Chapter Text
Drayton once again found himself sitting on the beach near the Coastal Plaza, using his cape as a blanket. He stared out toward the Polar Biome, propping one arm up on his raised knee. This was one of his favorite spots to come to when he was feeling particularly pensive, and he had been frequenting the place entirely too often in the days following Juliana and Arven's departure. They seemed to have been able to talk through some of the issues they'd been having, and he was glad for that—happy for them, really. But it had felt a little hollow, as though there was something else underneath that soured it for him just a little.
It was like his skin itched with restless energy, and the only balm was under the sun and in the sea breeze. Drayton was irritable, and he was not used to feeling quite this agitated. Sure, he got annoyed from time to time, but it would be gone in a flash because it took too much energy to care. But this was something else entirely. He wanted to know what had him so out of sorts.
He vaguely heard another student kicking at the sand from behind him and sighed inwardly at the thought of his free period being intruded upon by another. Just as Drayton was gathering up the energy to stand and leave, he heard the kid huff: “Damn, even straight back from vacation Lacey packs a punch.”
Drayton's head swiveled around, his previously stormy thoughts clearing and that heavy feeling in his chest lifting. He saw the mopey kid a little ways away, but his gaze quickly slid past him and to the Plaza beyond the slope. Before he had a chance to register what he was doing, Drayton pushed himself off the sand and swept toward Lacey's seat of power. He was up the slopes and heading toward the entryway in moments, his long strides carrying him swiftly there.
There, he saw Lacey facing partially away from him, talking to her trial representative, giving him just a little less than a profile view. The ends of her pink bob were kissing her neck and jaw as she looked down at something on the desk between her and her receptionist. Something in his chest settled, and the sun seemed to come out from behind a cloud. There was a bounce in his step as he reached the lobby.
~~
They're sitting in the club room, working on homework and club-related paperwork. Lacey had been making her way up the ranks in the League, and Drayton was motivated to do some work of his own—especially if it meant he got to keep Lacey company. He’d finished up enough of his work that he now felt comfortable taking a break. He used the opportunity to watch Lacey power through her own work, and he turned toward her with his chin propped up in the hand he had leaning on the table.
He smiled as he watched her frown down at her paper. She absently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and though half of him wished he had been the one to do it for her, he was grateful for the clearer view of her face without alerting her to his observation. He couldn’t help snorting a little when her frown deepened, which gave him away. She blushed in response.
“What’s so funny! If you've got time to watch me, you've got time to do your work.” She tapped the paper in front of him. “Back to work, mister!”
Drayton’s smile widened, and he reached out to rub the space between her brows, soothing the skin there. “You're gonna give yourself wrinkles.” His eyes twinkled as he teased her.
Her face turned red, partially from blushing and partially from frustration. But before she could tell him to do his work again, he quickly leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “There, I feel recharged enough to get back to it! Thanks, Lacey-cakes!”
He turned back to his homework with a grin as she sputtered next to him, chuckling when she smacked his arm lightly.
~~
“Lacey-cakes!” He raised a hand in greeting as he called out to her, and the smile on his face stretched into a grin as her head turned toward him.
“What a way to celebrate the end of your vacation—jumping right into another victory as the Coastal E4 Leader. Congrats!”
Her cheeks were bright as he approached, and her smile warmed his face.
“Thanks, Drayton.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, tilting her head to look up at him as he stopped in front of her. A tentative smile graced her lips, and his chest felt hot. “What are you—” Her eyes widened as she looked over his face. “What happened?!”
Drayton blinked at her in confusion. His eyes widened as she grabbed his face and pulled it close to hers, his heart leaping into his throat for a moment.
“Wh-what do you mean?” He brought his own hands up to gently wrap them over hers, uncertain of why or what he was going to do with them. Should he take them away? They kinda felt nice there, cool against his face that had probably had too much sun at this point.
“What do I…Drayton! You have a black eye!” With a concerned frown drawing her brows together, Lacey met Drayton's eyes and suddenly seemed to come back to herself as she realized just how close their faces were (and that she had been the one to put them there in the first place). The light color in her cheeks exploded as she yanked her hands out of his and off of his cheeks. Glancing away quickly, she missed the way his entire body seemed to deflate a little as she pulled her hands away.
Giving herself a few seconds to recover, Lacey looked back up at him and reached up to gingerly touch his bruised cheekbone, her fingers hovering over the skin. Drayton subconsciously leaned into the touch.
“How did this happen?” Her voice was softer now that the immediate shock had worn off. All that was left now was gentle concern.
Right. The black eye. He'd forgotten about that. Shit.
