Pretend (28 page)

             
"You can't ask April, she practically grew up with me and Aiden like a sister so he's like a big bro to her," Crystal, quickly jumped in.

             
"True," Jinnie said.

             
I had hoped that my silence hadn't given anything away but I seriously felt like I was about to explode.

             
"Guys, I just remembered that I left something in homeroom, I'll catch you up later, ok?" I said as I stood up.

             
"Oh, ok," they all replied as they stared up at me.

             
"Meet you in class," I added before almost power wa
lking, to get out of the cafeteria
.

             
I hadn't left anything in homeroom but that conversation had my stomach doing back
flips and it wouldn't take long for Crystal to have worked out that I was acting suspicious.

             
As I quickly walked up the hall, I was completely caught off guard as someone grabbed my arm and dragged me into an empty classroom before I could even scream out the word help.

             
"Ok
,
before you start shouting
,
just hear me out," he said as I stood with my arms folded and my face scrunched up.

             
I stood in silence as I waited for him to start talking again.

             
"Ok could you not do that whole a
ngry thing, I told you, it's cute
and it makes it very difficult to have a serious conversation with you," he said as a smirk filled his face.

             
"Bye," I said as I turned around and headed towards the door.

             
"Ok, ok. No jokes, sorry," he said as he quickly raced in front of me before I could leave.

             
"Look, I know that you're mad at me-"

             
"You're damn right," I interrupted.

             
"No interruptions," he said as he raised his eyebrow and threw me a smile, which if I wasn't still mad with him, would have been seriously sexy.

             
"I know that what I did last night was out of line-"

             
"
Mmmm
!"
I said sarcastically.

             
"Really?
You're going to ad lib through-out
 
the entire speech?" He asked as he smiled at me.

             
See this is why I can't stand Aiden Daniels because he is so damn sexy. The fact that I still notice his stupid sexiness in the middle
of being mad makes me mad! T
he fact that he still smiles in that way that absolutely drives my stomach crazy, annoys me even more! The very fact that he feels it necessary to take mini steps closer to me each time that he finishes a sentence, driving me completely wild is why he makes my blood boil!

             
"Continue," I said, looking him dead in the eyes.

             
"Ok, I was a jerk, again. I shouldn't have hit Kyle despite how much he deserved it. I know that I should have at least text you last night to apologise but what can I say, I'm a guy and sometimes I just do stupid things," he said as he continued to stare at me.

             
He was
right he was a jerk last night. H
itting Kyle was stupid and so was he.

             
"So,
that's the bit where you can talk now," he said after I had been stood in silence for a few seconds.

             
"Look, Aiden I'm grateful for your apology and everything but I'm mad-"

             
"Ok, so what can I do to make it up to you?" He asked as he smiled at me.

             
"Nothing, look this was a bad idea in the beginning. I mean, you're Crystal's brother and I'm her best friend, do you know how mad she would be if she found out about everything that has happened," I whispered.

             
"Nothing
’
s happened," he said with a look of confusion on his face.

             
"Yeah and maybe that's how it should stay," I said in a direct tone.

             
"Is that what you want?" He asked taking a closer step to me.

             
There
go the stupid butterflies
again!

             
Why was he taking more steps towards me?

             
Oh! There
 
goes the tingle through the spin.

             
Ok April, you need to get control of yourself.

             
"Yes," I finally manage
d to whisper after my heart had
increased, twice in speed.

             
"You're lying," he said as he smiled at me.

             
Damn that smile!

             
"No, I'm not," I stuttered.

             
"You are," he said confidently.

             
"It's ok,
do
it your way," he said as he walked past me and leaned against a table and let out a chuckle.

             
"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked, angrily.

             
"It means that you keep running from the inevitable and at some point you're going to have to stop running," he said as that stupid smirk remained on his face.

             
I didn't have an answer so I folded my arms and grunted. Childish, I know.

             
"So?" He asked.

             
"You really think that I
 
want you?" I asked, sarcastically.

             
"Yup," he said as his smile increased.

             
"You are so full of it, aren't you?"

             
"No, I just don't run
away
from the truth like you do," he replied.

             
"The truth?"

