let the games begin

luca blushed slightly at his comment. he seemed to be a lot calmer than before…. now that they were behind the closed doors. but he always loved ace’s personality. holding the lighter in one hand and the drink in the other he stared down at both biting the bottom of his lip nervously. “i uh…. actually don’t know how to use a lighter.” he said his brows furrowing slightly as he rolled it gently in his hands. he lied. obviously, he knew how to use a lighter. but he just didn’t want to deal with the flame that followed. he wasn’t sure if he would be able to have enough pressure to light the lighter without worrying about dropping it. though part of him sunk into ace the moment that he sat down. his lips parted slightly when he felt the other male’s hand going up his thigh and his gaze met ace’s as his gaze dropped down to his lips and he finally parted ways taking a sip of his drink. to be fair, the drink did taste alright and he wasn’t going to complain.

a laugh escaped his lips slightly at his american accent and he gently curled into ace’s side. he liked the warmth of the other. he liked being here with him. he knew that it was far better than probably sitting outside alone and besides, ace’s room was actually comfy. it didn’t feel so alone like his place did. though he paused again as ace held out the blunt. he blinked a couple times gently taking it in between his two fingers and he stared at it before looking over at him a bit mindlessly. “how do you do it?” he asked looking a bit confused. it was never anything he had to read about or anything like that. for someone that did have a photographic memory, he never did learn the concept of smoking and how to do it until fairly recently. if his dad was still around he would have murdered him if he ever caught him doing this. especially if he ever caught him being this close to someone of his own gender…. but his parents weren’t around anymore. luca needed to stop thinking like that because it’s already been three years. “doesn’t it…. like burn or something?” he asked furrowing his brows as he stared at the blunt and he nervously took a sip of his own drink. “i— i don’t know….” he said letting his voice trail off. but he was in too deep now, right? he couldn’t back away.

ace enjoyed the feeling of making other people blush.  although someone not knowing how to use a lighter brought a very confused look to his face.  maybe it was just him who basically had a lighter in his hand nonstop from the time he turned twelve.  he didn’t even start smoking until he hit high school -- but fire?  fire had always been a fascination of ace’s.  even as a toddler, the fire burning during winters drew his curiosity over any toy that his parents tried to put in front of him. he took a large sip ( more like several sips, his cup was almost nearly empty at this point. ) as he set his cup on his nightstand, leaning over to open the drawer and pulled out another spare lighter. (you’ll find approximately a dozen or more in there if you would look.)  “you just flick this little wheel thing here-- pretty quickly so it’ll spark the flint.  that’ll create the flame.” he showed the other -- his attention being captured by the flame for a couple moments before he flicked it off. “uhh, did that make sense?” 

“i mean…. don’t get me wrong. i have the money for it. i just…. y’know need to save up after inheriting money after my parents died and uh….. going through all those physical therapy sessions.” he said furrowing his brows slightly. “i just have other things to worry about y’know.” he said with a shrug as smiled softly at ace’s wink and looked down at the ground before stepping into the room and looked over at the left. “oh, no i don’t think i have been here.” he said before sitting down, looking a bit awkward at first as he sat there and put his hands in between his lap trying to do anything to keep his hands from wanting to reach out and grab ace’s again. luca watched as the other boy immediately grabbed the blunt right away. a part of him wondered if this must be a usual thing for him. to bring home guys and smoke a blunt and drink. he wondered what happened later on through the night…. his gaze wandered towards the bottles in the fridge already overwhelmed by all the options and he finally looked at ace with a soft smile. “uh… surprise me.” he said wondering if that was a mistake for him to even say that.

but luca knew that he was in too deep already and he made a mental note to remember that he had locked the door behind him. “y’know smoking is bad for your lungs?” he asked teasingly with the smallest of a smirk. but he was intrigued, curious you might say. he wanted to know what it actually felt like, to do that. but he didn’t know how to say it without sounding too awkward about it. his gaze wandered over to ace’s profile, admiring it slightly as he watched him by the mini-fridge and he could tell that he was going to be here for a while so he might as well get comfy on ace’s bed. finally getting out of his awkward stage he kicked off his shoes and sunk back into the bed, his back resting against the wall crossing his legs crisscrossed apple sauce style. “is it just you and one other roommate?” he asked curiously. part of him was glad that he was able to live alone this year. he really did not miss having a roommate. although josh was a good roommate, he did prefer living alone. 

