Three Alphas, Three Mates

Chapter 6 - Aiden

"What do you have next?" Suzie asks.

I pull my schedule out of my bookbag as I leave the locker room. "Chemistry."

"Uh oh. With Mr. Crowdall?"

"No. Ms. Baines."

She looks at me then looks at my schedule. "But that's an upper level class. I thought you were only a sophomore?"

I smile. "I am, but I took advanced classes in middle school and last year."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh I see. The master."

"Yes, the master." I brush off my shoulders. It was hard work getting through those classes. I deserve a little bit of boasting

"Oh my gosh, you're too much," she laughs, shaking her head.

"Well you said it." I grin. "What's your next class?"

"Economics. The study of our crumbling society," she groans.

"Oh, it can't be that bad."

She looks at me, wide-eyed. "When Ms. Arlett teaches it, yes. She complains about our crumbling infrastructure everyday just because her commute is a little longer than everyone else's." she frowns and runs her fingers through her hair.

I laugh at that. I didn't expect her to be the type to get so upset as something. "I can see where she's coming from though. At my last school it took me forty minutes just to get there. On top of the time it takes to get ready and actually waking up, it's a nightmare to have a long commute."

She puts a hand up as if to silence me. "I don't want to have sympathy for her. I want her to have sympathy for me already," she laughs.

I shake my head.

"Oh, this is your hallway," she points to the right.

I see the big number 400 over it. "Where's your class?"

"All the way on the other side of the building."

"Well," I keep going. "What do you have next?"

She shakes her head. "I looked at your schedule. It's not the same."

I frown. There goes the one person in this school who's treating me nicely.

She smiles, gently. "Don't worry. We have the same lunch and English class, so I'll see you soon."

I sigh but force out a smile. "Alright. See you."

We part ways and I walk down the dim hallway. It's not that it's improperly lit, it's just... there's an aura about it that I can't quite put my finger on. A few people pass in the halls, shuffling from here to there. They stare at me from the corner of their eyes, but when I look, they look away.

I check the numbers on the classrooms. Mine is 411. I'm passing 402 now. I look into a door I'm passing and I see students staring at a board with illegible characters written all across it. They speak in a language with harsh syllables and intonations. It's something I've never heard before. The next few classrooms have more common languages, like German and French, but I can't get the sound of that first language out of my head. I pass another classroom with more students speaking it, and I pause. What is it?

"You're going to be late to class."

I turn around. Aiden. I take a step back and cross my arms. "I can get to class just fine, thank you."

He grumbles something under his breath and keeps walking. I turn back to the classroom, and the teacher is staring at me. I pause. "Uh, sorry." I walk away.

Aiden is still walking in the same direction as me. I noticed it before, but I just can't stop noticing it. My eyes only make it a little past his mid back. How tall is he? I know I'm short, but wow.

"What was so interesting about that language?" he asks.

I look up. He's staring at me over his shoulder.

Should I even bother answering? Why's he so curious all of a sudden? I thought he couldn't stand me. "What, am I not allowed to be interested in anything?"

"Did I say that?" he asks, coldly and harshly.

"No, but—"

"Forget I asked." He stops right in front of Room 411.

Don't tell me we have the same class? He walks in and I groan. What bad luck. When I enter the room, everyone is already seated.

"You're late, Ms. Jones." The teacher glares at me. What? I look at Aiden and wait for him to get the same treatment, but he doesn't. The teacher says nothing. I look at the clock on the wall, and, like I thought, I still have two minutes.

"Your punctuality is deplorable and will have to be corrected immediately. I do not expect this behavior to repeat itself from this day on."

I cock my head back. "But I'm not late?"

"Excuse me?"

I cross my arms and look at her. I'm shaking in my boots, but I don't care. I've done nothing wrong. I don't deserve to be spoken to like that. "It's 10:33. Class starts at 10:35. I'm not late."

She doesn't say a word.

My blood runs cold. I hold myself tighter. "At least, I don't think I'm late. B-But if I am," I curse myself for stuttering. "Then you should at least tell him that he was late too, because we walked in at the same time."

Some people in the crowd gasp.

My face burns. I feel like I'm sweating profusely, but I'm right. Right? ...Right? Oh God, why didn't I just keep my mouth shut.

She walks right up to me. I look at her and flinch. She's as tall as Aiden and her eyes are as grey as storm clouds. She narrows them and stares right at me, through me. "Find. A group. Right. Now."

"O-Okay." Damn. I stuttered again. Some people in the crowd chuckle. I hate these people.

I look into the mass for a friendly face to save me. I see none. Ms. Baines starts teaching like she didn't even leave me to the wolves [A/N: haha if only she knew, right? xD]. Everyone is paired into groups of two, including Aiden. I guess I'll just have to hop into one. I walk to the side where there are more girls. They all glare at me. I walk to the side where there are more boys. They don't exactly look friendly, but it's a better option. At least they're not glaring. I walk up to a pair of guys who seem relatively nice. One has dreads, and the other has deep black curls. They look at me when I approach them.

"Um, can I, uh, join your group?" Please don't embarrass me any further by saying no. I will them with my eyes to just say yes already.

They look at each other. Then at me. Then at each other. "Uh. Yeah, I guess."

I smile. "Thank you."

They look behind me. They flinch. They shake their heads. "No. Sorry, no you can't be in our group."

"What?" I look behind me. All that's in that direction is Aiden's group, but he's not even looking over here.

I look back at them. "But—"

They look genuinely terrified, so I just walk away. I look for another group, and in the back I see my worst nightmare. Brittany and Krys just looking smug as hell at my struggle. I'll be damned if I ask them for help.

I look around again and the simple fact is that everyone is shying away from me, especially the guys. I don't know what to do.

"Would you find a group already," Ms. Baines yells at me when she turns around from writing on the board.

I nod. I go to the only group that isn't adamantly rejecting me. I know what you're thinking, but I have no choice... I go to Aiden.

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A/N: How do you guys like the brothers so far? What are your thoughts on Aiden specifically and the other females of the book (Brittany, Krys, Suzie)? Love them? Hate them? Want them dead? I'd love to hear what you think will happen next ^^ Hope you enjoyed :D