**EXPLANATION: PLEASE READ** Hello everyone~! ^_^ Thank you so much for the views, favorites, alerts, and thank you Kibalover1998 for your review! Let me explain why it took so long to update. I uploaded the first chappy last month a few days before I left on my Senior Trip. So my Senior Class Trip kept me busy for two days, then I had my last week of school, then I had internet problems for a week or so, then I had to do all my Graduation/Senior stuff, and then this past week I also went on a trip with one of my best friends for 5 days and got back Friday! I was able to work on the story on the trip though(which I did) hehehe I spent this weekend editing the story so I could upload on Monday! Well...x_x it's actually a few minutes after midnight but I'm still gonna consider this Monday! XD Thank you all for being so patient! I just wanted to explain to you why it took so long to update. Plus I did have some brain block as well but that didn't affect me as much as the other events did. I'm just so glad that it's finally uploaded! WOOHOO! And this chapter ended up being REALLY LONG o_o so I hope you guys enjoy it! Also the style of the writing is different from my last one. Heheh. I ended up using my usual style instead of present tense. Well it's still taking place in the present but it's just narrated differently. Hope you still like it! Coz this is what I'm more comfortable with xP eeee I am SO excited for this story and I hope you guys are too! Thank you so much everyone!
[ PLEASE TRY TO PICTURE EVERYONE REALISTICALLY, NOT CARTOON-LIKE.
ALSO I DO NOT OWN THE POWERPUFF GIRLS. I OWN THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER AND THE STORY IDEA THOUGH~ ]
Ace took a look around the place.
It was just as large on the inside as it was the outside.
There were rows and rows of over-sized bookshelves.
Elongated, wooden tables were all around with people scattered throughout the library.
The ceiling was high and the floors were a swirl of black and white granite.
There was even a small reading nook where some kids were currently hanging out in.
The library was vast. He had no idea that Townsville had so many books.
It was at the front desk where he spotted the familiar red head.
She was sitting between a woman in her 60's and another girl just a little older than himself.
Ace sauntered over to the front desk with a certain cockiness to him.
He stood right before the three women and casually leaned on the wooden desk. He began humming a small tune as his eyes wandered the walls around him.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the red-headed girl look up at him, "May I help you?" she inquired.
Just slightly, he turned his head to look at her.
He had gotten lucky. Her face was just as nice as her body.
She had olive colored eyes and an oval shaped face.
"This is some nice weatha' we's havin' huh?" Ace smirked at her. He had no clue what to say right now but he knew his charms would win in the end.
The girl raised an eyebrow skeptically at him.
He watched as she and the girl to her right made eye contact briefly.
That was when the old frickin' lady butted in. "Weather? You came in here to talk about WEATHER?" Her voice croaked.
Ace's shades slid down the bridge of his nose in shock. Her voice was like a hammer to the head.
The two girls giggled at their co-worker and prepared themselves for what was about to come.
Ace took a deep breath in hopes of trying to calm himself down.
He then cleared his throat and pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. "Uh y-ya, Miss. I means, how could ya not talk about da weatha' today? Just take a looks at it! Gorgeous!"
The elderly woman raised an eyebrow at him but looked at the glass doors near the entrance simply to humor the boy.
"Listen fella'. The weather is nice. But I don't need punks like you waltzing into my library and wasting my time, ya hear? I'm a very busy woman, I'll have you know."
"Oh I'll bet ma'am. But you knows, I just couldn't stop myself from talkin' ta a beautiful lady like yerself." He leaned closer to the older woman, pulling his sunglasses down just enough to wink at her.
"HA! Is that right?" The woman let out a loud laugh, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms across her chest.
The two girls bit their tongues so they would not laugh outright at the comment. Not wanting to get into trouble with the older woman.
"Yes ma'am." Ace cleared his throat once again to prevent himself from screaming like a little girl and running the hell outta the place, "Women are like..are like...wine. Like wine, I believe the older they gets, the more beautiful they are." He just wanted to punch himself in the face. He was full of shit.
