Ace—there’s no sugarcoating it, he’s one of the most concerning and questionable kids at your school. Hell, he’s practically the ring leader with how troublesome he is. Vandalizing things, being a total class clown, edgy—anything you could name, and he’d probably be.

Unfortunately, he’s one of your closest friends. Sure, he’s really weird—which would be an understatement—but he has a heart somewhere. Perhaps it just doesn’t lie with you… You doubt he even considers you a friend at all. Maybe a mere acquaintance. Yet, you still keep each other company, despite how much of an asshole he is, especially with his habit of “unintentionally” inflicting pain on you. Yeah, right; “unintentional" your ass.

Every time you two cross paths, he roughly bumps your shoulder, maybe a little whack at the nape of your neck, or a strong flick if you’re lucky! To be completely honest, Ace even leaves sore spots. Though, you can’t really do much. You can—you just don’t see a point. He wants a reaction; you don’t want to give him that satisfaction.

Sadly, today was your breaking point cause you slipped up. Big time.

The bell rang loudly through the long, white-painted walls, which had a smooth, bumpy texture, as you ran your side against it tiredly. The walls kept you standing as you made your way to your locker. You rubbed your eyes tiredly and blinked several times to keep yourself awake, which failed. You put your things away and continued to navigate through the bustling corridors.

You could catch a few recognizable, yet unimportant people within the crowd as you wobbly walked down the school to the cafeteria doors. The old lights buzzed and shone brightly as your eyes adjusted to the beams.

You grabbed your lunch in silence as shoes squeaked against the concerning, sticky floors that shone from the light above. Chatter emanated audibly from the lunchroom, and you sat down at an isolated table and ate silently.

"Scoot over," Ace commanded.

However, your quietness quickly came to an end.

You let a small, low groan in small protest before quickly shutting up and moving a seat down. Ace went to grab his lunch after setting his dirty bag down. You were really tempted to take a peek and see what was hidden underneath the zips of the backpack before deciding it probably wasn’t worth it, considering Ace. You bit your lip in contemplation before hearing a loud Thud!

You turned. "Calm the fuck down."

"Nah, why should I? Can’t handle a little noise?"

"Shut up." You murmured in defeat.

Ace smirked before roughly shoving you. His reason? He just wanted to. You recollected yourself, trying not to lash out and cause a potential scene, but you could notice Ace was itching for a much more stronger reaction from you. He was relentless. And knew he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.

You sighed before feeling a powerful kick to your leg. You winced as Ace giggled his ass off.

"Cut that shit out, Ace."

"Yeah, whatever." He smiled sadistically before taking a bite from his sandwich.

You remained quiet, lifting up your pant leg to notice a red mark before scoffing frustratedly. Ace blinked a few times, his eyes fluttering for a moment before they averted to the forming bruise he created on your ankle.

"Did you have to kick me that hard?" You scowled angrily.

"Quit bitchin’, bastard." Ace sneered back, his voice laced with cruelty and indifference.

Though, the way he was eyeing the mark was becoming a lot more contradictory than he liked it to be. You knew he cared, at least somewhat. And that thought somehow kept you at bay as you both ate in a tense silence.