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“The roses are red. The tablecloths are white…”
The rest of Riddle’s introductory speech faded into obscurity in Ace’s mind, which was much more fixated on the large cake in the middle of the dining table than any sort of formalities that delayed his access to it.
“Dude, the cake Trey made looks insane!” he whispered, nudging Deuce’s side.
Deuce turned his head from the algebra textbook in his lap to glance over at it, eyes widening ever so slightly. “You’re right. It looks even better than the one we had at our last unbirthday party.”
Ace could feel his stomach growling as he looked at the thick ropes of icing, bright colors swirled into intricate floral designs. “I really hope I can get a piece with roses on it,” he mused— knowing Trey, the frosting wouldn’t be too sickly sweet, so the more of it he could get, the better.
“Ace, be quiet. Riddle will have our heads if he hears us talking.”
“Not any more than he’d have your head for studying during an unbirthday party!”
Deuce flushed and snapped his book shut quickly, the loud crack of the pages causing a few surrounding heads to turn.
Ace huffed, always having to deal with the consequences of his classmate’s irresponsible actions.
As soon as Riddle’s voice was replaced with a few claps of his hands to signify the start of the party, Ace poured himself a cup of tea— nearly overflowing, losing control due to the heft of the full pot. He lowered his head to sip a bit from the rim of the cup, trying to keep a straight face as it nearly burned his tongue and throat. At least he now had enough room in the cup to fit three generous spoonfuls of sugar. He shrugged to himself through the clanking of metal against china, watching the granules melt into the reddish liquid as he stirred them in.
He chatted idly with his dormmates as he sipped, eyes shifting from their faces back to the mouth-watering cake, nearly glistening in the sun like a beacon of hope.
“Man, I’m so hungry.”
He was talking more to himself than anyone, pouring himself another cup of tea in hopes of satiating his appetite. It couldn’t be too much longer until the food was served, right?
“You know, sometimes, they say that when you’re hungry it’s actually your body just telling you that you’re thirsty,” he rattled to the classmate across from him, taking a large sip of tea, sugar barely covering the bitter taste. Had the second years left the leaves in for too long again? “Personally, I call bullshit.”
“Pardon me, everyone!” Riddle’s voice cut through the clatter, the tone of irritation within it causing the dorm members to silence quickly out of fear.
“We seem to be missing our serving knife, although it was accounted for during the cleanup of the previous unbirthday party,” Trey stood as he spoke, his brows knit in contrast to his usual gentle disposition.
“I presume that one of you may have gone so far as to thieve it, “Riddle interrupted, his face beginning to redden. ”Which, as you know, is in clear violation of rule 53: One must replace anything that they steal!”
“Oh no!” Deuce tensed.
Ace grimaced. “This can’t be good.”
“The sophomores and juniors who were responsible for the tableware will be required to locate the item immediately. This unbirthday party will not resume until everything is in its proper place!”
“Ahahah! Sucks to be them!” Ace jeered, watching the hoards of distraught upperclassmen stand up from their seats and interrogate one another. “Thank god we were just in charge of croquet setup, right Deuce?”
“I— uh…” Deuce shook the relief off of his face before scowling. “That’s rude, Ace. If it weren’t for Riddle specifically asking the sophomores and juniors, I would be looking for the knife right now too!”
“Oh yeah? That’s really what’s stopping you?”
“Of course!” Deuce crossed his arms, turning away from him.
Ace rolled his eyes, resting his chin in his palm as his lips reached the end of another cup of tea, the sugar that sank to the bottom of the cup making it sweeter than before, though not as sweet as the beloved cake that stood mere feet away from him.
He groaned as he refilled his cup, stomach churning audibly the more that time went on. How long does it take to find a stupid knife? And why did it have to come between him and a delicious meal that he rightfully deserved after all of that hard work taking care of the hedgehogs?
Minutes felt like hours on an empty stomach, and he was totally right— drinking did not help.
“Attention!” Riddle commanded, his staff immediately recognizable as he re-entered the premises. “The serving knife has been located, and the party will resume as soon as all students take their seats at their assigned tables!”
Ace straightened with excitement, watching carefully as the knife passed from the hands of an anxious looking sophomore down to Trey, who presented it to Riddle with an expression of relief.
“Now,” Riddle grinned, satisfied. “Are all of my card soldiers present?”
He scanned the tables around him, noticing an empty chair at a round table across the garden.
“This could not take any longer!” Ace wailed, causing Deuce to elbow him in the stomach as Riddle’s searing gaze made it their way.
He winced, the dull pressure from Deuce’s nudge making its way between his legs, a familiar pressure causing him to shift in his seat. “What was that for, Deuce? Anyways, I’ll be right back. Gotta go to the bathroom.”
“Housewarden Rosehearts said that all students have to be here for the tea party to resume!”
“Yeah? Watch me,” Ace jeered, standing up from his seat to make his way to the entrance.
“Ace Trappola!”
He stilled, Riddle’s voice sounding much louder now that it was being hurled in his direction.
“Just where do you think you’re going? Have I not made it clear that this party requires the presence of all of its invitees until it may resume? I suggest you sit down unless you’d like to lose your-“
“Yes, Housewarden!” he yelped, quickly folding his hands on his lap as he sunk back into his chair.
Deuce scoffed. “I told you.”
“Shut up! I wasn’t about to tell the entire dorm that it’s an emergency!”
“Oh, so it’s an emergency?” Deuce could barely contain the smirk on his face.
