"I can't believe that he said that, Khloe!" Kiera squealed as she jumped up and down. "That's so sweet."
Yasmin nodded her head quickly. "He's honestly so sweet, and the only girl that he cares about is you, Khloe." Yasmin smiled as she looked over at me.
I had no idea what to do. Yesterday after Hayden and I finished eating, he gave me a big hug, we got into his car, and he drove me home. Throughout the ride home, there was only silence. I wasn't saying anything, and neither was he, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It wasn't the kind of silence that made your skin crawl. It was a comfortable and content silence. I think that we were both satisfied. I knew that this was a big step in our relationship.
"You guys were right," I admitted, glancing down the hallway, but surprisingly my eyes landed on Ariana Kinsey. Her bright green eyes were narrowed as she looked over at me.
My eyes widened slightly, but I quickly re-directed my attention towards Kiera and Yasmin. "I have feelings for Hayden, and now I can actually admit that."
Kiera and Yasmin both clapped their hands together, practically squealing in excitement.
I laughed because it was so great to see that my best friends, cared so much about my relationship with Hayden. I always knew they just wanted me to be happy.
"That's amazing girl." Yasmin grinned. "As you can see, Kiera and I are very happy for you."
"I appreciate you guys," I said as a loud laugh left my mouth. "I'm going to get to class now." I sighed and grabbed my binders out of my locker. "I'll see you, girls, later."
Kiera and Yasmin both waved goodbye and walked away in the opposite direction. Once they were gone, I took a deep breath and glanced over at Ariana.
Despite it being chilly outside, Arianna was wearing a short skirt, which showed off her thin legs. The fact that she was wearing a skirt didn't surprise me at all. Her long red hair was down but pinned back at the front, and like always, her nails were very long and red.
"You're not going to say hi?" Ariana suddenly spoke and my eyes widened. "Staring is very rude." She laughed loudly, as she covered her mouth with her hands.
I quickly walked over towards Ariana. "I'm sorry," I mumbled pulling my backpack tighter around my shoulders. "We just haven't spoken in a while."
Ariana's green eyes scanned over my face. "I know, Khloe." She acknowledged. "It was horrible to hear about what Luna did."
My heartbeat quickened every time someone brought up what had happened. "Thank you." I smiled softly. "Things are getting better now."
Ariana nodded her head. "I heard that Luna was a crazy bitch, but damn... this surprised me."
My eyes widened and I almost snickered, but I decided that it would probably be best just to ignore Ariana's statement. "How are you, Ariana?"
"I'm wonderful." She smiled as she pressed her hands against her cheeks. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
I began to become nervous because who knew the information that Ariana had. She was practically a spy. She knew everything about everyone. "Sure," I swallowed hard. "What's up?"
"Don't look so nervous." Ariana let out a high pitched laugh. "I just wanted to talk about Aiden."
My eyes widened. I had almost completely forgotten that I had to meet Aiden right after school.
"What about?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I haven't spoken to Aiden in months."
"Oh," Ariana shook her head. "You know that isn't true, Khloe."
"Are you stalking me?" I practically uttered. "What do you want from me?"
Ariana placed her hand over her chest as she took a step back. "Bold of you to assume that I want something from you." She shot back as she scrunched up her nose, that was dotted with freckles. "How sad! You think so low of me. I just wanted to warn you."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry." I apologized. "What are you trying to warm me from? Again?"
"I know exactly what Aiden is going to tell you." Ariana grinned, practically showing of her perfectly straight and white teeth. "He holds a lot of secrets, Khloe. And so does that witch Ashlynn."
I tilted my head at Ariana. I was seriously starting to become confused about Ariana's relationship with Ashlynn. "What are you talking about?" I questioned taking a step closer towards her. "What is Aiden hiding? He makes it seem like it's something very important."
Ariana drew in a long breath. "For you," She pointed her long scarlet nails at me. "I believe that it would be a big deal. I'm just telling you to watch out. Ashlynn can already sense that something is wrong. I told you once before, jealousy can make people do crazy things."
"Ashlynn can't be jealous of me." I laughed. "I don't have anything that she doesn't or can't have."
Ariana's eyes widened, and then she asked a simple question. "Are you so sure about that, Khloe?"
I thought for a second. "Well, I—"
"No." Ariana cut me off. "We all learn this when we're practically five years old. People pick on what they can't have." Ariana looked me straight in the eyes, and at that very moment, I could tell that her green eyes were green, but with a burst of yellow in them. "It could be anything." She mumbled, and just as she did, the bell rang. Ariana's lips spread into a smile, as she walked away from me.
I had no idea what had just happened, and it didn't matter. Despite how much Aiden and Ariana kept confusing me, I needed to get to class.
Once I walked into my first period class, Hayden looked up at me with a wide grin playing on his lips.
I laughed as I walked over towards my empty desk beside Hayden. "Hey, Hayden."
