Designed for Submission

Chapter 9

"Aiden!" I call out when I seem him down the hallway.

"Hey, there!" He replies happily. I run to him and give him a big hug. He chuckles and hugs me back before pulling away and saying, "I take that as a good sign."

Nodding my head enthusiastically, I pull him by his hand to drag him to my locker. He doesn't fight it and lets me act like a toddler. I put all my books back into the locker then close the door and look at Aiden. He's leaning against he locker next to mine.

"Lunch time!" I say before giggling.

"You're so cute when you giggle," Aiden says. I blush and put my head down before grabbing his arm again and dragging him out the front doors of the building. He gets his hand free and picks me up by the waist. He twirls me around until my head is spinning and my giggling turns into outright laughs.

"How adorable," comes a voice filled with acid. Aiden puts me down and we look to see Jay standing there looking like his usual arrogant self. I open my mouth to say something but he stops my by putting his hand up. I close my mouth in confusion and glance at Aiden who's jaw is clenched tightly.

"What do you want?" Aiden says surprisingly menacingly.

Jay grins evily before saying something unbelieveable, "I want you to get your filthy hands off her."

"What?" an enraged Aiden yells at the boy in front of us.

"You heard me. You have dirt on your hands and you need to stay away from Elena."

"E-excuse me," I try to say in a small voice. "What are you talking about, Jay?"

"I knew you wouldn't tell her. Do you want me to do that for you?" Jay taunts Aiden.

Aiden shakes his head and replies with a blunt, "No."

Jay shrugs and just walks away leaving a very confused me with a very agitated Aiden. Before I can say a word Aiden picks me up, puts me in the car and drives away. I have absolutely no idea what is going on until we suddenly stop. I look out the window and realize we are at the park. Aiden quickly gets out of the car and opens my door for me. We walk to our usual spot and sit under an apple tree.

"Aiden what's - " I'm cut off by a burst of frustration from Aiden as he sighs heavily, stands up and paces in front of me.

"I didn't want you to find out...It was a mistake...I shouldn't have done it...Shit. Shit. Shit," Aiden rambles on, talking to himself.

"You're not making any sense. What's going on?" I haven't had to ask that since the time he told me about his alcohol problem. We got throught that easily, but this seems like a bigger deal. He finally calms down and sits beside me again. He takes my hands in his and looks in my eyes searching for something. I guess he didn't find whatever it was because he looks away.

"Elena, my sweet Elena Caramela," he starts. Now, I'm really nervous. He rarely ever uses my full name, and the tone in his voice sounds so desperate. I move my hand to lift his chin so our eyes connect and I smile at him hoping it's enough to encourage him to continue.

It works and he starts talking at an inhumanly fast pace, "The night I went to my final AA session. You know, the one I told you about. I made breakfast for you and I the morning afterwards because I wanted to apologize to you and to celebrate. Anyways, you already know that because you were there. God! Why can't I just talk normally? Anyways, yeah, that night I didn't go home right away. Instead, I came here to the park, but I didn't come to our special spot. You know, where we're sitting right now. Agh! Just get it out already, Aiden!"

I giggle slightly at his discomfort, but regret it immediately when his eyes shoot to mine with a look of dispair. I give his hands a slight squeeze, prompting him to keep talking. So far, I haven't said anything because I don't want to say anything I'll regret and I'm not sure what's going on, so I don't even know what I'd say.

Aiden takes a deep breath and begins again, but slower this time, "So I was walking by the lake and I ran into someone. It was a friend from my old school. Her name is Ashley."

As soon as he mentions this other girl I know what's coming. My heart drops and I have to look away. He notices and puts his hand under my chin to try and turn my head to look at him, but I turn my head to look away again. After a long time of silence I finally have the courage to stare into his eyes. He looks so hurt.

"Keep going," I say in a shaky voice. I don't know why I said that because I don't want to hear the rest of it.

"She invited me to her house and you can guess what happened," he says.

I don't know why this affects me so much. I was the one that wanted to keep our relationship strictly as just being friends. If he wants a girlfriend, I shouldn't be hurt by it and he shouldn't feel bad. Then a thought occurs to me.

"Why did Jay say you were filthy?"

If it's possible, Aiden looks even more distressed than before. "I-I've seen her a couple of times since."

I gasp in shock and finally move away from him to stand up. It's my turn to pace and I shake my head back and forth. He looks up at me and tries to explain, "Ashley is a conniving, manipulative mastermind. She's like my kyrptonite. I'm sorry, Elena. I never meant to disgust you like this. I never ever want to hurt you. Please, just calm down."

"No, I wont calm down! I can't believe you'd do this to me." He was right, I was disgusted, but I feel it has something to do with me and who I am. I'm clingy and insecure, and I can't give him everything he wants. He deserves better than me, and it's not fair of me to hold him back.

"Aiden," I finally say, calming down slightly. "Please take me home."

We ride to my house in silence.