casanova

is that michael evans behling on campus? oh no, that’s asher frazier. From new york, new york, the 21 year old has come to study computer science and finance. rumor has it he is outgoing and alluring, but arrogant and outspoken, which is why she/he/they is/are known as the casanova. he resides in delta psi beta and can’t wait to graduate.

wanted connections | relationships | full navigation

although not explained in huge depth, please note the following trigger warnings: neglect, abuse, mentions of drug abuse, mentions of dcf

disclaimer: asher has been at monarch for the last year (for plotting purposes)

“thank you, asher… it means a lot to hear that.” joey said, offering the other a small smile as he nodded his head, waiting patiently for the other to make his move, blushing slightly when he mentioned that he was the sweetest. asher always had the power to make him blush with just the tiniest compliment and he still had it in him, even if they had basically not talked for a year. as the conversation switched to them talking about maisy again, joey nodded his head slowly. “yes, i think she really liked it. i mean, she ended up winning, so it’s not a big surprise. but you should have seen spencer’s face.” he said, reminding himself of the game he had early with a small group of people, as he let out a small chuckle. even if asher said he had missed him in a quieter voice, joey still heard him and let out a small sigh - the two had missed each other, that much was true and no one could deny it, but that didn’t mean that everything was okay between the two, although joey wanted it to be. joey didn’t say anything for a couple of moments as he looked at the game, waiting for asher’s move and once the other finally played, joey grabbed one of yellow pieces and placed it next to his first yellow piece, smiling at his move. he then looked back at asher and nodded his head. “well, yeah… it kind of sucks though. but i think it was best if we grew apart a little.” he said, although just saying that hurt him - it had been hard to stay away from asher all of this time, but he had to do it for his own sake. “what are you doing after we’re done with the game?” he asked, his eyes now meeting asher’s.

for a moment, asher couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had a genuine, true conversation with joey. in a way, it was nice to hear about how he was doing. he couldn’t help but smile as he heard the other chuckle, the soft laughter making asher feel warm inside while simultaneously sending chills down his spine. despite that, he had never been more grateful for his sister than in that very moment. “he better get used to losing to her, at least when it comes to scrabble.” he laughed softly. he wasn’t the biggest fan of spencer, but he wasn’t going to talk crap about the male, at least not in this moment. there were more important, more pressing things, to discuss - even if asher didn’t want to openly admit that. he released a breath, a sigh huffing from his lips as the other mentioned how space was a necessity for them. he knew it was true, but that didn’t mean it hurt less to hear it. “right...growing apart is always the best thing.” he shook his head at the thought, dropping his next piece into the slot before eyes diverted away. he scanned the foyer for a brief moment, attempting to ground himself when he heard the other speak once more - joey’s voice causing him to focus his attention back on the other male. “nothing. i was probably going to go out and explore a little bit more. this place kinda reminds me of home, ya know?” he said dryly, shoulders raising up into a shrug as he spoke.

asher paused, allowing bitter silence to settle between the two once more. he could hear the fire crackle in the near distance, and while the noise would’ve normally brought some sort of feelings of peace, each crack and pop only reminded him of how many seconds went unspoken between the two. “actually...i was hoping that i’d get to spend more time with you.” his lips pressed together and curled up, giving off the slightest smile. this smile only lasted for a few seconds, his head shaking just milliseconds before the words, “we really gotta talk about what happened, joey” rolled off the tip of his tongue. 

joey thought that asher seemed to say the right things and the things he wanted to hear. he chuckled lightly, nodding his head slowly. “most people would disagree… but i suppose i’m pretty good at cheerleading.” he said, feeling his cheeks growing warm at what the other had just told him, taking a deep breath. it was this exact reason that made joey fall for asher the first time around, but times had changed and things weren’t the same anymore - even if joey didn’t like thinking about it. “i’ve been known to be very sweet, yes.” he said with a smile, as he watched asher carefully as he made his move and once he was done, joey placed a yellow piece next to the place where asher had put his, smiling as he waited for the other’s next move. “oh, right… i miss hanging out with maisy sometimes. i was playing scrabble with her earlier, she’s really nice.” he said with a nod, as he looked at asher with a smile on his face. “and i miss… hanging out with you. this is nice.” he said, blushing slightly at what he had just said, but it was the truth. “i’m sorry for my reaction earlier… i didn’t mean it to be like that.” he said with a small nod.

