Broken and Fixed

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Celeste and I arrived at Aiden's house. Red plastic cups littered the lawn, and you could hear the music from where we were.

"Um." I bit my lip. "I don't know if this is the best idea..."

"Aw, c'mon, April," Celeste said, making a pouty face at me.

"I've never been to a party before."

"Well, now's a great time to start!"

With that, Celeste got out of the car. I sighed before following her. I knew she would get drunk, leaving me as her ride home. I couldn't just leave her.

I winced a little as we entered the house, making the music even louder. It pounded against my eardrums as I followed Celeste, who was making her way over to a group of people she obviously knew, and who I obviously didn't.

She started talking with them as I stood there awkwardly, which is what I tended to do when she saw someone she knew.

"Who's that?" one of her friends asked, glancing at me.

"Oh, that's April," Celeste said. "April, this is Cam, Ben, and Nicole."

"Hi," I said, and then they went back to talking.

I don't even know how Celeste managed to get me here. I wasn't thinking straight, I suppose; I was too busy getting over Harry, and now that I'm over him, I see this was a stupid idea.

Celeste and her friends went over to a table with cups filled with alcohol. Each grabbed one and took a sip.

"Don't drink too much!" I called. They all ignored me, save for Nicole who just gave me a weird look.

I decided to sit down, since I was tired of standing. I looked around the house, watching people "dancing" on the dance floor. I made a face, looking away.

A few guys tried to hit on me, but I pointedly turned them down. I had no idea who they were, and that was always a bad idea.

My phone started ringing, so I pulled it out of my purse and glanced at the caller.

Harry.

I scowled, sending him to voicemail before putting it back in my purse. He continued calling, though, and finally, I picked up, annoyed.

"What do you want?" I said loudly over the music.

"I want to explain to you what happened," he said.

"No thanks."

"April, please!" He sounded desperate. "Just listen to me!"

"I'd rather not," I said coldly. Yeah, I was being a little harsh, I realize that, but I can't help it. I already gave him a chance.

"Who's on the phone, Amy?"

I turned around and found Celeste, clutching a plastic cup and staring, unfocused, at me.

"I'm April," I said slowly, "and it's no one. Don't worry, C."

"Okay." Celeste nodded and then walked away.

"April-" Harry started.

"Don't start, Harry," I interrupted. "I don't want to hear it. Bye." I hung up, shoving my phone in my purse.

Why is he so persistent? He knows we're done, so why does he keep calling?

"Hi, April."

I jumped, not realizing someone had sat down beside me. I glanced over and found myself looking at Aiden, the host of the party.

"Oh, hey, Aiden!"

Aiden and I had gone to high school and university together, and we were kind of close. He had brown hair and brown eyes, with freckles across his nose. He was cute, and I had developed a tiny crush on him during those couple of years.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Aiden asked.

I made a face, then quickly stopped, feeling embarrassed. "It's, uh, nice."

He laughed. "It's okay, I know you're not much of a party person."

I laughed as well. "Phew, I'm not tricking anyone."

"So why are you here? Celeste?"

I nodded.

"How'd she manage to drag you here?"

"Boy trouble."

Aiden nodded. "Oh yeah. Who was it?"

"Um... I don't feel like talking about it. Sorry," I said quickly. Everyone was making a big deal that I was hanging out with Harry Styles, and I assumed Aiden would too, since I admitted I was having "boy troubles" with him.

"It's okay, I understand how you feel," he admitted. "I just ended it with a girl, actually. She was cheating on me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would she do that?! You're a great guy, anyone's lucky to be with you."

Aiden was popular, but he was nice, unlike most guys. He had only had one girlfriend before, whereas most popular guys dated practically everyone at school.

"Thanks." Aiden smiled a bit. "What's going on with your boy troubles? Breakup? Cheating?"

"We weren't dating," I said.

"Do you like him?"

"I did."

"Does he like you?"

"I thought he did. He led me on, and then didn't show up for our date, or whatever it was considered." I sighed. "Whatever. I'm over it."

Aiden nodded, and we sat there in silence for a little bit. It was comfortable silence, not awkward.

"Would you wanna, you know, go out sometime?" Aiden asked suddenly.

I stared at him in disbelief.

"It's okay if you don't," he added hurriedly, spotting the look on my face. "If you're still getting over that guy or you don't even like me."

"No, it's not that," I said. "Yeah, of course I will."

He beamed. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Blushing, I added, "I kind of had a little crush on you in high school."

"Only a little one?" Aiden joked. "I had a big one on you."

"Really? I didn't realize guys were actually attracted to me."

He laughed. "Don't say that. You're beautiful."

I blushed. "Thanks."

Aiden and I talked until the party was over. He gave me a little hug before walking off. I smiled as I walked to Celeste's car, climbing in the driver's seat, waiting for Celeste. This had turned out to be a pretty good night.

Celeste emerged from the house, walking clumsily to the car. She climbed in, and I backed up and drove down the street.

Things were finally going my way.