"Hey, Khlo." Hayden let out a chuckle as he turned around to look at me. "You look amazing today."
As I looked over at Hayden, I realized just how beautiful he was, never mind me. His tanned skin always looked flawless, his curly brown hair always seemed to fall into place, but what always caught my attention was Hayden's eyes and his smile.
Hayden's eyes were practically green earth like orbs with tints of hazel in them, and his smile was always so courageous. As soon as he smiled, it was almost like I couldn't stop myself from doing the same.
"Oh, stop it!" I giggled, and I could practically feel my face heating up. "You have to be lying."
I didn't look any different from any other day. I was wearing my usual denim jeans with my favourite oversized sweatshirt.
"I would never." Hayden gasped, and I laughed, but then he paused. "Hey," He blurted out and I glanced over at him. "Tell me something about you that I don't already know."
His question caught me completely off guard, but I still thought for a second. "I used to play the piano," I answered and Hayden looked shocked. "Yeah," I smiled. "I used to be pretty good actually."
"Really?" Hayden questioned as his eyes scanned over different parts of my face. "I would have never guessed." He leaned in closer towards me.
"Yeah." I nodded my head, finding myself lost in Hayden's eyes.
"Why did you stop playing?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side.
I actually stopped playing because of Luna, which wasn't really a surprise to anyone. I was just a little girl, and she was my big sister. Whenever she saw that I was good at something, she would discourage me until I truly thought that I wasn't good enough.
"At the time, I thought that I wasn't good enough." I cut the story short for Hayden. "Sometimes I wish that I believed in myself more." I smiled but Hayden's smile faded slightly.
"Hey," He whispered slowly. "Do you want to come over after school?"
I paused, only because I still had to meet Aiden right after school, but I thought that it was very sweet that Hayden wanted to spend some alone time with me. I rather spend time with Hayden rather than with Aiden.
"Like... right after school?" I questioned hesitantly, and Hayden caught on.
"Oh, no!" He shook his head quickly. "Whenever you can. Maybe like an hour or two after? My family and I are going to go visit my grandma in the hospital."
My heart practically fluttered every time Hayden spoke. "Really?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side. "That seems like a family thing." A nervous laugh left my mouth. "I'm sure your parents wouldn't want me to be there—"
"Don't be so clueless, Khloe." Hayden cut me off. "My parents love you, and my grandma would be so happy to see you." Hayden smiled at me softly. "I talk about you all the time."
I could already feel my heartbeat speeding up. "Really?" I questioned and Hayden nodded his head eagerly. "Well, okay." I laughed. "I would love to meet your grandma again."
Hayden grinned. "Just text me when you're ready and I'll come to pick you up."
"Okay," I nodded my head. "I'm looking forward to it, Hayden."
Hayden clapped his hands together. "Me too, mentor girl.
✼ ✼ ✼
I was nervous, to say the least.
Right after school ended, I hopped in my car and drove straight to the coffee shop that I had told Aiden to meet me at.
So here I was now, sitting at a table for two, practically almost having a heart attack. My heart was beating abnormally fast because I had no idea what Aiden had up his sleeve.
I hadn't been alone with Aiden in months. Ever since we broke up, I decided that keeping my distance would be the best thing to do. But the weird thing about it is that Aiden never tried to have a conversation with me, until only recently.
Well, I guess that isn't so weird. He cheated on me, got a new girlfriend and moved on. Why would he try to talk to me?
Suddenly the little bell attached to the door rang, and I had a feeling at the bottom of my stomach that it was Aiden.
I quickly looked up, and just like I had thought, my light eyes clashed with Aiden's dark ones.
Once Aiden spotted me sitting alone, he let out a heavy sigh and walked over towards the table that I was sitting at. "Hey," He said almost so softly that I could barely hear him.
"Hi," I smiled warmly at him. "How are you?" I asked, not because I necessarily cared, I just really didn't know what else to say.
"I'm fine." Aiden chuckled which caught me off guard. "You don't have to ask me how I'm doing, because I know that you don't care."
My eyes widened slightly. "That's not true..." I protested. "I'm just confused. I don't know what else to say." I explained, nervously grabbing sections of my hair. "What do you need to tell me that is so important? No offense, but I have somewhere to be after this."
Aiden nodded his head in agreement. "I didn't know how else to approach this."
"Okay," I nodded my head slowly.
On the outside, I was trying to look contained, unbothered even, but on the inside, I was truly freaking out.
"I still love you, Khloe." Aiden suddenly blurted out, and I completely lost it.
"What?" I practically screamed. "Really Aiden? What are you talking about?" I was just practically yelling out words, and people in the coffee shop, started to turn heads, but I didn't care one bit. "You can't be serious!" I placed my hand over my chest because it felt like my heart was going to explode.
There was no way.
Aiden was lying.
