Feel alive when im in this town | EinxAaron/ Einron

Chapter 1. Betrayal

Aaron walked over to the park where he and Aphmau were going to hang out together that day. They had been dating for a few months now and he thought things were going pretty good. Aphmau had invited him out today saying she needed to tell him something important and while he knew things were going great he couldn't help but have this feeling that something was wrong. It was irrational; he knew this, but he couldn’t help but feel worried.

Aaron continued walking down the path and into the entrance of the park; Aphmau had told him to meet her by the big shady tree near the fountain. As he got closer to his destination the feeling that something was off began to grow stronger and stronger.

That’s when he saw it. Under the tree sat Aphmau and Gareth; making out. They might as well have been eating each other's faces with the way they were going at it. He supposes the feeling he had all morning wasn't as irrational as he thought. He could feel himself getting angrier as he watched them eat each other's faces off, Just what the hell was he looking at right now?

He didn't know what to do, he had never once expected to be betrayed in such a way. Especially not by someone like Aphmau. She had always been so kind, and she was certainly raised right, just take one look at her mother. He just couldn't understand why this was happening. The thoughts of ‘why’ ‘when’ and ‘where’ were consuming his brain as he looked at the pair until he couldn’t take it anymore.

"What the hell is this?" He said, words laced with barely contained anger.

Aphmau looked up from her spot on the ground, detaching herself from Gareth.  "Oh! Aaron…you're finally here!" She spoke nervously, looking away from him. "I’ve been meaning to tell you about” She looked over at Gareth “...this. I just didn't know how to say it!” She put on a strained smile. “So I just decided to show you instead…I guess" She continued calmly, looking sheepish as she placed her hands together.

"So you were too chicken to break up with me normally…and thought it was a good idea to be caught in the act instead!?" He yelled, getting louder and angrier near the end. His eyes began to water as his breath started to quicken. He knew he had to get out of there quickly, he could feel his control on his eyes slipping. He really did not want to expose himself but a part of him wonders if it would be worth it if he just took off his blindfold and looked both Aphmau and Gareth in the eyes right here and now. Thinking about what his father would do when he found out was probably one of the only things that made him turn around and storm out of the park instead.

He could hear Gareth trying to follow behind him, attempting to mediate the situation. He could hear him telling him to calm down. But it all went in one ear and out the other, Aaron did not want a bar of it. Gareth tried to put a hand on his shoulder after realising Aaron wasn't listening to him, that was another of the many mistakes he had made that day. Arron was hardly holding himself together at that point and the other man grabbing his shoulder startled him so much that in his emotional state, his first reaction was to fight. Stopping and turning around quickly Aaron swung his fist square into Gareth's jaw. The small crack noise that came when his fist hit his jaw was satisfying, the way Gareth's face jerked to the side looked a bit unnatural. Aaron needed to get out of there.

He ran out of the park leaving both Aphmau and Gareth in shock, he didn't care how much damage he just caused, he just needed to get out before he did anything more he would regret. He continued to run back to his dorm, he probably got weird looks with the way he was sprinting through the university grounds. Not that he cared though, he just wanted to get to the safety of his dorm room. He could feel his heart beating in his head, everything was just so overwhelming. He only barely got into his dorm before he let his emotions get the better of him.

The moment the door was shut he finally lost control of his emotions, he had by now become too emotional to even hold himself up properly.  Sliding down the door to sit on the floor he finally let his tears fall freely. He knew he looked like a mess crying on the floor like a child, he probably looked just as pathetic as he felt. He just could not wrap his head around why Aphmau would do something like this to him and with Gareth of all people! Well actually he did know why she chose Gareth, looking back on it this whole thing made perfect sense, he could not believe he missed all the signs. Gareth and Aphmau have known each other since they were kids for starters, and Gareth had also never been quiet about the fact that he liked Aph either. Aphmau had been less obvious about her interest in Gareth but it was still clearly there in the way her gaze would always linger on him for longer than what was probably necessary and also how she always made excuses to spend time with him even though she knew she didn't have to rationalise spending time with her friends. She probably only tried to rationalise it because she felt guilty.

