Setting
Default Location for skyscraper
Minimap
northwest |
north |
northeast |
west |
You are here. |
east |
southwest |
south |
southeast |
The Tower is a part of 
skyscraper.
2 Characters Here
Jasper Ainsley [10] spend life with people who make you happy, not who you have to impress
Zach Adams [10] "i'm here in search of your glory."
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jasper ainsley
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
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His phone buzzed slightly in his back pocket and he took it out thumbing through the sea of messages from his friends. Apparently Warner was hosting some grandeur party, but Jas had already promised his parents he would attend the gala. He hadn't figured out if it was a blessing or a curse. While he enjoyed parties, the others were becoming harder to hang out with as the days passed. Jasper found himself becoming more and more detached from their materialistic ways, and some of them had started to notice. Writing off his distance as superiority. Which, hadn't gone well at all. Regardless he was happy to attend the Charity Gala with his parents, in fact he was happy to see them at all. They were only back for a few days for the gala and after that they were both off again, his father to Chicago and his mother to Thailand. Lately they had been home maybe once every two or three weeks, his home was starting to feel rather empty.
"Jasper, it's time to leave!" His father's voice rang from the hallway. "Yeah Dad, I'll be there in a second" He looked one last time at his reflection, straightening his collar (it was a nervous habit) and walked out the door.
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As he suspected the venue was mainly filled with older, rich folk that were in cohorts with his parents. He recognized a few of them as family friends and said a few hellos here and there. After finishing his rounds he made his way over to the small bar, taking a seat near the end. "Mr. Ainsley, nice to see a familiar face". It was Joshua, the bartender that usually worked his parents events. Jasper eventually found the bar to be the most quiet place at the event, and after time had become friends with the man. "The usual?" Jasper nodded, and cracked his knuckled sightly placing his hands on the bar. After a few moments a rum and coke was shoved in his direction and Josh winked, "Just, don't tell your parents". "Thanks Josh" Jas raised his glass in thanks and took a small sip. He always survived his parents event better if he was a little tipsy. Not to mention he was feeling a little restless tonight, maybe it was the fact that he had been alone the entire week and just craved some good old fashion human interaction.
xxxi can feel it in my chest
xxxthis isnāt over yet
xxxlock the doors, shut the windows down,
xxxthis monsterās back in town.
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āYou guys got your homework done?āZach called as he combed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it. The silence from the other room was deafening, so he rolled his eyes and folded his arms as he went out to look at Chris and Bella. āWell?ā He repeated, raising an eyebrow. āI do!ā Chris declared, but Bella just gave him the cheekiest grin she could muster. Once upon a time, he might have fell for that, but heād been looking after her too long for it to work on him now. āBella. Homework. Now.ā Usually he might have sat down and done it with her, but he was working tonight, and just couldnāt. He glanced up at his watch. His mom was supposed to be home any minute now, and he didnāt have massive amounts of time to spare before he needed to be at work. But almost on cue, the door opened and shut, and he could hear his motherās footsteps approaching the kitchen. āTheyāve had dinner, Chris claims heās done his homework but Bella hasnāt. Tonight could be a late one, donāt wait up for me,ā Zach instructed as he grabbed his laptop bag. On his way out, he stopped only briefly to kiss his mom on the cheek and to hug his siblings.
It felt good to get out of the house. Sure, heād had it to himself most of the day, but that was just it. He adored Chris and Bella but he just needed to be around different people now, people who were older than nine. He needed to be around people his own age. The gala was a somewhat straightforward event to set up, but given that it was an Ainsley event, he was expected to stay on site to make sure nothing went catastrophically wrong at any point. This job mostly required sticking to the shadows and staying out of the way of the important guests. He wasnāt allowed to drink alcohol or eat any of the supplied food, but beyond that, nobody really cared what he did, as long as he was out of the way. So Zach had stationed himself in a corner with his laptop, doing some reading on the newest security encryptions, and keeping an eye on all the technical equipment that could possibly break or malfunction or do something else.
