heart out ; paul lahote

02

  Chapter Two - Cullens

  ✧

      The next morning was quite different than what Aiden was used to. He was woken up at seven am due to the all noise Charlie made as he got ready for work. Only minutes later, he heard early morning conversation from Seth and Sue coming from the kitchen and when he got up to join them - after brushing his teeth and fixing his hair - Charlie was already gone.

     "Good morning Aiden, would you like some waffles?" Sue calls from the stove, her hair in a loose bun and a smile adorning her face.

     He nods and takes a seat across from Seth who gives him a quick wave as he scarfs down seven waffles. Aiden eats only two, not having the same wolf-y appetite as Seth. Sue joins them at the table, smiling at the two boys affectionately.

     "Where's Leah?" Aiden asks. He'd only seen her for a few hours yesterday before she went back to the reservation. According to Sue, Leah doesn't typically sleep over at Charlie's house, finding more comfort in her own home. Sure enough, Sue assures him Leah is currently safe at home at La Push.

     After clearing his plate, Seth turns to him and practically bursts with glee, "Hey Aiden, are you free today? Jake can't wait to see you and the rest of the pack wants to meet you."

     Aiden had called Jacob last night after dinner, they talked for a while before it got too late and they'd agreed to spend some time together. He'd also gotten a text from Bella letting him know she'd pick him up early to visit the Cullens, followed by about fifty texts from Alice and Emmett. Now that he officially lives here with everyone, Aiden has no idea how to divide his time to spend time with them all.

    "I promised Bella I'd go to the Cullens' for a while, but I'm free later."

     Seth pouted, "Okay. I hope Sam doesn't have us on pack duty all day or else it'll have to be tomorrow."

***

"Alice and Emmett have been unbearable since you got home last night, more than usual." Bella sighs as she takes a swift turn. She'd picked him up at exactly nine o'clock, dressed in a casual hoodie and jeans. Even as a vampire, Bella refuses to dress up 24/7 despite Alice's pleading.

Aiden followed in her footsteps, too lazy to care about his outfit he'd just thrown on a simple t-shirt and shorts that reached mid-thigh.

The car ride was quiet, save for the occasional comment from Bella regarding the town. They were both naturally quiet and inverted individuals, something they inherited from Charlie much to Renee's dismay.

"Prepare for trouble..." Bella mutters as she parks in front of the Cullen household. "And make it double." she sighs after catching sight of Emmett and Alice, whom practically jump off the steps to get to the car quicker.

Bella cringes when the passenger side door is all but ripped off its hinges, and her brother is pulled out and into an embrace by Emmett. "Take it easy will you?"

Emmett grins sheepishly as he puts Aiden down gently, "Sorry, its been so long since we've seen him."

"I was referring to my car."

Aiden grins as he's soon pulled into yet another hug from Alice, who squeals into his ear, "I'm so excited you're here forever now! We're going to hang out everyday!"

Aiden giggles, content with Alice's excitement. She soon lets go of him and pulls him along, leading him into the house. He's lead into the vast living room where the rest of the Cullens are sitting, awaiting his visit.

Esme is the first to stand and pull him into a hug, her motherly instincts always kick in the fastest. "We're all so happy you're going to be living closer!" She all but squeals.

"So am I, you're going to get sick of me soon." Aiden jokes.

Carlile is the next one to pull him close, ruffling his dark hair as he chuckles, "Nonsense. We love having you here, it's those two that we need to get rid of." he jokes, referring to Alice and Emmett who hover around.

The rest of the Cullens continue to greet him until Bella comes back with his niece following close behind her.

"Uncle Ai!" She squeals, running towards him.

Aiden grins and registers that Renesmee has grown yet again since the last time he saw her. It's always quite a shock to him and it takes him a few seconds to adjust to her quick growth every time he sees her.

He doesn't get much time with his niece before he's suddenly being pulled away by Alice, and lead to her bedroom in a fit of giggles.

"Hey, I was going to take him away first!" Emmett calls from downstairs, a pout on his face.

Alice snorts and shuts the door to her room after shouting, "Too bad!"

She pulls Aiden to her closet, the former stumbling after her quick steps. He's grown used to Alice and her hyper personality, being pulled to and fro by her has become natural when he's around her. While Bella occasionally complains about all the attention Alice showers her with and the things she's forced to do by her, Aiden is quite the opposite. Growing up with a sibling who's just as closed off as he is, and always being alone due to Phil's job and his mom being out with friends, he's grown lonely and, even though he likes being alone most of the time, it gets tiring and sad. So, if he's being honest, Alice is like a sibling he's always wished he had. He loves Bella, but he's always wanted a bit of company, and to be pushed to do things he might have been too shy and anxious to try himself. Alice is always pushing him to try new things, and she manages to do it without being pushy or annoying and instead helps him do so one step at a time.

The one thing Alice enjoys doing with Aiden - well...it's what she likes to do with everyone but he's the only one that will happily go along with it without complaining or refusing - is to dress him up.

Much to Alice's surprise, and even to his own, Aiden doesn't mind being dressed into "girly" clothes. This is something Alice takes advantage of every time he comes over, and today is no different.

"I got a lot of new stuff recently," Alice motions for him to sit at a nearby chair while she pulls out a bunch of different outfits. Aiden watches in amusement as she pulls one thing after another with a childlike excitement.

"Try this on first!" Alice hands him a soft lilac sundress and goes back to pulling other items of clothing while he changes. Conveniently enough, due to their similar stature, Aiden is able to fit into Alice's clothes without struggle.

Aiden lets out a little sigh in amusement and proceeds to change into the dress. When he first did this for Alice, he couldn't help but feel a bit odd. While he's always believed people should wear what they want and feel comfortable in, he's never tried it himself. And when Alice first suggested he try on a simple blue skirt a year ago, Aiden realized he felt quite comfortable in all clothing. Although he'd never wear any of this outside of Alice's bedroom, he does enjoy looking at himself.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon went by with Alice helping him into a bunch of different outfits, followed by Emmett finally whisking him away to play baseball in the backyard and Renesmee demanding he play dolls with her.

By five in the afternoon, Aiden was finally tired out and Bella drove him home.

"I hope you're ready for this to be a typical routine, kid." Bella teases as she pokes his cheek, keeping him from falling asleep.

Aiden snorts and nods. He's never as tired as he is after visiting the Cullens, but he always looks forward to the next time.

"Go up and sleep, you must be tired after dealing with those monsters all morning and the plane yesterday."

Aiden laughs as he steps off the car.  Charlie doesn't seem to be home yet and Sue might be at La Push.

"Can't. I promised Seth and Jacob I'd visit today."

a/n: sorry if it was pretty boring and bland, i'm just setting it up for the next chapter where he meets the pack. thanks for reading!