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Ace wakes up with the understanding that today would suck. Unfortunately, this was a fairly common feeling at Night Raven College, so it took him a few minutes to clock why.
His eyes and body felt heavy in his bed, but despite the sun not even quite yet rising outside the window, Ace knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Falling asleep last night had been a struggle (though he could admit part of the problem was the new game he’d gotten caught up playing on his phone) and it was a wonder he even got…ah, four and half hours of uninterrupted sleep, he noted after checking his phone. The light of the screen burned unpleasantly at his eyes, a twinge of discomfort crinkling the skin between his brows. His mouth was unpleasantly dry, but started to salivate as his body woke up and decided it was starving.
He groaned, trying to balance his annoyance with a volume low enough not to wake his roommates (if he had to listen to their grumblings at this hour he'd lose it, and no it wasn’t cause he’d feel bad waking them up or anything-). He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to scrub the sleep from his eyes and ignored the warning pulse of pain that beat behind his eyes.
He rolled out of bed, already mourning the weight of his blankets on top of him, and stumbling over to his closet to get his clothes and get dressed, groaning at the idea of having to traverse the winding hallways and stairways of Heartslabyul with what he was now awake enough to clock was a prodrome phase for an oncoming migraine.
Love it. Great. So excited. He was so happy about this, really.
Not like he had a test tomorrow he had to cram for, or an Unbirthday Party the day after and a full sheet of dormwide chores that had to be done under threat of magical collar, an essay and an ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ look from Trey, who had one of the most lethal ones Ace had ever seen. It even managed to make Ace himself feel guilty, and Ace was well aware he was a total asshole. And a collar around his neck during a migraine… Ace could already imagine the neck pain and nausea that would make a thousand times worse.
(Would Riddle care if he told him that? Save the punishment for later, or soften it under the circumstances? Nah, that was just wishful thinking. Maybe if it was someone else, or an actual serious problem, not just him whining over a headache like a little kid, he’d lighten up but Ace couldn’t picture it happening for him. He would just have to avoid getting collared at all.)
(...and maybe avoid Riddle for the day. Even if the guy was trying to be less keyed up, he still had a loud voice.)
He stumbles his way down the hall, down the stairs and then even more halls until he gets to the kitchen, blissfully empty in the early morning, too early for even Trey to be up and running it like his family's bakery. He doesn’t bother turning on the light, walking through the familiar room with ease, knowable in its absurdity as Heartslabyul was to its members. His stomach growled, and he was glad for it, knowing the stubborn nausea would probably be rearing its obnoxious head soon. He craved something greasy and processed, mourning the loss of the frozen food his brother kept stocked in the freezer, Heartslabyul too filled with fresh produce and baked goods for any kind of significant stock. Still, there was one thing they had hidden away, Ace thought, digging in a small side cabinet until he pulled out a thing of cup ramen. This would have to do, and hopefully, he’d finish it before a senpai came downstairs and got on his case for an unhealthy breakfast.
Unless it was Cater-senpai, who’d probably just join him, with an unholy amount of chili crisp stirred into the noodles. Still, he didn’t really want to deal with anyone right now. He always got more irritable before a migraine, and it was too early to be a dick unwarranted, even if it would feel deserved at the moment. It was better if he kept his distance today. Maybe he’d even go to campus early and find someone quiet and dark to hole up and study for the history test. (Or more likely just stare at his half hearted notes until the first bell rings.)
Maybe if he was lucky, he’d even get through the day before it hit full force.
– – – –
But Ace Trappola was rarely, if ever, lucky. If he didn’t know better, he would say the universe seemed to like making him suffer, but that was ridiculous, right? Sevens, he sounded insane.
Not as insane as the idiotic conversation happening nearby though.
“And I’m telling you, I could certainly evade a blastcycle!”
“Ain’t no way! You couldn’t evade my neighbors tractor, nevermind one of them supped up bikes!”
“How dare you! With my skills as a retainer for Waka-sama, there is no way a mere human machine could thwart me!”
“...Didn’t you just get ‘thwarted’ by a vending machine yesterday?”
“That despicable creation ate Lilia-sama’s generously given madol and refused to exchange the proper goods!”
“Doesn’t mean you had to brandish your sword at it…”
“Well I think he should do it again, nyah!”
“That’s just because he ended up shaking a bunch of snacks out that you ran away with, Grim.”
“Exactly!”
