"Dad, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make you proud…" Ace mumbles meekly, cowering back from his father. Mr. De La Cruz is so red with rage, the veins on his neck popped out. He starts towards the boy and strikes him across the face. Ace recoils back and grips the counter behind him. He lets out a tiny wince, further enraging his father.

"We came from NOTHING, and you want to bring us back to NOTHING?!" the older man roared. Ace feels his face burn and his stomach churn. He has heard this all too many times. He was a failure, and everyone knew it. He failed to win the Hamilton internship. But what was even worse was that he turned against his friend Rose, one of his only true friends and tried to get her school closed down. He'd been expelled from Kelper afterward.

In spite of everything…Rose let him come back to her school. She forgave him, after he nearly destroyed what she worked so hard for. Of course, people still didn't trust him. Not even Wes. Forgiveness or not, he was a social pariah. It was even worse at home. His mother barely spoke to him. His father let him know at every chance what a disappointment he was. Whether it is physical or verbal.

"That's enough, dear," his mother interjects. His father leers at him, and then leaves his room. His mother shakes his head in disapproval before leaving as well. Ace groans, and sinks to the ground, clutching his bruised cheek. Normally, he would have freaked out about anything making him look unsuccessful, but now, he feels he deserves everything he got coming to him.

Someone taps him on the shoulder, causing him to jump. Not like many people wanted to speak to him. They proved speaking about him, regardless if whether he was around or not. He looks up into a familiar concerned dark face and curly cotton candy pink hair. Rose. Of course. Only she would occasionally come and see him. Not like she felt bad for him. Students still gave him dirty looks and whispered to one another.

Heart aching on the inside, he looks up at her with an uninterested glance. "What?"

She smiles faintly and says, "I never see you at lunch anymore, Ace. Is everything ok?"

There were a million ways he could respond. "Yes. Everything's fine," he states blankly. Rose didn't budge. Her brown eyes rested on the amount of paperwork on the table. She looks up at the open sky around them and sighs.

"Ace, it's such a beautiful day out here. You know you don't have to work all the time," she comments. "Why don't you come eat lunch with me and my friends?"

Ace freezes. Sweet, still naïve Rose. The friends he had were long gone. He only had enemies. Not like her friends would ever want him at his table.

"Gee…that's real sweet of you, Rose, but…I think I'm fine he-"

A loud, growling noise interrupts him rejecting Rose's offer. It was then he remembers he hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. Or dinner last night. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time this week he'd eaten a decent meal. He was too ashamed to show up at the table anymore, and chose to eat leftovers instead. And of course he had to mortify himself in front of Rose.

He inhales sharply and tries to act like the transgression hadn't happened. Rose isn't buying it. His stomach gurgles again in hunger. "Damn you! Be quiet," he mentally curses his body, clasping a hand underneath his shirt, attempting to silence his gut.

"Umm…Ace?" goes her soft voice. "I really think you could use a lunch break…We're heading down to a pizza place soon…so…maybe you should come with us."

The fact that she was still trying to reach out to him despite their past infuriates him. Who was she, to so easily forgive him after manipulating her and her friends? Why would they want to hang out with him?! He never got that about Rose. She was too nice. Too…weak.

"I can't," he states point blank. "I'm busy."

"But-"

"But nothing, Rose!" Ace snaps uncontrollably. "Look, I know you're just trying to be nice so you can get your revenge on me for what I did. Well guess what? I already got it!"

Rose pales. "What? I w-wasn't trying to get revenge on you! Ace, please listen."

"You said it yourself to my parents. I can't be trusted. And frankly, neither can you. I found out about the picture you were planning to show to everyone at the banquet. Wes told me yesterday," he mumbles.

"I changed my mind when I saw how happy you were with your parents," Rose pleads. Ace snickers a little.

"Heh, me happy with my parents. Good one," he chuckles. "I'll tell you what. I'll go with you and your friends, but don't expect me to act like I'm enjoying myself."

