Those Worse Off Than You

I saw the disapointed look on Ace's face as he left the shop and entered the busy walkway of the mall. He pulled up his hood, thinking his hair looked bad.

"What are you doing," I asked with a smirk.

"It's all gone! She got rid of it all! I'm dooomed!"

I giggled. "Ace- it's not any shorter than it was when I first saw you. It's still in your eyes- you have your comfort blanket. The only thing that's different is the layers. She layered your hair so it wouldn't be so god damn thick- now it's gonna be so shaggy you're gonna look like a dog."

"Liar," he mumbled, crossing his arms, seeming woman-like.

"Quit being a pussy," Angel remarked, pushing him forward and pulling down his hood.

Ace whined.

"Common," I stated, deciding to change the subject. "Let's go buy you some new clothes."

I started walking, and so did Angel, but I noticed Ace had not budged. I stopped and looked back at him: at the disapointed, sad look on his face.

"Your hair looks great," I remarked, trying to make him happier with a comment.

"That's not it."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Everything's going to change. I've got to change myself completely- there's no going back. I've got to wipe the slate clean and start over, don't I?"

I sighed and opened my mouth to speak, but turned it into a smile instead. "Yea, I guess so. But maybe... change is good. Maybe this is what you need."

He never smiled, his eyes never changed. He looked black to his shoes and started walking silently. He followed Angel and I as we headed into a couple different stores to pick out an entirely new wardrobe for our friend.

Ace's mood turned from gloomy and pessimistic to slightly light-hearted in a time spand that stretched over a few visits to numerous stores.

After we figured we had bought a good number of new clothes for him, we got some lunch and Ange lbought a new pair of shoes, while I went shopping for cd's. Ace followed me and lead me to the back, picking out the spot where all the good cd's were.

He looked at me with a glow of happiness across his face when he stated, "I'll buy you one."

"What?"

"Pick one out, I want to buy you a cd."

"For what?"

"Appreciation. Just pick one," he stated.

I blushed, turning bright scarlet. "But I don't want one."

"Common, just let me buy you one."

"Okay..."

"Alright," he nodded. "Which one?"

I looked at the large variety and turned back to Ace with a giggle. "Which ones are the best? You're smart when it comes to this..."

He stroked his chin, as if he were thinking, before moving his fingers over the CD's, flipping through them all quickly and pulling the odd one out and placing it at his side. When he was done, he grabbed his small pile and lifted it up to me, gazing through it and putting some back, stating, "You might mot like those ones..."

What he finished with was 2 CD's filled with various bands for me to explore, and a CD of a band that I had never heard before 'The Get Up Kids'. "You'll probably like this one best," he told me.

So I simply nodded in aggreement, however, he only put one back.

"Are you buying one too?"

"No," he stated, looking down at his selection.

"What's the other one for?"

"Exploration purposes. You need to expand you're music knowledge."

I smiled. "I thought you said one."

He looked back, "I guess I lied."