Home 'Sweet' Home [Open]

Jace walked into his house and sighed. Here he was, an eighteen year-old, whose father still insisted on him coming home for training sessions. As if he hadn't had enough sessions to give him nightmares for years to come, not to mention the scars. He placed his usual smirk on his face and wondered around the house, hoping that his father was still at work, and that it would stay that way for a good few hours. 'Excellent,' he thought, when he saw that the house was indeed empty except for the few servants that they had. He smirked and walked up to his room, putting on his stero full blast. Bring Me The Horizon blared out of the speakers, making various objects rattle and the floor creak, but he didn't care. He was free, for the time being.

Alex sat outside, just on the edge of Garland Forest. From where he was sitting he could see the Grey Mansion. He wondered briefly if Jace was there, he hadn't been seen for a while. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Alex sighed and leant back against a tree pulling the book from his bad when suddenly some music blared from the house. He smiled slightly to himself. Jace was home. Dumping the book back in his bag he began the walk to the boy's house. If the music was that loud his father couldn't be at home. About ten minutes later he reached the huge door - the entrance to the other world. Biting his lip he knocked on the door and waited.

"Master Jace, there's someone at the door. May i let him in?" a butler said, shouting over the noise. "Well that would depend on who it was," Jace replied, frowning. He turned down the music - only slightly - and walked down the stairs, picking up a knife as he went. 'Who on earth would come to see me?' he thought, looking through the small peep hole. He grinned and pulled open the door, "My, my, look what the cat dragged in! How's lover boy?" he asked, smirking.

"If you didn't want visitors you should have put a sign on the door," he said eyeing the knife nervously. Alex bit his lip and looked up at the taller boy, a red tinge to his cheeks. Lover boy? he thought cheekily, he must be gagging for it. Looking back up at Jace he smiled, "I'm very well, and you?" he asked before looking into the house where a maid scurried away, this was no place for him. "Is the big bad wolf going to come out and play?" he asked smiling as sweetly as he could.

Jace chuckled, "I was refering to Nick but i'm glad to see that you're alright." He smiled and put the knife down, "Sorry, it was just a precaution, never know who father sees as his 'guests'." He rolled his eyes then shrugged, "Well little Red Riding Hood could come inside? The wolf is all alone at home," he said, smirking. He hadn't seen Alex in a while and it could be fun having him round for a while.

Alex smiled and stepped through the door, closing it quietly behind him. The place was enormous, even compared to Nick's standards. Alex bit his lip and pushed his hands in his pockets feeling very out of place already. But it didn't matter, he couldn't stay long, he would have to go back and look after Joe. But it would be nice to spend some time with Jace, after all they hadn't seen each other for a very long time. "So, how's things?" Alex asked off handedly as he moved out of the way to let one of the servants past. He could smell that they were cooking a big meal, maybe Jace's father would be home sooner than Alex would have liked.

Jace raised an eyebrow at him, slightly put out by his casual question. "Well you know the usual things. Drinking, school, sex, drinking, sex, school, drinking," he smirked, then tugged on Alex's hand, leading him up to his bedroom. He could tell that Alex was feeling a bit out of place and knew that his bedroom was better than their stupidly large entrance hall. "Welcome to my room," he said, as he pushed open the door, walking in and sitting down on his leather couch. "Make yourself at home," he said, smiling.

Alex chuckled at the sheer size of the room. Sure it wasn't as big as the entrance but it was still pretty massive. But the room was very Jace. There were posters covering the walls, his bed was unmade and there were magazines on the floor. Alex braved the mess and sat himself down on the bed, "Why thank you kind sir," he joked crossing his ankles, "It is a lovely room," he added looking around again.

Jace chuckled, "Yeah, it's the one of the only places i can escape to in this house," he said, pointing to the several different locks and bolts on the door. He smirked, "And there's a big window so i can get out anytime i want." He smiled then grabbed two bottles of beer from his mini fridge - although it wasn't particularly mini - and handed one to Alex. "So how's the little 'un?"

Alex smiled at the beer and put it down on the floor, "I'm not drinking anymore," he said a little shyly looking up at Jace. "But thanks anyway." Alex bit his lip and smiled at the very large window. Turning back to Jace he frowned slightly, "H-how do you know about him?" he asked cautiously. The only person who knew was Nick. He was the only one who'd been at the funeral...wasn't he?

Jace frowned but picked up the bottle and swapped it for a can of Coke. He smirked at that,, "Oh... a little birdy told me." He hoped that Alex wouldn't be mad that he had been at the funeral, almost spying. But he had seen Nick and knew that it probably wasn't the best time for a surprise visit to Alex. He did have a shred of humanity inside of him.

