Ace glanced to himself in the mirror, knowing this could be one of the last times he’d look like he did now.
“An extreme makeover really isn’t necessary.” Bane shook his head as he stood beside the boy. Sterling and Apollo stood in the corner of the bathroom, ready to help only if some fashion or makeup advice was needed, being that was definitely not Bane’s area of expertise.
“It is if I want this to really work.” Ace brushed a strand of his shoulder length hair behind his ear, prepared to lose it if he had to in order to catch the attention of Dylan Jardine. “Tell me about his type. If there’s something I’m not willing to do I’ll let you know.”
“Well if we’re starting with looks, he’s not into long hair.” Bane nodded and Ace hummed softly, looking to his long locks he’d taken some time growing.
“Luckily I’m not attached to mine.” He grabbed the pair of scissors off of the counter and roughly cut off several inches of his hair.
“Well now we know you’re not fucking around.” Bane blinked, shocked at the sudden action.
“I told you, I’m serious. It’s not fair what he does and especially what he’s done to you. I’m fixing it.” Ace nodded and Bane found a smile for the boy.
“Then it’s time to really get started.” Bane spoke as Sterling moved forward to grab the scissors and trim the edges of Ace’s hasty cut.
“Bane, find me a picture of what Dylan’s type would look like so I can fix this damn hair.” Sterling nodded as he focused on fixing the shaggy strands that hung from the boy’s previously unkempt mane.
Bane was reluctant to do a damn thing for Sterling. He hated the boy with a passion. But he tried to remember that this was for himself in the long run and searched until he found a picture on his phone of a typical short haircut.
“Your brother hasn’t got much of a taste, huh?” Sterling questioned as he cut Ace’s hair to look like the photograph.
Bane said nothing. He didn’t feel like defending his brother, but his hatred of Sterling made it rather tempting.
“Alright, next.” Ace questioned as Sterling finished up.
“He likes tattoos.” Bane nodded.
“I don’t have any.” Ace shook his head. “Used to have a couple, but they all healed when I was bitten.”
“Well it’s not that big of a deal anyway, we’ll make you irresistible.”
“Can’t Ajax do tattoos?”
“You…” Bane furrowed his brow. “You’re going to get permanent tattoos just for this?”
“I’m not kidding about this, Bane.” Ace seemed deadly serious about this whole experience. He was dedicated to the cause. “I’ll get covered in tattoos if I have to.”
“Just a couple will do.” Bane nodded. “Neck and arms are the most important and Ajax can take care of all that if you’re serious.”
“Alright.” Ace smiled. “What about eyes?”
“Blue eyes, blonde hair.”
“Then add colored contacts and hair dye to our shopping list.” Ace gave a sly grin.
“On second thought, should we go out shopping right now? We’ll need clothes and everything anyways.” Bane suggested.
“Let’s go.” Ace nodded as he stood up, looking over his new haircut in the mirror. It wasn’t half bad, really.
“I’ll go get daddy’s wallet.” Apollo winked as he headed out of the room.
“I’ll grab Jason’s!” Sterling nodded, heading after his friend.
Nearly twenty minutes later and they were entering the mall, glancing around at the racks of clothing.
“So, Bane.” Sterling began. “Lead the way. Tell us what Dylan’s dream guy would be wearing.”
“I don’t know where the hell anything is.” Bane groaned. He was not one to do much shopping for clothes.
“Then tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll lead the way.” Apollo nodded.
“Well he should look pretty badass. You know, like… band shirts, ripped jeans, leather boots.”
“Alright, punk look.” Apollo nodded and he and Sterling took off in one direction, leaving Bane and Ace to go find the hair dye and contacts.
“Contacts will be helpful anyway.” Ace hummed softly as he looked over the different kinds. “In case I start to shift. It’ll hide it.”
“Good point.” Bane murmured and for a few moments they just stood there in silence. Then, Ace spoke.
“I can tell it’s hard for you to go through with this.” He sighed and Bane merely frowned.
“You don’t know anything, alright?”
“But I do. I know it’s got to be hard, I don’t blame you for kind of still caring for him. He’s family. I just wanted to let you know that he’s a piece of shit, Bane. You don’t need him.”
Bane said nothing for a moment before he muttered a soft, “thanks.” It wasn’t much, but then again, for Bane it was.
Apollo and Sterling found them several minutes later with their arms piled full of clothes.
“Dressing room!” Apollo exclaimed. “We haven’t got all day! We’ve got to make you a seductress!”
For the next several hours, Ace found himself crammed into a dressing room with the three other boys as they shoved him in various outfits. They ended up buying most of them, making quite the dent in Jesse and Jason’s funds.
“Are you nervous?” Bane questioned when they were on their way home, each of them carrying several large bags.
“Not at all. Excited.” Ace grinned. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to do something like this. To make a difference, you know?”
“Well if it helps, I’m nervous for you.” The former hunter muttered softly. He knew how his brother was. One slip up and Ace would be dead in seconds.
“Don’t be. I’m not stupid.”
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Dylan stared at the boy sitting down the bar, the one with the cropped blonde locks framing his slim face. The second he had walked in, he had Dylan’s attention. It wasn’t unheard of for Dylan Jardine to take a random boy or girl home from the bar every once in a while and he was already hoping that was where tonight would lead.
The boy sported a tattered black tank top that hung off of his slim, lanky form, showing off his tattooed arms which Dylan was extremely fond of. His eyes trailed down the boy’s body, admiring it from afar, though he didn’t plan on that for long.
Ace, meanwhile, found he wasn’t as nervous as he thought he’d be. He could feel Dylan’s eyes undressing him and he had to admit, the confidence made him feel… powerful. His eyes flashed back to one of the booths in the corner of the bar where Apollo and Bane were huddled, barely daring to glance to Ace in fear of Dylan spotting them, though when they saw the boy look, they shot a thumbs up in his direction.
