Ace

He stared up at the ceiling listening to her voice as she thanked him for the present he got her and completely avoided what she had clearly called him for. Even over the phone he could read her.

"So, what's wrong? I know you didn't just call me to listen to my wonderful manly voice," her small snicker makes him grin but the sigh that follows worries him,

"My Mother has been released from hospital," she says after a moment, he sits up quickly,

"That's great, you must be really happy about that,"

"Yeah, I am it's just..." he frowns as she fades off,

"Just?" he prompts to which she responds quietly,

"She asked me if I wanted to come back home," her words made him feel cold. It had never been something he had really contemplated, that she would go back to Sabaody,

"Do you want to move back home?" he didn't want to ask her that, he was afraid of how she would answer. His stomach sinks as the silence from her drags on until a crashing sound from somewhere downstairs makes him jump, he mutters out a small curse, "Sorry (Y/N) I have to go, we'll talk when you get back okay?" he ends the call before she can respond and then just stares at the phone. "God I'm an idiot, of course she will want to go back home," he lets out an annoyed growl and slumps back, "why would she stay here..." he swallows a hard lump in his throat as dark thoughts swirl around his head, "it's not like a fuck up's kid like me could turn around and ask her to stay." Annoyed with himself and everything he throws the phone across the room, not caring when he hears it crack against the wall. Just turns on his side and curls up while silently berating himself.

By the time (Y/N) was back, he had worked himself into such a state he couldn't face her. He made excuses not to see her and once back at school he even started running to school, telling Sabo it was for training for the next match. He also started avoiding her whenever possible, it was harder in the classes they shared, but he would purposefully pretend to be asleep. He knew he was being a jerk, but every time he found himself wanting to talk to her, which was more often than he realised, he would just feel pain, she would only move back to Sabaody at the end of the year, she was going to leave. He didn't deserve to ask her to stay.

The others started to notice things were off, especially when (Y/N) started to avoid them. He even had Kid question it during practice one day but Ace simply shrugged it off, that earnt him a hard punch to the arm from the red head. A couple of weeks in and he stopped sitting with everyone at lunch, the questions got too much and it just made him feel worse. Chewing on some dried beef he sits on the grassy field that's used for football practice and other sports, wallowing in his own self-pity and watching the track guys running around when someone kicks his foot, looking up he finds Shachi, raising a brow Ace glances around finding his usual two companions nowhere to be seen.

"You're an absolute asshole you know that," Shachi scowls out at him, Ace just huffs and gets to his feet, "And an idiot,"

"Lay off man," Ace starts walking away,

"Do you have any idea what your attitude is doing to her?" Shachi snaps while following him,

"Can't you just leave me alone?"

"No, you're fucking her up and you don't give a shit, do you even care how much she's hurting?"

"Of course, I fucking care," Ace scowls spinning to face him, "but what's the point!" Smack! Ace stumbles back and stares at Shachi in shock as pain registers and his tastes blood, Shachi had actually hit him,

"Ohhh, that one looked like it hurt," a voice laughs nearby, "lovers quarrel?" both boys turn to see Grant with a few others, "You guys make great entertainment," he grins, "I'm really curious though, would the subject of your little tiff be our mutual, friend?" Ace's gaze hardens and he clenches his fists, "she shown her true colours yet? She's pretty messed up," he laughs again, "I can't help but notice you haven't been around little (Y/N) for the past couple of weeks... maybe she needs an old friend to keep her company, I haven't been able to hang out with her properly since Sabaody," he grins, "we had SOOO much fun after the finals game last year," Ace saw red at that. He wasn't sure exactly what he did after but Shachi had to pull him away from pummelling Grant's face,

"As much as I'm really pissed at you right now, and as much as I'd also love to let you keep hitting him, you're doing serious damage," Shachi keeps him held back as a teacher comes running over, "calm the fuck down before you do something worse and get yourself expelled."

Soon after, the teacher had Grant's friends escort him to the nurse's office while he dragged Ace to the principal's office. Ace noted the look on Shachi's face that clearly said their previous conversation wasn't over.

"Sit there and don't cause any more trouble," a teacher pushes him into a seat while heading into the principal's office. Glancing to the side he meets (Y/N)'s gaze and freezes, her (e/c) eyes looked dull and had deep shadows under them as if she hadn't slept properly in days, there was also a bruise forming on her cheek. Frowning in concern he drops his gaze to her hand, noticing the bruised and blooded knuckles and picks up her hand in a gentle grip,

"What happened?" he asks softly. She blinks at him before going tense and snatching her hand away,

"Don't you dare..." she hisses out unsteadily. Snapping his gaze back to her face his heart sinks. Tears threaten to fall down her face as she looks at him angry and heart broken, "Don't you dare act concerned after how you've been," she gulps, clearly trying to reign in her emotions, "you've done nothing be avoid me for weeks! And now you have to gall to act worried, to act like you care,"

"(Y/N) I do..."

"No!" she snaps and pokes him hard in the chest, "People who care don't pretend the other doesn't exist. They don't abandon them," she now hunches over, covering her face as the tears overflow, "you promised Ace, you promised you'd always be there, but you broke that." He could only stare at her as her words slammed into him, she was right, he had promised and like the idiot jerk he is he broke that, broke her trust in him.

Moments later both the teacher that had brought him here and the principle exit the office, (Y/N) is sent to the nurse's office after being told her uncle is on his way to pick her up. He watched her go, clenching his hands, he was the absolute worst, in trying to avoid his own pain and self-pity he had only hurt her more.