Because Of You ✔️

Chapter Twenty: Truth Hurts

"Sup, Torres?" He asks with a smile as he drops his bag near my foot and swiftly slides into his seat.

Um, okay. So far so good.

I give him a nervous smile, "H-hey, Aiden!" I stutter out a bit louder than I initially intended. Okay, that wasn't as smooth.

He gives me a small chuckle and reaches into his bag to grab his laptop. Silence comes over us and I wonder if he is gonna bring up Saturday night.

I take a deep breath and decide to take the bull by its horns and bring it up anyway, "So, about Saturday night..." I start out, getting more nervous.

He twists his head my way and gives me a confused look, "What about it?"

Um... okay?

He is acting as if nothing ever happened. Like I didn't throw myself at him and practically beg him to touch me over and over again.

I'm starting to feel stupid at this point.

But I'm dumb enough to keep going.

I chuckle nervously, "Um... you know... umm, when I was kinda on top of you and... touching you," I stutter out like an idiot. Okay, this is not how I practiced it at all.

He lets out a low chuckle, not looking at me anymore, "Torres, forget about it. Nothing happened."

Then he just starts typing his notes.

My face falls. I went over different scenarios in my head on how this conversation would go and this was not one of them. I at least thought he would tease me about it, trying to make me uncomfortable on purpose, even though deep down I would like it.

Or maybe he would just be angry and ignore me because I broke the number one rule I had set for our friendship. I at least expected a conversation to be had.

"Oh, y-yeah. Nothing happened. Everything is completely... the same," I choke out before turning in my seat to face the front of the class suddenly feeling like a bigger idiot than ever before.

I should take this as a blessing. He didn't use my moment, okay momentsss, of weakness against me and he wasn't mad at me. I just got myself out of an extremely awkward conversation.

So why am I not freaking celebrating?

❀❀❀

"We need to get some of this down today, Luke. Mrs. Casey wants a rough draft by Friday's class," I say to a distracted Luke.

He's way more interested in watching The Vampire Diaries reruns than focusing on the assignment that we have barely done.

Like many professors, Mrs. Casey only once verbally let us know that the rough draft for our short stories is due during Friday's class.

Read the syllabus, kids.

"We are practically done, Mariana."

I look back to my laptop that has the main copy of our story.

"We haven't even started, Luke," I growl angrily at him before throwing a couch cushion at his face.

He groans as it hits his face, "Damn, okay. God, keep that up and I'm gonna end up like Summer," he laughs quietly at his joke angering me even more.

I throw another couch cushion at his face.

He holds his arms up in surrender, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry let's start!"

I sigh deeply and revert my eyes to my laptop, "Good. Let's start with an article that's been released from the first school about the other?"

And that is how Luke and I spend the next couple of hours.