Chubby cheeks.
Round face.
Large stomach.
Even the frown . . .
From my understanding—mostly from my study sessions with Scarlett—Cushing Syndrome causes your body to have abnormally high levels of hormones called cortisol.
If it wasn't for this so-called "cortisol", Aaiden wouldn't be Aaiden. As a child, his face wouldn't have been so round and his upper torso wouldn't have been so plump. But, at the same time he wouldn't be standing in front of me, blushing like crazy just because he was embarrassed.
Call me selfish, but I'm glad the disorder made him the way he is. I couldn't imagine Aaiden turning into a conceited, arrogant bastard, unlike that sorry excuse for a human being. Just thinking about it, made my blood boil and my skin crawl with disgust.
"What's with that stupid face?" Kai asked with a click of his tongue. "Don't tell me you're mad at Aaiden just because he didn't tell you?"
I rolled my eyes. Like I'll ever be mad at Aaiden.
"I'll take that silence as a yes—"
"—I'm not fucking mad at anyone. I just thought of something unpleasant. That's all."
"Geez. Someone's on her fucking period," he said with a snort.
My cheeks flushed red. "Just leave, already."
The corners of his lips curved up. I knew I was in trouble the moment he closed the distance between us. My body stayed motionless when he blew against my ear. "Make me."
The way he said it made my stomach churned and my body shook with hatred. It reminded me too much of him.
I shoved my hands against his chest. "You're unbelievable!"
He staggered back a few steps, but managed to catch himself. The look on his face held pure amusement as he smirked. "Unbelievable, huh? I didn't think your little crush on me was that big."
"That's not what I meant," I said grounding my teeth together, "and you know it."
"Just admit it, Aubrey," he said with a lopsided grin. "And I'll make you feel just that."
"You're—" I started to yell when I heard Aaiden's voice.
I turned around and saw him mumbling quietly to himself. When I took a step forward, I saw his dark brown eyes, glossy and red. They were filled with obvious pain, while his hands laid limply on his sides.
"A-au-brey—"
"Aaiden. What's wrong?"
"Is it because of me?" he asked in a low voice. "Something unpleasant... I-I didn't want it. I never wanted it. I didn't think the disorder would make me look so disgusting. I'm sorry, I didn't think—"
"—you're not disgusting, Aaiden!" Something in my voice must've snapped him out of it, because the moment those words came out of my mouth, he paused in his rambles and held my gaze. The grief surged through me with every breath I took as I saw the small amount of liquid glistening in his eyes. Knowing that he was hurting because of me, that he was remembering his painful past because of me, broke me. "Aaiden, you're not disgusting, okay? I really wasn't thinking about you. Someone..." I held my breath, and bit my lips when its face popped inside my head, "...someone, I shouldn't be thinking of came to mind for a few seconds..." He looked down the moment I touched his hand. "And, I don't give a crap about your past or disorder. You could be 300 pounds right now, and I would still find you adorable."
He slowly looked up, his face impassive. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not until a small smile sported his face, looking like his normal-self again. "Adorable... that's what she—" The end of sentence got cut off when his phone rang.
Composing himself, he cleared his throat, and said a quick hello to the other person when he picked up the phone.
After hearing Dennis' name I tuned out their conversation and stared at the ground. What Aaiden had said earlier... she had to be Areum, right?
If she really gave Aaiden the chipmunk, there's a high possibility she would've also called him adorable. But, if that's the case... where did my chipmunk go? It couldn't have disappeared into thin air just like that, right? Someone had to of seen it. Unless, someone was lying... and it really wasn't Areum's chipmunk, Aaiden got?
"Sorry." Hearing his voice, I looked up and saw Aaiden tucking his phone back inside his pocket. "Um... I kind of need to go right now."
"Go?"
Aaiden pointed to his phone. "Dennis is having a bit of a panic attack right now."
My eyes widened. "Panic attack? Is he okay?"
"Don't worry about it. It's just Ryann."
"Ryann?"
"The kiss," was all he needed to say before he headed straight towards Scarlett's room. I stared in confusion, as he stood in front of her room in silence.
What was he doing there? Wasn't he supposed to see Dennis?
When he didn't get a response the first time he knocked on the door, he tried again and called her name—this time a bit louder.
