Kaden

seven

I waited for Aiden outside of the school for ten minutes before he walked out with Kaden's sister. Kayla is a freshman and Aiden is a sophomore. I'm only 17 but I'm a senior. It was nice to see the two of them laughing and joking around.

"Hey, Saywer you think you could give Kayla a ride home?" I nodded and they both got into my car.

"My brother speaks very highly of you. Says you keep him in check." I couldn't help but laugh at that. Kaden had told me a week ago that I kept him out of trouble. "You're coming tonight, right?"

I nodded trying to keep focus. I heard Kayla mumble a good but I didn't think it was meant for me to hear. The rest of the way to Kayla's house Aiden didn't shut up. I don't think I have ever heard him speak so much but I couldn't ignore the smile on his face. When Kayla got out she thanked me for the ride and when I thought she was gonna leave she turned back to me.

"My brother adores you and I've never seen him so happy. So, whatever you're doing please don't stop he really likes having you around." I nodded.

"I like having him around too." She smiled and skipped off. I watched Aiden and he watched to make sure she got inside safe.

"Spill." He looked confused and then ran a hand through his hair and then scratched his neck which is only something he did when he was nervous. "What is going through that head of yours?"

"She is perfect. Like there isn't a single flaw. I mean her hair catches the sun and it makes her whole face light up. And her eyes you could get lost in. To top it off she has the cutest freckles on her nose and she hates them but they make her look even more perfect." I understood what he meant by her eyes and freckles because she looked so much like Kaden. Sometimes when he talked I'd look at his freckles instead of his eyes because I knew I'd stop listening if I did look at his eyes.

"If she's not my mate I think it would kill me." The more he spoke of her the more I realized I hated the idea of Kaden's party. For the last few weeks, all his attention has been on me and now that I think about it, I don't want it to be any other way.

When Aiden and I got home we both went to our rooms to relax before the pampering process began. Aiden had gotten a tie to match Kayla's light purple dress and a new grey tux. I knew he was more than excited to be her date tonight and I was happy for him the problem was I was jealous that he got to have the date he wanted and I didn't.

Graham offered to break tradition and be my date but I didn't want him to face the wrath of Sarah when she found out what he did. So he went with a traditional black and white tux combo.

The party was set to start at 7 so at 4:30 Sarah busted into my room. The same girl from the ball came in and did my makeup but today Sarah did my hair. She put it in a cute bun with curls falling by my face. I loved the way it looked with my hair.

Once we both got ready we went downstairs and I saw Graham smirking.

"I got you an early birthday gift." Graham handed me a box and when I opened it I gasped audibly. I pulled out the fresh white converse and My face broke out in a smile.

"They're leather so they should be a little easier to keep clean. I thought maybe you would want to wear them with your dress tonight."

I kicked my heels off and Graham helped me put them on. When I stood I was a lot more comfortable than before and was a little happier with going to the party.

The ride to the party was short and filled with small talk. Aiden's leg was bouncing up and down and I knew he was nervous to see Kayla. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, I think he understood I was nervous too.

When we pulled into the driveway I let out a shaky breath. Graham held my hand as we walked in. As the door opened he leaned over to me "No matter what happens, everything will work out I promise." I nodded as Graham dropped my hand.

The room was set up similar to the ball so when I walked in I could see the entire room. My eyes immediately met Kaden's ocean ones a sense of calm washed over me. I smiled and felt less tense. He walked up the stairs to me and I noticed his white jacket and navy pants. We match.

I laughed a little to myself and looked to the ground letting some of the curls hide me. I felt Kaden touch my chin, tilt my face up, and move some curls away. "You look beautiful. May I have this dance?" I nodded and held Kaden's hand as we walked to the dance floor.

It was a slow song and when Kaden pulled me to him my hands met his chest and I could feel myself blush. Kaden placed his hands on my hips but unlike last time I felt butterflies. After hearing Aiden talk of Kayla in a way that I had thought of Kaden it made me realize my feeling for him were more than platonic.

I laid my head on Kaden's chest and I noticed how quickly his heart was beating but decided against commenting on it. About halfway through the song, Kaden whispered into my ear.

"I know it's time for me to find my mate and we graduate at the end of the week but I hope we don't lose our friendship. You have become an important person to me and I don't want things to fall apart." I pulled away and looked up at him.

"I'm not going to walk away from our friendship ever. You reminded me how to be a teenager and actually got me out of the house. I wouldn't trade these last few weeks for anything. I've had more fun in the last three weeks than I've had in the last 2 years." Kaden smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"I was really hoping you would say that. Can I introduce you to my parents?" I nodded and he pulled me away from the dance floor.

He walked me over to a woman who looked just like Kayla but older "Mom, I want you to meet Sawyer." The women's eye's lit up as she pulled me into a hug.

"Oh, honey she's as pretty as you described." I looked over to Kaden as he scratched his neck "Please call me Kara." I smiled back at her.

"It's so nice to meet you. Your children have brought a lot of smiles to my family recently. My brother is actually Kayla's date." She smiled after I said that and then pulled a man with dark hair over to us.

"Alexander, You must meet Sawyer. This is the girl our son has been gushing over for the past month."

"It's so nice to meet you, Sawyer. I'm sorry if I seem distracted it's just that my daughter seems to have brought a date." I laughed at his comment.

"If you want to embarrass him tell him that you'll tell Kayla about his 13th birthday. I bet you his face will pale in seconds." Alexander nodded and walked away. Kaden and I watched as he approached Aiden. I watched as he swallowed hard and nodded quickly. I laughed so hard I had to turn around and hide my face in Kaden's chest.

Alexander came back laughing "How did you know that will work?"

"Aiden is like my brother. I know all of the ways to get under his skin." Alexander nodded.

"I like her, son." Kaden's parents walked away to dance leaving the two of us alone.

"You don't have to stay with me. Go, find your mate." Kaden shook his head.

"I want to stay with you."

A/N

So Aiden is definitely in love with Kayla and Sawyer finally realized that she has at least has a crush on Kaden.

This chapter is dedicated to @BrandonWong048 who wrote Playing By The Rules. This is an absolute must-read if you want a book that has romance and sports because it is so gracefully balanced and I loved it.

I've gotten 37 reads in the last five days which doesn't seem like a lot but I'm crazy happy about it!

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading XOXO