What the hell was he talking about?
My vision was becoming blurry and I had to close my eyes, just to make my head stop spinning.
"I'm being serious," Aiden said firmly, and the tone of his voice made me open my eyes to look at him. "It's not what you think. All I know is that it killed me to see you hurt. I didn't want any of it. I was forced."
"You were forced?" I questioned, folding my arms over my chest. I had no idea what Aiden was talking about. I one hundred percent did not need this in my life right now. I refuse to believe that this is even real. Ashlynn must have put him up to this. "Are you messing with me, Aiden?"
"Of course not." Aiden's eyes widened slightly. "Why would I?"
"Oh, I don't know!" I threw my hands in the air. "I did love you Aiden. I loved you a lot. You were my first boyfriend." My vision began to become blurred, due to the tears that were threatening to pour out. "But then you ruined everything. No one forced you to do anything. You cheated on me, and then you chose Ashlynn. What's done is done."
"No, no." Aiden shook his head roughly. "Don't you think that I wanted to tell you? I didn't choose any of this. My father threatened me." Aiden slowly grabbed my hand. "I'm so sorry, Khloe. I had no choice."
It took me a few seconds, but it felt like the realization hit me harder than any type of bus ever could.
I felt betrayed, useless even. "Your father told you to break up with me? It was all your father, and you listened to him?"
I knew exactly who Aiden's father was. He was a middle-aged, white, rich, businessman. He was one of those businessmen who only truly cared about his business. We all know those privileged men, who don't know what they have until it's all gone.
I knew that Jeremy Pierce didn't like me but I never in a million years thought that he would do this to me.
I guess I wasn't who Jeremy imagined his son to be with.
For starters, I wasn't fully white. My father was, but my mother was black, and I knew that he secretly had a problem with that.
My hair was big and curly, and whenever I went over to Aiden's house, Jeremy would make comments about how I should try straightening it once in a while.
I also didn't necessarily come from money. My mother more so married into it.
The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that a perfect relationship between Aiden and I wouldn't really work out anyway. We would both end up getting hurt, exactly like this situation.
"Are you saying that your father threatened you?" I questioned, and my voice broke with every word I spoke because I was hurt and upset. "Does Ashlynn know anything about this?"
Aiden's dark eyes turned into slits. "Our families made a deal." He explained, looking extremely regretful. "Ashlynn and I were told to make a deal."
My jaw dropped. "What is this? A movie?" I asked because there was no way that any of this could be real. Things like this don't happen in real life. "Was I that awful, Aiden? No one could have just told me the truth?!"
Aiden jerked his head in the opposite direction that I was in. "No, this is my life." He said softly, and I almost felt bad. "My father doesn't want me to be happy. He doesn't stand for anything that I do." Aiden finally looked me in the eyes, and my heart stopped. "I used to ask God every night, why my own dad doesn't love me." Aiden let out a harsh laugh. A sound that sounded like it hurt his throat to make. "I now know why. He's a selfish person. The only thing he will ever care about is himself, and how others see him."
"Aiden—"
"No," Aiden shook his head. "You don't have to say anything Khlo, just let me explain." I immediately stopped talking. "My father hates everything about me. I'm his only child, his only son. He wants me to be somebody that I'm not. I want to play basketball, but my father only wants me to take over the family business." Aiden took a deep breath. "I died my hair black, and he almost completely lost it. I wear dark clothes, and it makes him despise me even more." Aiden's chest rose and fell with rapid heartbeats. "A part of me does it on purpose because I know that it'll make him angry. Why do you think that I'm an only child?" He questioned. "My mother wanted more children, but my father said that it was useless. He already got the son that he thought he wanted."
A big part of me did feel awful for Aiden. No one deserves to be treated like that from their own family. But another part of me couldn't believe anything that he was saying. I still felt betrayed.
"Is that why Ashlynn hates me?" I questioned, putting the pieces together. Ariana's words were now playing in my head.
People pick on what they can't have.
"Yes," Aiden clenched his hands into fists. "I didn't cheat on you, Khloe," Aiden explained and my jaw dropped. "My parents told me that they made arrangements with Ashlynn's family. They said that I had to break up with you, or else I would be cut off." Aiden laughed. "I honestly didn't think that they were being serious, until Ashlynn goes around the whole fucking school, telling everyone that I cheated on you. I was beyond mad." Aiden explained, and I could actually see the anger in his face. "I didn't know what to do. I knew that telling you the truth would hurt you, but now I realize how much of a fool I was."
Aiden paused for a second and I tilted my head. "I thought that you didn't truly love me anyway."
"How could you say that?" I gasped.
"Because Luna told me something," Aiden answered simply.
"Luna?" My heart stopped. "I can't believe this...."
• • •
heyy guysss. like i said, i'm updating once a week again. could be at any time in the week. love yaaa. but ooh drama haha.