Paradise In Aesleha

Chapter Two

Axel and Ashley made their way home, the clouds began to grow dark, signaling rain. Ashley rested her head on Axel's shoulder. She remembered when they were little after she got into fights in the neighborhood park, he would always carry her home like this. After their parent's deaths, he grew a bit distant but was always there for her whenever she needed him. It was funny how many girls he had gone through, and every single one never meant anything to him. He just grew further and further away. She had never seen him thank anyone until now. Ashley giggled.

"What's so funny?" Axel asked.

"You must really like that Sebastian guy." Ashley said, the rain starting to mist.

"W-what makes you say that?" Axel asked as they entered the house.
Ash
"You thanked him. You've never thanked anyone before." Ashley said with a smile.

"Oh. He helped you so I thought I might be polite." Axel said, then shook his head placing his sister on the couch. "Are you hungry?"

Ashley looked at her brother a moment. "Yeah. We didn't get to eat lunch. Are you going to cook?"

"Yes." He said simply.

He walked off to the kitchen, trying to figure out what to cook. He opened the fridge and seen that they didn't have anything but breakfast food. They never really ate at home so they didn't really keep a lot of food in the house. He pulled the carton of eggs out and the bacon. He found a can of biscuits and set them on the counter. He found a skillet and began to fry the eggs and bacon.

I wonder if Ashley was right. Why did I thank Sebastian? Why do I even remember his name? Why the hell do I care? Axel thought, flipping the food. There was nothing special about him. Or was there? It doesn't matter. He helped Ashley that was the only reason for my thanking him.

He shook his head and continued to cook. He was still confused. What made him remember Sebastian? It annoyed him to no end that he was even thinking about it. He placed the finished food on a plate and leaned against the counter waiting for the biscuits. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was already about three. School was just letting out which meant that Ember would be home soon. He picked up Ashley's plate and took it to her.

"You okay Axel?" Ashley asked, taking the plate.

"Yeah. There are biscuits in the oven if you want some. I'm going upstairs to take a shower. Holler if you need anything." He said, walking off.

"Okay." She said simply, eating her food and watching TV.

Axel walked up the stairs, pulling his shirt off in the process. He walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. Pulling his belt off, he tossed it to the side with his shirt. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a bit frustrated. He hated when he couldn't make sense of something, especially if it was a person. Why was Sebastian so difficult to figure out? He walked into his bathroom and shut the door, a little harder than intended. Turning on the hot water, steam soon filled the room, a slight dew covering his skin, bead of water rolling down his bared toned chest.

"What the hell do I care so much for? He's just a new kid. Knowing Ember, she'll bring him over." Axel said to himself.

He stripped the rest of his clothes off and stepped into the shower. He allowed the water to run over his naked body. Running his hands through his hair again, he began wetting it. A heavy sigh sounded as he still couldn't get Sebastian out of his mind. It was really beginning to bother him, in more ways than one. He sighed again, focusing on cleaning up. Once he was finished, he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist and headed towards his room, trying to find something to wear. Getting dressed, he silently told himself that he wished he had stayed in the shower longer. He had decided to not wear a shirt, not planning on leaving the house again.

"Ashley? Are you still down there?" Axel hollered out his door.

"Yeah, Ember just pulled up. She has Sebastian with her I think." Ashley hollered back.

Axel could feel his heart flutter a bit, not entirely sure why. "Okay I'll be down in a minute."

He went back to his room. No matter what, he still wasn't putting on a shirt, no matter what anyone had to say about it. Moments later, he walked downstairs to the living room only to see Sebastian sitting beside his sister, smiling at something she had said.

"Did I miss something?" Axel asked.

"No. I was just telling Sebastian how we took out the Costal gang last week." Ashley said.

"Oh?" Axel said, noticing how Sebastian kept glancing his way, swearing that he was blushing.

"That was a fun day." Ember said as she ate another chip.

"It wasn't that interesting." Axel said, helping himself to Ember's chips.

"Hey!"

"I thought it quite interesting." Sebastian said quietly.

Axel turned to face him. "You think my fights are interesting?"

"Well, not where you get hurt. What I like the most is how you manage to beat them as well as look after these two." Sebastian said, not looking at him.

Axel chuckled. "They can take care of themselves, I just add assistance when needed."

"It's still amazing." Sebastian commented.

Axel smiled he never thought being praised like this could make him feel so happy. he watched as Ashley teased Sebastian while he braved stealing a chip from Ember. Ember bumped his arm to make the chip fly into the air. She reached for it, only to have it snatched away. Ember looked perplexed. No one, besides Ashley, had ever stolen a chip like that.

She pulled another chip out of the bag and smiled at Sebastian as if to say round two. Sebastian smiled back as Ember tossed the chip in the air. The two reached for it, only to notice that it disappeared again. They stared at each other confused. Ashley sat on the couch, laughing her ass off.

"What's so funny?" Sebastian asked.

"This whole scene!" Ashley said between laughs.

"Did you steal the chip?" Ember demanded.

Ashley couldn't stop laughing long enough to reply. Ember thought about if it wasn't Ashley, and Sebastian was just as confused as she was, then it could only be one person. She slowly turned her head to where Axel was sitting in the chair. Axel smiled as he placed the chip in his mouth.

"Axel!" Ember yelled running at him.

She knocked him backwards out of the chair. Axel placed one hand on the ground before he flipped to an upright position. Ember stared at him from the floor as Ashley laughed even harder. Sebastian watched the scene, feeling a bit jealous. It was clear that this behavior was normal for them. he wondered if he would ever fit. Become part of this. Sebastian froze. Why would he think that? He barely knew them, and Axel wasn't like that. Fear gripped him. There was no way he could tell any of them his secret. They would look at him in disgust.

Ashley had finally stopped laughing when she noticed Sebastian. She didn't know him well, but it was clear that something was wrong. She stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder.

When he turned to look at her, she asked "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um, not exactly... I'm not feeling well. I should go." He said.

Axel's smiled faded when he heard that." Why are you leaving?"

"I'm not feeling well." Sebastian repeated, finding it hard to look at Axel.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked, a bit concerned.

"It's nothing to be alarmed about. I should be fine by tomorrow." Sebastian said, making his way to the door.

"But-" Axel said, reaching out to him.

Ashley placed her hand on her brother's arm. "It'll be alright. We'll see you tomorrow Saby."

Sebastian nodded and left.