We arrive at a Italian restaurant called Olive Garden. It was small, but still had a modern touch to it. Hung around was tiny warm toned LED lights hanging around the decking of the outside area. Lucky, the weather was Temperate and we arrived at the best time.
The brilliant orb of amber and tangerine sunk lower and lower in the sky until it dipped down into the horizon, painting the sky in magnificent hues of fiery red and crimson. The colors faded from maroon to neon pink and majestic purple.
"Do you see the sky Aiden?" I say in a soft voice still mesmerised by it's beauty.
"They are symbols. Each showing you the good tomorrow could bring."
And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me. Aiden takes my hand and guides me into the restaurant never loosening his grip.
The waitress walks us over to a single table in view of the small aquatic coloured waterfall that contains little fish in it.
Aiden kindly pulls out a chair for me, I thank him, before sitting down and tucking the chair in.
The waitress, who's name was Alison, introduced herself and said she would be accompanying us during our stay.
She walks over to the bar, grabbing two medium sized menus that has fancy writting on it and plants it infront of us, saying she would came back soon to take orders.
"So, what do you want to eat Maddison?"
Aiden asks picking the menu up and scanning the menu.
"I think I'll have the Fettuccine with broccoli and chicken please."
"Of course, anything else?"
"No, thank you." I say nervously, he was being unusual nice today. And it's making me feel slightly on edge.
"I'm going to go for a margarita pizza." Aiden looks up from the menu and stares into my eyes.
"You can never go wrong with pizza." I laugh.
"I know."
While waitress takes our orders to the kitchen, me and Aiden begin talking small talk.
"I want to know more about you, Maddison." Aiden puts his hands together.
"I'm sure if you ask your friends, they would know." I say, jokingly, they knew everyone and everything about anyone.
"If I'm being honest, I don't know much about you, you seem interesting and different from the others."
"Okay." I say on edge.
"So what do you want to know?" I ask, already regretting agreeing to his questionnaire.
"Why do you like to read so much?"
I gulp down and reply "I've loved reading ever since I was little, my mum and dad used to take turns reading me a bedtime story before bed. And I think that's why I like reading. It's kind of asking a stereotypical teenage boy why he likes football."
"Maddison, your hilarious." Aiden says sarcastically.
"Well, thank you I try to be." I smile, playing along.
"Now tell me about your family."
"Well, my mum runs her own catering business and my dad is an accountant who manages people's money. And my brother Ryan is joining Oxford next year."
"Sounds like you have a perfect family."
Aiden looks to the ground, sadness present in his voice. I could help but think, that there's more than what meets the eye. And that Aiden who is labelled 'the player of Oxford' has personal problems too like everyone else but he chooses not to share or express his feelings, than to push them away.
"Everyone living in this earth right now, isn't perfect. We all have our problems but we have to keep moving forward, I'm sure your family are great too."
"You know nothing about me, Maddison so don't go assuming things."He says sternly.
His mood drastically changed from 1-100 quite quick. Maybe it's something I said that made him flip out. I don't really know. It's not my job to calm him down. Aimee said she wanted me to look out for him, making sure he's making the right choices and not drinking every weekend.
"I'm sorry Aiden, I was trying to sympathise with you. I don't know why your getting angry." Anger present in my voice.
"Why did you invite me here today, if you didn't want to talk about yourself?"
I say angrily, he doesn't get to be the person who is in the right tonight.
"This is was a massive mistake." Aidan sets up from the chair and walks into the bar.
What have I just done! I'm so stupid to think Aiden could change, even for just one night. I've sadly realised that you can't change someone who is already broken. Even if you love them, they can't be fixed.
I started to think that coming out tonight with Aiden was a bad idea. I don't think how many times we try to get along, it's not going to work. He's the fire and I'm the ice.
I just there alone in silence, just thinking,this could of been avoided if I didn't apply to Oxford University. And that I have a feeling in the very pit of my stomach that's telling me that this is a sign for me to look for a different university and that Aiden will stir trouble. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with his tantrums.
You see, being empty is not really being empty. It's because happiness is a pleasing weight that sits on you more often than not, like how air pressure sits on you, and you just don't notice it. But, when you are sad that weight drops off giving the illusion you are weightless or "empty" but you are never really empty you're just full of the wrong thing...
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Aiden's POV
My thoughts were by clouded her, every drink I threw into my mouth only reminded me more and more on what I've done. I shouldn't have snapped at her, it's just the way I am. I didn't want Maddison finding out the tragic accident my dad was involved in.
The cheap watered down whisky stung my throat, and my vision became impaired seeing two of the same people and a violent sharp pain threatening at the back of my head warning me, not to take another drink.
Picking up the shot glass, I feel a small tap on my shoulder, to my surprise a blond girl, who looks very familiar causally sits next to me as if I knew her.
"For your own good, stay the fuck away." I beckon and slam the glass in annoyance.
"What's a guy like Aiden Reed drinking by himself?" The girl says pulling a stall beside me.
"Who are you?" I ask in monotone.
"You know exactly who I am Aiden." She smirks taking a sip of my drink that I ordered.
"I'm sorry, you don't ring a bell."
"Well let me remind you, I'm Lacey your ex girlfriend." She smirks, yet she looks very different then she did back in secondary school.
