"I'm not scared of you Ashton, I'm scared of how fast I've come to appreciate you and your foul mood. That's what scares me."

What did that even mean?

Ash huffed in annoyance as he remembered what Trey had told him the day before. He slammed his fist on his table, the entire class including his roommate turning towards him, intrigued.

Ash just yawned and buried his head between his arms, signaling everyone to get on with their business and leave him alone. He was in a strange mood.
Not understanding the meaning behind Trey's words frustrated him.

But what annoyed him even more was the recent growing desire to slam his lips onto Trey's. He didn't know why he wanted it so bad, but it frustrated him not being able to.

And Ash didn't do well with frustration.

He subtly tilted his head to look at Trey. The small boy was quietly sitting next to him, writing whatever the teacher was talking about. He watched the slim fingers grip the blue pen running across the paper.

Even from here, Ash could tell that his handwriting was neat and his lessons organized. Which was intriguing since his bed was always unmade and his clothes randomly lying on the floor of their room.
He often had to remind him to put away his stuff because he hated the mess.

But what was he even doing here, why wasn't he in a normal place with normal people? The more Ash came to discover him, the more things he wanted to learn about him. But he knew that he would scare Trey off if he asked too many questions.

And he had just started to figure out his own feelings, there was no way he was letting Trey go.

The small boy stopped writing for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching, deep in thought.
He bit on the end of his pen, completely oblivious to the tall male sitting next to him and blatantly staring at him, not even bothering to hide it.

Well at least he wasn't biting his fingernails anymore. Ash smirked as he remembered the very beginning when he had scolded him for it. Trey had actually kept the small bottle of hand sanitizer, it was sitting almost empty on the corner of his desk.

When he was done staring, Ash tucked his head back into his arms and sighed, he still didn't understand that boy, and he didn't like it. He shrugged and decided to go back to sleep.

"-ton? Ashton? Ashton wake up!" Trey yelled in Ash's ear. The tall boy woke up with a start and grabbed the closest thing next to him to fight whoever had decided to bother him during his nap.

Trey stared at him for a short moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. Ash was dumbfounded. "What are you doing here Trey?" He asked, grumbling.

"The bell rang like five minutes ago... You were in such deep sleep that you didn't hear it I guess. But what were you trying to do with that pencil case anyway? Scare me?" He continued laughing softly.

"Yeah yeah keep on laughing. Don't you know that a pencil case is a first choice weapon?" Retorted Ash. He felt quite stupid because the small boy was right.

Trey laughed again.
"Fine, why not, but now hurry up we have to go to the next class!"
"Okay, Okay let a man wake up." Retorted Ash. He yawned and got up, grabbed his bag and followed him down the hallway.

Trey was unusually chatty today, he didn't seem like he was afraid anymore, even greeting a few people on his way. His smile seemed to reach the others and he was just radiating positivity, which was a first.

His stutter had almost completely faded. Ash nodded absentmindedly to what he said, carefully taking in his surroundings as they walked.

They were clearly opposites in so many ways: whereas Trey tended to trust more easily and relax once he was familiar with his surroundings, Ash never trusted. He was always tense except maybe in his room when the door was locked.

Trey continued babbling until they reached a group of menacing boys leaning lazily against the walls.

One of them suddenly stuck his foot out and Trey, being the oblivious boy, tripped over it. He fell to the ground, feeling a sharp pain in his wrist as he tried to catch his balance.

Ash wasn't fast enough to catch him. Instead he turned to the now laughing boy as Trey slowly got back up and dusted his uniform.

The punch flew without any warning and the boy was thrown to the ground. Ash was fuming.
"Are you still laughing now?" he seethed.

Trey watched in shock as the other boy got back up and wiped his now bloody nose. He stared at the back of his hand for a few seconds and threw his weight at Ash, catching him right in the solar plexus. Ash grunted but didn't move an inch.

"Come help me you idiots!" Shouted the boy to his friends who were still watching at a safe distance. They didn't dare move, they knew better than to mess with Ash.

He lunged at the other boy, grabbing his collar and slamming him into the wall ruthlessly.
Trey somehow knew it would soon escalate. He had to do something before they ripped their faces off.

He didn't like violence and he didn't want Ash to get into a fight and get himself hurt over something stupid. So instead he did something pretty stupid:

"Ashton, please stop, this is useless, and I'm sure it was an accident, let's just go alright?" He shouted, wincing as he took a step towards the taller boy. Ash's eyes narrowed as he noticed the slight limp in Trey's walk.

"You didn't just trip. He did it on purpose."
"Hey it's okay I'm fine, can you please just drop it, it's unnecessary."
"No way, he won't get away with it." He replied and slammed the boy into the wall once again.

