Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ To Save a Life ❯ The 1st Day ( Chapter 1 )

To Save a Life

Summary: Roxas and Axel hated each other's guts…until a CPR class made them partners. Who knew one kiss could change everything and so fast. And it wasn't even supposed to be a kiss. AU AkuRoku, Zemyx

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters associated with Kingdom Hearts or Kingdom Hearts II. I'm merely borrowing them.

Warning: I feel obligated to warn you that there will be boyxboy pairings so if you're not comfortable with the idea of two guys being together, then I suggest you leave now.

A/N: I was watching Family Guy and this came into my head. And it hasn't let me go. Damn plot bunnies! This is more-or-less a prequel to an upcoming fic of mine called To Create a Life, meaning that it takes place before it. But not to worry, I haven't even started To Create A Life yet so there's no need for you to worry about possibly being confused. No, the confusion will come after I've started writing To Create A Life. But I'm not even going to start writing it until after I've finished this. This will be a oneshot. A very long oneshot. The format will be slightly different than normal. I'm playing around with things and I want to see if this works. If it does, I might use the format in To Create a Life. I'm not sure yet though. Well I'll stop my rambling now.

To say Roxas and Axel hated each other's guts was an understatement. They loathed each other. It had been like that since they had met in kindergarten. Generally, they didn't get along because they were complete opposites; Roxas was stoic and melancholy and Axel was a bubbling ball of energy. As they grew older, their hatred of each other grew deeper—at least Roxas's hatred for Axel did. He hated Axel so much. He could barely even stand to be around him.

Summers were Roxas's favorite time because he didn't have to deal with Axel and his outgoing personality. Until the summer he took a CPR class up at the high school.

It was not his idea to take the stupid class—it was his mom's. She thought he (and Sora, who was also taking the class along with him) should be prepared in case of an emergency. The only good thing about taking it was that he wouldn't be alone; Sora and their mutual friend Riku would both be in that class with him.

The 1st Day

When Roxas walked into the classroom the first day, he realized that Fate must really hate him because who else was sitting at the front of the classroom but Axel. He recognized his bright red hair in a heartbeat. He was sitting at the front of the classroom wearing a long black cloak with the hood pushed back, that stupid cloak that he wore at all times because he was in that stupid gang called Organization XIII. They didn't even have thirteen members. God knows why they called themselves Organization XIII when there were only twelve members.

Axel was talking to another member of the gang, the enigmatic dark silver-haired teen Zexion. Roxas pretended that neither of them existed and sat at the back of the room with Riku and his brother.

The teacher entered, a tall, slim, dark-haired woman in her early thirties.

“I am Miss Lockhart,” she began. “Some of you may recognize me as the Life Skills teacher. I am going to be teaching this CPR class…obviously, so let's begin. When I call your name, come and sit in the seat I indicate. Allison Abbhand.” A small mousy girl rose and scurried to the seat Miss Lockhart pointed at. Slowly, she ran through the list.

“Axel Gold,” she called. Grinning from ear to ear, Axel got up and bounced to the first seat in the second row (there were only ten people total in the class). Zexion sat behind him. A boy named Seamus sat behind him.

“Roxas Strife,” Miss Lockhart called.

Roxas rose and came forward. He saw where he was supposed to sit and a quiet groan escaped his lips. Now he really knew that Fate was holding a grudge against him—he had to sit next to Axel.

“Hiya Roxie!” Axel chirped cheerfully.

“Don't call me that,” Roxas snapped.

Axel didn't seem to be bothered by Roxas's attitude.

“Sora Strife.” Miss Lockhart paused.

“Roxas is my brother,” Sora answered the unasked question.

“Well sit behind him.”

Sora nodded and took his place behind him. Once everyone had taken their places, Miss. Lockhart stood at the front of the class again.

“It is my job to make sure you are properly certified in CPR in this one-day class,” she said. “Because of damn budget cuts over the past couple of years, the school has been unable to buy dummies needed for this course to practice on so we'll be practicing on each other.” There were muffled groans, looks of outrage, and looks of horror. Axel was grinning for some reason. “I have already chosen the partners by random.” She started naming of the pairs. Zexion was with some random girl. The next pair was a total surprise. “Axel and Roxas.” There was a low murmur of laughter; pretty much everyone knew about the enmity between the two.