"Oh my gosh!" The short haired girl spit out these words as she and the other two women before him bursted out into uproarious laughter.
Ace stood there like an idiot with a lopsided grin on his face.
"Heheh...heh." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, feeling the eyes of everyone in the library at the moment.
The three cackling hens continued laughing for about another three minutes before the old bag hushed all of them.
"Shhhh girls we're in the library." Another laugh escaped from her lips.
The three women finally settled down.
"Alright kid. Now seriously, what do you want?"
"Well. I was just wonderinz...what your name is?" Ace looked directly at his mystery girl.
The girl jumped a little, realizing that he was talking to her.
He couldn't help but smirk at that.
The other two women looked at his girl curiously.
"Ahh..." The old woman nodded, clicking her tongue. "I see."
The girl's brows furrowed as she looked up at him. She hesitated giving him a suspicious look. "Sasha." She finally admitted.
"Sasha." Ace repeated, letting the name sink into his memory. "Well Sasha. I'll see you tomorrow."
He gave a small wave and a smile before he turned around and exited the library.
Ace stared up at the ceiling with a dazed look on his face. But he was grinning.
He was sprawled out on his stuffy old bed, a cigarette in his right hand.
His right leg crossing his left. His foot was tapping excessively. It was a bad habit of his.
He was thinking about her again. That Sasha.
She was his new interest for the time being. But it wouldn't last. He'd get bored again like he always did.
But for now he'd just focus on trying to get with her.
She was fucking hot.
A puff of smoke escaped his lips and he let out a deep sigh.
He'd take her out on a few dates, keep her entertained for a little while, but not too long.
Just until she gave him what he wanted.
If he was lucky, it wouldn't take too long.
Then he could ditch her.
He liked a challenge. But nice girls got real borin' real fast.
She'd be crazy if she actually thought that a guy like him would date a chick like her.
The only reason he noticed her at all was because of her -
The door creaked open and a tall figure walked in.
"Hey Bosssss? What'ssss up?" Snake inwardly flinched at the sound of his inevitable lisp. He hated his lisp.
Ace sat up and shrugged. "Whaddya want?" He looked up at one of his closest and oldest friends.
'He's green because of you. He lives a hard life because of you.'
The voice in the back of his head reminded him of this truth.
"The guysss wanted me to check on ya, is all." Snake shifted uncomfortably. He felt like Ace's eyes were piercing right through him but it was hard to tell with those shades of his.
'If you hadn't led them to that toxic dump then they could all be happy. You could be happy.'
Ace's jaw tightened. Once again he was fighting with himself. 'I gots ta be goin' nuts.' he decided.
"Bossss?" Snake looked at his friend worriedly.
Ace shook his head to snap out of it, "Tell 'em ta stop worryin'." he grinned and put out his cigarette.
He got off of his creaky old bed and walked towards his friend.
"What's for dinnah tonight?" He wrapped his arm around Snake's shoulder leading him out of his bedroom.
Snake grinned right back at the Boss. "I duno. Lil' Arturo and Grubber are cookin' it up right now."
When they reached the top of the old wooden stairs Ace removed his arm from Snake's shoulder and headed down the stairs with Snake in tow.
If there was anything Ace took pride in, it definitely would have to be the gang's home.
Their house wasn't a mansion or anything but it was just right for them.
They had built it all on their own when they first arrived in Townsville a couple years ago.
They even managed to create their own plumbing and electrical systems for the place as well. That way they wouldn't have to give Townsville a dime of their money.
Everything in the house they had found in the Dump and revived it themselves.
Nothing was too fancy. In fact a lot of it was outdated.
But it still worked and if anything broke, he and the boys could fix it.
Everyone had their own room. Ace, Snake, and Big Billy slept upstairs while Grubber and Lil' Arturo slept downstairs.
The shack was made entirely out of this old, dark brown wood they had found all over the Dump. It was old but it was damn sturdy if it could withstand Big Billy's weight.
