Chapter Text
Ash sighed as he looked out the classroom window.
The day was dull and slow. He felt the coolness of the table on his face as he put his head down. The teacher was sluggish as one eye stared at the board while the other stared at Ash. He would’ve been afraid, but he knew that it was just his lazy eye that would stare. He was saying something about density but Ash was too exhausted to listen. He had been up all night to study for a test, and he was still trying to make notes. He was tired of his school, annoyed by how hard it was to be there. Ash was attending this school purely because of the scholarship he got, his parents could never afford such prestigious schooling for him.
Ash stopped taking notes for a moment as his hand was starting to hurt from the aggressive way he scrawled words all over his notebook. None of his classier and wealthy classmates were even listening to the teacher, nevertheless holding a pen. It made sense since all of them were rich, they could go to the extra courses that gave them the credits they needed. The wealthiest of the few were here only for prestige and reputation. Only a few poor chosen ones had words on their blank notebooks, in comparison to the fancily decorated but empty on the inside notebooks the richer students possessed. The power dynamics in the school were rotten. The people with a hundred highlighters that remained untouched throughout the year, while the ones who owned one pen and worked their hearts out. The ones who could afford the luxuries of this school would pick on the ones who didn't have the same affluent background. Ash swore at the group of students who tried to pick on him, once. It had been a dangerously close call for him, but it did make them learn to never mess with Ash again, and the realization that they were cowards. With a sigh, Ash began to pack up his things after glancing at the time, he spent the last few minutes of the lessons in a daze again.
His dorm was really small, but yet he had to share it with three other kids. They were all there on a half scholarship, so they all had classes and shifts during the day. Ash too worked shifts but had to work a night shift as well to live in the dorms. He would study during the day and study at work, so sleep was something precious to him. Today one of his major exams, physics was finally over. He plopped onto his bed as soon as he reached his room and didn’t even have an ounce of energy to get up. Branzy walked into the room and saw Ash dead on his bed. He laughed, knowing what had happened. Ash just groaned in response.
“Your grind is finally over huh?”, Branzy asked with clear amusement in his voice.
“Oh fuck no, I got a bunch of assignments next week” Ash answered. Although they were in the same grade, Ash would do additional credit for every class even if he got full marks for all the work. He would try so hard every time, while the other kids would relax and party. He was always invited to parties, even if he refused each time. He sighed and got up, knowing he had to finish those physics notes.
“Woah woah,” Branzy started, “you’re not doing anything today.” His face was suddenly serious. “Do out and have fun for once, it won’t kill you!” Branzy stood in front of him, almost a head shorter than him. Somehow he was still almost intimidating if it weren’t for his sparkly purple eyes that looked like he was laughing.
Ash sighed and after a few minutes of arguing and threats to tell his Pierce he agreed. However, he ended up falling onto his bed and falling asleep. When he woke, he was in his sheets all tucked in. Both of his other roommates were sound asleep, so he made sure to make no sound and got up, put on a sweater and left his dorm without checking the time. He looked at his phone and realized he had a shift today at “The Joeses Diner!” and yes, it was spelt like that. he hated it because his boss was rather a guy who would eat the food for the customers as a ‘taste test’ and then told Ash to make it again. This of course only happened at night, since there were way too many customers during the day.
When he reached the diner today, he saw a strange silhouetted shadow at the bar of the diner. Ash turned on the bar light and tried to look again. Except it wasn’t just a shadow. It was a boy from his school. He was known to be one of the richest people in the school, so how the hell did he end up in a random street diner? The boy had pristine ginger hair that blew in the wind of the fan in the corner. His eyes were covered by the shades he was known to never take off. His face was pale, and he gave a faint odour of…cigarettes. What on earth? They were only fifteen and this boy already smoked? Ash sighed and contemplated on whether to wake him and help him. He was after all one of the boys who made fun of him, but Ash had just dismissed him by going face to face with him Ash was taller, but he didn’t seem scared. He just laughed it off and walked away.