“What?! I…I can't be paired with him!” Roxas immediately protested.

“Tough luck Roxas. There will be no switching. You're just going to have to learn how to deal with him.”
Roxas grumbled under his breath.
“It'll be okay,” Sora said sympathetically.

He had gotten lucky; his partner was Riku. Roxas just glared at him.

“I'll give the lecture and demonstrate, and then let you practice for a while. We'll take a short break and then you'll have a quiz which will include giving a demonstration of what to do. Passage of this class will earn you your certificate that's good for two years. After that, you'll have to take a quick refresher course and renew your certificate. So…take out paper and something to write with…unless you'd rather fail.”

There were soft murmurs and rustling noises as people got out what they needed.

Miss Lockhart began the lecture, “CPR stands for Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation. Cardiac refers to the heart, pulmonary refers to the lungs, and resuscitation means to revive or revitalize…”

Roxas felt his attention slipping away and his head turned slightly to the right to watch Axel. He wasn't paying attention either, but doodling on his notebook paper that he had borrowed from Zexion. There was a slight movement behind him as Zexion passed him a note. Even from where he sat, Roxas could read Zexion's neat handwriting:

Pay attention Axel or you're not going to learn anything.

Axel responded though Roxas couldn't see what he wrote. Moments later, Zexion passed him back the note:

You should care. This is important.

Roxas turned his head back and tried to listen to Miss Lockhart again.

“Let's get a pair up here to demonstrate. Axel, you and Roxas will do,” she said.

“What?!” Roxas demanded.

“Come on.”

Axel eagerly ran up to the front. Roxas slowly followed.

“Okay. Roxas, lay down on top of the desk,” Miss Lockhart ordered. Roxas did what he was told. “The first thing you need to do is check for responsiveness. Ask the victim if he or she is okay. If there's not a neck or spinal cord injury, shake him/her, and if you know him/her call his/her name. Give it a try, Axel.”

“Yes ma'am.” Axel walked over to the desk. “Roxie, close your eyes. It'll make it seem more real.” Roxas groaned but closed his eyes. Axel hesitated. “Do we know if he has a brain or spinal cord injury?”

“Nope. He doesn't. We'll say that he was drowning.”

“Okay.” Axel stepped forward. “Hey Roxie. Roxas. You okay?” He roughly shook Roxas.

“Gently Axel.” Miss Lockhart cringed.

Axel was more gentle. Roxas stayed still.

“If you don't get a response, call 9-1-1 and check the airway. To do this, check for any sign that there is breathing. If he or she isn't, check to see if there's anything blocking, such as the tongue. Put one hand on his forehead and the other on his chin. Gently tilt his head back so the tongue moves out of the way.” Roxas felt Axel's hands on his head and chin, gently tilting his head back. “That's it Axel. Good. Is he breathing?”

“Uh…” Miss Lockhart shook her head slightly. “Nope. Not breathing.”

“Okay then. You'll have to assist him in his breathing.”

Roxas's eyes snapped open. “He…what?!” He sputtered, sitting up.

“Lie back down Roxas,” Miss Lockhart ordered. “Mr. Gold is going to assist you in breathing. Close your eyes.” Roxas grumbled under his breath as he laid back down and shut his eyes. “Now Axel, support Roxas's chin with one hand and pinch his nose with the other. This will keep air from escaping. Roxas felt Axel's hand on his chin again, gently cupping it, and the other pinched his nose. He was dreading what came next—Axel's lips over his own. “Watch Roxas's chest and try not to give him too much air, thus overfilling his lungs. He may vomit if you do this.”

Oh great. Roxas thought.

“If he does vomit, turn his head to the side and make sure his airway is not blocked.”

Please god don't let me vomit. Roxas thought.

“Now Axel, breathe twice for Roxas and pause to let him exhale. Listen for air escaping his mouth and watch his chest fall.”

This is it. Roxas thought.

Axel put his mouth to Roxas's. Roxas was surprised at how soft Axel's lips were.

“Breathe once…” There was a sudden rush of air into Roxas's mouth and he couldn't help coughing. Axel pulled away and helped Roxas to sit up as he coughed. Fate, at least, was behaving, as he didn't throw up.

