Monday morning arrived far too quickly. For Aiden, anyway. Most people spent Sunday relaxing. Aiden spent Sunday replaying the festival in his head. Over. And over. And over again. The hug. Her smile. The way she'd looked at him before she left. The fact that she'd kept the ugly stuffed bear. Especially that part.
By the time he arrived at school, he was in a suspiciously good mood. Noah noticed immediately.
"You look happy."
"I'm always happy."
"No."
"What?"
"You look disgustingly happy."
Aiden rolled his eyes.
"Leave me alone."
Noah gasped dramatically.
"He's smiling before first period."
"I'm not smiling."
"You literally are."
Aiden stopped smiling. Immediately. Noah laughed.
A few minutes later, Mia walked into class. Aiden's good mood somehow got even better. Which was annoying. Because one person shouldn't have that much power over him. Yet somehow she did. Mia spotted him. Then smiled. And suddenly the morning didn't seem so bad.
"Morning."
"Morning."
For a second, neither looked away. Then Noah made fake gagging noises. Both immediately threw things at him.
Everything was normal. For about twenty minutes. Then Sophie walked into class. And the room instantly became louder. Aiden groaned. Mia noticed.
"You don't like her very much."
"It's not that."
"It definitely is."
Aiden sighed.
"Sophie creates problems."
As if on cue, Sophie walked past their desk.
"Good morning, lovebirds."
Mia nearly choked. Aiden dropped his pen.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
Sophie's grin widened.
"Sure."
Then she continued walking. Like she'd done nothing wrong.
Unfortunately... The damage was already done. Because several students had heard her. And students loved drama. Especially when it involved Aiden Scott. By lunch, the entire school seemed to have reached the same conclusion. Aiden and Mia were dating.
They weren't. Technically. But explaining that proved surprisingly difficult.
"Wait, you're not together?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Yes."
The student looked unconvinced. Very unconvinced. Aiden sighed. This was going to be a long day.
Meanwhile, Mia wasn't having much better luck. She'd barely sat down at lunch before one of her friends leaned across the table.
"So."
"So?"
"How long have you and Aiden been together?"
Mia nearly spit out her drink.
"We're not together."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then why did he win you a stuffed bear?"
Mia froze. Her friend smirked.
"Exactly."
The rest of lunch was torture. Pure torture. Everywhere Mia went, someone brought it up. Everywhere Aiden went, someone brought it up. By the end of the day, both of them were exhausted.
The final bell rang. Students flooded into the hallways. Aiden was stuffing books into his bag when Mia appeared beside him.
"Walk home?"
Aiden smiled.
"Sure."
They left the classroom together. Neither noticed the dozens of students watching them leave. Together. Again.
The walk started normally. For about five minutes. Then Mia suddenly spoke.
"Aiden?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think the rumors will stop?"
Aiden laughed.
"No chance."
Mia groaned.
"I hate this."
"Why?"
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"Yeah."
Mia hesitated. Then looked away.
"Because everyone's talking about us."
Aiden stayed quiet. For some reason, the word "us" made his heart beat faster.
They continued walking. The afternoon sun painted everything gold. Cars passed. Birds chirped. Neither spoke. Then Aiden broke the silence.
"Does it bother you?"
Mia looked up.
"The rumors?"
"Yeah."
She thought about it. Honestly? The rumors themselves weren't what bothered her. What bothered her was how much she didn't mind them. And that was a dangerous realization.
"A little."
Aiden nodded slowly. Then looked ahead again. For some reason, that answer disappointed him. More than he wanted to admit.
A few moments later, they reached a small park. The same one Aiden occasionally cuts through on the way home. Without thinking, they sat on a bench. Neither seemed in a hurry to leave.
"Mia?"
"Yeah?"
Aiden stared at the ground. Then took a deep breath.
"There was something I wanted to ask."
Her heart immediately sped up.
"What?"
For the first time all day, Aiden seemed nervous. Actually nervous. And that almost never happened.
"Aiden?"
He looked up. Their eyes met. And suddenly every sound around them faded away.
"I..."
Before he could finish, His phone rang. Both froze. Then stared at the screen.
Noah.
Of course it was Noah. Aiden closed his eyes. Slowly. Painfully. Like a man accepting defeat. Mia burst out laughing.
"No way."
"He's doing this on purpose."
"You think?"
"I know."
The phone continued ringing. Relentlessly. Aiden finally answered.
"What?"
Noah's voice exploded through the speaker.
"DUDE."
"What?"
"ARE YOU WITH MIA?"
Aiden looked at the sky. Wondering what he'd done to deserve this.
"Goodbye, Noah."
Then he hung up.
By now, both of them were laughing. Hard. The serious moment was completely destroyed. Again. Somehow. Some way. Every single time.
As the sun began setting, Mia stood up.
"I should go."
"Yeah."
Neither moved. Neither seemed eager to leave. Finally, Mia smiled.
"See you tomorrow?"
Aiden smiled back.
"Definitely."
For a second, neither looked away. Neither spoke. Neither wanted the moment to end. Then Mia turned and started walking home. Halfway down the path, she looked back. Aiden was still standing there. Watching her. When he realized she'd turned around, he immediately looked away. Mia laughed. Then continued walking.
That night, Mia placed the stuffed bear on her desk. The ugly one-eyed bear. The one she'd promised to keep. She smiled. Then picked it up. And hugged it. Very briefly. Just in case anyone was watching. Not that anyone was. Still.
Across town, Aiden was lying on his bed. Staring at the ceiling. Thinking about Mia. Again. This was becoming a serious problem. Because every day, it became harder to pretend. Harder to ignore. Harder to convince himself that this was just friendship. Because it wasn't. Not anymore. And deep down... He knew it.