Still With Me

Chapter 2

As I go through my morning classes it's impossible to keep Kaitlyn's words out of my mind. I don't know how much time I'll have at this school before I'm relocated, and even though it hasn't all been pleasant, I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss the shrieking toll of the bell, the beige color of our lockers, the fading Go Lions! mural in the hallway, and as I walk through the halls after English and spot Aiden leaning against my locker, I know I'll miss that sight most of all.

"Did you drive this morning?" he asks when I'm near enough, pushing off the locker.

"Nope, my mom's home today so she dropped me off."

"Perfect. I'll drive then," he says as we walk to the parking lot instead of to our next class.

"You got your new car already?" I ask.

Aiden's beautiful Challenger was destroyed when Harvey ran us off the road. They wrote it off, which I know is heartbreaking for Aiden because he loved his car.

"No, my new car won't be ready for another week or two. I'm driving a rental right now," he answers, not quite looking at me as he adjusts the collar of his shirt.

I frown at him as my mind goes crazy trying to figure out what kind of car Aiden would pick out as a rental. Something fast, for sure. And definitely something pretty.

We exit the school and weave through the parking lot. "Where is it?" I ask, looking around for the fast and pretty car I'm imagining.

We've been walking for quite a bit, and we're almost at the end of the parking lot. He stops walking and points to the automobile right in front of us. I look at the car and back at Aiden with wide eyes, then burst out laughing.

It's a minivan.

"Aiden Parker, street-racing champion and all-around cool guy is driving a minivan? And not even one of the nice ones!"

I really don't even have anything against minivans, but Aiden is just not the kind of guy you'd imagine getting out of one.

"Yeah, yeah, it's the only car they had," he murmurs, but there's a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"This is why you parked all the way in the back, isn't it?" I tease as he opens the passenger-side door.

"Just get in," he grumbles adorably, and I laugh as I do. The seats aren't leather like his Challenger, and I don't see a bum warmer button anywhere. It's not a stick shift either. Do they even make stick shift minivans? This must be killing him.

"Are you still craving pancakes?" he asks as he starts the car, scowling when it quietly purrs to life, decidedly lacking the customary roar of his Challenger.

It's definitely killing him. I try not to laugh. "With strawberries. No, with Nutella. No! Strawberries and Nutella."

"Where do you think we're going to find a breakfast place open at 1 p.m. on a Monday?" he asks, as if trying to stump me.

Grinning arrogantly, I hold up a list on my phone with the location of at least thirteen breakfast places in the area.

"I did some research instead of paying attention in calculus." I pass my phone to him to check out the options.

He raises an eyebrow but doesn't look surprised. "Maybe that's why you're failing calculus."

"Maybe I'm failing calculus because I have an awful tutor," I joke.

We may tease, but Aiden actually has helped me pull up my calculus mark so far. For a minute, I wonder if he'll help me with calculus over the phone once I move to my new school. I need to pass to graduate, and like everything else, he's a good tutor. He passes my phone back to me and pulls out of the parking lot.