Alex smiled slightly and ran the cold metal of the can between his fingers. "You didn't come and say hello," Alex commented, keeping his head down and starting intently at the coke can. It wasn't that he wanted Jace there to shout surprise at him, more that face it would have been nice to know he was there. "He's fine...with Nick," Alex mumbled, eventually not really knowing if Nick was a sensitive topic or not.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "I thought it would be better if i stayed away from it. I know how you like to keep your life secret." He smiled, it was one of the things they shared in common, keeping secrets. "Well that's good. If you ever need a babysitter, just give me a call. I love kids!" He chuckled then and shook his head, "I know what you're thinking. Me? Liking small children who run around screaming? But really, they are great fun. My old next door neighbour had a little boy who was 5 and we used to spend hours together. We played all sorts of games. Hide and seek, dominos, It." A slight sheen hit his eyes but Jonathon Grey never cried, so he bit his tears back and forced a smile onto his face.

Alex smiled up at Jace and patted the bed next to him, "Well, If me and Nick ever need some help you'll be the first to be asked," he promised finally opening his drink and taking a sip, "But you can come over any time, you know that, right? You're still my friend. Just because, y'know, we're getting married and have a kid to look after, doesn't mean I'm going to forget you."

Jace's eyes widened, "You're getting married?" He snorted slightly and shook his head. Marriage was a ridiculous consept to him, and also seemed to end in pain from his experiences. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head again. Of course he would never admit it but jealousy was bubbling up inside of him. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists. "I can't believe you're going to throw you're life away like that," he said, snorting again.

Alex bit his lip, "How is it throwing my life away? I love him! He's looked after me fine so far, what's going to make it all change? Even if he goes out and does things he souldn't I don't care. I have Joe to look after now and I can't do it by myself." Alex crossed his legs like a small scared child on the bed. He tucked his fingers into his lap and looked at Jace intently, "Why do you care? It's not like you love me." he said sullenly.

Jace shook his head again, "You are 17, it's hardly the time to get married. And what if it ends badly? Then you and Joe will be left with nothing and there will be no one to turn to." He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out of it intently as if somehow the sky would give him the answers he wanted. "No, i don't love you, but i do care about you," he said, in a quiet voice, almost as if he was admitting a dark secret.

Alex frowned and looked at Jace. "Look at me. I'm used to having nothing. I was born into a family were we didn't have what we wanted. I have no parents anymore; Nick and Joe are all I have. What do you propose I do then? Hmm? If I don't have Nick, who else is there? If it ends badly I'll just go back to what I was before and Joe will go back into care. We're not getting married right his second. We're going to wait." Alex's voice faded towards the end as he bit down on his bottom lip again. "If you really cared about me then you would help me instead of telling me I'm wrong."

Jace wanted to say 'you'll have me' but the words died on his lips. There was no point in saying that, what would he gain from it? Alex's pity? Nick's scorn? He sighed and shrugged his shoulders lightly, "I just don't think it would be a good idea to marry someone like Nick who's probably only in it for the sex." Jace didn't really have a problem with Nick but he was too similar to himself to be classed as trustworthy.

"Who do I marry then?" he asked suddenly standing up and walking over to Jace, "Someone like you?" He frowned and rested his hands on his hips. "You don't get it do you? I don't have anyone else! No one to look after me, no one to help me, nothing. I need Nick, whether you agree or not. At least he pretends to care about me, which is more than can be said for anyone else." Alex sighed and pushed his hands into his pockets, he should probably leave. He didn't want to make Jace angry or worse, be caught in the house when his father got home.

Jace laughed coldly, "Why do you even have to marry? What is there for you to gain from being bonded to someone for life?" He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, why was he even agruing with Alex? It seemed irrational, even by Jace's standards. "People care, Alex, i don't understand why you never seem to realise that. Is Nick really the best option for you and Joe?" He placed his hand hesitantly on Alex's shoulder and squeezed it, "I...care..."

"Because I want to," Alex sighed, and stepped an inch closer to Jace, feeling strangely comforted by being there, even if they were arguing. He sighed again and rested his head against Jace's shoulder, "I love him, Jace. A lot more that you think. I want it to be the best option." He looked up at Jace and smiled weakly, "I know. I care about you too," he said, standing up on his tiptoes and placing a quick kiss on the boy's cheek.

Jace sighed and rested his head on top of Alex's, "Fine, it would seem i can't sway you." he stepped away from Alex and sat down on his bed, placing his head in his hands. Suddenly, he felt a probbing into his mind. He stood up abruptly and turned to Alex, for the first time showing him a look of panic, "You have to leave, my father is home." He walked over to the window and opened it, looking down at the drop. It wasn't that far but with someone as thin as Alex it could break his leg.

Alex looked out of the window and snorted, "You've got to be kidding me. I'm not jumping I'd break my back!" Alex turned and looked at Jace and bit his lip, how dangerous could his father be? Really? There wouldn't be time for Jace to transform and land him down because his father would just force him to change back. Suddenly he heard the door slam and the almost silent footsteps of the man coming up the stairs. There wasn't time.

Jace cursed loudly then stood infront of Alex, trying to put a casual look on his face. His father knocked on his door and he clenched his hands into fists. "Good evening, Father," he said, bowing his head slightly. Michael looked at his son then looked at the boy standing behind of him. "And who is this Jonathon? You know i don't like it when you have people over," he said, staring into Alex's eyes and trying to probe into his mind.