A to Z

Chapter 10- Fat Lot Of Good The A to Z Is

Dedicated to Flibutex :)

Just because I like you. x

Chapter 10- Fat Lot Of Good The A to Z Is.





It was beyond awkward.

The midnight encounter was stuck on replay in my head and I had no idea on how to talk to him after the whole incident. Maybe he would bring it up, maybe he wouldn't. I decided to act as if it had never happened and hopefully he would do the same.

Aiden started to walk towards a light blue convertible car without even looking at me. I followed hesitantly behind him. He stopped at the boot and opened it, finally turning to me and motioning towards my small tartan suitcase. I started and quickly moved forwards towards him, the suitcase clunking unsteadily behind me. When I reached him, he held his hand out for the suitcase and I fumbled with the handle before managing to untangle my hands from it. He slid it into the boot effortlessly.

He then closed the boot and made his way towards the driver's seat. I moved quickly and climbed in next to him, just as he clicked on his seatbelt.

"Nice car." I said, trying to break the silence. "It's very..." I panicked for a second, not knowing what to say. "American looking."

I wanted to kick myself.

"Yeah. My friends Dad had it imported from the U.S but decided to sell it. Said it wasn't very practical for the country of rain." He answered dryly.

I nodded. I had to agree with his friends' Dad.

Aiden started the car.

"I live at number 7 Evergreen Road." I said.

Aiden turned to me, surprised. "The one with the little white porch round the back?"

I stared at him, a little unsure of where the conversation was heading. "Yeah, why?

He looked torn between shock and wonder. "I saw some guy break in a couple of weeks ago."

I flushed red almost immediately. "That was you! Did you call the police?" I was a little angry now. Of all the people it could have possibly been, it was Aiden.

"Yeah. Don't know why you're so worked up about it though. I did you a favour." He said, nonchalant. He was busy adjusting the mirror to his right, squinting as the sun was in his eyes. It was an abnormally hot day.

I made a very ugly face but didn't say anything. There was no way I was telling Aiden it was me that he caught breaking in to my own home. Instead, I remained silent and picked at a thread on my shorts.

I looked up and realised Aiden was heading the wrong way. "Aiden, it's easier if you just take a left here. If you go all the way round, it'll take you an extra couple of minutes." He was driving towards the main road and I was confused as to what he was doing.

Aiden didn't turn to look at me. "I'm not taking you home Blondie. I'll drop you off at the hotel, then you can sort stuff out with Alexander." He said casually.

"Alex." I corrected him automatically. "And anyway," I started, brushing off the surprise from correcting Aiden subconsciously. "It doesn't really concern you so I'd rather you just dropped me off home." I answered haughtily.

We stopped at a traffic light. Aiden shifted in his seat to look at me. He stared straight into my eyes and it was a little unnerving, given the intensity of his glare.

"Alex has been acting like a prick the whole of last night and this morning and he isn't showing any sign of letting up. When Alex is unhappy, Helen is unhappy and if Helen's unhappy then so's my Dad. I'm not stupid. Alex comes home pissed and angry and then you come round asking for him, looking like you've just killed a hamster. So you're going to sort out whatever the heck you and Alex fought about last night because if you don't, Alex is going to be a stroppy kid for a long time and I don't think I'll be able to live through that." Aiden's' silvery grey eyes were blazing, challenging me to argue. The traffic light had gone green and people were swearing and honking at us.

"Aiden, the light-"

He cut me off, still glaring at me. "Do you understand?"

I gulped, swallowing my pride. "Yes."

As soon as I'd uttered the three letters, he shifted gears and we lurched forwards.

***

We were both quiet for a while though it wasn't uncomfortable.

"How come you're coming? Alex never told the rest of us." I asked, a little confused.

Aiden didn't seem offended by my question. "Helen thought it would be good if we bonded before the wedding. She threatened not to let Alex go if I didn't go." He smiled as if thinking how cute Helen's idea was. "So I told Alex, I'd pretend to go with him and visit my friends in Stoke instead. I'll take you to Alex then go to Stoke. It's only a slight detour." He finished.

