Ultimatum is a city like many others of its kind. It's large and in charge. The city is also split up into various sections, sort of separating the classes. The closer one is to the center of the entire city, which is a big park and forest preserve, the richer that person tends to be. There are whole neighborhoods full of rich people. And typically, rich people send their children to private schools designated for them. But one of these boys got tired of going to that boring school. His name is Lucas.
Lucas has heard plenty of stories about how the public schooling system is. And that always intrigued him. It sounds far more exciting than anything he partook in. He was able to beg his parents to enroll him in a public school. It took a lot of begging to get them to agree to something like that. But it was worth it. Now today is the first day of Lucas's life in this new public school, Smash High.
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"Hurry it up! We can't have the young master be late for his first day!" A butler yells into the kitchen. He steps out of the kitchen to see a few other butlers waiting in the foyer. "Why do the cooks decide now is the best time to be slow?"
"Relax, Matt," a butler by the name of Tyler says as he puts a hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt is a tall man with some tanned skin. He's for sure the tallest of the butlers that work directly with Lucas specifically. Due to his direct work for Lucas he has a certain fondness for the boy. Almost like how a father would have a fondness for their child. Matt watched the boy grow up. And he was the number one defender of Lucas's idea of going to a public school. "You being all pent up won't make the food cook any faster." Matt sighs before resting against the wall next to the doors of the kitchen.
"You're right, sorry. I just want to make this day as perfect as possible for him." The third butler, by the name of Ryan, clears his throat.
"Are we really sure that going to a public school is the right choice for him?" He questions. The other two butlers don't work as directly with Lucas as Matt does. But they do the occasional thing for him.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Matt questions.
"Well, he's going to stick out like a sore thumb. He's far too innocent, he's far too small, far too spoiled…" the more Ryan speaks the more it sounds like he's insulting Lucas. Matt pushes himself off the wall and crosses his arms as he looks down upon Ryan.
"Are you saying he's incapable of this?" Ryan gulps before stepping back a bit.
"N-no, I'm just saying–" Tyler steps in front of Ryan and clears his throat.
"He's just concerned that he'll be picked on for how different he is. He already got made fun of enough at his old school." Matt sighs before looking at the staircases that are along the wall and lead up to the second floor. Up there is Lucas's bedroom. A part of him is also worried about that. As much as he'd hate to admit it…Lucas is an easy target.
Thankfully, he's not left to think about him being bullied for very long as the kitchen doors open up to a cook with a tray of breakfast. A few pancakes, some OJ, a few turkey sausages, and an omelet. Matt takes the tray and looks at the other butlers. "All we can do is hope he finds safety."
Now with the tray of food, he turns around and makes his way to Lucas's bedroom. It's on the second floor to the left. At the end of the hall there, right when it turns to the right, is Lucas's bedroom. Lucas's name is even written on a small board hanging from a nail. Matt doesn't waste time knocking and just opens the door. "Young Master, are you awake?" Matt questions, only to find Lucas still nicely tucked into bed and sleeping. Matt smiles before putting the tray of food aside. Matt walks on over and stands beside the bed. "Lucas, sir, it's time to awake."
Lucas, a blonde boy with smooth pale skin, shifts onto his side. Matt can tell that Lucas at least doesn't have a shirt on as his bare back is visible. "Go away, Matt…good dreams," Lucas softly says. But sadly, for Lucas, the dream has already escaped him.
"I'm sorry, sir, but today is your first day at your new school. I just want to make sure you are nice and ready for it." Once Lucas is told this he sits up quickly and lets out a long yawn. After said yawn he turns toward Matt. Lucas's eyes are a bright blue that always has this nice sparkle to them.
"How's your morning been, Matt?" Lucas asks with his still groggy but polite voice. Matt smiles.
"I'm glad you asked sir. It's been quite lovely, if I do say so." Lucas smiles before sniffing the air. The sure smell of food is obvious. Hearing the sniffing causes Matt to chuckle. He steps aside and motions for the food tray on a dresser near the door. "The cooks made it especially for you, sir."
"Wowie!" Lucas jumps from his bed and rushes over to the tray of food. His stature has always been a bit lackluster. Never being as tall or beefy as boys his age. His feeble body never quite made him insecure, but Matt and the others have always had this fear that some kind of insecurities could arise in him some day. But sixteen years into his life and so far, no such insecurities. Matt turns himself around once realizing Lucas is only in briefs.
"Sir, you really should start wearing those PJs we bought for you." Lucas grabs a pancake and looks down at himself.
"Oh, sorry." He looks back and nervously giggles. "I'll try and remember next time." Matt looks over his shoulder and flashes a smile. He turns around and makes his way to the door.
"I'll leave you to your devices. But do try and be ready in thirty minutes, if possible."
"Ymmmmmess Mmmatt," Lucas calls out with his mouth full of Pancakes. The muffled voice earns a soft laugh from Matt before he shuts the door and leaves Lucas to himself. He swallows his pancake and moves the tray over to his bed before sitting upon it. It's lonely. Even with Matt and the other nice butlers, it's still so very lonely. Instead of eating, Lucas simply lies back on the bed and looks up at the ceiling.
Today is the day. He's going to be going to a whole new school. And it's a public school. Why did he want to switch? Well, he had various reasons. No matter the reason he has for switching, he's hoping he'll be able to meet some friends at this school. He sits back up and clears his own throat. "Alright, let's do this!" Lucas yells at himself before he begins absolutely consuming the poor food.
After the food is properly consumed he begins to search around his bedroom for stuff that he can wear. He debates on what kind of outfit he should wear for his first day at this school. Deciding on what to wear was never an issue at his old school, due to a very strict dress code. A dress code doesn't exist at this school. Or, at least, it's not as strict.
Lucas finds himself content with a pair of shorts and a spiffy looking button-down shirt. He puts those clothes on. The bottom few inches of his shirt hangs over his shorts, which he was taught is very improper. So, out of instinct, he tucks in the bottom part of his shirt into his shorts. Once feeling ready, he walks over to the mirror and looks at himself. Something seems off.
