Priceless. (boyxboy)

Chapter 9.

Cassie’s POV

“Just do your thing.” I murmured as I waited for the sms to reach Nick. Indeed, having just Noel out of the picture wasn’t going to be enough; I had to work on Aiden, too.

Beep-beep.

A delightful chirp made me shiver as the phone vibrated on the table. Smirking, I reached out to check the message, but footsteps near me made my hand freeze in the air and go back to its original position. God, that was close!

“Cassie, how are you doing?” Aiden smiled brightly at me and I felt my cheeks flush. I nodded slightly, feeling guilty about the thing I had already started, but life was harsh, and I was not going to just stand and watch how I’m being replaced, especially when I have so little time ..

“Is .. that a yes?” He asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Y-yeah.”

“To what? I didn’t ask you a yes-or-no question. Silly girl …” The blonde laughed lightheartedly and ruffled my hair gently, my heart beating like crazy just from that honey voice which glazed my eardrums.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, cheating on me already. You asshole.” Noel huffed, leaving the bathroom quicker than I expected. I guess showering without Aiden was boring. I looked at him, seeing his golden eyes shine brightly with love …

I feel horrible.

“Why, are you jealous?” Aiden smirked, walking towards Noel as he secretly grabbed his butt cheeks.

“Why would I-.. H-HEY” Noel shivered, pouting. The singer smiled charmingly and grazed the black haired boy’s neck, after which he embraced his earlobe with lips and purred on his ear.

“Mine” He whispered, squeezing Noel’s butt with a smile. I slightly grimaced at the sight and discreetly took the black-haired boy’s Nexus 5 with me, walking out of the kitchen.

They look disgusting. I’ll be doing Aiden a favor.

When I entered my room, I closed the door and held the phone in my hands, not quite sure how to unlock it. There seemed to be some sort of a password. I hummed curiously and clicked on the question mark to give me a hint.

What was written scared me sh**less.

“They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t …”

I gulped, feeling my skin shiver.

“W-what the hell is that supposed to mean … d-don’t what? Is he serious?” I bit my lip anxiously, mumbling under my breath. I just wanted to see the message and reply! What the hell was that nerdy guy doing with his phone …

I tried guessing. First ‘die’, which didn’t work. Then ‘breathe’. Then a bunch of others like ‘sleep’, ‘eat’, ‘scream’. I even wrote ‘fart’, just for fun. Of course, merely typing random words wasn’t going to help – I had to think.

Actually, I remember Aiden mentioning something similar to the phone’s ‘question’. He was talking about that one episode of Doctor Who where there are monster which freeze when you look at them, but the moment you close your eyes, they attack in an instant. God, I don’t get why he keeps watching that show when he’s such a scaredy cat. Besides, isn’t Doctor Who a bit too cocky? And why do they keep changing the actors? What, does everyone quit the role?

Well, I wouldn’t be surprised … Speaking of which, he was really surprised back then, when I told him I wasn’t a fan of the series. He was like ‘W-what, really? Oh, you should totally watch it, it’s awesome! And my favorite aliens, aside from the Time Lords, are the Weeping Angels and the Silence. They are just so badass, especially the Angels! David Tennant made me shiver when he instructed Martha what to do. Especially that bit with the blinking. Blink and you’re dead, ha-ha!’
Ha-ha my ass. How can anyone like something this childish? I don’t even know. And I memorized all of this s**t because it was Aiden who was talking, and I always loved listening to his voice. Of course, when I realized these gorgeous lips spat only nonsense, I began paying less attention, but that’s just natural, isn’t it?

I rolled my eyes and tried typing again, this time ‘close your eyes’, hoping that it’s the right combination. Unfortunately, the phone once again beeped in disapproval.

“But I’m sure that’s it … God, what’s with the heavy security, Noel?!” I hissed, trying to type it again, just in case I messed up the letters. Still not success.

In the end, I decided to change the sentence a bit. Simplify it. To one word.

‘blink.’

Voilà, I smirked, as the home screen greeted me with a blinking message icon. Finally. I opened the message and read it with a satisfied smile, replying with a decent answer, Noel style. And, to make things a little more mysterious, I decided to make a folder in his message box and put the smses inside, after which I left the phone on Aiden’s bed and returned to the kitchen, minding my own business, as usual. I think I did Noel a favor there!

I mean, it was only fitting for such shameful messages to be well-hidden, right?

 

* * * 

9 days before kidnap …

Noel’s POV

“Seriously, cover me this time. Don’t just run away.” I huffed, looking at Cassie. I was preparing for yet another meeting with Michael and I had no desire of facing Aiden’s disappointed face again. He was so … weird. Like, he was too angry to let me be, but he was too sympathetic to actually get mad at me. He’s … literally that goodhearted. Sometimes I think his heart is made from paper, and if he ever gets it broken and cries, it’ll be the end of him.

“I won’t. Trust me, Noel. We’re on the same side, we’re friends.”

“I guess.” I shrugged. Tonight Aiden was going to be late again, this time working in a local night club as a singer. Nothing new, if you ask me.

“Just go, I’ll handle everything.” Cassie assured me and I sighed, nodding in return. I turned my back and left once again. So far, I haven’t seen a single evidence about Aiden being abused by his current manager, and I’m fed up with promises. I knew tonight wasn’t going to be any different, yet …

Here I am, at the café we had to meet with Michael. Here I am, sitting with a stranger who might be a serial killer for all I know. Here I am, risking my relationship with the only person who cares for me, for a guy who’s only feeding me empty hopes.

“I’m glad you came.” Michael said, smiling at me. I pouted.

“Look, let’s get this over and done with. Do you have the audio?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I do.” Oh? I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I watched how the man took out a CD and showed it to me. Call me naïve, but because I waited so long for this disk, I believed straight away that it was THE audio I needed. God, finally, we’re getting somewhere.

“Great!” I sincerely smiled, looking at the disk as it was stuffed inside the guy’s jacket’s inner pocket.

“Now we need to bring this to Mr. Smith. He’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at the Midnight Star night club. You know it, don’t you?” I sighed at the man’s words.

“Look, I can’t leave every single night and get home late like I’m a teenage girl. If I do that, Aiden will get suspicious and everything will be ruined.”

“Suspicious of what?”

“Well, of -…” wait. That voice.

I gulped and quickly turned around, looking at the person in front of me. It was … none other but Aiden himself – his blond hair shining threateningly in the café’s soft lights, and his eyes shimmering with pure hatred. Of course, I .. I knew I was done for now.