This made me wonder about Alex and Aiden's relationship. Alex hadn't mentioned much of Aiden to me but I realised they must have had some sort of an acquaintance with each other. After all, they did live together.

And then we were quiet again.

After 10 minutes or so, I reached to turn on the radio.

"What are you doing?" Aiden suddenly asked, his tone sharp.

I withdrew my hand unsteadily. "I thought some music..." I trailed off. I didn't think Aiden would mind. He seemed like a very laid-back sort of person.

"Oh." Aiden's voice softened slightly, probably realising how harsh it had just sounded. He coughed awkwardly before he arched his body upwards and scrabbled around in his back pocket for something. "Here," He handed me his phone. "There's a portable speaker in the glove box. Stick some music on."

I opened the little compartment in front of me and sure enough, a small black speaker attachment sat next to a packet of walnuts. I pulled it out and attached it gingerly to Aiden's phone.

"What do you want to listen to?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't mind. You choose."

I unlocked his phone and tapped on the little orange music icon. It popped up instantly, and I saw that the last song Aiden had listened to was One Directions Best Song Ever.

I smirked, letting out a small laugh. "You listen to One Direction?" I asked, still grinning. Never in a million years would I have expected the mysterious and brooding Aiden Cross to listen to One Direction.

He glanced at me, unabashed and smiling. "It's a catchy song ok! There's nothing wrong with listening to them. It's-

"You've got their entire album!"

I couldn't stop laughing. I clutched his phone to my chest, almost crying with laughter. Aiden had turned a dull red colour, but he was smiling himself and he didn't reach over to grab the phone away from me.

"Who's your favourite?" I asked, still smiling widely, and looking at his face to read his every expression.

He hesitated for a moment. "Liam."

I sniggered heartily. "I would've thought you were more of a Zayn fan." I commented lightly.

He didn't answer. "Just put something on."

I set his iPhone on shuffle and sat it down on the dashboard. I opened the glove compartment again and took out the walnuts. Opening the packet, I offered it to Aiden. He stuck his hand in and took out a few. I sat nibbling, while bobbing my head to Daft Punk.

We weren't moving very fast. We were stuck in a huge pileup of cars that probably went on for miles. Aiden had put the top down but since we weren't really going anywhere, it was swelteringly hot. What was worse, I'd eaten quite a lot of walnuts and my mouth was now very dry.

"Do you have any water?" I asked, wiping off a bead of sweat from my brow.

Aiden sighed loudly. "No. I've got some whisky though. Look under your seat."

I looked at him, shock evident on my face. "What are you doing with whisky in your car?!"

"Relax. I don't drink it. Well, not when I'm driving long distance anyway." His tone was casual, reassuring.

I shook my head in disbelief but reached underneath the seat anyway to find a full, rectangular, glass bottle of whisky.

"Drink some." He said offhandedly, ruffling his hair a little.

"No! People are watching." I replied looking around guiltily. People weren't actually watching at all.

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Look, you're thirsty and it'll help. You're not going to get drunk from a sip." He was being very patronising.

"But-"

Aiden sighed again. "Don't drink it if you don't want to. It makes no difference to me." That would have been the end of that but I sensed a challenge in his comment. He was testing me, seeing if I had the bottle to drink some, (pun intended). His face gave away nothing but I could see the smirk in his eyes. He didn't think I would drink it.

I would prove him wrong.

I unscrewed the cap and chugged at least an eighth of the whisky down. It burned and seared my throat and somehow stung my heart. I resisted the urge to cough and splutter, making my eyes water and my cheeks blush pink. Bursting out a 'much better' with a restrained squeeze on my throat, I turned away, pretending to look out the window.

Aiden just smiled innocently.

I scowled, realising a little too late, that I had just done exactly what he had expected me to.

We listened to Coldplay in silence.

"If I take this turning here, we'd be out of the traffic jam." Aiden stated, pointing his head to a road almost completely concealed by a bush of trees.

"Well then what are you waiting for." I answered irritably, straightening up in my seat.

