0006. THE BUS RIDE
A COUPLE OF days later, Kaia was stood beside Ashlyn as the two had just been dropped off by Ashlyn's mom on her way to work as it was the day of the field trip to Savannah, Georgia. Their peaceful silence was quickly interrupted as Aiden and Ben got dropped off only minutes later and the male duo was quick to join the female duo.
"Kaia!" Aiden grinned as he quickly bounced over to the dark haired girl's side, smiling down at her. "You're still sitting with me like we agreed, right?"
Kaia blinked as she turned to look up at him with a frown, "I never agreed to that."
His grin turned a bit sly, "yeah you did, don't you remember? You told me you'd sit beside me on the bus if I stopped talking during our time together at lunch."
Kaia seemed confused for a moment before her face dropped in realization. He was right, she had agreed, he got her during a moment of weakness. She had been trying to study for a quiz that was coming up in her math class and he just wouldn't stop telling her about some stupid bug he had seen crawling up his window the night before and she told him that if he shut up for the rest of that lunch period, she'd sit with him on the bus to Savannah...
How could she have given up a eight hours worth of solitude with Ashlyn just for twenty minutes of quiet to study for a stupid quiz that she was most likely going to pass anyways?
He grinned at the look of realization crossing her features as Ashlyn glanced between the two, slightly confused. She usually didn't care much about others, but something about the way that while it seemed like Kaia dreaded sitting beside the blond, if she truly didn't want to, Kaia would have found a way out. Same thing to her lunch periods that she seems to be spending with Aiden every day now since he's come to school, if she truly didn't want to sit with him or be near him, Kaia could have found somewhere else to go, she was good at not being found if she didn't want to be. So this left Ashlyn a little confused on just what motivations Kaia had for not doing so.
Could it be Kaia actually didn't mind Aiden as much as she acted like she did? That'd be an interesting development that even Ashlyn wouldn't see coming.
Aiden's attention switched from Kaia, who had gone silent and put her attention onto her phone in order to ignore the embarrassing fact of her mistake, to Ashlyn. "I'm glad you decided to come, by the way!" Aiden smiled at the girl from his place to the right of Kaia while Ashlyn was on Kaia's left side. "You made it seem like you weren't gonna go." Aiden laughed thinking back on all the times Ashlyn had ignored Aiden's questionings of if she was going to attend the field trip.
"Hey, get your own!" Tyler's voice suddenly rang out causing Kaia to glance up from her phone as she spotted Taylor seemingly begging for something from her twin brother.
"But I left mine at home, please Ty!" Taylor begging him, her hands clasped together as she got closer to him, trying to work her puppy dog eyes into the equation.
"No!" Tyler told her, not giving into her demands.
Kaia hummed, wondering briefly what that was about before she felt something brush against her hand causing her to glance down seeing Aiden trying to slip a drink into her hand. "What's this?"
"Iced coffee." Aiden told her with a smile as she took it from his grasp, raising an eyebrow at him. "It's that french vanilla blend you like, your mom was tell my mom all about it the other night when you went on that long five mile run."
She blinked slowly at his words, deciding to trust him to not poison her as she takes a sip from the light blue stray. She was pleasantly surprised with the sweet taste of french vanilla filled her taste buds. This was probably better than the coffee her mom makes her every morning and Kaia didn't think that to be possible. "Woah..." She muttered out involuntarily causing his smile to soften. "I-um, thanks..." She told him, giving him a nod and a small smile before it fell as she was hit with a realization.
She didn't like this, not one bit. Why was she allowing this? It was enough that she let him sit with her during lunch and talk to her, but now him making her coffee, actual good coffee that she most likely will crave for the rest of her life because she can never have it again? It was too much. She was letting him in too close. She was giving him what he wanted.
They weren't friends and they never would be. This was a temporary thing until Aiden realized she wasn't anything to be fused and gawked over. He'd realize it soon and then she'd be left behind. He was a thrill seeker, he'd soon loose the adrenaline rush that came with interacting with her and once that rush left, so would he.
Aiden watched as her once soft expression steeled all over again and he felt like any progress he had made with his gesture had been forgotten because she had gotten too far in her head. From what he's seen in the rather short time he's known her is that she truly doesn't hang around others besides Ashlyn, even then that wasn't a frequent thing between the two girls, and now himself and sometimes Ben if the silent boy tagged along with them. Though in that short amount of time he's known her, he's noticed multiple things beyond her lack of a social life.