“That's good. That's very good. You want a response from him, whether it's coughing, breathing, or even moving. If not, then you must check the victim's circulation. Axel, Roxas, nice job. You may sit down now.” Miss Lockhart smiled.

Roxas rushed to obey. Axel was slower.

“Now let's have another pair demonstrate the second part of the technique. Zexion, Tanya, why don't you two come up here?” Miss. Lockhart said.

Zexion and his partner Tanya, a strawberry blonde girl rose and shyly came up to the front.

“Tanya, you can lie down and I'll have Zexion demonstrate what to do.” Blushing, Tanya laid down and closed her eyes. “Okay now Zexion. What you do first is feel for a pulse. Put two hands on her neck in this depression here.” Miss Lockhart showed Zexion where to place his fingers. “Do you feel her pulse?” Zexion nodded. “Good. If you don't feel a pulse, you'll need to start chest compressions. This part can be very tricky. You need to make sure your hands are in the right place. Put two fingers at the sternum…”

Roxas was distracted when Axel passed him a note. He carefully unfolded the note and read it:

That wasn't so bad, was it?

No.

You did fine.

Roxas didn't have response to that. He turned back to the front and watched as Zexion gave Tanya chest compressions. He swore the silver-haired boy had a faint flush to his cheeks, although it was hard to tell.

Axel passed him another note:

Look, I know you hate me. It's a known fact. But you don't have to hate me. There's more to me than you think. Just give me a chance, okay? Will you meet me tomorrow at a café so we can talk?

Roxas's first instinct was to say no, but there was something in Axel's note that caught his interest.

What does he mean `there's more to me than you think.'? He wondered silently. He picked up his pen and replied:

Fine. But you'd better not waste my time.

Oh don't worry Roxie. I won't.

They quit passing notes to each other.

“Okay let's take a quick ten minute break so I can set up for the second part of the class,” Miss Lockhart announced. There were a lot of sighs of relief and everyone left. Roxas quickly went to the bathroom. When he returned, the classroom was deserted except for Axel and Zexion. The desks had been pushed back out of the way creating a large space in the middle of the floor. Axel and Zexion sat to the side, talking in serious tones. Roxas tried not to listen to what was being said, but he couldn't help overhearing.

“How are you feeling Zex?” Axel asked anxiously.

“Better,” Zexion answered. “The nausea has gone away for now. Vexen's anti-nausea medicine is working.”
“That's good to hear.” Axel smiled. “Hopefully you'll be able to keep some stuff down now.”
“Not with Marluxia's cooking I won't,” Zexion grumbled. Axel laughed. Zexion managed a weak chuckle.

“Don't worry. Only a couple more months of this,” Axel said sympathetically.

“Yeah.” The two of them fell silent.

Miss Lockhart came back in, her arms full of mats. Axel rose at once.

“Would you like some help Miss Lockhart?” he asked.

“Oh Axel. Yes. Thank you. That would be nice.” Miss Lockhart smiled.

Zexion rose and helped. Roxas watched Zexion carefully. He had a feeling that something was going to happen. He was right; Zexion bent down to spread a mat out and when he straightened up, his cloak got caught on the side of a desk. It parted, revealing the clothes he wore underneath, a black shirt and a pair of black pants, as well as a pair of black leather boots. But that wasn't what made Roxas stare. He stared at Zexion's stomach, which was perfectly rounded. Zexion saw him staring and hastily covered his stomach back up. His face flushed. Roxas turned to Axel, a questioning look on his face.

“I'll explain tomorrow. I promise,” he mouthed.

“You'd better,” Roxas mouthed in return.

The rest of the mats were set up and the class shuffled in.

“Get with your partners and have one of them lie on the ground on their back,” Miss Lockhart ordered.

Axel walked over to Roxas, Zexion and his partner following.
“Do you want me to go first or do you want to?” Tanya asked.
“I don't care,” Zexion said in a distracted voice.

“Lie down then,” Tanya ordered.

“What? Oh!” Zexion turned his attention back to his partner and laid down on the mat next to Roxas. He glanced over at the brunette with a worried glance.

“Zexion focus!” Tanya snapped.

Zexion turned back to his partner. “Sorry.”

Roxas had to focus on his own partner.

“Ready for round to?” Axel asked, a wry grin on his face.

“Whatever,” Roxas answered.

They practiced for a while, but it got boring quickly.

