Ace of Spades (BxB)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

~♤Masons PoV♤~

I tried my best to keep my cool the next few days after Ace came back from his little sleepover thing but it was beyond hard. Every time he left the room I'd just get all giddy and stupid. Well, not stupid. But yeah. Stupid. The conversation we had that day was so weird. It was like he wanted to say things but just didn't. It was like we both knew what he wanted to say. Or maybe I'm delusional. Jeez, I might be imagining things. But it really seemed like he wanted to say certain specific things. It was like hearing him say "Love you." How am I supposed to respond like it's nothing??

"Mason you're staring at nothing again," Ace grumbled. He'd made it clear that he hated when I stared off, even though it wasn't my fault in the slightest.

I smiled a little, "sorry." I knew he wouldn't like the alternative but I couldn't help myself so I resorted to looking at him. His fluffy hair and lips that were almost always chapped. He always looked like he was scowling. But the cute kind of scowl like he was annoyed he couldn't figure something out. He kind of reminded me of a cat. My thoughts started to drift into less favorable places so I decided to stop there. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to look away.

"Now you're staring at me. Jesus, are you really that bored?" Ace glared at me. I muttered another 'sorry' but I couldn't help but smile again. I couldn't even tell why I was smiling. Just the way Ace talked and looked at me. Sure, it was bad but there was something about it that was affectionate. And I'm not being delusional, I've seen him act aggressively without being affectionate and it is way different. Or the alternative: I'm stupidly in love. As much as I wanted to ignore it and make sure Ace wasn't uncomfortable, it was getting hard. Every time I see him I just want to say that phrase.

"I love you..."

... I wish I could say it.

"Mason.. quit it." Ace's command had a lot less of a bite to it that time. He had looked away from me. I didn't know whether to panic or smile.

"You're really pretty. Or well.. handsome." I felt embarrassed that I said it out loud. I already knew how Ace was going to respond. He has a hard time accepting compliments seriously, if at all. As expected, he gave me an unconvinced look and raised an eyebrow. "I look like a rat." I couldn't help but smile. He wasn't entirely wrong but he wasn't really right. I could see the resemblance between the way his hair never seemed to work with him and his canines that seemed sharper than average.

"A very handsome one!" I grinned. Ace rolled his eyes but I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. For once I'd call that a success. "Um... I was wondering if you wanted to just chill today. And maybe... talk?" I didn't want to scare him or anything. Though the tone might have put him on edge. Seeing Ace torn up about something that was absolutely not his fault really highlighted the issues he had. Not that it was his fault, of course.

As expected, Ace's smile disappeared. "Talk about what?"

"Anything you'd like. Maybe if something's bothering you? I'm here to listen. And I promise I won't judge. You can even complain about me!" I smiled gently. Ace raised an eyebrow. He looked like he was figuring out what to say.

"Well, that's good. I got lots to complain about with you."

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not mainly because he was smiling but his eyes weren't. I hoped he was kidding because even though I said he could complain about me I never said it wouldn't crush me. Ace could be harsh and very blunt. He always made me overthink when he didn't say anything. Then again, he probably wouldn't hold back if I annoyed him. So... good news?

"I mean it though. You can tell me anything. Anything."

Ace looked shocked like he wasn't expecting me to be serious. He looked away and sighed. He shook his head like he was in disbelief.