His corner wasnāt exactly the coolest spot in the room. Making sure that his name badge declaring him to be staff was clearly visible, reducing the risk of somebody mistaking him for a guest and getting him in trouble, he went up to the bar. āCould I get ice water?ā He asked. The presence of another body at the bar hadnāt escaped him. Especially not when he recognized him as the Ainsley son. If there was one person he really shouldnāt interact with, it was one of the Ainsleys.
jasper ainsley
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
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He turned his gaze slightly to the left as another approached the bar. Surprisingly, it wasn't and old business man but rather a young man. Jasper only saw a sliver of the man's side profile, and from what he noticed the man was dressed nice, but oddly casual. He turned his gaze back to his drink focusing on a singular floating ice cube. His mother always taught him it was rude to stare. Jasper couldn't help but be curious of the man's background, or why he was here. āCould I get ice water?ā Even more interesting. Without glancing over Jasper took another small sip of his drink, the left corner of his mouth just turning up in a smile. "Bold choice".
xxxi can feel it in my chest
xxxthis isnāt over yet
xxxlock the doors, shut the windows down,
xxxthis monsterās back in town.
xxx
He was somewhat surprised to hear a voice from next to him, and he turned without even really thinking about it. Zach knew he was one of the Ainsleys. He'd worked at enough of their events to know that much and to see how effortlessly he glided around the room, mingling with everyone there effortlessly despite the age differences. He wondered what that life must be like... and why somebody like him had ended up at the bar alone. Well, not quite alone now, not that Zach was here. But Zach had expected the mysterious Ainsley son who looked so unlike his parents to be... different. A social butterfly, full of energy, full of glamour, full of... everything the higher floors seemed to encapsulate. Everything Zach's life wasn't.
"Still on duty, I'm afraid," Zach replied with a shrug, tapping his name badge. "Trust me, otherwise I'd be on something stronger," he added with a slight eye roll. He knew that this was the point he should walk away and return to his corner, but something in him wanted to stay. "You don't seem to be on much stronger yourself. Or else you just know how to hide it from Mommy and Daddy." The words were out of his mouth before he'd even really thought about them, but accompanied it with a playful wink. He needed to be careful and watch his tongue. He actually somewhat liked this job, and god knows they needed the money. Getting fired for riling up the Ainsley son wouldn't do him any good, that much he did know.
jasper ainsley
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
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"Still on duty, I'm afraid," He shrugged slightly, and Jasper nodded in agreeance. Like he even knew what it mean to be on duty, or work for that matter. "Trust me, otherwise I'd be on something stronger," Jasper's mouth twitched up in a small smile at the comment. He always enjoyed sarcastic humor, even though he was terrible at it. "You don't seem to be on much stronger yourself. Or else you just know how to hide it from Mommy and Daddy." Oh. The comment was blunt and even with the wink Jasper felt the small little jab underneath. For a moment Jasper stared dead eye at Zach processing- chewing on the statement. And then, he burst into laughter. His awkward, goofy chuckle that his parents hated. It was the first time anyone had ever had a jab at him like that, everyone he knew were always careful not to step on his toes. This was the first time and Jasper thought it was hilarious and partially true. "You'd be surprised with my tolerance. They definitely didn't build their son to be a quitter" He lifted his glass slightly in a toast to Zach winking, before taking another sip. "It's not like they'd notice anything I do anyway" He added under his breath, his tone a mix of annoyance and disappoint. However it only took him a small second to change his demeanor and a smile lit up his face again. It was a talent he had mastered ever since his was a child. Avoidance.
"So tell me-" He reached out slowly yet smoothly, instinctively grasping the man's name tag lightly in-between his fingers, running his thumb across the smooth surface. "Zach. What do you like to do for fun?" The question was random, mainly a distraction, but Jasper was also curious. He had never interacted with someone who worked at the parties before, other than Joshua but it was always idle chat and nothing ever serious. And while the question was silly, it was honest.
xxxi can feel it in my chest
xxxthis isnāt over yet
xxxlock the doors, shut the windows down,
xxxthis monsterās back in town.
xxx
As Jasper reached forward, there was a moment where Zach instinctively held his breath. But then the Ainsley just ran his thumb across Zach's name tag, and he released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. But then there was that question. It wasn't like he had that much free time. If he wasn't running around after Chris and Bella, he was working or sleeping. Eve if he wasn't actively hacking, he was reading, researching, learning. But that wasn't exactly something he could just tell a stranger, even a handsome one. Then he looked at Jasper again and couldn't quite produce the full lie he needed.
"I'm a techie through and through," he admitted with a shrug. "And I'm self taught. Every second I get, I'm reading up on something new, teaching myself to do something new, maybe even build something for someone. You never see me and my laptop more than fifteen feet away from each other." He grinned and took a sip of his water.