“Go ahead and switch,” Miss Lockhart told them. “You've mastered the technique pretty well. Let Roxas have a turn now.”

“With pleasure.” Axel grinned.

He moved back and allowed Roxas to get up. Once Roxas was out of the way, Axel laid down on his back and waited for Roxas. Roxas gritted his teeth and knelt down next to the red-haired boy.

“You're enjoying this immensely aren't you?” he asked in a fierce whisper.

“Totally.” Axel grinned.

Roxas groaned in disgust. He couldn't believe he had to do this. He leaned over Axel who stared up at him with his vibrant green eyes.

“Aren't you going to close your eyes?” Roxas asked.

“Naw,” Axel replied. “You have stunning eyes.”

“What?” Roxas was taken aback.

“You have beautiful blue eyes.” Axel's eyes curled up into a smile.

“You're weird.” Roxas shook his head.

“You gonna start practicing?”

“Oh. Yeah.”
Roxas put his lips against Axel's open mouth and exhaled. He pulled away as Axel started coughing. Once the coughing spell died down, Axel laid back down and Roxas began breathing for him again. This prompted another coughing spell by Axel. When this one had finished, Roxas did chest compressions.

“Good Roxas. Good,” Miss Lockhart complimented, walking over to check on their progress.

Once they had finished practicing, they took another, longer break. Axel and Zexion remained behind again, talking to each other in the corner. This time, Roxas stayed behind and walked right up to the two of them.

“Axel, we need to talk,” he said.

Zexion looked slightly alarmed. He rose to leave, but Axel grabbed his arm.

“Zex stay,” he ordered firmly. Mutely, Zexion dropped back into his seat. “This concerns you too.” He looked up at Roxas. “Am I right?”

“Yes,” Roxas answered. Axel gestured to the seat on his right. Roxas sat. There was an awkward silence.

“Are you two together?” Roxas blurted out. He didn't know why it mattered. He didn't know why he cared. All he knew was that it was bothering him. Axel and Zexion looked at each other in complete shock and then Axel started laughing.
“Together?” Oh god no Roxie. We're just friends. Best friends. Why you interested?” Axel keep laughing.

“No I…was just wondering,” Roxas said in a small voice. He pointedly looked at Zexion's middle.

“Look Rox,” Axel said slowly. “I can't tell you a lot about what's happening.”

“But you said…!” Roxas protested.

Axel held up a hand to silence him. “I know what I said. But there are some things that I can't talk about. I swore an oath to the Organization to never speak about…some things with…outsiders. And I don't really want to go against the Organization's wishes.”

“Okay,” Roxas said, slightly disappointed. “But what can you tell me?”

Axel grinned mischievously. “You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”
“Axel!!”

“Sorry Roxie. You're going to have to be patient.”

Roxas mumbled curses under his breath. Miss Lockhart returned and the three boys helped her move the desks back into order. Everything was set up for the test. The class shuffled back in. They took their seats and the test began. Roxas frowned as he stared at the questions:

What does CPR stand for?

How many minutes can pass before a lack of oxygen will result in brain death?

What does the A-B-C in CPR stand for?

It went on and on. Roxas answered the questions to the best of his ability. He snuck a glacne to the right. Axel was scribbling down answers with his tongue poking out of his mouth. Roxas's eyes returned to his own paper. He thought for a little while and started writing again.

He finished surprisingly fast and he knew more answers than he thought he did. The demonstrations went fairly smoothly. Miss Lockhart graded their tests and announced their scores. Amazingly, Roxas passed with flying colors, as did Axel, Zexion, and the majority of the class. Certificates were handed out and the class ended. It was only a couple-hour ordeal. Everyone started to leave.

“Hey Roxie!” Axel stopped Roxas. He scribbled something on a piece of paper. “My cell number…you know, if you're interested. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 11.”
“Right,” Roxas grumbled, pocketing the piece of paper. He had no idea of why he was meeting Axel tomorrow. He hated him, right?

To be continued…

A/N: This was supposed to be just a oneshot but it was starting to get really long and I just wanted to post the damn thing so here it is. The first installment of this. I hope the format is okay. I'd love to hear your questions, comments, anything. Constructive criticism is good too. I like it.

Edit: Thanks to FinalFallenFantasy for picking out a typo I made. I really appreciate it!