Cracker was a name for a cliff on the outskirts of our small town of Haywood. 

It was usually deserted, owing to the fact that it was considered somewhat dangerous. Only people seeking adventure, thrill and trouble were the ones loitering around there. Which of course, made it a perfect destination for Ace. 

After classes got over, I deliberately stayed in the school building for fifteen extra minutes. Playing hard to get and hopefully making Ace think that I had better things to do. I slowly strolled over to the parking lot afterwards, my heart hammering and expecting him to be gone already. However, I sighed softly in relief when I saw his car parked in its usual spot and Ace sitting inside it, staring at something on his phone. 

A tiny surge of warmth spread in my chest which immediately made me feel ashamed. It was strange how I never really expected anyone to wait for me. I was terrified to make anyone wait for me, lest I was unworthy. It was fucked up when I thought about it considering I could wait forever when it came to Ace. 

I made my way over to him and silently slid into the passenger seat. He didn't say anything, slipping his phone into his pocket and starting the car instead. 

Silence prevailed for an awkwardly long period of time. The buildings disappeared as we moved further away from the heart of the town. Finally, I cleared my throat and spoke, "What happened? How come you were so late today?"

"That's none of your business," he answered shortly and unexpectedly, his jaw clenched. 

I stared at him, my heart breaking a little at his sudden demeanour. I knew Ace wasn't the most polite person on the earth and perhaps under usual circumstances, his bitter words wouldn't have hurt so much. But the way he talked to me reminded me of how he was laughing and smiling with the girl from before. 

"You c-can't talk to me like that," I said, clenching my fists and glaring at him. I hated when my nervous stutter returned any time there was an altercation or argument. Any violence or loud sounds would easily make me physically nauseous. I rarely ever got into arguments, considering how vulnerable and scared they would make me feel even though my ashamed self struggled to mask that fear. 

He didn't say anything, his eyes fixed straight ahead. 

"Archer," I said, "You can't talk to me like that." I enunciated each word for his benefit, and he scoffed finally. 

"I was just stating facts."

Maybe the reason why he was so different with me than with others was because he knew I would never leave. Was it my fault then? For caring for him way too much and being so fucking weak for it?

"Stop the car. I wanna get out," I said with as much firmness as I could muster. 

He remained quiet for a while before he answered in a low voice, "No."

I gaped at him, anger surging through me at his nonchalance. "What the fuck do you mean no? Get me out."

"No," he said again and this time, I felt genuine fury, a destructive storm in my heart. 

In a fit of rage, I reached for the hand brake and pulled it. The car stuttered to a stop with a loud, violent tyre screech that made me flinch. I turned my gaze away from his widened eyes and reached for the door, pulling it open. I stepped out and banged the door shut behind me with as much strength as I had. I started making my way back along the road that we had arrived. It was deserted. A forest on my left and a barren ground on my right. There were no cars and barely any structures in sight. I would perhaps be stranded. 

But at least I would have my dignity. 

I started stomping away, my heart wrenching in some unexplained emotion before I heard a small voice from behind.

"Milo," Ace said, shattering every ounce of fickle anger I harboured. That's the name he had called me when we were little. An exclusive between us. I turned slowly to him and saw him standing behind, his gaze trained on me. "I'm so sorry."

For a while, I was taken aback by how genuinely sorry he looked. His lower lip jutted out slightly, almost in an inconspicuous pout. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes dark as he pleaded. 

"I shouldn't have...talked to you like that. I'm sorry."

I grit my teeth even as my heart melted. His apology was immediately followed by feelings of guilt. I knew I needed to be patient with him, and most of the times made good on that. But maybe it was for the better that he realizes the consequences of his constant bitchy behaviour as well. 

"Okay. Thank you. Stop being  bitch now," I replied solemnly.

I could almost imagine a puppy perking up its ears when he looked at me, hopeful. Relieved that I wouldn't have to run around in a search of going home, I went back inside the car and shut the door, gently this time. 

Milo.

It was so strange when he called me that.

He started the car and we drove again in silence, except now, my chest felt tight with a different emotion altogether. 

The scenery changed as he drove up the direction of the cliff. I could already smell the salty water that I knew was lapping so many feet below us. On my right, the trees thickened even further. The wind up here was cooler, more soothing. A second thought formed in my mind, was he acting this weird because of how I had almost kissed him that day? It would make sense. But at least he wasn't running away from me.

That would do for the time being. 

He stopped the car after a while and I gazed around at the place where we had arrived. I got out of the car and took a deep breath of the salty air. The air was rife with the sound of the waves lapping on the rocks below on my left. I slowly walked a little closer to the edge and gazed down, the sight of the foamy, writhing water exciting and terrifying me at the same time. 

"Why did you want to come here?" I asked to the air at large as I  gazed at the marvelling eddies of the unforgiving water. 

"Why'd you think?" he answered from behind me and I turned to see him half-naked. My breath caught in my throat and I struggled to breathe as he undressed and neatly folded his clothes, placing them on the bonnet of the car. He removed his pants so he wore nothing except a set of boxers that to me seemed a bit too tight. 