Aaron had always known that Gareth had a thing for Aphmau, he just never wanted to believe that Aphmau felt the same way. It was so frustrating how oblivious he had been to what was going on between those two, how long had that even been going on before he had found out? He decided that thinking about anything right now was too much, he just needed a way to vent his emotion and in that moment the best way to do that was crying. And so there he sat on the floor in front of the door crying his heart out after being betrayed by the girl who he had loved more than anything. Aaron knew his eyes had gone red; he knew that if someone were to walk in on him at that moment his eyes could ruin their lives. Their last moments before death could be the sight of a pathetic heartbroken man crying on the floor. Aaron had claimed he'd known a lot in his life, today in particular; too bad he never knew the signs that someone never truly loved him. Perhaps if he'd been born to a more loving family he may have caught on sooner, before it was being shoved right down his throat. Maybe then he wouldn't have ended up here, silently crying, hoping that he could calm down enough to move somewhere less pathetic than the floor. He was just so tired.
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Aaron had probably cried for hours last night, which was rather embarrassing thinking back on it no matter how much he tried to rationalise it. He was acting like a petulant child having a tantrum on the floor, although he does suppose it was because he had been betrayed by someone he thought loved him. Aaron knew he always had a habit of loving easily and hard once you got past his defences, it's how he's always been. He couldn't even count the number of times he'd misjudged whether it would be okay to take down his walls only to get hurt or disappointed growing up. He has always been emotional, some considered it his biggest flaw which is why he tended to keep to himself and make himself seem unapproachable to try and protect himself. His father has always told him that letting people get close would only lead to trouble, Aaron supposes he might have been right.
Eventually, Aaron got out of his head due to the alarm beginning to blare in his ears. He did not feel like getting up today but he couldn't afford to miss class today, finals were coming up fast and he didn't want to fall behind. Besides, with all of the bodyguards his father insisted on having to watch him at all times of the day it would be pretty hard to skip without getting noticed. He was lucky to have even shaken off the constant supervision yesterday. He was an adult for goodness sake, he should be able to have some privacy without constantly being monitored, he practically had no social life because of it!  As Aaron got ready to leave all he could think was that he was lucky to not have any classes with Aphmau or Gareth that day.

Leaving his dorm Aaron started to make his way over to the lecture theatre his class was in. The walkover was rather peaceful, it helped to calm him down and rewind from the events of yesterday. Unfortunately, his walk eventually had to come to an end as he inevitably got to class. As he sat down in a seat he could already tell he would not be able to concentrate on anything said during this lecture. With that in mind, he got out his phone to voice record the lecture later; he would at least try and take notes but if that didn't end up working out at least he would have the recording to fall back onto. Trying to get comfortable, Aaron prepared himself for the next two hours of what was likely going to be one of the most mind-numbing lectures he's had in his whole time in college.

Aaron was quite sure that he would have preferred to have had his dad lecture him than attend class today. He was dead tired from the night before and he was just not taking in any of the information the teacher was telling him. He probably spent more time staring at his paper than he did listening, it was a good thing he decided to record that lecture. Walking home slowly he thanked his lucky stars this was the only class he had today, he thought he might have just collapsed into a puddle of self-pity if he had. When he got back to his dorm he was going to be heading straight to bed, he was too tired to deal with anything today.

Getting lost in thought Aaron started to lose focus of his surroundings, he was walking home almost on autopilot. It was no surprise when his inattentiveness led him to not notice the other man in front of him when he turned a corner. Aaron collided harshly with the other man, causing both of them to end up sprawled out on the floor. Feeling a bit disoriented, Aaron slowly got up from his spot on the floor. The other man appeared to have had a quicker recovery than himself and was standing holding a hand out to him. Aaron took the hand offered out to him to help himself get up, however just as he was about to thank the other man he took a good look at the appearance of the one who helped him up. Making eye contact with him Aaron could see the moment recognition flashed across the other's face “Aaron?”