He responded by elbowing him hard in the ribs making him let go of his collar with a grunt. Ash clutched his side knowing a bruise would definitely appear by tomorrow.

"Just go Trey, things are about to get ugly." He muttered before cracking his knuckles and lowering into a fighting stance. The other boy did the same. Trey's eyes widened as a crowd gradually gathered around the two boys.
"Fight, fight, fight!" They shouted seemingly overjoyed by the situation.

Ash rarely fought but when he did it was quite spectacular. The cheering grew even louder as the two boys lunged at each other exchanging a few punches before stepping away and slamming into one another again.

Trey looked around frantically for a guard or even a teacher but the building was empty. So, in a split second, he turned around as Ash took a big punch and started profusely bleeding from his brow bone.

He ran towards the headmaster's office and banged on the door, chest heaving. Mr Gant opened and seemed mildly surprised to see him here, completely out of breath.

"Mr Johnes, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" he asked slipping his glasses on his nose
"Th-there's a fight! Ashton is fighting with someone, you have to stop them! And where are the teachers here?" He panted, worry filling his voice.

Mr Gant sighed,
"Alright, just calm down first, there's nothing I personally can do really. Stay in my office, let's try and talk them out of it." He got up from his chair and called two guards who were patrolling down the hallway.

"Gentlemen, please go do the job you were paid to do, it's the third incident with this student this month, it's too much. And if he won't cooperate, you know the protocol."
They nodded silently and marched towards where the fight was going on, tasers out.

Trey frowned,
"Are you sure it's the best way to-"
"Now, we should have a chat in my office, don't you think so?" Mr Gant interrupted him before inching him towards a wooden chair.
Trey silently obeyed and sat down, now facing the headmaster.

"I believe this wasn't your last class of the day am I right?" He asked
"No it wasn't." Replied Trey, as he took in the office.
The room was quite small as a large wooden desk took up most of the space. Behind him was an old shelf filed to the brim with files and binders.

The desk was covered in paperwork and a tired looking plant sat in the corner. A laptop was open, lying in the middle of the mess. It was without a doubt the only high tech instrument in the whole building.

"Well I'm sure your teacher won't mind if we talk for a little ."
"I guess." He whispered.
"Right. I am aware of your family situation and also of why you were sent here. Did you ever talk to someone about what happened that night with Robert?"

"N-no, I couldn't..." Stammered Trey, gripping his fingers in an effort to stop tears from forming as the memory he desperately tried to bury surfaced once again.

"Well as you already know he was a close friend of mine and that's why I accepted to take you in under such short notice. He was such a brilliant man, what happened to him is a real pity. Anyway, I truly hope that you are thankful for this chance"

A chance? What a joke thought Trey bitterly.

He was locked up in a run-down building with boys who could bash his head into a table and brush it off as a simple joke.
So no, he wasn't really grateful to be here. On the other hand, it was the only place he could go to. No other institution would take him in and he was too young to go to prison.

No one would ever take him in after the incident. But he was well aware that he couldn't say that. So instead he forced a smile and replied:

"Yes, I'm grateful for everything Mr Gant."
"Very well. And what about your roommate? Any troubles lately?"
Trey met the headmasters gaze and felt like he was being tested. He thought back to when Ash had almost ripped his head of the first time they had met, and when he had threatened him in the dining hall, or when he had his random mood swings that truly worried him.

But he also thought back to when he had dragged him from the party, when he had let him trim his hair, when he had read out loud and even...

When he had almost kissed him.

A small smile grew, genuine this time.
"No Mr Gant, everything is fine, we get on quite well." He answered, looking straight into the headmaster's hard eyes.
"Good, good. I was concerned because Mr Waters has a certain history of violence with his roommates, but nothing to worry about. Everything had always been under control." He added with a unsettling smile.

Trey clasped his fingers together and layed his hands on his thigh. His leg was bouncing on it's own due to the overwhelming atmosphere. He tried to stop it but he just couldn't.

Mr Gant looked at his watch and sighed. "Well Mr Johnes, I think your last class is canceled for the day so why don't you head back to your dorm room."

Trey hastily got up, eager to leave the heavy atmosphere and the cramp desk. But just as he was about to close the door, Mr Gant's voice stopped him.

"I truly am pleased that you and Ash get on. But might I give a piece of advice Mr Johnes.

Whatever you do, don't get swept away by him, don't loose control. Don't let him in. Or I would be obliged to expel you. This kind of behavior is not tolerated here.
You may leave."
Trey closed the door and headed towards his dorm eyes brimming with tears.

Well, it was definitely too late for that now he thought.

{AN: I'm finally on vacation! I will try and post chapters more often. Sorry for the wait and thanks a lot for the 78k reads it means so much to me!
See you at chapter 17!
Moonlightshow 🌙}