"It's the scenic route so it's mostly just winding stretches of road. We won't see another car for a while." He said thoughtfully, not paying attention to my irritated expression.

I rolled my eyes. "I've seen enough cars to last me a lifetime. Just go, unless you like being stuck next to 3 kids picking their noses." I raised an eyebrow.

He let out a short laugh before abruptly shifting gears and speeding off left, leaving the traffic jam behind us, in a puff of smoke.

***

Although I wasn't drunk, I felt very optimistic and giddy. I couldn't stop smiling. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing through my hair and we were zooming along a narrow stretch of road in a classic Chevy impala.

I felt like a supermodel.

And then that song came on. I recognised it straight away, right from the instrumental at the beginning. Aiden bobbed his head to it while I threw my head back letting the wind whip my hair into my face. I didn't plan on singing along but before I knew it, I had already started.

"To the top of all the world!" And sure enough, it did feel like I was on top of all the world.

Aiden glanced at me, an amused expression set on his features. "You know this song?"

I laughed loudly but it was drowned out by the singer's next line. "Who doesn't know this song?!" I didn't feel shy or restricted by my awkward self. I laughed just for the sake of laughing.

"Do you know it?" I said, my eyes bright.

He didn't answer straight away but opened his mouth.

"Destination, Desolation, tell me when you reach the brink of life." But it wasn't me singing. Aiden sang it, looking straight ahead, a slight smile on his face.

He'd never looked so attractive.

I could tell he wasn't a great singer but the loud music from the speaker made him sound better. He ran his hand through his midnight black hair and tousled it, laughing while singing.

"...That's nice!" I joined in, singing along. I couldn't help but notice how amazing we sounded. Neither of us were particularly good singers but our voices worked well together and the laughter underneath our singing enhanced that. You could just tell by listening how ridiculously happy we were.

Right then, Aiden Cross wasn't the same Aiden Cross I'd thrown a biology book at or even the Aiden Cross I had argued with in a suggestive top in the middle of the night. This Aiden Cross's eyes sparkled and he looked so alive. He looked at home, singing with me in his light blue car and my heart seemed to jump at the thought.

"Resolutions and lovers in the kitchen. Love is clueless and destiny is wishing. This is my heart; it's on the line," We both tipped our heads back and shouted, "Selene!" We were out of tune and out of sync but I'd never heard it sound better.

It took that one particular song for me to realise that maybe Aiden wasn't so bad.

I thought I knew Aiden Cross. It turns out I didn't.

***

It was growing dark. The sweltering heat that had lasted the entire day was dwindling dramatically. The only sound was the slow rumble of the engine and Taylor Swifts quiet voice from the speaker. I watched the orange sun lazily as it dipped lower and lower.

"What time is it Aiden?" I asked, eyes still on the setting sun.

"I don't know." He sounded surly and annoyed, very different to when we were busy playing 'karaoke' and 'Guess the Song'.

I turned to him, surprised at his tone. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." I dropped the subject.

I straightened up and paid more attention to the road in front of us. "Where are we anyway?" I asked, massaging my neck.

Aiden didn't answer.

"Aiden." I said.

"What?" Again, his voice was gruff.

I looked straight at him, focusing on his eyes. I had come to realise that his eyes were very expressive. "Where are we?"

Aiden sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. "I'm not sure at th-"

"WHAT?" I shrieked. My voice echoed loudly and it reverberated in the air for a while after.

Aiden looked at me quickly. "Look, I'm sure we'll come across a main road or another driver." He didn't sound fully convinced and I imagined my skeleton lying sadly in this car, in the middle of nowhere. They would find me in 3078 and put my remains in a museum.

"We're lost! I thought you knew where you were going!" I shouted angrily.

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Don't over react, stupid. We're not lost. I just...don't know where we are." He finished lamely.

"You utter moron! How are we ever going to get back? We've been driving for hours; no one will be able to find us!" I cried, panic overwhelming me. "This is all your fault Aiden!"

I grabbed his phone and yanked the speaker attachment off. Just as I did so, the phone died in my hands. Our karaoke had finally taken it's tole on the battery life.