“but you should be smarter with your money than just spending it on booze, i don’t blame you at all. besides, someone like you.  you should be getting drinks for free anyway.” ace flirted with the other, not even bothering to make it subtle anymore now that the door was shut.  ace’s safe haven behind a close door -- away from the public’s eye.  his parents always told him if he was ever going to act out to be damn sure no one saw it.  but when you’re sinning. it’s alright for the other victim to sin with you.  at least, that’s how it went in ace’s mind.  after he finished lighting his blunt, ace tossed his lighter to luca, “if you need to fidget or do something with your hands.  i’d recommend this, its calming.”  he explained after taking a hit -- the smoke coming out slowly with every word he spoke.  he had to reach over the mini fridge to crack open the window to keep the room from getting too smokey.  “but in a couple minutes, i can get you something else to do with your hands, too.” he continued to flirt.

upon the request for ‘whatever’ there was a sort of glint that came on behind ace’s eyes.  although he calmed himself down thinking now was not the time to get luca completely hammered.  maybe just a little tipsy -- or beyond that to calm him down since he did seem stiff.  he decided to go easy mixing a little root beer with rumchata. “it tastes like a,” he paused to put on his best american accent, “root beer float.” he said with a small laugh.  he was then distracted again mixing his own drink.  the statement came as ace was taking another huff of his blunt, his eyebrows raised in question. “hmm, i didn’t know that.” he teased, “well, maybe i’ll pray about it in the morning.” he had moved over to luca now with his own drink in hand, his hand starting on luca’s knee -- sliding up slowly before it dropped off onto the bed, his eyes flickering down to luca’s lips for a split second before he turned around so that he could lean back against the bed. “yeah-- yeah, but he’s gone most of the time, I don’t really worry about him too much.” he shrugged off the topic of conversation the other was attempting to make. “i’m not the expert here, but i do believe one little puff isn’t going to destroy your lungs.” he questioned with a smirk, holding out the blunt for the other to take if he so desired.  ace was not complaining having the whole thing to himself if not.

“are you sure? i’m not keeping you up, am i?” he asked arching a brow up at him as his gaze reached ace’s. a pause. it’s not like luca was against the idea. he just never had a reason to start and while he did have a hook up for it. he didn’t want to waste his money on it when he knew that he could spend it elsewhere. “i mean….. i would if i had a chance i guess. but i would never spend my own money on it, you know?” he said with a shrug as he counted his steps in his head, something to keep him busy in the meantime as they headed to ace’s place. there was an inch of naiveness in luca’s brain that knew that ace wouldn’t make him do anything in he didn’t want to do. curiosity hit him and he was wondering why ace even said that mostly because he trusted him. he knew when to stop doing something when he didn’t want to do it anymore. a smile formed on his lips though once they were finally inside, a hint of a blush on his cheeks as he looked at the stairs as they walked up them but his hand almost mindlessly as if it was so natural for him to grab his hand once more. “which door?” he asked looking at the numbers on the door as they walked by, 122, 123, 124… he noticed that they were tacked into the wall by shitty nails that looked like they’d fall off any moment and they were hanging by a thread almost.

“oh, don’t worry about it.” he replied with a shrug in his shoulders, he was sure his sleep schedule surely didn’t mind it.  it had grown accustomed to ace’s busy schedule, being constantly put on the back burner.  nothing about this situation would change that.  “i had never really thought it that way.” ace didn’t really think about money problems -- it had never been an issue. ‘mummy, can i have this piano?’ ‘mummy, can i have this shirt?’ was his life growing up, the boy had never been told no, even to that 15,000 pound piano or 900 pound shirt.  the couple pounds that came to alcohol was nothing in his head.  “well, i am very much offering you the chance.” ace said as he quickened he pace to pass luca, stopping at his door -- 135.  “this one.” he said with a cheeky wink, opening it.  the irony that came with the door being open when ace was gone, but locked when he was back. ( he was very trusting when it came to his dorm mates, probably a little TOO trusting. ) 

as soon as luca was inside, he turned to lock the door.  “my side is on the left, by the way.  i’m not sure if you’ve been here before.” it was almost as if a blunt appeared in the boy’s hands after the door was shut and locked, pulling it quickly out of his pocket.  it dangled in his mouth loosely as he held his lighter in his hand -- playing with the flint as he made his way over to the mini fridge under his bed.  it opened to a plethora of alcohol -- beer to liquor ( although no wine, with the exception of champagne, wine was never something ace could get himself in to.  maybe it was the connections of that to the church. ) “do you know what you like or would you like me to make you something?” he asked with a grin as he took a second to finally light the blunt that was in his mouth. 

