Aria's POV
"That was freshman year." "Still counts." She jabs a finger at me. "And don't forget the sleepover incident. One of those moments of you begging me to stay and watch that horror movie with you, even though I told you I'd pee myself. And guess who screamed so loud your brother came to check? Me. Again." I stare at Lily, fighting the urge to laugh. "You didn't pee yourself." "Not the point. The point is... I do all these best friend things for you, and now it's your turn. So you're coming to the diner." "Lily, you always do this. You wear me down until I say yes. But will saying yes shut you up?" She grins. "Yes." I cover my face with my hands. "Fine." "Atta girl." She's already halfway to the door when she adds casually. "Oh, by the way, there's this guy you should meet." I frown, wondering when I began meeting guys. But since it's my best friend talking, I say... "Uhm... Okay." Maybe this is what I even need. Food. To forget everything about today. The car ride to the diner starts with Lily blasting the radio so loud my ears buzz. She's belting out some old pop song off-key, while smacking the steering wheel, forgetting it's not a drum. Despite myself, I give in halfway and join her. Our voices together would make a sane, human deaf. They overlap, it's like we are squeaking and it's totally off the rhythm. But who cares? "THIS! IS! MY! JAM!" Lily screams, dragging out the note. I stop singing, clutching my stomach and laughing. Lily keeps tossing her hair and singing until I get distracted by the buzzing in my lap. I glance down. Mom Monroe. Dad Monroe. Two missed calls. Three unread texts. I turn the screen face down. "Who's blowing you up?" Lily asks. "Nobody," I say too quickly. She looks at me. "That wasn't a nobody. That was a somebody." I sigh. "It's his parents." Jason's parents. "What do they want from you?" "Nobody cares. I can't with them right now." I shove the phone deeper into my pocket. Lily studies me for a second, then nods. "Okay. No questions asked. You don't want to deal, we don't deal. Period." I send her a grateful look. "Thanks, Lily." "Anytime." She flicks her blinker and pulls into the parking lot. "Anyway, enough about them. We're here." I look up at the neon lights of the diner that glows against the snow. It's a pretty sight. It's been a while since I came here, though. I arch a brow. "Who's the guy?" I'm tempted to ask. Don't blame me for being extra inquisitive. I mean, I once dressed up to go on an actual date with a gay guy. What if this one was worse? "Trust me, Aria. You'll like the guy." "How do you even know him?" "Hey," she points at me as she kills the engine. "Have a little faith in me, Ria. When have I ever set you up with someone terrible?" "Do you want me to list the names or alphabetise them?" I stare at her. "Rude." She leans into the mirror, fluffing her very pink hair. "Okay, check yourself. Do I have lipstick on my teeth? I think I can feel..." "Nope. All good." I follow her out and she loops her arm through mine and tugs me toward the glowing diner doors. "Smile," she whispers as she pushes the door open. The little bell above the door jingles as we enter. The place smells like fried foods and coffee... the exact kind of comfort place Lily would drag me to when I was in a mood. Lily scans the room, her eyes landing on someone at a booth near the window. Her grin widens, and she grabs my hand. "There. That's him." I squint, trying to keep up, and then all I do is stare when I see him. He looks about our age, maybe a little older, with messy brown hair and a goofy smile. I think this is the time when girls my age tell their type in guys and try to see if the guy they have just met fits in. But me... I do not have a type. Since I've never dated anyone, I don't know what to look for. But this guy... he looks nice. And I'm going for nice. Before I can object, Lily is tugging me forward. The guy stands up when we reach the booth, and the smile is still plastered on his face. "Hey," Lily says, sliding into the booth. "This is my best friend, Aria. Aria, this is Matt. Matt, this is the genius I've been telling you about." I blink, heat rising in my cheeks. "Genius?" I give her a look. "Yes, genius. Don't argue.". Lily waves me off and turns back to Matt. "She tutors literally everyone and still manages to be cute while doing it. She's the principal's daughter, and she..." "Lily, stop." I pinch her. "Forget about the last part." Matt laughs. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Aria." He extends his hand. I shake it quickly, wishing I could melt into the diner floor. "Nice to meet you too." "Okay, okay, small talk's cute and all," Lily interrupts as she grabs a menu. "But I already know what I'm getting, so Aria..." She leans in to whisper. "Why don't you, like, actually talk to him while I go grab some ketchup or something?" My eyes widen. I am not ready for this. "Lily..." But she's already sliding out of the booth. "Be nice," she winks. "I'll be right back." And just like that, I'm alone with Matt. He gives me a small, amused smile. "Does she always do this?" "All the time," I mutter, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. What now? "Uhm... how do you know Lily?" I ask. "Next door neighbours." He says simply. Right. He doesn't elaborate or anything. I get the memo dude. You're not up for more discussion. Well, this is some awkward shit. Where the hell is Lily? Does it usually take this long to get ketchup? "Looking for Lily?" Matt asks me. "Huh? Yes." I admit. She's kind of... relentless." "I can tell," he chuckles. "But hey, I don't mind. Means I get to meet you." Is that a pickup line? Because it's damn cheesy as hell. But it doesn't stop the blush that comes to my cheeks.Aria's POV It's a good thing that I get to watch Jason in distress for the five minutes that he