It takes him a moment to realize that it's actually his hair that isn't fully ready. He's also been taught that messy hair equals a messy life so he grabs a brush and comb and begins to style his hair. He doesn't have the time for a product or a shower so he's just gotta brush and comb really well. His hair is already very silky smooth so it's all about making his hair point in the proper direction, which for Lucas, is to the left. Not a single strand of hair can poke out into the air. He spends about ten minutes on this alone. But once he feels satisfied about this, he nods to himself.
He's as ready as he'll ever be.
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Lucas steps out of the front door. The door is shut behind him after Lucas looks back with a thankful look in his eyes. He looks forth where there's a large fence and gate in front of his house. Through the gate, he can see Matt smiling as he stands beside a car. Lucas grabs the straps of his backpack and rushes to him. "Matt. Are my parents joining us?" Matt's smile disappears, which is more than enough for Lucas to understand.
"Apologies, sir, but they have business."
"Of course they do." Lucas keeps his smile on his face. The disappointment Lucas holds for his parents are still very obvious, especially to Matt, although the disappointment isn't as massive as one would assume. But Matt decides not to bring it up and opens the passenger's door. "Thank you, Matt." Lucas gets into the car and instantly straps himself in. He's, of course, very used to this royal-like treatment. Matt soon joins Lucas in the car by sitting in the driver's seat.
"You ready for your first day, sir?"
"Yes I am." He nods happily before looking forward through the large windshield. "I've never been more excited about anything in my life." Matt smiles as he starts the car. A part of him holds that worry, though. This public school will be rough for him. He just hopes it won't be too rough.
The drive takes Lucas away from the rich part of the city that he's spent most of his life in to enter the more of a middle class area. Not rich to the point of extraneously large houses but not poor enough to have rundown shacks that he knows exist further out into the city.
Soon enough, the car slows more and more as they enter a school zone. The first thing that Lucas notices is that there's a line he's currently in. This line is being directed by crossing guards. But with the amount of kids walking to this school it causes the traffic to enter the school's grounds to basically become bumper to bumper. "Wow, traffic is pretty bad huh?" Lucas questions.
"Indeed. Unlike the private schools, this place takes in far more students. Students who may not have the privilege of being driven every single day." Lucas looks at Matt for only a moment before turning his attention back forth. This time, rather than looking at the cars and the crossing guards, he's looking at the students.
There are so many people. Some look nicer than others. But something he notices most of all is all of the different clothing choices. Some are more reserved by wearing baggy clothing like hoodies and long pants while others are wearing rather risque clothing, for a school at least. Stuff such as short skirts, short shorts, tight shirts. Now Lucas begins to feel a little overdressed. "Maybe I should've worn something different…" Lucas says as he looks down at his attire. Matt chuckles before reaching over to rub Lucas's back.
"No need to stress about something so minor." Lucas looks up at him. "You get to wear whatever you want. No matter what it is. It's one of the perks of public school." Lucas nods his head as the car resumes finally. However, Matt saying what he said doesn't exactly stop Lucas from feeling too professional for this place. Especially since it doesn't stop his father's rule about clothing.
Eventually, the car slows to a stop once more. But this time, it's outside the school in the drop-off zone. A crossing guard slaps the car before motioning for Lucas to step out. "Good luck in there, Lucas. And don't forget, if you ever wanna go back to the old school, you can." Lucas nods before undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car. With that, the crossing guard orders the car to continue driving, giving Lucas no real time to see Matt while outside the car. It's really hustle and bustle at this school, Lucas notes.
Either way, he turns around and looks down the small pathing that leads to the entrance of the school. "You've got this Lucas. Just go in there and make a friend." Lucas grabs his backpack straps and walks down this path. The school definitely doesn't look as rich as his previous one so it gives off a bit more of an intimidating aura. But despite that, he's still super excited to experience this new life.
He enters the school to instantly find himself in a foyer-like entrance. The main office just to his right. But this foyer is primarily a connector of three hallways. One that goes to the left, one that goes to the right, and one that goes directly forward. He'd already spent some time here during the weekend to get his bearings, understand where his classes are and other stuff like that.
He knows his first class is up stairs so he should take one of the two flights of stairs in this foyer-like area but he doesn't. Why? Well, because he can see that down the center hall there are loads of students mainly looking through their lockers. Students by themselves that he can introduce himself to. So before going forth, he takes a deep breath. But once he's ready, he's off to introduce himself.
Further into this hallway are two boys conversing with each other. One is named Ninten who's wearing a graphic T with the character of Scorpion on it with some black shorts. He's leaning against a closed locker looking at his friend, Ness, who's searching through his. "I'm telling you, man, she's totally into you," Ninten urges. But Ness responds with a sigh before shutting his locker.
"She can be into me all she wants, I'm not interested." Ness is wearing a black shirt with its sleeves obviously cut off. He's also wearing some blue shorts that have some holes in them to show off bits and pieces of his legs. Unlike Ninten, who's got very basic brown eyes, Ness has unique bright purple eyes. These eyes are very eye-catching to anyone looking at him. "I don't give two rat's ass about her attraction toward me" Ninten opens his mouth to say something, but then he stops upon seeing Lucas further down the hall going up to a random student, extending his hand out, and introducing his name. This dumbfounded look on Ninten's face causes Ness to grow confused. "What? Do I have dried cum on my face again?" Ness questions as he begins touching around his lip.
"No. There's a new kid," Ninten says as he motions behind Ness with his head. Ness turns around to see the same scene as Ninten. Lucas walking up to some random student, extending his hand out, and introducing his name, which the two can now hear as Lucas.
"What the hell? When was the last time we had a new kid?
"No idea." Ness focus moves from the way Lucas is acting to what he's wearing. That prim and proper tucked in button-down shirt and shorts causes the boy to chuckle.
"And look what he's wearing," Ness points out. Ninten joins in on the chuckling.
"He looks ridiculous."