“N-no! I was just saying!”
Ace’s legs fidgeted underneath the tablecloth, barely able to keep still. Like hell he’d embarrass himself in front of Deuce, let alone the whole class. He’d just have to hold it until the missing student got back.
Deuce’s light conversation did little to distract him, the cake that he eagerly awaited to eat now only served to mock him as it stood completely untouched. He shifted his focus to the empty seat— a missing knife, now a missing student? Why couldn’t this party just continue already!
Deuce must have noticed his hollow responses, face buried into his textbook once more.
Ace really, really shouldn’t have had so much tea.
Just as he considered making a break for it, weighing the probability that he would lose his head in the process, the entrance doors opened. A third year he didn’t recognize waved his hands in apology as he finally took his seat at the table.
He sighed, burying his face in his hands. The relief that the missing student had returned was no longer enough for him— he didn’t know if he could wait a minute longer before using the restroom.
“Shit,” he whispered to himself, ducking in his seat before pushing his chair out from under him.
“What are you doing?!” Deuce hissed.
“Shush, I’ll be right back.”
He steadied himself as he crouched down, taking a deep breath before running as fast and low as he could towards the thick trees that encircled the edges of the unbirthday party venue.
Heart pounding and breath shallow, he slipped just out of view behind a particularly wide trunk— there had to be an entrance to the rose maze back here somewhere, right?
He looked left and right— only tall, thick hedges stood imposingly in front of him, circling around to form an impenetrable perimeter.
He started to panic, feeling his throat constrict as he weighed his options. There was no way he would be able to make it over the hedge unscathed, much less without calling attention to himself. Hell, he probably wouldn’t be able to make it over at all. Returning back to his seat would result in the humiliation of having both a collar around his neck and a wet spot at the front of his pants. As much as he didn’t want to, his only option was to relieve himself right here, but the chances of getting caught were—
He froze, a rising commotion behind him reaching his ears. Riddle had undoubtedly noticed his absence; his dormmates were likely searching for him right now.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
Head spinning, hands trembling, thighs pressed together, he looked upwards at the tree branches above him. Maybe he could climb—
“Ace?”
Deuce stood before him, a scowl on his face.
“What are you doing back here? You heard the housewarden when he said—“
“Deuce, be quiet!” he whispered. “I can’t go out there right now!”
“Why not? If Riddle catches me covering for you then both of our heads—“
“I don’t give a shit about your head right now! Please, please just tell them that you couldn’t find me and leave me alone!”
“What’s with you? We can’t start the unbirthday party unless—“
“Unless what, Deuce? You prove to Riddle that you’re the hero who saved the day?”
“What— no! I’m just trying to follow the rules! Maybe you should start doing the same!”
Ace’s legs shook, throat hoarse with desperation. “I don’t really have a choice right now!”
“I used to think that way too.”
Ace clenched and unclenched his fists, his composure beginning to slip. “Dumbass, don’t you get it? I’m about to—“
He twitched, heart sinking and heat pooling in between his legs, spilling over, down, down to the inside of his thighs. It trickled onto his calves as he froze, powerless, a sickening mixture of relief and horror welling in his chest, feet weak underneath him.
“About to what?”
He met Deuce’s eyes incredulously as he was helpless to the stream of liquid running down his legs, stopping only as it soaked into the top edge of his socks. His brows furrowed and lips parted, breath escaping them in short, shallow pants.
Blue eyes widened, realization dawning upon them before narrowing as Deuce smirked at the sight of his friend—no—his bully— curled pathetically in front of him.
Ace had dropped himself to the ground, lightheaded, knees folding towards his chest, closing himself off to the bright sun, green grass, red roses with their thick, unevenly coated petals.
Absolutely mortifying.
“Just tell them you couldn’t find me,” he croaked, opening his eyes to see the white fabric of his uniform pants clinging to his legs. Deuce was never going to let him live this down, was he? The upperclassmen— no, the whole dorm was going to find him here and—
“Why should I?” Deuce raised his voice, approaching him. “You didn’t listen to me when I told you to not tell Riddle about my potions test grade last week!”
“Yeah?” Ace buried his hands into the grass beneath him, blinking away tears that had welled in the corners of his eyes. “Well you didn’t listen to me when I told you to keep your mouth shut about forgetting to feed the hedgehogs!”
“They could have died!”
“Missing one meal isn’t going to make them fucking die, idiot!”
Deuce’s feet approached him, Ace staring at his sneakers, edges coated with a thin layer of grass and mud.
“And getting collared isn’t going to kill you either! Maybe then you’d actually learn how to do what you’re told for once!”
Ace stood, forgetting about his soiled uniform as he approached Deuce, his feet bearing heavily into the muddy grass with each step. Grasping at the loose collar of the t-shirt Deuce wore under his vest, he raised a flexed arm as he prepared to make contact with the side of his jaw.
“Ace? Deuce?”
Peeking out from the side of the tree, eyes wide with concern, Trey spoke —Riddle and Cater’s voices trailing not far behind him.
Ace’s stomach twisted, panic settling over him once more as his heart and mind filled with static. Mouth agape, eyes flitting from his upperclassman and back to Deuce, his hand furled at his collarbone, their noses nearly brushing.
Heart skipping with a moments hesitation, he lowered the fist balled up in his right hand and pulled at the fabric in his left. Deuce’s lips crashed into his own as he lurched forward, their teeth clanking in a clumsy and painful kiss.
There was no way he was going to get out of this being the only one to look like an idiot.