My gaze catches on the telescope again and I gesture vaguely. “And...what about this? Are you into space, too?”

He shrugs a shoulder, sitting down on his bed. “Somewhat.”

“What do you mean, ‘somewhat’?” Then I realize something far more important. “Oh my God, you like space and your name is Ace. Space. Ace. This is incredible.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before from Mia,” Ace says, rolling his eyes. “Rest assured, if there’s a space pun with my name involved, I’ve been a victim of it.”

“Can you blame her?” I ask, reaching up to touch one of the low hanging planets. I’m still in awe of how beautiful it is. My moonlight metaphor grows more powerful by the minute. “All of this is so cool. Are you actually into astronomy or do you just like the aesthetic?”

He raises an eyebrow. “You think I have a telescope for the aesthetic?”

“You’re rich,” I say. “I definitely think it’s within the realm of possibility that you would buy a telescope for the aesthetic.”

Ace contemplates that and concedes to my statement with a shrug. “Fair enough. It’s not, though. I genuinely enjoy astronomy.”

I pause where I’m examining a scattering of stars on his wall and look back at him curiously. “Okay, no offense, but...are you actually smart? Have you been holding out on me? Everyone talks about you like you’re failing all your classes.”

Ace startles into a laugh. “Are you asking if I’m stupid, Ahmed?”

My cheeks warm. “I—that’s not...sorry?”

He keeps laughing, his eyes crinkling. “Jesus Christ. You’re bold.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you,” I say, flustered. I’m starting to think I might be the stupid one. Who even asks something like that? I’ve lost my mind.

“You didn’t,” Ace says, his laughter settling into a wide grin. “I’m not stupid, contrary to popular belief. I have As in most of my classes. I just don’t care about most of them.”

I squint. “How can you not care about your classes?”

“They’re just not interesting.” He gestures to the room around us. “But space is cool.”

I don’t say it, but I can’t help but think that’s such a privileged way to approach academics. I can’t imagine doing the same. Despite hating math and science, I still put in a lot of effort to retain the GPA my parents expect to see.

“You’re lucky you don’t have to care,” I say quietly before gesturing to his desk. “Should we start studying?”

Ace’s expression falls. “Did I say—”

Before he can finish his sentence, the door opens, and Xander Clyde sticks his head inside.

I bite my tongue in surprise. I should have expected to see him again sooner rather than later, but I also thought Ace’s room would afford us privacy. Apparently not.