started it and now it’s over.”

“Are you sure about that?” Roxas inquired. He knew Sora could defend himself. He wasn’t weak, but… “What if they come back? It could always get worse, you know.”

“Don’t worry, Roxas,” Sora said and smiled at him again, as though trying to reassure him, but the dread was still there, making him sick. “I’ve already dealt with them once. I can do it again.”

***

Usually, they would be cracking up jokes in the cafeteria and sometimes, they’d get so loud and obnoxious that people would actually leave, but today they were simply sitting across from each other and eating their chips and drinking their sodas quietly.

People were staring at them again.

There was a huge bandage on Sora’s cheek. That, Roxas figured, was definitely noticeable. “Do the rumors bother you?”

Sora paused and stared at him with a raised brow.

Roxas frowned and assumed that it did. “People will think whatever they want to think. We can’t change anything about that.”

Sora blinked, surprised. “I thought it bothered you.”

Roxas shook his head. “The only time it started to really bother me was when I saw you in that alley.”

Sora let out a nervous laugh. “Like I said, you don’t have to worry about it.” He leaned over, looking at Roxas intently, his blue eyes bright, but not innocent. Those days were over. “After what I did, they’re not going to start anymore rumors about us ever again.”

***

Roxas was sitting on the edge of his bed, gazing at the beautiful sunset through his window. Sora was in Roxas' room right now, sleeping under the covers of his bed. They had a sleepover yesterday, because that was what they often did.

He glanced back and frowned. Was that normal? It was normal for friends to have sleepovers, but was it normal for them to sleep on the same bed? Did that matter right now?

No, it doesn’t, he thought, shaking his head. What mattered was the fact that he could have lost Sora. He could have been alone. He had been friends with Sora for a long time. Sora was irreplaceable.

He moved closer to Sora and saw that bandage again. He didn’t know what Sora had done, but for Sora to go that far for him… He’d definitely do the same, and that knowledge alone was frightening.

He reached out and caressed Sora’s other cheek. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you,” he whispered and he didn’t quite know why, but it felt natural for him to lean down and plant a soft kiss on Sora’s forehead. "I promise."

***

***

They were back in the alley. What should have been done a long time ago had begun once again. This time though, Sora was not alone. Roxas had his back and vice versa.

“Roxas, I didn’t see you there,” Sora greeted with a small, lighthearted laugh. “Stalking me isn’t really getting rid of the rumors, ya know.”

“Whatever, Sora,” Roxas said as he too laughed. “I’m not letting you go through this alone. How long has this been going on?”

“Dunno, I lost track,” Sora replied with a shrug. “This actually started before the rumors. It’s just something that’s been happening for a long time. I‘ve always dealt with it by myself.”

Roxas gritted his teeth, hands balling into fists. “Stupid! You should have told me about this. I thought we weren’t supposed to keep secrets from each other?!”

“I wasn’t really thinking at the time!” Sora exclaimed. “I didn’t want to worry you. Every time I get hurt, you’re always so worried.”

Roxas sighed in exasperation and gazed at the gangly faces of their classmates. The five homophobes were sneering at them, calling them all sorts of names. Until now, he didn’t really hear what they were saying because when he was with Sora, everything else simply faded away.

They were going to pay for hurting Sora.

He glared at them hatefully and crackled his knuckles. “Let’s finish this!”

He had to admit, it felt good that Sora was protecting him this entire time, (though he wasn’t quite sure just what Sora had done to them in the first place or how it all began, but little details like that didn’t matter right now) but now he had to return the favor.

“I’m on it!” Sora declared and soon enough, they braced themselves as their classmates all charged on them. All the boys punched and kicked and even tried to slice each other with knives. One of them even had a gun.

By the end of the fight, Roxas and Sora emerged from the alley. They were a little ruffled with a few cuts here and there, but they had survived!

And that was all that mattered.

***

***

Roxas stretched his arms and opened his eyes. He glanced at the window and saw the morning sun. He tried to move, but there was something heavy on top of him. He blinked and gazed at his chest. Sora was lying his head there and there was a sweet smile on his sleeping face.

“Sora?” Roxas inquired, but only one eye opened. He gave Sora a light smack on his back and received a low groan. It gave him a sudden, tingling feeling.

