Act One: Hide-and-seek

"Ack—!" The noise that Terrance made when Ambrosia's eyes met his in the corner of her closet was the second most embarrassing thing that came from him that day. He flinched back into the wall, bumping his head hard enough for him to let out a small whimper.

"You're getting a bit predictable, Terr." Rose teased, legs bending to reach his level. Once again, the prodigy was left breathless, unable to move or speak as his favorite senior inched closer to him.

He had gotten caught—in a rather questionable, borderline illegal, situation too. But instead of fearing for the consequences that would come after being caught, he was only flustered, rethinking his actions and wondering where he had been clumsy with his usual methods.

There was something in the way Rose grinned at him that told the prodigy that she thought of everything as a harmless game. And in return, he too thought of their current predicament as harmless.

He'd gotten checkmated and they'd just have to play the game again, a constant back and forth filled with morally gray decisions.

It was a dangerous way to look at things, but Terrance reassured himself that he was well-meaning in everything he did.

He knew his mouth was slightly open as his eye contact with Ambrosia dragged out. Nevertheless, he was unable to clamp his lips together as the girl gently placed a hand on the side of his head, checking where it had been hit with genuine concern. "Are you alright? Does it hurt badly?"

"N— no." He stuttered out, confidence and assuredness he displayed much earlier nowhere to be seen. At his core, he was horrendously weak to Ambrosia's attention, especially when she smiled lovingly at him, wanting to soothe his pain.

He had to admit it to himself—he'd willingly get beat up a thousand times if it meant Rose was the one taking care of him afterwards.

Her eyes flitted from his face to his hand, the plastic object once cloaked by shadow now revealed to be a cheap witch's mask. Terrance was admittedly startled, quickly retracting hos hand from the witch's nose where it laid.

"So that's what she was looking for..." The girl whispered to herself. However, Terrance was close enough to hear every single breath she released. It was a heart-fluttering and overwhelming ordeal, but the thought of removing himself from it was impossibly difficult.

So Terrance stayed still, eyes widening in confusion, "Huh?" He let out without thinking.

Ambrosia looked at him with thinking eyes before moving the hanged clothes further from the prodigy's little spot, making room for her to sit in as well. The gray-eyed male felt their knees touch and it was taking all his self-control not to explode and leave a bloodied mess in the girl's wardrobe.

"Remember when I mentioned the little errands Hugh had me do?" She asked, and he could only nod, a bit too intrigued to disturb the flow of her explanation.

"Yeah, this is what I wore going through with them. I had to make morally questionable decisions, so, you get it." Ambrosia picked up the mask, caressing the witch's face with a calming familiarity.

Terrance could only see red. The animosity of what Hugh had asked Rose to do was killing him from the inside. And her willingness, although it was shameful to admit, made him a tad bit jealous.

Without noticing it, his fists clenched, trembling ever so slightly in anger.

"He was only using you."

She sighed, the sound crestfallen as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I know, you know. And I thought I was content with being his tool as long as I'd get to prove my worth eventually. I just didn't anticipate being thrown away to be so... painful."

Keeping his gaze on her face proved to be a difficult task. Even though Rose's eyes were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, the tears that clung to them devastated him more than any old tragedy could.

His senior, often so lively and bright, looked so broken.

And it made him want to hurt whoever had done it to her, the image of Hugh's face of indifference just out of reach. If he could only stretch his hand further and crush the bones that lay beneath the scholar's skin, he would.

But Rose's voice halted him from committing to violent thoughts once again, "I don't want you to go through that. I don't ever want you to see the side of me that's willing to let the rest of the world burn for Hugh. Can't we remain friends and pretend this never happened?"

"No." He answered, much too quickly and surely to be untrue. "I might never matter to you as much as Hugh does, but I'll never be satisfied knowing you're hiding a side of yourself from me. Let all of you have all of me."

Rose looked equally as shocked as he was by the content of his words, her eyes wide and mouth shut. Terrance's confidence was slowly starting to break from the inside, wondering if he had taken it too far.

But then, his senior only chuckled, the sound pleasant and lighthearted. "I might have to write down all of your lines for the next time I see Hugh."

