Double update (58&59)
Thank you for reading ❤️
-
Marley bit the bullet.
Without hesitation, without giving herself the chance to back out, she ripped the elastic from her new hair, allowing it to tumble around her mid back in waves as she rammed the door open and shoved herself outside in front of the girls, her boyfriend, and Ian all waiting for her at the side of the mess hall.
They were chatting causally while Gabby typed on her cellphone and Aiden spoke with Ian. Marley stumbled out of the kitchen with her lower lip between her teeth, vibrating in place and twiddling her fingers, silently waiting for anyone to notice her presence.
"Holy fucking shit."
Gabby Collins doesn't swear, often, at least. But as her phone clattered to the ground, the curse words flew from her mouth with reckless abandon. Green eyes wide as they appraised her best friend.
All heads turned.
Silence.
Piercing, abrupt silence.
Marley held her hands up in a sheepish shrug motion, "Surprise?"
"Wow." Sarah marvelled, the first one to break as she strode up to Marley.
She took one of the pink strands, studying it with a growing smile. "If this is what happens when I call you boring I'll call you boring all day long."
Marley smiled nervously at the redhead, "You like it?" Referring to her ombré pink hair.
The colour blended seamlessly with her natural coffee brown, the ends of her hair a pastel pink. Eve's work was flawless, and the pink itself wasn't so dark and intense that it was tacky.
-
^ an aesthetic of what Marley's new hair colour looks like
-
It was different, creative and spontaneous.
"Like it?" Sarah scoffed, "It's awesome!"
Marley exhaled a shaky breath, her hazel eyes shooting to her boyfriend, said boyfriend who has told her before that he loves her natural hair. Not that his reaction would change her decision or have her scrambling to reverse the colour, but his opinion still mattered to her.
He was frozen in place like everyone else, blue eyes wide and lips parted as he scanned over her hair. She took a strand of it between her fingers, shifting on her feet as she twirled it, "What do you think?"
A few seconds and an elbow from Ian later, a dazzling grin stretched across his cheeks. Aiden strode to close their distance, eyes drinking her in hungrily. She dropped the strand he picked up, wrapping it around his finger while his other hand pulled her against him by the small of her back.
"Not gonna lie," he began, while she watched his dark eyes remain locked on the curled strand, "your natural hair will always hold a special place in my heart but, the pink is...hot." He locked eyes with her, "I love it."
She let out a laugh, the tension easing from her shoulders, "See how impulsive and fun and reckless I can be?" She questioned the girls while gesturing to her hair. Aiden still curled and played with the strand he was holding.
Ian circled Marley with a smile of his own, "This is the rebellious stage the teenage development books warned you about, Aiden."
-
While Marley was at work, Ian, Leo and Aiden had moved their bedrooms around. Leo now has the downstairs one to himself, while Aiden and Ian share. At least for the holidays.
But right now Ian was on a long phone call, catching up with his boyfriend Dylan, outside on the porch while Aiden led her to his bedroom.
He hadn't given her much of a choice either, a man on a mission since she got off of work. She walked back with him and the girls - who discussed getting their hair done by Eve as well. Though their first impressions of Eve had been to despise everything about her, clearly they were all won over by her talent with hair styling, just as Marley was.
After she was finished showering, saying quick greetings to the other councillors, Aiden had been waiting outside on a bench with his knee bouncing. His restless tick. Marley raised an eyebrow in curiosity, watching him pull her along with his hand tightly grasping hers.
"Aiden? What's going on?" She had questioned for the final time as he dragged her behind him up the stairs.
He didn't reply, shooting her a smouldering look which had her cheeks turning dark red. He unlocked the door, gesturing for her to enter his room first before locking it behind him.
Marley gulped, turning around. She shrieked when he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and walking them to his bed.
"Aiden! Wha-mhm." He placed a palm over her mouth, lowering her to his pillows and hovering between her legs.
He dropped his hand, taking a knee over her, eyes trailing heatedly. He released a soft groan, "I've been dying to see how this hair would look sprawled on my sheets. My pillow. Fuck you're gorgeous."
