Engaged At The Moment ✔️

38: This girl from across the room

“You’re here.”

Never had I wanted to facepalm myself more. You’re here? Did he not know where he was or something? 

Although, to be fair, considering the situation, there weren’t really a lot of options to choose from. 

Remember how Logan had drawn Aiden’s attention to us? Well, thanks to that, I was now standing awkwardly in front of the boy who only about an hour ago, I’d waved goodbye to.

Logan, on his part, had gone on his way, leaving with a smile and a spirited: “good luck, Aria!”

I bid him good luck too. I had a feeling he needed it more than I did. And that was saying a lot considering my current situation.

Aiden though, didn’t really seem to mind my lame comment from earlier. Instead, he was now saying, “Ri, I really need your help with something.”

Not quite expecting that, I couldn’t keep from asking, “With what?”

“Well, you know how you know a lot about all this cheesy love stuff and I don’t?”

“Yeah, you really don’t. You thought that emotional scene in ‘Two Suns’ where August stood under the rain, and called out Selena’s name from her window in the way they used to do when they were kids, was lame. Like how could you even think that? It was the sweetest thing ever. Because she finally realized he was her childhood friend who she’d spent so much time searching for.”

Just talking about it was enough to make me swoon all over again. And well, also left me wanting to rewatch the movie – for the millionth time. Hey, I was a sucker for all of that emotional shit.

Aiden, however, was a different matter. “But it is pretty lame.” In the face of my mock glare though, he betrayed a small laugh. “I was just saying,” he offered lightly, hand raised in a show of surrender. And despite my initial killer eyes, I found myself chuckling at his antics. 

“So you see?” He continued, in the mirthful decline. “This is why I need your help so I don’t botch things up.”

“What things?”

“Well, there’s this girl.”

Hmm, a girl. A girl as in a female person. A girl as in a female person he needed my help with. Yeah, that was cool. I was totally cool with that –totally cool and…who the fuck is that girl? Where did she suddenly come from? Well, wherever it was, she’d soon be heading back there when I was done providing all the wrong kind of help to Aiden.

The fact that I could almost hear my brain doing an evil maniacal laugh, did little to make me believe I hadn’t crossed over to the crazy side. 

Thankfully, I stopped from wandering down the familiar lanes of crazy town just in time to catch Aiden’s addition of: “I met her at some frat party two years ago.”

Wait, was he saying…

“Actually, we met three times on the same night. The first time, she was standing with her friends, in a big blue jacket over a white shirt, and her hair tied back.”

I felt a racing in my chest now at the familiar description.

“And I couldn’t help thinking how cute she looked, all panicked and embarrassed after I caught her staring at me. And somehow, I found myself fascinated by this girl from across the room; the nervous way which she played with her hands, and the shyness in the smiles she threw at those around her. 

So, then, imagine my surprise when the second time we met, this seemingly shy girl didn’t hesitate to snap at me for saying true love didn’t exist, and then straight up told me she didn’t find me hot anymore.” He stopped to chuckle then, and despite myself, I couldn’t help from laughing a little too at the memory.