He was right about her being intelligent, the girl was the next up coming Einstein, she was a genius and despite her seemingly rude behavior towards him, she never failed to help him out with his homework and such and always managed to explain and break down each issue he had with his work in a way that just clicked in his mind. She had this way of explaining things that just hooked him in a way that other teachers failed to do.
He was slightly wrong about her being adventurous, he's noticed she loves routine and that change seemingly makes her uneasy which he was realizing might play a huge role in why she was so adamant about not becoming his friend, because the idea of going from just having Ashlyn to having Ashlyn and someone else must freak her out a bit. It seems like she's only relied on Ashlyn, and barely even doing that, most of her life judging from what he had seen during the night he, Ben and his parents had gone over to discuss the field trip, she had no other pictures with people besides her mom, Ashlyn and then Ashlyn's parents, must be a terrifying switch up. But he was determined to show her that it would be the right switch up.
He was right about her being able to dance and it being super cool. His parents had began to grow rather close to Kaia's mother since they were neighbors and Ms. Campbell has shown his parents a wide variety of dance recitals from when Kaia was younger, to her most recent ones, and Aiden has admittedly watched all of them at least twice. They were all so cool, she was so good at what she did.
He was also right about Ashlyn liking her, though for some reason Kaia didn't seem to think she did. Aiden thought it was obvious that Ashlyn was fond of Kaia, but it seemed like it wasn't obvious to the black haired girl.
He was right about her being special as well. He's never met anyone like her. She was so interesting that he could spend forever just listening to her explain how a grain of sand was made and how it traveled across the earth and he'd still never get bored. Something about her was so addicting, she was like a shot of dopamine being constantly implemented into his blood stream. If her voice was a drug, he'd be happily taking it on the hourly.
But that wasn't all that he learned about her, there was so much more. She was creative, amazingly hard working. She took her education very seriously, she was always doing some sort of homework, extra credit or just helping around the school in order for volunteer hours. She was also a very head strong girl, never letting anyone argue her off her ideas or her thoughts. She was highly independent, she liked doing things on her own and hated relying on others for just about anything in her life. She was incredible at just about everything he's seen her put her mind to. She was truly unlike anyone he's met anywhere in the world.
But the most notable thing he's noticed about her? It was her continuous need to push anyone and everyone away. It was like the moment he seemed to make any sort of progress, she pulled back, as though she was becoming aware that she was letting him in. Just like how she did then.
He smiled to down at her, he wouldn't let it affect him, it was obvious she wanted to let him in. If she truly hated him, he knew she was the type to make it known, if she truly hated his attempts of friendship, she'd have put an end to it. So until then, he was going to keep trying until she finally gave into him. He'd be her friend, he knew he would.
"Okay everyone, I'm sure you already know, but I'm going over today's schedule one last time." Mr Walter called out over the rowdy voices of the teens. "It takes eight hours to get to Savannah. In about four hours, around noon, we'll stop to get something to eat. Once we get to Savannah, you and your groups will have two hours to eat, go on tours, look at historic monuments, explore the area, goof off, etc." He smiled at all of them as all Kaia could feel in that moment was dread, she was spending the next ten hours minimum with Aiden with no escape. "After, we'll all meet back up at the bus and head to the motels. Everyone who has a phone has added Mr. Lee's, Mrs. Sarah's and my number, correct?"
"Yes, Sir." Kaia coursed with the rest of the class as Aiden was fiddling around with a rubix cube at her side.
"Alright, then let's get this show on the rode!" Mr. Walter clapped with a wide smile before turning around to sit in his seat across from the two other teachers that were supervising alongside him.
Kaia let out a sigh as she leaned her head against the window, wishing she had just went back on the deal she had made with Aiden and just sat with Ashlyn like she usually did. There was a comfort in sitting beside the ginger, she was natural, she was a constant, Aiden was the exact opposite. He was unknown, new, unexpected, he was a change. She hated change.
"Hey Kai." Aiden called out, resting a hand in between them as he moved his body closer to hers as she was curled up into the corner of the seat. Kaia glanced away from the window, her eyes landing on Aiden as he smiled softly at her, holding out his rubix cube. "Wanna try?"
