“I am so sorry, you guys!” Kelly instantly apologizes. “I really didn’t mean to!”
“I told you not to be carrying it around like that Kelly! Look what you did!” Anna exclaims.
Aiden looks ticked off by the way his jaw is set. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down.
I don’t trust him to reply to Kelly. “It’s fine.” I assure her. I’m not wearing anything nice. And I’m not wearing one of my favorite band shirts, so it isn’t that big of a deal for me.
Anna looks at Aiden and me, and she raises her eyebrows. “Well, this night is already interesting,” she says.
“What happened in here?” I hear Robert ask. He enters the kitchen from another room and glances at Aiden and me.
“Kelly, why don’t you lend Riley a shirt so she can get out of that one. And Aiden, you have a few shirts hanging in your closet still,” Anna tells us, instead of answering Robert’s question.
Aiden nods and looks at Kelly and me. Kelly makes her way to the stairs, and Aiden and I follow behind her.
“Oh yeah. This night won’t end badly at all,” Aiden says sarcastically next to me. “You shouldn’t be as anxious as you are.” He mocks me, repeating what I said earlier in the car. “Let’s just see how things start off.”
I frown at him and smack his arm. “I will walk out of this house if you keep mocking me like that,” I threaten.
He slips an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “Don’t leave.” He snuggles his face into my neck.
“I couldn’t, even if I tried,” I tell him. “You have the keys and my house is too far to walk.”
Kelly stops in front of a door down the hall. “I know you and I don’t have the same style, Riley, so I’ll let you rummage through my closet to find something comfortable for you.”
“Thanks, Kelly.” I smile at her. I pull myself away from Aiden and enter Kelly’s room while he opens another door in the same hallway.
I follow Kelly to her closet, and she opens the door. “Go ahead.” She gestures. I start going through the shirts and internally scowl at each of them. Kelly and I definitely don’t have the same style.
I end up finding a Beatles shirt that I actually really like. I slip it on and hold my other shirt in my hands. I exit Kelly’s room and go towards the room Aiden walked into. The door is slightly open, so I enter slowly.
***
Holy mother of Led Zeppelin.
I think it’s pretty obvious that I am not like most girls. But I am still a girl, so the sight in front of me almost has me drooling.
A shirtless Aiden stands in front of me as I enter the bedroom.
He smirks when he sees me staring at his half-naked body. “Like what you see Led Zeppelin Girl?”
My cheeks instantly heat up and I look away. “Uh, no. Or, I mean, yes but—” I stammer.
Aiden walks up to me, the smirk still on his lips. “You’re so adorable when you’re nervous.” He wraps his arms around me. “I’m just without a shirt.” He chuckles into my hair.
I relax into his arms and wrap my arms around him also, making sure the sauce on my shirt doesn’t get on him. “Don’t laugh at me.”
He continues to snicker. “Maybe I should go around shirtless more often.”
Someone clears their throat behind us and we both turn. Anna stands in the doorway with a small smile. “Dinner is ready, if you two aren’t busy.” I know she wants to smirk.
I pull away from Aiden and blush even more.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Aiden says to her.
Once she walks away, I put my face in my hands. This is going to be a long night.
Aiden and I walk into the dining room, where Ryan is setting out silverware. Anna walks in and sets a plate with garlic bread onto the table.
“If you want to, you can put those shirts in the laundry and I’ll make sure to wash them for you two,” she tells us.
“That’d be gr—”
“We're okay.” Aiden interrupts me.
I glance up at him and give him a confused look. But he doesn’t look down at me.
Something flashes in Anna’s eyes and she purses her lips. “Okay.” And with that, she escapes back into the kitchen.
I hit Aiden’s arm again.
“Ow.” He glimpses down at me. “What’s with the abuse tonight?”
“Why are you being a jerk to Anna? She just offered to clean our shirts,” I tell him.
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he crosses his arms.
I grab his shirt and take it from him. Before he can react, I walk into the kitchen and find Anna by the stove. I approach her and smile slightly. “It would be great if you could wash these for us,” I tell her.
She smiles at me. “Just set them on the washer and I’ll get to them soon.”
When I walk back into the dining room, Aiden glances at me and sighs. “Sorry.”
“For?”
“Being a jerk,” he mumbles. “I’ll try to behave tonight.”
I grin. “You better behave.”
He rolls his eyes and grabs my hand. “And if I don’t?”
“Please don’t start being that kind of couple,” Ryan says as he passes by us.
We both end up laughing slightly.
Chapter 35
“So, Riley, how’ve you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you since the wedding!” Anna exclaims.
I look at her from my seat. The truth is I did see her after the wedding. I saw her when my mom picked me up from the police station. I remember snapping at her. “I’ve been alright.” I nod. “Nothing has really changed.”
“Do you have any classes with Aiden?” Robert asks me.
I shake my head. “I don’t.”
“Riley has advanced classes,” Aiden tells him. “Which I’m obviously not taking.”
I notice Robert’s jaw tick, but he looks back at me. “I think it’s great that you’re taking advanced classes.”
I nod. “It kind of preps us for college courses.”
Kelly sighs. “I can’t wait for college.”
