The Fourth Roommate

Slowdance

I was woken up by the creak of a floorboard. I rolled over onto my side and saw a shirtless Ace tiptoe out of the room.

His muscles on his back were really well defined, and in the moonlight he looked as if he were a walking statue made of beautiful marble, a sculpture which had spent eras being carved into perfection. I let my eyes graze over him, a soft smile budding at my lips. It was hard to believe that such a grumpy little guy was in the body of such perfection.

As he left, I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I licked my lips and then crossed my arms. This bed felt more like home than ever. And it was because I had spent most of the night snuggled into the crook of Ace's elbow, happily breathing the smell of him. It was because I could let my fingers fiddle with the chain necklace he kept around his neck. It was because his thumb caressed my arm, the gentle reminder of him there. It was because I could listen to his breathing whilst I fell asleep, and the saftey that each breath brought.

And I realized that I loved Ace, because he was grumpy and he snapped at me when I didn't deserve it. I loved him because he was idiotically stubborn and incredibly smart and arrogant at times. I adored him because he treated everybody coldly with a mixture of sarcasm and dry wit, and he was prone to do it to the people he loved as well. I realized that I loved those things because it made up such an incredible creature.

I wanted to tell him that I loved him too, I wanted to run to his room and tell him right then. Hell, I could have hired an ochestra and a freaking clown.

But it was also in the middle of the night when I realized that I could never say it back, not even if every muscle was screaming and straining for it.

***

I was on Skype with Zac. I was so excited I could hardly sit still. In fact I was bouncing up and down in my seat, a smile stretched along my face so wide that it felt like my cheeks would split. Ace laughed as he walked by me, squeezing my shoulder before heading out the front door.

3, 2, 1... Zac popped up on my screen, his face pixelated and blurry. A loud ringing was coming from my earphones, but I didn't care because oh my god it was my Zac! I waved fanatically until it dawned on me I could actually... you know, say hi.

"I miss you," I squealed.

He laughed and his teeth were stark white against his tanned skin. His hair was bleached as well. He looked pretty good though. I could see blurry people behind him and I figured he was in an internet café.

"I miss you too," came the slightly out of sync answer, "how are you?'

"Fine," I said, "but you? How's travelling?"

He started to tell me these wild stories, and he showed me a massive scratch which he had gotten whilst battling with a mugger. I could hear Jane start to laugh in the background, and she appeared murkily on my screen. She looked tanned and effortlessly pretty, her eyeliner winged and completely even. God I was jealous, my eyeliner was almost never even and when it was it took me ten attempts.

"Don't believe him, he fell off a camel," Jane assured me, and then kissed Zac's sheepish face.

"A camel shaped like a mugger," Zac winked and then asked me how stuff at home was.

Jane disappeared again, and started shouting something at someone in another language. I looked at Zac, who simply rolled his eyes.

"She likes shouting in forgein languages. Just let her get on with it," he told me.

I snorted and then licked my lips before settling closer to the computer, "okay. Um, well okay. I... Me and Ace are totally hooking up-"

"OH MY GOD, SERENA I ASKED YOU HOW IT IS AT HOME AND NOT ABOUT YOUR GROSS SEX LIFE!"