"Seriously? You didn't even think to pack until now?" Aiden asked, unimpressed.
"Shut. Up" Aru whisper-yelled ferociously. "I was busy!"
"With what?"
"...things you don't need to know" She said after a pause.
"A guy?"
"No" She rolled her eyes. "Kinda gave up on love"
"I suppose that's my fault?"
"Pretty much" Aru replied. "Anyway. Why are you sitting here?"
"Because Brynne forced me to" Aiden said.
"Of course she did" Aru sighed. "Doesn't she know we're like, barely friends anymore?"
"Well. Maybe we could?"
"What, be friends?"
"Yeah" He suggested. "It's not boring for you to be academic rivals with me?"
"Sort of. It's still fun" She stuffed another formal dress into her suitcase. "But I mean. Being friends could be bad for both of us"
"I mean, well" He thought about it. It would be bad. "I'm fine with that. I don't think we'll fall-"
"Ah, let's not bring that up" Aru shivered. "Please no"
"How long are you going to ignore that fact?"
"For fucking ever" She replied.
"I'm sorry. For the way I acted at that time" Aiden apologized quietly.
Aru looked at him intensely, probably checking if he was sincere or not. After confirming, she replied "It's a bit too late for you to say that. It's been 2 years. We got over that"
Aiden forgot how whole yet insecure he felt under her gaze. Like was his hair okay? Did she not like that? But he also felt so whole, because Aru understands him.
'Too much, bud' his brain told him. 'And you didn't even answer the question'
Aiden felt embarrassed by himself and stopped thinking about it entirely.
He replied, "Yeah, but still. You were hurt by me, right?"
Aru stood up abruptly. "Stop. Stop talking about it"
"Okay. But friends?"
"Whatever" And Aiden took that as a yes.
Around a week later~
"Ugh" Aru groaned, seeing their friends leave after dropping them off (and also tearful 'I'll miss you's) "There goes most the only people I love"
"Our flight's in an hour" Aiden got up. "What would you like to do?"
"Lose you somewhere" Aru got up as well.
"You don't mean that"
"What if I do?"
"We're friends now?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"Right" She responded. "I guess"
"I'm going to get something here" Aiden took his suitcase. "Are you coming?"
"Coming"
They entered a grocery shop to get snacks for the trip. Aiden felt this being so familiar, yet so different and distant at the same time.
"We did this before" Aru said.
"I thought you don't like to bring that time up"
"I needed to bring it up before you did since that makes it worse somehow"
YOU ARE READING
100%|An Aru Shah AU
Fanfic"Just shut up and agree!" "Why should I? You're the one who's being childish right now" "Me? Seriously? Who's the one who spilt their leaking pen ink all over my locker!" "I said I'm sorry! I even cleaned it up for you, so I think it's stupid of wha...