"He looks like some ridiculous rich boy." The boys continue laughing as Lucas also continues traveling down the hallway. No one ever reciprocates his greeting. It's a bit demoralizing, but it's fine. He looks to see the two boys laughing and shrugs before walking past them without giving even the smallest attempt at greeting himself.
Seeing this, prompts Ness to stop laughing and look down the hall to see Lucas attempting to greet more students. "That bastard just straight up ignored us." Ninten's laughter dies down and he too looks back.
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't greet us at all." Ninten then turns back to Ness with raised eyebrows.
"So? We already know his name."
"I know that." Ness crosses his arms brutishly. "But I can't help but feel somewhat offended he just brushed us off like we aren't right here." Ninten shrugs before looking back down the hallway where Lucas takes a turn to the right. Down there, there aren't any lockers. That hallway is primarily for stuff such as a nurse's office, janitor's office, and other such rooms. "Let's go and teach him it's rude to look past us," Ness says before walking down the hallway. Ninten doesn't really care much about the situation, but he follows Ness all the same.
Lucas's walking slows down as he enters a hallway primarily for the utilities. He takes time to read each label next to the doors to make sure the memory stays in his head about this place. When it came to his weekend visits, he never really came here all too often. "Hey!" Ness calls out from behind Lucas. Lucas looks around to see no one else in the hallway so he turns to see Ness and Ninten walking toward him.
"Hi!" Lucas greets happily. "Did you two need something?" Both boys stop in front of Lucas with their arms crossed. Despite the seeming attempt at intimidation, Lucas's stature and mind doesn't falter. He doesn't even register their joint stance as anything other than just how they stand.
"We don't appreciate how you just walked by us without giving us your stupid little greeting," Ness says.
"He doesn't appreciate it," Ninten corrects, prompting Ness to look at him angrily.
"Dude, just back me up, will you?"
"Sorry." Ness rolls his eyes and looks back at Lucas.
"But yes, I'm quite offended that you didn't even bother–"
"I'm sorry," Lucas bows his head as his eyes fall shut. "I didn't have the intention to offend." He then ceases his bow to look at the two of them. "You were both laughing and I didn't want to intrude."
"Oh…" Ness says as the memory quickly plays in his head. It is true that Lucas only approached people who were silent and by themselves. That doesn't matter, though. Ness shakes his head and clears his throat. "Still, I'm quite offended all the same."
"I'm sorry again. If it's any consolation…" Lucas extends a hand over while the other still grabs onto a strap. "I am Lucas–"
"I know your name, you've said it like a thousand times back there," Ness says before squatting the hand away.
"Oh, my apologies once more." Lucas once more bows his head. Ness takes this time to look at Ninten for what to do, but he just shrugs. A question comes up in Ness's head so he looks back right as Lucas lifts his head.
"Say, Lucas, what the hell is up with your getup?" Ness asks as he motions his hand up and down to emphasize he's talking about the clothing. Lucas takes a quick peek at what he's wearing before looking back.
"It's my clothing."
"Where on Earth did you get it? It makes you look like one of those up-their-own-ass rich kids," Ninten brings up before leaning against the wall to Lucas's left.
"Oh, I don't know. My butlers bought my clothes. I don't know where they get them from, though."
"You have a butler?" Ninten asks. But Ness shakes his head as he begins to get more intrigued.
"No. He said butlers," Ness makes sure to emphasize the s. "You have multiple?"
"Yes I do."
"So you're really rich?" Ninten asks before pushing himself off the wall.
"Indeed." The two devious boys look at each other before looking back down at Lucas. It's here where they both notice how small the boy is. Lucas is probably only five or so inches shorter than Ness, who's 5'9. But the height difference looks far more severe due to Lucas's lack of build. His scrawny arms and legs to be exact.
"Well, we don't believe you," Ness says before crossing his arms.
"Oh, you do not? How come?"
"We've gotten plenty of students coming in here toting that they're super rich when they're the poorest in the school," Ninten chimes in.
"Oh no, lying is an issue."
"Exactly. So you're not lying to us, right?" Ness questions. Lucas shakes his head rapidly. "That doesn't mean anything. You need to give us proof."
"Proof? What kind of proof will suffice?" The two boys think as they look at each other for a moment. Ninten even leans in to whisper something into Ness's ear. This causes Ness to nod before looking back down at Lucas.
"We've come to a decision. In order to prove your wealth, you need to hand us fifty dollars." Lucas blinks as he looks up at the equally sized boys. He's no fool. This is just a ploy to get him to give these two cash. But they feel the need to ask for the cash for some reason, and plus, fifty dollars is just a drop from the piggy bank. He reaches into his pocket to bring out his wallet. The two boys stare at the all-white with a gilded rim wallet. They can also see a little of what's in the wallet. But they can barely tell exactly how much is in there as all they see are green.
Either way, Lucas holds out a fifty dollar bill with the face of the city's mayor, Tabuu, on it. "Here you go." The two boys hesitate to grab it as this could very easily be a prank. But the boy looks genuine so after a moment of silence, Ness takes hold of the bill.
"Hope this will suffice." The boys are about to say something when the bell rings. The ringing bell causes the blonde to jump a little. "Oh shoot, I don't wanna be late. See ya later, fellas." And off Lucas goes rushing through the hallway. He's not running, but just walking very quickly. Ness and Ninten make no movement and just turn toward each other.
"He really just…give us a fifty with no strings attached?" Ness questions.
"Maybe it's fake." Ninten takes the cash and scans it all around. But no. There are no signs around the entire thing of its fakeness. "No…it's all real."
"Maybe we can get more out of him?" Ness poses a question. The two boys look at each other and smile their most devious smile. But before either of them can come up with a plan, someone steps out of one of the offices in the hallway. It's the nurse, otherwise known as Dr. Mario.
"You boys best be on your way," he orders for the two.
"Yes sir," the two boys say in unison to get Dr. Mario to retreat back into his office. But once alone again, the two look at each other.
"Later, at lunch," Ness snickers. Ninten joins in and then they walk off together. There is a chance Lucas doesn't have the same lunch as them, which is something that they realize later. But that doesn't matter. They will try their hardest to get more cash out of that boy. While Lucas, on the other hand, is just happy he got to start the day off right with talking to some people. Even if he's fifty dollars poorer.
Later that day, during lunch, Lucas enters the cafeteria. Before he even entered it, though, he could tell one big difference; the volume. This cafeteria is far louder than anything back at his old school. There is also a massive line that leads over to a counter where there is only a single lunch lady behind the counter.
Lucas waits in the line. Slowly but surely, the line gets shorter. After what feels like ten whole minutes, it's finally his turn to be right at the counter. The lunch lady places a tray on the counter then puts food atop it. The food specifically is a slider. A soggy-looking bottom bun with a stiff burger and another soggy bun atop of it. Lucas grabs the slider and looks closely at it, feeling disgusted by the way it looks and feels within his hand. "Uhm…is this edible?" Lucas questions before looking at the lunch lady. She crosses her arms with a huff. "Is there no pizza or proper burger?"
"What do you think this place is, kid? We're not a fucking restaurant. Now scram," She says before waving the boy off. Lucas places his slider back down and begins hearing some snickering from behind him.
"Stupid fucking rich boy," a voice says from behind him. Lucas doesn't bother looking back and just grabs his tray and walks off. This now gives him a chance to look around at the cafeteria for a table to sit at. So many students. The same thing he notices on his way to this place. Some look very nice. Some look rude. Such a wide variety of students is kind of intimidating. "Move out the fucking way, rich boy." The same boy from before says as he shoulder bumps Lucas. This causes the blonde to stumble forward a bit, but thankfully, he doesn't fall.
This place is too busy for him to just stand here. So, he begins walking around. His eyes bouncing around for any available seats. Well, he does see many of them. But whenever he notices one he also notices nasty looks from the people around them. These looks prevent him from even attempting to sit there.
Eventually, at the very opposite wall of where he came in, he finds an empty table. He shrugs before sitting on a chair that is against the wall. This allows him to eat while having a very good look at the cafeteria as a whole. A part of him is saddened by the fact no one really welcomed him to sit with them. He even has to shake his head to rip his attention from them.
He looks down to his slider with a disgusted face growing. He rips the top bun off and grabs the stiff burger. There is this weird and rancid odor emanating from the burger. He leans in and sniffs it. The rancid smell instantly reaches Lucas's brain prompting him to drop the burger and let out a very familiar "eugh!" "How is that even edible?" Lucas asks himself.
"I promise it tastes far better than it looks," A familiar voice says. He turns to look to his left where Ness is standing with Nitnen. Both of them don't have trays but rather, some plastic bags. The slight translucent material making up the bags allows Lucas to see food in them.
"Really?" Lucas questions in confusion.
"Well, not by much. It's like saying rotten milk tastes better than actual shit," Ninten chimes in.
"Yeah, which is why it's advised to bring a packed lunch," Ness says as he wiggles his bag of food.
"Noted." Lucas looks back down to his tray of food. He lets out another "eugh" as he fixes the slider to what it once looked like. As he does this, Ness and Ninten join him on the other side of the table.
"Hope you don't mind." Lucas looks up at them and shakes his head. Ness and Ninten look at each other before turning toward Lucas. "So, you know how you gave us fifty bucks today, right? To prove you're rich?" Lucas nods as he grabs his slider and begins moving it to his mouth.
"Well, it's not enough," Nitnen says. These words freeze Lucas in place as he just blinks in disbelief. He places his slider back down and leans back in his seat.
"Really?"
"Yeah, well…everyone has fifty bucks. It's no biggie that you have it as well." Lucas crosses his arms. His eyes look down from the two boys, allowing himself to think. The two boys think that their little scheme may have been completely useless. But then they see Lucas shrug before pulling out his wallet once more.
"I guess you have a point. How much do you need?" Ness puts an arm around Ninten's neck and the two begin whispering to each other. All Lucas can hear is faint murmurs from the two as their whispering is easily drowned out because of the rest of the students. The two of them chuckle softly but then they also force that chuckle to end before looking back at Lucas.
Ness is the one to clear his throat. "Ok…five hundred."
"Five hundred, really?" As Lucas asks this he looks directly into Ness's purple eyes. This causes Ness to return the favor by staring into those piercing blue eyes of Lucas. Those eyes. Shimmering like beautiful diamonds. Something about them strikes a cord with Ness. Causing the boy to stare into them speechlessly.
"U-uhh—" Ness is cut off by Lucas ripping their staring contest away by looking down. Ninten looks to Ness to see a blush on his face.
"Dude, seriously?" Ninten questions, causing Ness to jump.
"I couldn't help it, those fucking eyes," Ness whispers back. But soon after, Lucas places five hundred dollar bills on the table. Both boys stare down at the money in shock. They of course wanted the money, but never expected to be able to get the money so easily by just asking. Ness takes the money before looking back at Lucas. This time, both boys are staring at those eyes.
"Is that satisfactory?"
"Uhm, yeah, thanks."
"Dude, you're so right," Ninten whispers as he leans toward Ness. Ness shoots him a short glance before both of them stand.
"Sorry, Lucas, but uh…we've got–" Ness stops talking as soon as Lucas raises his palm.
"It's ok. Never apologize for having to leave," Lucas says with a bright smile. Both boys look at each other upon seeing the smile and they both begin to feel a little guilty. So far, the boy has acted far differently than they expected out of someone wearing that outfit. Ninten walks around Ness and leaves the cafeteria. Ness soon follows. But before he leaves the cafeteria, with the door being right next to the table Lucas is at, he looks at Lucas who's just staring down at the food.
"Hey, Lucas?" Lucas turns his head to look at Ness.
"Yes?"
"If you're so rich to just…hand over five hundred dollars…" He begins as he waves his new cash around. "Why are you here and not in one of those prim and proper private schools you guys are so proud of?" Lucas's smile disappears before looking down at his slider once more.
"They're boring. Everyone acts the same way. They all do the same thing." There seems to be some sadness in those words. Something deeper. Lucas even has to shake his head before looking back at Ness with a more uneasy smile. "I wanted…something more different, I guess."
"Yeah, different is good." Ness's eyes move over to the slider. "But that kind of different is trash." Lucas looks back to his food and slumps a little. Some of that prim and proper stature he had is now gone.
"I'll be sure to have packed lunch." Ness clenches his mouth shut before hearing Ninten whisper to him. He looks through the exit to see Ninten motioning for him to follow. But Ness doesn't listen. Instead, he holds up a finger before reaching into his bag of packed lunch. There, he grabs his sandwich his Mom made him inside a ziplock bag. Inside the bag is the sandwich, obviously, but also a small piece of paper. It's supposed to have his name, since he's gotten into fights with his sister about food, but she had forgotten to write on it this time around so it's just a blank piece of paper.
"Catch," Ness says before tossing Lucas the sandwich. "Hope you like Turkey." Lucas catches the sandwich and looks upon it. It's clearly only half of the sandwich as it's cut diagonally. "Name's Ness by the way." Lucas looks back at Ness. His smile is now far more innocent and pure than it was just a moment before.
"Thank you, Ness." Ness smiles softly before finally leaving the cafeteria to meet back up with Ninten.
"The fuck was that?" Ninten questions.
"Felt guilty. He seems too nice for us to just…scam him of cash."
"Oh, we're not giving the cash back."
"I know…" The two of them begin walking down the hall. Ness can't help but look over his shoulder back at the cafeteria, even if he can no longer see Lucas. "But I still wanted to give him something." Ninten smiles softly and just pats Ness's back. They go further away whilst Lucas is left alone in the cafeteria. But now he's got a far better-looking sandwich.
"Thank you…" Lucas says once more as he sniffs the aroma of the sandwich. It's far better than the slider. This day so far has already been far more interesting…and nicer…than anything back at his old school.
The final class finally comes around. And it's none other than PE. Lucas has taken quite a few classes back at his old school. But this will be the first time he's taking any kind of Physical Education. He's a little nervous. But he's gotta do it nonetheless. He enters the locker room and makes it to the locker he got assigned to during one of his weekend visits. No one else is currently in this locker room so he feels refreshed that he'll be able to change in silence.
The moment he opens his locker, however, that idea changes as he hears the door open up. Instinctively, he looks over and sees that it's Ness. "Oh, hello there, Ness." Ness grows a small smirk and stops next to Lucas.
"Well well well, guess we've got a class in common huh?" Lucas nods before grabbing his own shirt and taking it off. Ness takes a moment now to look at his body. He's small, which was obvious even with the clothes covering his body. But seeing his upper body directly without any clothing really shows just how lithe he truly is. "Yeesh man, you look like you've got no muscle on ya." Ness can only see his body from the side before he turns around to open up his locker, which is only a few lockers away from Lucas's. Lucas briefly looks down his body before back at Ness.
"Yeah, I guess. Father doesn't let me use the gym." Ness grabs his gym clothes and looks back to the smaller boy.
"You have a gym?" He asks, his voice somewhat tainted by disgust. But then he goes back to what he said. "But why can't you use it?" Lucas looks into his locker and pulls out his clothing.
"Father says I must stay small. It helps with the family brand." This is when the disgust that inside of Ness withers away and he can't help but to tilt his head.
"Brand?" Lucas nods before turning fully toward Ness.
"Father says that I am supposed to be a small and petite boy. A boy who doesn't ask for much. A kind hearted and proper boy who always looks clean no matter what. And a part of that brand is me staying like this." Lucas makes hand motions to emphasize his stature. Now that Ness can see the front part of Lucas's upper body he notices something that sticks out from Lucas's otherwise pale skin. A large bruise a little under Lucas's right nipple, going down toward the level of his belly button, and even seems to rope around the side, yet Ness can;t confirm from this view.
"The hell happened to you?" Ness questions as he points at the mark. Lucas looks down to confirm what it is and turns around to prevent Ness from seeing it any more.
"I had fallen."
"That…looks pretty bad for it to be because of a fall?" Lucas shrugs before unconfidently smiling at Ness.
"You needn't worry. I am used to it." Used to falling? Lucas never stroked Ness as being the type to be clumsy enough to be used to such feelings as falling. Although, he's not left to think too much about this as he begins seeing Lucas begin to take his shorts and underwear off. The underwear part being the most concerning.
"Woah!" Lucas freezes with his hand still gripping his shorts and underwear. He looks to Ness with confusion in his eyes.
"What seems to be the issue?"
"Why are you taking your underwear off?"
"Well…I'm changing into my gym clothes."
"Yes. You still need underwear on." Confused, Lucas fixes his underwear while also allowing his shorts to fall off of him. He then looks through the pile of gym clothes. It's just a shirt and shorts. This causes the boy to tilt his head.
"Huh, I thought there'd be gym underwear."
"Why on Earth would there be?" Lucas grabs the gym shorts and begins to put them on.
"Well, I will sweat so it'll get my underwear all dirty."
"Good thing the underwear is intended to catch and contain all of that. As long as you wash them, it should be fine." Lucas nods before putting his shirt on. This makes Ness realize that he had completely disregarded his own dressing to talk to Lucas so he hurries to join Lucas in dressing. And just in time too as the door to the locker room swings open and a loud crowd of chatter roars from outside. The two wouldn't be alone for long.
The actual gym class wasn't too special. It started out with some daily exercises which Lucas even struggled to keep up in that field. But then it shifted to some more solo activities as it wound up being a kind of testing day. Lucas was able to sit out of it because it was all testing about stuff he had not learned so it was a relaxing class for him overall.
Later in the day, Ness and Ninten leave the school together. "So whatcha gonna do with your half?" Ninten questions as he pulls out the cash that Ness had given him sometime during the school day. Ness shrugs. No real idea comes to mind. He primarily wanted the money just to have it as a just in case kind of situation. "Oh, well, I'll be getting the Nintendo Switch 2," Ninten chuckles. Ness rolls his eyes before patting his back.
"Sure, pal, sure you will." Ninten looks at Ness before crossing his arms.
"Is that sarcasm I smell off of you."
"Wow, your nose must be so strong," Ness sarcastically says, earning a playful push by Ninten.
"Such a dick." Ness can't help but chuckle. As the two continue Ness gets the strange urge to look behind him. And when he does, he sees Lucas. The outside of the school, especially where they're at, is very crowded. Bus Pick-Up always is. But Lucas sticks out from the crowd wildly. But something Ness notices is this look of pure confusion written on his face. "Ness?" Ninten questions as he whacks his shoulder a little. "What are you looking at?"
"Lucas looks confused…" He says before instinctively walking toward Lucas. Ninten is just left there, confused, forced to watch Ness walk away from him.
"What are you doing?" Ninten calls out, but Ness doesn't say anything else. He just pushes through the crowd before making it to Lucas, who's now looking away from Ness. His head is shooting around the place seeming very lost and overwhelmed.
"Lucas?" Ness questions, causing the blonde to jump before turning around. Confusion is indeed written all over his face. But all of that confusion disappears upon seeing Ness.
"Oh, hi Ness. Fancy meeting you here."
"This…is the bus pick up, most people come here."
"Yeah, I've realized that," Lucas says as his eyes dart from Ness to look around at the crowd bumbling around without any of them looking their way.
"You seem lost."
"Yeah." Lucas looks back at the school. "I guess I must've gotten turned around whilst in there. I'm supposed to meet my ride at the front of the school." The fact that anyone can get lost inside the school is a little amusing to Ness.
"Well, don't worry. I can take you there if you'd like." Lucas looks back to Ness with that bright smile on his face.
"You'd be willing to do that?"
"Sure, got nothing better to do."
"Well, thank you. You've got my appreciation then," Lucas says softly before bowing his head. The boy seems so very genuine to Ness that the guilt of taking his money begins rising inside of him again. Even though a part of him knows that the cash has to be a simple drop from the hat, he still can't help but feel a little bad.
Together, they're able to push through the crowd without much issue. The moment they turn the corner to now be at the side of the school, the crowd dies down instantly. There are the occasional student here and there, but far spacier than Bus Pick-Up. Now being free from all of that, Lucas takes a peek around his shoulder.
"My my, I've never been in such a small area with so many people before." Ness chuckles before playfully nudging Lucas's shoulder to get his attention.
"Well, not everyone has the capability to get their own private drive home." Lucas shrugs before looking forward.
"Touchee." The two continue walking in silence before Ness looks over at him. His eyes find their way to Lucas's clothing. He was in that outfit for a total of about eight hours. They don't look very comfortable.
"Are they comfortable?"
"Pardon?" Lucas questions before looking at Ness.
"Your clothes? They don't look too comfortable." Lucas stops walking, and so Ness does too, and looks down to his clothing. Truth is, it's not the most comfortable for him. But it's the most comfortable of the clothing he does have.
"They happen to be my most comfortable clothing."
"I'll need to take you shopping then." Lucas looks up at Ness with confusion on his face. His eyes brows rising and allowing Ness more view of those glimmering blue eyes that give off the vibes of looking at diamonds.
"For what?"
"Clothes. If you're going to be staying here, you're going to need far more comfortable clothes for when the weather starts getting hotter."
"Well, I'd very much appreciate that then, Ness." Lucas turns to walk off once more, but then Ness grabs his arm softly.
"There's another thing I'm wondering about." Lucas turns back around. There doesn't seem to be a single bit of annoyance on his face. Completely unbothered.
"Yes?"
"Well, it's about this whole style you've got going on," Ness says as he points down to Lucas's waste. Upon looking there, he doesn't notice anything. Nothing that isn't abnormal to him at least. "The tucked in shirt, I mean," Ness thankfully clarifies for the boy, sensing the confusion.
"Father tells me I must keep my shirt tucked in." Lucas looks back toward Ness's face. This time, however, there's a little less of a twinkle in those eyes. "He says that I have to do it because it's one of his rules." Ness crosses his arms. Something inside of him feels that the relationship Lucas has with his father isn't exactly too healthy.
"Why not just break his rule? What would he do?" Lucas shrugs as he keeps his eyes to the ground.
"He'd…be disappointed."
"Maybe you'd feel more free if you broke some rules." Break some of his father's rules? He flinches at the idea of that. He's broken a rule one single time his entire life. It did not end well for him. In fact, now that he's bringing up his father's rules he remembers that he's actually already breaking one. His father never liked the idea of him having friends. Why? He doesn't know.
"But–" Lucas begins as he looks up at Ness. But he stops upon seeing Ness holding a hand up to tell him to stop.
"He doesn't have to know. We can start small."
"Small?" Ness nods before stepping closer. Without saying anything else he reaches down to grab at Lucas's shirt. Here, he begins to pull the shirt up from the shorts. He does this all around Lucas's body making sure not a single bit of the shirt is trapped underneath the shorts.
"You can fix your shirt before you make it back into your home." Lucas stares down at his shirt. The way it is now…he's never worn his clothes like such. It feels a little weird. But at the same time, it feels far more comfortable. There's always been a bit of a stuffed feeling in his shorts because of the shirts he wears. Due to his stature, most shirts that get bought for him are a little oversized. Including the one he's wearing now which is half way down Lucas's thigh. "Isn't it far more comfortable like this?"
Lucas slowly looks back up at Ness and smiles. "Yeah, I guess it's not too bad." Ness returns the smile and the two resume walking together.
"Just remember to put it back to the way it was before. I don't want you getting in trouble for breaking such an absurd rule." Lucas giggles softly as he looks up at Ness.
"Don't you worry." Ness is able to look into those diamond-like shimmering blue eyes of Lucas's once more. Something inside of him stirs upon seeing this. Just like it did earlier at lunch. He looks ahead of him and tries to wrap his mind around what could be causing such a stir in himself.
"Hey, Lucas, have we met before?"
