AN OBSESSION "Wednesday x Xavier"

Pills

Ajax was folding laundry when Xavier knocked on his door. He had planned a date with Enid that night and was trying to find the right shirt for it. They never did much - watched a movie, explored the grounds of Nevermore while sneaking kisses, stole desserts from the dining hall to eat while laying in the grass and counting stars. They didn't need to do anything extravagant; he just liked being around her.

He was imagining Enid's obsession with raspberry tarts, which he didn't even need to eat himself to taste, when he realized he'd neglected to open the door immediately and Xavier swung it open instead.

"What the fuck, Xavier?" Ajax laughed as he said it. He swallowed that laugh when he saw the expression on Xavier's face.

"I need sleeping pills."

"What?" Ajax had informed Xavier of his prescribed sleeping pills last year, which were compliments of a bout of severe anxiety that had caused him to experience insomnia. At the time, Ajax had been suffering a string of nightmares centered around a loss of control of his powers that resulted in him stoning those around him. Although it wasn't directly stated, it was an implied necessity at Nevermore to be able to harness your abilities and not negatively affect peers in order to avoid expulsion. Unlike many of his other classmates, Ajax's home life was less than favorable and attending Nevermore was the most favorable opportunity he'd yet to experience. The thought of slipping up, of doing anything that would compromise his admission, was consuming. Unfortunately, the sleeping pills had actually made his nightmares more vivid and consequently worse. He stopped taking them, and when he got closer with Enid, they stopped anyway.

"Please, Ajax." Xavier's tone carried a whine that Ajax hadn't heard him express before.

"Why?" Ajax, who had previously been looking over his shoulder, turned to face Xavier entirely. "Shut the door."

Xavier obeyed and closed it before swiftly locking it. Ajax noticed how significantly his hands were trembling. "I don't want to talk about this. Just give me the pills, I'll give you whatever you want. You don't even take them."

"No," Ajax stood his ground. "Not unless you tell me why you need them."

Xavier's whining persisted. "Don't fucking do this to me, AJ."

"An endearing nickname, how becoming of you."

"Fine."

Ajax nodded, encouraging Xavier to elaborate. Although stubborn, Xavier rarely kept his walls up for long. Ajax had learned this in the time they'd been friends, and suspected that this stemmed from his sensitivity.

"I have this new roommate, Miles," Xavier started reluctantly.

"Yeah, I heard. Some legacy kid."

"I can't stand him. He's got this arrogant nature that rubs me the wrong way and today... well, today-" Xavier trailed off, his cheeks flushing at how embarrassing his feelings were to describe. In the case of Ajax, he found emotional expression particularly difficult because Ajax was dating Wednesday's roommate. It wasn't that Xavier didn't trust Ajax. He just didn't want Ajax to be put in a position of playing the middleman, or for Enid to consult Ajax about Xavier's opinions and Ajax to feel morally obligated to be honest with her. Part of these insecurities stemmed from Xavier's perception of the severity of Ajax's feelings for Enid. If Xavier was with Wednesday, he would tell her anything and everything. There wouldn't be a sentence in the book of his life that she wouldn't be allowed to read and remaster. In his mind, he was a rough draft waiting for her reprisal and approval, worthless for now but holding the potential to be made a bestseller by her hands.

"Go on."

"He knows Wednesday, in this personal way, I guess. I have this drawing of her from last semester, and I put it on my wall and he saw it and he ridiculed me for it and... he... I don't know. I can't stand him. I can't fucking stand him."