April's POV
Even Gaspard's culinary skills wasn't able to put a smile on my face; Aiden's sudden mood change had made me want to slap his pretty little face, but also twisted a small knife of rejection in my stomach.
"April? You there?" Cole whistled, waving his hand in front of my face.
"Yes, sorry. Just a little distracted," I laughed weakly, smiling apologetically at Gaspard.
"Comment pouvez-vous être si rude? C'est pâtisserie à son meilleur !" He scolded. Cole shot me a sympathetic look and shooed me out from the kitchen.
"What's up? Gaspard was making croquembouche for us." Cole frowned at me.
"Sorry," I shrugged. "I'm just a little distracted. I appreciate everything Gaspard showed me, I really did, but I just need some air." I pretending to wipe a bead of sweat from my brow. He agreed with me and assessed me a little too closely.
"Is it Aiden?" He asked suddenly.
"N-no," I stuttered, snapping my gaze away from him quickly.
"Come on," he pressed, his voice dripping with incredulity. "You can't lie about this April – it's too obvious when it involves mates." He said softly, leaning back against the spiralling staircase banister. I looked up in surprise, my heart lurching when I found Cole's mate, Nadia, standing next to him, nodding with him.
"H-how?" I spluttered, staring at her in obvious shock.
"Werewolves move quietly," she shrugged, her husky voice not matching her bright eyes and soft features. I pushed my glasses up my nose.
"So, is it Aiden?" Nadia pressed, her head resting on Cole's shoulder. My stomach jumped and I suddenly wished I was able to do that with Aiden. No April!
"Maybe. Actually, no. " I lied.
Cole sighed, "We aren't going to bite you April – we mean no harm."
I tired relaxing and forced a smile. "Sorry, it's just new places make me uneasy," I gestured to the hallway with the shining stars on the sky, so similar to the stars me and Aiden sat under after the Halloween party.
"Look, sometimes... boys, need a little bit of a push to realize when they're in the wrong. They're a bit stupid at times," Nadia whispered, leaning forward and winking pointedly. He scowled lightly at her statement and poked her in her waist, making her giggle. "Aiden just needs you to give him one punch to set him straight; his mood changes faster than a girl PMSing." Nadia said. Me and Cole raised our eyebrows, nodding in agreement at her statement.
Making up my mind, I thanked them and excused myself, before having to backtrack again to ask where they thought Aiden would be. I was pointed back in the direction of his room and I sighed unhappily – I thought I'd never have to step foot in that damn corridor again. Obviously not.
I reached the dark corridor, the smell of cigarette smoke and something else mingled in the air. I coughed and scrunched up my nose, edging my way into the corridor, pausing to let my eyes adjust to the gloom.
Now I actually needed to talk to Aiden. Don't chicken out April – talk to him you fool. You're being more cowardly than the cowardly lion. Not pausing to think, I pounded on his door with my fist, narrowing my eyes until I could only see a single, thin line of vision from them. A shuffle sounded from the door and then it creaked open, revealing Aiden, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else.
"What?" He grumbled.
I snapped back to reality and glared back at him. "What?" I repeated. "What do you think? You couldn't have been ruder before," I snapped, prodding him with my finger so that he moved back slightly. "You have no right to talk to me like that, Who the hell do you think you are? A god? Because you damn well aren't, so stop thinking you have the authority to treat people like the dirt under your shoes." I hadn't realized that I'd pushed Aiden back deeper into his room and that I'd unwittingly entered with him.
I swallowed and began moving backwards and trying my best to retain my anger.
He glanced over my head at the open door and a small, devilish smile formed on his bow-shaped lips. Before I could stop him, he had already strode over to the door and slammed it shut so that I was stuck in the room with him.
Glancing over my shoulder at the window, in one quick leap I'd already reached it – I flung the curtains open, momentarily blinding us both with the sunlight peeking through the curtains. Taking this moment of weakness, I ran blindly into the room, colliding with something hard that oomphed but ignored it and ran straight into the wall with a bang. I groaned and fell back, holding my throbbing forehead. My eye sight focused and I found Aiden bending over in pain and me holding my forehead, an ugly bruise probably already forming on it.
"What the hell?" Aiden hissed.
"What do you mean what the hell?" I mimicked, ignoring the dizzy sensation from my encounter with the damn wall to stumble onto the bed.