"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"I dunno. Something about those eyes of yours. I don't know if it's cause I recognize them or something…"
"My eyes?" Lucas has to have a moment to even remember what his eyes look like. But after remembering he tries to wrap his mind on any moment in his life that he'd meet someone like Ness. But nothing comes to mind at all so he shakes his head. "Well, you've probably just seen a lot of people with blue eyes."
"Blue eyes, yes. But eyes of diamonds? Not at all." This surprising compliment earns a soft blush from Lucas. The pink tint stains his cheeks as he looks up at Ness.
"Diamonds?"
"Yeah. And it's very fitting." Ness looks down to look into those eyes once more. The pretty gradient of blue from a bright light blue toward the top to a darker ocean-like blue toward the bottom. "It reflects how rich you are." Lucas chuckles out of embarrassment at the compliments and he looks away from Ness.
"Well, I would feel like I'd remember meeting you." Ness just shrugs at this, but he holds the same feeling himself. While those eyes of Lucas do feel very vaguely familiar, he can't seem to pinpoint anything else about him. The two of them continue down their path before turning the corner and finding their way in the front of the school.
Immediately after this, Lucas is able to see Matt waiting with a fancy all-white car. "Matt!" Lucas calls with a wave and out prompting Matt to look in his direction and return the same wave.
"Is he your brother or something?" Ness questions whilst crossing his arms firmly. Lucas shakes his head before stepping in front of Ness to look up at him.
"He's my butler."
"I have always wondered what it was like to have your own personal butler."
"Well, for one…" Lucas grabs his own hand in front of him politely. "You have no need to learn skills for yourself." Ness can't help but raise an eyebrow at this statement.
"That kinda sounds like a negative."
"Perhaps," Lucas says with a shrug.
"Sir?" Matt says as he walks over in a hurry. Once Matt's hand is placed on Lucas's small shoulder he looks up at the man. "Your father needs your home quickly."
"I'll be right there, Matt." Matt nods understandingly. He shoots a quick smile at Ness before returning to the car.
"Well, thanks for today. It's been an unforgettable first day." Ness nods happily. But upon seeing Lucas begin to turn around and leave, he remembers something. The whole money thing earlier today. All of that…it's weighing a little heavily on his chest.
"Wait, Lucas!" Ness yells out before walking toward the boy a little. "There's something I'd like to get off my chest." Lucas turns back toward Ness with an inquisitive look on his face.
"What is it?" Those eyes are looking at him again. He truly can't shake a familiarity about them. But right now, that's not important. He has to mentally shake his head of the feeling and focus solely on the money issue.
"It's about the money you gave me and Ninten." Lucas doesn't instantly recognize the other name, but assumes who it is based on the context. "Well…I guess I just want to say…that–"
"You lied? I already know that."
"What?" Those honest blue eyes show no sign of joking. "Y-you knew?"
"Yeah, of course I knew. You knew I was rich the moment you laid your eyes upon me."
"H-how?"
"Ness…I'm not an idiot. I know I stick out like a sore thumb." Despite saying all of this, the honest and innocent look in Lucas's face doesn't drop.
"But…if you knew, why'd you still give us the cash?"
"Because, you asked for it for a reason, I assume. What kind of guy would I be to turn down such a request?"
"I don't really know many people who'd give up five hundred dollars to a complete stranger." Ness chuckles out slowly as he rubs the back of his neck.
"None of those people were me," Lucas playfully says with a casual wink thrown in.
"Yeah, well…I was going to say sorry. But I guess I can just say thank you." Lucas opens his mouth to respond to that, but it seems something snaps into his mind.
"Thanks for reminding me," Lucas says before reaching into his pocket. He searches in there for a little moment. "Hold out your hand, please." Despite confusion wrapping Ness's mind, he does what Lucas says anyway. Soon after doing so, Lucas slams a fifty dollar bill onto the hand.
"W-woah, Lucas, you don't–"
"I decided I might as well round up the five-fifty to a clean six hundred."
"You really don't have–" Ness tries moving his hand toward Lucas, but stops upon seeing Lucas back up.
"Sorry, Ness. My father is seemingly requesting my presence. I must depart before he gets upset."
"But, take this cash–"
"Nope. I apologize, Ness. I can't seem to hear you from this distance!" Lucas yells out playfully as he continues backing away. Ness can't help but chuckle seeing the way Lucas was so strict on giving him cash.
"You're such a rich bastard, Lucas." Despite the rude word, Lucas waves a sweet goodbye to Ness before stepping into the car's passenger seat. This now leaves Ness to his lonesome. The cash in his hand feels warm after being in Lucas's pocket for who knows how long. To get a better look at the kind gesture, he grabs either side of the bill and stretches it in front of him to the best of its ability. However, he doesn't focus on it for long as the moment he holds up the cash something falls down from his hand.
When Ness looks down at his feet where the strange thing fell, all he sees is a white piece of paper crudely ripped from some notebook. This must've come from Lucas. He reaches down to grab the paper. This paper has some aura of familiarity, much like Lucas's diamond eyes. But unlike those eyes, Ness can remember where he last saw this paper. It was from the ziplock bagged sandwich.
Ness twists the paper around to see the other side. Unlike how the paper was when he gave Lucas the sandwich there's a word on this other side. Two of them, in fact. "Thank you" is what the note says. Ness can't help but feel his heart skip a beat. He looks up from the paper to see the back side of the car Lucas is in driving away from him. "You're far too damned nice for a rich boy, Lucas." He chuckles to himself some more before safely putting the paper into his pocket. And with that, Ness turns around and makes his way for Bus Pick-Up once more.
Inside the car, Lucas is resting his head against the window. "What is it that Father wants, Matt?" Lucas questions as he feels every bump of the car against his head.
"I'm unsure. He didn't speak of the details on the phone." The car comes to a stop at a red light and so Matt looks over at Lucas. "So, that boy you were speaking to. What's his name?"
