My Heart's a Battleground

Ren had followed Axel through the dark portal he had made. Axel was bringing her wish to reality. He was taking her into the darkness like she wanted. She felt cold as she entered it and almost felt afraid. She then clutched onto Axel's arm, making him chuckle slightly. Ren closed her eyes as she continued to hold onto Axel tightly.

"We're here," Axel piped up.

Ren slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a completely different place. Her jaw dropped in awe. It was extremely beautiful and the sky was many shades of oranges, reds and purples. She took a few steps to take a better look at the place.

"Axel... it's beautiful..." Ren said with a large smile, "What is this place?"

"Twilight Town," Axel said as he began to walk towards a train station.

Ren noticed Axel walking away from her, making her run after him to join him by his side. Axel smirked a little and thought she acted like a lost puppy. She definitely amused him to where he could laugh a little. He then began to walk up some stairs as soon as he entered the train station. Ren had no idea where Axel was taking her but she didn't want to question him. She stuck close by him as they climbed the flight of stairs. She was curious though as to what he said to her before she accepted him taking her to a new place.

"Axel," Ren spoke up softly and almost quietly.

"Yeah?" Axel said, not turning to look at her.

"When you said that you would take me someplace where I would be appreciated... do you know people here who would appreciate me?" Ren asked as she looked up at him.

"I do," Axel said then turned his head to slightly looked at her with his dark eyes, "You're about to meet one of them."

So that's where they were going. They were going to meet someone that Axel knew. She wondered who the person was. Ren just hoped that she could make some new friends who would appreciate her and cherish her. They soon reached the top of the clock tower of the station. Axel continued to lead the way near the ledge. Ren stuck close to Axel since she noticed how far up they were from the ground. Ren then saw a blonde haired boy sitting on the ledge eating some ice cream. The boy looked up at Axel and smiled a little.

"Finally made it," he replied with a smirk.

"Hey, had to pick up a friend," Axel said as he looked down at Ren.

Ren looked at the boy and smiled softly, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Ren."

"Nice to meet you too," he said, "I'm Roxas."

Axel looked at Ren, "He's the one who will help you find some new friends."

Roxas blinked at him then looked at Ren, "New friends?"

Ren hung her head a little as she twiddled with her fingers, " I... lost someone important to me... because they hated me..."

"I figured I'd bring her to you Roxas and have you introduce her to your friends," Axel said.

"That's a great idea," Roxas said smiling big, "Well, luckily I brought some extra ice cream for us."

"All right, you're talking my language," Axel laughed as he sat down next to Roxas.

Roxas reached into a bag he had and presented ice cream to Axel. Axel gladly took the ice cream and began to eat it. Roxas then grabbed another one and looked up at Ren.

"Here you go, Ren," Roxas said with a smile as he handed it to her.

Ren walked over to him while smiling and took it, "Thank you, Roxas."

She then sat down next to Roxas then began to eat the ice cream. Her eyes widened as she took a bite then looked at it. It was really salty but sweet at the same time. Roxas and Axel were watching her, as if to see her reaction. Both of them chuckled a little at her making Ren blink and look over at them. She blushed a little and wrinkled her nose a little.

"Never had this ice cream before?"Roxas chuckled slightly.

Ren shook her head, "I haven't, no. But it's really good though."

"Sea salt ice cream. Roxas and I get this stuff all the time after a long day," Axel replied biting off another piece of his ice cream.

Ren smiled as she looked at both Roxas and Axel. They seemed to be really close friends. She remembered what that was like. It was nice relaxing with your friends like this. Ren then began to eat the rest of her ice cream as she looked at the sun setting. She enjoyed this a lot. Even though she just met Roxas and Axel, she felt close to them and knew she was going to finally have friends who appreciated her. Of course, Ren had Axel to thank. He was the one who took her away from everything and gave her another chance. She then glanced at Axel to see him continuing to look out at the sunset, eating his ice cream slowly. Ren could feel her face heat a little as she looked at him. Her heart also began to beat a little faster as she looked at him. She then looked forward again, wondering why she was acting like this with Axel.

After awhile of enjoying their ice cream and talking with each other about miscellaneous things, they all decided to head out since it was getting dark fast. The three friends walked down the staircase then made their way to the front of the station. Axel stretched a little and looked down at Roxas.

"So Roxas, you have no problem letting Ren stay with you then?" Axel asked as he punched Roxas's arm playfully.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Roxas replied with a smile, "I have a spare bedroom."

Ren frowned a little and looked up at Axel. She didn't want him to leave. Axel then looked down at Ren to see the sad look on her face. Axel felt something in him to where he didn't like to see Ren frown. He then placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Hey, no frowns. I'll be back tomorrow to hang out," Axel said looking into her blue eyes.

"Promise?" Ren asked as she looked back into Axel's eyes.

Axel chuckled and ruffled her hair a little more, "I promise."

Ren smiled and blushed as he did that. Axel couldn't help but smile a little down at her. He then looked over at Roxas, "Remember what we talked about."

Roxas nodded his head, "Right."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then," Axel replied waving at them before making a portal and leaving.

Roxas then looked at Ren, "I hope you don't mind staying with me, Ren."

"No, no. I don't mind at all," Ren said smiling at him, "It gives me a chance to hang out with you a little more."

Roxas smiled back and began to lead her towards his his place. Ren followed closely behind Roxas as she did with Axel. She was still getting used to everything but she trusted her new friends though. Maybe it was because she was so desperate for a change that she got it. Even though she really wanted not feel anymore. She blinked her eyes and noticed that Roxas was talking to her.

"Here is where you are staying, Ren," Roxas replied opening a door to a room.

It was a decent sized room with a small bed, a nightstand with a lamp as well as a dresser. Ren smiled at it and entered the room.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you, Roxas," Ren replied smiling more at him then sat on the bed.

"It's no problem," Roxas replied while shoving his hands into his pockets.

Ren then clasped her hands together in her lap then looked to the side. Roxas noticed this and saw the look on her face. Roxas then walked over to her and sat next to her.

"Hey, what's wrong, Ren?" Roxas asked.

Ren sighed then turned her head to look at Roxas, "Roxas... I can trust Axel... right?"

"Yeah, of course," Roxas replied, "You can take my word for it. Axel is my best friend."

Ren smiled and nodded, "I trust you, Roxas."

"Great," Roxas replied, "Well, we should sleep since we'll be getting up early tomorrow."

Ren nodded and smiled, "Goodnight, Roxas."

"Goodnight, Ren," Roxas replied as he closed the door to Ren's room.

Ren then removed her shoes then looked out the window to see the moon. She brought her knees to her chest as she began to think about Axel. As she thought about that spunky redhead, her chest felt warm and her heartbeat quickened. She shook her head and then climbed under the covers. Before she fell asleep, she thought about Axel ruffling her hair.