"You kneed my straight in the stomach!" He groaned, sliding down onto the floor.
"You were going to trap me here! And you're a werewolf, you sissy. Get over it."
"You didn't have to go and blind us, injure me and then run straight into a fucking wall." He snapped, the muscles in his back tensing and becoming more prominent with the way he was sitting. His hair shone gold in the sunlight streaming into the room and I felt the rush of running my fingers through his hair brushing against my fingertips like the ghost of a memory.
"Well– well, the wall didn't have to be there, did it?" I defended, rubbing my sore forehead.
"Oh sure, blame the wall why don't you." He grumbled, muttering something else incoherently in Spanish that I didn't quite catch. The clumsy turn of a lock in the keyhole of the door made both of our heads snap that way in unison. Exchanging a completely opposite look, mine of fear and Aiden's clearly reading oh-what-now we jumped up and ran to the door, trying the lock.
It was locked. I tried it again, rattling it, until my clumsy, shaking fingers were replaced by Aiden's firm ones as he tried the lock. He cursed softly under his breath, pounding one fist on the door.
"Sorry guys, you aren't allowed out until you've made up." Cole's amused voice sounded from the other side of the door, Nadia's laugh sounding as well.
"No! Let us out!" I yelled loudly. Aiden flinched, glaring down at me.
There's only a door between us, not fucking Mount Kilimanjaro. You don't need to shout so loud." I paused, realizing his point was valid, but told him to shut up anyway.
"Sorry bro – don't get too wild in there!" Cole's voice was already drifting away from us, the creak of their heavy footsteps disappearing. I cringed openly at his statement, trying the doorknob again.
"It's not going to open," Aiden sighed. I turned back in surprise, his slumped form sitting on the bed sheets invitingly.
I frowned. "Why not? You're a werewolf. Don't you have, I don't know, super strength to knock the door down?"
He lifted his head from his hands, pouting at me like a little child. "I fitted these doors so they were werewolf proof – in case you haven't realized, I like my privacy. And anyway, my dad will probably kick me out if I knock any more doors down."
Hesitantly, I made my way over to the other side of the bed, far from him, and sat down on the edge, running my hands through the soft satiny sheets, sighing inaudibly. They smelled strongly of Aiden's comforting scent and it warmed me to the bone, despite our 'room arrest' situation. "Aiden? Is your relationship with Antonio that bad?" .
"No. It's worse." He replied grimly. It could have been my imagination, but it sounded like the child in Aiden that was forced to grown up too fast had made a sudden appearance, quick as lightening before disappearing again.
I didn't reply – I wasn't sure how to reply to something like that.
"But anyway, who gives a fuck. I sure as hell don't." He started suddenly, loping his legs out of the bed and rummaging in his cupboards. I twisted in surprise, watching him. He suddenly appeared with a large bottle of vodka in his hands. My mouth was agape as I watched him.
"Look, Aiden –"
He cut me off. "I know, I know, alcohol's bad for me, it's killing my body slowly, blah blah blah..." he rolled his eyes as he poured a glass for himself. "Sorry, I don't have water." He shrugged his shoulders, indicating to his cupboard full of liquors. I hesitated, uncertain if my plan would work.
"Shut up and pour me a glass."
"I don't think you mean that," he laughed, pulling the bottle away from me.
I nodded firmly at him. "Yes. I am – pour me a glass," I repeated my voice less uncertain this time. If this is the only way Aiden can really open up, then so be it. I'll help him when he's in his comfort zone and I'm not in mine.
He paused, his eyes lingering on mine – I forced myself to hold eye contact with him, blinking very slowly. He murmured an okay and poured me a less than a quarter of a glass. I didn't bother pushing for more - I was lucky he had complied at all.
I paused, eyeing the translucent liquid with apprehension. For Aiden. Do it for that stupid idiot, Aiden. I repeated this in my head as I raised the glass to my lips, my eyes flickering upwards to his unreadable expression. With a final shove from my conscience, I gulped a mouthful of the liquid down and forced it down my throat. Coughing and spluttering, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve.
"I'm fine," I sputtered, "your first try of alcohol is never pleasant," I quoted, grinning sheepishly at him. A look of wariness flashed across his eyes, disappearing as he gulped half of the liquid down in one go. I watched, open-mouthed.