Ace was going to lose his mind. Normally, a distracting conversation during a Ramshackle study night was something he’d not only appreciate, but contribute to (and probably start, if he was being completely honest), but not today. His friends classmates were not quiet by nature (especially the green-haired loudmouth and the purple-haired country boy he was arguing with. And the screeching direbeast did not help…) and the high volume sent pulses of pain through his temples, made worse by the scrunch of his brow. Ace kept catching himself squinting, and trying to smooth out the tension on his face, just for it to reemerge a moment later when he got distracted by the ensuing debate or the way his messy notes seemed to swim off the page. If he was already having trouble reading, he probably didn’t have much time left.
Even worse, was the bubbling annoyance brewing in his chest, trying to burn its way up his throat. He’d already bitten into his cheek to keep himself from snapping at the others to shut up, and that was after he’d said something out of line to Deuce. He’d regretted it when it left his mouth, and not just because of Deuce’s look of hurt or the piercing look of disapproval in Yuu’s dark eyes.
He really was shitty. Truly it was a wonder they’d stuck around to study with him today. And if he stuck around, it’d only be worse. It was enough they had to deal with his ‘attitude’ as he’d heard many times before, but if he vomited on Yuu’s new rug during a migraine he might have to actually free the Land of Dawning in its entirety. That was way more of a mess than he’d ever let any of them have to clean up for him.
He slammed his notebook shut, stilling the conversation and forcing himself to grin instead of flinching. He stretched, the picture of casualness and yawned, standing with practiced ease.
“Well, as riveting as this is, I’m done for the day. Gotta tend the hedgehogs before dinner or Riddle will have my head.” He yawned, the picture of an apathetic student, as was expected.
“You sure you got enough studying in, Ace? Dormhead will want to see your test scores when we get them back.” Deuce frowned. “You should stay for a while longer, we’ve got a couple hours before the dinner bell."
“Man, don’t you have hedgehog duty too? Why are you stalling, you gonna skip out on it, leave it all up to me?” Ace grinned.
“No way! I’m not a slacker like you! I just need to get more studying done before I go back to the dorm.” Deuce protested, puffing up his chest like one of the dorm flamingos when upset.
“Y’know what? I’ll just take care of it,” He shrugged, faux-chill. Let this work, please. “You definitely need all the study time you can get.” He stuck his tongue out in teasing, feeling a little like Cater-senpai. He sounded a bit like a dick (as per usual) but Deuce of all people would hear the underlying apology for earlier.
…He hoped.
“I can’t let you do that, it’s a part of my dorm duties, I can’t just shove them off on you.” Deuce frowned, biting lightly at his lip. Ace couldn’t help but follow the motion.
Epel snorted out a laugh from next to Sebek, a noise Vil would’ve had him scrubbing the floor for if he'd heard it.
“As if he hasn’t done it to you a dozen times before!” Harsh, but true. Ace shrugged in acceptance. Fair enough.
“I wouldn’t say a dozen times,” Ace scratched at the back of his neck, “but seriously, it’s not a big deal. And we both know the hedgehogs like me better out of the two of us.”
“Well, the flamingos prefer me!” This was also true.
“Oh woe is me, how will I recover from this news!” Ace whinged, faux dramatics. (Wow, he really has to hang out with Cater-senpai less).
“...Man Heartslabyul is so fucking weird.”
“Hey!”
“Hey!”
They both snapped in unison to the purple-haired boy, who just flipped them off in return. It might’ve been extremely true, but only they could say that. Not like his dorm was better, with the haunted look in his eyes that entered whenever he mentioned their mysterious ‘basement’. He rolled his eyes and sighed, turning back towards his roommate. His stomach churned unpleasantly, and the dim Ramshackle lighting seemed to halo in his eyes. He really wanted to get out of here.
“Come on dude, I’m going now no matter what. Just say yes, and you can get back to studying. You know you don’t want to deal with Riddle’s temper if he finds out you failed a test again.” Not that Deuce would even deserve it, with how hard he tried. Deuce winced, seemingly imagining the same scene Ace was, and sighed.
“Fine, whatever, do what you want.” He turned his head slightly, not meeting Ace’s bleary eyes. “Don’t expect me to pay you back later or nothing.”
“Nah, I’m not Azul. Just don’t tell Riddle, and we’ll be chill.”
“...Got it.”
– – – –
He’d said goodbye to the others, not regretting turning and heading out when he heard the blastcycle jumping argument restarting before he’d even shut the front door.
Mentally he ran down the list of what he needed to do before the gates of hell opened in his brain.
