~Ø~

Ace walked inside the boys bathroom with a frantic Jason skeddadling on his tail. There were no people inside the spotless yet dreary place besides the two.

"Do you even know who the fuck you just messed with?" Jason asked, walking back and forth in front of the mirror waiting for Ace to come out from one of the gray stalls.

"Again, I don't know anything nor do I care about those two pigs," he replied as he got out of the stall. "Do you still have that burgundy nike sweatshirt I let you borrowed last Friday?"

"I think it's in my locker but there's no guarantee it's clean. I'll go get it just wait for me here." Jason then left with great haste.

Ace manipulated the running water from the faucet towards his hair and face to wash it thoroughly before wiping it with some toilet papers that were usually unavailable in their school restroom. His reflection showed him everything was clean and wiped off except for the pink stain on his white shirt and the sweet scent of strawberry and vanilla on his head, but that's not something to worry about.

The door suddenly opened, a towering 6 foot guy entered the bathroom carrying a transparent blue file case on his right hand filled with a bunch of papers and some used pen and art materials. His plain black tee, brown cargo pants and almost-tattered running shoes were of low quality, the kind you would find at a thrift shop. It didn't matter since Ace's gaze immediately went straight to his piercing blue eyes under his thick eyebrows. His sharp jawline and thin, delicate nose accentuated his manly look.

The guy greeted Ace with a half smile showing the dimples on his cheek. He walked inside one of the stalls while scratching his stubble when he saw plastic bags covering the urinals.

Ace continuously tapped the toe of his right shoe on the pristine white floor before taking a look at his watch. After a few seconds, a panting Jason returned with the burgundy sweatshirt on his hands. He slowly walked towards Ace, reaching his arm out towards him as bullets of sweat ran across the bulging pimples on his face and unto the floor.

"Uhh– why do you look like you just ran a marathon?" Ace carefully unbuttoned his stained shirt exposing his upper torso.

"Dude I ran to my locker which is on the other side of the building because those two girls might be looking for us!" He squealed in fear. "Oh hey, it's been a long time since I've last seen your birthmark." Jason stared at the center of Ace's chest where a brown birthmark is visible.

"That's because I wear clothes 24/7 Jason," he replied, putting on his sweatshirt. "Also, your attention span is shorter than your dick."

"It has also been a long time since you've last seen my magic wand that you're not aware it has now grown to its full potential." Jason showed a proud smile, his index finger danced from left to right.

"That's disgusting."

The gigantic guy came out of the stall and washed his hands next to Jason who was busy playing imaginary drums. Ace on the other hand finished dressing up and fixed his hair.

"Hey Ace, do you want to go to the store near the playground and buy some food? I didn't get the chance to eat because of those two girls," Jason asked, still playing imaginary drums but a little more hardcore than before.

Ace nodded, leaving the restroom with Jason who kept beating imaginary drums while beatboxing a gibberish tune out of his full lips.

They walked across the clean halls of Lowell High School, walking past by students sitting on the floor close to the pristine white walls until reaching the glass entrance. Once they were outside, Ace and Jason quickly and carefully crossed the street, making their way to 25th avenue afterwards near the Rolph Nicol Jr. Playground just a block from their school.

The two boys finally reached the street and entered the red building with candy stickers on the windows and a rabbit mascot standing still beside the white door. An old, rusty shopkeeper's bell rang once they opened the door. A sweet, enticing scent invited the two boys in. Inside was a sweet tooth's dreamland as colorful candies and dessert presented themselves, charming the curious customers that took set a step inside the shop.

"Hey Mr. Alle!" Jason waved his hand and smiled towards the old man reading the newspaper behind the counter.

"Welcome Jason and Jace," he shouted from his place. "Pick whatever you like! Oh and today's special treat is a black forest cupcake," he added, pointing towards the glossy glass casing right next to the soda machine.

"Holy crap! I love black forest!" Jason shouted with pure glee, immediately running towards the glass case and pressing his face against the protective barrier like a little kid.

"Good thing I baked a lot of it then!" Mr. Alle stood next to Jason, "How many do you want?"

"Two is enough I'm kind of broke right now."

"How about you Jace? You don't want anything?" He took two cupcakes and placed them inside a small paper bag. "This would be 6 dollars, Jason."

"Just this brownie," Ace answered, holding a chocolate bar on his hand and paying it.

"I heard your prom is on Friday. It's your first time going right?" The old man put their payments inside his cash register.

"I'm going but Mr. I don't know what's so special about prom here isn't," Jason stated before taking a huge chunk on one of the cupcakes, throwing the piece of moist chocolate cake into his gigantic mouth.

"To be fair it's not mandatory so I'd rather eat pizza at home and watch NCIS. You only go there to improve your social skills and I already get enough of that by going to school everyday," Ace said, his eyes turned to Jason. "Besides, it's not like you have a date or a sense of fashion to pull of a formal wear."

"That's what you thought Debbie Downer! I got myself a hot date for prom and my uncle said I could borrow my cousin Charlie's black suit so suck on that!"

"Your breath stinks, you know that right?" He asked in which Jason nodded with a mischievous smile showing his teeth covered with smudges of chocolate from the dessert he was eating.

"That's enough you two," Mr. Alle said with concern. "It's almost 1:00 so you should hurry back to your next class." The old man pointed at the big, blue wall clock above him causing the two boys to scram towards the entrance door.

"Oh wow I didn't noticed. Thanks for the reminder and the cupcakes Mr. Alle! They're really delicious! Please make gingerbread cookies soo— ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Jason was yanked outside by Ace, interrupting his goodbyes.