I set the glass down and massaged my wrists, looking up at Aiden, suddenly shy. "Aiden, have I hurt you in some way?" He looked baffled at my question, looking down sheepishly as he shook his head quickly. "Then what was up with your attitude earlier?"
"Nothing."
"It wasn't nothing. You can't just change your mood every two minutes – it's not fair on the people around you."
"Look, you're not my shrink so you don't need to try and 'fix' me." He snapped.
"Everyone is being affected by it and you need to know that people care about you! Your friends, your brothers, Barbara, me." My eyes left his face to stare at something else as I spoke. "You have a heart Aiden. Stop hiding it."
"Look, my family tolerate me, our relationship was by chance and me and Barbara are just friends. So for the love of God and all else, April, stop trying."
"Why were you such a jerk?" I ignored him and the sharp pain his words caused.
"Fine, you want to know?" His eyes snapped swiftly in my direction. "You were the one ignoring me April - after meeting my family, you were the one who acted as though I didn't even exist. Now that I'm being a jerk, suddenly I'm the bad guy?" His voice was quiet and yet full of hurt. I felt my stubbornness deflate – I hadn't realized how ignorant I had been. The kiss.
Ignoring Aiden after we kissed hadn't only affected me, but him too. And I was too selfish and stupid to realize it – maybe we were both as bad as each other.
"Aid-"
"Whatever, I'm over it."
I got up and walked towards him, ignoring the million warning bells ringing in my head. "Look, I'm sorry I freaked after... you know..." I trailed off awkwardly. "I – I didn't mean to be a bitch, I just didn't know what to do after. I wasn't sure if things were the same or... I just don't know. I mean you were my first kiss. I was so confused."
His mouth was agape, his eyes bleeding into green again. His expression softened considerably. "I – I didn't know it would be that awkward for you – girls usually chase me not ignore me." He shrugged one shoulder and I struggled to keep looking at his face – he really needed to put on a shirt.
I turned around. "Can you put on a shirt first," my voice was muffled from under my hands and I heard his low chuckle.
"You're such a girl."
"Clearly," I replied sarcastically, a smile creeping into my voice at our new-found friendship again. Is it just friendship April? I shook the thoughts away distractedly, content with Aiden giving me a genuine smile.
"You're just... so..."
"Weird? Nerdy? Awkward?" I finished for him. "I've heard them all before."
"No. You're so fucking crazy Cruella, you know that? You're so awkward some people would consider it either rude or cute."
"Well, you're pretty darn crazy too Aiden Knight. And I have something to admit to you. I feel very comfortable around you. It's surprising because I generally don't feel comfortable around... well, anyone." I quoted Sheldon Cooper, the reference suddenly feeling perfect for that precise moment in time.
He grinned, the small dimple in his cheek forming adorably. "You're so soppy. Urgh, girls."
I realized how close we were and gulped my breathing hitching in my throat. He leaned towards me, his pink lips curling. Oh My God. He swung both legs from the windowsill until he was leaning into me and his arms went around my waist pulling me closer. My arms instinctively rested on his shoulders lightly, my head dizzy with his touch (and maybe from running into a wall.)
Our foreheads were nearly touching; he bit his lower lip, his eyes directed onto my own. I thinned my mouth into a small line self-consciously and felt his cool breath mingle with my own. My traitor body relaxed at his touch.
He finally closed the distance, his eyes searching my own for permission – something in my expression must have had confirmed it because the next thing I knew was his heavenly lips against my own. The long-awaited feeling of his touch made my stomach explode with butterflies. Our last kiss was soft and gentle and exploring, but this one held a sort of desperate urgency to it.
My hands looped around his neck, my fingers tangling itself in his soft, messy hair – the kiss was urgent and became rougher. A soft groan sounded from the back of his throat and before I knew it, we had suddenly swapped positions. He bit down on my lower lip and I gasped, his tongue slowly exploring my mouth, a smile on his lips as he knew what effect it had on me. We finally broke away, breathing heavily and catching our breath.
My eyes fluttered shut, my head leaning back against the cool windowsill. He was leaning down towards me, his elbows resting against the window on either side of my head – I didn't feel trapped though, I felt safe. It felt like this was finally real.
"April, god damn it." Aiden whispered his lips blood red and swollen. I frowned in confusion back at him and he raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how fucking cute you are, you know that?"
"Gee thanks," I gave him a small smile, my heart beat rapid.
