Home is where you make it {Alex + Jace}

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex needed five minutes to himself. He was already two coffees into his break, by himself, sitting at the window. He's turned his phone off and for once it was on the table. Silent. He was breathing slowly, just trying to relax. He'd stopped sleeping at night, always worrying. He supposed he had just over committed himself. It was all too much. Being with Gary - his ex teacher. Modeling with Nick - his ex fiance. What other evil surprise was around the corner for him? He sighed and leant back in his chair, picking up a sugar cube and crumbling it between his fingers. Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he noticed someone on the other side of the road. No. It couldn't be.

Alex took another sip of his coffee, he wouldn't believe it.

[Jace Grey]

Jace wondered down the street, bored out of his mind. It had certainly been an interesting few days. Nicholas was back in town - which was always an experience to say the least, he had 'tested' the new girl and he had found another plaything in the form of Benji Flynn. But now there was nothing left to do. It was too early for Amnesia to be open so all that was left to do was to wonder aimlessly about town. At least it was a nice day and he could show off at least some of his tattoos by wearing a black tank top!

The feel of eyes on his back made him turn around sharply, his eyes already narrowed in annoyance. Who was disturbing his aimless wondering?! But there was no one behind him which meant that someone in some shop was staring at him, and with the sun reflecting off the glass, he couldn't see who it was. Frustrated, he changed course and headed over to the coffee shop across the street. Perhaps caffine would sooth him until he could get a stronger drink.

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex's eyes widened as he saw the boy turn and walk towards him. He looked down immediately and hid behind a magazine, of which, unfortunately, he was on the front cover of. He bit down on his lip and tried to become as invisible as possible. He flinched slightly as he heard the door open and the boy step in. He bit down harder on his lip, crossing his toes in his shoes to stop the boy from spotting him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see Jace again, they had been goods friends, very good friends. But things had gone wrong. Jace had vanished just before Nick and Alex hadn't seen either of them for an age. Now they both seemed to have turned up at the same time. Not exactly the reunion Alex had been hoping for.

"Can I get you another coffee, sir?" A waitress asked, peering over the magazine. Alex nodded and pushed his cup towards her and she took it, disappearing behind the bar. He knew then his cover had been blown, he put the glossy paper back on the table and looked out of the window again, pretending he hadn't seen Jace earlier.

[Jace Grey]

Jace surveyed the place as he walked in - the usual people were about; sickly sweet couples, the odd person on a laptop and.... He looked at the boy who was reading a magazine intensly. There was something about him that seemed strangely familiar. And then it hit him. Alex Cien - friend, lover, whatever you wanted to call him.

He sat down opposite Alex without even bothering to ask if the seat was taken. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, smirking, "My we have grown up, haven't we?" He had always had fun with Alex, he had been so easy to play with. But then the games turned into something more serious. Only it was shattered by a ring - Nicholas' ring. Jace had decided to take a little 'vaccation' after that (it was more like an angry killing spree) to calm himself down.

But now he was back and it seemed that Alex had never even moved away. He smirked as he imagined what Alex must be going through - fancying seeing your ex-fiance and your ex-lover in the same town! What were the chances?!

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex watched Jace closely, folding his arms over his chest as the other boy sat down. Well, this wasn't exactly how he had planned to spend his afternoon. He pocketed his cell phone and re-adjusted his jacket, taking in a few deep breaths before he opened his mouth, "Yes. Well...that's what tends to happen over an extended period of time. You didn't expect me to be small and innocent forever did you?"

He frowned at the other boy, that hadn't exactly said their good-byes on friendly terms. Alex knew what the other boy had done, and he hadn't been at all surprised. What had been a surprise, though, was finding out Jace's true feelings for him. Not exactly something he had expected. But Jace talked of love, did he even truly know what the word meant? Alex looked up at the boy once again and smiled to himself - even with all the bad memories, it was good to see Jace again.

"Y'know, I hate to say it, but I have missed you."

[Jace Grey]

Jace raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side slightly as he did so. "You've missed me?" he snorted - rather ungracefully - at the thought. This was the one boy who he had opened his heart to, the one and only person he had ever said the three imortal words to. And then he had crushed his heart, just as Michael Grey had warned him. But Jace never listened to his father, never really took in what he had to say. Well, he was certainly right about one thing - there was no need for friends or lovers, they just got in the way. Jace had never - and would never - make the same mistake again.

"What have we been up to then, Mr Cien?" he asked, speaking too formally for the circumstances. He wasn't about to fall for any of Alex's traps again. Unlike most people, Jace learnt from his mistakes. It may be a reunion but that didn't mean it had to be a nice one.

