The Ace of Spades

Chapter 15

Yesterday, after the horrendous and unnecessary turmoil with Elliot the Very Fucking Huge Idiot, Victor made everyone (even Viv) milkshakes. He was right, too, about making good milkshakes. They're delicious, just the right thickness, cold and refreshing, and mouth-wateringly chocolate. Jojo takes her milkshake to her room and hibernates there for the rest of the night. Viv looks concerned, but also does a good job of hiding the worried expression on her soft features. Toto doesn't seem to catch on that something is wrong, and Mea has no intention of telling him at all.

Viv invites Victor to stay for dinner, continually smiling at Mea whenever she laughs or smiles at something Victor says. Victor accepts, and graciously so. When Viv says she's making chicken Caesar salad wraps, Victor exclaims that they're one of his favourites. They're Mea's favourite too, but she doesn't say that to Victor.

Instead she leans over, quietly saying in his ear, "you can't eat this if you live off the land, huh?"

He raises his eyebrows, smirking a little but not to the intensity of Elliot's smirk, quietly replying, "is that a challenge, Ace?"

Mea groans, no longer speaking quietly, "you're such a weird hippie. Oh my god."

Victor doesn't appear even slightly insulted, which is good because Mea didn't really mean it in a bad way at all.

After dinner, Mea upholds her promise to spend time with Toto, and Victor tags along. Viv tells Mea that she's going to see if Jojo's alright, that she's worried, and Mea thanks Viv. She wonders if Viv suspects anything even similar to what's really going on with Jojo. Viv hugs Mea, pulling her in for a squeezing hug that brings a lump into her throat. She's not usually one for hugs, but this feels strangely comforting after all the shit as of late. Mea holds on tight, squeezing back and burying her face in Viv's neck. She smells like fruity shampoo and love (Mea wasn't sure love even had a smell, but this would certainly be it, if it did). She doesn't think of how Toto and Victor are standing there, silently waiting for the hug to end.

When the hug does eventually end, she can't make eye contact with anyone for a few minutes. Viv ushers herself upstairs to care for Jojo, and Toto grabs Mea and Victor both by the hand and guides them outside. Toto seems to really have taken to Victor already, and it's not really a surprise because he's never really had a male mentor in his life. He spent all of dinner interrogating Victor, and it was so sweet. From his age ("17 as of April,"), to his favourite colour ("I'm not sure. Maybe blue,"), to whether or not he likes trains ("does everyone like trains? They're so cool,"). Mea thinks Toto might just be in love with Victor.

Toto explains that he wants to play tag, which doesn't end up lasting long. It's not as exciting to play with 3 people, and the fun wears out quickly. Then Toto decides he wants to play House. Mea used to love this game when she was younger, everything about it reminds her of good times. Playing House lasts a little longer than tag, with the 3 of them acting as orphans in the late 1800s. Toto seems so excited about doing something - finally - with someone besides Viv, that he doesn't want to do just one thing for too long. So House doesn't last a lengthy amount of time before he's asking if Mea and Victor will take him to the beach.

Toto is hard to say no to, as much as Mea really doesn't want to go to the beach, she agrees. Victor doesn't hesitate his answer, accepting right away. He offers to piggyback Toto, and Mea thinks Toto might combust from pure joy. Toto and Victor just remove their shirts, shoes, and socks, and swim in their shorts. Mea says she'll sit on the shore and watch, and maybe it makes her a little envious that they have the confidence to just swim. The last time Mea swam she was 11 and she spent the entire time thinking about drowning herself. So she'll stick this one out.

They swim until the sun starts to go down in the sky, the blue tinting with pinks and oranges, and then Victor and Toto splash their way onto the shore, laughing as they playfully shake themselves off on Mea. Mea groans, pretending to be exasperated, but it's all for show. She wishes she swam, she thinks that maybe if things keep improving the way they have been then she'll manage to successfully swim by next summer. (Small steps, small accomplishments, but it's better than nothing.) Toto leads the way back to Viv's, two steps ahead of Mea and Victor - who walk in stride, side-by-side - the entire distance.