Blindsided

32

Simon's POV

Three years ago

Dad and I were sitting in our favorite booth at Joe's, fighting over whether or not the Flames were going to playoffs this year. Dad was positive that the Penguins were going to take home the cup, but I had to dig my feet in. Pittsburgh was my worst enemy. More because Paige loved them, and I wanted to piss her off, but it was practically in my blood to hate them. My mom raised me on the principle that they were the worst team in the league, and I wasn't going to start questioning her anytime soon. She knew best.

I was almost certain that Dad loved them for the same reason that I hated them; making Paige mad was one of my favorite pastimes. Dad always loved to start a fight with Mom over something stupid like their favorite team. Even now, he refused to give up on them, even if Mom wasn't here to tell him wrong.

"Isn't that a boy from your class?" Dad asked, a little too loudly. Before I could even turn to see who it was, Aiden started walking over with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Aiden Grey was the cockiest kid I had ever met. More than once, he had tried to worm his way into our friend group. Probably more to get close to Paige; I don't think a day goes by that he doesn't ask us to tell her to talk to him. None of us had ever appreciated the way he talked about Paige, so we kept him at arm's length. That didn't stop him from bragging about the A team he just made in Redcrest.

"Hey Lukas! I'm just on my way home from a game—oh my apologies sir. I haven't introduced myself," Aiden apologized, stretching his hand towards my dad. Dad's eyebrows shot up into his hairline and he shook his hand, mumbling some sort of hello. "I'm one of Simon's friends from school."

I rolled my eyes when he referred to himself as my friend, but kept my thoughts to myself. I didn't want to embarrass my dad, and Aiden was sure to grab at any reason to make me look bad in front of him.

"Do you have any classes together? Are you the one doing the guitar performance with Simon next weekend?" my dad asked politely, sipping on his coffee. We were just having an actual conversation about hockey, and now he has to bring up music? Perfect.

Before Aiden could get a word in, I blurted, "I'm quitting. I already told my teacher I can't do the performance." Not wanting to get into this now, here, I looked to Aiden and then to the rest of the diner.

"My dad dropped me off. He said he had a couple of things to do while I got something to eat," he mumbled, seeing that I wanted to see who he was here with. His shoulders fell and I felt bad for changing the subject to something that clearly made him uncomfortable. It lasted about five seconds before his eyes sparkled again with a mischief that I recognized a little too well.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your guys' supper. I'll leave you guys be, and I will see you at school on Monday," Aiden smirked, sliding out of the booth slowly. He was waiting for one of us to object, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

Thankfully, Dad was there to be the mature one. "We were actually just finishing up. Why don't you eat with Simon while you wait for your dad, and I can come back later to pick you up."

He was always nice to everyone, which wasn't usually a problem. Until it interfered with my need to avoid Aiden Grey at all costs.

"That actually sounds awesome. Thanks Mr Lukas," he grinned, sliding into the other side of the booth when my Dad stood up. He slid a few bucks across the table to me, in case I ordered anything else, and then he was gone. A great day, turning into anything but.

"You got something on your mind?" Aiden mumbled through a mouthful of food. I glared at him, but he didn't catch me from behind the napkin he was wiping his face with.