(A/N I don't own Aphmau nor her character nor anything else that's romotely recognizable...... Duh.)
If Jenny slipped a word.......
Aphmau stops halfway back to her building. She moans to herself and sends Tera on, she had forgotten to ask Jenny if she knew where the coffee shop was. She turns around and starts hurrying back to the group, hoping that Jenny hadn't already finished cleaning up and left. She turns the corner and almost lets out a breath, Jenny was still there. She..... seemed to be talking to someone. He was wearing a red jacket that had a white stripe on it, with the sleeves rolled up revealing black that was the inside of the jacket. And...... did he have a bandanna around his eyes? These notices swirl in the back of her mind as she calls to Jenny and hurries forward. Aphmau feels uncertain when she gets closer to Jenny, to see Jenny looking down as if she didn't want Aphmau to notice her. She continues on, she needed to know where the coffee shop was, she had made plans with Katelyn and Luka.
"Heh," Aphmau says, her voice slightly nervous. She vaguely notes in the back of her head that the guy Jenny was talking too moved away. Something about him made him so familiar....... "Sorry to bother you Jenny. But I was wondering..... Where is the cafe on campus? I was thinking of going there in the morning."
"Oh! Um! It's difficult to explain," Jenny's voice was high pitched and slightly rushed, but Aphmau's attention was now on the guy. He.... looks so familiar. Aphmau thinks to herself. "Let me finish talking to Aaron and getting inside-" But the rest flew over Aphmau's head.
"Aaron?!" She shouts, surprise overtaking her nervousness and shyness. Her eyes were wide and the guy turns to her, a blush growing on his cheeks.
"H-Hey, Shu."
"Oh my Irene! I missed you!" Aphmau cries, glomping Aaron. Jenny goes silent at Aphmau's surprised shout. Her hands drop slowly to her side as she watches the two talk. Aaron was blushing badly and Aphmau was talking to him avidly.
"You...... guys....... know each other?" She asks slowly, bringing their attention back to her.
"Oh yeah! Aaron and I were friends back in Phoenix Drop." Aphmau beams. "He was a jerk back then, so if he's a jerk now-"
"H-Hey! You were just a stupid potato, then!" Aaron cries out playfully.
The two commence arguing over their school years, forgetting Jenny. Jenny stares at the two and suddenly feels so small, Aaron seemed relaxed around Aphmau, something he never was around people. Jenny had been in most of his classes since her own first year at Falcon Claw. Aaron didn't have friends and he wasn't relaxed. Something inside Jenny wilts as she watches Aaron grin at Aphmau, something about his face made Jenny think of her own parents. Her mother with loving eyes and her father with an awe filled grin everytime he looked at her, not when they were fighting though of course, but afterwards, her mom would give a shy smile and her dad would give her a loving kiss. Jenny takes a step back, feeling her heart sink to her stomach. "What's with the bandanna, jerk?" Aphmau jokes, before taking the bandanna off. Jenny stares as Aaron's charcoal eyes stare at Aphmau with a gleam in them. Jenny feels her heart break when they look at eachother, as if they were taking the other person in. Friends didn't look at each other like that....... "I think I better- go....." "Hm?" Aphmau looks to Jenny, "Oh, can I help you clean up?" "No...... no. I've-I've got it." Jenny states, waving Aphmau off. "S-S-See you later Aaron." Jenny turns and hurries away, tears flooding her eyes as she feels her heart breaking in her chest. Of course, Aaron liked Aphmau. She packs up and heads to her room, where Jenny sits on her bed lowly. She hugs her pillow to her chest and buries her face in it. "Woah! What's wrong with you?" Cathy asks, green eyes wide as she stares at her best friend. "A-Aaron l-likes someone el-else." Jenny stutters as she cries, "What? I didn't know Aaron talked to anybody else....." Betty says softly, unsure as to what to do to comfort her friend. "Th-There's a-a-a girl named Aphmau. They-They knew each-each other in high s-sch-school." Jenny continues to stutter and cry as Cathy rubs her friends back gently, letting Jenny lean on her. "Oh honey....." Cathy sighs, Betty reaches into her mini fridge/side tables and withdraws a small pint of chocolate chip ice cream and a plastic spoon. She sets it on Jenny's side table. "Come on. Let's watch a show and eat ice cream." "Betty...." Cathy growls, "Not everything is abou- wait. That's actually a good idea. Come on, we can watch crappy comedies." Cathy takes her friend and the three of them make a spot on the floor in front of their TV. Jenny eats ice cream and lets her friends comfort her. Afterwards, when both girls are fast asleep on Jenny's shoulders, Jenny can't help, but think to herself, It might take awhile. But-But maybe I can move on from this.