“mhmm, sure.” he said smiling softly as he slowly let his fingers interlace with ace’s as they walked to his room. he shrugged though at his next comment. “dunno, never really tried either. i mean i drank alcohol before but like before when i did i could actually sleep.” he said with a shrug as he curled into him as they walked. "could you not sleep either? i’m glad i ran into you and not someone else though.” he said as his thumb rubbed gentle circles into his hand. “and well… i’ve never smoked weed before in my life. i don’t know, i don’t really have any reason to start it now.” he said as his gaze wandered down to the ground as they walked. although he was tired he was still oddly talkative for someone at this hour. “did you know that my neighbor has a marijuana greenhouse? he even taught me how to grow it.” 

ace looked down at their interlaced hands, an almost smirk appearing on his face as he bit his lip gently. he nodded as the other spoke -- almost as if he expected the answer.  it wasn’t really coming as a surprise to him, he knew luca’s soft nature.  “i was just in the music room, just lost track of time.  but you know, i’m not really too tired.” he lied, he was always tired but he wasn’t exactly going to share that with the other.  “you don’t wanna try it?” he asked to clarify, but he didn’t want to feel as if he was pushing it onto the other.  weed was usually a touchy subject -- especially with someone who rarely ( or ever recently ) drank even.  “that’s fine, you know, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” ace hinted lightly at the things he was going to attempt once they got behind closed doors.  if it wasn’t the middle of the night, ace wouldn’t even be caught holding the other’s hand -- but he figured there was no one else out at this time of night.  “a whole greenhouse?  that’s pretty wicked, you could make so much money from selling around here.” ace joked lightly as he dropped the others hand so he could unlock the entry to his dorm.  “after you, kind sir.” he said as he opened the door for the other, “the stairs are on your right, i’m on the second floor -- sadly.” he said, his eyes wandering down to the others backside as ace followed in behind him.

“i don’t know….” luca said a bit truthfully. he has never done that much in-depth research on graffiti but it was the only form of art that he enjoyed. yes, it was still art to him. graffiti was always something of an intangible concept to him just like how he was one so often times he could relate to it. though his gaze wandered to ace’s hand that he held out for him. a pause. luca was actually thinking about it. though he knew the moment he got to his room he wouldn’t be able to sleep. many people have tried before. he wasn’t really sure what his issue was. well….. he was sure. but he didn’t want to admit it himself. so he simply just put a smile on his lips. anything to make his friends happy, right? ace was always going to be a friend. he would do anything for him. finally taking his hand he pulled himself up to his feet. “take me to a comfy bed. i can’t promise you i’m going to sleep, but y’know i’d go anywhere with you. you beautiful soul.” he said mindlessly fumbling into him once he got to his feet and gently placed his fingertips on ace’s elbow almost as if it were foreign to him. as if it were something that he shouldn’t do. 

“well, then, that is your homework until the next time we meet.” ace joked with him -- hoping the other wouldn’t truly take him seriously.  there was a moment in which ace thought that luca would turn down his offer, his heart calming suddenly when luca accepted his offer.  “a comfy bed it is.” he replied with a grin, leading the other now to his dorm room.  “does anything help, you know, with the sleep?  i have some weed, alcohol, anything like that?” he questioned, he didn’t know much about that subject.  ace was almost always tired -- but actually laying down to go to sleep was his issue.  there was too many other things to do that took priority over his sleep schedule. 

– “RIGHT, LIKE THAT’S SUCH A COMFORT,” ODETTE SAYS, unable to resist the urge to roll her eyes at that. it’s not a comfort at all. “but fine, i just really think it’s not a good idea to play with matches near buildings that are so old. and they’re…really beautiful buildings,” odette adds, not about to get into the history of ashcroft with ace, knowing he wouldn’t care anyway. “well, keep your patterns to yourself?” she sighs, “i’m not going to lecture you about it any more.” 

“i mean it hasn’t happened yet, can’t you just trust me.  i know how to handle this.”  he tried to reassure her, although his eyes still hadn’t left the sight of the nearest building.  his mind still wandering to what it would look like in flames.  he knew it would be ruining years of history -- even he was saddened learning how the notre dame had been set aflame from a careless workers.  “fire burns in a v -- a perfect v when there is any sort of accelerate.  you know, like gasoline,  acetone, alcohol.  anything that has one of those flammable labels on it.  weather is also a big factor, i usually only try to burn things after its rained.  that way most everything is still wet and the fire won’t be able to collect as much heat as it would like since a fire only needs three things to start and spread: oxygen, fuel, and heat.  the water takes away the heat option.” he rambled off the odette, his words slowly spiraling until he was quiet once he realized how much he was really talking about it.  

