Holy shit, an update?! No way! D: Alas, my dear readers, this is an indeed an update. No, you are not dreaming. I have faith you can have much cooler dreams anyway.

So this update is like, a year late. Yep. But here's the story; high school came around and was kind of a bitch. I had a bunch of other stories I was starting and working on so this one was kinda shoved onto a backburner, and also, Kota may or may not be leaving this story. So as of now, this story is on me. Until further notice that involves her saying she'll come back in, only this version of the story will be updated. As for the rating, when and if I get to another smut scene, the M-rated version will be on here and the rating will change. So be prepared for that.

That all being said, thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and this story will not take another year to be updated. Perhaps a few months, but not a year. Kthxbai.

DISCLAIMER: I don't remember if I put one of these in or not, but you all should know I don't own any of these characters. Obviously. If I did then ToTA would be a lot more insane than it was.


Chapter 7

The Aftermath

The next thing Luke realized, he was waking up to the feeling of someone shaking his shoulder. He gave a groan, pressing his face further into his pillow, not ready to get up yet. The thing was persistent, shaking him more roughly. Again Luke grumbled, trying to bury himself under his blanket. It was too early; his alarm hadn't even gone off yet! "Luke, come on." A voice floated into his ear. A familiar voice that his sleep-fogged mind couldn't put with a face. "Wake up."

Slowly, he cracked his emerald eyes open. His vision was blurred from sleep, a smear of red and black swimming through his sight. He blinked several times, and gradually, the picture cleared.

"A-Asch…?"

"You're hard to wake up, you know that?" the other redhead stated, propped up on one elbow and gazing down at him. His crimson hair was sleep-mused and disheveled, his long bangs falling in front of his face. Luke gazed up at him, then around at his surroundings. Asch noticed this and gave a shrug. "You fell asleep last night while you were here. Figured it wouldn't hurt to let you sleep." The younger boy blinked in realization. That was right; Asch had brought him to his house the day before… Now that he mentioned it, he remembered feeling sleepy while lying there and had closed his eyes for a bit. He must've drifted off after that.

"Oh, uh, sorry… I didn't mean to fall asleep…" Asch shook his head.

"No harm done. But you need to get up, we have to get to school." He leaned down and pressed his lips to a surprised Luke's head before sliding off the mattress and standing up. Luke felt his face heat up, but he smiled.

That was right. Yesterday…

He sat up, letting the dark blue blanket fall from his shoulders to his lap in a heap. Asch must've covered him with it the night before. The material was a bit scratchy, but it was warming, which was probably why Asch had it in his possession. The light-haired teen threw his legs over the side of the mattress, his feet touching the floor as he watched the other teen move about. He was afraid to ask, but he could already feel his stomach twisting in anger, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. "Um… What do you have to eat hiding out in here?"

Asch cast him a sideways glance, and Luke was about to take it all back when he replied, "Not much. Van pays for all the food I get at school, so I usually just get there early enough to eat breakfast. But I have a few snacks lying around for weekends; crackers, cookies, things like that." He gestured to one of the boxes in the back of the room. "They're in there. Have at it."

Luke made his way over to the indicated box, finding it to be surprisingly full. Granted, a lot of it was cheap snacks; small bags of chips and little packages of crackers and cookies. But he was glad that Asch wasn't in a position where he had to go hungry.

"Are you and Mister– uh, Van, close then?"

"Sorta. We have a… complicated relationship…" Luke pulled out a package of peanut butter crackers to munch on, retreating to the table and taking a seat in the chair. Asch turned around holding two water bottles, kicking the small fridge door shut with his foot and rolling one across the table. "He hasn't been around since I was a kid. He and my father had a falling-out I guess. He never told me the details. He left, and I haven't seen him since I came out here."

Luke opened up the crackers and handed one to his boyfriend before grabbing one for himself. "Why does he pay for all your school stuff then? I mean, it's great that he's helping you out and all, but…" He trailed off, wondering if he'd offended the older teen, but said teen only shrugged.

"I can't really say for sure. When I asked him that when he offered, he just said it was because he saw potential in me, and wanted to help me get better. He is a school principal after all, he has to care to some degree, you know?" He popped the peanut butter snack in his mouth. "I don't really question it though; a bartending job on the weekends won't get me enough for a scholarship. But it gets me enough for water and food, so I can't really complain." Luke nibbled away at his share of the crackers, the other half going to his boyfriend. Another question popped into his head, and since Asch was yet to tell him to shut up, he asked it.