“You still have a couple more years.” Ryan rolls his eyes. I chuckle at his response.
“Do you have any classes with Ryan?” Anna asks me.
Once again, I shake my head. “I don’t.”
“Aren’t you in a couple advanced classes?” Robert asks Ryan.
Ryan nods. “Yeah, but Riley and I have the classes different periods.”
“You’re on your period Ryan?” Aiden asks. “I knew it.”
My hand flies up to my mouth to muffle my laughs. Kelly, on the other hand, bursts out laughing and holds her stomach.
“Aiden.” Robert warns.
Ryan smirks. “It’s nice to know you haven’t changed.” I glance at Ryan when he says this. Ryan told me himself that Aiden has changed ever since Aiden and I have been hanging out.
“Boys, behave,” Anna says.
As Anna tells Ryan something, I feel a hand on my knee. I glance at Aiden who’s eating normally. But he has a slight smirk on his face. His grip on my knee tightens. I place my hand on his hand and slip it underneath it so we would be holding hands.
A smile breaks out onto his lips.
“Well, I’m full,” Robert says, pushing his plate slightly away from him.
“Do you all want desert? I made brownies.” Anna smiles.
“One does not simply ask if we want brownies,” Kelly says to Anna. “Of course, we want them.”
Anna stands up and goes into the kitchen. Robert glances at Aiden then back at me. “So how long have you and Aiden known each other exactly?”
“Why does it matter?” Aiden asks him.
I look at Aiden and shake my head, trying to tell him to stop and just enjoy the night. I look over at Kelly and Ryan, and they’re having their own conversation.
“I’m just curious,” Robert replies.
“I’d say…a little over two and a half months,” I answer him.
Robert looks at Aiden. “I�
�m going to take a wild guess and say that you didn’t even know how long you’ve known Riley for.”
Aiden sits forward in his seat and lets go of my hand. “Why can’t you just accept the fact that things will never be normal around here? I don’t even understand why we were invited if all you’re going to do is interrogate us.”
“Is it a crime wanting to know about your son’s relationship?” Robert asks. “Quite frankly, it seems like you don’t even know anything about this girl.”
This dinner is taking a turn for the worst. And I’m caught off guard by Robert’s statement. I don’t really like being referred to as this girl.
Anna walks in and sets the brownies on the table. “The brownies came out delicious! Who wants one?”
“You don’t know anything,” Aiden says angrily to Robert, ignoring Anna. “You haven’t known anything since Mom died.”
Now that catches Robert off guard. Actually, I think it catches everyone off guard. I’ve never heard Aiden mention his mom around his dad.
“Aiden, I don’t want to hear another word—”
“About what? About Mom? Why? Is your new family just so perfect that you don’t even remember what you and Mom had?” Aiden explodes. He stands up as he yells at Robert.
Robert stands up too. “I do remember, Aiden! I remember every waking moment I spent with your mom! You don’t know how hard it is to lose someone you’d thought you’d spend the rest of your life with.” He starts to breathe heavily.
“You’re right. I don’t know,” Aiden tells him. “But I have found that someone and I know that I would never do anything that would make me forget about her. I love Riley, and I do know everything about her. Maybe not the stupid little basic stuff, but the stuff that matters and makes her the way she is. Go ahead and think what you want about us, I don’t care.” Aiden reaches down and grabs my hand. “Let’s go, Riley.”
I don’t even have time to respond. I get out of my seat and try to keep up with him as he storms off in the direction of the front door. He swings it open and pulls me along with him.
We make our way to the car and I yank my wrist away from him. He glances back at me. I see a single tear fall from the corner of his eye before he quickly wipes it away. “I want to get out of here, Riley.”
“You’re not driving like this,” I tell him. “And we’re not going anywhere until you explain to me why you just exploded back there.”
“Is it not obvious?” he asks. “I hate the fact that he just acts normal around them like they were his first family. And where do I fit in all of this? Nowhere.” He’s breathing deeply.
I sigh and stand in front of him. “You need to calm down, Aiden.” I try soothing him. He’s acting hysterical. And we aren’t going anywhere until he calms down.
He suddenly wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly. I wrap my arms around him too and do the same. “I always feel like shit when I’m around them. I feel like I’m supposed to be exiled or something.”
I pull back slightly and cup his face with my hands. “Hey, we’re outcasts together, remember?” I offer him a small smile.
Aiden studies my face for a few seconds. “I love you, Riley Summers.”
As soon as those words leave his mouth, my stomach fills with pterodactyls. I stand there in shock for a minute and I guess I made Aiden slightly nervous.
“Is that too soon?” Aiden asks me. “God, I’m an idiot. I should have just kept my mouth shut—”
I cover his mouth with my hand and smile at him. “Do you ever shut up?” I quote him from the first time we met. I feel him smile underneath my hand. “I love you too.” I remove my hand.
“You do? Even after the whole dinner fiasco?” he asks me.
“I do.” I nod.
He pulls me closer to him and smiles. “You are too perfect, Riley.”
“And you’re too kind.” I laugh. “I’m sorry I pushed you to be on good terms with your dad.”