Kaia sat up a bit, moving her legs from her chest to rest back on the floor. "Sure, why not." She sighed, she had forgotten to charge her phone the night before after a long workout so it was half dead at the moment and she didn't want to use up the rest of the battery during the first part of the trip.
He grinned as he passed it to her. "It's a great way to pass the time." He told her as he watched as she fiddled with it for a moment before his hands grabbed his backpack, pulling it into his lap as he pulled it open. "And not only that, but I have plenty more to choose from if you get bored with that one."
She glanced away from the rubix cube within her grasp and her eyes widen as she catches sight of the seemingly countless fidget toys within his bag. "Did you even pack clothes?" She questioned him in disbelief, not even realizing that she had moved closer to him in order to look inside of his bag.
He grinned as he felt her hand brush against his own as she leaned over to get a better look. "Yeah, its under most of this, plus some of my stuff's in Ben's bag cause he has a bigger one." He shrugged as he glanced down, his cheeks flushing a bit at the sight of her hand resting on top of his own. Now that he thinks about it, this was probably the first time they've really touched besides that one time he had pulled her out of the way in the hall the first day they met. It was a small touch, sure, but it was a lot more to Aiden.
Kaia seemed to notice his gaze flicker down and frowned as she looked down, her eyes widening as she caught sight of what he was looking at. Her cheeks flushed and she quickly with drew her hand, instantly going back to the rubix cube within her grasp. "I just have to make each side the same color, right?" She questioned, quickly trying to move on from the awkward encounter they just shared as she flicked the sides back and forth at a rapid speed.
"Yep." He nodded as he glanced away from her for a long moment in order to try to rid his cheeks of the red that coated them.
"Like this?" She asked, finishing it off within a couple more seconds as she showed it off to him.
His eyes widen at her quick speed, a grin quickly growing on his lips as he pushed aside his previously flustered feelings at the touch they had shared. "Yeah, just like that!" He laughed as he turned his body completely towards her. "You're fast, you play with these often?"
"Not really, no." Kaia shrugged as she gave it back to him, allowing him to scramble it some again. "I'm not the biggest puzzle person in the world if I'm to be honest."
He grinned, "so you're just a natural, huh? I can work with that." He said as he tossed it back to her after scrambling it up again.
"Ah!" Taylor squealed as she turned around, catching sight of the numerous gadgets at Aiden's disposal. "Can I try one?"
"Sure." Aiden shrugged, smiling as he offered his open bag to her to allow her to rummage through it.
"Thanks." She smiled at him as she found the one she wanted to fiddle with before she turned back around to show it off to Tyler.
"You wanna race?" Aiden turned his attention back onto the beautiful girl sitting beside him.
"We're on a bus, we can't run." She tells him plainly causing him to laugh.
"Not like that, dummy." He chuckled, as he held out another rubix cube, shaking it before her eyes. "I mean like racing to finish this thing."
"Oh..." Kaia blinked, suddenly feeling rather stupid as she quickly realized her last words. "Uh, sure."
He grinned as he turned towards her, sitting criss cross causing her to subconsciously copy his movement as she leaned her back against the window behind her. "Ready?" She nods, "go!"
The two quickly get to unscrambling the rubix cube, but Aiden was too fast and he quickly won.
"Done." He tells her causing her to stop in her place, looking up at him in disbelief.
"You totally cheated." She accused him with a frown.
He gasped at her in fake offense, placing a hand over his chest, the grin on his face only widening. "I did not! I'm just that good."
"Liar." She scoffed, "rematch."
"You're on." He smirked at her, she was competitive as well it seemed, yet another thing to add to his list of her traits that he was quickly growing fond of.
♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : author's note
i. their development is just the perfect pace to me but at the same time so back and forth because kaia struggles so heavily with letting people in and goes through phases of wanting to let him in to being terrified of doing so, but please be patient with her, she's truly trying.
ii. also i cannot wait to showcase her relationships with the others, i love writing her slowly branching out and slowly accepting the fact it's okay to let people in and let herself rely on them
iii. what was your guys favorite moment this chapter?
iiii. ANYWAYS i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter !! please remember to vote, comment and to have a wonderful day <33