A Deal With My Ex

XLII

The day progressed further than expected and Sasha was almost done with her classes. To her dismay, the break between her classes arrived faster than she preferred, hence she had nowhere but to head to the cafeteria. Amelia was dragging her to the place dreaded by her. As they neared the area, the sound of music and chattering accelerated in volume making her gulp knowing he will be there.

As she reached the place, her palpitations reached their peak when her eyes went towards the table he was sitting at. His hand was over the chair beside him, and he was conversing away with his friends while on the other side of the table Nicole was busy talking to hers. The entire squad was having a seemingly good day, but she wasn't. She decided not to interrupt him and walk straight to her friends who were sitting at the far end.

"You're not going to speak to Aiden?" Amelia asked curiously as to why Sasha was walking straight.

"He seems busy, I'll speak to him later" Sasha smiled looking at her friend who nodded her head in agreement before they began to walk to their designated spot.

"Let's get food first" Amelia suggested.

Sasha's presence however did not go unnoticed by Aiden, as he found himself getting up from his seat without realizing it and heading in the direction she was in. Sasha was by the counter buying food, whilst rubbing her temples from the day-long exhaustion. Suddenly, to his surprise, she felt two arms enveloping her waist. She looked behind to get her heart struck by the menace of his nauseating brown eyes that stared back at her with a sense of mischief. As if on instincts, her eyes traveled to Nicole with her periphery and she was looking. It was time to act.

"Hey" Sasha flashed him a toothed smile to Aiden, who seemed taken aback.

"Hello" Aiden replied holding her tighter.

"Turn around" He whispered in her ear and Sasha obliged.

As she turned around, Aiden once again wrapped his arms around her waist, and coming face to face with his angular brown eyes, made her lose her mind for a moment, but it all fell into place once her eyes traveled to Nicole who was looking at her. Playing a fake smile on her lips, she leaned closer to him and said.

"She is staring at us"

"Just play along with me" Aiden whispered back, making sure the communication remained within them.

"How were the classes?" Aiden asked in a soft voice which almost sounded soothingly true, but to Sasha’s dismay, they were only a facade for the devil.

"They were okay. How was your day?" Sasha asked trying her best to keep up with the act, but her breaking heart was being a major resistance. She is, however, known for her power of resilience, and hence she was able to sustain herself.

"It was good" Aiden nodded smiling.

"You wanna sit together?" Aiden gestured at their seat loudly, enough for Nicole to hear.

Sasha however, had her boundaries and she could not endure the circumstances of sitting at the same table as the girl which was fully the reason for her condition.

"I'd rather not, my friends are waiting" She answered with a tint of anguish visible in her tone.

"Okay I'll see you later I guess" Aiden's voice almost sounded upset at the denial of his proposal.

Aiden did not realize that he felt glum at her denial until she walked away bidding a temporary farewell. He tried his best to interpret the feeling but his senses seemed to be blocked as he watched her figure move away to the further end of the cafeteria. He strangely wanted her to sit beside him and talk to him.

His eyes then went back to Nicole, who was glancing at him with a frown painted on her forehead. He completely forgot what he was feeling a while ago, and instantly smirked as the satisfaction sank in. He began walking towards the table with a smug look when Thea spoke.

"You and Sasha seem to be getting serious" Thea commented with a teasing smile.

"Yeah" Aiden chuckled followed by the chewing of his lower lip, observing Nicole from his periphery.

From the stature, he predicted that she had rolled his eyes. Once again he felt satisfied knowing that things were going just the way he willed for them to go. All thanks to Sasha. His eyes urged him to look in her direction but all that feeling of success soon vanished when his eyes fell upon the figure walking towards the second entrance of the cafeteria. He felt his good mood slowly wear away as he saw the two walk out of the place. Arbitrarily, his senses were alerted as he made a mental note to address the issue later on.

***

Two weeks. Fourteen days. 336 hours have passed since Sasha had sacrificed herself with inner hopes that one day the forlorn will meet its end and the aurora of felicity and affirmation shall rise. However, each day passed in suffocating agony and constraints of the harsh reality.

The day ended sooner than later to Sasha's delight. She wanted nothing more than to rush back home and curl into the comfort of her pillows and lonely sheets. Mental exhaustion rushed through her veins as she replayed the incidents of the day. Once again, she was used to making the formerly Raven-headed girl jealous and they discarded like a piece of waste. Thankfully, she was almost near the gate, not willing to face the brown-eyed Adonis who successfully shattered her into pieces every single day.

Unfortunately, things have never gone her way and they will not this time either. Just as she was about to reach the freedom gate, a voice requested her to halt in her steps, as the footsteps of the person were well heard nearing. Sucking in a deep breath she turned around with an emotionless face, not willing anymore to show any fake emotions.

"Hey" He greeted and Sasha nodded.

"Wow, you seem exhausted! You okay?" He asked with concern unexpectedly laced in his voice, making Sasha internally scoff.

"Yeah I'm fine" She answered curtly.

"What do you want to have? Any drink or snack? It's on me" Aiden offered to beam at her but Sasha did not buy anything. She knew he needed something.

"What are you here for?" She straightforwardly asked.

Aiden seemed taken aback by the cold tone used by Sasha, as his eyes suddenly darkened look at her, but Sasha did not budge and looked straight at him.

"I needed to talk to you about something," He said in his mid-low voice.

"Go ahead" Sasha indicated.

Aiden took a deep sigh, look down at his feet, and thrust his hands inside his pockets. Before looking up with eyes a shade darker than the former.

"You need to stop talking to Spencer this often"