I stuttered to a stop and plopped on the side pavement after running aimlessly for a few minutes. My legs had given up, each muscle of my body straining. I couldn't breathe.

I was too shaken to realize that I was still in an unknown neighbourhood with scarce lights and a temperature that seemed to have dropped even further. I shivered slightly from the cold, and from the aftershock.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a pair of long legs come and stand in front of me before they disappeared. I felt Ace's familiar warmth as he sat beside me, quietly. I took heaving breaths, still trembling. My stomach knotting as the world around me kept spinning dizzyingly. My throat felt dry as I took in racked breaths, incoherent. 

I wasn't sure how much time had elapsed in the stillness.

"Milo?" Ace spoke softly after a timeless infinity. And somehow, the tenderness in his voice unhinged the last sense of rationality left inside me.

Everything that had happened so far came crashing down on me. The stranger groping me, violating me in a way that had never happened before, the guy almost assaulting me, the loud noises which still rang in my head, the way I had been so fucking stupid in thinking I could go to an actual rave party, and most of all, the fact that I was falling for a guy who could never be mine. I wasn't sure if it was the last straw, but the image of Viola and Ace burned into my brain and before I knew it, I was crying.

I didn't care that we had fought. I didn't care that I was embarrassing myself. I didn't care that I had just been humiliated in front of Ace. Once the onslaught of overwhelming emotions began, I had no idea how to stop them. 

Ace remained quiet for a few more seconds before I heard the gentle rustle of clothing as he moved closer to me. His arms wrapped around me as he gently stroked my back. I turned and reciprocated almost in a trance, burying my head into his chest as the tears fell. I waited for him to push me away, maybe chide me for being such a baby. But when he pulled me closer and stroked my hair instead, it set my heart asunder till I had no visage of self-control.

I sobbed like a child, snivelling and wetting his t-shirt as my entire body trembled. I tried to be quiet, but somehow, couldn't get myself to. He remained silent, stroking my back gently as he pulled me closer and let me sob. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, a sense of warmth spreading through my chest and thawing the ice in my heart.

"Hey, you're okay," he whispered softly. He placed his cheek against the top of my head. His hand so strangely tender as he held me close. "It's okay, Milo."

Would it ever be? I felt angry. That I couldn't stand up for myself. That I couldn't slap the person who had touched me. That I couldn't fight back Cam who had decided to bully me for no reason. I couldn't understand. Why was the world this way? Why was it so harsh? Just because I would never resort to violence, did that mean I was subjecting myself to all such injustice? Did that mean that anyone could just walk over me like they wanted?

Most of all, I felt scared.

I had been fine at home. I couldn't wait to go back to my cocoon and stay there. All of this was too ugly. Too frightening. And it wasn't for me. It would never be. How was Ace a part of this world? When he was so much better than all of them. A little rough around the edges, but I knew he would never hurt me.

By the time I had finished crying, his t-shirt was soaked with my tears. He didn't complain however as I leaned back and desperately wiped my face. He stroked the back of my head gently and spoke in a soft voice, "It's okay. I would've been scared too."

"I'm n-not scared," I lied and hiccupped loudly. I wiped my nose on my sleeve, averting his gaze. "How do you know him?"

He didn't say anything for a while before he spoke in a staccato, "I...supplied for him. For like a week."

I sighed, my chest hollow. I always thought Ace was better than all of them, but was he really?

"It was a mistake, Milo," he said. " The money was good. But after a week I chickened out...and well I know he doesn't like me but because I know of his business, he tends to keep his distance."

I had a million questions I wanted to ask. Most of all, how much was he hiding from me? How could he hide something so massive anyway? When he was aware of every little thing I did. 

"Wh-when?" I asked.

He bit his lip and sighed, "Last year. Around summer vacations."

I hadn't been here during my summer vacations. My dad had taken both me and my mom on an impromptu trip to my grandma's place. Was it possible that if I had been at Haywood, he would have refrained? I wasn't sure. 

"I-I should have told you," he said in a low voice. 

I scoffed and laughed humourlessly, my heart breaking when I realized how little I really knew him. "I don't expect you to tell me anything, Ace."

"I should have. I just...it was just a week and honestly, I-I was ashamed. Guess I just...wanted to forget it," he sighed. "I'm sorry, Miles."

"Isn't that d-dangerous?" I asked after a while. "For y-you? That you know about Cam and his...business?"

He shrugged. "Hundreds know about it. He's not gonna go around killing everyone. Plus...I'm not an advocate for law exactly. He doesn't really worry about a school kid anyway." He reached for his sneaker, idly pulling at the stray threads before he sighed. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I bit my tongue and glanced away. A part of me wanted to tell him what had happened, but I wasn't going to. Not when there was clearly so much he hid from me. 