"And what about you, Mr. Ainsley? What does a man of such fame and fortune do with his time?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
jasper ainsley
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
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"And what about you, Mr. Ainsley? What does a man of such fame and fortune do with his time?" Jasper wasn't normally flustered when put on the spot, but there was something about Zach asking the question that had him stumbling. Especially how Zach worded the very question, fame and fortune. Was he really that famous in the tower? He normally didn't get out much but he assumed since his parents were rather influential his name would've been passed around. What did they say about him? Jasper shook the thought quickly out of his mind, that was a whole other day.
He could've answered the question in a thousand ways, tennis, traveling, parties, but none of it felt meaningful enough to him. While he enjoyed them all, it was typical. Routine for him, not really 'fun' when he thought about it. Zach probably would've been bored with what he did on a day to day basis. There was one thing he could think of, minuscule, and he never really told anyone about it. "Well, I uh- I garden". His cheeks turned a slight pink. It was such a silly hobby, and definitely didn't match his persona. He scratched the back of his neck slightly. "It's nothing as interesting as tech, but I like the feel. I had my parents build a terrace outside, I was getting so sick of the tacky floral scent my mother wafted through the house. Not to mention every plant in this damn place is fake. I guess, what I'm trying to say is- it's a nice distraction, from all of this" he gestured his hand out into the foyer of the party.
xxxi can feel it in my chest
xxxthis isnāt over yet
xxxlock the doors, shut the windows down,
xxxthis monsterās back in town.
xxx
There was something... wonderful about hearing Jasper talk about gardening. Zach didnāt have the time to garden, and they didnāt exactly have the space either. A long time ago, back when he was young, he could remember fresh flowers in the apartment, cut but they smelled so wonderful. They hadnāt had the money for them in a long time. He knew what Jasper meant. The flowers at every event were fake, despite the fact that they could more than afford the real ones. In some ways he was glad; less chances of water to spill on something important. But real flowers seemed to rare, so luxurious. They werenāt really appreciated.
āI know exactly what you mean. My mom used to have real flowers in the apartment every so often when I was younger. They were so much nicer than the fake ones. And oh my god, that fake floral smell,ā he said with an exaggerated eye roll, eager to change the subject. āI was working an event where they had the whole room doused in that stench, I was sneezing the whole time and smelled like false flowers for a week after. It was gross,ā he said with a laugh. It was true, that was the thing. His mother had claimed she liked the apartment smelling like flowers again, but heād also known that she was glad when it finally faded.
jasper ainsley
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
the prince ā¢ #BC5454 ā¢ gala
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"Well, I'd love to show you my garden sometime, the peonies are beautiful this time of year. It'd be such a waste to let them bloom only for me to see them". It was subtle, maybe too subtle but Jasper couldn't help himself. He craved human interaction, genuine human interaction for that matter. So getting the chance to speak more with someone who made him feel normal. He glanced to the bar to notice his glass was empty, except for a few ice cubes. I hope I'm not getting him in trouble, he thought for a moment glancing back at Zach. He was working the event after all, but Jasper didn't want their conversation to end.
xxxi can feel it in my chest
xxxthis isnāt over yet
xxxlock the doors, shut the windows down,
xxxthis monsterās back in town.
xxx
It was at that moment that a set of lights went out, and Jasper sighed. āIām afraid thatās my problem to deal with. Well, Mr Ainsley, it was wonderful talking to you. I canāt wait to see those flowers of yours,ā he said with a grin, before heading over to deal with the problem, stopping only to get his laptop on the way. It was a straightforward enough problem, one he didnāt even need his laptop for. A bulb had blown and somebody had wired them wrong, meaning that when one light went out, the subsequent four or five went out. A ridiculous problem, really, he didnāt think anybody actually still wired things like that, but at least it wasnāt complicated. And, best of all, it gave him an excuse to bow out of the party for a few minutes as he tried to find a replacement bulb.
As he left, he couldnāt stop himself from shooting a glance at Jasper. Heād only just realized Jasper had no way of contacting him. There was a part of him that liked that thought, that liked the idea of a game. But the part of him that also wanted it to not just be about flowers was kicking himself. It wasnāt a good idea anyway, he told himself as he stepped into the blissfully cool corridor. It wasnāt like that could ever work, not really. And at the end of the day, Jasper probably did just want somebody else to talk to about flowers. The role of a prince couldnāt be easy.
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