- Feed the Hedgehogs
- Avoid any prying upperclassmen
- Assemble his Migraine Survival Kit (he was praying to the Seven he hadn’t emptied anything out last time and procrastinated restocking, though it was unfortunately incredibly possible)
- Take his pain meds and try to ignore being conscious until it passed
That was doable, right?
…Maybe if he didn’t live in the ‘Strictness Personified’ dorm, he’d be more hopeful about that.
He preemptively mourned his stash of snacks and his survival pack he kept under his bed. He was definitely gonna have to go to Sam’s shop after this to restock. He could tell from the quiet clanking inside the bottle that his painkiller supply was running low (too many cramps this month, he guessed) and he was running out of the only protein bars he could stomach during nausea fits (one of which he was desperately trying to ignore as it burned its way up his chest.)
Moreover, he missed having his own bedroom. Sharing with three other teen boys wasn’t as painful as it sounded, usually, but being able to lock his door and turn off all the lights and guarantee he wouldn’t be bothered until the migraine passed was something he desperately missed. If one of his roommates was back by the time he finished feeding the hedgehogs he might actually cry (which would just be a new layer of mortification.) Lory would be the most bearable option, considering he knew how to be quiet unlike most NRC students and though curious, he rarely pried, but if he came back and found Decker there smoking…
Well no one would be happy.
(Normally, he didn’t care at all. It wasn’t like he was the only dorm member to do so, considering their own Vices predilection for the stuff, but Sevens help him, the smell would be brutal right now. His nose was always extra sensitive during an episode.)
The hedgehogs were well behaved, maybe they could sense his impending doom, and nudged their noses sweetly into his hand as he fed them. It was a small comfort, but one he would indulge in, in the privacy of their pen. He could see why the Dormhead liked these little guys so much.
Afterwards, he dragged himself back up to his room, checking off hedgehog duty on the chore chart and ducking his head to avoid anyone stopping him on the way. The room was blissfully empty, to his immense relief, quiet and still as he put his stuff away. His body craved a hot shower, sore and dirty feeling from kneeling in the hedgehog pen. He flashed his phone towards his face to check the time. If he took a quick one, he could get himself situated well before dinner, and hopefully before any of his roommates made an apperance.
He nearly fell asleep standing, soaking in the steam and the repetitive sensation of the hot water rolling over his skin, but the incessant, growing pounding in his head was enough of a deterrent to keep him awake. He roughly dried his hair and skipped his skincare routine (Sorry Vil-senpai), and changed into his softest sweatshirt and sweatpants, hating the way it dragged on his tired muscles, but knowing he’d regret anything else when he came out the other side with a skin-scraping itch from sleeping in something less comfortable on his sensitive skin.
It was time to set up.
He was grateful for the curtains around his bed, allowing him some modicum of privacy as he locked them with a spell and added a silencing charm overtop. If someone needed him tonight…well tough luck on their part. It wouldn’t stop a very strong mage if they really wanted to get to him, but why would anyone want to bug him that bad? He didn’t think he messed anything up too badly today, so he should be in the clear. He got to work putting everything where it needed to go:
A vomit bag on his bedside table that would hopefully go unused. Cooling charms applied to a full water bottle and several ice packs. Two protein bars he probably wouldn’t eat until the morning. A large multi-pack of earplugs he'd been given years ago as a gift, and a sleep mask that applied a barely tolerable amount of pressure over his face in exchange for blocking out the head-piercing light.
That should be everything. Maybe it seemed a little overkill, but it was his tried and true method built off years of dealing with these annoying ass things. His first one was when he was nine, and he’d thought he was dying. He was quickly assured he was not, but that didn’t mean the pain was easier to deal with. The feeling of an ice pick being driven into his brain, the radiating pain down into his neck, the nausea turning to vomiting, even the sudden and irrational feeling of emptiness, of despair, of an exhaustion his limbs couldn’t contain that gripped him for no reason.
He hated it.
But whatever. He learned to deal with it.
Not like it was worse than fighting an Overblot, or five. Maybe. Ask him again when he was deep in an episode.
He downed his painkillers (three seemed to work on the pain without making his doctor look at him in concern when he talked to her, so that was what he went with), put in the earplugs, and pulled down his eye mask. He tried to ignore the jabbing behind his eyes, and the burning nausea he just had to breathe through, pressing his hand into his chest like it would be enough to quell it.
And he slipped into an uneasy sleep.