I buried my face in my hands and tried to come up with another solution. "Do you have GPS?" I didn't wait for an answer. Instead, I flung open his glove compartment and searched through it violently, only finding an old copy of the A to Z.

"Aiden, where do you keep your GPS?" I asked again, my words coming out hurried and jumbled.

Aiden pulled a face in disgust. "I don't have GPS."

It took me a minute to take in the full meaning of his words.

"You don't have GPS!"My tone was now shrill and squeaky. "It's 2013 and you're 18 years old. How do you not have GPS!?"

Aiden scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't need to have a stupid machine telling me where to go."

Shaking my head, I widened my eyes in complete disbelief. "Well clearly you do! We're lost in the middle of nowhere. You could do with a stupid machine telling you where to go since you can't seem to manage it yourself!"

"We're not lost! We'll find a main road and it'll be fine so just calm the fuck down!"

I ran a hand through my hair angrily, pulling at my roots to relieve some of my panic. "Don't you understand!? We're never going to find a main road without GPS!"

Aiden swore under his breath and turned away. We were both quiet for a while, calming down.

I broke the silence and sighed dejectedly, seeing the book on my lap.

"We've got this."

Aiden glanced at me, running his hand through his hair, and shot a disgusted look when he saw me holding up the ragged old copy of A to Z.

***

Seeing as we had no idea where we were and the road we'd taken off the motorway didn't even exist in the book, the A to Z was as useful as a fart.

It was now completely dark, with the moon only seen in glimpses behind the trees of the forest to our right. It was eerily silent with not even the slightest sound of a nearby car. This scared me more than the dark. It just proved how utterly alone we were.

Aiden slowed down and manoeuvred to the right, parking his convertible on the edge of the ominous looking forest.

"You're parking here?" I didn't manage to keep the slight tremor of fear out of my voice.

He sighed loudly, running his hand through his hair for the millionth time. He didn't seem to realise how often he did it.

"This forest seems to go on for miles. This place is as good as any other and there's a gap so you can see the moon."

I appreciated his attempt to park in the glow of our only light source but I stayed quiet, fiddling with the frayed hem of my shorts.

Aiden put the roof up and locked the car. The click echoed loudly in the cold night air. He glanced at me then switched the heater on, probably because he had realised I was wearing a short sleeved top and shorts. I didn't thank him. I was scared he'd notice the large lump in my throat if I opened my mouth to say something.

He moved towards me and for a second I imagined he was about to kiss me. But he moved past my lips and reached for something to my right. Feeling my seat shudder and move back a little. I blushed at his close proximity and his lemongrass, leather, baby scent. He moved away quickly and coughed awkwardly, tousling the back of his hair.

Despite the fact he had been quite thoughtful, I was still angry at him. I hadn't asked him to take me. He'd all but kidnapped me. And now I was stuck. The anger I felt rapidly overwhelmed my panic and the familiar burning took its hold.

Aiden's scent hit me again when his jacket landed on me with a soft plumph. I looked at him but he was busy pretending to fiddle with his seatbelt. I thought about thanking him but I opted not to. Instead, I shuffled in my seat and tried my hardest to maintain the rage I felt towards him.

We both settled into our uncomfortable sleeping positions, our backs facing each other. We were both silent.

An hour later, I was still wide awake. I was repeating everything that Aiden had done wrong in my head like a mantra. Again and again, I repeated it, trying to brand it into my skull. Only when Aiden's low breathing filled the car, did I realise the mantra happened to sound a lot like a song called Selene.

I scowled.

***

That's an imagine dragons song guys! Love them so so SO much! Songs is linked in. I think I did it right anyway.

I really want to thank all of you for reading and voting and I love all of your lovely comments. It means so much to me, I really can't explain it. I guess you hear from people all the time that they are really thankful and glad but I really really mean it, sincerly and genuinely. I literally go crazy and dance like I'm in the next korean music video. So thank you thank you thank you.

Hope you like this chapter. Would utterly love it if you left a comment and a vote! So don't forget to click the little button!! :D