My Girl↝ Aidan Gallagher

Chapter 21

(Y/N POV)

All I want to do is run.

I knocked on the wooden door, the sound echoing up and down the hallway. I didn't even make it to the second knock, before the door swung open to reveal Aidan. He looked slightly impatient, but excited to see me. Well, maybe not me, but the rice cakes.

"How was the picnic," he asked, "did you have fun?"

I bit my lip in confusion, handing him the snack. He didn't seem bothered or agitated like he did when texting, so I started questioning my interpretation of the earlier events. Maybe I had just assumed he was being mad?

"Um- yeah it was fine," I said, standing near the door.

"Cool, do you want to come in?"

"I should probably head to my room actually," I said, "early day tomorrow!"

"Oh yeah, Nina's coming."

"Why is she coming here at 2 in the morning, though?"

"Don't ask me, I didn't buy the ticket."

I frowned, unhappy with his sudden snarkiness. I suppose Nina is a touchy subject, so I erased all thought of her in my mind.

"I'm going to head back," I said, nudging the side of the doorframe, "goodnight Gallagher."

"Gallagher?"

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said, "but I've only heard Nina call me that."

"Oh. sorry.."

"No it's fine, it sounds better when you say it."

I frowned, and stalked off down the hallway. I couldn't get along with anyone apparently, because they are so dang confusing. Slamming my keycard against the door, I kicked my door open and slumped down on my bed.

My Tv was still playing from this morning, and I scolded myself for forgetting to turn it off. The weight of today started to make my head dizzy, and I started to feel my whole body sink into a deep sleep.

......

My alarm went off at 1:00 in the morning.

I don't remember ever setting it that early, but maybe it was an instinct. Closing my eyes, I tried to regain the lost minutes of sleep I could retain, but I just couldn't fall asleep again.

"I'm so done with this," I said, rolling out of bed, "give me a day where I can sleep in."

I ran my hands through my tangled hair and stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. The bags under my eyes were so visible I almost confused myself for a racoon.

I threw on a Pepsi t-shirt, some faded jeans, and wrapped a black hoodie around my waist; I wasn't exactly trying to look nice for the day. Grabbing my phone from the charger, I looked around for my headphones and plugged them in a quickly as possible.

Sunflower by Rex Orange County started playing from my spotify playlist, and my head bounced up and down to the guitar strums. Feeling around in my pocket for my wallet, I strolled out into the hotel hallway, hungry for some breakfast.

As I passed by Aidan's room, I realized the door was cracked open slightly. Dangerous much? I pressed upon it lightly, and looked inside the room for any sign of him being awake.

The lights were all off, so I shook my head in disappointment. He must have left his door open all night, and he could have been murdered or robbed. Shutting the door, for real this time, I headed off to the ground lobby of the building.

By the time I reached the starbucks, I had gotten my credit card out to pay for Aidan and my breakfast. Wait, Aidan said not to buy him food today because he had to pick up his friend from the airport at 2.

But if it was 1:14 and he was still sleeping, who was waiting for Nina?

"This is not listed in my job," I grumbled, "he owes me for this."

I pulled out my phone and called an uber to take me to the airport and back. Grabbing my food from the counter, I jogged out into the street and climbed into the waiting car outside.

"Terminal 3 please," I said to the driver, "thank you!"

By the time we reached the destination, it was 1:52. Time to spare, if the plane arrived on time.

"Just wait out here," I said, "I'll be right back."

Hopping out of the car, I looked around the drop off area for someone who looked like Nina. Then it occured to me that I had no clue who I was looking for. A couple feet away from me were reusable whiteboards that people could use to identify thier passenger.

I picked one up and wrote NINA in large letters with the dry erase marker. Holding it in front of my chest, I waited till people from the fight started flooding in.

"Are you waiting for me?"

I realized I must have been daydreaming while I waited, because I didn't notice the girl standing in front of me.

"W-what?"

"Are you waiting for me, or some other Nina?"

"No- I'm waiting for you."