“Hmm?” Sora asked intelligently. “What is it, Roxas?”

“Why are you sleeping on my bed?” Roxas inquired, even though he already knew the answer to that question. It was possible that there were more than one answer to this and knowing Sora…

“Because I’ve always slept on your bed,” Sora answered and he bit his lip, looking to the side as he pondered. “And because you’re warm!” He smiled brightly and squeezed Roxas’ waist slightly. “That’s definitely it!”

“But… do you think that’s normal?”

“Oh, you’re still bothered by those rumors?” Sora frowned deeply. It didn’t match his normally cheerful face. “What’s normal for them isn’t normal for us. We’ve been like this since children, you know.”

“Yeah, but somehow… it’s different.” Roxas didn’t know how to explain it. Ever since that incident, a lot of things have been confusing lately. Around Sora, he felt fiercely protective and even possessive. He figured he just didn't want to lose Sora again. “I told you, it’s not really the rumors that bugged me, it’s just… you got hurt and that shouldn’t happen to anybody. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“It’s no big deal, really,” Sora said with that big smile of his. “We’re best friends, right? We watch each other’s backs. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

“But I don’t want that happening again,” Roxas decided. He didn’t truly understand why those assholes had picked Sora instead of him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Roxas wasn’t exactly what people called approachable (except to Sora) or personable. He didn’t really feel the need to talk to anybody else because he had Sora.

Sora was all he needed.

“So, if it’s different for you now, what do you want me to do about it?” Sora inquired as he sat up. He let out a small yawn. “Do you want us to stop acting what they think is weird and just… do something else that we’re probably not comfortable with?”

“No,” Roxas said and he pulled Sora back, wrapping his arms around Sora’s waist. “I got a better idea.” He smirked and began to unveil his plan to his best friend.

***

Back in the cafeteria, people were still staring at them like they were freaks. They were sitting across from each other, wearing identical grins. And then, they both leaned forward and shared their very first kiss.

At last, people turned their eyes away.

Roxas and Sora pulled themselves back and snickered. People often paid attention to what seemed to be wrong, but once it was discovered, they all would often try their best to avoid and ignore it, as though it was nothing, as though they were trying to save themselves from the tainted.

After a few minutes, they finally composed themselves. Roxas and Sora stood up and headed towards the exit. They exchanged identical grins and held hands. People practically cleared a path for them as though they were afraid that Roxas and Sora would give them the plague.

It didn’t exactly make things return to normal, but at least they would be left alone. Roxas still didn‘t know what had happened between Sora and those attackers, though he figured that they were just bullies and out of the two, they had decided to pick on Sora. It was a good explanation, but it wasn’t right.

Now that he thought about it, just what had Sora’s words meant at the time? What had made him so sure that the attackers wouldn’t be back? Did Roxas miss a little detail? What had Sora truly done?

***

In Roxas’ room, they were about to watch a movie. Sora settled in sitting on Roxas’ lap and said, “So… because of what we did, people think we’re a gay couple now?”

At this point, Roxas had decided to ignore what people thought, because to him and Sora, this was normal and natural. After all, they were close friends. It was just something that they did. “Yup. That doesn’t really bug you, right?”

“Nope, it doesn’t,” Sora answered, leaning back against Roxas. “Because that’s what we are, right? We act like a couple?”

Roxas snorted. “Hell if I know. I just like being with you, a lot. And I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.”

Sora laughed. “Same here! So what are we watching again?”

“Dunno, some chick flick about some friends becoming something more or something like that. It came from my mom’s cabinet and there‘s nothing else to watch, so….” Roxas trailed off and snatched the remote from the floor.

Sora laughed again and stole the remote from him. “Friends, huh?”

“Yup,” Roxas nodded, smiling.

Yeah, they were friends.

Roxas tightened his grip around Sora.

We just happened to be very close. That’s all.

Fin.

***

Until… the end…

***

A/n: SIGHS. ;___; This is one of my better pieces, I think. I lost track of how many times I've revised and edited this, but it just makes me so sad that writing in general, no matter how often you revise something, it's never really finished. It can always be improved and in college, when you turn in your papers, it's just never good enough.