Fine Line

Chapter 5

☆☆☆

Ares leaned on the railing of the rooftop, feeling the breeze gently caress his face. He lit a cigarette and breathed in, letting the smoke fill his lungs before breathing out and letting out a wispy cloud of grey. He skipped 5th period, he hated history. He didn't need to learn about men who died in pointless wars, or guys that signed documents that formed countries and kept peace. All of that was meaningless to him. Ares preferred to spend his time on the roof, alone with only the sky and his thoughts to keep him company. He puffed another cloud as he mulled over his current situation. I struck a bargain with the little shit, but he got way more than I had even thought he'd get. Favors? Conditions? Bullshit. I would beat the information out of him if I could, but the headmaster's watching me like a hawk. Can't do anything with him around, especially not to the stupid nerd. What to do, what to do...

He hummed quietly to himself as he watched the clouds go by. He never really got many times like these, where he was alone and at peace, not friends or stupid fans bothering him. No hallway chatter, no teachers droning about boring subjects, no cameras flashing. Just him and the sky, the only sounds coming from the birds in the trees chirping away. Wait, no. There was another sound. He looked down and he saw two girls and a boy push another student outside, shoving them violently to the ground.

Ares looked away nonchalantly, taking another drag of his cigarette. Whatever. None of my business. He was planning to ignore whatever was going on down there, but he turned his head back down as he heard a familiar voice squeak, "Please leave me alone!"

Wait a minute. He squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the victim. His brows raised as he spotted that unmistakable tangle of light brown hair. It was Clover, the little bastard!

"What are you always doing hanging around him, huh?"

One of the girls stepped forward, her hot pink hair swaying in the light breeze. "You think you're better than us, nerd?"

Clover began to crawl backwards on his hands and feet. "No way!"

"Then why are you always hanging around him, shrimp?"

"I don't know, you ask him!" Clover's voice cracked. "He always comes up to me!"

The other girl runs over and grabs a fistful of his hair, yanking him backwards.

"Him coming to you? You think you're special or something? He would never!"

"Ares wouldn't spend his time around you, of all people! Get a grip, worthless scum." the hot pink girl laughed, kicking him in the stomach. The three of them laughed as Clover doubled over in pain.

Ares sighed. It seems he couldn't get away from his fans even if he tried. But this exchange interested him, so he watched on, lighting another cigarette.

"We're gonna ask you one more time, nerd. Why is Ares hanging out with you?"

"He's not hanging out with me!" Clover yelled, coughing. "He makes my life hell!"

"Shut up, human trash!" The two girls started punching and kicking the shit out of him, not listening as he yelped in pain. "You fucking liar! Our king can do no wrong!"

"You're lucky to even be in his presence! Know your place, disgusting rat."

The bell rang once more, and the girls stopped and turned to leave. Clover sat curled on the ground, his body shaking and quivering.

"Consider this a warning, you filthy lowlife. Stay away from Ares." The hot pink girl flipped her hair, and walked inside with her friends.

What an interesting sight to behold. Ares snorted to himself. But I'm going to have to give those girls a warning. Only I'm allowed to torment him, I don't need others doing it for me. He watched as Clover rolled on his sight, revealing his half-covered face patterned with scratch marks. He slowly sat up, clutching his stomach in pain. His whole body shook as he let out silent tears, whispering just loud enough that Ares could catch.

"What did I do to deserve this? I hate you so much, Ares."

For some reason, that hurt him a bit to hear.

☆☆☆

Ares made his way to class, entering the classroom and settling down at his desk. Biology was one of his favorite classes. One of the only classes he didn't skip or space out in. He pretended not to notice when Clover came in, covered in more bandages than before. Only when the other boy had sat down in his seat did he get up and lean on his desk, flashing him a mean grin.

"You look even worse than when I last saw you. Did you get in a fight?"

Clover simply glared at him. "None of your business, dickhead."

"Bet you didn't even put up a fight like a little bitch, didn't you, crybaby?"

Clover stayed silent, only staring at his desk. Ares laughed, his tone cruel and cold.

"So you did! I expected as much, coming from you."

The bell rang, and the teacher clapped. "Everyone please sit down!" Ares returned to his seat.

"I have a special surprise for you today." Ms. Maki smiled at the class. "Since we will be studying human anatomy this month, I decided it would be best if I prepared a fun little project for you all."

The students cheered and whispered amongst themselves. Ms. Maki was a very nice teacher, and always made the most boring things fun and easy to learn.

"I decided that for the project, you will get into pairs and study each other. Since the discovery of oddities, some student's anatomy might be different, and you will be required to not only make a diagram but also write an essay on the way their body works. It's weird, I know, but it will be a good social exercise."

The students talked excitedly amongst one another. "One thing, though: I will be picking the partners." The room fell silent before it erupted in groans and complaints.

"I know you want to work with your friends, but this is a social exercise! You have to talk to different people outside of your friend group! It will help you form new connections and get to know your classmates!" She began to list off names.

"Sylvia and Windy! Ahn'ria and Marina! Tsunami and Lao!" She continued on, listing everyone until she got to the last two names.

"Ares and Clover!"

Ares' eyes widened in shock. What?! I'm gonna have to work with him?! No way! Ares looked over as Cloved shot up in his seat, raising his hand high.

"Ma'am, please partner me with someone else!"

The students grumbled amongst themselves, saying things like "what's he doing?" and "he's lucky, why's he complaining?"

"I'm sorry Clover, but there's no take backs." she said kindly. "Plus, Ares has the highest grades in the class, he'd be a very good academic partner."

Ares smirked, and Clover glared at him, but sat back down, admitting defeat. Ms. Maki handed out the papers and necessary databases needed for the assignment, then gave everyone a questionnaire to fill out before they started. By the time they were done, the bell rang, and school was over.

As everyone was packing up their stuff and heading out the door, Ares stopped Clover before he could leave.

"What do you want?" Clover asked bitterly.

"Look, I don't want this any much more than you do, shitface." Ares sighed in exasperation. "But I actually care about my grades, and we need to get this done. Gimme your phone."

Clover tentatively took his phone out of his bag. "Why?"

"I'm putting my number in there." He tapped in the contact info and gave the phone back. "We meet after school at my house, I'll send you the address." He grabbed his bag. "Be there at 4, no later."

And with that, he left.