                   joshua almost laughs at his statement –– it’s a cute attempt at defending himself. especially when ace stands up and is still much smaller then him. “two years younger means you’re ALWAYS going to be kid to me, kid,” he responds with a sly smile. “sorry. i don’t make the fucking rules.” he crosses his arms, his own physical mechanism to keeping people at a distance. as if his cruel words wouldn’t do the trick. “i dunno … people might smell ashes and think the worst. besides, the administration’s getting seriously antsy. wouldn’t be surprised if they just wanted to pin it on someone and be fucking done with it.” he raised an eyebrow. was joshua insinuating that he cared somehow? that was a mistake. “i don’t. i’d just prefer not to fucking DIE if they end up blaming you and the murderer is still out there.”

unlike most, cleo understood ace’s desire to be alone. something which she was never going to tire from. personal space was a lot to ask for these days though, no one seemed to understand boundaries. “i mean, if you’re sure? i don’t mind leaving-…” she trailed off, attention caught by the flicker of another flame. the four elements were something intriguing to cleo, she just couldn’t wrap her head around them. they were special. at least to her, anyway. maybe that was just the chemistry nerd in her. without further hesitation, she sat next to him in silence. sleeves, for once, pulled over her hands as her fingers fiddled together. surprisingly, the silence was nice rather than awkward. 

as cleo sat down, a small grin appeared on ace’s face.  he appreciated cleo’s company mostly because of the silence.  it was nice -- not being alone, but not being forced to talk.  words were some of the hardest thing to form in ace’s brain, and it stressed him.  the light flickered off the lighter once the flame got a bit too much for his thumb to handle -- something you think his thumb would’ve gotten used to by now with how much the boy played with lighters.  he reached over to grab a small piece of tinder wood -- a small stick that he offered to cleo alongside the lighter.  there was a pile of small rocks that ace now arranged in a small circle, clearing debris around it.  he filled the small pile with freshly pulled grass designed to put out the fire had it gotten too big for cleo to handle.

orpheus was a rag tag band of kids, to say the least. they each came from different walks of life, but found a common ground in music that eventually formed into what mason could only hope were lifelong friendships. though sometimes their differences formed some pretty narly arguments–though they always worked them out in the end. mason was a peacemaker ( a good trait to have considering the job he strived for ), but he was determined to figure out why ace was in another one of his moods and, if it came to it, talk some sense into him. 

mason moved to stand next to the piano, not looking ace in the eye just yet–he needed to feel the vibe of the mood the younger boy was in first before he made that mistake. “i came to see what the fuck was up with you.” way to be gentle, mason. “we were all having a good time and then suddenly you went all piss baby. if you wanna be treated like you’re grown up i suggest you start acting like it. we can avoid a lot more arguments that way.”

ace had never been known for his docile personality.  well, certainly not to those who truly knew him.  he was known to be polite, but there was no limit to his diva side that came out when he was around his friends.  and this happened to come out the most when there were distractions around.  it was easier than ace would like to admit to distract him -- the easiest method was obviously fire.  that bit had never been a secret, but missing out on things was another more secret thing. he liked to be up to date on things ( something he really never was ) since the feeling of being left behind was too all familiar to ace.  being raised in the sort of environment that he was, his parents were quite strict on tv hours, no video games, all of his homework, music practice had to be done before he could even think of looking on his phone.  and being left out was not something that he HAD to experience anymore.  

it was why whenever he was practicing and his phone continuously was going off -- it irritated him.  because there was a part of him that still heard his parents’ voices in his head nagging him to get his practice over with before he checked his phone.  but the other side of him kept checking his phone to make sure he wasn’t missing out on anything important.  “nothing is up with me.” ace snapped back, huffing with annoyance at the other.  there were really no other two in the band that bickered as much as ace and mason did.  there was a part of him that didn’t know how to reply to mason’s accusations, mostly because they were true.  ace wasn’t going to admit to his feelings, therefore he just turned his body back to the piano. “I’m not done yet, I said I was going to reply again when I was finished with my practice.” 

a faint smoke-scent but without the tell-tales of tobacco or the ol’ mary jane led ren de reignier — lead singer, but by no means any kind of responsible leader for the band orpheus — toe-to-toe with her band-mate, whilst he was so enraptured by the dead leaf, the fire curling it inward and devouring it to ash, scattered and smouldering amidst the grass still damp from previous nights’ rain. about the only time it had rained for the past while, to the girl’s memory, which was odd for scotland to say the least. luckily, she was better equipped than many, it seems, as she smears a dab of sun-cream she’d missed into the skin of her upper right arm. 

