Heart of Flame: Freshmen Year

Chapter 16

 ''SORCHA! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I heard Ame's voice yell. I yelped and fell out of bed. For a second, I just laid there, wondering what just happened. "I assume that you are awake, so meet me at your front door." I heard Ame say before it went away with a click. Still half asleep, I stumbled to the front door. I opened the door, and I saw Ame was right at the front door. "Why did you wake me up?" I asked, thinking that it was still morning. "Aiden is gonna get out of weightlifting soon, and I want you to meet him up with us." Ame explained. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "Who else is going?" I asked. Ame thought about it for a moment. "Just me, you and Nathan. Rhythm said she was busy researching Kaiju, Kyle said he had homework, Carlos was doing something with his family, and Keagan's currently training with his squad." Ame said. I thought about it for a moment. "I doubt Nathan forgave me." I muttered. "Oh, come on Sorcha, I know he's being a dick now, but once he's cooled off, he really is a really sweet kid." Ame tried to reassure me. I gave her a doubting look. "And when will that take? Sure seems like he's taking his sweet time." I pointed out. Ame rolled her eyes. "Please? Maybe if you stopped avoiding everyone, he'll trust you more. And yes, we all have noticed how you've been avoiding us." Ame said. I sighed, feeling a little guilty. "Alright, fine. I'll go." I said, just about to walk out the door. Ame stopped me. "You should probably change, or at least put on a bra." She noted. I had forgotten I only had on a tank top and basketball shorts. "Alright, give me a second." I said before stumbling back up to my room. Since I was tired and felt really lazy, I just put on a bra and I didn't even tuck my tail in. I mean, everyone knows, so it's not like it matters anymore.
I walked back to the front door and we started to walk over to where the high school is. Ame asked what I had been doing all day that meant I couldn't answer anyone's texts, and I told her the truth. I had been literally sleeping all day since I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep lately and I had nothing important to do.

   It didn't take us long to get there. "Hey, Ame! Hey-!" Nathan abruptly cut off when he saw I was there, too. His expression changed from being cheerful to looking annoyed and a little pissed off in a matter of seconds. "Sorcha." He said my name like it was something foul, or probably a vegetable, since Nathan hates veggies. "Nice to see you, too." I muttered sarcastically, standing next to Ame, away from him and his bitchy mood. The three of us stood there in an awkward air, until Nathan broke the silence.

"Man, you know, it'd be nice if Agono was a Kaiju free place, but then again, I guess some people are just too hard headed to get the message, even if it was thrown at their face." Nathan said, glaring at me. I looked down at my feet and tried to shrink away from his gaze. "Nathan, that's enough." Ame said with a firm tone. "Oh, come on, Ame, you have to agree with me. If Agono was a Kaiju free place, we wouldn't have to hide all the time. Hell, if the world was rid of Kaiju, we'd live a lot better and a lot safer!" Nathan said, now just being a really big jerk. "Nathan." Ame said through gritted teeth. I heard a door open, and I looked over, and I was relieved to see Aiden had just walked out. "Hey, Aiden. How'd it go?" I asked, trying to distract myself from all the hate Nathan was giving off. To my surprise, Aiden smiled, which gave me some hope. "It went well, actually. I was certainly entertained by Surge, who was trying so hard to lift something." He answered. I had to think back for a second, but then I remembered Surge was this fat kid who was in my Science and Band class. I laughed at the thought of him trying to lift something. "Did you get a recording?" I asked. Aiden shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, no." He said. Not really thinking, I got closer to him.

   MASSIVE mistake. As soon as I was just outside his personal bubble, a sudden scent of hate and rage hit my nose like a truck going down a freeway. I felt Nathan shove me away from Aiden, and I stepped back a little. I looked at Nathan, surprised. I saw he had a raging fire in his eyes. "ARE YOU STUPID?!" Nathan demanded through gritted teeth. "Stay away from my boyfriend! Hell, stay away from anyone and run back to the Kaiju territory! I really hope you run into another Kaiju, maybe we'll get lucky and the world will be finally rid of you! If you don't, I hope the KADT finds you and kills you!" Nathan had to stop for a breath. The entire time, I just stood there, with a hurt face, feeling like I was being stabbed over and over again by his words, with tears forming in my eyes. He was just about to continue, but Aiden stopped him.

"SHUT UP!" Aiden roared as he shoved Nathan to the ground. "What has she ever done to you?! All she's been doing is she's been trying to be friends, is that too much to ask?! How would you feel if someone treated you like you're treating Sorcha?! Huh?! IS SIMPLY BEING NICE TO HER TOO MUCH TO ASK?!" Aiden demanded, his teeth bared and his foot on Nathan's chest. The three of us looked at Aiden, surprised. I don't think any of us have ever heard him yell, much less shove Nathan to the ground. AIden took a deep breath, and he gave Nathan a seriously disappointed look. "If this is how you're gonna treat someone who's just trying to be your friend, then consider us over." He said, his voice cracking. Without any other words, he lifted his foot off of Nathan's chest. And just like any dramatic teen movie, just as Aiden ran off to his truck, it started pissing rain. "Teddy bear..." I heard Ame mutter, looking at Nathan, who had gotten up and was crying on a bench. Holy shit. Did I just... accidentally made them break up? I asked myself. Once Ame had gotten over the initial shock, she looked at me and tilted her head towards Nathan. I nodded, and she ran off. I looked over to where Nathan was crying, and I walked over to him and sat down next to him.

   He looked up at me, and I saw anger in his eyes again. "Leave me alone! This is all your fault! Why can't you just leave everyone alone, can't you see that you can only hurt people?!" Nathan demanded. He looked like he was about to say something else, but he burst out crying again. In between the sobs, I heard Nathan's weak voice. "Why don't you hate me?" I heard him weakly ask. I felt like he needed a hug, so I gave him one. At first, his stiffened at the sudden contact, but then he relaxed. I nuzzled his pink hair softly. "I never hated you." I muttered loudly enough so he could hear. He looked up at me, surprised. He was so cute, even when he was soaking wet. He just had that face that reminded you of a little kid, and you just can't help but love him and want to help him, even when he was being a big dick. I looked down at him and smiled. I saw tears where still streaming down his face, and, in a flash of instinct, I started to lick his tears away. "Ow, Sorcha, please stop, your tongue is like a cat's!" Nathan said, half chuckling. I smiled, happy that I had gotten him to chuckle. I stopped, not wanting to hurt him. He wiped my spit off of his face. "You're weird, you know that?" He asked, giving me a small smile. I chuckled. "Dude, I'm probably the living embodiment of weird." I pointed out. He smiled and sighed, biting his lip. "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. "I don't think Aiden will forgive me after that." I heard him mutter. An idea flashed in my mind, and I smiled. Without asking him, I gently picked him up, causing him to let out an adorable squeak. "What're you doing?!" Nathan demanded. "Let's go see Aiden!" I said, starting to run to Aiden's house. Nathan looked like he was about to say something, but since I had started running, all he could do was hold on for dear life. I smiled, and I prayed that my plan would work.