Chapter 8: Failed attempt no #2

Aiden clearly underestimated Ryder's capability of being as boring as a rock resting under the sun when she shopped. He truly felt like his brain would boil from boredom as the girl kept staring at two vases of flowers that looked pretty much the same to Aiden. What is there to think so much about? Just pick one already!!!

When the two met after school, Aiden was beaming with confidence. Jasmine was nowhere to be seen, apparently, something had come up with Remy. Aiden didn't care that much, but he was starting to think that maybe this whole "adaptation" thing could be very profitable for his side. At least he could have Ryder all for himself and not worry for Jasmine butting her way in between them like an overprotective dog that would bite him every moment now. Little did Aiden know that Jasmine had let Ryder go alone with him thinking that no matter how all this thing with Aiden ended, it could be a learning experience for Ryder. She still would avenge Ryder if he so much as hurt her hair though...

While Aiden was beaming thinking that things couldn't be any better and he could finally make as many moves as he desired, Ryder was filled with anxiety. This would be the first time she would be all alone with Aiden. What should she do? What should she say? How should she act? Suddenly, she felt extremely self-conscious. Did she smell? How was her hair? She should have worn something better... However, by the time they walked inside the first shop, the tables turned. Ryder relaxed, even almost forgetting that Aiden was there as she looked at the things in the shop, all the attention focused on everywhere but Aiden. On the other hand, Aiden who was being unintentionally ignored was starting to regret tagging alone. Wouldn't it have been better if he just asked her out? Every time he "tags along" things just wouldn't go as he wished... Ryder was too undecided about everything. He had never seen a person think so hard if this pink flower with small leaves or this other PINK FLOWER THAT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME but has bigger leaves, was better. What is there to think about for God's sake!!!

He had to do something or all this would end up in vain. Aiden refused defeat!!!

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked Ryder who was furrowing her eyebrows at the flowers.

Ryder, whose eyes were on the flowers but her mind somewhere else, was brought back to reality by Aiden's voice. Her cognac eyes which looked a bit fogged a moment ago, cleared as she shook her head. "Oh. I was wondering about something."

Being brought back to reality, Ryder just randomly picked one of the flowers she had been "staring" at for a few moments and kept walking down the aisle without paying it so much as a thought.

Aiden "..."

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

The annoyance that poured out of Aiden's eyes went completely unnoticed by Ryder. At that moment all that filled her mind was the possible outcome of the garden. But in the process of thinking about the garden, her mind somehow drifted to a certain someone and unwillingly she started to think of a way to make this certain someone's visits more... comfortable. Staying behind the fence all the time like that... wouldn't it be tiresome?

Without noticing it she was already trying to figure out a solution to it. That was until she remembered that Midnight didn't show up last night and probably wouldn't see her again.

Disappointment and a hint of sadness tingled her heart.

The once again ignored Aiden was on the verge of stomping his foot in anger. For the love of God, girl, do you or do you not have a crush on me? Who the hell ignores their crush like this? Aiden took a deep breath to calm himself and then put a wide smile on his face before approaching Ryder from behind, speaking in her ear and playing innocent. "What do you need these for?"

The cognac eyes widened in surprise as her body froze. The warm breath of Aiden tickled her ear and her mind went blank for a second there. What the hell is going on?

This sudden change in Ryder didn't go unnoticed by Aiden, who smiled in satisfaction. So he had a chance after all... he was just starting to think she didn't actually like him.

"I... birthday present..." Ryder muttered, her voice cracking. Her throat felt dry and she licked her lips. Aiden looked at the grass seeds on her hands and raised an eyebrow. Did she plan on gifting grass? Noticing the confused expression in his eyes, Ryder took the role of a tomato with eyes and tried to shift away from Aiden. This proximity was making it hard to concentrate and breathe normally... "I'm turning the backyard into a garden for my mother."

"Why don't you pay someone to do that?"

Her upper lip curled up in disdain. Why would she do that? "I want to make it myself."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun."

The confusion on Aiden's face deepened the furrow between his eyebrows. How is that fun?

When he first noticed Ryder, he didn't have any big impression of her. He just thought she was pretty, with messy hair that made her look cute, like a little fluffy bunny. The girl was most of the time quiet, not talking too much unless Jasmine was around and for some reason, she always looked like she came from another world. Aiden had taken an interest in her because of this. After talking to her a few times, his impression of her improved even though she was a bit weird and ignorant to his obvious flirting. But only now did Aiden realize that this girl truly is something else... None of the girls he had met before was like her... That Boxer Girl must have made her like this... Tch!