Rose looks like she wants to say something else, but wisely keeps her mouth shut and nods. Ace rises and follows her monotonously.

The first person Ace sees is Julian. The strapping jock had a few inches on him, and as he glares at Ace, he feels like a small bug.

"Rose, is Ace bothering you?" he thunders, getting closer to Ace than he would have liked. Fortunately, Ace gets in between them.

"No, Julian! He's going to eat lunch with us," she answers. Ace looks down at his shoes, trying to avoid the football player's gaze.

"Rosie, I know you mean well, but you do realize this is the same guy who tried to CLOSE THE SCHOOL?" He snaps, pointing accusingly at the former Kelper student. He felt even more useless every time someone brought up the mess with the council. He bites his lip and tries to hold back his tears.

"Julian…everyone needs a second chance. Remember how you used to bully Nishan, and now you guys are close friends? Or how about Mia, who used to side with Hearst before she transferred here?" Rose pleads.

"That's different. Mia and I were just mean. Perhaps even cruel. But not to the point of ruining something cherished," he asserts, crossing his arms in defiance. Ace feels a wave of nausea rash over him. He mumbles an excuse and turns to leave. He runs smack into Wes, his former slacker buddy.

"W-wes! I didn't expect to see you here," He stammers. Wes looks at him, as if trying to see if he's pulling a fast one, then shrugs.

"Yeesh, I've never seen you this jumpy before," he comments. "You look like you haven't eaten or slept in days. This is pretty funny, considering your parents basically spoil you rotten."

"It's not like that at all," Ace retorts too quickly for his liking. "I'm just having an off day. I was heading to lunch."

"Right," Wes says suspiciously. "And Rose and Julian are here why?"

"He's coming with us. Come on, we only have so long for lunch," Rose answers for him.

All of them are staring at him. Some subtly, some not-so-subtly. Autumn, Mia and Payton exchange questionable glances between shakes on fries. Julian exemplifies his intense loathing in his hands squeezing the grease out of his burger. Nishan and Sakura text each other from opposite ends of the table, occasionally looking up at Ace. Ezra tunes his guitar, trying to ignore the obvious elephant in the room. Even Rose couldn't find something to say. It was silent at the table, with the exception of chewing, slurping, and the occasional wrinkling.

Finally, Julian stands up. Rose looks up at him, her eyes pleading with him to sit back down before he does something he might regret.

"Alright, I can't take it anymore. It's pretty clear what's wrong here," he seethes, glowering at Ace. Ace was taking short, shallow breaths, trying to concentrate on his barely touched food. He knows what Julian is trying to say. He wasn't welcome here. He swallows hard, gazing at the vanilla milkshake.

"Julian, don't do this," Rose begs, but Julian is beyond reason.

"I WON'T EAT WITH A GUY WHO TRIED TO TAKE AWAY THE ONLY FAMILY I'VE EVER KNOWN!" he roars, pointing accusingly at Ace. Ace's eyes widened, his mouth hung open in shock. Someone had gotten up and finally said it in person. He gets up, and runs out of the fast food joint, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. He hears chairs scraping and the pounding of feet. This only makes him run faster. No way could they see his tears. Especially Julian.

"Ace, wait! Julian didn't mean what he said!" Rose calls after him.

"Oh, yes I did! The guy has no heart!" Julian retorts.

His heart skipped a beat. The sudden loss of concentration made him trip and fall. The hard asphalt grinds against his face and palms. Rose and the others finally catch up to him.

"Oh my gosh, is he OK?" Autumn worriedly asks. Ace slowly lifts his head and the others gasp, even Julian.

"I understand the scrapes on his cheeks and palms, but the bruise at his eye and shaking hands aren't from the fall," Nishan observes.

"Rose said you looked rather pale and malnourished," Sakura adds. "I have a feeling your parents weren't happy with what happened with the Council."

Ace groans and turns paler. They were slowly finding out just how much of a screw-up he had become. "It's not what you think. My dad and I had an argument, and I guess I've been too on edge to eat anything."