When they first started on the place they had only been able to build a shack with just a small living room inside.
Over the years though, they had added onto it.
Now they had a two story home with everything they would ever need.
However a lot of the time they still referred to the place as the Shack or the Dump.
Ace and Snake walked off the last step and into the kitchen where Grubber and Lil' Arturo were hastily working on dinner.
Lil' Arturo was perched on top of a tall wooden stool, stirring whatever was in the large pot.
Grubber was standing on a stool as well working on some dinner rolls.
"Aye boys, what's for dinnah tonight?" He walked right behind the two placing a hand on both of their shoulders.
Grubber blew a few raspberries in response consequently spitting all over Ace's face.
Ace frowned and not just because he had spit on his face.
"Man. Ain't we just have chili last week? Let's get more creative here, fellas." He then walked over to the sink and began rinsing off his face.
Arturo muttered a string of Spanish curses under his breath. "You wanna make dinner, Boss?" he stated rather quickly due to his accent.
Ace laughed a little. He really loved getting on Lil' Arturo's nerves. "Nah, cooking is your thing little buddy." He dried his face off with a paper towel.
Grubber threw his arms in the air spitting out more raspberries.
"Aye, aye, aye calm down! It's your thing too."
Grubber nodded his head at Ace's words.
He then stepped off of the stool, taking the tray of rolls with him. He waddled over to the oven and placed the rolls inside.
The kitchen was the second largest room in the house. On the right side of the room a door led to Arturo's room. And on the backside of the room was where the stairs were located. Across from that in the far left corner was the doorway that led out into the living room.
Arturo, still fired up, turned around and looked up at Snake and Ace, "Why don't one of ya make yourselves useful and wash those dishes!"
However Arturo said this so quickly that the word dishes sounded more like douches.
A moment of silence took place as Ace and Snake looked at each other in a 'What the...!' sort of way.
Both of them bursted out laughing. "What'd you just say?" Snake asked incredulously.
"Wash the douches? Man, that's sick, Lil' Buddy." Ace doubled over with laughter.
Arturo was quiet for a moment trying to put the pieces together. "...DISHES! I said DISHES!" He was fuming now.
This made Snake and Ace laugh even more at Arturo's expense.
Ace laughed so hard that he started coughing uncontrollably.
Man, he really should cut back on smoking.
"Just get out of here! Douchebags! Get out!" Arturo jumped and flailed.
"Disssssshbags? Don't you mean douchebags?" Snake asked him jokingly, a huge grin plastered on his face.
Arturo growled at Snake, "Shaddup hombre!" He then threw the wooden laddle he had been stirring with right at the older boy.
It hit Snake square in the forehead. A redmark began to form as chili stuck to his skin.
"Ssssshit man! That ain't cool." Snake hissed at Arturo(no pun intended), wiping the chili off his forehead.
Even Grubber was laughing now. Ace had tears in his eyes and was clutching his sides.
"OUT!" Arturo repeated reaching for another utensil.
"Alright, alright, I'm goin'!" Ace held up his hands as he made his way to the living room. "Calm down Lil' Buddy." He laughed once more.
Snake grumbled something as he followed Ace into the living room.
The living room was the largest out of everything.
On the right side of the room there were a couple chairs and in the center was a worn out couch with a small television in front of it.
Alone, Big Billy took up the whole couch. A lot of the time the others sat in the chairs nearby or even on the floor whenever they were watching TV.
The TV only had 3 channels. One was a channel dedicated to porn, one had all of the popular shows, and the other was the local news and public access station.
Snake and Ace took a seat on the chairs next to the green giant.
Big Billy was currently on the couch watching some show with pink fluffy bunnies on the screen.
Big Billy had a dorky smile on his face as he watched the two bunnies before him. At the sight of his friends his smile only became wider.
"What funny?" He asked, laughing already.
Ace let out a shaky breath as he tried to prevent another laughing fit. "Just that Mexican in the kitchen, BB."