I choke on my drink, what did she just say? Ex girlfriend. Thinking about it, I remember someone named Lacey. Yes, I remember now she was the one who had broken my heart.
We dated for one and a half years. I was happy, and she was happy. It was the perfect relationship. Until one day she had to move away as her dad got a promotion down north, which meant she had to move schools. We tried the long distance thing, but the furthest away she was, the furthest our love for each other died down. She was the one who said the words. I still remember the five words she said like it was just yesterday.
'I don't love you anymore'
Them words hurt the most, it felt like the one and truly person you loved most in the entire world was just stripped away from you, and you had to deal with it.
I grew tired of feeling empty, so I just shut off my emotions and filled it with anger and turned into 'the bad boy' who doesn't give a flying flip about anyone or anything.
It still hurts, everyday it gets a little easier. You never forget how you felt with your first love. No matter what bad things they did you will never stop loving them, it's like a curse it repeats it's self and breaks anyone with it.
"It's good to see you." She replies brightly.
"It's not good to see you, now leave me alone."
"No, I want to talk about what happened between us." She says calm and collected.
"Do you ever know when to stop? you've broken me, actually ruined me I can't move on. Your in my head day and night. And I've finally found someone who I actually care about, who won't use me!" I scream, my chest heaving up and down at an unsteady rate.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Please just give me another chance." she begs. She's not going to play the victim here.
"You made me like this, you made me push the people I loved most away." I slip my jacket over my shoulder and begin to walk away not looking back and walking far and far away from this restaurant.
I reach out my phone in my jacket pocket and begin to ring Maddison I doubt she would want to speak to me after the stunt I pulled an while ago. The call goes straight to voicemail and I curse at myself, for leaving her.
Seriously what the hell is wrong with me?
•••
That argument I had with Lacey had sobered me up and I can finally see and walk normally.
I stumble into the apartment being careful not to wake my mother who is i fact sleeping peacefully on the sofa.
I head towards my room and throw myself onto the bed, untying my laces of my shoes.
Until a figure comes into view.
I squint my eyes, and walk in slow motion to the door. I huge wash of Relief waves over me as I see Maddison standing at the door.
"Come in Maddison." I speak softly, I didn't want to show how angry I am, because it's not fair to keep taking out on her. I hear her quiet footsteps coming nearer and nearer to my bed, and then they stop and when she places herself onto the side of my bed.
I speak first "I'm sorry, that I left you on your own in the restaurant. I just needed some time to myself." I answer shamefully.
"It's okay Aiden, as long your okay now." She smiles sweetly. I don't deserve this girl in my life.
"No, it's not okay I just left you all by yourself god knows what could of happened!" I shout pulling on my hair.
"Really, it's fine. I just walked back to the apartment and Me and your Mum sat and talked and she went to bed and I was in my room reading a book."
"I'm going to tell you a story, a story that means everything to me. One that I've never told anyone until now." I let out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Aiden you don't need to explain yourself to me. It's all my fault I pushed you too hard."
I quickly cut her off and begin telling her the tragic story of my late Father.
"My Father, was driving home from a busy day at work late at night. Until a irresponsible drunk driver crashed into my father. After, we took him to the hospital and they run some scans they realised that he had suffered terrible and life threatening injuries to his head."
"The Nurses and Doctors had informed us that he was going to suffer from some memory loss and weren't going to remember everything, only small clusters."
"A couple months later, we thankfully regained his memory, but as soon everything was returning to how it was, he fell ill with a terrible lung disease and was struggling to even breathe."
"His body couldn't fight it as it was weak enough, and they said he didn't have much time to live. And you kind of get the idea of what happened next." I hold back my tears that are threatening to come out. I can't get emotional right now. I'm such a mess.
"I had no idea, I'm sorry that I made you remember." Maddison eyes fill with guilt.
"It's okay, you got curious and you wanted to know more about me." I smile at her, she looks on the verge of breaking down in tears.
"I'm sorry, you had to deal with that. I couldn't imagine the pain I would feel if my parents were to go." She places her hand onto mine, electricity flowing through me.
"Okay, it's getting too emotional in here." I sniffle and climb into my bed. Maddison gets up from the bed and walks towards the door. I call for her name. She turns around, "I'm going to go in my room, you should get some sleep Aiden. You've had a day."
"How about me and you watch a movie?" I suggest. I don't want her to go. Not yet anyway. I feel so bad how I've been treating her.
"Aiden, it's 12:50am plus we've got Classes tomorrow."
"Don't worry about classes, I'll let you pick the movie except for cheesy romantic films. They are so unrealistic."
Maddison mouth forms an 'O' I laugh at her. I knew how she feels about Romantic movies. I hope she will stay and watch a movie.
"And that's the Aiden, I know." Maddison laughs, she has one of them sweet but funny laughs. She climbs onto the bed, not going under the covers but keeping a reasonable amount of space between us.
All I had to do was to stop being such an idiot and deal with my attitude, because I've finally realised. It doesn't get me far into life, it actually slows it down.
Me and Maddison stay like this for the rest of the night, watching movie after movie. She lost the bet, so I picked most of the movies we was going to watch tonight.
I finally give in and allow her to pick one movie.
Guess what she had chosen.
To All the boys I've loved before...
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Ｉｎｓｔａｇｒａｍ- @n_imaginator_ for updates and teases for upcoming chapters!
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