stares down at the topic I picked. That's it. I'm gonna make him regret ever saying mean words to Matt. He looks like he cries when he gets a B. Who does that? He makes Matt sound not so enticing again. He makes him sound like a nerd. And although I don't have anything wrong with dating nerds, but still... I can't be considered a nerd by guys and still be in a relationship with one. Matt is not a nerd. He's a nice guy. He's funny and unlike Jason, he takes his studies seriously. Plus, he's not as blunt as Jason, and he's sweet. He'll do. Back to Jason, like I said to him... calling his name is bad enough for me. Maybe, I'll resort to he-who-shall-not-be-named. I fight back a laugh as the thought comes to my head. Then I look at Jason who's glaring. "What?" "I'm wondering what is funny, sunshine. You're supposed to be teaching me and not making fun of me." He says. A sly grin appea
Jason's POV "Jason, where are you going?" Liam asks, eyeing me wearily as I shove my hands in my pockets and walk out of the classroom. "Anywhere but here," I say. I walk down the hallway, ignoring the stares, the drooling, the fascination and awe... there's really nothing to be fascinated about. Maybe a week ago, before I discovered my grades were trash... when I used to feel like the king of the ice? Now I feel like crap. A week without my spot in the team is making me seriously lose my shit. My head keeps spiralling. I need an outlet. I have to pour out the pent-up frustration and anger on someone. As I walk past the garden, I stop. Soft laughter filters through the wind to my ears. I can smell the strawberry and chocolate perfume... which says so much about my tutor. What is she doing here? Nobody comes here. And why is she laughing? I turn around and walk forward to see. There she is, standing with the new guy. My jaw ticks as he says something and she laughs about it. A
Aria's POV As soon as Lily's face pops up on the screen, she lets out a squeal, that nearly makes me jump up to go and shut my door. “Okay, spill. Now. Right now,” she says, grinning from ear to ear. "Spill what?" I frown. "The details. How was it? I want to know everything. What did you guys talk about? Did he kiss you? And... I'm sorry for being insensitive babe. How did your tutor session go?" Tutor session? As great as it could go. "Matt kissed me." Lily's eyes widen and I go to add. "On the cheek," It still doesn't make a difference because she's practically jumping and making a mess on her bed. I groan and bury my face in my hands. "Lilly, stop." "Nope. Not stopping. He kissed your cheek on the first date. Do you realise what that means?" Lily wiggles her brows dramatically. I peek out my hands, muttering, "That he's friendly?" "That he likes you," Lily says with finality. "Matt likes you, and I'm officially shipping this." "We talked about a lot... anyway. He sai
Aria's POV "What are you wearing?" Lily's frantic voice echoes through my phone speakers. "Uhm... A grey dress with my school sneakers? I topped the dress with Drew's university hoodie." I responded meekly as I manoeuvred my car into the diner's parking lot. "You are wearing your brother's old hoodie to a date? Arianna Bennett, have you totally learnt nothing from me?" I roll my eyes. "It's cute. My mum said so," "What do I do with you? It's okay. You're probably there so it's fine. Just Facetime me when you get home with all the juicy deets, okay?" "Yeah, love you, mean it." I smile. "Hate you, kidding." I hang up and exhale. Here goes nothing. As I enter the diner, I gasp at the population. It's packed tonight. But in the midst of the many bodies, I spot Matt. His goofy grin is hard to miss. Plus, he's in a red hoodie, which singles him out. "Hey," I say, smiling as I slide into the booth beside him. "Aria..." He smiles easily, his eyes roaming over my face. I hope he l
Aria's POVI park my car at the coffee shop and take extra time to make sure my bun is slick. It's ridiculous how I took my precious time to look this good. I'm not supposed to care about others' opinions about me. I'm just... self-conscious.I grab my bag and leave the car. The doors to the coffee shop swoosh open and I scan the place. It's empty save for a couple occupying the front table. This is why I picked this place. On Monday evenings, it's usually deserted and perfect for a tutor session.I walk to the table closest to the window and take my seat. It's 4:51 which means I'm early. I just hope Jason doesn't arrive late so that I can get this over with and return home.My blankets miss me. The cold is biting. I'm freezing even with two shirts, warm fuzzy palazzo pants and my brother's hoodie. I run my tongue over my lower lip and lean back into my chair. When Mimi walks over, I mirror her warm smile and order a hot mug of coffee. I'm sipping my coffee and staring at the door w
Aria's POV "Do you want to see who it is? Should I open up?' Lily glances at me, her hand hovering above the doorknob. It's not like I can hide in here forever, so I just nod. As soon as she opens the door, Aiden's face comes into view. Lily gives me a 'what is he doing here?' kind of look but I shrug in reply. To be honest, it baffles me that Aiden is here, and not with his friend. "What are you doing here? It's either your lack of reading abilities paid off or you deliberately ignored the sign outside. Girls' bathroom." Lily says in a cold voice. Aiden ignores Lily, he takes a few steps toward me. "Hey," he says. "Uh... hi," I reply. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know he'd react that way after watching the video. Jason is..." "A jerk." Lily cuts in. "We know. Now do us a favour and leave." "I'm here to apologise," Aiden says, ignoring Lily again. "Jason is my best friend. I know that he can be annoying at times but trust me when he gets to know you... When you get to know him