He asked again, "What happened to Burnwood and the others?"

"There was so m-much shoving and p-pushing going around. We got separated," I managed to speak, my voice thick with tears. "If you stopped your supplying, then how come you w-were there?"

When he answered, his voice was low. "Because I knew you would be. And...I didn't like the idea of someone like you being there."

There it was. Someone like me. With no life experience or ideas about the reality of the world at all.

"Okay," I said and turned away from him again.

"If you don't wanna go home yet, I have something that will cheer you up," he said softly.

I couldn't imagine anything ever cheering me up from the disgust I felt at myself. I knew I was being unfair by feeling this way, but I didn't know how to stop. A part of me was also scared to be left alone with my thoughts. A much more prominent part just wanted to be with Ace.

"Okay," I answered again and nodded, wiping my sleeves before I sighed. "Sorry about your hoodie."

He messed my hair playfully and grinned as I stared at him. "You can keep it."

I nodded, unable to smile. He rose to his feet and I followed. The pair of us slowly started walking towards where I expected he had parked his car. It was strange. Even though while coming here, I had been so anxious, with Ace, I couldn't find in myself to be anxious at all. It felt safe. Comfortable.

He had parked his car a little further away and we soon reached it. I slid into the passenger seat and shuddered, the ghost of the vile touches making me shiver.

The inside of the car was warm, or perhaps that was just Ace. I took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet homely scent as I leaned back and gazed aimlessly out of the window. I wasn't sure where he was taking me, and he didn't say anything, simply driving in silence. It took me a while to recognize the familiar street.

"Isn't this the way to Malabar?" I asked curiously. I recognized the way to Ace's afterschool day job. A modest but elegant cafe located in the heart of the town. The name was derived from Monsooned Malabar coffee, the speciality of the cafe and one which I had only had once, owing to my inability to appear out of my pupa.

"Yep," he said without looking at me. "This is why I approached you in school today. There's a new addition at Malabar and I think...you'll love it."

I was mildly curious as to what he meant. He out of all people would know I was much more of a tea person than a coffee one. He stopped the car on the road in front of the cafe after a while. It being past eight and quite chilly, there weren't many people around the roads. A relief for me.

I stepped out of the car and followed him as we walked closer to the store with the words 'Malabar' written in cursive font on top of the signboard. The front of the store was made of polished wood with a huge glass window that gave a glimpse of the long counter and tables inside. A large coffee with roasted beans was painted on top of the glass behind which I was glad to see a very few number of people. We entered through the glass doors after a while and a tall, middle-aged man glanced up from where he was scribbling something atop the counter.

"Archer!" The man smiled as Ace gave him a friendly wave. I felt momentarily heady from the strong smell of coffee beans entering my nostrils. He grabbed my hand firmly and walked over to the counter.

"Aryan," he said, "I was wondering if it's possible to see mocha and latte?"

His words didn't make sense to me and I gazed at him silently as Aryan laughed and nodded. "Yeah of course. You know where to find them. Go right ahead."

Ace grinned at him and I was surprised to see the twinkle in his eyes. A genuine smile. Since when was he so excited about his work?

He led me away from the counter and into a small corridor with the words 'Authorised Personnel Only' on top of it. He opened a white door on the left beyond which I could hear some excited squeals. Sure enough, when the door opened, a little girl and a boy gazed up at us from where they sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Anya, Akshay," Ace said, slowly walking over to them and smiling at them. "Can my friend and I borrow them for a while?"

The girl nodded and jumped to her feet, promptly pulling who I assumed was her little brother and ran out of the room. I stood still, extremely puzzled by whatever was going on before my eyes finally fell on the baby gates at the end of the room.

"Oh."

Puppies.

I walked closer to the gates and saw two little puppies, as furry as the day was long, wrestling with each other. I stood still, my heart suddenly fluttering as Ace grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to them. Up close, I could see that one of them seemed to be a husky, while the other more of a mix of a Newfie with some other.

"That one is Mocha," Ace said, pointing to the rust haired husky now rolling on her back and gazing at me. "That one is Latte." The white puppy, as if on cue gave a shrill yelp as Ae laughed. "Thought they might cheer you up."

I had wanted a dog ever since I could remember, but could never convince my parents that I was responsible enough. Even though I had spent days pretending that one of my stuffed toys was my pet dog.

"What..are they doing here?" I asked softly.

"Aryan adopted them a few days back," Ace explained as he leaned down and lifted the baby gate to make both Latte and Mocha shoot out and start running around us. "I suggested making it one of those dog-friendly cafes you know? Where people can come and interact with them as well. He loved the idea. It's a massive concept in the city."

