LightningSmolder

The Battle (Part 2)

I woke up in a bed.

It was comfortable, and I almost snuggled in further. But once I saw a very familiar camera and heard Malini from downstairs, I knew it wasn't my own. It was Aiden's.

Photographs were hung up on his walls. Pictures of his mom, himself. Pictures of us Potatoes. I smiled at the one of Brynne smashing my face into my cake on my thirteenth birthday. Mini stood to the side, clearly horrified. Rudy was stifling a laugh. Another picture was of..

Me.

It was on my birthday, the one he'd kissed me on. The one the Sleeper had ruined. Two strands of hair fell in front of my face. My teeth shone pearly white, and I was laughing, probably at something Brynne said. My eyes were bright with joy, and Vajra sparked to life on my wrist.

Was this how he saw me? In his eyes, was I this beautiful?

Because I sure as hell didn't feel like it. The pain from the fight still taunted me mercilessly.

The fight.

I sat straight up once the memories of the battle came back to me, but agony enveloped me like a poisonous hug. I slunk back into the warmth of the bed. Aiden's comforter was- well. Comfortable.

The events of the fight washed over me, so I was stuck in the middle of a tornado of whirling memories. The pain as I grit my teeth and tried to keep myself standing. Aiden picking me up, tending to me. The flash of white light. A crushing embrace.

A blush creeped up onto my face as I thought about the things he'd said to me.

What about me?

Do you even know how much you mean to me?

My feelings were all jumbled up. A large part of me was on cloud nine. The rest of me was just confused.

I shoved any thoughts of him away into a deep, dark pit in my mind. I pushed them all into a box and wrapped it in duck tape so they wouldn't pester me. Great timing too, because Mini's round glasses peeked through the door.

"Aru? You're awake?"

"Yep."

"She's awake, guys!" Mini called. With thundering footsteps, Brynne came stomping upstairs, enveloping me in a bear hug. 

"Can't- breathe-" Aru managed to choke out.

"You're an idiot, Shah, you know that?" Brynne said, holding back tears. She looked so vulnerable, so unguarded.

"I try," I replied. "Where are Nikki and Sheela?"

"They went home," Mini said. "And Hira went home too. Rudy's downstairs, arguing with Aiden over something."

"Speaking of whom," Brynne started to say with a sly smirk. "Your boyfriend's been worried about you. He sat next to you while you slept, holding your hand. He didn't come out until Malini lured him out with chai." 

What?

My face was so flushed that it was probably warming up the entire house, no thanks to Brynne.

Just then, Aiden appeared in the doorway, and caught my eye. Regardless of his disheveled hair, the bags under his eyes, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Brynne snorted.

"We'll leave you two to talk," she said helpfully. With a wink, she and Mini slipped out of the room, barely holding their smiles back.

Welp.

CLIFFHANGER! Next part is coming soon, so stay tuned!