remember when she left

AIDEN JACKSON

IT WAS A BRIGHT and sunny Sunday morning, well at least a bright and sunny afternoon (Aiden Jackson took lyings very seriously)- a boiling hot Sunday afternoon. When he actually (and finally) woke up, three things already were annoying him: the sun, those fucking pink walls, and of course Frigg Evans.

He let out a groan as he sat up, he didn't want to sleep anymore, but it wasn't as though he wanted to do anything else... That at least until he remembered the strange call he'd gotten last night, and an idea formed as he reached for his phone. It took only a second to find the 'Freya' contact.

"What?" She snapped. "You better have a good reason for waking me up this early." Obviously she just woke up. And this early? Please. It was one pm.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," he answered, mimicking what she'd said yesterday.

"Give me my socks!" She huffed. "No! Roy- you idiot! Ugh you shower of shirt!" A little time passed by and heard her panting, screaming, groaning and a guy –Roy he supposed– yelping in pain. "Sorry," she said. "I needed to clear something up. So why did you call me, Birdbrain?"

"Well, I kinda promised your sister I'd get her an ice cream so..."

"Oh, right! Well... You can pass by the hospital at three."

He frowned. The hospit- Right, she played with children on Sundays. "Ok. See you there I guess." He didn't know how she managed the hospital, until he remembered that she hadn't ever been there to learn about Viv's death. He'd told her, he'd crashed her world into pieces.

He hung up, got up and put some clothes on. Father wasn't home. "Where's he?" He asked his mum when he went in the kitchen.

She shrugged and pointed at cold pancakes on a plate. "If you wanted them warm you should've woken up in time, honey."

Aiden just took the plate, not really caring about his food's temperature, and dropped a generous amount of maple syrup over them. "Reece passed by," his mother said. "I told him you were still sleeping and he said he was waiting for you in the park until three, and then he'd leave."

Aiden nodded. "Right, sounds like him."

His mother smiled a little, and a natural silence took place. Neither of them seemed to really know how to fill the gasps since she left. She finished the last dishes, and sat across him. "Honey... You know what day it is soon..."

His heart fell. His birthday. Meaning, Vivian's too. "I-"

His mother just shook her head. "Just... Try to get away from the house. You know your dad. He's always a bit... upset that day."

Aiden sighed. Just get the fucking away from your parents on your birthday please. "I know." He maybe said it a bit coldly because his mother shivered.

"You know I don't want you to be away. I just want what's best for both of you. And it's always especially hard for him, because you look so much alike..."

He sighed and nodded, stabbing his pancake with his fork. "I'll plan something with the guys, Chloe and Azalea."

His mother glanced at the floor. "You could invite Frigg too."

He lifted his eyebrow. "Why in the world would I do that?"

She rolled her eyes. "I never got why you hated each other," she muttered. "I just thought it would be nice. Vivian's birthday's hard for her too. They were like sisters."

Eww. No. If Frigg was Viv's sister than she was his too. Just... ewww. "I'll think about it," he lied. "But you know... we'd kill each other if we were in the same room alone for five minutes."

His mother laughed. "Those fights for nothing you've had here... I remember that huge fight you had over a teddy bear when you were thirteen..."

"She lost."

"You keep saying that every time we mention it. But the funniest is that I still see your face when you first met her. You had that total admiration look on your face. I'm not that surprised. She's a pretty little angel. But still... And then you said..."

'She's the girl in my book.' It was a book about nordic mythology for kids he read when he was five. And he thought she looked like Freya. At the reminiscence, Aiden let out a smile, he could still get why he'd thought that. That day, the little 'angel' was angrily shouting at a terrified guy because he'd tried to pass her on the toboggan queue. She had her hair in a braid, her blue eyes were sparkling with anger but also with intelligence. And she looked so confident and strong. A stunning warrior.

...With a shitty personality and anger issues. But a stunning warrior nonetheless.

"And that Annie girl as well, no?" His mother asked, obviously thinking back as well. "I remember now, it was the five of you, always together; Reece, Frigg, Annie, you and... Viv... I miss it."

He shrugged, ate his breakfast in silence and hurried to join Reece. Azalea, Jai, Chloe and the twins were there too. When she saw him, Chloe smiled, waved at him and ran to meet him, her frizzy curls jumping back and forth behind her.

"Ok," Aiden sighed. "What's happening? Who died?" They usually never met the week-end since they all always had things to do.

Chloe giggled and smoothed her purple dress. "Well, no one died, bonehead. But John's got a date!"

Aiden sighed and rolled his eyes. "Good for him." He also had a date, technically speaking. With a five-year-old, sure, but still.

Lucas joined them, the rest of the group following him and he grinned. "We thought that maybe you could, you know, take a table at the same restaurant just to be there in case he needs it, and to help him."

"When's the date?" Aiden asked.

"Next week at six."

He shook his head. "No way. I'm not playing cupid's assistant." ...I need my week-end sleep.

"Please," Chloe whined. "His date already knows all of us, but not you."

"No."

"Pretty please?"

He huffed, ignoring Reece's consistent glare. "That 'pretty' won't change anything."

"Did I mention the restaurant was the Poke Bowl one across the park?" Azalea innocently questioned.

The what now? "I'm in." What? Poke Bowls were delicious.

"I knew it!" Jai squealed. "And in seven days, John will be officially dating Leo!"

"No one said anything about dating anyone-" Lucas interviewed, and when his brother nudged him, he let out a small yelp. "What? You're still young!"

"Leo as the guy he's been stalking last Halloween?" Aiden said, frowning.

John blushed, and Azalea snickered. "Yup. The one and only."

Chloe smacked his head. "Don't be such a meanie," she told her. Then, she turned to face Lucas. "And I swear to you, if you even try to punch Leo just because you're an overprotective poo-hole, I'll kick you where the sun doesn't shine."