Learning to Deal

Chapter One, Part One: R O X A S

I hate many things. One of which is people. I hate the idea of being around others who touch the things I touch, walk in the spaces I trod, breathe the same air. Of course, I'm well aware of physics and the actual recycling idea of air, but I like to think of my air being recycled by me alone, in my closed quarters. That was it... the idea of it going into someone else's lungs, forced out through another person's talking, taking in other scents... it bothers me. Immensely.

But that was it. People are just bothersome. That was why it bothered me when I walked into the dean's office at the department of student resources--gross, other students sat in this chair I was perched on, and now I'd have to live where someone else had--and was told one specific thing from Dr. Xehanort:

"Roxas, you're in dorm one sixty-two, with a boy named Axel... your roommate should help you get settled, he's been here a year already."

I didn't want to meet this roommate. I don't like people, and I didn't come to this college thinking I'd have to share a dorm room with anyone. Especially anyone named after parts of cars. Axel was a horrible name for a boy...

The moment I had left the office, I assumed that such a horrible name belonged to a horrible boy. Maybe some weird kid with hundreds of tattoos and twice as many piercings, in all sorts of places--mental note: scare this Axel person from talking to him by asking about genital piercings--and probably banged on drums into the middle of the night or called up late-night sex lines.

...If my roommate was anything like this, I was going to request a new dorm.

When I walked in, I found nobody in the apartment. It could be considered relatively clean in my opinion, a simple poster of a girl clothed in dark robes with vibrant hair around her shoulders--looking closely, I realized the poster was hand-drawn by someone with excellent talent, most likely not my roommate--on the wall and a dark carpet on the floor. Bunk beds sat against the right wall, a shelf on the other next to a closet, a desk against the back wall, barely passing over the window. On the desk sat a simple computer, with optional laptop plug-in further below.

So... simple. It was somewhat of a reddish-tint, white curtains over the window and the bottom bunk covered in bright red covers, blankets, and pillows. So much red... it annoyed me. But I knew I couldn't just attack everything and color things blue. Of course, red's a nice color, I like red, but so much would bother me soon enough.

I blinked, tearing my eyes away from the room, and dropped my bag to the floor. Where was said roommate?

"You must be Roxie."

I jumped and quickly spun around, my room key as the only weapon in my hand as I held it up, almost threateningly. Like I could cut him with this key and possibly kill him. But it wasn't possible... I hadn't even heard the door open, but behind me--well, in front of me, now--stood a male, almost a foot taller, with vibrant red hair pushed back in a particular style. He had side bangs, and I found them very odd, but he had a cheerful little smile on his face. It was not only bothersome, but it was disturbing as well.

"My name is Roxas," I told him shortly. "And you're the car piec--uh, Axel. Right?"

The redhead in front of me smiled brightly. "Yeah, Axel, got it memorized?"

I ignored that and glanced down. "Where should I put my things?" The simplest question, and it was best to just stay on topic, and not meet this person. He was nothing like first imagined--but appearances could be deceiving. Besides the two black marks under his cheeks around the faint, fading freckles, I saw no distinct tattoos, but he was sure there had to be something somewhere. He decided questioning wouldn't be the best thing.

The redhead was eyeing my duffle bag suspiciously, then tilted his head to the side. "You got more, right? There's loads of room in the closet..."

"No, that's it." I never found the need to pack much, so my bag was light and filled with inexpensive items which could be easily replaced. Fresh underwear, some jeans, a few shirts, and I was wearing my jacket... plus my files and toothbrush and deodorant and a pillow and two pictures took up a side pocket. School supplies were in my backpack, which I wore on only one shoulder--it was pretty old, from a few years ago. And that... was basically it.

The weird redhead stared at me oddly. "That's seriously all you packed?"

I nodded. Was it too hard to believe that?

"Aw man..." I could see he was fighting back a laugh. That was annoying. "You're supposed to make the college dorms more like home, bring stuff! Jeez... just where did you come from?"

So I stared at him dully past my dirty blond bangs, which hung over my eyes lazily--I don't think I combed my hair this morning. I began to wonder if I even brought a comb...but it doesn't really matter. "I'm from the Destiny Islands," I answered. "Why does it matter?"

Axel shrugged with a grin. "Nothing... just thought maybe... never mind. Come on, you can unpack on the left hand of the closet... or in the drawers... top three are cleared for you, bottom three are mine."

I merely shrugged and made my way into the closet. Axel passed by, as I finished shoving my few articles of attire onto hangers and on a rack or dumping things into the top drawer. A few seconds later, I walked out, crossing my arms as I found the roommate--I didn't want to think of him as my roommate--grinning stupidly. Very stupidly.

Humans were just so damn stupid.

"What are you grinning at?"

Axel shook his head and bit back a laugh. "Nothing... just can't believe you're serious. That's all you'll wear? You have, like, enough stuff for... a week. Gonna do laundry every week?"

I ignored him and moved towards the bed. "You... sleep on the bottom bunk?" Bunk... beds? It reminded me too much of home, and my brother, and when we used to share a room.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked.

I sighed and shook his head. I had had a bad incident with these sort of things back at home, back with my brother. Brother... I almost missed the quirky twin, my... happier counterpart. I was usually the one with the scowl, the glare, or the dark, brooding look; my twin the one with the happier grin, and although he bothered me, thinking of the beds, and my brother, I almost missed him.

But the bunk beds... I definitely did not miss those. It had taken me around two months recovery from my fall from the first one, and after that, the nights of sneaking to curl up at the corner of the bottom bunk near my brother only had me caught and teased for a week. Afraid? No, I had proved it then, when I climbed back up, and I would prove it here...I just hated the bunk beds.

"Scared of the top bunk?" Axel questioned.

"No." An automatic answer. Short and simple. And I glanced down at the floor, trying my hardest not to scowl like crazy. I didn't want a roommate... not at all.

The night was awful. I spent half my time staring at the ceiling, laying on my back in my pajamas while pretending to be asleep. Axel was up late, turning on the computer. He typed for a while, and the gentle bluish glow was rather relaxing, but not long-lasting, for he shut the computer off around an hour later. He soon climbed onto his bed and looked over at me--I shut my eyes as he let out a small chuckle--and soon he had gone to bed.

He was a little like my brother, in the aspect of checking on me. Sora always felt the need to do that, being the older twin--despite how he acted--and maybe my roommate did as well. Since I was new, and here...

Axel snored. It wasn't loud, but it bothered me. Sora and I didn't snore--actually, Sora was very silent, except when he had nightmares and murmured things--and the noise coming from the roommate on the bunk below bothered me.

Plus, the ceiling... though it was so dark in the room that I couldn't see it well, it felt as if it was closing in on me. I was shuddering a little, my hand touching the ceiling every few seconds just to make sure it hadn't moved. The moment I was sure it had, I had climbed down, and soon stumbled my way into the closest corner.

I hated bunk beds. I hate roommates. I hate college, and I hate life.