"What about that guitar I saw you with?" A fond smile crossed the other redhead's face. He shoved the rest of his cracker into his mouth and headed back across the room, Luke at his heels. He dropped to his knees beside the mattress and tugged it away from the wall. That was when Luke noticed a familiar, oddly shaped black case that had escaped his notice the night before. Asch grabbed it and pulled it forward, unzipping it and pushing it open, revealing the acoustic guitar.

Luke reached out and touched the surface of it. It was smooth beneath his touch. "How did you afford this?"

"Quite a while of saving," was Asch's reply. "There's a music shop downtown, a few blocks away
from the school. I was walking by one day and saw this little beauty in the window. So one day, I went in and asked the owner if I could try it out. I'd spend hours down there every day, just playing it. He eventually asked me if I ever planned to buy it, and I told him I didn't have the money. He couldn't just give it to me, of course, but he kept it behind the counter so no one else could buy it. Saved it just for me."

"He hid it for you for a whole year?"

"Yeah. He's a good guy." Asch shut the case and zipped it back up, returning it to its place. "Now enough stalling. We have to get to school, or we'll be late."

"I wasn't stalling!" Luke whined petulantly. "I was just wondering!"

"You wonder a lot." The darker redhead stood up, reaching down and helping his boyfriend to his feet. "Come on, we have to go."

So Luke grabbed his keys and the two went back out into the clearing, climbing into the car and heading off to school.

~oOo~

When they got onto the school grounds that morning, Luke realized there was an important piece of information he and Asch hadn't talked about.

Being together out in public. PDA.

Right now, the couple was simply walking side-by-side. But every now and then, their hands would brush, and Luke felt the urge to lace his fingers between his boyfriend's, because he for one didn't give a shit who saw them together or what they thought about it. The problem was, he didn't know if Asch felt the same. The guy already had quite a few rumors flying around school about him; did he really want this piled on top?

Trying to contain his blush, Luke pulled back his hand a little to stop the other from seeing it twitch unconsciously. He was trying really hard to look calm and cool, like he couldn't care less, but as ridiculous as it was… He did care.

Asch, on the other hand, was fighting off a grin, trying to act oblivious to the situation. He knew exactly what Luke wanted, and to be honest, he had no idea why the other teen hadn't just taken his hand already. He would have locked hands with Luke long ago… if it hadn't been this funny watching him try to restrain himself.

They walked through the school gates in silence. Other students around them quickly hushed their conversations, voices dropping to low whispers. Luke could already guess why; after all, he was walking right next to the infamous Asch Lorelei, and the notorious teen didn't seem to mind. The thought of being made fun of or looked down on because of his new relationship was something Luke had considered, but when he thought about it, he couldn't find any reason to worry about it. A lot of other students already shunned him for hanging out with Guy, whose orientation was no secret. And Asch already had a reputation for being a so-called delinquent. So really, he didn't see a con side to being with Asch.

Having grown up back in Baticul confined to his parents' manor, Luke never had many friends. The fact that he wasn't used to knowing people were gossiping about him made it a lot easier to deal with. Besides, why should he care what they thought? He was happy, and if having to put up with stupid groundless rumors for his last two years of high school meant keeping the person who made him happy, then Luke would face that challenge head-on.

"Don't hurt yourself over there," Asch said, a hint of teasing in his voice as he and Luke walked into the school building. The lighter redhead turned his head and pouted.

"Shut up." Asch's lips twitched into a slight smile as they turned down the hallway leading to their lockers. Since Asch's last name started with an L and Luke's was an F, their lockers weren't exactly close to each other. They were down the same hallway, but when crowded with a hundred and one other bodies, they wouldn't be able to see each other easily. But Luke would take what he could get. Asch's locker came first, since the way they were alphabetized went from Z at the door to A down the hall. Only a few groups of students were slinking throughout the halls – the first bell wasn't scheduled to ring for another ten minutes – and they didn't pay any attention to the two redheads, stuck together like glue. As Asch fiddled with his combination, Luke leaned against the locker beside his, his mind drifting back off to think about their first morning together.

