Teenage Dream

Chapter 15 - Oh shit.

The rest of the night went smoothly, but Aiden didn't get an opportunity to talk to Aru. Every time he did, his dad would entertain him with something, making him unable to see her. Urvashi had soon told them that she'd left along with Mini who wasn't comfortable with staying at the party any longer.

Just like that, Brynne, Aiden and his parents all headed back to the Acharya residence.

"So?" Brynne asked as she and Aiden got back to his room.

"So what?" asked Aiden, taking off his watch.

"Can you just admit you like her?" asked Brynne pointedly.

"Like who?" asked Aiden incredulously.

"You know who I'm talking about," pressed Brynne.

"Bee, I don't have time for this." said Aiden firmly.

"Aiden," said Brynne. "I just need you to admit it."

"What's there to admit?" asked Aiden coldly.

Brynne's lips pressed into a thin line. "Aiden, I swear to the gods." she sighed and put her hand to her head. "Do you want me to give you examples or something?"

Aiden just raised an eyebrow, "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Oh my gods, you Ammamma!" snapped Brynne, standing up. "Just admit it! I'm not blind Aiden, nor is anyone else. We can all see you like Aru!" she glared at him. "I see the way you smile with her, Aiden. I see the way you look at her, take today for example. You literally couldn't take your eyes off her."

"I don't like her!" shouted Aiden. His eyes went wide and his voice took on a softer tone; "I can't like her."

Brynne sighed, "You're not ready to listen, are you?"

Aiden didn't respond.

"Tell me, did Aru look pretty tonight?" said Brynne, a slight smirk grazing her face.

"What?" asked Aiden. "Where are you going with this?"

Brynne muttered a curse and hissed, "Did she look pretty or not?"

Aiden paused.

He didn't want to admit it but his heart seemed to be heavily against it because it kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

Gorgeous.

She's gorgeous.

She looked gorgeous.

She's always gorgeous.

But she's Aru Shah, his mind said.

"She looked..." he trailed off as Brynne looked at him expectantly. "Fine." Aiden finished flatly. He instantly regretted his decision as Brynne looked like she was about to rip her hair out of her head.

"Fine?" she questioned. "Fine? Boy, I saw you gaping at her like a dead goldfish while she was on that stage and that's all you have to say?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" exclaimed Aiden.

"Not 'Fine'," mocked Brynne. "Just admit she looked good. Please."

"Bee, I don't like her," said Aiden firmly.

"You don't like her or you don't want to like her?" asked Brynne.

The second one, his heart immediately replied.

Aiden rolled his eyes, "Why does it matter if it's not gonna happen anyway?"

Brynne straightened, "So you do like her?"

"That's not what I meant," sighed Aiden. "It's just not gonna matter because of Arielle..." he trailed off at the thought of her.

"You don't want this to happen, right?" she had asked.

"What?" asked Brynne.

"Bee, Arielle doesn't want to do this," said Aiden, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"What do you mean?" asked Brynnee, taking a seat.

"Well, she was about to talk to me about it until my dad pulled us to the dining table," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"About what?"

"Something about how we both don't want to go through with this or something," said Aiden, rubbing his temples.

"Hm," hummed Brynne. "She seemed pretty uncomfortable,"

"Who would be comfortable in that sort of situation?" asked Aiden.

"I don't know," sighed Brynne, hoisting herself off the couch. She then looked at Aiden with a steely gaze, "Don't try to deny love. It's only gonna make you love more." With that, she left, switching off the lights behind her, engulfing him in darkness.

Aiden frowned, slinging Shadowfax off his shoulder and gently placing it on the table. His black kurta that Nikita had handcrafted for him now felt heavy and suffocating. He instinctively ran his hand through his hair before tossing the garment onto the bed. Aiden felt himself relax at the loss of the suddenly overbearing clothing. The coolness of the room sort of put his mind at ease as he sat on the side of his bed, face pressed in his hands.

He grasped onto internal and external sensations. His leather wrist cuffs felt strangely cold, and the rudraksha necklace that his mother had given him when he was young emitted a warmness, as if it was trying to comfort him over the thundering of his heart.

Aiden picked at the curls on his head as he felt his breaths come out sharp and shallow. His heart beat intensified as he let go of all self control and flopped onto the bed, his hands falling to his sides.

Aiden closed his eyes in hopes to calm himself to no avail as the only person he could envision was Aru.

Aru.

The way her eyes brightened, and how her skin glowed in the evening sun, the way she comforted people, the way she loved them and the way she screams the lyrics to Clairo and Conan Gray's songs.

Oh shit.

Aiden bolted upright on his bed, as if he was held at gunpoint and the realisation hit him like the meteor that once made dinosaurs vanish off the face of the Earth.

Aiden Acharya loved Arundhati Shah.