"Ness." Lucas looks over at Matt and shows off his soft smile. "He's a very nice boy, if maybe a little bit of a bad influence on me." Matt's eyes trail down to see the untucked shirt that has yet to be fixed and so the man laughs before focusing on the road once more.
"I can see that. We mustn't let your father know, then." Lucas nods before looking back out the window. He truly can't let his father know. As far as his dad can know, he will be friendless and focus solely on school. This is the one rule Lucas never wanted to follow. He's so tired of abiding by the rule that he's willing to risk it if it means he can talk to someone. And Ness, so far at least, seems very worth the risk. But upon thinking about Ness he remembers what he said about there being an odd familiarity. He didn't feel it then, but now he feels it.
"Matt. Does the name Ness ring a bell to you?" Matt takes a moment to think as he drives the car.
"No. How come?"
"I don't know. A strange feeling, I suppose," Lucas shrugs before continuing his soft rest against the window. The car ride from then on is silent. It's a comfortable silence. Lucas doesn't have to look overly proper with Matt, which is why he's capable of resting against the window.
But this peaceful silence comes to an end as they pull into the mansion's driveway. Once the car stops, Lucas gets out of the car and stares over at the house. They are to the left of the front door. He takes in a deep and heavy sigh before shutting his door and walking around the car to begin down the pathway from the driveway to the front door. "Lucas!" Matt yells out prompting Lucas to look over his shoulder. "Your shirt."
"Oh, thank you!" Now as he walks, Lucas begins to fix up his shirt properly. He's got to make sure any bit of shirt that would hang over his shorts is now properly tucked in uncomfortably. It's one of those things that Lucas never noticed quite how uncomfortable it felt until he felt it out of his shorts.
Not too long after finishing that, though, he makes it to the front door. He doesn't bother with knocking and just walks right on in. "Father, I'm home," Lucas shouts as he shuts the door. Right as the door is shut he begins to hear echoey footsteps. He turns around to find his Father directly behind him, causing him to jump back a bit.
"Lucas."
"Uhm, Matt said you needed something?"
"I do." Without saying anything else, Lucas's Father grabs Lucas's arm and begins to drag him off toward a room to the right. His Father's grip on his arm is very painful, causing winces from the poor boy. This room to the right seems to be some kind of conference room as it's just a long room with a long table in the middle and a lot of chairs surrounding it. There's also a large television at the other end of the table. But that doesn't matter as Lucas's Father forces him to sit in one of the nearby chairs. Once sitting, Lucas stares up at his Father as he crosses his arms sternly.
"Now, Lucas. You're going to a filthy public school now, correct?"
"I wouldn't describe it as filthy–" Lucas nervously rubs his hands together softly.
"You're going to a filthy public school, correct?" Lucas's Father intensifies his question as he just glares down at Lucas with a terrifying amount of venom in those eyes. Lucas has to rip his gaze away from them to look at his lap.
"Yes, father."
"You must keep your composure. If you lose any amount of professionalism…you will regret it."
"Yes Father." Lucas's Father isn't really satisfied yet. He steps closer and roughly grabs at the collar of Lucas's shirt, bringing him closer.
"This damned school will give you temptations. Bad influences. You mustn't fall to them. No matter how enticing, understand."
"Y-yes Father."
"You are going to school. Doing as the teachers say. No communication to anyone else. And then you just come home. Understand?"
"Yes, Father." Lucas's Father scoffs before pushing Lucas back against the chair causing the boy to grunt heavily.
"We don't want what happened last time you broke the rules to happen again, right?"
"Y-yes Father," Lucas can't bear to look at his dad. All he can do is look down at his own hands. Respond in the way his Father wants.
"Good boy. Now go. I have no need for you."
"Yes Father." Lucas pushes himself off the chair and calmly leaves the room, to which his Father shuts the door the moment he leaves the doorway. His dad is still in the room so this gives Lucas the chance to have a breather. To make himself feel better he thinks to Ness, which works as a smile forms on his face. And then off he goes toward his bedroom. The first day is coming to an end.
…
…
…
"No, I didn't suck his dick, Ninten," Ness complains on the phone as he sits on his bed. Whilst sitting there he looks down at the piece of paper in his hand.
"Well, what other explanation is there for him to give you an extra fifty bucks and not both of us," Ninten responds over the phone.
"Oh chill out, you still have half of the five fifty, maybe he was just feeling bad for me." There's a bit of silence from the other end.
"Hmmm, I dunno. I still feel like you sucked him off to get the money." Ness rolls his eyes. He's been known to be a little promiscuous. Especially for some quick cash. But this was nothing like that. It seemed Lucas only gave him the money to have an excuse to give the small piece of paper.
"You're a dick, you know that?"
"A dick you like," Ninten says. And Ness can easily tell he for sure winked while saying that.
"Ugh, that was a one time thing, Ninten." Ninten laughs from the other end.
"Ness, hunny, dinner is ready!" Ness's Mom calls from outside his bedroom.
"Oh, dinner's done. I'll call you later?"
"Hopefully, unless I'm too busy of course."
"Oh yeah, with what?"
"Private stuff." Ness can't help but roll his eyes with a smile.
"Well, talk to ya later, man."
"Yeah. See ya." Ness is the first to hang up. However, instead of heading straight to his bedroom door to leave he heads over to a desk. On this desk is a monitor and a weak PC. But he's not here for the PC. Instead, he opens a drawer. Inside this drawer is a photo of a man hugging up close to Ness. Seeing this photo makes Ness smile. But soon, he slowly drops the thank you piece of paper Lucas gave him down into it. Seeing both of them makes him smile before he shuts the drawer. With that, it's time for him to go and enjoy dinner with his family.
Ninten, on the other hand, is in the bathroom when the phone call ends. He's not in there to use the toilet or the shower or anything like that. But instead, he's using the mirror. He stares into it and at his own face. His hair is wet showing he had just finished a shower. But right now…he needs to cover up a bruise on his face. Quietly, he reaches for a makeup brush and begins to cover up his bruise with the makeup. Wanting to look completely normal…as if he's got a very normal life.
But in Ultimatum, no one has a normal life.