Aru Shahness

Wheee, an adventure! (Part 2)

I can do this. I am mostly brave. I am sorta strong. And I am desperately in need of Swedish Fish, even though I'm broke! was what Aru told herself as Aiden's mom drove the Potatoes to their campsite. They were 9 people, including Malini Acharya, all squished together in the 6-passenger Toyota. The corner of Mini's glasses was pushing against Aru's ear and Brynne's hair was smothering Aru's face. Aru saw Aiden glancing at her from the corner of her eye. He seemed to somehow sense her discomfort even though he was sitting in the row in front of her next to his mom. No fair! He gets a whole seat to himself. thought Aru.

"Hang in there Shah. Only ten more minutes to go." Aiden said softly.

"Only ten more minutes? That's an eternity." Aru complained.

"You think I'm enjoying this any more than you are?" asked Brynne. "Stop whining so much Shah. It's literally just camping. You're a Pandava! We've been through so much worse."

"Bee, back off! She was only replying to me. It's just ten more minutes. Just ten more minutes." It seemed that Aiden was saying this to himself more than to Brynne.

"Nine more minutes now!" exclaimed Mini. 

"Ow! Mini, can you stop moving so much? Your glasses are scratching against my ear." said Aru.

"Oops!" Mini took off her glasses and put them in her shirt pocket. "There. Is that better?"

"Thanks." Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from the back of the car where Rudy, Hira, and the twins were sitting.

"Rudy! Th-that was a neclace from my mom! It's all I have left of her." Hira started to sob.

Aiden's mom had in her Air Pods, so she wasn't paying any attention to the commotion going on. 

"RUDY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIRA?!" Brynne demanded. 

"I asked t-to hold her necklace. A-and i-it, I mean I accidentally broke it?" said Rudy nervously.

"He is so dead." Nikita whispered from the seat directly behind Aru. Aru agreed. Brynne had clearly had enough of this.

"I AM LITERALLY GOING TO KILL YOU IN 9 MINUTES-" started Brynne.

"It's 7 minutes now." said Mini.

"WHATEVER! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Brynne finished.

"I told you." said Nikita. Aru saw Aiden grin slightly.

Hira's sobs quieted. "Wait, I fixed it. That part attaches back on again. Never mind. Sorry Rudy."

Nikita started visibly panicking. "You're still gonna kill him, right?"

"Definitely. Nobody, and by that I mean NOT ONE SINGLE BEING IN THIS WHOLE FRICKING WORLD, makes Hira cry." said Brynne. "Also, I'm hungry. Ammama?" Brynne asked, while making puppy eyes.

"We're down to 2 packs of Doritos and 2 mangoes, and we haven't even arrived at the campsite yet Bee!" accused Mini, peering at the snacks in the cup holders next to Aiden.

Aru heard Aiden whisper under his breath. "She's just gonna steal them if I don't give them to her anyways." 

Brynne smirked. "What was that Ammama? I can have the snacks? Thanks, you're the best!" Aru blinked, and the next moment, the remaining snacks were in Brynne's lap. She groaned.

"Don't worry Aru, I'm sure we can buy more snacks once we reach the campsite!" said Mini, smiling. Aru tried her best to smile back and then closed her eyes after leaning her head on the side of Aiden's headrest. Maybe she could try to fall asleep, though that was really unlikely, given how noisy the car was at the moment.

Suddenly, she felt a soft, warm touch on her lips, and her eyes flew open to the sight of the stars on a dusky night. Aru stared, mesmerized, while Aiden seemed to be frozen. 

Then, she kissed him. It was a slow, yet remarkable kiss, carrying hopes and dreams. It was a kiss that highlighted potential. Aiden started kissing her back, and it felt like their worlds were complete with just the two of them together. 

Then, Aru heard someone scream.

 "EW! Get a room!" 

Aru and Aiden suddenly pulled apart, crimson-red, and turned to the sight of Nikita covering her eyes. Brynne and Mini were clapping their hands. Sheela and Hira were smiling. And Rudy chose that moment to look up from his phone. 

"What's happening? Why are we clapping?" asked Rudy.

"Your cousin and Aru have finally got some guts!" exclaimed Brynne. Aiden glared at her. 

Rudy started to clap. Aru glared at him menacingly. He stopped clapping and looked at her, confused. Mini started laughing.

"Not. One. More. Word." said Aru, before leaning her head on the side of Aiden's headrest again.

"We're here!" Malini Acharya took out her Air Pods before getting a good look at everyone's faces. Aru's face was buried into the side of Aiden's headrest. Aiden's face was still red, and he was looking out the window. The rest of the Potatoes were smiling knowingly. "What happened?" she asked with a smile.

Just a normal car drive with the Potatoes. I actually wasn't planning on writing the kiss scene. It just sorta...happened, I guess. And I've made up my mind on the MinixRudy scene, and it's happening during the trip, so stay tuned. :D