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex didn't reply straight away. He had been handed his clean cup of coffee from the waitress before Jace had spoken and was relentlessly stirring it round and around - even though he hadn't added any sugar. He already felt like his heart had dropped and they hadn't even started the conversation yet. Alex hadn't even been aware of Jace's feelings towards him - Nick had been right, he was too innocent for his own good. He never noticed if people liked him or not. He was too naive. Not like Nick, or eve Jace - they seemed to make it widely known that they were available and ready for anything.

Alex slowly put the teaspoon on a saucer and looked up at Jace. Not really looking at him, but looking just past him. "Nothing of any interest, I'm afraid. Just the usual, bit of drama here and there. Oh, and I'm fucking one of the teachers." He smirked slightly, if something was to get under Jace's skin. That would be it. "You remember Mr Godspeed...apparently he enjoys students company more than we thought. Not that I'm complaining. He had a very big...house."

[Jace Grey]

Jace smirked, "You? Fucking a teacher? Well things have certainly changed! I am so pleased for you. What an achievement. Fancy our inoccent little Alex shagging the teacher," he shook his head as if in disbelief. "Well i am glad that things are working out for you. Some people don't have those luxuries," he said, pouting slightly. He knew that the comment about the teacher was meant to get to him but he honestly didn't care anymore. Alex was old news and so much had changed since then.

"Do you fancy something a little stronger?" he asked, glancing around and pulling out a small, silver hipflask. He pulled an empty glass over towards him and half-filled it with a clear liquid. It seemed that all he was doing these days was drinking, but that didn't matter. Live life to the full and all that. Even if it was only 11am.

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex bit down on his lip at the offer of something stronger. "No, thank you. I don't drink anymore." He looked up at Jace, frowned slightly and then leant back again. Not really paying attention to the other boy anymore. Jace annoyed Alex, his indifference, his blase approach to life really frustrated the thin boy. He sighed and perched his elbows on the table, as he took another sip of his coffee. "Yes. Sometimes you have to make the best of a situation. Seeing as everyone abandoned me I didn't have much choice." he muttered, his head bowed again. He was slowly returning back to his old self and he hated it. He was getting quieter and quieter, more reserved, less flamboyant. He hated it. He wanted to be loud, to shout at people, to parade himself in front of everyone without a care in the world. But then...maybe that wasn't him.

[Jace Grey]

Jace cocked his head to the side, sipping at his drink slowly. "Something the matter, Master Cien?" He smirked slightly, "Oh i see, you're mad at me for leaving. Well it wasn't as if we were dating or anything. At least i wasn't your fiance." Perhaps that had been a bit hard, and if he was going to tell the truth, it had hurt him to leave Alex on his own with Nick.

He downed his drink then refilled it, quickly knocking it back again. "Perhaps you should just forget about me and forget about Nick. Stick with your 'teacher' and just pretend like it never happened. Denial is the key to survival," he said, chuckling lightly to himself." He stood up, "Fancy going for a fly?" he asked, suddenly feeling the need for some air. His front was fine but underneath he was churning.

[ALEX CIEN]

Alex looked at Jace, "No. We weren't dating. But I did think we were friends. I thought at least that would mean something to you, as, y'know, you were supposed to love me. Not that you did, of course. 'Jace Grey doesn't love anything' Right?" he muttered, downing the rest of his drink as Jace got to his feet. He raised and eyebrow and shook his head. He wasn't in the best of moods anymore and a fly wouldn't improve it. "You want me to forget about you, and yet you want to go flying. You clearly haven't thought this through have you?" he asked, taking his money out of his pocket and leaving it for the waitress.

Getting to his feet he took his jacket and slung it over his thin shoulders. That was one thing that hadn't changed, his weight. Modeling had made sure of that. He moved passed Jace and out of the door, waiting for the other boy to follow. When Jace was in range of speech Alex pointed to the park, "Besides, what's wrong with walking? I'll meet you there if you want..."

[Jace Grey]

Jace rolled his eyes, "Always such a kill joy," he said, nudging Alex with his elbow. "Anyway, i just suggested that perhaps you should forget about me and Nick. And anyway, it's not like i'd make it easy for you to forget me," he said, winking, before heading out the door. Maybe it was the alcohol but his mood was suddenly soaring. "Sure you don't want a ride?!" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

He transformed into a large golden eagle, cawing lightly. There weren't many people about and Jace really didn't care if people sure him. So what if he had special powers? If people didn't like it, what were they going to do about it?! His sharp eyes locked onto Alex's, enticing him to fly with him.