Realizing the atmosphere, Terrance was quick to adjust to it, a gentle smile on his face. "I might never let him see you again, then."

"I'm up for a little challenge." She responded, playfully bumping his arm with her elbow. Rose stood from her place on the floor, a soft flush painting her face.

It was a glorious expression, one Terrance immediately engrained to his memories, and one much more preferable to her look of sadness and defeat over Hugh. He couldn't stop himself from smiling back.

"Yeah? I'm pretty sure you're up for a movie after everything that's gone down."

"Legally Blonde?"

"Yeah, Legally Blonde." He repeated, clicking his tongue in sarcasm. The girl had a fixation on wholesome movies. Despite their shared liking to the more horrific side of media, Terrance knew when and what to seek when she was in certain moods.

It was a skill he earned without having to do the concerning things he usually did. It was an ability that sprouted purely from their friendship.

And it was something both of them could appreciate.

"You enjoy it as much as I do, don't you?" Ambrosia teased.

The Hunton's face flushed red as he too stood up. He wasn't used to associating himself with such easygoing and cheesy media, but his senior's tastes had forced him to be acquainted with it. At some point, Legally Blonde had become one of his favorite films as well.

But whatever was left of his ego would never allow him to admit it, especially not to himself. So instead, his defensiveness increased with his embarrassment.

"No comment."

"The infamous Hunton glare!"

Terrance rolled his eyes, unable to remove the smile invading his face. The girl had persistently jumped on her toes, mockingly poking his cheek like an excited child.

An idea popped into his head. A way to avenge his pride. He took hold of her hand and placed it on his cheek, a charming and practiced imitation of those flirtatious smirks in movies showing on his face, "And the smile that's only ever meant for you."

Rose looked flustered, squeaking before roughly pushing him away. "Ew. You say that, but I saw how much you liked your fan girls earlier."

The blonde girl hastily stepped out of the closet, footsteps heavy and aggravated as she walked towards her bed.

Terrance looked utterly amused, satisfied with the reactiveness he was getting. He looked at her with a mischievous glint, leaning against the side of her closet door.

"Are you jealous, senior?" He asked, voice smooth—way too smoth for Ambrosia to handle.

Where had her meek junior gone? Was he on vacation?

"Not as jealous as you when Nikolas told you we used to be fiances!" She retaliated, unable to think of a better offense.

Terrance remained quiet and Ambrosia feared that she had made the exchange genuinely awkward, but then the prodigy started to move from where he stood, threateningly approaching her figure on the bed.

His fingers moved towards her side and before Rose could comprehend a proper escape, Terrance started to tickle her, exactly where she was weak to touch.

"Stop! Terr—! He's literally gay! He's into men!" Rose exclaimed in between gasps, her giggling uncontrolled and childish. Terrance didn't relent, enjoying the way she attempted to kick his body away.

It was a split second when they both heard it, the doorknob twisting and turning. Without a second thought, Terrance jumped behind Rose's bed, crawling underneath it in the hopes they hadn't been seen.

"Rosia, sino yung kausap mo?" ("Rosia, who are you conversing with?") Ambrosia's papa asked, his voice recognizable from the many times he had encouraged Terrance to stay with them for dinner.

The blonde's fathers were more than enthusiastic with Terrance's visits, bombarding him with question after question. The prodigy couldn't tell if it was because he was a Hunton or if they were just glad to have some company.

"Wala, pa. Ako lang nandito, talking to myself." ("No one, pa. I'm the only one here, talking to myself.")

"You were talking about Niko's sexuality... with yourself?" Her father asked. It was clear he didn't believe her for a moment.

"Yeeeeeees. It's important to be mindful, pa. You should know, you know."

"Okay." The adult man, much too tired for his daughter's antics, accepted her answer to soothe his stresses. "Bahala na. Magbaba ka muna doon sa sala, mag uwi na sila Mika. Mag bye ka na sa parents niya." ("Whatever. For now, go down to the living room, Mika and her family are heading home. Say goodbye to her parents.")

The obedient daughter nodded before stepping away from her bed and racing downstairs. It was quiet, until eventually Ambrosia's father spoke once again.

"Terr, I can see you. Come out here and let's talk."