Drayton let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched his jaw, noticing the slight stubble there for the first time. It seemed it had been since around the same time he got his black eye that he'd stopped shaving…which made sense. He'd been too caught up in his own thoughts and trying to summon the effort to do the things he needed to do that he'd forgotten about shaving.
“I mean… it's kinda a funny story…” he began. For some reason, he really didn't want to tell her about the whole incident with Arven. But he also absolutely didn't want her hearing about it from another source. If only he hadn't ended up with this stupid black eye… He was going to have to milk this with Jules at a later date.
Lacey's frown deepened, confusion and doubt coloring her concern now. “I don't see what's funny about getting injured, Drayton. Now will you tell me what happened, or am I going to have to ask Amarys or Carmine for the information?” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, a challenge.
He believed her. He knew that Amarys would be as detailed as possible in the retelling, whereas Carmine would blow the story far out of proportion in order to make him sound like the ‘absolute worst.’ Lacey knew that Drayton hated the idea of people telling his business for him.
Drayton sighed, his shoulders slumping, and motioned for them to walk together out of the plaza. It would be better to have this conversation away from the active listeners. He'd had enough of people knowing too much about his personal matters lately, thank you very much.
“Let's find a quieter place,” he offered as she stepped forward. He unconsciously placed a hand on her back, gently leading them toward the beach he'd just left. The kid Lacey had just demolished was still there, and he looked up at their approach, hardly even needing Drayton to jerk his head to tell him to scram. Drayton led Lacey a little closer to the water, since her face still seemed quite flushed.
“Hey,” Drayton started softly, leaning close and reaching a hand up to hover near her cheek. “You okay?”
Lacey's face only reddened further. She brushed his hand away, lightly holding it down in front of them to keep him from reaching up. Drayton didn't protest or pull back.
“I'm fine, Drayton. But you have a black eye,” Lacey reminded him with a somewhat stern expression. “Explain yourself. Please.” She softened her demand and gave his hand a light squeeze with her fingers.
Sighing, Drayton brought his free hand up to rub the back of his neck while absently stroking Lacey's palm with his thumb. He missed the blush that bloomed across her cheeks as he did so. “It was an accident, really,” he said. “There was a misunderstanding and Jules managed to hit—”
“Juliana hit you?!” Lacey gasped, bringing both hands to her face in shock. Drayton squeezed the hand that she had been holding. “Why?! What was the misunderstanding? You're leaving out a lot of details here, Drayton. I suggest you start from the beginning. What happened to have her end up hitting you? Because I can't see Juliana doing something like that without a good reason…”
Drayton released a heavy breath, rubbing his face with one hand and then leaving it to rest on the back of his neck. “You're right.” This was the last thing he wanted to do—the last conversation he wanted to have. And he didn't even know why. He didn't know why the thought of having this talk, of telling Lacey what had happened with Arven and Juliana made his chest ache and his stomach twist. His heart was racing now, and he felt like he was going to start sweating—which was not something he ever did.
Lacey waited.
“Well…you know Jules’ friend was visiting—” Drayton began, and continued after Lacey’s nod in response. “Arven, yeah. So. I tried to tell Jules that they're both into each other, but Jules wouldn't listen to me and told me to kiss him, so then obviously I had to…I mean, I would have wanted to anyway, since he was stupidly hot, but…” Drayton’s face was warm, and he glanced away. “She told me that I should kiss him, so…I did. And then she lunged at me after, ha. I mean, if she'd just listened to me in the first place—”
Drayton was rambling. He knew it, and he could tell Lacey knew it. The fucking Slowpokes along the beach probably knew it, too. And yet…he couldn't stop. It was all he could do to refrain from blurting out that he'd also kissed Jules months before, which seemed to have triggered the whole situation with Arven in the first place. But his kiss with Juliana was ages ago, and it had hardly been anything, anyway…so, what did it matter?
Stop talking, Drayton, he ordered himself. You already told her how you got the black eye. That’s all she asked for, after all.
“Now,” Lacey started slowly, her twang coloring her voice, “let me see if I got this right.” Drayton swallowed. “You kissed Arven, Juliana's friend?” A nod. “Despite knowing that they each liked each other?” A slow nod. “Because, in your words, ‘Jules told me to’?” A wince and a nod. “Oh, Drayton…” Another weird twist in his chest—what is wrong with him? “How could you do something so–so…! What is wrong with you?!”
It took him a moment to realize she was asking him exactly the same question he'd been asking himself since the incident, and since seeing her again. And seeing Lacey answered something in him, but it was to a question he didn't know yet—one he hadn't even known he'd asked.