"OK!" Big Billy nodded his head happily, quickly returning to his show.
The three of them sat silently watching the show.
Well, Big Billy was watching the show at least.
The other two were lost in thoughts of their own. Ace with a contemplative look on his face while Snake continued grumbling about chili.
Tomorrow he'd go see Sasha again, Ace decided.
He'd flirt with her a little bit and then ask he out. Get it all over with it.
But tonight he'd eat some chili and hang out with his boys.
For the most part Ace's life was pretty good.
His past frequently haunted him but he could push those thoughts away. He just needed to keep his eye on the present. Take it day by day.
He wasn't sure what he'd do after getting with Sasha.
He honestly had no interest in learning about the girl.
As long as he knew her name and her age, that would be fine with him.
Bang a chick, leave her.
He wouldn't care for her as soon as they were done.
But at least now he had something to look forward to.
For nearly an hour Ace had been waiting for Sasha to get out of work.
It was 5:30 in the afternoon now and Ace was getting freakin' tired of waiting. His butt was even sore.
He had decided to sit on the concrete stairs that led up to the library not realizing how long he'd have to wait.
Ace had already been in the library earlier today as well as the day before.
Today was Friday, he remembered. It was only Wednesday that he even found out Sasha existed.
But tonight he would make his move on her.
Ace was about to smoke a cigarette when he heard a familiar voice.
"Ace what are you still doing here?" Sasha asked him so sweetly that it made Ace feel sick to his stomach.
"Aye Sasha." Ace lifted himself off of the stairs and began dusting off his jeans.
"You know you come around a lot." She bluntly stated before Ace could even think of anything to say.
Ace grinned sheepishly. "Guess I do." He agreed.
"Why is that?" She had an idea of why. A hunch that Sasha hoped she wasn't wrong about.
Ace shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "I like ya, is why." He gave Sasha his trademark grin.
"Like me?" Her face turned red.
She was innocent. Too innocent. It almost made Ace feel guilty for what he would later do to her. Almost.
"Yah, I like ya. So whaddya say? How 'bout some dinnah tonight?"
Her face was still bright red as she hesitated, "Not tonight." She finally managed to say.
Ace felt his heart drop a little. Were his charms actually failing him? No frickin' way.
"But how about Monday for lunch? Will that be alright?" She gave him a small smile.
Ace breathed a sigh of relief. His charms hadn't faded. "Oh sure. I can take ya out ta lunch. What times do ya want me ta pick ya up?"
Sasha looked up at the sky, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she took a few moments to think it over.
"12:30!" She chirped. "That's when my lunch is and it lasts for an hour."
'Too fuckin' innocent.' Ace inwardly frowned.
It was actually starting to piss him off how innocent this girl was.
Or was it the fact that he had a conscience that was eating away at him?
He couldn't tell which it was at the moment.
Instead he continued to grin foolishly.
Grin like a frickin' puppet.
"12:30 then." He stated with his accent that Sasha was instantly attracted to.
Sasha wasn't dumb. She knew exactly what Ace wanted but she refused to let him use her.
Talking to him wouldn't hurt her, she told herself.
She liked the way he smiled at her, the way he talked, and the way he so obviously flirted with her.
He charmed her so easily and so quickly.
And even though she knew he was a douchebag, she still wanted to see him.
Because Sasha couldn't deny that she liked Ace.
An awkward silence had occured without either of them realizing it.
Sasha laughed lightly, "I'll see you then, Ace. Please don't forget~" She smiled at him again making Ace inwardly cringe.
He didn't understand why she was so eager to date him. Why she was so happy.
His conscience was really pissing him off now.
Sasha quickly made her way down the stairs, longing to be at home on her comfy couch.
"W-wait! You don't wants me ta walk ya home?" Ace called out to Sasha.
She turned around, "No thanks. I don't want you to know where I live!" She laughed as she soon disappeared from his sight.
PS!: The Gang[Their looks to be precise] and their home will be further described in later chapters!