Aiden now was getting curious how that head of Ryder functioned. "Fun?"

Ryder walked farther away, trying to keep some distance from this guy for safety reasons. If he was too close her heart would exhaust itself from beating too fast. She wouldn't want to die in front of him, did she? Ryder had a sense of Déjà vu as she explained for the second time to someone her hobby. "I like doing different things whenever I feel like it."

"Like what?"

The feeling of Déjà vu was making Ryder feel uncomfortable. "Different things. As long as it piques my interest, be it drawing, sculpting, making stuffed animals..."

"So, you like to make things..." Well... this is a pretty indistinct hobby.

"Yeah..."

"So, if it "piques your interest", you will do it, whatever it is?"

"Yeah..." For a second Ryder felt that the questions and the used tone were a bit odd. "It doesn't mean that I will be able to do it though. I just try my best... most of the things I have done aren't that good."

However, Aiden didn't listen to this last part, his mind going astray.

Trying to break the silence that suddenly fell on their heads like a veil, Ryder for once took the initiative to ask Aiden something. "What about you? Do you like doing anything in particular?"

"Basketball," Aiden answered without hesitation. It was to be expected since Aiden was on the basketball team, but Ryder hadn't seen him play, since she didn't like watching sports. If she was the one playing, she wouldn't mind that much, but just watching was the opposite of excitement to her. No matter what sport it was or who played, she would get bored and get lost in thoughts. Knowing very well she would start daydreaming, Ryder preferred to do it somewhere quiet and enjoy her daydreaming session without being disturbed.

Now that the attention had turned to Aiden, he wanted to keep it that way. "Have you come to one of my matches?" He asked excitedly.

Ryder shook her head.

What?! Aiden didn't expect that. What kind of girl doesn't come to see her crush playing basketball? Ryder, do you really like me or not? Be honest. I'm starting to have doubts again.

"Why?"

Ryder shrugged. She didn't have the heart to tell him she finds it boring after hearing how excited he sounded and how his green eyes sparkled when he talked about the sport.

"You should come once. I would be delighted."

Suddenly, Ryder regretted asking about his hobby. She walked herself into this. How the hell can she turn him down? A match is around two and a half hours... how is she supposed to endure for so long without getting bored out of her mind while trying to look excited? Even though the words of the refusal formed, they never passed her lips. She couldn't bring herself to turn Aiden down.

Fuck!

"Okay..."

After enduring for another half an hour, Ryder finally finished shopping. The torture was finally over. Aiden almost started to do a happy dance, feeling like being freed from prison. After suffering for so long, there was no way he would let go of Ryder just like that. He didn't waste his afternoon for nothing. And so Ryder was dragged into a café.

Seeing how energetic Aiden was being, Ryder understood that he had been bored to death and suffered in silence, so she didn't turn him down and followed him into the café. After buying her coffee, he very casually grabbed her hand to buy her ice cream. Ryder was losing her shit. First of all, this dude was holding her hand. AIDEN CALEY... the guy she had had a crush on for three years now, was holding her hand... Her hand didn't feel like hers anymore. Aiden's hand was big and warm, wrapping around Ryder's small one like a glove. It felt strange, in a nice way... If you don't count her cousins, no boy had held her hand before. This was the first time. Just holding hands, and Ryder's face had turned into the scarlet red ass of a baboon, her heart beating fast and her legs felt weak in the knees. Is... is this how friends act? I mean... Jasmine does grab my hands from now then but why does this feel different?

Secondly... for the love of God, stop buying me stuff. Ryder hated being spent money on, no matter who the person was. If it weren't her parents paying, she would feel uncomfortable beyond words. But in just an hour, Aiden had paid for her coffee and now he was going to buy her ice cream...

The happiness of holding his hand collided with the discomfort of being spent money on, making her heart a mess. She didn't dare to say anything for her voice would definitely break and embarrassment would add to the mess of emotions already present in her heart.

On the other hand, Aiden was being pretty proud of himself, unaware of the turmoil Ryder was going through. All he saw was Ryder blushing while silently eating the ice cream, without saying anything while avoiding eye contact. This sight pleased him, thinking that Ryder was being shy because he hadn't let go of her hand yet, not that he planned to let go for all it mattered. Even though he was half-right, if he knew how uneasy Ryder was being, he wouldn't be this happy.