“I mean, in my defense, she really did tell me to, and I was just trying to help—”
He was cut off by Lacey's groan of exasperation. “That's such a load of bull, Drayton! You said so yourself—he's ‘stupidly hot’! You just wanted a chance to kiss the both of ‘em, because that's what you do! I swear, just when I think—” She cut herself off with a huff and crossed her arms, almost hugging herself.
Drayton's chest ached. His heart was throbbing and he honestly felt like he was about to throw up. It hurt that Lacey clearly thought this little of him. He knew he wasn't the best at much—maybe only what the rumors said—but he hadn't thought Lacey really thought that low of him. True, they'd had their falling out a year or so ago and had only just started recovering from that, but this…this meant that she still didn't believe in him. And that hurt.
“Just when you think what, Lacey?” Drayton couldn't help the heat in his voice; it was more comfortable than being vulnerable with pain. But it was there, and she had to see it. She knew him better than anyone else at this school and still… “Just when you think you've got me all figured out, that I'm just some asshole who just wants to kiss everyone? ‘Cause that's what I do, right?” He stepped closer to her, using his height to his advantage and staring down at her—she was so small… “Is that really what you think about me, Lacey?” His voice had dropped low, almost soft, and he was unable to hide the hurt now.
Lacey kept her eyes averted, unable to meet his after her outburst. She'd curled further into herself during his own tirade, hugging herself tighter. But when he pressed into her space, she pushed back. She brought her hands up to his chest and tried to shove him back, but it was like trying to move a wall. He remained, unmoving—staring down at her, unflinching.
“I mean—” Lacey squirmed, glancing up at him briefly before averting her gaze again. “Am I wrong? Everyone knows that you've kissed just about half the school. It makes sense that you'd want to kiss the shiny new people at the school—especially if they're pretty.” Her own face was burning, and she looked like she was in pain. “After all, it happened last year too when we—when we were…together…” She wrung her hands together.
Shocked and struggling to process her words, Drayton's eyes widened as he stared down at her. These accusations she was throwing at him…and especially that last one…hit him like a physical blow. He'd never known why she'd frozen him out a year ago, why she never spoke to him about it, and why they ultimately fell apart. They'd been best friends up to that point, as far as he was concerned, and then they'd tried being more…and it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. So when she ultimately had cut him off without a word, he'd been lost.
“What are you talking about?!” Drayton frowned, eyes narrowed, as he tried to understand her. “What do you think happened to us? Because I can tell you, on my end, I don't know what the fuck you're on about right now.”
Lacey flinched and tried to turn away from him, but Drayton stopped her with his hands on her shoulders (though gently, for all that there was still heat in his voice). “Oh, no. I don't think so, Lacey. Not a chance. We're gonna talk about this now.” His heart hammered in his chest and his throat felt like it was closing off, but he couldn't let himself run from getting to the bottom of this…and he wasn't going to let her run, either. “I need you to tell me what happened. Please.” He squeezed her lightly as he pleaded with her. He hated that he was begging but he needed the truth.
With a shaky breath, Lacey nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. “Okay.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. If he hadn't been directly in front of her, he might have missed it. “It was maybe two or three weeks into our… you know.” She couldn't even say the word ‘relationship.’ He didn't even know if he could say it, so there was no reason to be upset by her lack of saying it, but it hurt him nonetheless.
“I saw you and Laurel Jones in the hall by your locker,” she continued. “You guys were talking, and then she grabbed you and you leaned in and—” Lacey broke off and took another uneven breath. She glanced up at him through her bangs, and her voice dipped low again. “I couldn't—I couldn't stay and watch. But it looked like a kiss, and then… You acted like nothing happened! And I thought—I heard—I just…” A sob caught in her throat. “I was so hurt, Drayton. I was so confused, and hurt and you…you were acting the same!”
If Drayton had thought of her earlier words as a physical blow, this was like getting hit by a freight train. He felt as though he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him, and his hands unconsciously clenched on Lacey's shoulders—not hard, despite the action being involuntary. The one constant he could rely on within himself was that he'd never hurt Lacey. At least, not physically. He’d apparently hurt her emotionally, and the thought alone was crushing him.
Drayton listened to her words, trying desperately to make sense of them in his mind. When had he even…? Who was she even referring to…?
A myriad of emotions ran across his face as he racked his brain for memories. He struggled to focus on any particular incident, until it hit him.
~~
Drayton stared down at the girl in front of him, confused as to why she’d cornered him in the first place. What exactly did she want? Who even was she again? He didn’t even know her name. She looked vaguely familiar, though, so she was probably in his class or the club or something…
The girl in question was wringing her hands and glancing up at him shyly. He didn’t know if she was trying to look cute with this show of bashfulness, or what…but she looked wrong doing it. On her, it was a show. When Lacey did it, however, it was adorable. Sweet. Genuine.
