"Hey, Dem! I've got a cool joke, wanna hear it?," Axel sang out as he approached me.

I'm the kind of person who laughs three times at a joke.

"Sure, shoot," I replied.

"Why was six afraid of seven?," he asked me, a grin sliding into place. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"I dunno, why was six afraid of seven?," I asked boredly.

"Because seven, eight, nine!"

Once when it's said.

I laughed for a moment before looking at him blankly. "I don't get it..?"

"Stupid, think, how does it sound? 'Seven ate nine'? Like seven eating nine?," Axel looked at me like I was a moron.

Once when it's explained to me.

I laughed again, just to get him off my back before he grinned and left, and then sat to think. Seven, eight, nine..? As I pondered it, I noticed Zexion walking by, and smiled at him. He offered a small wave before scurrying away, but I shrugged it off.

I was a bit surprised when he slipped back into my room not a moment later and muttered an "I'm not here." before promptly doing the most un-Zexion-like thing ever. He crawled under my bed and made shh-ing faces at me. I turned back to my sitar just as Saix stepped past my doorway. I watched as he paused and backtracked, looking in my room. He caught sight of me sitting on my bed, and a frown graced his face.

"Have you seen number Six?"

"Nope, why? I can give him what ever message you've got for him if I see him!," I said hesitantly as I eyed him. I hoped against hope that he wouldn't catch my obvious lie as he searched my face before he shook his head and muttered, "Nothing." and left. I let out a sigh of relief and heard Zexion do the same from below me. He slipped noiselessly from beneath my bed and nodded to me before peeking out the doorway. Once he was satisfied with what he saw, he left.

Once five minutes later when I finally get it.

It wasn't until Saix came back looking relatively pissed did I get Axel's joke. I laughed hard for at least two minutes as I thought about it, but then an epiphany hit me and I wanted to cry. Zexion was avoiding Saix, and.. And, that would be 'six' being afraid of 'seven'.. and.. I'm 'nine'..

"Oh. SHIT."