black tide. | ✓

0.7; fairground

"and up until now i have sworn to myself, that i'm content with loneliness." - the only exception, paramore. 

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Once I finally decided what I was wearing after hours of careful deliberation, I waited in my room for Aiden to show up. To say I was nervous is the biggest understatement of the year. I was shitting myself.

This would be the first time I was properly interacting with any of the "populars" other than Aid and Lola, but if any of them had heard anything about me from the Ice Queen, they probably didn't have a very good view of me at all.

I faintly heard the sound of a car pulling up outside, and within seconds there was a light knock on our front door, and my mom was calling up the stairs. As I walked down the stairs, I could overhear the whispers of my mother and Aiden having a quick chat. "So, Aiden - how've you been keeping? I haven't seen you in a while!"

"I've been doing okay thank you, Mrs Williams." He shyly answered back, blushing slightly and glancing to the ground for some unknown reason.

"What happened to you and Charlie? You used to be ever so close - "

"You ready to go, Aid?" I interrupted abruptly, not wanting to tread on the grounds of what we'd managed to avoid talking about for a while. My mom spun round with wide eyes, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She immediately stopped talking, and sent what I think was meant to be a reassuring smile my way.

A surge of confidence ran through me, and for some reason I grabbed Aiden's hand and lead us out the door into the freezing air outside, yelling out a short goodbye to my annoyingly nosy mother. When we reached his beat up old jeep that looked almost exactly like the one from Teen Wolf (a/n - because who am i to not have a fandom reference in a book??) he held open the passenger door for me, and I hopped in after muttering a thanks.

The journey was tense to start off with - all I could think about was the fact that in a short while I would be meeting Aiden's friends, and how this first impression would affect how they'll see me probably for our entire time knowing each other.

"Are you okay?" Aiden questioned, genuinely concerned with my well being. "You keep tapping, are you nervous?"

Yes.

"No."

"So..." he started awkwardly, staring straight ahead as if he would spontaneously combust if he looked me directly in the eyes. Why is he being awkward all of a sudden? "How's your dad? Wasn't he in?"

"Things between my parents haven't been the best recently... Well, when I say recently I mean like the last 4 years." I answered truthfully, automatically feeling comfortable admitting everything to Aid.

"Oh.. sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"Let's just say my dad spent an entire two years doing 'overtime' at the office, and my mom was too naive to realise the truth. Or she was too in love. She didn't want to lose him - and she knew admitting reality would inevitably result in divorce. It was selfish, really. They stayed together, 'for the sake of the family'; without realising that ultimately it was just hurting all of us more. "

He stayed silent.

"I can put the radio on if you like?" After nodding quickly, Aiden slapped the car stereo system with his fist, causing me to jump slightly, before turning a few dials. In a second, we went from complete silence to having Hannah Montana blurting out of the speakers.

"Shit." He started cursing under his breath, fiddling around blindly whilst also trying to keep his eyes on the road. The adorable blush that rose to his cheeks instantly made me forget about all the worry I was feeling moments ago, and in an instant I was doubled over in tears, laughing at my best friend's expense. "It's not my CD I swear!"