“i don’t think so. besides, you’re amazing at cheerleading. you’ve been doing it for so long, i’m convinced it’s your calling now.” asher chuckled softly. while it wasn’t easy making small talk to joey like this (asher absolutely hated small talk), it was better than just prolonged silence...which they had been facing for the last year. “the sweetest.” he added, a smile once more taking over his features. complimenting joey was easy, even to this day asher struggled talking bad about him; he just couldn’t do it, despite how things ended. his smile dropped at the mention of his sister, joey’s words being the knife the further pushed up against his heart and twisting it like it was nothing. he had almost forgotten that the other male had grown pretty acquainted and fond of his sister, and vice versa. joey was the one person he actually did talk to his sister about. “oh...really? i bet she liked that, being a writer and all...but uh-yeah - she definitely has her moments.” while his lips were now pressed into a line, he was still able to manage putting on a soft smile, especially when hearing the next thing the other male muttered. “this is nice. i’ve missed hanging out with you too.” he said, this time in a much quieter voice. he was beginning to feel vulnerable, one emotion that only joey managed to smuggle out of him at what seemed to be the most inconvenient times. he placed his next piece into the same slot as his first, watching as the red piece slid down on top of his first. uncreative, but his mind was racing too much for him to play smart, at least with this game. “we haven’t really been on the best of terms recently. it’s all good.”

when: january 23rd, 2022 

where: the hot tub 

being in a crammed bus full of people didn’t do wonders for asher’s nerves, so the minute he got off he practically made a beeline to his room. he had now been there for a few hours and spent his time roaming around the lodge; but now he was about half a bottle of vodka in, and officially bored. so, he texted the one person he knew could guarantee him a good time. his fingers tapped on the screen of his iphone as he typed up a message to marcus, suggesting that the other should meet him at the hot tub, with the promise that drinks would be included. 

joey gave the other a small smile as he placed the mug with the hot cocoa on the table and looked back at the board games on the table before inevitably picking connect 4 and opening the box as he started getting all of the pieces out and setting it up. he was good at this game, maybe because it was an easy one that he could understand the rules. “well, i can’t help it that i’m good at this game… i have to be good at something, so. plus, monopoly is kind of confusing.” joey said with a small chuckle as he set aside the yellow pieces for himself and dragged the red pieces over to asher so he could play. “i’ll let you go first, maybe this time i’ll let you win.” he said with a small chuckle, as he waited for asher to play. it was nice to be civil with asher for at least once, as he missed spending time with him, especially times like this. he knew that they would have to talk about it eventually, but it felt better to avoid it for now. “not really, i was just hoping someone would play with me. what about you? i’m sure you have better things than to play board games with your ex-boyfriend.” he said, that lost word stinging a little more than it should have, as he pursed his lips together.

“you don’t give yourself enough credit, jojo. you’re actually good at a lot of things.” asher said, lips pressed into a sheepish smile. he began gathering the red pieces that joey had been passing to him, his fingers dragging them closer one by one. “aw, thanks. how sweet of you.” his words came out sarcastically, yet jokingly, flashing the other a warm smile as he played his turn. he never really started to strategize until he was a few turns in, so he didn’t really put too much thought into the slot the first red piece slid into. he looked up after dropping the piece, giving joey a small nod. his fingers began fumbling with his second piece, waiting to make his next move. “nothing important.” he shook his head, brown eyes peering up. he cleared his throat before continuing, “i mean...i probably was just gonna go bother and hang out with maisy.”

.

okay, maybe joey’s reaction wasn’t the most appropriate when he saw that asher had been the one approaching him. after all, he still wanted to be nice to everyone he knew and while he spent a lot of time hating asher and wanting to avoid him, the truth was that a year had passed and it seemed like the other did regret doing what he did. but it didn’t mean that joey was ready to forgive him completly, but he could at least try and be nice to him.

“sorry…” he said, shaking his head slowly as he set monopoly aside and looked at asher, giving him a small smile as he looked over at the board games that were on the table, thinking about something that the two could play together and that it wouldn’t be stressful. the truth was that he did like spending time with asher, and when the other offered him the hot chocolate, joey couldn’t help his smile growing wider as he took the mug from the other and used it to warm his hands, looking down at the hot chocolate in his hands. “thank you, that’s sweet of you.” he said as he took a small sip from the hot chocolate and looked at asher with a smile on his face. it was times like this where he missed spending time with him, mostly because he knew that he could be nice to him and they could just sit and enjoy each other’s company. a long time had passed ever since that happened and a lot of things had changed, but he still missed it. “maybe we can play connect 4? i think that one is not that stressful and maybe we’ll end up having some fun.” he said with a smile, trying to make up for the answer he gave the other when he first approached him. “or you can choose the game, really. except monopoly, i’m assuming.” he said with a small nod of his head.