“i hardly snuck up on you, ace.” a smile tugged at her lips as she took the step back that ace couldn’t. “you’re the one who should be careful. you’ll set fire to the tree and be like…exiled or something because it turns out to be some imperium heirloom.” (she’s joking. mostly. it’s possible that it could happen.) “i brought you a visitor ‘cause you’ve been a bit off since you saw your parents.” the parents that neither ren, mads, mason, nor diego were allowed to meet, apparently.

ronaldinho — her black cat, named after the legend — sprung off of her back to get to ace, teasing out a soft ‘ow!’ of protest when he dug his claws in for the leap. “he likes you more than me. god only knows why.”

ace was happy to see his bandmate, he wasn’t always, but it was better her than some random person -- or worse -- even the murderer who continued to loom over the campus.  ace should be the last person to be worried, he wasn’t even in the imperium, he wasn’t investigating the matter.  he didn’t fit into any of the tropes -- except for the fact that his family did.  and maybe that would be enough to make him a target.  his family was not one for making friends before they made enemies.  

“yeah, you’re probably right.” ace wasn’t one to argue when it came to ren, she was much more of a parental figure to him for him to do that.  and one that he would NEVER admit outloud to her being so.  “it is dying.” ace replied, looking up at the sad looking tree -- leaves drooping down, drying up in the middle of summer.  it was rare to see a sight like this.  “but it wouldn’t spread much, it’s too damp everywhere else for that.  it would only smoke too much, but the heat wouldn’t be there to support the fire.” he explained.  

finally, peace and quiet; delia thought as she made her way into the clearing with her ‘special bag’. there was nothing really special about it though, it was just a tote big enough to hold her blanket, a few books, and two bottles of water. it was hard for delia to escape sometimes as her family was well known in the media, and she hated feeling as though she was being spied on twenty-four seven. she had found this ‘secret’ spot a few months into her freshman year at ashcroft and had been escaping there ever since. this time however, she was not alone. delia had just laid down her blanket when the smell of smoke invaded her nose. “what the-” she questioned aloud, picking up her blanket and walking towards the smell without much thought. this was her spot, and she’d be damned if she was going to let someone come in and take it from her. the tension throughout her body eased as she saw that it was just ace. of course. just as she was about to open her mouth to speak the male spotted her, clearly spooked. “first of all, I was not sneaking.” she shot back, irritation clear in her tone. “maybe if you were actually paying attention to your surroundings you would’ve seen me walking up,” she continued as she came a bit closer. “what are you even doing right now?” she questioned, although it was as clear as day. “are your intentions to burn everything flammable in sight? because if that’s the case tell me now so I can run,” she added, her tone a bit softer as she offered a joke. 

there were times when ace felt like he wanted to disappear.  not in a bad way, but people had always managed to find a way to him.  he wasn’t even sure how they did because half the time, ace didn’t even know where he was going when he disappeared.  sometimes he let his mind wander and his feet take him to wherever he ended up.  maybe that was it, everyone notices the weird kid staring off, wandering slowly into the woods.  joshua was probably right, he did seem like a good suspect for everything happening so far.  if there was any sort of fire component to anything, ace would’ve really been fucked.  maybe that was just his saving grace at the moment.  “i really felt like you were sneaking, are you sure?” he questioned the other’s statement, the lighter dropping onto the boys lap so he wouldn’t get distracted any further than he already was.  “in my defense, i didn’t expect anyone else to be out here too.” the defense mode continued, although his body relaxed a bit once she began to tease him instead, “maybe not everything in sight, just most things.” he returned the joke to her with a small grin.  “do you want to see?  i’ve been drying some of this stuff for weeks, i’m glad tinder is easier to dry out than actual logs.  those things takes like a year to get a good fire, if not you just get a bunch of smoke.  which really isn’t bad when it comes to bugs and shit.” he rambled on about the topic, it was one of the few besides music that really caught ace’s attention.

“And my hopes, they are high, I must keep them small. Though I try to resist, I still want it all.”

FOOLS by troye sivan 

“If I lay here, if I just lay here. Would you lie with me and just forget the world? Forget what we're told, before we get too old. Show me a garden that's bursting into life.”

“yeah, i’m pretty sure i unintentionally hurt people every day.  mostly my parents. I’m pretty sure i hurt mason the other day, too. spoiler alert, I’m pretty disappointing.”

“I got a girl crush hate to admit it, but i got a heart rush that ain’t slowing down.  i got it real bad, want everything she has.”