Night of the Masquerade ~ An Aru Shah AU

Chapter 4: Healthy Reunions

"Aru!" 

Her 'sisters' tackled her in a hug. Mini and Brynne weren't actually related to her by blood, but they were close enough to be family. Aru hugged them back. It had been so long since she had last seen them. Before all of them collectively used to live in Atlanta, Georgia. But then Mini moved to Texas and Brynne to New York. They still met up on holidays and called each other everyday, but still, it wasn't the same.

Her friends then went to Kara, doing the same to her, albeit less enthusiastically. Kara had joined their friend circle, also known as 'The Potatoes' (Brynne's idea. Don't ask.), a bit....late. Kara didn't seem to notice. Someone coughed lightly behind their backs. Aru spun around and was met by Aiden's small, closed-mouth smile. Brynne also turned and grinned.

"Ammamma!" She greeted. "Do you have any snacks in your purse?" After they exchanged salutations with Aiden AKA Wifey, (Aru's idea. Again, don't ask.), they went inside Aru's favorite coffee shop, Hodgepodge Coffeehouse. Inside, Kara and Aiden pondered on what to order. Brynne, Mini, and Aru didn't even look at the menu because they would be leaving soon anyways.

"I've never been here before," Kara mused, "I'm not sure what to buy." Aru stared at her in amazement. How could anyone live without eating the cinnamon roll cake here? That was like never having gone to Home Depot before! Aru decided to forgive this disgrace only once because Kara was a bit new to Atlanta.

"You could try the blueberry crumble." Aiden suggested, fiddling with Shadowfax. Kara stared longingly at it, she loved blueberries. How did Aiden know her favorite food? Aru thought to herself dismally. Kara sighed.

"Is there anything.... healthy?" Aru looked at the menu, then at Kara.

"Um.... Jamaican Patties?"

"Fried food is never healthy." Said Mini.

"Just order granola balls and ask for no chocolate chips." Said Brynne, shrugging her shoulders. Kara shuddered but inclined her head. Aru remembered that Kara hated granola.

"I'll get a scone." Aiden decided before looking at Aru, Brynne, and Mini. "What about you guys?"

"My stomach hurts." Aru lied. Aiden raised an eyebrow. "I'm having cramps." She quickly added. He nodded and looked at the other girls minus Kara.

"I try not to eat food from outside places as much as possible. You never know..." Mini trailed off.

"All edible things pale in comparison to my lasagna." Brynne proclaimed haughtily. Of course, Brynne and Mini were only saying this because they were in on Operation Karaden. Well, mostly. Aiden bought his and Kara's orders and they sat down to eat. The plan was that they would all make random excuses and leave, but Aru zoned out and stared at Aiden's scone until he laughed and gave her a piece, forgetting that he was ignoring her for the moment. Mini wiped down the table with a wet wipe and Brynne criticized other people's food just by looking at it.

Aru and Aiden were in a mini food battle, throwing bits of scone, jam, and cream at each other when Kara caught Aru's eyes and gestured frantically at the door. Aru's eyes widened as she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She dusted a bit of powdered sugar off of her cardigan and cleared her throat.

"Oh no! I forgot we had homework from that one math teacher that tried to sing an acapella once!"

"I'll help you with it!" Mini added.

"I need to tell you guys how I perfected my macaron recipe!" Brynne said. Aru glanced at Aiden and saw him staring at the now shiny surface of the table table, not saying a word. Guess they were back to that Aiden again. It stung, but Aru brushed it off and bolted through the door with Mini and Brynne on her heels. They didn't stop until they found themselves in front of an ice cream parlor. Aru turned and saw Mini and Brynne glaring at her.

"We need to talk." Said Brynne. Mini nodded. Aru sighed and gestured towards the parlor.

"Fine, but first let's get ice cream."     

A/N: So I keep asking this but what did you guys think? Also I'm going to stop writing for a week because of exams but after that you can expect another update!