The Bodyguard

45.

double update since it's been so long. I've missed you all. Thank you all the comments and votes. I needed time, but I'm back now. ❤️

There was something he felt inside himself that made Jasper scared. What he'd done, what he was doing, felt out of character, even for him.

But he justified it by telling himself Ace had drove him to it. By kicking him off his doorstep like he was nothing more than a passing stranger on the side of the road.

After the sadness had subsided, Jasper felt anger, then frustration, then jealousy. Now, all of those emotions had festered inside him and brought him to where he is now.

His actions were a result of everything Ace made him feel, a culmination of his deepest desires. He felt like he was going fucking insane.

It really wasn't hard. New York wasn't as big as people thought, so the words he'd heard Ace's so called "friends" speak, could've only meant a couple of things.

Jasper thought it was Ace's desperate attempt at distracting himself from everything that's happened over the past few weeks.

Because he knew that Ace couldn't stand to be around anyone other than him for long.

So what if it was his narcissism, or unchecked jealousy speaking? Jasper knew Ace's stunt was a cute, but pathetic cry for help.

It was Friday night in the city, and if you were anybody who knew anybody, you'd be 1 place.

By the time Jasper arrived at 1am, a couple of shots coursing through his system and a slight vengeance on the corner of his lips, things were already in full swing.

The Arcane had built its notoriety by hosting these speakeasy-esque parties that were contingent on you getting an invite. If you couldn't get one yourself, you had better know someone who could. They only happened once every couple of months, hence the frenzy that surrounded the night.

Jasper thought they were a breeding ground for pretentious socialites who lacked any sort of individuality, so when he'd gotten an invite months back, he rolled his eyes and didn't think twice.

But then the text came.

And he was distraught and hurt at the things Ace had said to him, so when August asked if he wanted to go out, to Arcane of all places, he didn't hesitate.

He'd mustered up all the energy he could and pulled himself together within the hour. Another reason he was so unopposed to going? He was banking on Ace being there.

Yes, August would be clinging on to him all night and yes, he'd have to push his way past sweaty, drunk bodies, but it was worth it if Ace would be there to see him having the time of his life.

Jasper didn't care how fucking immature it was, or how calculated his actions were. Ace forfeited any right he had to space when he'd turned Jasper into a pathetic sobbing mess at his front door.

Jasper recoiled at the image of himself, less than two hours ago when he'd had to scoop himself off the floor of the elevator and teach himself how to breathe again.

He couldn't think about that.

Right now, he felt reckless, he was halfway drunk and August, who'd already found Jasper in the sea of people, was resting between his neck and shoulder, saying something along the lines of: "you made it."

It was strange, the way Jasper felt about August now. Because he hated him, but could also tolerate him at times like this. He had a feeling that August liked him beyond their arrangement, which should be ending soon, and the thought made him sick.