Aphmau giggles loudly as she leans against Aaron. She was sitting on his lap, their legs straightened in front of them, and a computer was on her lap. They were flipping through photos. She blushes when she gets to a picture of them kissing. "I-I-I still like you, you know....." Aaron says quietly, his chin hooked on her left shoulder. Her blush gets worse. "I-I-I still like you too." "Do..... Do you think...... maybe....... I mean......" Aphmau giggles loudly, her head leans back against his right shoulder. "Do you want to go on a date, Aaron?" Aphmau asks, sounding amused. "I-I-I mean if you don't want to....." "No!" Aphmau cries, turning to him. "I'm-I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing because I'm usually the one so nervous." Aphmau giggles and Aaron chuckles with her. "Yeah, I'd love to go on a date with you." Aaron gives a small smile and his phone rings. He groans when he sees his dad's name. "I've gotta get this." "O-Okay." Aphmau sits up and closes the window and shuts her computer. She slips it back into its place in a drawer in her sidetable, plugging it in. "Hey, dad." Aaron answers, putting the phone to his ear. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Aaron winces and pulls the phone away from his ear. Aphmau gives him a worried look, "YOUR SECURITY GUARDS CAN'T FIND YOU!" "I'm fine. I'm heading back now." Aaron growls, good mood gone with his smiling face. He scowls at the floor, already gathering his things. Aaron holds a pointer finger to his mouth and mouths his apologies. She smiles understandingly. She grabs a piece of paper and pen. She writes something down, "I just went to the mall. I was driving myself crazy." She hands him a paper and he glances at it: How about tomorrow at 5 and we'll go to..... He takes the pen from her and fills in the blank with Arcade. He hands it to her and she gives him a blinding grin. He can feel himself softening as he stares at her shy, beaming grin. A flush grows on his cheeks. "I'LL BE SPEAKING TO YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME." Aaron pulls the phone from his face and sighs, he puts it back to you. "Got it. See you later." He hangs up, huffing. "Is everything okay?" He feels himself freeze and his mind scrambles to find an answer. "Yeah! It's just apparently there's some- genetic sickness that runs in the family and it's gotten pretty bad with me. Dad's being overprotective." "Oh! Are you okay?" Aphmau asks, frowning worriedly. "I'm fine." He gives her a nervous, reassuring grin. Her hands hesitantly touch the bandanna. "Is that why you wear this?" She asks quietly. "Yeah. It can spread through my eyes when I get bad...." He admits quickly, praying that she'll believe him. "Really? Wow. Well, I mean if potions can turn people into cats, I really don't see why an illness can't spread through eyes....." She smiles sadly. "Guess that means I won't get to see your eyes." She shrugs disappointed, before biting her lip nervously. "So, I'll see you.... tomorrow at 5? You can pick me up here and we'll go to that new Arcade tomorrow?" She suggests. He gives a blinding smile. "Yeah. I'll see you then." He hurries and kisses her cheek, before rushing off. Aphmau feels a smile tug on her lips and she twirls around, slamming the door behind her. She hurries to her bed and squeals in her pillow. I'm going on a real date with Aaron!
Aaron arrives to his room, dread bubbling in his gut. He moves into the room and sees his dad sitting on his bed. He stares at him for a minute, before taking his bandanna off his eyes. His dad's eyes narrow at seeing him. Aaron looks at his dad, as his dad looks tense, ready to fight. He feels his anger simmer in his chest and his eyes start to burn with emotion. And then, he sees Aphmau's flush as she smiles shyly at him, when they were watching My Little Horsies, which he still doesn't understand, but it was worth it to see Aphmau happy, in his mind's eye. He feels himself relax. And then it clicks in his head. "Do you remember Aphmau? The girl I was friends with in high school....." He asks, his dad's face starts to turn red in anger, but he plows on. He'd been thinking about this for awhile. "I think she's the reason the Ultima curse calms down." He states, causing his father to snort. "You think a girl is the reason your eyes turn back?" His dad snorts. "Yes. Anytime I'm with her..... it's soothing. In a way that it never was here or with mom or with Melissa. I won't stop seeing her." His dad stares at him in horror. "Then, I think maybe its time to pull you out of school. I never should've let you leave the house-" But Aaron wasn't having that anymore. "No." He states loudly and clearly. His dad turns to him sharply. "Excuse me?" He growls. "I'm-I don't want to leave. I've done everything you asked for 4 years. I've not gotten any closer to learning 'control.' But look at my eyes now. They've not changed. And it has nothing with not making friends or-or keeping to myself. It was because of her. I'm not willing to give that up. Not now." "I will pull your funding." His dad grits. "Then, I'll get a job...... But I won't give her up." He thinks of her disappointed face and finds he can't stand to see that look on her face. He won't do that to her. "She's the reason that my eyes haven't changed once this entire time. I don't want to go through my college years without her. It's been 4 years and nothing has changed. I'm going to try this my way now." His father straightens up, his eyes narrowed. "Alright. I'll give you two weeks. If you're eyes change in public once, I'll pull you out and you won't speak to this girl again." "And if I get through the 2 weeks?" Aaron asks, his heart pounding in his chest. He feels his eyes start to burn, but her disappointed face stops it. "Then, we'll do it your way, with the exception that if you ever turn someone, you will never see the day of light again." He states. Aaron thinks about it, he was almost 100 percent sure that Aphmau was the reason the curse calmed down. But was he willing to put what little freedom he had on the line? And then he thinks of her beaming face when she recognized him, and he finds himself agreeing to the deal. His father leaves with a tense form. He instructs the security guards to pull back, but to still watch him. Euphoria floods through him and before he's really thinking about it, he's logging onto his computer and onto the game and sending her a quick message, before logging off. He falls asleep, a smile on his face.