Wes crouches on the ground until he and Ace are at eye level. "Look," he begins. "I've seen you and your dad fight. And I've seen you on edge before. It's nothing like this. We may not be on the best of terms right now, but…I want to know if one of my friends is being hurt."

Ace lurches off of the ground, fear evident on his face. "No! You don't want to know! My life is falling apart at the seams and it's my entire fault. I wish I never met any of you!" Ace hollers. He turns to Rose. Sweet, innocent Rose. "Especially you, Rose. I think your softness may have rubbed off on me. I should have finished your school when I had the chance."

Rose's eyes widen and fill with tears. She whispers, "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"Damn right, Mary Sue," he hisses. The others murmur amongst each other. "Yeah, I called her a Mary Sue. So what? Literally NO person had things ALWAYS work out for them in the end like you do. Especially not me. Maybe it was a mistake moving to your school."

"I think the lack of food is starting to get to you. How 'bout we cut afternoon classes so you can cool down," Wes offers. At first, Ace opens his mouth to say no, but his head starts to spin. He has no choice but to agree. Wes helps him to his feet. He sways a little, but Wes and Rose hold him steady.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" He demands, his voice slurring with weakness.

"We're friends, Ace. Friends don't let friends hurt themselves," Rose states with a small smile. Ace is too tired to make a snide remark about friends. When they get him into Wes's car, he passes out almost immediately.

"We're here," Wes shouts, waking Ace up with a start.

Disoriented, he mumbles, "Where's 'here'?"

He looks up and sees a B and B out the window. Ace shakes his head. "I'm not hungry."

"Yeah," Wes agrees. "You're starving. Come out the car and we'll go in together."

He stalks over to Ace's side and opens the door so he can come out. Ace, not willing to be budged, mutters, "I'm not hungry."

"Ok, are you going to come out willingly or do I have to pull a Julian on you?" Wes warns him, putting his hands in his pockets. Reluctantly, he slinks out of the car. He eyes Wes suspiciously, trying to figure out his motives.

"Relax, I don't have a loaded gun lying around anywhere," He says casually. Ace frowns at him and turns in the other direction. "Hey, I didn't cut class so you could skip out on me. Besides, you'll end up passing out again along the way. At least get something to eat first."

"No."

"You've already hurt Rose more than once. Do you really want to do it again by hurting yourself?"

Ace stops dead in his tracks. He'd already called Rose a Mary Sue and made her cry; even after everything she did for him. He had a burning desire for her to hate him, just like everyone at school did. And yet, she was the only one who dared to break down his cool exterior and get to know the real him on the inside.

With gritted teeth he relents, "Fine. But only for the sake of Rose."

"Atta boy," Wes cackles, dragging him into the B and B. A pretty scarlet-haired hostess with "Janice" on her tag peers down at the two teens. She glances at Wes, but fixes her eyes on Ace. It's like everyone in town knew what he did. Well of course they did. He admitted at the district meeting!

"How may I help you sir," she cheerfully asks Wes while ignoring Ace.

Ace turns to leave again. Wes grabs him by his arm and pulls him close.

"My friend and I would like a table for two, please," he requests, flashing the hostess a cheeky grin.

Fighting the urge to tell them to get lost, she politely states, "Right this way, sir."

Ace tugs at Wes's arm. "Let me go," he hisses. "I'm not wanted here."

"You could be the social pariah of this district-"

"Which I am."

"-but I would care if something happened to my friend because he refused to eat at a store he wasn't wanted at. This isn't the Ace I know. The one who could charm and weasel his way in and out of places and situations. If I was as gifted as you are, we would have been a great team at Kepler," Wes snaps.

"Oh sure" Ace agrees sarcastically. "The politician and the slacker: Partners in Crime."

"Don't knock it 'till you try it," Wes remarks as they take their seats and open the menu. Wes sees food. Ace sees his end.