He let out a soft laugh, before blessing my skin with his touch once more, but this time his lips brushed across my neck, behind my ear, on the nape of my neck, making my eyes flutter shut and my body shake with nerves. When he stopped to whisper how beautiful I was (which I thought was a load of bull, but somehow believed because he'd been staring at me very seriously whilst speaking and didn't crack up laughing, not once,) I made a soft noise of protest, my hand tugging at his hair to bring him closer again.
He simply laughed in response, loving how his touch made me putty in his hands and scarily made me feel emotions I never knew existed.
After that, we practically spent the next half hour 'making out' – the term still creeps me out to this day, I must admit. Finally, I collapsed into the chair near his desk a happy smile on my face; it felt like my entire blood stream was made of sugar. I felt hyper as though Aiden was my drug – he was addicting. I touched my lips again. He was sinfully addicting.
"I have an idea." I said suddenly, sitting upright and turning to look at him, my eyes bright.
"Is it what I think it is?"
"No." I scowled at him, "I think your room needs a good clean, Aiden. Since we're under room arrest, we may as well do that."
His expression dropped. "No."
I frowned, "Why not?"
"Because April - N.O."
"Well, why not? You can't just say no without an explanation," I retorted stubbornly.
"Oh, whatever," he grumbled at me. "We go from doing something so nice to cleaning up my room. Thanks April." He pouted and looked so completely and utterly adorable.
In the end I managed to get him to help me and soon, there were huge piles of clothes and belongings piled high on the bed. I placed my hands on my hip as I looked at them. "How the hell do you own so much?" He shrugged in response and tried the door again – it was still locked, but I found that I didn't really mind so much.
I went over to push one of his drawers shut when an old, furling image caught my attention. It was of a young boy, perhaps 7-8 years of age with messy hair, smiling toothily into the camera. A young woman with curly, brown hair, dimples and a kind smile held the little boy in her arms. Even through the paper and her smile looked eerily like Aiden and Kaden's.
I jumped when I felt a shadow blocking the light from behind me and dropped the picture guiltily as though I was doing something wrong. "Sorry, I- I just found it lying here."
He didn't reply but picked up the old image. "This picture - you found it here?" His voice was quiet.
"That's – that's your mother? Maria?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes."
"And that's you?"
"Yes." Silence followed that answer as he sat on the bed, leaning his elbows on his legs, assessing the picture in silence for a few minutes. I fumbled with the drawer awkwardly, finally shutting it and perching besides him, keeping some distance between us in case he wanted space.
"This image – I thought I'd lost it. It was taken when I was 7." Aiden started.
I paused, waiting for more. He stopped after that and I gazed at her. "She's beautiful. She has a smiling face which is so rare - it's beautiful." I explained, my eyes still tracing the outline of the 7 year old Aiden who looked so innocent and young.
"She died 5 years after this."
"Oh." I breathed. "You look a lot like her." He set the photo down carefully on the bed and the sound of a lock turning in the door snapped us out of our respected silence.
"You're welcome!" Nadia's happy voice broke the grieving silence that filled the room.
Aiden got up, stretching his tall frame and tucked the image in his pocket before walking to the door.
"Wait, Aiden." I stopped him. "Your tattoo... on your ribcage. Luna Mater – it means moon mother, right?" I remembered looking it up on the internet and after 10 websites, I had finally found the adequate translation.
He nodded slightly, his back still to me. A sudden wash of guilt overcame me and before I knew it, I had rushed towards him, spinning him around quickly. He looked down at me in surprise, his eyes reflecting those of a 12 year old, grieving child but then hiding it so well it made my heart hurt.
And with that image in my mind, I pressed my lips against his. Nerves racked me, I was scared – I'd never done this before. It was always Aiden who led the kiss but this time I simply brushed my lips across his in a way of telling him it-will-be-okay. I pulled away slowly, my eyes opening and found his eyes shut, a conflicted battle occurring behind those stormy closed lids. "It will be okay. I promise. I'm here, Aiden." I whispered my voice surprisingly steady.
He nodded and I kissed him gently on the cheek. Quietly side-stepping him, I twisted the door handle and glanced back at him. He needed his privacy and time to think. I would if I was in his position. I left the room still pondering upon the 7 year old Aiden and the 18 year old Aiden now. The transformation scared me – whatever happened with his mother was binding him – killing him slowly.
What do I do?