T H I R T Y S I X

An aesthetic I made for Heidi and Apollo. Apollo's hot, isn't he? And Heidi is cute as fuck. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter now.

Heidi giggles when Apollo plants a soft kiss on his lips. His head is lying on Apollo's lap, while Apollo's fingers thread through his dishelved, brown locks. "God, you're so fucking cute, baby. You look cute in my clothes."

Heidi smiles at him. A pair of Apollo's, gray sweatpants hug his taut waist and defined v-line. His mess of damp waves sit atop his head. Faint feathers of gold swirl through his coffee brown orbs. "I look cute in everything. But don't you worry. You look smoking hot in everything. I'm telling you, you'd pull off a paper bag."

Laughing, Apollo brushes Heidi's hair away from his face and leaves a kiss on his forehead. "Yeah, you look cute in everything."

"Hey, baby," Heidi prompts.

"Hey, Heidi," Apollo counters.

"Because you love me so much, you should nap with me."

Apollo smiles softly at him. "Are you tired, Heidis?"

"No, not really," Heidi admits. "But I wanna sleep next to you. You know, like we did when we weren't dating. You mean more to me than sexual touches, so I wanna nap with you. I wanna fall asleep encased in your arms. You're my safe haven, Apollo."

Apollo's green eyes spark with excitement. "Okay." He wraps his arms around Apollo's waist and buries his head into the crook of his neck. He inhales the faint scent of coconut shampoo in his hair. "I love you, Heidi," he whispers into his ear.

Heidi's face breaks out into a wide smile. "I love you, too, Apollo." The pair bathes in the other's presence for an hour before they fall asleep.

"Go to hell," Ashtyn spat at Trace.

Trace blinked at him blankly. His blue irises searched Ashtyn's face. "Baby-"

"Go to hell," he repeats. A low growl bubbles from his throat. Trace tries to pull him back, but Ashtyn sends him a menacing glare. His eyes were filled with fury. "Leave me the hell alone! Okay? I don't want to fucking talk to you! Not every-fucking-thing can be solved with sex, Trace! Do you even give a damn about me?!"

"Of course I do!" A pleading look was laced into Trace's facial expression, but Ashtyn's anger didn't falter.

Ashtyn scoffed. "Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

"That's not fair, Ash! You know I care about you! I love you!"

"No, Trace, you don't!" He screams at him. Trace stumbles back from the anger radiating off him. "You love my body! You love fucking my body! All you ever want to do is have sex with me! You don't give a fuck about me! And you don't fucking love me, so stop lying to me! Stop lying to yourself!"

"Ash-"

"Don't fucking call me that," he sneers. "Don't use that nickname as a bullshit excuse! Stop acting like your father!"

The last insult hurled at him was painful. Ashtyn's gaze softened. "Trace," he began, but Trace laughs dryly.

"You just had to drag my father into this. The man who doesn't care about me at all. The man who hasn't said a word to me in a month. The man who regrets my very existence. That's real, fucking mature." He flashed him a tight-lipped smile to mask the utter rupture in his voice. "You know what? I do love you. I do care about you. I never had a healthy relationship in my life to fall back on. My parents were always screaming at each other, spitting vicious insults at each other, just to make themselves feel better about fucking up. Trust me, I'll leave you the hell alone. You won't even know I'm here." He whispers the last statement under his breath.

Just like back home, huh? his mind taunts him, the mockery evident.

Because he can't bear to see the look on Ashtyn's face, Trace walked out of their dorm, into the deserted halls. The cold air nipped at his arms and goosebumps rose on his skin in reply. Trace slid against a locker, leaning his head against the surface. His arctic blue eyes were brimmed with tears. He didn't have the energy to prevent the tears from tumbling down his cheeks, so he allowed himself to break.

Trace punched the locker repeatedly. Blood coated his knuckles with every hit. But he didn't care. He didn't halt his actions. He ignored the pain in his hands, as he hammered his fists into the rusty metal. He wasn't able to see straight because his vision was vague.

Stop acting like your father, Ashtyn's voice echoed through his head. Agony struck him. He fell to his knees.

Cracked sobs were coaxed out of his throat. He coated his black jeans in crimson when he smeared his hands across the fabric.

"Damn, I'm such a fuckup," he choked out.

"No, you're not," a voice mumbled softly. He turned to face Journey. His fingers were wringed together and his bottom lip lied between his teeth. He gave him a soft smile. "You're human. Humans fuck up sometimes. We make mistakes. It defines who we are. We're not perfect. I don't know why you're upset, so I can't input my opinion on the matter. But if you care at all, don't lose hope. If we let anger control us, we'll never experience love. If we let fear control us, we'll never be happy. I know you don't know me, but I just wanted to remind you that you matter."

Confused, Trace watches as Journey strolls back to his dorm smiling in contentment. Trace frowns, but he can't seem to forget Journey's words.