To kill me perhaps?

"Uh-breathe in the fresh air?" I asked, proud of the way I spoke the words without stuttering. 

He smirked. "There's enough of that in Haywood."

He walked closer to me and I let my eyes rove down his body. I hadn't seen him shirtless since middle school, and a lot seemed to have changed. He was much more muscular than he looked under his clothes. Each perfect imperfection of his skin was accentuated by the gentle caress of the golden sunlight in a way that made me envious. A thin line of hair disappeared into his boxers. His skin was taut, flexing slightly when he moved. My mind meandered into provinces that had his muscles flexing for other reasons and I sucked in a sharp breath. 

"Then...why?" I croaked out, my face burning in spite of the chilly wind around us.

"You wanna know?" he asked softly, moving closer to me. My throat choked up and I bit my lip, struggling to keep from breathing in his intoxicating scent as he moved even closer. 

"Yeah," I whispered. 

He lifted an arm and I felt his slender fingers stroke my hair. My heart fluttered in a beautiful nervousness, butterflies breaking into an orchestra in my stomach before he extracted a tiny down feather from my hair and smiled softly. "You got this stuck."

"Oh," I whispered. "Er, thanks."

He grinned, blowing on the white down feather as it drifted off into the breeze. I watched the way his mouth moved. The gentle dip of the cupid's bow. His lips the colour of the softest dawn. The delicate flush of his cheeks. The azure of his eyes that had never looked more enticing. 

He held my gaze and I almost jumped off the cliff when his hand travelled to my waist and lower to my thigh. A split moment later, I felt his hands in my pocket as he fished out my phone and slyly placed it on the glittering roof of the car. 

"What if I show you?" he whispered softly, leaning in till I closed my eyes, my stomach clenched. My brain shut down, all my rationality lost in him.

 He grasped my hands firmly and I felt myself being led somewhere. Before I could understand what was quite going on, he gripped my hand and pulled me roughly. 

My eyes flew open in shock as the cold air slapped my face. The ground disappeared from under my feet. My scream caught in my throat as we pelted over the cliff and into the waters below. Before I had enough time to rationalize and recover from his excited screams, we plunged into the water, our hands still gripped firmly together. 

My lungs seemed to constrict as I pursed my lips tightly and shut my eyes. The moment I had touched the icy water, his hand had slipped away from mine and the resulting panic made me thrash around helplessly for a while before I felt his assuring arms around my waist, pulling me slowly towards what I hoped was the surface. 

My lungs were fit to burst as my head broke through the surface of the water and I spluttered, wiping my face desperately and taking in lungfuls of precious, blissful air. 

Ace emerged in front of me, grinning widely. And somehow, seeing his face made all my shock dissolve. 

He looked so happy. 

The sparkle in the ethereal blue, the crinkles at the corner of his eyes, his mouth open in a wide grin. He raked a hand through his dark, drenched hair and laughed. A  sounds so beautiful that for just a second, the world seemed to stop just to admire it. 

"Fu-fu-fuck y-you Ar-cher W-W-Wilde!" I spoke through chattering teeth, even as the warm fuzzy feeling in my heart clashed horrifyingly with my icy skin. 

He laughed some more, reaching for my hand below the water and grasping it firmly. The water near this part of the cliff wasn't too deep, but I knew if I stopped moving, I would still submerge. The cold air was making me exceedingly uncomfortable, but did it matter? After a long time, Ace seemed genuinely happy. 

"I would've told you but you would never have agreed!" he said. "So I had to use the element of surprise!"

I struggled to keep a straight face as he splashed some cold water onto my face. "What are you, twelve?"

"What are you, seventy?" he retorted and splashed some more water onto me. Unable to hold it back, I started giggling. Between the laughing, shivering and struggling to keep myself afloat, it felt like a lot of work. But as long as Ace kept smiling, it would be worth it. 

"No, I'm smart. And you're dumb," I grinned at my clever insult and floated away from him, the weight of my drenched clothes making it slightly hard to move. I turned to face him when I was a little further away and regretted my decision at once. 

He looked so sexy. 

I wasn't sure if I had perhaps affected my head at the impact, but the way his skin glistened, the way the raven of his hair seemed studded with diamonds due to the shimmering rays of the sun, the way his lips beckoned. 

For someone submerged in chilling water, my face felt a little too warm. Even my body seemed to heat up suddenly and I was glad I had cold water all around me, lest things sticking up would give away how I felt about him. 

He sighed and swam around for a  while, as I spent my time staring at him. 

"Er...how are we going to get back up?" I asked after half of my body had frozen. 

"Walk, how else?" he replied. I was horrified by his nonchalance and almost yelled at him, but he grinned at me. "Up for a challenge, Milo?"

Turns out, I was. 

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Okay so, I guess this would count as the part where the romance has begun? I might be doing lot of aesthetics and stuff editing...that is if I do find any cast for this :P How do you guys imagine Ace and Miles to be? Like, physically? I'm curious. 

Let me know what you think and as always, thank you so much for reading!