asher’s smile quickly grew warmer when joey accepted the drink from him. this was already a much better start than their last encounter - so much so that asher thought for the slightest moment that maybe there was some hope for redemption after all. there was obviously that huge elephant in the room that would have to be addressed sooner or later, but asher had been hoping for at least one calm, not awkward moment with the other male. he took off his coat and laid it on the couch that sat there in front of the fire, taking a seat on the hardwood floor opposite of joey. he began looking through the board games that presented themselves in front of him, searching for a good option. honestly, he didn’t really care to play a board game. if it were up to him they would be doing something else, maybe even talk...but beggars couldn’t be choosers, at least not in this case. “you’re only suggesting that because you used to beat my ass on the imessage version.” he reminisced for a brief moment, a soft laugh escaping his lips as he recalled the memory. “no plans tonight?”

at the other’s question, joey just shrugged his shoulders as he let out a sigh. “what? it’s the truth, you never really cared about pickle, i don’t know why that’s such a big deal.” he said, as he looked at all of the chips options there were. he hesitated a couple of seconds as he grabbed the purple bag the other had suggested, knowing that he had liked them because asher had given it to him before. but he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, as he walked back to the counter, following asher as he let out a sigh and placed the things he was going to buy on top of it. he wanted the other to hurry, but once he asked the question he knew that he should answer it. “i’ve been fine. just busy with classes and cheer practice, but fine.” he said, pausing for a moment as he looked at asher again. “you?” he asked, remembering that he had always heard he should try his best to be nice, even after everything that had happened.

“nobody ever it said it was a big deal.” asher muttered underneath his breath. was anything really a big deal with them? was this unexpected meetup a big deal to joey as it was obviously to him? practically a year has passed, and still to this day asher found the tension that settled between the two unsettling, heartbreaking even. joey, who asher once couldn’t even fathom going a day without seeing or speaking, was now a complete stranger. and that was on him. that was probably the one thing the two can agree on at this time. he placed his hands on the counter, muscles flexing as he leaned forward, his body weight practically pressing against the palms of his hands. “i’ve been good. same shit, different day, y’know?” he said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. “competition season is coming up soon, isn’t it? you must be pretty excited for that.” 

✌️

“It probably wouldn’t be fun, but it’d be nice,” Eloise grumbled. It was unfortunate that she was in a bad mood most of the time and that it was late at night already. Too bad there was no coffee around or else that might have pepped up her spirit. She was sure there was some in the Corner Shop, but she knew it wouldn’t taste good. “They’re protein,” she argued, shrugging. “It’s gotta be better for me than donuts, I think,” Eloise countered. She was pretty positive she was right and she truthfully, did not want to be proven wrong. “No, I got water at the house. The Slim Jim was a necessity.”

“what’s got you in such a bad mood?” asher asked, treading with caution. “donuts taste better though.” he said with a shrug of the shoulders. he always did have a pretty big sweet tooth. asher slid the contents on the counter back over towards the blonde. he wasn’t going to charge her for just a slim jim and a bag of chips - at least, not this time. he flipped the page of the magazine once more before looking up. “what’s your take on this whole kim and kanye shit happening?” he curiously asked, turning the tabloid over so she can look at what he had been referring to. 

Esme had her earphones in when she walked in to the corner shop. It had been a long shift at the hospital as well as her classes in the morning combining together that she needed a bottle of wine tonight. She pulled her earphone on when she noticed Asher talking to her. “Hey, how are you, Asher?” She asked, holding a bottle of red wine in her hand and now staring at chocolate. 

“what’s good, esme?” asher greeted, his lips curling up into a soft smile. “can’t complain.” he simply shrugged. he was as good as he could be in that moment; he was at work, after all. “what are we celebrating tonight?” he asked, referring to the bottle in her hand. 

Normally, hearing someone yell out ‘we’re closed!’ would send Yvette right back out the door she entered from but right now she was in a panicked rush. “You don’t sound so eager to see me,” She pointed out as she made her way up to the register counter. Looking a little breathless, and possibly a little crazed, she slapped her hands down on the counter and looked at Asher expectantly. “Can you please tell me how I’m supposed to get to the darkroom from here? I’m supposed to meeting someone and I have no idea how to get there from here.”

