This is for the quiet ones who speak the loudest, the ones who defy and rebel and question and challenge. And continue to inspire us.

TigerLily7

••••••

"Where are we going?"

"To a strìp club," Ace replied, his eyes on the road.

I whipped around, chucking. "Yeah, nice try. I would've almost believed you if it wasn't just three in the afternoon."

"So? Where I'm taking you, the place is open and serving 24/7."

"Seriously though Ace, where are we going?"

"You'll see," he said, taking another turn down a familiar road. I prayed that we weren't heading where I thought we were. But a few minutes later, the shopping mall came into view and I felt a knot form in my stomach. This was the mall where I worked.

"A mall?" I pretended to scoff in surprise. "Seriously? How un-badboy-ish of you."

"Even bad boys gotta eat, Wilson. I can't just survive on pūssy juice alone."

This time I really did scoff in surprise. I had no words.

He smirked victoriously and started to park his car in an empty space in the parking lot. "And besides," he said, looking into the rear view mirror, "I know the guys at the Taco Bell here and they're always eager to give me discounts."

"Cheapskate," I mumbled, shaking my head as I watched him cut the engine.

"Ain't cheap, just thinking smart," he said, stepping out of the car. I got out too, hoping that none of my co-workers see me. They're not in on the whole I'm-keeping-my-part-time-job-a-secret-from-my-school thing. We went inside and I started to fiddle with my side bangs trying to get them to cover up as much of my face as possible.

There were some girls standing near a jewelry store who were chatting and they paused their conversation and started to look my way. I quickly looked down, wondering if I'd seen them before in my school. They didn't look like they were in high school anymore though. Glancing up, I found that I wasn't the object of their attention. Their eyes were glued to Ace who was looking ahead, with his hands in his pockets, oblivious to the staring. I sighed in relief and walked a little straighter.

We climbed onto the escalator that went up to the third floor, the food court, and I was relieved once again that we weren't getting off on the first floor where Zara was.

I caught Ace looking at me from the corner of my eye and met his stare. His smirk widened and his eyes slid down to my chest. I looked away, flattered at the attention, and pretended to scratch my neck. I slowly let my hand slide down to my neckline before tugging onto the collar of my shirt. I moved away the shirt just a little so that the strap of my lace bra came into view for only a moment and then I moved my hand away, humming. I was unable to keep the smile off of my face. I didn't look at Ace again and stepped off of the escalator.

I had only taken two steps when his hand closed down on my arm and he pulled me to the side with him. He was standing dangerously close to me, towering over me as he pushed me back into the wall. His hand was still on my arm and the other one was now on my chin, tilting my face up to him.

"Don't tease me," he said in a low tone, his voice sending shivers down my spine. He moved even closer, pressing his frame against my body. His leg parted mine, his hand moved from my arm to my waist and he pulled me to him, as his chest pressed against my breasts. My breathing quickened as his index finger ran across my lips, feeling them. I wanted to close my eyes at the feathery touch. His face inched towards mine but painfully slowly and I yearned for his lips to meet mine again. I stood on my tiptoes but he was still unreachable. His finger trailed down from my lips to my neck and I shuddered. His breath was hot on my face and I was ready.

Then, he closed one eye in a wink and pulled away slowly, releasing me. I stood there stunned, watching him. What was that?

He grinned at my dumbfounded expression. "I can tease too, you know." He winked again and walked away.

That... That son of a bìtch... He was good.

I cursed at myself silently as I fixed my skirt. He had gotten me good and I was a fool to fall for it. I cleared my throat and walked out of the corner, holding my head up high. I wasn't going to let him get me again. At first I couldn't spot him through the crowd but then I caught sight of his dark jacket. He was standing at the counter of Taco Bell and was exchanging high fives with the employee there. I squared my shoulders and approached him, with my heels clicking.

Ace was still talking when I wrapped my hand around his shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze, all the way smiling wide. He glanced behind his shoulder at me and raised an amused eyebrow.

"There you are," I exclaimed, my voice high. I was smiling so wide I was pretty sure that I was close to blinding him. "I was wondering where you'd gone off to."

I looked at the employee behind the counter and his eyes shifted to Ace. "So, uh..." He started awkwardly. "That'll be a Double Decker Taco Supreme with Mountain Dew and..."

He looked at me again questioningly.

"Oh, um, can I look at the menu?"

"Sure," he nodded, handing me one and I opened it. I have had food from Taco Bell before with Yui once after our shift ended but that was a while back. We both had the cheese nachos then but I didn't want to eat anything cheesy today. Or basically anything that had a strong smell and would stay in my mouth. I had forgotten to bring my mouth spray and gum with me today...

"She'll have the same as me," I heard Ace tell him after a while and I looked up.

"What? No. Who said you can order for me?"

He was leaning his arms on the counter now and met my gaze. "Since I'm paying for you, I don't think ordering for you should be a big deal."

I slammed the menu onto the counter, my jaw clenched. "Then don't do me any fūcking favors. I can pay for myself just fine."

"What's the matter?" He smirked and my anger bubbled. "Can't even take a joke?"

"I fail to see how you degrading me is funny," I said through clenched teeth and flung the menu at him. He reached out just in time and caught it swiftly and I stormed away.

What was I even thinking? That Ace might actually be different and real for a change? That he might not be like everyone else at school who didn't know the true value of things?

He was just like everyone else.

Dumb. Careless. Disrespectful. Shallow.

All the cràp about him having different sides was literally pure cràp. I couldn't believe I was naive enough to believe him. To think that maybe, just maybe he saw through other people and their shallow selves.

I'm the dumb one.

I knew that because I was stomping, my heels clicked even louder than before and so I softened my pace and took a deep breath. I paused momentarily and closed my eyes.

He words still rang in my ears. How dare he?

How dare he say something like that? Something that should make me feel inferior because I'm a girl. And because he's the guy and the one who assumed that he 'should' pay on a date, he felt like he had power over me, over my choices.

I felt the tears of humiliation spring up to my eyes and a sob escaped me. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from making a sound. I couldn't cry, not when there was a chance of him seeing him. I couldn't let him see me like this. I'm not going to - no - I won't give him the satisfaction.

I took another deep breath, wiped my eyes and marched towards the women's bathroom a few steps away. I made sure that I was walking straight with my head held up high but as soon as I entered the bathroom, my rigid posture crumbled instantly. I grabbed onto the edge of the sink and let a few silent tears roll down my cheeks.

A few words.

That's all it took to shake me, to crack me even more than I already was.

It took only a few words to destroy someone's pride and to bring them down to their feet.

Words are vicious.

Words are merciless.

And they leave the deepest cracks.

••••••