[ ✔︎ ] 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 | AIDAN. G IMAGINE BOOK

☂︎︎ 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 | 𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧

y/n walked into school that day with a slight limp, slowly heading to her locker.

"hey!" her best friend, b/f called.

"hey," she weakly smiled, grabbing a book out of her locker before closing it.

"you ready?" she nodded.

the two began to walk to class. b/f was a little bit ahead, so they didn't realize y/n was limping.

as they walked into the classroom, y/n got to her seat as quick as possible, hoping no one noticed her limp.

she noticed aidan and two of his friends walk through the door, laughing at some stupid joke one of them made. she has had a crush on aidan since 3rd grade, little did she know he may have had a thing for her too.

aidan had caught y/n staring and sent her a small smile, her turning away in embarrassment. he chuckled and made his way to his seat.

"alright class, as i told you yesterday, we are going to start a project today. i know you'll never stop complaining if i pick your partners so, you may pick your own partners. make wise choices," he pointed at the students with a look, walking over to his desk.

y/n and b/f looked at each other with raised eyebrows and smirks, both thinking the same thing.

before they could say anything, y/n was tapped on the shoulder. she turned to see the one and only, aidan ryan gallagher.

"hey, wanna be my partner?" he asked with a small smile, she swore she almost slipped off her chair.

"u-uhm," she turned to b/f. they sat with a wide smile, nodding rapidly.

"sure!" y/n exclaimed, nodding her head nervously.

"great, meet at my house later?" she smiled.

"yeah, for sure,"

AIDAN GALLAGHER

"dude, i can't believe you actually talked to her!" my friend said with a chuckle. he knew i've been crushing on y/n for quite a few years now.

"right?" i looked over at the h/c girl, she was laughing as her best friend squealed and hugged her tightly. but, something wasn't right.  i noticed her make a face full of pain as b/f squeezed her waist. what was that about? maybe i should ask her about it later.

~

i've been worried about y/n all day. she would always jump if someone even lightly grazed her in the hallway. i even noticed she has been limping through the halls the whole day.

"y/n?" i said in her ear, placing a soft hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

"oh my god, don't sneak up on me like that," yeah, maybe that wasn't the smartest idea.

"sorry, i just wanted to see if you were okay? i've noticed you limping through school all day," a look of panic rushed through her face as she turned back to her locker, clearly not wanting to look me in the eyes.

"yup, just fine! i just fell really bad this morning," i furrowed my brows. she's definitely lying. but, i wasn't gonna push her to tell me anything.

"oh, okay. well, school is over, wanna start heading to my place?" she closed her locker and turned back to me, nodding lightly.

"yeah, let's go," she began walking down the hall, me following close behind. as she adjusted her bookbag, her shirt rose a bit and there it was, a giant bruise on her lower back, another nearly hidden by her pants. even an idiot could know that wasn't just from a fall.

~

eventually we made it to my place and sat down on the couch, letting our bags fall on the ground.

as she went to unzip her bag, i put a hand out to stop her.

"wait," she let go of her bag, sitting back up on the couch.

"what?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

"y/n, i know you didn't fall," she inhaled sharply, turning away from me and going back to her back.

"y/n, look at me," i grabbed her chin, gently turning her head to face me.

"look, you don't have to tell me what happened, okay? i just want to know that you're okay," she didn't respond, tears welling up in her eyes.

"y/n, i'm worried about you," she broke out into sobs, wrapping her arms around my torso and burying her head into my chest.

"sh, it's okay," i stroked her hair and placed soft kisses on her head, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

"i-it's my dad," she said into my chest, squeezing me tighter.

"what's your dad?" i asked, careful not to hurt her as i cupped her face, lifting it to look at me.

"h-he abuses me. ever since my mom passed away he n-never stops drinking. a-and he takes all his anger out on me," i couldn't believe it. how could someone do this to their own child?

"y/n, why haven't you told anyone?"

"i didn't want the people i loved to get hurt because of me, which is why you can't tell a soul," i looked down at her, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

"i won't tell anyone, but you can't keep staying there," she sniffled, taking one of my hands that was on her cheek and holding it in her own.

"where am i supposed to go?" she asked.

"you stay with me, my parents won't mind," she shook her head immediately.

"oh, no, i can't ask you to do that-" i cut her off, squeezing her hand gently.

"i insist," she shook her head again, lifting up our hands and placing them in her lap.

"i don't want you to get hurt," i pressed my forehead against hers, caressing her cheeks with my thumb.

"don't worry about me, i just want you to be safe," she took her hand from mine and cupped my left cheek, bringing me closer and pressing a light peck to my lips.

"thank you," i smiled.

"anything for you,"

i hate when ppl say "i'll never replace you" bc it's always a lie