She shot her hands out to curl them around his shirt, overwhelmed and overtaken with a mixture of lust and love. Aiden lowered slowly, his fingers tangling in the pink strands.
"Do you...like it better?" She asked breathlessly, her hazel eyes widely watching his every move, spelled and hypnotized.
His jaw tightened, lips parted, "I'm obsessed with your natural hair. The caramel. The brown. But this...this is growing on me," he admitted throatily, "What brought this on?"
Marley shrugged, moving her hands to his hair, "I wanted to be interesting. Spontaneous. Fun. Confident. I never want to be boring."
Aiden's chest rumbled, lips pressing against the corner of her mouth, "You have every ounce of my focus whenever we're together. I can never keep my eyes off you. You're not boring, spitfire. Far from it."
She smiled against his lips so he took her lower one in his mouth, tugging and kneading with his teeth. A soft sound left the back of her throat while he released it.
"I love you," she smiled, "And I don't think I'm boring either. I can be fun and spontaneous and confident."
"Absolutely."
She curled her fingers tighter around his hair when he moved to let her go. Her eyes fell to his lips. Confident. Fun. Spontaneous.
"Kiss me, Aiden. Now."
And because the world hates her, just as she spoke the door rattled before it was slamming open.
"Here the fuck I am back to my regularly scheduled cock blocking. Damn it feels good."
Leo sauntered in, twirling a key in his fingers.
Aiden's expression darkened with anger and frustration as she shoved at his chest with flushed cheeks, until he rolled off of her.
"Seriously Kahn? Fuck. You." He groaned, shoving his face into his pillow beside her.
Leo snickered, "If that's what's got you so excited you and Marley need to have a talk."
Marley's face reddened until she was darker than a tomato, scrambling from Aiden's bed while he remained flat on his stomach, shooting Leo the finger, "I told you I'd set your dick on fire the first time you interrupted us. Stop testing me."
"HA! Yours probably-"
"Leo!" Marley shrieked, snatching her coat off the floor, "For Gods sakes please stop!"
He held his hands in surrender, laughing maniacally, "This is too good. Too good! I love you guys. I really do. Never break up, and I'll burst in to every room as we walk off into blue ball sunset together."
"You're going to be dead while we're in the sunset if you don't fuck off, Leo. Marley, don't leave yet. Can we go for a walk?"
Aiden sat up on his elbow, watching her shove her jacket on, humiliated and angry with Leo for ruining her one moment of confidence.
Oh well. There'd be others.
She hoped so, anyway.
Marley didn't look in Aiden's direction - wanting a hole to open beneath her feet and swallow her - opening the door.
"I'll be outside!" She squeaked, slamming the door behind the sound of a grunt and a thump, a string of curses instantly following.
-
Marley sent Ian a gloved wave from where he was sitting on one of the swinging benches outside, not wanting to interrupt his conversation with Dylan. The two of them are still going strong after more than four months together. Marley was proud of them, and is glad that Ian found someone who compliments him and encourages him to be himself.
Aiden's brother had spent too many years alone and in the dark. Now he's confident in himself and happy. Some stories outside of books do have happy endings.
Marley's jacket was zipped up, her hat with the Pom Pom on and her fingers in her black gloves. It was dark, and the temperature had dropped to the mid 40s, cold for those who have lived in California all their lives.
Aiden slipped out a few minutes later with his black toque on, gloves on his hands and a black jacket over his chest. He flicked the Pom Pom on her head before taking her hand, "I confiscated Leo's key and access to my room."
She sighed as they walked down the porch stairs, heading for the path, "He's Leo. He'll find a way."
"Probably," Aiden's jaw locked, "but the good news is, my house has cameras. If he tries to sneak in when he knows you're over I can turn on the sprinklers for motion sensing and aim it for the door. The asshole will be soaked and locked out."
Marley giggled, shaking her head, "You've done that before, I assume?"
"Not to keep him out. Just for fun."