The boy was sitting with his face on the table, clearly passed out. Ash just sighed and made some food for him. He patted the boy’s arm and asked him to wake up. The boy immediately jolted up and looked around. Ash couldn’t help but laugh at what just happened, the way he looked like a five-year-old who just lost his parents at the mall. His first instinct was to look around, then completely ignore Ash and then take out a cigarette.
“Light my cigarette?” He just smirked at Ash. Ash, was rather shocked by the request from this boy. His face was smirking, amused by Ash’s reaction. Ash just stood there dumbfounded, while the boy grew impatient and got up, searched his pockets for a lighter and Ash smelt the burn of smoke, and a hint of roses too. He watched as the boy in front of him had slow yet smooth movements while lighting it as if he had done it a hundred times already. He was wearing a sort of hoodie which somehow looked so formal on him. He just smiled and stared at Ash. He was also staring back, and there was just almost no movement, except for the occasional times when his eyes would suddenly flicker to the bottom part of his face.
“Hi,” He finally said, his smirk never leaving his face. Ash was too exhausted to deal with him, so he just waved him off and put on his barista mask.
“What can I do for you today?” Ash smiled the fakest smile ever; he hated this boy. He had the nerve to make fun of Ash, so what kind of hospitality did he even deserve? He smiled again, this time pointing at one of the drinks on the menu.
“I want the black coffee,” He said, bringing his cigarette to his lips as he exhaled the smoke rings out, the tip of it glowing more than ever. His chest rose and fell in a constant pattern, slow but smooth. Ash sighed and started making his coffee.
“I,” He started. “I feel like I’ve seen you around somewhere” he continued “You go to Aurelius Academy of Excellence, right?” Ash just nodded in response, as he was more concentrated on making the coffee. It was a habit really; he was fixated on one task and would only then do the next. Once the coffee was done, he just sat there looking with his eyes squinting and lips pressed together tightly. He was hoping for a relaxed night, but not with this guy.
The boy, however, did not get the tension in the air. He just started laughing. For some reason, Ash felt a smile creep on his face as he watched the ginger-haired guy laugh his head off. His eyes were half-lidded, and now that Ash was close to him, he could smell the reek of whisky from him. He knew it because his dad also always had this stale smell of smoke and whisky that lingered around. But this guy was different. It wasn’t the disgusting type of smell. He smelled quite different, like roses and cinnamon that were mixed with the smoke. It was nice.
He smirked again, this time grabbing the cup of coffee and taking a sip before starting. “You’re Ash, right? The scholarship boy” Ash didn’t nod this time. He just stared into his shades and rolled his eyes.
“No shit” Ash answered cockily. “You think I would work here if I had daddy’s money?”
“Are you usually this fucking dumb?” Ash asked again after a beat of silence. The boy, however, never ceased to smirk. He took another sip from his coffee.
"Not usually," Red said with a teasing grin, "I just thought you had lower standards. Guess I was wrong.” Ash nodded, before furrowing his brow in confusion.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ash questioned, realising that maybe there was a hint of flirting there. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off walked away from the counter and brought back a doughnut from the fridge. He was starving as he hadn’t eaten anything after coming home from class.
“So, Ash, you aren’t going to ask for my name?” the boy asked in an egoistic tone. Ash rolled his eyes. He watched as the boy took the cigarette he had in his hand and put it on the table.
“No, I don’t care.” Ash took a bite of his doughnut. It was simple but sweet, and he felt proud of it. After all, he had made those doughnuts.
The boy laughed again. “You’re funny, Ash.” He said. “And quite impressive. Can I have your number?”
Ash was completely lost now. He furrowed his eyebrows in both confusion and frustration. “I don’t even know your fucking name.” He spat.
“Oh really? I assumed everyone knew.” He said a little surprised. “My name’s Red,” The stranger said and brought the slender cigarette to his mouth with practised ease, inhaling it without a thought, almost unconsciously. Ash just hummed in response and continued to ignore him.
“You know,” Red continued “Most people wouldn’t miss out on an opportunity like this.” He inhaled a bit of his cigarette, Ash wrinkled his nose at the odour of cigarette smoke that wafted across the room, mixing with the scent of coffee.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing.” Red put his cigarette between his lips, keeping them tight so it doesn’t fall and took Ash’s phone and tried to open it by putting it in front of Ash’s face, but it didn’t work. Annoyed, red just asked him to open his phone.
“Why are you so persistent?” Ash asked
“Are you going to give me or not?” Red asked annoyance in his voice. Ash hesitated for a while before handing it over. He handed it. Ash wanted to go back into the kitchen and sleep for the night when Red suddenly started to bombard him with questions.
“What’s your favourite colour?” Red asked him like they were five years old playing at the playground.
“What are you five?” Ash remarked before answering, “Purple”
“Cool, mine is Red,” Red said dumbly
“No way, really?” Ash answered sarcastically, causing Red to giggle. This continued for a while, with Red asking the dumbest questions and Ash answering them with as little interest as possible, although he couldn’t help but start talking about some of the things. After all, they were talking about his interests. Ash didn’t even realize how long they had been talking until he looked out the window– the midnight blue sky had turned into a soft orange and pink, and the bright light of the sun replaced the stars. He could hear the morning birds chirp, echoing the beautiful melody inside the diner. He looked back at Red, only to find him staring.
“What?” Ash asked, annoyed. He was angry at himself, for giving in. Angry for not realising this trap he set. He didn’t realize that Red had lured him into answering these questions, and now he would make fun of them or expose them to others.
“Nothing” Red smiled and stood up; Ash didn’t even realize when Red had finished his coffee. Red leaned over the counter so close to Ash that he flinched a little, but remained rigid. He didn’t want Red to think he was scared, as he wasn’t. Red leaned back again, walking away so when he looked up and saw the diner’s door chime ring for the first time he got here tonight, his smirk stayed still.
“I hope to see you again Ash,” Red said before leaving.
“I hope you die today” Ash answered back, which caused Red to laugh. Ash didn’t know why he was laughing so much, but why was it so attractive? Ash brushed it off and he just sat there in confusion and clenched his fists. Had he made a mistake? Why did he talk to Red so much? Couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut? Ash sighed, knowing the damage was done now. He looked at his phone, only to find a fresh new number and another fresh message too.
Red
See you at the cafe?
Ash was furious, but for some reason, he felt himself smile. Oh well, what could one friend do?
The sun had already set when Ash walked out of the diner, his mind buzzing with a mix of confusion and frustration. The encounter with Red had left him feeling strangely unsettled. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had let his guard down, and allowed himself to be drawn into a conversation that he hadn't planned on having.
As he walked down the dimly lit street, the glow of streetlights casting long shadows, Ash couldn't help but replay the moments in his mind. Red's persistent questions, his teasing smile, the way he seemed to effortlessly charm his way into Ash's thoughts. It was all so unexpected, so out of the ordinary.
The cool night air brushed against Ash's skin, a stark contrast to the warmth he had felt in the diner. He couldn't make sense of his emotions – frustration at himself for letting Red get under his skin, confusion about why Red had even bothered to engage him in the first place.
Lost in his thoughts, Ash barely noticed the familiar path back to his dorm. He climbed up the stairs, the creaking sound echoing in the quiet hallway. Opening the door to his room, he found Branzy still awake, scrolling through his phone.
"You're back late," Branzy remarked, with concern dripping in his voice.
Ash shrugged, not wanting to delve into the details of his encounter with Red. He tossed his keys on the table and collapsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The events of the evening replayed in his mind like a broken record, each moment dissected and analyzed.
"Why do things have to be so complicated?" Ash muttered to himself, feeling a mix of irritation and curiosity about what the next interaction with Red would bring. He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would offer some clarity the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside him.
As the night deepened, Ash drifted into a restless sleep, his dreams filled with fragments of conversations and fleeting glimpses of Red's puzzling smile. He would have to wake up in a couple of hours, and he wondered what the next day would bring, whether his questions would be answered or if he would meet Red again.