Something forbidden

chapter 9: stop

"Aiden, knock it off, this isn't you," I try to look away and to the floor but he grips my jaw and makes me look at him. He's scaring me. Before he gets any closer, I hit him. Right across the face. Aiden stumbles back and when he looks at me, his cheek is bleeding a little bit. Shit.

I quickly hop off the counter and grab some more paper towels and clean off his face. He keeps his eyes locked on me with a glare that sends chills up my spine.

"I'm sorry Aiden. But that wasn't you and I'd rather you not snap back into reality and regret it or hate me for not stopping you. We just went over this the other day. You're not like me. I'm sorry again for hitting you. I think we need to keep our distance for a while. At least till everything calms down," I blurted all of that out and left before he could answer.

I ran home as fast as I could. The second I walked through the door, I was hit with a wave of guilt and shame. I felt bad for pushing him away but I knew if he continued it wouldn't end well. This isn't what I want. At least not this way. I just need him out of my mind for a while.

The rest of the week flew by. Aiden's friends kept picking on me and random people kept placing dildos and lube in my locker. I didn't really let it get to me. Or at least I should say, I didn't let people see that it got to me. I kept my head low and avoided Aiden at all costs.

At last, it was the weekend. A wave of relief washed over me since I knew I didn't have to see anyone from school. That is until my bubble burst when Aiden walked into my room with bruises on his face and knuckles, and blood dripping down from his cheek.

"What the hell happened?!" I jumped to my feet and ran over to him, examining the injuries on his face and hands.

"Don't worry about it, can I just have a hug?" he asks while staring at the floor in front of him.

"You don't have to ask that, well I mean you do right now but when you're like this, you don't have to ask," I say with a slight chuckle while pulling him into a tight hug. Aiden didn't respond. He just buried his head into my shoulder, taking slow deep breaths.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" I gently rub his back and he winces slightly to the touch. Eventually, he nods and steps away from me.

I grab him a change of clothes and lead him to the bathroom. Aiden still doesn't say anything. He just keeps his eyes glued to the floor. I silently start the bath and put the water stopper down along with some bubble bath in it cause why not. I hear a small laugh behind me and turn around to him smiling softly at the growing bubbles in the bath.

"In you go," I smile and grab some cleaning ointments from below the sink as well as bandages. I keep my back to Aiden till I hear him get in the bath. When I turn to look at it him, he has his knees to his chest and is staring at the falling water.

After a second I turn off the water and grab a cup.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" I finally say while breaking the silence. Aiden shrugs in response. This bitch. I roll my eyes and flick his ear.

"Ow! What the hell Mike?!" he covers his ear and finally looks at me. Only for his cheeks to turn red slightly and he looks away.

"Good, you can talk. So start talking," I dump some water on his head and he pouts while crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, you don't want to talk to me," he keeps sulking and I slap the back of his head.

"Then get out of my bathroom if you don't want to talk. I would've kicked you out if I didn't care!" I can't help but get mad but to my surprise, he's smiling. Is he insane?

"If you care then can I have a hug again?" he opens his arms and I sigh. Whatever. I carefully lean over and give him a hug. But before I can pull away, he pulls me into the tub between his legs.

"Aiden! That's not cool! Let me go!" I try to push him away till I hit a bruise on his side and he lets out a painful groan. I sigh and stop moving. When I look up at him, he's almost in tears.

"Please," he wipes his eyes and looks into mine. "Don't push me away, I want to be by your side. I'm not insane. I don't know what's happening to me but it hurts that I can't be near you. I barely even see you in the halls. I hate how people are treating you, I took care of my friends so can I please be friends with you again?" he pleads and pushes the wet hair out of my face.

"First, you don't know what you want and I don't want to be an experiment. I don't know if I can handle the rejection. Two, what do you mean you took care of your friends? Did they do this to you?" I reach over and grab some rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip.

He keeps his eyes on my hands and winces when I place the ointment on the cut on his cheek. "I made sure they won't hurt you again. I'm not friends with them anymore. I just want to be your friend. That's all. I only need you."

I freeze slightly and continue cleaning the cut before he continues. "If you want to start over then that's fine and I know you don't want to be an experiment but can I please confirm something with you? You can slap me if you don't like it," he returns his eyes to mine. What game is he playing now? Whatever. What's there to lose at this point right?

I nod my head and Aiden gently cups my face and sits up more, only a mere two inches between us. I can feel my heart racing out of my chest. I need to stop these feelings. Not like he would actually want this. It's just a test. Right?