Aiden super-soaking Leo on his front lawn is probably the most unsurprising thing she's ever heard. Between the two of them nothing is off limits.
But something replayed in Marley's mind, even in the midst of her humour.
"If he tries to sneak in when he knows you're over..."
Over. At Aiden's house. Back home, when they're spending their weekdays at Kingston High school. Back home, where Marley juggles a job at the library, the math league, the science league and her best friend Gabby. Back home, where Aiden Matthews is an unattainable quarterback with a new girl on his arm every week.
Marley's hand tightened around Aiden's.
"Nothing's going to change, right?" She questioned quietly as they walked.
The gravel trails were empty, the forest around them dark and looming save dancing fireflies and insects chirping. Nonetheless, Marley has never felt more safe.
"What do you mean?" Aiden asked her curiously, shooting her a questioning look.
Her heart squeezed, "Between...us. After," she took a deep breath for courage, staring out at the path ahead of them, "after this camp."
Aiden was quiet for a few minutes. Long enough for the anxiety to start to eat her alive. This is the part, right? Where the fantasy that she is wanted unconditionally is just that - a fantasy. Where her lingering insecurities are right.
That Aiden Matthews is simply too good to be true.
Aiden pulled her down another trail. He stopped them along a break in the path, revealing a private little shore and the endless expanse of the lake. Marley dared herself to look up at him, holding her breath.
He was nervous.
Aiden released her hand.
Marley prepared for the worst, heart pounding in her ears. Hands shaking. She felt lightheaded, knowing no matter how much she braced herself she'd never remain standing from such an impact as this.
"Look," he breathed out, shifting on his feet and refusing to meet her eyes, "I was going to wait until Christmas. And that's Saturday and it's Tuesday now and I should hold out but it's been burning in my pocket and I can't anymore."
Marley watched him unzip his jacket with wide, confused eyes. She was expecting a goodbye - what she had been raised to believe in as if it were a religion. Instead, she watched as Aiden bite his lip, reaching into his jacket, his breathing shaky inhales.
"I've been thinking a lot lately about every promise I've made to you since we met. Even when we were friends. Not to fight anymore. Not to treat girls the way I had. To keep you safe. To take care of you. Support you and respect you and most importantly..."
Marley felt like she might faint when he pulled out a teal blue box from the lapel of his jacket.
A small, square box.
A. Small. Square. Freaking. Box.
"To never leave you."
Aiden studied her expression carefully, watching the blood drain from her face with worry evident on his features.
When she swayed, he shot out to catch her, curling his hands around her waist while she gripped his biceps.
"A-Aiden-" she whispered breathlessly, "what...what's in the...the box?"
He pulled her closer, opening her palm to place it in her shaky, sweating hand.
"Open it, baby," He said, scanning over her face. She couldn't take her eyes off the box, her body trembling.
He was patient for the solid few minutes she spent hyperventilating, staring at the small box with fear that slowly turned into curiosity.
She clasped her shaky fingers around it, still pressed against Aiden as he held his hands on her hips.
"A promise is made to be kept regardless of any and all circumstances. It's permanent. As is what's in that box."
Marley cursed the stupid tears already forming, "How do I beat this?" She sniffled, having not even opened the box yet.
Is it a...could it be...
He chuckled, but it was shaky. He's as nervous as she is.
Marley's fingers were nearly blurring as she opened the box to reveal a teal, velvet case. Aiden took over, probably impatient at her slow pace, slipping the second part of the package from the cardboard box and tossing the cardboard away carelessly.
Marley sniffled again, "We have to pick that up and put it in the recycle after."
Aiden's smile was warm and sweet as he pressed his lips to hers, "I love you."
In this cold Aiden is warm, he radiates heat and safety. She snuggled as close as she could despite a part of her that wanted to hightail it out of there. In fear. Apprehension.
Aiden didn't take his eyes off of her as he turned the box to face her, lifting the lid.
***
I know you all want to kill me, BUT...
yea I got nothing.
...
*hides*
Coming Tuesday ❤️❤️: