♜𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝐏𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞♜

ＰＲＥＦＡＣＥ

▩Unable are the loved to die. 

     For love is immortality .▩

One month has passed since Ace died. 

I thought it would be sad and painful, but I feel a quiet sort of pain. Indifference was what I felt. Not for the death of the one I deeply loved, but for the world. It was like everything had lost all meaning.

I returned to school one week after the END. After various police interviews, the sealed the case as an accident. That was the lie we agreed to tell. But Tristan, Adrian and I know what really happened.

Adrian had transferred and I hadn't seen him since the funeral, which filled me with bitter relief. If only he hadn't- No, I shouldn't think like that. It was cruel to think that Ace might still be alive.

Tristan was now the only King at Trinity-K. Everyone gossiped stories about him being the one who pushed Ace, yet each tried to seize the opportunity to get close to him. But that was impossible. Too many walls had formed around him and he smiled that same nonchalant grin but if you looked close enough, you could that behind his facade of smiles were weary eyes.

We helped each other out, me and Tristan. After the END, our fight seemed petty compared to the tragedy that just happened. That was why the night after the funeral, I heard someone knocking at my dorm door.

Tristan came in, his blonde hair disheveled and his sky-blue eyes bloodshot. I couldn't formulate any words to say, yet I understood perfectly what he meant. He approached slowly in the dark, carefully avoiding my desk. His shoulders hanged while he walked, like if he were holding some heavy weight. 

Without uttering a word, he sat down on my bed. Tristan leaned his head on my shoulder, then he began to sob. Tears poured down his face as I felt his body shake. I stroked his back comfortingly, but I felt the same tears strolling down my cheeks as well. 

" Are you alright?" Harper's voice was filled with worry. Her questions were always the same, and so was my answer.

" Fine." I shrugged. 

Her expression showed me that my answer wasn't enough.

" Are you sure?" I nodded. " Well in that case, look at this."

I turned my head and saw her finger pointing to a flyer. TRIP TO PARIS  was written in bold letters. Harper smiled expectantly at me.

" Well?" Her gaze was filled with excitement.

I sighed. " Actually-"

" I know, I know." She interjected. " But you need to alter your mind a little bit. What I meant to say is that he's gone, Elyse."

The words hit me hard. I knew he was dead. But gone is such an awful word. No matter how much I tried to deny it, Harper was right. To my surprise, not a single tear leaked.

" It's in one month, you'll have time to change your mind."

Her eyes were imploring. I ceded.

" Fine, I might as well give it a shot."

Harper gave me a confused look. " Pardon me? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Trinity-K and their fancy English. I rolled my eyes, feeling a smile tug my lips.

" Gosh, is that a smile?" Harper said with exaggerated incredulousness. But smile grew wider, like I couldn't control my grin. " Do I have the old Elyse back?" 

I laughed at her childish playacting. Come to think of it, I did miss smiling. And with that, we headed to our next class.

....................................................

After Ace left, all of his belongings went to his family, except one beaten up book I had discreetly stolen called Revealing Cards. I don't understand why I took it, but I felt like I needed something of his to cling on to. 

One night, after summoning all of my courage, I opened it. 

I was always afraid of finding something I didn't like, but curiosity was too tempting. I lifted the cover, finding loopy handwriting scribbled neatly on the pages. What? Isn't this a book? I skimmed it and soon realized it was a diary. Ace's diary.

But I needed to start at the beginning. The very beginning.  I turned to the first page and read.

The day Ace left me was the same since Pockerface quit sending me messages. But I knew it wasn't the end of what he had in store.

...............................................

I'm back!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would really appreciate your feedback. 🤗

Ace has a diary, and I think I'm going to put one page at the beginning of each chapter.

See you soon!