"Hey, what the hell man watch out for the shirt!" Jason removed Ace's grip on his shirt. "Chad Channing signed this one when he had a meet and greet at Four Seasons Hotel," he hissed.

Ace took his hand and covered Jason's blabbering loud mouth. Jason glared at his friend who was switching his gaze from left to right of the street.

"There's no people or moving vehicles..." Ace mumbled.

"What the fuck are you doing!!? There's no people because it's lunchtime braniac!" A muffled noise came from Jason's covered mouth.

Ace made a shushing noise before pointing his finger at a big, brawny man in a sleek black suit walking from the other side of the street before stopping in front of their school, staring at it. He held a black briefcase in his right hand. The boys presumed he was checking the place out until noticing what was in his left hand; a steel gray gun.

Both of their eyes widened, almost popping out of their sockets before rushing to hide behind a brown car right next to them.

Jason slowly removed Ace's hand from his mouth as his back shuddered against the hard rubber wheel of the car. "S–shouldn't we call the c-cops or something...? I ca– I can call 911 right now."

"I don't know." Ace calmed himself down by exhaling, noticing that Jason was in distress. "Maybe it's not a real gun," he replied with words he knew was not the answer just to calm Jason.

"D–dude, what the fuck are you thinking!? Who in their right fucking mind would carry around a fucking gun or a 'fake one' and then stand in front of a fucking school filled with fucking children during school day! A fucking school shooter that's who! Just look at the size of that fucking guy!" he shouted silently with intense facial expressions that might help snap Ace out from his stupid excuses. He then took out his brand new 8250 phone out of his pocket and started dialing 911.

"Look, look, he's walking away. See, I told you he's not gonna do something bad!" Ace tapped Jason's right shoulder.

"H—hello? I'm a s–student of Lowell High School and there's a big g–guy holding a gun in front of the school a—and I'm just worried he might be one of those s–school shooters that I see on the television," he stuttered in fear, peeking out of the car to look at the man.

The two of them saw him walking towards the alley next to the old building just opposite to where they were which is an unwelcoming place for children like them.

"S–sir, he's getting away...! He's walking t—towards an alley, I–I don't know where it leads to," Jason replied to the operator on the other side of the line.

The two boys heard a voice of a woman in the alley before a gunshot left them motionless. Their eyes widened alongside their mouth before looking back at the alley.

"S-sir, d-did.. y-y-you just hear that? I-I think he just shot someone. A-a w-woman."

Ace breathe slowly, his fists clenched before swallowing a lump of saliva that has accumulated in his mouth the whole time. He glanced back and forth between Jason talking to an operator and the alley. He looked at both his palm. It was shaking. But it didn't matter.

"You stay here until the police arrives. I'm gonna follow brawny guy okay?" Ace said before sneaking off quietly.

"W–what!? You stupid idiot come back here this instant!" he roared at a volume of a little kitten as to not alert the man, immediately pressing his phone against his ear. "My best friend just followed the man please come here immediately he's so fucking stupid please help me."

While Jason panicked a little too harshly, Ace however remained on the other side of the spectrum. He breathed slowly and shook his hands lightly. Confident almost, knowing he has superhuman abilities that would trump over a puny gun any day of the week. After crossing the street, he hid behind a large blue public mailbox, peeking from the right side to take a look at the alley, a thick blanket of smoke coming out of it.

Ace tiptoed with haste towards the edge of the building. "Please be gone," he muttered.

Both his eyes and mouth widened as he saw the man pointing his weapon at someone lying on the ground, bleeding. Ace tried not to throw up from the sight of blood covering her entire body.

"She's still moving," Ace whispered to himself, a spark of bravery ignited within him.

He scrunched his nose from the uninvited scent that reeked of old gym socks piercing through his nostrils. His eyes assessed the wide, dirty alley that was filled with rotten garbages and disposed appliances with large rodents moving from dumpster to dumpster. The dry, brown walls smudged with unknown yet disgusting thingamajigs and thick pipes that leaked green liquid.

"I hope this can help you fall asleep big guy." He slowly raised both his hands as two large dumpster filled with garbages levitated high in the air without creating a noise. His heart was beating out of his chest while his hands trembled from the weight of the objects but he still managed to hover it above the man by breathing slowly.

With a swift downward motion from both his hands, the two hefty dumpster dropped unto the man like a nuke, knocking him on the ground while garbages emerged from their home creating a chaotic mess everywhere, some sticking to the walls.

Ace's hands were still trembling, a smile forming on his face due to the sheer joy that he got from saving a person by flattening the potential threat like a pancake. Adrenaline rushed through his veins causing him to run quicker than he could ever imagine. He then rushed towards the girl with raven black hair unconscious on the ground, her white shirt stained with blood coming from an injury at her stomach.

"Let's get you out of here." He carried her carefully, making sure she was secured. He didn't mind the blood staining his sweatshirt since it was the same red color.

"Jason!" Call an ambulance!" He sprinted towards the street where his friend was hiding when a sudden force knocked the garbage bin and its disgusting insides everywhere halting Ace from his advance, almost getting hit by the large bin.

"Holy shit!" Ace's legs stopped working, so did his tongue that itched to scream Jason's name.

The boy turned around and saw the man standing up unscathed and almost unbothered by what just happened, dusting his jet black suit from the debris and dirt caused by Ace's doing.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" His deep, husky voice sent chills down Ace's spine.

~ Ø ~