             
"Yes the truth. See, I can admit that I want you April, I'm just waiting for you to stop fighting it," he said in a more serious tone.

I was pretty sure that m
y cheeks were at least blood
red by now. He had never been so direct and it was completely taking me by surprise.

             
"Yeah, well I'm going on a date with Jake tonight. Why would I do that if I wanted you?" I said as I snorted at him.

             
Idiot! That told him.

             
"You tell me?" He said as he stood up and took a step closer to me.

             
"Well it's because he's sweet-"

             
"And?"

             
"He's not arrogant-"

             
"And?"

             
"He doesn't get all angry at the most stupid things and punch guys in their nose-"

             
"Anything else?"

             
"Yeah, he's a nice guy!"

             
So pathetic April! Those answers were lame, even I knew that.

Stepping right up to me so that I could feel his hot breath against my cheek
,
he whispered in my ear.

             
"Does he make your heart beat this fast?" He said as he pressed his body against mine.

             
He was right
,
my heart was moving at
 
the speed of a train and it was not slowing down. I don't know why he had this effect on me but I just couldn't stop it.

             
As I went to argue my point some more he suddenly silenced me as his lips crashed into mine. His hand had somehow found its way around my waist and had us literally pressed up against each other.

             
I pushed him back, angrily and then without a seconds thought I pulled him back towards me and kissed him again.

             
What the hell was I doing?

             
This is Aiden, Crystal's brother!

             
This shouldn't be happening.

             
Then why wasn't I pulling away?

             
Why didn't I push him off and say no?

             
Why did it feel so damn good and so right?

             
Why was my stomach doing back flips all over the place?

             
He grabbed my thighs with his hands and lifted me onto the table that he had been previously sat on. My legs were wrapped around his waist and my heart beat was racing faster than ever. As my hand slipped into his dark brown hair, I was suddenly brought back to reality as the sound of the bell rang through-out the school.

             
As I was forced to take in my situation, I pushed him back, jumped from the table and ran towards the door.

             
"Hey, wait up," he said as he grabbed hold of my wrist.

             
"No, I can
’
t. I can't do this Aiden, it's wrong," I said as a flood of panic took over me.

             
I couldn't betray Crystal like this, it was wrong. She would hate me forever and I mean forever.

             
"Why?" He asked in a sad voice.

             
"Crystal," I replied quietly.

             
"Look, can we just pretend that this never happened," I pleaded.

             
"I can't. How am I suppose
d
to do that?" He asked.

             
"I don't
know, just avoid me,
keep
your
distance. I don't care but she's my best friend and I can't do this to her," I whispered.

             
"But-"

             
"No Aiden, there's nothing left to say. She's my best friend and I pick her. I'm going on my date with Jake tonight and you carry on with Cayce or whoever but this never happened," I said as I slipped through the door and escaped down the hall towards my next lesson before he could say anything else.

             
What have I done?

* * *

             
Needless to say that my day went
very
slow.
My mind was completely distracted by mine and Aiden's little episode earlier. I have no idea what came over me but I couldn't let that happen again, I just couldn't. Granted, it felt great, no I'm lying, it felt amazing! No one had ever kissed me like Aiden had. I literally felt like I was somebody else. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy but I'm not lying I felt like a character from a movie. It was like imagining
the perfect kiss from a movie and then multiplying that by ten. That's why I have to avoid him at all costs. I couldn't trust myself around him, not after what happened, I just couldn't. If Crystal ever found out, I know that she would hate me forever and I didn't want that. If that meant giving up the greatest kiss of my life then so be it. Friendship was about sacrifice and that's what I was doing.

             
Luckily, I had managed to avoid seeing Aiden for the rest of the day. Bob had text me to say that
he
and M
om
 
were picking me up, so that meant that I didn't have to catch a ride with Aiden and Crystal which would have been very awkward.

             
My mom and Bob had stopped picking me up from school years ago and it was pretty strange that they were doing so today.

             
Was something wrong?

             
"Hey," I said as I stepped inside
of
the car.

             
"Hey honey," my mom said as she turned around and threw me a smile.

             
"Hey, kiddo," Bob said as he started up the engine.

             
"How was your day?"

             
"Yeah, it was ok thanks," I said as I tried to hide the tension in my voice.