As they were walking to Aiden's car, his steps suddenly came to a stop. Before Ryder could ask what was wrong, a young man not older by two or three years than her walked to them. In his arms was a little girl. The sight of the two people almost blinded Ryder. The young man was tall and fit, wearing just a pair of jeans and a shirt underneath a dark-colored blazer. His dark hair was cut short, a lazy almost mocking smile hung on his lips as he looked at Aiden. He looked like he was emitting ice from the way he was standing and looking at him. This made the girl in his arms seem like a little flower blooming in the middle of a field covered in snow. She was adorable beyond words. Her hair, that were the same color as the man's, was tied up into two pigtails. Her small hands had grabbed the collar of the man's shirt, as her big onyx eyes glared at Aiden.

Aiden cursed in his heart. The fuck is this idiot doing here? He let go of Ryder's hand and took a step forward as if trying to hide her behind his back. Ryder was confused. What the hell is going on?

The young man put down the little girl, who immediately hugged his leg, her big eyes still glaring at Aiden.

"A-boy!" The young man said. "How have you been?"

Aiden wanted to slap him right there. Why is he acting as if he wasn't in his house this morning yelling at his big brother, trying to lure him out of the closet with ice cream? However, Aiden maintained a collected expression, trying not to lose face in front of Ryder.

"What are you doing here?" He asked the young man casually.

"Shopping with Leah." The young man petted the head of the little girl. "Right Leah?"

The little girl nodded her head shyly, before glaring at Aiden again. Ryder noticed the glare and found it funny. Why is she looking at Aiden like that?

Aiden looked at Leah and smiled at her. His hand reached out to pinch her cheeks, when suddenly the girl walked closer to him, kicked him on the shin, and puffed out air angrily. Then she hugged the young man's leg once again. "Daddy, let's buy ice cream for Jay. He's waiting for us." The young man picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.

"Well, we'll be leaving then." The young man said. "See you tonight."

Aiden's face twisted upon hearing the last part. Damn it, man, don't you have your own house? "You're coming over?" Aiden was scared to even ask.

The young man grinned widely. "Mhm."

"Why?"

The young man glared at Aiden. "Because I'm too beautiful not to share my beauty with you." The young man smiled at Ryder as he lowered his head in a greeting manner and then walked away. "Don't forget to buy milk. You ran out of it."

"That's because you drank it all," Aiden yelled after him angrily, but the young man ignored him. Puffing angrily, Aiden turned to Ryder, his mood ruined. "I'm sorry for that."

"Who is he?" Ryder asked curiously. He didn't look that old but already had a child... Ryder couldn't help her curiosity.

"He's my brother's best friend, Jeremy." Aiden spat the name as if just saying it, left a bitter taste in his mouth. It couldn't be helped. Aiden had suffered a lot at the hands of his brother and his friend. The two of them were too immature, acting like children and embarrassing him. He better hurry back home and lock all the doors before Jeremy came, or God knows what he and his brother would be up to this time. "Do you mind going back home yourself?"

Anxiety had paled, looking as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Ryder just nodded. Better this way anyway. He already bought her coffee and ice cream, driving her home too would only make Ryder feel more in debt to him. With Aiden gone, Ryder walked her way back home. On her way back, she stopped by a bookstore just for the heck of it.

"What are you looking for this time?" The voice of the worker came not too far from her asking someone whose whole figure was hidden behind a bookshelf close to the entrance.

The voice of that person made Ryder freeze. "Just looking around."

That voice... Ryder rushed to where the voice came from, but the person had already walked out of the shop. She walked out trying to catch a glimpse of the person, but he had already blended with the crowd. Ryder walked inside the bookstore again and asked the worker. "Who was he?"

The worker looked at Ryder as if she was crazy. Why was this random girl asking about him? She shrugged and waved her off. "I don't know. He just shows up from time to time, but doesn't buy anything."

Ryder tried to get some more information from the worker but it was just Ryder's bad luck that this worker had taken a liking to this man and would absolutely for no reason tell her anything about him. Sighing in defeat, Ryder walked out of the bookstore. Her heart was beating fast, her expression darkening in irritation. So close... she almost found him... that voice... it was Midnight's.

EXTRA:

Author: What are your thoughts on Aiden?

Ryder: Prince Charming

Jasmine: Sly brat but he seems harmless so far

Aiden: Cool, handsome, dazzling, talented, smart...

Author: Who the fuck asked you? Get yo ass outta here!!!

Leah: Hmph! Mean monkey

Aiden: What?!! But I didn't do anything

Jeremy: Annoying brat

Author: How dare you insult me-...

His brother: Little bitch

Aiden: You're my brother!!! You should be on my side!

His brother: It's because I'm your brother that I know that you're a little bitch (b ᵔ ▽ ᵔ) b