And The Pain Was Heaven

part three

a/n    AN UPDATE ON THIS BOOK??? unheard of, but OMG HERE IT ISSSSS (for all the aruden fangirls YOUR TIME HAS COMEE >:D) enjoy this part :))))

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Pretending was a game they had gotten really good at playing. So good that they managed to avoid the most sensitive of topics. Aiden liked to keep it that way. Their friend group was alive and kicking, his friendship with Aru was at least existent, and everything was... good. Everything was good, and that didn't need to change because of his stupid feelings.

Aiden's mind raced, even as he sat in bed. He reached for a tissue on his bedside table and blew into it, sighing. He was always so careful, especially in the winter; it was beyond him, how he had even managed to get sick. All that fussing over Aru being cautious in the rain; it had come back to bite him in the ass.

Shit. Aru.

Ignoring the pulsing pain throughout his chest, Aiden quickly grabbed his phone. He was supposed to drive them to school today, but he couldn't very well do that in his condition, could he?

Aiden: Hi Shah

Aiden: So... I got sick

Aiden: I can't drive us today, sorry

Shah ❤️: WHAT?!?!

Aiden paused, unsure of how to reply. He didn't need to, because Aru burst through his bedroom door, her cheeks flushed from the chill.

"You're sick?" She repeated incredulously. Aiden physically jumped, then rolled his eyes dramatically, reaching for yet another tissue.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Shocker, I know."

"...You're sick."

"You know, I heard you the first time."

"It's not every day Aiden 'cOvEr YoUr HeAd iN tHe rAiN' Acharya gets a cold," she shot back with exaggerated quotation marks, slipping off her jacket. She flung her beanie onto his desk and turned to head downstairs. "I'm making you some tea!" She called. Aiden frowned.

"What about school?"

Frustratingly, she didn't give him an answer. Only a few seconds later, he heard the clink of the teapot and the opening of cupboards. Soon, the house delved into silence, and he yelled,

"It's in the third cabinet from the kitchen!" He smiled as the noise picked up again. Trust Aru to forget where everything was, even when she'd been to his house a thousand times.

It wasn't long before the strong aroma of peppermint made its way into his bedroom, taking over all his senses. The comforting smell made him want to curl up under his sheets and hibernate for the rest of the winter. Aru's footsteps grew louder as she came up with a steaming cup of tea in her hand and a box of tissues in the other. Aiden took the cup gratefully and took a long sip while Aru sat on the corner of the bed, tracking his movements.

"You should be at school," he tried again after finishing the tea, but Aru started to shake her head even before he'd finished his sentence.

"You really think I'm going to let you stay home alone when you're sick?"

He shook his head exasperatedly. He should've expected nothing less. When Aru Shah made a decision, it was final, and no one could change her mind.

"You wanna watch a movie?" She asked gently.

"Yeah!" He switched on the mini TV in his room. "Which one?"

Even though they both knew the obvious answer, Aru pretended to think for a while, humming to herself.

"Huh, I don't know. How about Lord of the Rings?"