Complications

Chapter 12 - Four Members Of Jury

"Aria..." 

The echoes of a thousand voices escaping my head ran behind me, running after me, and I wanted out.

I wanted to escape.

The sound of their feet thumping across the solid concrete rather than my temples which had been weakened since Mitchell had said, no - shouted, those words.

I needed you.

Be it guilt or anger, be it hate or love - but those words struck right through my heart.

Not my head.

My heart.

"ARIA!!!!!!"

I finally flash back to reality and stop running.

I look around and don't recognise my surroundings.

A few ordinary houses, a scatter of withering grass and an ancient corner shop with it's sign practically falling off the front.

"Aria - DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR?!" Rosalie shouted as she caught up to me, panting as she dropped and flung herself on a nearby bench.

"2, 3 minutes?" I muttered.

"More like 20." Angel stated as she walked over and dropped next to Rosalie.

"Yeah next time you freak out, can you like not run - like hop skip jump, but - no running!!" Monika complained as her and Selina sat on the bench.

Four members of jury staring right at me in silence.

They wanted an explanation.

Granted, I owe them it considering I just made them run several blocks.

"Ugh...fine. I'll talk." I said, as they all nodded slowly at me, eager to listen.

"I freaked okay?" I began. "It's like the second he explained it all - a bombshell hit me. Like the car ride and everything might have been just little things for me, but they meant a lot to him. And I just looked past it, all of it. Now I feel like crap." 

"Hey, it's not your fault." Rosalie said.

"Yeah I know right, and it's never too late to fix things." Selina added.

"You just gotta know what you want." Monika said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, do you want him to be a friend or something more?" Angel asked. "You can't string him on forever. If you like him more than a friend...tell him..before it's too late."

***********

Mitchell's POV:

"What was that?" Remus asked me as we walked back to his place.

"I...I don't even know myself." I muttered.

"Is everything at home okay since-" Ishmael began.

"Yeah yeah whatever. It's fine." I quickly replied and sped up my walking pace.

"You sure?" Keegan asked.

"I SAID IT'S FINE!!" I screamed, punching the nearest thing I could find which was apparently Keegan's head.

Keegan looked extremely pissed off, I could see the vein popping from his forehead as his face darkened to a deep shade of red.

"You did not just-"

Keegan cut himself off before raising his fist and lunging for me before Remus got in the middle.

"Would the both of you stop acting like 10 year olds?!?" He shouted.

We caught the eyes of a few passing pedestrians.

I brushed off my sleeves as Keegan huffed under his breath, 

"Tell that to him."

**********

"So what are you gonna do now?" Abram asked as we sat down at Remus' coffee table.

Tensions had calmed on the way back, but truth be told, I didn't even have the answer to that question.

"I don't even know." I muttered. "Advice?"

Keegan simply shrugged his shoulders and said,

"F her. Move on. Pretty sure there's a pub around the corner, we can-"

"NO." We all said in unison, as Keegan slid back down in his seat.

"Well you asked for advice." He said under his breath.

"To be honest he kinda has a point." Ishmael stated. "About the whole moving on thing, not the other crap."

"Yeah I mean, if she doesn't like you even after you confessed, is she really even worth it?" Remus asked.

She was.

But what else am I going to do?

Sit around waiting for her, praying that one day she'll stop liking Austin and come to me?

I don't want to be a second choice.

I want to be the first.

Her first.

But it can't happen now, can it?

You know what.

Keegan's right.

"Guys." I said, as their heads turned to face me as I lowered my fists that my chin was leaning on and stood up. "Fire up your Rover Ishmael. I know what I'm gonna do."

*********

Aria's POV:

"So red or black dress?" Monika asked as she waved two different outfits still on their hangers in front of her.

"Let's see, do you wanna be classy or slaggy?" Rosalie asked.

"Black dress it is." Monika laughed as she tossed the other one on to her bed.

"I can't believe your actually doing this Aria." Angel said as she brushed out her freshly straightened hair.

"Well you guys made a point. Not gonna string him on forever am I?" I said as I slipped on a denim jacket over my grey dress.

"True." Selina said. "What are you gonna do when you get there?"

"Talk - like normal." I replied.

I kept my answers short and sweet.

I didn't want to overthink the situation.

"Where are my boots?!?" Rosalie shouted from the other side of the room.

"By the window!" I yelled back. "We're legit only walking next door."

"True." Rosalie said.

We left the house at about 7:30 - the raging music from next door was clear that people were already half drunk and wasted there already.

The street was already dimming down, but it wasn't pitch black.

We knocked on the door three times before it was opened none other than Austin himself.

"Hi." I said, standing face to face with him.

"Hey." He smiled his usual sweet smile. "Come on in."

He moved aside and raised an arm up.

We stepped in the house, but once again I wasn't paying attention.

I wasn't paying attention to the signs.

I wasn't paying attention to the surroundings.

And I certainly wasn't paying attention to that massive black Range Rover that was outside Austin's house that night.