“What did you want?” he asked.
“Um, it's just…” The girl twirled her hair as she glanced up at him. “I just wanted to tell you that I think you're really handsome, and I have the biggest crush on you.”
He sighed and frowned down at her. Honestly, if she knew anything about him, she wouldn't have bothered taking him aside for this bullshit in the first place.
“Thanks, but I'm not interested.”
She blinked up at him, clearly not expecting this reaction. “Wh-what?”
“I said I'm not interested. I've already—”
She cut him off. “But she doesn't even suit you! You and I would be sooo much better!”
Drayton sneered at her. “I don't fucking think so.” He started to turn away from her, but she caught his arm.
“Really! My family has been training dragons for three generations now! All she's got to her name is a dusty old mine!”
Drayton froze in his tracks before slowly turning his head to face her fully. There was a triumphant smirk on her stupid face as though she'd made some sort of compelling argument. Just as slowly as he'd turned his head, he moved the rest of his body, inching her back up against the wall and resting one of his forearms above her head, his hand clenched in a fist. He leaned down slowly until his face was inches from hers, eyes unblinking as they held her gaze.
“Say something like that about Lacey again and you and I are going to have a big problem.” Drayton tilted his head to the side, one eyebrow raised. “Do you understand me?”
Eyes wide, the girl nodded and shakily pushed herself further into the wall.
Drayton flashed her a chilling smile. “Good. Now, run along. And don't ever fucking call me out again.”
~~
Drayton closed his eyes at the bitter recollection, internally fighting his pain from becoming evident on his face.
So, Lacey thought he had kissed this girl (who was supposedly named Laurel even though he’d never bothered to learn that). In reality, he'd been struggling not to hurt her for the awful things she had said about Lacey. Well, that explained some of Lacey’s reactions afterwards: the way she had shoved him away when he'd snuck up behind her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek later that day, the way she’d looked like she'd been crying.
It made sense if Drayton thought about how it must have looked on Lacey’s end, given that she’d only seen his actions—him hovering close to “Laurel” by his locker—and not heard any of the words he’d been saying to her. But Drayton couldn’t give Lacey the benefit of the doubt right now; all he could focus on was the fact that she had seen something questionable and then wildly misinterpreted it without even thinking to ask him for clarification. And, in the aftermath, Drayton couldn't have known there was anything wrong since, in his mind, nothing had happened.
Drayton’s hands trembled slightly on Lacey's shoulders. “I didn't kiss her, Lacey.” His voice was low and rough with emotion. “I don't know what you saw, but you clearly didn't hear anything. If you had…”
Lacey shook her head, brow furrowed in confusion. “N-no, I saw you leaning over her by your locker… You had your arm over her and you were leaning into her. I know that's what I saw!”
Drayton frowned again, trying to recall exactly what happened. “Leaning into her… No, Lacey. She was all over me and insulting you, so I pushed back and scared the shit out of her.” The look he now gave Lacey was incredulous and wounded. “You really thought I was kissing her?” He turned to walk away.
“Drayton, wait!” In an almost cruel twist of irony, it was now Lacey’s turn to reach out and grab his arm to stop him. Drayton paused for her but kept his face turned away. “I didn't know what else to think.” Her own voice was wavering. “All I saw was you leaning into her, and with all the rumors going around, and then Carmine—”
“What does Carmine have to do with this?” Drayton’s arm tensed under her hands.
“Wh-when she heard what I saw, sh-she said—”
“And you listened?!” Drayton’s head fell back, and he brought his free arm up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes stung. “Shit, Lacey—she hates me. Of course she's going to talk shit.” He took a deep breath before finally turning to look back at Lacey, now unable to hide the pain from his face. His eyes were stinging, and he needed to leave.
“Look. I'm…I'm not mad, but I am hurt. I need some time to deal with…all this. So I need you to let me go.” Drayton reached over and gently pried her hands off his arm. It was easy enough as she stood there, shocked, with a wide-eyed stare. His eyes met hers again, and he offered her a pained smile that was more like a grimace than anything else. “I promise I'll come back and we can talk about this when I've had some space…if you can promise me you won't listen to other people's stories about me.”
Lacey swallowed hard and nodded, clasping her hands tightly. “O-okay. If space is what you need, then… I'll wait.”
“Thanks.” Drayton reached up and gently rubbed his thumb under Lacey's eye, catching a few of her tears that had begun to fall. “I've always been honest with you…so just trust me, okay?”
Lacey gave him another nod and sniffled, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. “I-I'm sorry, Drayton, really, I'm so—”
“I know you are, Lacey.” Drayton gave a final, sad smile before turning and walking toward the Savannah Biome and the exit of the Terarium.