"You rang?" she asked the moment the door opened. Even though Aaiden's body blocked my view of Scarlett, I could tell she was most likely still hiding from me. The door still wasn't opened all the way.
"Aren't you suppose to be studying, Scarlett?"
I stared back in shock when that accusing tone came out of Aaiden's mouth. Was that really Aaiden?
"I was studying."
"If you were studying, explain these headphones," Aaiden said, while lifting his hand. I was able to catch a small glimpse of Scarlett as he did that.
"I was studying!" There was small pause. "Fine. I took a small study break, happy?"
"Scarlett, you know—"
I stifled a surprised gasp when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Kai standing there with his eyes glued on the pair behind me.
He glanced back at me. "Tell me. Don't you think they look good together?"
"Scarlett and Aaiden?"
"Who else could I be talking about?" he asked with a roll of his eyes. "If it wasn't for my sister, Scarlett would've been his ideal choice. They practically grew up together, you know?"
"Aaiden said Scarlett was like a sister to him though."
He raised his brows. "And you believed him?"
"Am I supposed to believe you instead?"
His lips drew up into a sly smirk. "Trust me. There's more to Aaiden than he's willing to let on."
"No offense, but you're not someone I trust."
The smirk remain plastered on his face as he bent down. I remained still, and watched as he leaned forward, his facial expression perfectly composed.
"Jigeum-eun [For now]," he whispered softly. I watched as his eyes studied mine with silent intensity. They moved with precise movement, and flickered to the spot on my right. "Don't look now, but Aaiden's coming back."
"Sorry, I had to tell Scarlett I was leaving," Aaiden apologized when he came into view. "Also." My heart pounded as he came closer to me, his breath fanning my face. "If you need it," he started whispering, "I put the ice cream in the freezer, and started warming up the heating pad on the couch. My number's also there, if you want anything."
"Okay." I smiled when I saw his ears flushed pink as he moved away from me.
"Kai," Aaiden acknowledged him as he walked by. Kai returned Aaiden's gesture with a slight nod.
When the front door closed, I flipped the case face-up and threw the DVD I held clutched in my hand at Kai. He caught the object with ease.
"Now that he's gone, you can take that and leave."
His hands tightened on the case. "What did he tell you?"
"Nothing. Can you—"
"—it didn't look like nothing to me," he said, his jaw rooted.
"Well it was."
"You know Aubrey... things would be a lot more easier if you just listen to me."
I snorted. "Too bad life doesn't work that way."
He chuckled and took long strides towards me. "Don't worry. Sooner or later, dangsin-i jechul habnida [you'll submit]. Remember, Aubrey," he said, leaning in. "I always get what I want."
"Hate to break it to you, Kai," I said, wiping the smile off his face. "But nothing is set in stone," I said pushing him back a few steps. "Sooner or later, life will fuck you over."
He stared back, his eyes immobile just like the rest of his body, as he desperately tried to absorb the situation at hand. Taking advantage of his paralyzed state, I opened the front door, and shoved him one last time.
"And that's guaranteed." I grinned and slammed the door shut.
The moment I heard the door opening, I was already half asleep.
So, when I heard my name being called, I didn't answer.
It wasn't until I felt hands running through my hair that I almost shot up in response. But luckily, I didn't. I laid still, breathed slowly, and pertained to be asleep.
I could tell it was Aaiden just by his musky scent. As I stayed there, he continued to run his fingers through my hair. Just a touch of his finger tips sent an electric spark throughout my body, causing my skin to tingle and my brain to turn into mush. When the heat was lost, and the bed dipped, I thought he'd left, but when he spoke, I froze.
"You know... what you said back then, everything, including the not disgusting part was said by her. I-I just don't know what to think anymore... you're too much like her, and I don't know how I feel about that," Aaiden said, before the room became silent.
When I opened my eyes next, he was gone.
I'm alive guys! Thank you so much for wishing me luck on my exams/final projects! I'm happy to announce that I got a 3.74 GPA, so yay, I didn't fail, guys c:
I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I haven't written anything in over a month, so hopefully it sounded decent enough.
Anyways, please don't forget to vote, and let me know your thoughts by commenting! (: