Faded Promises

9

Aiden POV

I wake up, feeling my phone buzzing like crazy, I'm pretty sure it's Jake since today it's Lucy's birthday and he's worried about today.

Me and Max have helped him with the decorations for the party and food. Fuck I never thought the day me and Max on the kitchen making food for a month.

Jake doesn't cook for his life so he just stood there giving us support and drinks.

I came home 3 in the morning and I'm pretty sure it's Jake bugging us.

Checking my phone I see his texted along with some from Max asking to let him sleep.

Me too buddy.

I think I'm gonna sleep a bit more, since it's still early. Just right when my head was about to hit the pillow, Jake calls me.

"Man I hate you" I groan through the phone

"Awww so sweet in the morning. I think that's why Ethan got a date with Hanna and you're mopping"

Shit, don't remind me of that.

"Not mopping."

"You and Max were singing to Celine Dion! And I have proves so don't think of denying it."

"We just like her. Good songs" Not a lie, my mom loves her, when I was little it was the only music approved in this house.

Now it's only their fights I hear.

"You got me there. My girl is more a Taylor Swift fan and your girl is..."

"Hanna is more a Lana del Rey fan" I smile remembering when she made me sing all of her songs while we were trying to study. Lana a good for the soul she said.

Hearing Jake saying your girl isn't good for my soul.

"I noticed that" he chuckles " but I call you to make sure you're awake and on your way here. My parents already left, gave me money, Lucy's present and some warnings about not destroying the house and not letting anyone go to their bed"

"Let me get dressed and I'm on my way."

"Thank you. Gonna try and wake Max"

Yup.... Like a call it's gonna work. Good luck.

As I come down the stairs, I see my dad waiting at the bottom, a look of determination on his face.

"Aiden, we need to talk," he says, crossing his arms.

"Not now," I mutter, trying to brush past him.

"It's important. I know that you know about—"

"Fuck off, Dad," I snap, pulling away from his grip. "I don't have time for this."

I storm out of the house, anger simmering just below the surface. I can't deal with his shit right now, not ever, he's the reason my life is so shitty right now. I could have Hanna in my arms but he decided to fuck it all up.

I arrive at Jake place and Max is already there and actually doing some work. He's filling in the balloons while Jake's arranging the booze table.

"How did you manage that?" I ask him

"Beats me. He didn't answer my call but after 10 minutes he was here."

Max lives 3 minutes from Jake so that wasn't hard, but him being here it's a miracle.

After some hours of getting everything ready, the place is buzzing with energy. People are laughing, talking, and dancing, but my focus narrows in on one person. Hanna.

When I first saw her I even forgot how to breathe.

She's standing near the drinks table, her dress accentuating her curves, her hair framing her face perfectly.

She looks stunning.

But then I see Ethan beside her, his arm casually resting around her waist, and my admiration quickly turns to rage.

My hands clench into fists as jealousy surges through me. What happened on their date? Jake told me they didn't even kissed and now I'm having a hard time believing that since he's all over her.

I force myself to walk over to where Max is sitting, dropping into the seat next to him. He glances at me, then follows my gaze to Hanna and Ethan, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Man, you better move your ass before Ethan makes a move on Hanna," Max teases, nudging me with his elbow "well by the way he's touching he has leverage you gotta fight"

"Shut up. Like I'm gonna take advice from the guy who's sitting here alone"I growl, my eyes never leaving Hanna. Every laugh she shares with Ethan feels like a knife twisting in my gut.

Max chuckles, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "This party is for our girl Lucy, so I'm gonna be on my best behavior.... Also I'm not in the mood"

"Since when?"

"Since I looked at Jake and I want what he has." Well I wasn't expecting that, Max always said he wanted to live freely and never have a wife or child. So this is a surprise "But focusing on you , if you don't do something, you're gonna lose her."

"I can't do anything"

"You can you just don't want too. Hanna deserves someone by her side, so if you don't want to. I'm sorry but I'm gonna support her and Ethan... she's smiling"

I fucking know, she's been smiling at him non stop. Where's Lucy to keep her company? Probably in Jake's room.

I grit my teeth, my gaze hardening as I watch Ethan place his hand on her lower back. The sight sends me over the edge.

I take a sip of my beer and ignore everything surrounding me, just torture myself because why not?

After some time, I'm still at my sit with Max by my side but this time around he's speaking with someone from our team.

I can't take it anymore. I push myself up and start to follow Hanna as she heads toward the bathroom. My heart pounds in my chest, driven by a mix of anger and something deeper.

She doesn't notice me slipping in behind her until I close and lock the door.

"Aiden, what the hell are you doing?" she exclaims, her eyes wide with surprise.

"What do you think you're doing with him?" I demand, my voice low and seething with anger.

"What?" she stammers, clearly taken aback. "We're just—"

Before she can finish, I close the distance between us, grabbing her and crashing my lips against hers. It's a kiss filled with pent-up frustration, jealousy, and desire. She gasps against my mouth, but then she responds, kissing me back with equal intensity, her fingers tangling in my hair.

That's my girl. Give me all you got.

We break apart, both of us breathless, staring at each other in shock.

"What... why did you do that?" she whispers, her voice trembling.

"Because your kisses aren't for him," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "They're for me." My thumb does to her lower lip, I really wanna repeat what just happened.

Her eyes search mine, confusion and something else flickering in their depths.

Before she can say anything more, I turn and unlock the door, leaving her standing there as I make my escape.

What the fuck have I done?

I stop by Jake and Lucy leaving the room, yup I was right.

"Hey, where you're going? You're running" Jake says

"I need to leave" I look behind but Hanna still in the bathroom "happy birthday" I give Lucy a hug and I'm out of here.