Luke planned on talking to Asch later about picking him up and taking him home before and after school. Asch had said he didn't want Luke to pity him and start showering him with sympathy, but Luke had to at least ask. His original plan had been to befriend Asch in order to help him; even though they pretty much barreled through the friend zone and into the lover's stage, he still wanted to aid the other however he could. Worst case scenario; Asch would say no, Luke would insist, Asch would snap at him, Luke would be upset, and Asch would apologize, most likely by pushing the smaller redhead up against the wall and kissing the daylights out of him, which Luke of course had no problem with whatsoever.

So really, he benefited from either of Asch's answers.

He heard the metal door next to him slam shut, and Luke mentally shook his thoughts away as he and Asch started further down the hall towards his locker.

"What do you have first hour?" Luke asked.

"Global Studies."

"English." Luke sighed as they reached his locker, twisting in his combination and opening the door. "Man, I wish we had more classes together. I only get two hours with you!"

"Plus the ten or so after school," Asch pointed out, leaning against the door of Luke's metal compartment. Said redhead shot a pouty glare at the other as he bent down to grab his textbooks.

"Still."

"There's always lunch," the older teen said. "And our lockers aren't that far apart, either."

"Aw, are you gonna come walk me to my classes, Asch?" He clicked his tongue.

"Shut up, idiot." Luke giggled as he stood, closing his locker and turning to the other boy.

"At least walk with me to English?" Asch rolled his eyes but nodded, taking position beside Luke once more as the two started back the way they'd came, and away from Asch's first hour class as well. Luke smiled, knowing that if he asked, Asch would walk him to any of his classes. His glow faded when their hands brushed, just like before, and Luke jerked his hand away. His boyfriend eyed him with a raised eyebrow, and the smaller teen simply smiled shyly and shrugged it off, rubbing his wrist like the reason was totally obvious.

Upon reaching the doorway to Spinoza's class, Luke turned to smile at Asch. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could:

"Hey, Luke!" The redhead in question blinked, both he and his counterpart swiveling their heads to find the source of the voice. An ever-grinning Guy was waving at them from inside the room. The blonde's look of cheer faltered a bit in surprise, probably of seeing Asch with Luke once again. But then a knowing look bloomed in his crystal blue eyes and a slow smirk spread across his lips. Luke swallowed.

"Oh great…" This was definitely not on Luke's list of things he needed or wanted to do this morning. He felt Asch's hand rest on his shoulder.

"Have fun. I'll see you later." Then he leaned in and planted a kiss on Luke's cheek before pivoting on his heel and walking off to his own class.

Luke stood in temporary shock, not expecting Asch to have kissed him when he had to have known Guy was watching. He probably knew that and did it just so Guy would give Luke a hard time, that bastard! Sighing under his breath out of irritation, the light red-haired teen stepped inside the classroom and made way for his seat.

"Sooooooo…" Guy drawled slowly, leaning against the back of the chair he was sitting saddle-style in. "What's new, Lukie?" The head of golden hair cocked to the side in devious innocence. "Or will your boyfriend get mad at me for calling you that?"

"Shut up," Luke mumbled, feeling his cheeks redden. Guy's smirk stayed firmly in place as he crossed his arms on the backbone of his seat, the look on his face clearly demanding details. The redhead exhaled through his nose and perched his elbows on the desk. "I got drunk at your stupid party. He brought me home and took care of me. We just hung out and he asked me yesterday." A loud clap made him jump, and he whipped his head to stare at Guy, who looked like he'd just hit a jackpot. When Luke arched an eyebrow at him, he simply shrugged.

"You're welcome."

"…What?"

"A match made in heaven, Lukie. That's all I'm sayin'." Luke grinned slyly at his blond friend, realization dawning on him.

"Made in heaven, huh?"

"What can I say? I'm an angel." Guy mimed drawing a heart with his pointer fingers, and Luke scoffed.

"Yeah, an angel with horns holding up your halo."

"That thing doesn't float on its own." The two laughed as the bell signaling the start of class went off over the intercom. Turning back to face the front, Luke mouthed a thank you to his good friend. The blond teen winked with a grin as the lecture began. Inside his mind, Luke chuckled.

Asch is my boyfriend.

That was something that would never get old.