“and you sound a little too eager to see me.” asher countered with a shrug. he looked down once more, with the full intention of going about what he had been doing previously, until the sound of hand slapping loudly onto the counter almost startled him. looking up at her, he furrowed his brows before responding, “it’s like three blocks away from here. hot date or somethin’?” 

“well, there aren’t enough words in the english vocabulary to describe how much of an idiot you are, so i have to work with what i have.” maisy said, shaking her head slowly at her brother as she kept gathering all of her papers, placing them neatly in a pile as she looked at asher again. “yes you are, you have that shit eating grin you always do whenever you ruin something and try to make it up for it. i’m not dumb, asher, we grew up together, remember?” she asked, shaking her head slowly as she looked away from asher to look back at her ruined work. “yeah, it’s not bad, it’s terrible. and also your handwriting is terrible, i’ve seen it… but i guess thanks for wanting to help. and i’m working on a new story. well, i was working on a new story.” she said with a sigh.

asher couldn’t help but to roll his eyes in response to maisy’s comment. any other time he would have simply just gotten up and walked away, forcing her to deal with whatever situation herself. but this was partially his fault, and he did feel bad. “i do remember, unfortunately.” he grumbled as he continued dabbing at the papers, hoping to salvage them. “so far so good. just a few coffee stains.” he tacked on easily, handing her over the papers one by one. “if you don’t want me to rewrite it, at least let me type it up for you. it’ll look better than this chicken scratch.”

joey didn’t want to be there in that moment, if he was being honest - seeing asher always made him feel sad, mostly because of everything that had happened between them, but it also made him a little mad, although he wouldn’t act on it. he didn’t like being mad at people, but just seeing asher made his blood boil a little after everything that happened. watching the other as he made his way to the aisle, joey followed him, his eyes on the floor as he wouldn’t dare to look at him at that moment. “oh, uh… he eats wet food. but i’m not surprised that you don’t remember that, you never really cared for him.” joey said, crossing his arms as he looked at the cat food on the shelf, before grabbing some of the cans and holding them in his hands - sure, he didn’t need to say something like that, but he couldn’t help it. “what kind of chips do you guys have here? i’m kind of hungry.” he said, trying to keep the conversation to a bare minimum, before he said something that he would probably regret later while he was lying in bed - and that’s when he finally looked up, his eyes finally meeting asher’s.

joey’s words struck a tiny nerve in asher, leaving him almost entirely speechless. almost. “was that really necessary?” he questioned. he knew joey had every right to be mad, especially after asher had successfully ruined what was once such a great thing. “we have a little bit of everything.” he shrugged, looking down at the other before going on, “my personal favorite are the spicy sweet chili doritos. purple bag.” with that, he began making his way back towards the counter; and for the first time that entire evening, he had been praying for another customer to walk through the door. anything that would get rid of the heavy tension that filled the thick air. “how’ve you been?” he finally asked, finally speaking after a couple of long moments in silence.

joey should have known better to go the corner shop, especially knowing that asher would probably be working there. but it wouldn’t hurt to try and maybe it wasn’t his shift - he just needed to get some food for pickle and then he would leave, it was that easy. making his way inside, joey ignored the voice that came from down the aisle and quickly started looking through the cat food, but that’s when he realized that asher had spotted him. it took him a while to look back at him, before he sighed. “it’s not closed, it says right there it’s open…” he said with a frown, before looking around for cat food - he needed to get out of there and he needed to do it fast. “what’s up? nothing, i’m just looking for cat food. do you guys have that here?” he asked, as he crossed his arms and hoped that this conversation would just end soon so he could get out of here. “that’s all i’m here for.” he said with a shrug.

if he didn’t know any better, asher could’ve sworn that his heart sunk to the pit of his stomach that very moment his eyes met joeys. while it was almost normal for him to see the other in passing, it had been a while since he was confronted, and forced to interact with the other male. it really had been a while, and yet the same stinging, anxiety provoking feeling that he felt, hadn’t diminished one bit. his hard, almost cold features had softened as they just stared at each other. the way joey was looking at him in that moment gutted him. “uh, yeah...” his words were followed by a simple shake of his head, forcing himself to snap out of thought. joey was now in the past, and asher simply had to live with that. pushing himself off of the counter, he snaked his way around and towards the designated aisle, the one joey had originally been looking for. his eyes scanned over the limited options that the store offered for a moment before looking up. “i forgot, does he eat wet or dry food?” he asked simply, figuring that it was for pickle.