We're Still Nerds

2~ Not what I Expected

              What happened to the scrawny fourteen year old with the Superman shirt?

                  My lips parted in surprise as I took in Aidan's appearance. He was muscular. Aidan, muscular?! He wasn't just muscular, he was six pack kind of muscular. His black hair was longer than I'd ever seen it, and sticking up slightly as if he'd been sleeping.  Instead of the graphic comic book t's I was used to, he was wearing a button up black shirt and jeans with sneakers resembling my own. He was staring at me with the same look on my face, looking from my shoes to my skinny jeans to my leather jacket, to my brown hair thrown into a ponytail, with locks hanging losely around my pale face.

                       Aidan composed himself first. "How'd you get in here?" he asked coldly. My eyes widened slightly at the hostility in his voice, but I put a smirk on my face, leaning back on the bed. "When you want to keep people out, don't hide your key in the same place you have since the third grade." I held up the silver key, raising a thin eyebrow. "Really, Aidan? The Death and Rebirth? You're favorite book?" Aidan reached for it, but I saw it coming and moved my hand away before he could snatch the key. Aidan's eyes narrowed, and I sighed before tossing the key to him. He caught it easily and shoved it in his pocket, hands shaking.

                     He then turned to me, his violet-blue eyes filled with anger... and something else. How was it that I couldn't read his emotions anymore? Aidan's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Why did you come back?" he said, the hostility still there. I met his gaze with a look of my own, unwavering. "Because I wanted episode eleven of X-men back." Aidan shook his head, refusing to give me that crooked grin of his. "Your humor hasn't changed at all, has it?" he commented, leaning back in the computer chair he sat at. His voice sounded casual but stiff, and his fists clenched as if he was trying not to punch me in the face. I would've deserved it. I looked away. "That's about the only thing that hasn't changed about me."

                       "Obviously," said Aidan, and it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "It's mostly your fault, you know," I said before I could stop myself. Aidan backtracked. "What?" I snorted. "I changed when you weren't there anymore. I didn't have anybody who actually cared about my problems. My mom was too wrapped up in her own, and my step-father, well..." I trailed off. Aidan's eyes widened slightly. "Step-father?" I chuckled darkly. "That's a long story. Let's just say that dear daddy had another family, and decided he liked them better. And my lovely stepfather wasn't Mr. Perfect either." 

                     Aidan flinched, and I raised my eyebrow again. "Yeah, I noticed. Will isn't here, is he?" Aidan glared at me with all the hostility of a snake, which surprised me. He had never looked at me like that. "No, Will isn't here, but I don't see how that's your business," he muttered. I chuckled again, turning away. "Hey, I'm not intruding. I know what it's like to have people messing in your personal lives." I leaned forward, and said the last bit in a whisper. "But sometimes it helps." Aidan pushed out of his chair. "Yeah, someone else might be able to help. Just not you."

                  It felt like he'd punched me in the stomach, but I didn't let it register on my face. I pushed up from the bed, too. "I know, I know. I'm the last person anyone should go to for family issues. Besides, I have enough of them on my own plate. I'm not going to dump them on you," I added from the look of confusion on Aidan's face. "You'll never hear anything about my past unless you ask." With that, I moved towards the door. Then, I turned back. Aidan was expressionless, though there was anger in his eyes. "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm sorry." Aidan took a step back, his eyes wide. "You're sorry?" Nodding, I said, "Yeah. I've been trying to reach you and tell you that for four years, and now I finally have the chance. I know I didn't tell you I was leaving soon enough, and sorry really doesn't cut it. I know that we are never going to be friends again." Aidan looked away, but I continued. "But I don't want to see that look on your face whenever I pass you in the hallway.