If Only

•01•

Maybe, if the universe was taking a liking to her, Aiden would be the type of a guy to eat that kind of thing up. She could make a fool out of herself in front of him a thousand times over and he would find it adorable. Oh, who was she kidding? Just the thought of how idiotic she probably looked made her cringe.

Her mind wandered off until a sudden succession of noise cut the silence like a knife. It was Taylor, her best friend and typically the only person besides Kyle who actually spoke to her.

"Hey," she said turning the speaker on.
"You sound excited to hear from me," Taylor's uniquely quirky voice spoke through the phone. Amelia had always told her she should voice a cartoon character one day.
"I am. Where are you?" There was a catch of being the one and only friend of a mathematical genius. You were her only friend because she didn't have time to tend to the needs of anyone else. Taylor was almost always occupied and her hectic schedule kept her busy for the better half of their friendship. To make matters worse, she was extremely pretty. Seriously, the girl was gorgeous for Petes sake.

Amelia first met Taylor waiting outside Kyle's car on a late Thursday afternoon. The sky was beginning to turn the world a gloomy shade of grey when their eyes crossed paths. She had a petite figure, borderline pencil-thin. Her slim waist line and pale skin didn't strike her as much as her chiseled features. She had a jaw-line carved to perfection and full, pink lips to compliment her oval face structure. Her eyebrows arched only slightly. Creating space for her lengthy black eyelashes to curl upwards. She had eyes like the ocean after a storm. Wild and full of passion. When she smiled, her pearly-white teeth seemed to bring the light back into the world. If she moved an inch, her luminous milk chocolate hair bounced with ease. Taylor looked like a movie star. The kind of girl that you pointed out in a magazine and wanted to look like. To make matters even more complicated, she was oblivious to almost all of it. It was surprising that someone as stunning as her could look in the mirror and still feel disappointed in what she saw. But Taylor was still human and despite not knowing how beautiful she truly was, her unforgettable delicacy still lingered in a room long after she left.

I'm just leaving the lab. I had to finish an assignment due next week."

Go figure. "Why do I even bother?" A burst of deep, loud hearty laugher escaped from the hollows of Taylor's stomach as if she'd been holding it in.

On the other end of the line, Taylor was walking past the gymnasium when she spotted Amelia's other brother. He was leaning against one of the door frames tongue deep in Evelyn Holloway's esophagus. That girl slept with any guy willing to bat his eyelashes at her. So, it hadn't completely taken her aback when she saw those two together.

"It's your brother. He's with Evelyn. Jesus, I swear his taste in women literally decreases with every new girl he finds." Taylor's skin crawled and she picked up the pace. Watching Kyle unknowingly embarrass with himself with girls may have been funny but it was far from the highlight of her day.

Amelia chuckled into her ear. "He's only like that because you turned him down all those years ago."

She scoffed at the idea of doing anything but. All the money in the world couldn't force her affections upon a guy like Kyle. Way deep down, she was sure he had a good heart but it meant absolutely nothing if his body was on display for every girl to see.

Naturally, Taylor picked up on any errors one could find in a situation and Kyle Jackson Hughes had lots of him. He came across as narrow minded and often rude. The man had a superiority complex and way to arrogant for someone getting by because of his athleticism, month and good looks. Take away all that you might actually find someone willing to work for everything they got out of life.

"I turned Kyle down because he thinks he is entitled to everything and everyone." She confirmed.

"Oh, so you do like my brother. You just don't like the fact that everyone else does too." Taylor grimaced at Amelia's words. If she could see the devious smirk her best friend was wearing she'd likely puke.

"Stop it. I know what you're trying to do," she said turning down a different hallway. Nearly bumping into another couple displaying physical affection for one another.

"I mean, why can't Kyle be more like Aiden? He's unarguably the sexiest man this backwoods town has ever seen but he's still humble. Not once have I heard of him sleeping around with females and he's only had one girlfriend most of his life. Oh my God! Do you think he's in the closet?"

Taylor clutched her phone tighter than necessary and dramatically covered her heart with her hand. Meanwhile, the thought of Aiden actually being gay almost made poor Amelia have a real heart attach. It wasn't because she didn't like that type of lifestyle because she totally supported it. She just didn't want Aiden to be apart of it, understandably so.

"Well, let's hope not." Amelia said shaking her head in refusal. Just then, the phone call came to an abrupt end. The back double doors flew open and Taylor came walking her way.

"I could die," Taylor begins with a humorous tone, "My brain feels fried. I've definitely seen and done enough for day."

"You're so dramatic," Amelia cried out turning her phone off. She shoved it deep into the back pocket of her pants and moved away from the car.

"Yeah, yeah. You love it," she winked at Amelia waving her car keys around.

"I'm definitely in the mood for some cupcakes. I hope you don't mind my stopping by Kelly's on the way home."

"Do I ever?" She said eyeing Taylor's dirty white Honda Civic. It was quite literally on the other side of the parking lot. Her legs just might give out before they got there. Amelia paused and turned to Taylor with a saddened expression.

"Why do you always park so far away?" She whined. "It's like you're trying to give me heart burn."

"You'll be fine," she told her. Besides, we need the exercise if we want to stuff our face with cupcakes three times a week and still maintain healthy figures."

Amelia laughed. "Hate to break it to you Summers but you're the only one with a nice figure. And you could eat a thousand cupcakes and still not gain any weight."

Taylor narrowed her blue eyes at Amelia in disbelief . "Are you kidding me? You're gorgeous, Amelia! I can't tell you how many times I've caught guys drooling over you. You just don't notice because you're too busy undressing Aiden with your eyes."

Amelia gasped. "I am not!" She lied.  She frowned not amused by Taylor's crack at her obvious crush on Aiden. Amelia wondered when it might be a good time to tell her about the conversation they had earlier. She looked around, there were still people around them. Preferably, she'd confess when there weren't any witnesses around to hear her scream.

Slowly but surely, the two made their merry way to her car. Once they settled inside they already began to sync their terrible voices to the upbeat voice sounds from Taylor Swift.

When the music stopped Amelia distracted herself with a game on her phone to avoid thinking about Aiden. To no avail, of course. She glanced up, and studied the world outside of the comfort of the vehicle. The car was cruising down the road turning right on Bakers Street. How ironic was it that Kelly's Cupcakes and Ice cream resided down this same road?

Amelia's eyes wandered over to Taylor. She was sitting in the drivers seat with her hands gripping the steering wheel for dear life. She knew how hard her friend focused when it came to driving even more so than anything else she did. Amelia assumed for the simple fact that there were lives other than her own involved.

Taylor sneered at a few pedestrians before turning in to the shop. Just behind that door were thick, delightful buttery fumes that rivaled some of the strongest scents out there. And you knew without a shadow of a doubt, you've arrived at your destination.