Ace nearly jumped out of his seat as a voice in his ear he had not been expecting startled him.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
Ace turned to face the hunter, finding he was much more handsome up close. Of course, Ace was still disgusted with every fiber of the man’s being, but it was impossible to say he wasn’t attractive.
“I’ve got one.” Ace spoke simply, sipping the drink he did indeed have in front of him. “Thanks for the offer though.”
Ace was remembering everything Bane had told him, reviewing every practice session they had had. Play hard to get, that was the key.
Dylan was visibly confused by this immediate shut down, but he didn’t falter.
“Of course you do. Bet you’ve had a lot of offers for drinks tonight. Well, I’m right over here when you’d like another round.” His smile was sly before he headed back to his seat.
Was that it? Ace couldn’t help but wonder if he fucked up, but another thumbs up from the corner booth relaxed him.
Now all he had to do was wait.
And he did wait, for nearly the next two hours. Dylan did not approach him again, even after watching countless other men offer to buy Ace drinks without getting shut down.
Finally, he caught Bane glance to him before standing and heading to the bathroom with Apollo. Ace knew this was his signal to follow them.
“Did I fuck up?” Ace questioned when they arrived, huddling together in the corner of the empty bathroom.
“No, you did perfect. He’s just trying to play hard to get back at you. But all that’s going to do is make the damn plan fail.” Bane sighed before glancing to Apollo. “We’ve got to start plan B.”
“There was a plan B?” Ace blinked. “Why wasn’t I informed of plan B?”
“I’m on it!” Apollo grinned before heading out of the bathroom, already pulling out his cellphone.
“What’s plan B?” Ace groaned and Bane gave him a shy smirk.
“Just be ready to play along. Remember Apollo’s ex, Carter? You met him at that gettogether last week?”
“Yeah?”
“When he comes, just play along? Got it?”
“I guess. But Bane-“ Ace’s protest was cut off as Bane ran from the bathroom, leaving him no choice but to return to the bar and order himself another drink.
Meanwhile outside, Bane approached Apollo who was just putting his phone down.
“He’s on his way already.” Apollo grinned and Bane nodded. All they had to do now was wait.
Only minutes later, Carter was approaching them. However, it didn’t look like Carter. The man was dressed similar to Ace, not his usual sophisticated suits and ties. He wore a tight leather jacket, no shirt underneath which exposed his toned chest, along with a pair of torn jeans. It could not be less similar to his usual wardrobe.
“Do I look right for the part?” Carter grinned as he approached, scooping Apollo up for a tight embrace.
“Perfect, as always, daddy.” Apollo purred as he got back to his feet. “You look pretty sexy in the whole badboy act.”
“I know.” Carter chuckled. “But these clothes are so dirty, I’m changing as soon as this is done.”
Apollo rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling.
“So just go in there and play the jealous, drunk ex boyfriend. I can see you’ve really gotten into the part because you reek.” Apollo wrinkled his nose, the smell of beer overwhelming.
“I did. My acting lessons in high school are really paying off now.” Carter was all smiles, enjoying seeing Apollo again, even if it was just for help.
“Ace is sitting at the end of the bar, you know what he looks like.” Bane informed. “We’re going to go in now and you come in in a few minutes okay?”
Several minutes later and Ace had downed three more drinks by now. He was just beginning to feel the effects as he felt a rough hand grip his shoulder and spin him around.
“What the fuck?!” He was startled before realizing it was Carter, although the man looked very different.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing here without me?” Carter was slurring his speech as his hand clamped down on Ace’s shoulder.
“Get the hell off of me!” Ace snapped, going along with whatever they were doing. “And you don’t damn own me! You’re drunk off your ass!” He could tell the man was trying to act drunk and figured he’d just play with it.
“You belong to me!” Carter frowned. “I was your boyfriend and here you are dressed like that, just begging for fucking attention!”
“WAS!” Ace growled at the man. He had caught the word and realized Carter must be trying to play his abusive ex or something like that. “That’s the key word. You WERE my boyfriend. How long is it going to take before you leave me the fuck alone!” At this point, he had no clue what the point of this was, but it was quite fun, actually.
They were creating a scene, drawing the attention of many, including Dylan.
He was taken quite off guard as Carter shoved him, nearly pushing him off of the bar stool. Ace was about to fight back but before he could defend himself, Dylan had stood.
The large hunter was in between them in seconds, shoving Carter back.
“Do we need to take this outside or are you going to get out of here on your own?” Dylan questioned. He was calm, but it was clear he wasn’t to be messed with as he took the man by the collar.
“Listen, this is none of your business, alright?” Carter spat and Ace had to admit, he was actually a decent actor through all of this. “I’ll be out of here as soon as his pretty little ass is following me.”
“Fuck yourself!” Ace chimed in, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest as Dylan shoved Carter back a few steps.
“Leave the kid alone, he obviously doesn’t want you here. Get out or I can put you out.”
Carter moved to fight back, but before he could, Dylan threw a punch and sent him toppling to the floor. Dylan then turned back to Ace as a quite pissed Carter made for the door.
“You alright?” Dylan arched an eyebrow as he took the seat beside him.
“I’m fine. I was handling it myself.” Ace muttered as he took a swallow of his drink.
“I’m sure you were.” Dylan gave a light eye roll. “But I figured I’d give you a hand anyways. Who was that guy?”
“Psycho ex. Doesn’t everyone have one?” He shrugged, making up the backstory for him and his “boyfriend” already in his mind.
“Not exactly.” Dylan chuckled, shaking his head as he eyed Ace. “So, how about that drink now?”
“If you must.” Ace smirked as Dylan smiled back at him.