Aiden sighs. “Things will never be the same with me and my dad. It’s not your fault.”
I let go of him and intertwine our fingers. “Let’s go then.”
“Where?” he asks.
I shrug. “Let’s do something spontaneous.”
He seems to think about this. “How about you let me sleep in your room this time?” I look at him skeptically. “We’re dating, remember? But I promise I’ll behave.”
After debating over this in my head, I nod. “Okay.”
We go straight to his house so he can get some clothes. We then go to my house and I explain to my mom that he will be sleeping over. Once I convince her that it would be fine, and agreeing to keep the blasted door open, she approves.
Tonight, Aiden and I talk about everything and anything. It’s nice to just talk. No drama, no interruptions, and no bickering. I like being around Aiden like this.
I may not have liked him when we first met, but I am glad that we continued to talk. I’m glad that I agreed to be in the wedding because I probably wouldn’t have known so much about Aiden. I don’t regret one thing because everything that happened led up to this moment. And this moment can’t be any more perfect.
Epilogue
The next few months go by in a blur. Kelly and I start hanging out more and she even gets me into watching Glee (shocking I know). Ryan recently started to hang out with a girl from his history class. He admitted to me that he really likes her and plans on really getting to know her. I found that really sweet. Lucas and I started to talk again and we’ve become pretty good friends. He has a girlfriend now and I think she is perfect for him.
Aiden and I are still together. I’m not going to lie though; I broke up with him last month. This whole thing started when I was partners with a guy from my chemistry class and Aiden complained that I was spending too much time with the guy. We got into a big argument and he went out and got drunk with Alex. He came to my house that night and admitted that he had kissed another girl out of anger. I got really hurt and I broke up with him. He begged me to take him back because he said he loved me and he’s a total mess without me. I finally gave in after two days and ever since then, everything’s been fine between us.
I took him to meet my dad about two weeks ago. Aiden was nervous the whole way up to my dad’s house. Once they actually met, my dad really liked him. Alyssa adored him and Amanda basically clung onto him once she got comfortable around him.
Currently, Aiden and I are sitting in the grass in my backyard. He’s lying next to me as I play with the grass in front of me.
“You’re thinking hard about something,” he says.
I shrug. “I’m just thinking.”
“About?”
“Graduation. College. Everything.” I sigh. “Just everything.”
He sits up and wraps an arm around me. “You know graduation is in two months.”
“I’m still nervous. Aren’t you?” I ask him.
“I’m not going to think about it until I really have to,” Aiden says. “For now, I just want to sit here and enjoy the afternoon with you.”
I smile. “You’re too great.”
“I know.” He grins. “And so are you. We are too great together.”
I laugh at him. I lay back in the grass and stare at the sky above. He follows my actions and lays next to me.
“I love you,” he says suddenly.
“I love you too.”
He leans over and kisses my cheek, making me smile.
Aiden never got on good terms with his dad. He doesn’t want to have any contact with them, other than Kelly and sometimes Ryan.
Aiden and I are so different, yet we’re so alike. I never would have imagined us together at the beginning of the year, but now it feels so usual with him.
If there’s such a thing as normal, I still wouldn’t know what it feels like. I know what feels right and that’s all that matters.
The End
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Prologue
“Hey, Aaron, you imbecile creature!”
Aaron Lanter stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he heard his name and the derogatory word that came after it. He did not like it. He’s Aaron Lanter, the most popular guy in school; every girl’s dream guy and every guy’s object of jealousy. He was the Aaron of Lediville High. Who on earth would call his attention by calling him an imbecile?
The culprit was none other than Samantha Banks, who stood proudly by the countertop with her rather worried friends in the kitchen.
“What did you just call me?” Aaron asked. The party was beginning to bore him. He and his friend, Zack, decided to leave the party when they passed by the kitchen.
“Imbecile,” Sam answered coolly. “Hey, spell imbecile, I-M-B-E-C-I-L-E.”
“You’re screwed, Sam, like down the sewer kind of screwed.” A girl who looked like a gothic doll said.
Sam frowned at her. “That doesn’t even make any sense, does it? Oh, I feel warm fuzzies.”
Chloe was nodding her head between Sam and a gothic girl to the rap music blasting loudly. “This is an amazing party.”
She has never been drunk in her entire existence. But in that gusty, Friday night, she let her best friend, Chloe, influence her decision on how she should spend her evening. If it were up to her, she would be curled up in bed and watched classic TV show reruns. In fact, it was what she had planned, but when Diana, one of Ledivilles cheerleaders, announced a house party before the first period even started Monday morning, everything changed.
For days, Chloe wouldn’t let the topic rest; she begged Sam to go with her, promised her they would leave the party before midnight. And on Thursday, Sam finally gave in and agreed to go with her. Chloe victoriously manipulated Sam to join in on the fun with half of the population of Lediville High.
After a few arguments about the smell of alcohol in the entire house, Sam finally agreed to stay for four hours. It was the first party of the school year, and everyone was partying like it was their last. The place was already swamped, but surprisingly, the kitchen wasn’t so they decided to hang out in there with two other girls from one of their morning classes.
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