Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones

Chapter Thirteen

Aaron and I continued to speak as if we were friends. It felt the same, except we weren't running off anywhere. I assume it was like a mutual like. I feared the moment he would realize he liked someone better, like Sara. However, he laid on the floor and I laid on my bed. I was reading an old novel by Jane Austen and he was flipping through a Science Weekly magazine as we played our game.

"What's your biggest fear?" He asked, his blue eyes swirling.

"What comes after death. There are a lot of quotes saying the guilty man is only afraid of death. But I'm afraid I won't do anything extraordinary to compensate for my failures...You?"

"I can tell you're going far, Ror. Mine is probably spiders."

"Real insightful there Aaron."

"If I call you Ror, why don't I have a nickname?"

"Your name doesn't really ring any nickname bells.

"Ari? Ron? Rorry? A?"

"Oh well. I like Ari. It's cute." I giggled, thinking about baby Aaron.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Your baby pictures."

"Hey, is your mom still here?" He questioned. I still hadn't told him.

"I don't know. She's staying somewhere else." I knew where she was staying, but Aaron did not need to know.

"You know, your mom looks a lot like a princess. I saw her at the hospital."

"Funny." I muttered into my book. I felt the bed dip beside me, where Aaron had sat down. I slid onto the floor and rested my back against the bed frame, all while reading.

"Ror...is your mom famous?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

"You're obviously upset. Tell me." He retorted.

I gathered my books, grabbed my sneakers and jogged out of the room to the front porch. I was wearing athletic shorts and a Forever21 t-shirt with a lion on it. Rooooar.

"Aurora! Stop running away!" I dashed out the door and towards the nearest Panera. Panera calmed me. I rarely had a chance to go, but with my wallet clipped to my belt, I could run anywhere in the world. Cars passed me and a few honked. A red convertible drove behind me and I could tell it was mine. I had a unique liscence plate, to say the least.

"Aurora!" Aaron screamed out the window in agony and frustration. I spun at the pain in his voice. His eyes were full of swirling emotions and lines creased his forehead, as he thought. I paced to him and silently rested my hands on the countours of his face. He attempted to interject, but I wanted to watch the waves crash against the shores. His orbs spun to emerald green and for the first time, I saw someone's adoration for me over hatred. I reached across his chest and hugged him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ran off." I let go and jumped into the passenger seat.

"U-Uh." He stuttered. Maybe he was nervous and I shouldn't have hugged him. I never hug people. I'm not meant for good things. I'm not pretty enough or thin enough.

"Sorry! I shouldn't have hugged you or anything. That was stupid."

"Aurora," he pulled into the shoulder. "This isn't going to work, is it? We always argue."

I felt quite alright with that. "I wish we didn't argue."

"We need to be honest with each other."

"I can't, I can't share some things with you. I don't know where to begin."

"The beginning," he smirked.

"You start. But first, Panera." I grinned and he shifted into drive. Music hummed in the background as I nervously scratched behind my ear. It was an odd habit I acquired.

"Aaron?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"I really like you." I stated in a tiny voice.

"You're cute." With that, he parked the car in the parking lot space I always used. I smiled at the fact that he remembered.

"How can I help you?" A blonde glowed. She exuberantly beauty unlike my size 5 jean frame.

"Can we get two Mediterranean Veggie sandwiches and two tomato soups?" Aaron asked politely, still gazing at me.

"Sides?"

"Bread."

"Excellent choice."

"And a brownie!" I chose which one I wanted and paid before Aaron could do anymore for me.

"Ror, I'm supposed to pay."

"I want to. This isn't a first date or anything."

"You're psycho." He led us over to a nice quiet corner booth. We waited for our food.

"Aurora, I don't want to lose my only real friend in this town. But you keep running away from me, like I'm unwanted. Then you hug me and tell me you like me."

"Ari, you have no idea how much I've imagined meeting people like you. I've always wanted someone to like me for me. Not that I'm a typical beauty everyone loves. I'm confident and happy, but you make me self conscious. Is that normal? I can't wreck this with sharing my issues no one knows about."

"Ror." The buzzer dinged as Aaron wordlessly grabbed our plates from the counter and placed them on the pine table. I ogled his strong arms as he began having his soup. I watched him silently before interrupting his feast.

"What were you going to say?"

"That I never expected to meet a girl like you. I imagined it for jocks and attractive guys with 6 packs. I'm no lead of a high school story. Everyone is self conscious around their crush. If you can't trust me, I don't see why."

"You know when things are family affairs that your parents warn you not to tell people about?" I interrogated. He nodded, intrigued. "It's that."

"Stop running away." His voice was stern. "Guys don't chase girls. It isn't a story."

Ari reminded me of the harsh truth. I'm no beauty queen and he's no jock. I'm not attractive and he is. I'm not thin and he's well built. I'm no mystery beauty and he's ogled. I'm no perfect girl and he's no perfect guy. And that was the sad truth of real life.