ViaHearing Aiden beg was honestly really weird and strange, but it did mean that this situation was very much serious."Fine, but you need to explain everything to me as soon as I'm finished," I demanded, instantly checking the bag for the supplies I needed to clean his wounds.After I completed cleaning up all the blood as much as possible and disinfecting his cuts, I put bandages where needed. I handed him the spare shirt from the backpack, and he smiled at me."Don't smile at me, Aiden. You look like a train ran over you. You need to explain what the hell happened!" I exclaimed. He sighed as he took off his shirt and put on the new one."I got in a fight—" I cut him off."Yeah, no shit," I grumbled, leaning back against the car seat."Hey, mom, let me finish, will you?" he said sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes. "I got in a fight with three guys who were talking shit about this one girl that I promised myself I'd protect. I also promised someone I'd protect her. So I did, with t
ViaI sent the message to Kol, then messaged Maximilian.Me: Hey baby, I don't know if you've gotten the food already with my dad, but a friend of mine is coming over to my dad's house. Just wanted to give you a heads up, sorry in advance for the last-minute heads up.I immediately got a text back.Maximilian: We're barely ordering the food, I'll add another order. Don't apologize, I'll see you in a bit.I smiled down at my phone and then opened up Aiden's message.Me: I'm out of practice, I'll see you in three."You always seem to be texting a lot of people." A sudden voice made me jump."Jesus." I shut my locker and reflexively put my phone in my back pocket. "Omg, it's you, Steph," I said as I grabbed my backpack and looked at her."Yeah—" She drifted off. "Who were you texting? You smiled at your phone a lot," she asked with a weird look on her face that I couldn't quite figure out.I shook my head. "A friend who's driving me home, nobody special," I stated as I nudged my thumb to
ViaAfter we arrived at my dad's house, I pointed at the driveway. "You can park there. My dad's car will be the only one in this driveway for a while," I stated, and Aiden nodded without saying a word."I need to clean your wound before you go in there. My dad will ask questions, and you don't seem to be in the mood to answer any," I said as I grabbed the backpack I used earlier for cleaning his wounds.Aiden didn't say a word and instead turned on the light of his car.After I finished, I reached for the door, but he pulled me back. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you. Thank you for doing me a solid," he stated, and I nodded."Don't thank me yet. My dad hasn't said yes," I said as I reached for the door again and got out....After almost everyone had finished dinner, I quickly broached the subject of letting Aiden stay in one of my brother's old rooms.My dad stayed quiet, and Maximilian was quick to tell Aiden he could stay over at Alexander's house, which made Alexander look at him
Via"Green or Blue?" Suddenly, Aiden walks into my room and asks."Of course, knock may I?" His response is to roll his eyes when I throw a pillow at him."I have a man and I'm more than happy with him." As he jumps on my just-made bed, he says. "So, Green or Blue?" That question comes up again."You just messed up my bed, Aiden." I tell him something, and he looks at me like I'm speaking a different language. The word "blue" means "defeated," and I knew I wasn't going to win.He provides a smile. "Great, thank you V," he says as he lies down on my bed completely."Is that all?" I ask as I look at him blankly. "Can you, like, get out?" I say, and he laughs in response."You know," he lies down on my bed and closes his eyes. "I've realized that you are a moody brat in the mornings." I hit him with another pillow, this time aiming it at his face. He laughs."2 days left and I'll be free of you." In response, Aiden just laughs."Thank you, honey." Daily countdown, I love you," I groan as
Via"Willy mentions that Bernard has a wife and a son in the incident I described. Happy to correct Willy, Bernard tells him that he really has two boys. In a state of desperation, Willy asks Bernard what exactly set him apart from his own son, Biff. Willy also inquires as to what was the secret that Bernard knew but Biff was unable to uncover. While he speaks, Willy tries to seem more and more in need of solutions. Then, in response to Willy's query, Bernard queries why Biff chose not to repeat his math course during the summer. At that point, Willy becomes irate," I say, stopping to scan my surroundings. "That's the last part I read," I say, turning back to the stand-in. "Everyone is staring at me."The stand-in gives me a quick glance before nodding. "You did a good job, Ms. Hawthorne. I'll see to it that a 10/10 is added to your name in the email I submit to Mr. Beaumont on your participation marks for today," she says just before the bell rings."Have a great day, class, see you
Via"Are you staying today for practice?" Steph asks me as I close my locker."I'm actually not sure I—" I cut myself off.I was unable to reveal to her that I intended to accompany Nathaniel and Lance on their trip. It was impossible for me to reveal that information to anyone other than my immediate family."I have family things going on and I may have to skip today," I say, then put on my backpack."Oh, alright, I'll fill in for you then," she states as her phone dings a few times. "Aye, I have a question." She checks her phone briefly, then looks back at me. "Is it true that you and Justin broke up?"Wow, Justin really can't keep his mouth shut about anything in this world. Can he?"Yeah, it's true," I state and look down at her phone with my eyes only for a split second, then back at her. "Why?""Oh, no reason in particular. I just didn't think you both would break up. You were such a cute couple," she says, and I feel a bit uncomfortable with this conversation."Yeah, I guess we
Via"Oh, and she and Kyle broke up this past weekend," he says out of nowhere, which makes me do a double take."Wait, what?" I ask, sending a message to Nathaniel that I'm almost at his house.Kol quickly nods. "Yeah, everyone's talking about it. Apparently, Steph was cheating on Kyle," he explains. "Steph flat-out broke up with him and said that her mystery new guy fucked her better than him, and Kyle went haywire." Kol says as he pulls into Nathaniel's house. "Then someone recorded Justin, Kyle, and Lucas at Melt and Pops. They all apparently looked like complete shit, but I haven't seen the videos.""Are you serious?" I ask as the gate to Nathaniel's house begins to slide open."Yeah." He pauses for a second. "Both the football team and cheer team have been talking about it all day. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it." He drives down Nathaniel's driveway. "Everyone's talking about the fact that two of our school's cutest couples broke up around the same time and that the thi
Via"I know it's kind of late, but I thought you'd like to see the beautiful sky with me," I say, setting Lance down on the grass for a moment as I lay out the blanket."Pretty, right?" I ask, sitting him down next to me and handing him his animal-shaped keys and his dino teething toy.He studies the toys for a second, then begins playing and biting with them.After about half an hour, I got the idea to make Lance try to walk.I softly take away his toys and place them on the grass as I help him stand up. He begins to get fussy, but I quickly take his hands and begin to hum."Come on, buddy, you should try walking. You turn two in a few months," I say, kissing his nose."He turns two in five months," a voice says behind me.I jumped, completely startled. "Oh my," I quickly pull Lance towards me and turn to the voice.Nathaniel stands there with a concerned look on his face. "I'm sorry for startling you." He looks from me to Lance. "I missed you both," he says and joins us by sitting n