Prologue
They couldn't know. They could never know what demon lay waiting inside of him. If they knew, they would abandon him. And he could never have those he cared about most abandon him.
Chapter 1
"Don't ruin it this time, Roxas...Just don't." He said, in front of his mirror, as the blond boy of 19 said, getting dressed for introducing himself to his new neighbors. Being the fact that it was his first day in his new apartment, his bedroom was made up mostly of half-unpacked boxes, a dresser with a mirror attached, and a bed. He made sure the tattoo on his right arm of a stylized four-point star was covered, and walked out the door of his apartment.
X-x-X-x
When I knocked on the door of my next-door-neighbor's apartment, I certainly didn't expect to see what I saw. A platinum-blonde British male with four other people eating dinner was not what I expected. Nor was I expecting to be invited in for their little dinner party.
"Um...My name is Roxas, it's nice to meet you guys..." I said quietly after I sat down at the table, though I wasn't planning on eating. No need to overstay my welcome. The grey-eyed, short haired brunette next to me turned to me with her hand extended for a handshake.
"I'm Grace, and this is my boyfriend, Axel." She told me as she shook my hand, then gestured to the green eyed redhead next to her. Yes, his hair was actually red, not the orange color that I still have yet to guess why they call it red. And it was fairly long, too, and spiked.
"I'm Mark, this is my apartment, we all live in this hallway." The green-eyed brunette man sitting across from me said, watching me carefully. With good reason, I might add, but how would he know that?
"My name is Luxord, and this is my lovely girlfriend, Tina." The blue-eyed platinum blonde who answered the door said, motioning to his darker brunette blue-eyed girlfriend.
"So tell us a little about yourself, Roxas..." Mark told me, his green eyes meeting my blue ones for a moment, before I looked to the floor shyly.
"Well...I'm 19, 20 in a couple weeks, I started school a few years late due to a...complication early in my childhood, that caused me to struggle with my grades all through school, I started my first semester of college this passed fall, at KU, however, due to an...incident, I was expelled, so I came here to finish school at NYU." I carefully watched everyone else around the table as I told them this, gauging their reactions. Grace merely raised an eyebrow at the mention of me being expelled, Axel looked bored, Mark looked curious and slightly concerned if I was reading him correctly, Tina was hanging onto this story with every word, and Luxord looked more disinterested than Axel.
"Did the incident involve fire?" Axel asked, looking at me with those emerald eyes that made me slightly nervous and definitely made me decide to be careful with him.
"No, Axel, it didn't involve fire." I said with a small laugh, because just looking at him told me he worked in pyrotechnics. His hands looked like they had healed recently from at least one burn, and there was some ash in his bright red hair.
"What kind of complication?" Mark asked me from across the table, much less unnerving green eyes meeting my blue ones once again, however, this time, I kept his gaze until he looked away.
"I prefer not to talk about it..." I muttered, messing with my sleeve. I could feel his eyes on me again, but I ignored it, and he dropped the issue.
"Well what kind of incident was it?" Tina asked, looking like she was really into finding out my story.
"It has to do with the complication. And I'm going to see to it that it never happens again." I looked around the table again. "But I'd like to hear more about you guys, before I say anything more about myself."
"I've been obsessed with fire since I was five, I work in pyrotechnics, and I've burned myself 45 times." Axel told me, seemingly proud of that last part. "Oh, and I'm 22 now, and met Grace when I was 20."
"I'm an EMT for Metropolitan Hospital Center, and I get called in every time this dumbass burns himself. I'm 20 now, and I met Axel when I was 18." Grace said, following Axel's lead.
"I lived in London until I was 17, when I ran away to New York, to look for work. I found myself having a reporter job, and before I knew it I was reporting for the New York Times! When I was young, I wanted to be a photographer, but it seems journalism was what Lady Luck had in mind for me, eh?" Luxord said, turning to me and laughing. Even from the distance between us, I could smell the rum on his breath. He motioned to Tina, and continued, "It was here last year that I met this lovely thing here, seeing the performance that gave her her big break."
"I'm 20 at the present time, I'm a Broadway performer, and the big break Luxord is talking about was when the actress who plays Glinda in Wicked lost her voice, and I was chosen to temporarily stand in for her. They loved my performance, and I've been able to get into most Broadway shows I want to since. Oh, and the British drunk is 24 at the moment." Tina said, her body language reminding me of a performer, now that I got a good look at her. And here was the one that, subconsciously, interested me the most.
"I'm 24, I joined the US Marine Corps when I was 18, was deported at 19 as soon as I was done with my training, and returned stateside at age 21. After a few...failed relationships, currently single." Mark told me, obviously about as willing to tell a stranger his life story as I was. Of course, I doubted he was hiding anything near the scale I was, but still. I then decided that Mark indeed have a beauty about him, green eyes that seemed to want to push everyone out, but that seemed more welcoming and homey to me than anyone else at this table. Brunette hair that he obviously styled every morning. Muscular body type, definitely strong enough to protect anyone.
And the kind you want to fall into, right before I take over. I heard a demonic voice whisper in the back of my head, and I could almost picture the monster's feral grin as it said this, and tighten the internal chains around it. This is why I can't get close to anyone. I'll get close to them, and then I'll end up snapping, and those whom I don't hurt will abandon me.
"You seem tense, Roxas. Let me get you something to drink." Grace said from the right of me, I hadn't even notice I had closed my eyes in concentration until I felt her touch my arm and my eyes snapped open.
"Um...I don't-"
"Nonsense, just tell me what you want."
"Okay, fine, tequila." I told her, and she came back with a bottle of tequila and a glass. I poured some into the glass, and brought the alcoholic drink to my lips. I savored the taste of it, not having had it in a while. I finished the glass, and picked up the bottle, and just started drinking straight from the bottle. I get the feeling I'm going to have quite the hangover tomorrow...