I crouched to my knees as immediately, Mocha ran up to me, wagging her furry tail. She placed her tiny paws onto my thighs and propped herself up, gazing at me with the most beautifully naive eyes. I picked her up in my arms, pulling her close and nuzzling her fur. "You're like the most adorable thing ever."

She seemed to agree as she gave a loud yelp and proceeded to lick whatever part of my face she could find. I couldn't help but laugh as I succumbed to a fit of giggles. Latte arrived a little while later, his ears perked up in curiosity as he gazed at me and placed a paw on my thigh, as if politely asking me whether he could join. I placed Mocha on the floor and she immediately ran over to Ace, who collected her in his arms.

Latte was much calmer than his sister and lay cradled into my lap quietly. A silent comfort.

"Do you mind?" Ace asked after a while and I glanced at him curiously, wondering what he meant. I saw that he had taken his phone out and pointing it at me. I realized what he meant. "Oh."

He grinned, pulling Mocha closer to himself as he clicked a few pictures.

"I'm a fucking mess. Better not use those photos to blackmail me later," I said even as I felt my cheeks burning.

He chuckled. "Trust me, I have much worse photos of you."

I couldn't quite take comfort in the thought. But with Latte snoring softly in my lap, it was hard to be worried about anything. I held him gently and pushed back till I was leaning against the wall. Mocha now seemed much calmer as she remained silently in Ace's arms. He lifted her up gently and kissed the top of her head.

We remained in comfortable silence for a while and somehow I thought, maybe the entire night had not been a nightmare after all.

"I wish humans were as easy as dogs sometimes," Ace said softly after a while. I glanced at him, wondering what he meant as he elaborated. "You know, how easy they find it to express love. How easy they find it to trust. How easy they find it to commit."

I stroked Latte's soft fur gently. "I think most humans are simply afraid to express."

"Hm," Ace said, sighing softly. "Perhaps."

He moved closer to me, almost inconspicuously. I glanced over to where Mocha lay cradled in his arms, her eyes closed as her tiny body moved with deep breaths.

"Thank you for this, Ace," I said softly.

"Of course," he said. He spread his legs in front of him, jiggling one of it before he sighed and spoke, "It reminds me of him."

I gazed at him silently, wondering what he meant. He looked at me, his eyes dark under the dim light of the room. "The smell of cigarettes. It reminds me of my dad. So anytime that I'm...cold or...scared, I smoke. Maybe it's an unconscious thing."

His voice was soft, laced with agony so profound that it seemed to shatter my very soul. Would there ever be a greater pain to see someone you love, suffer like this? There was nothing I could say to him except hollow words of sympathy, so I remained quiet.

"Which is kind of ironic," he laughed humourlessly. "I mean, I know he would fucking hate it if he knew I was smoking. Hell, I always asked him to quit. I just....I wish he would ask me to quit now."

My heart broke at his words and not knowing what to do, I shifted closer to him. "Would you...listen?" I asked. "If he asked you to stop, would you listen?"

He chuckled softly. "Well played, Spencer."

I always knew it was his anger at the world that made Ace act this way. Like he didn't care. While in reality, he only cared a bit too much.

"Mom is making noodles tonight. Do you wanna come over?" I asked hopefully.

"Can't. I promised Allie I'll help her with her constellations project," he sighed and leaned his head against the wall. "In my time we just used aluminium foil, but Miss Einstein wants to use LEDs to create a constellation that actually lights up."

I grinned at him. "Sounds fun."

"It really isn't," he groaned as he turned to look at me. I gazed at the unearthly beauty of his eyes, the soft delicate lips that would always beckon to me so irresistibly. Even though his hair was unkempt, there was a certain careless beauty about it.

For the hundredth time, I imagined how it would be to kiss him. Would it be sweet? Or would it be more passionate? How long would it last? Where would I put my hands if I did kiss him? Would my heart finally explode to the unsaid tortures of Archer Wilde?

"I'm glad you feel better, Miles," he said softly. "And I love to think I had a part to play in that."

I smiled. "Well...yeah. You did."

He seemed to lean in just a little. So much so that I wasn't even sure that he had leaned in at all. Was I imagining things? What were the chances that I could just kiss him and if he didn't kiss me back, play it off as a joke?

Next to none. 

I sucked in a sharp breath and turned away before I ended up doing something I would regret. And maybe I was imagining it, but the light behind his eyes seemed to fade just a little, as if he was as afraid as I was.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ace is a little tease now. But hey, he brought puppies. 

Also, posting this on a very special day! Happy birthday @bestwaffle1125 idk why I can't tag her but-