To Express Happiness || Fayne ✔✔

The Action; The Reaction 🎥

Aaron couldn't sleep all night, and raindrops began to patter on his window, breaking the silence of the night. He lay still there, absorbing everything the day had offered him. After a long time, he had things to do. Actual things. He was living his dream , he was being someone he always wanted to be, something he always wanted to see. He analyzes his room; the same space where felt like he was buried alive, and the same place when he was reincarnated from the dead, and given a new life. 4 walls, a ceiling and a floor, and Aaron wished the walls could talk, and together they would talk regardless of time. This room  was like the green room before his performance, sometimes being the stage itself.

When Aaron comes downstairs, all eyes were on him. Ariana, sipping her cornflakes, stopped midway while looking at him. Mother, too, paused while she scrubbed the sink. It was a scene to watch. They both looked at him in wonder, as if Buddha descended from the sky. When Aaron shakes his head in a 'wtf' manner, everything becomes normal again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aaron grips the door just as his phone buzzes with a text. 

''Aaron...meet me up. I'm at the English class. Ash.''

When Aaron replies what he was beckoned for, he receives no reply.

Shutting the locker door, Aaron stares at his reflection, the same reflection of the day after he first met Irina; of the day he almost got beaten up by Donnogan. His face is same, just a bit bruised from the  accident yesterday, but the bruises inside his heart don't reflect anymore, and Aaron hopes they never will. His reflection smiles at him, and as smile can win wars, it sure won many inside him. 

Carrying that smile, he enters the class and confronts the whole gang, who are unable to reciprocate his smile. Everyone looks either down-earthed or regretful. When Aaron utters a soft 'hi'...all eyes were on him; the same stares his family gave him just an hour ago.

''You btch'' , Shae turns about to Aaron, and rushes to grab his collar as he lands a hard punch on him. While the girls inch forward to counter, Shae pushes Aaron to the board lands 2 more, making his glass go spinning on the floor. Irina just couldn't come between them anytime soon.

''Shae, get hold of yourself!!''. 

While Aaron falls to the ground, covering his face, his  ears keep tormenting him. 

'' And Zack, you a**hole, your kindness resulted in this. I should've warned you I should have.''

Zack, arms crossed, looks down remorsefully. Shae stands still facing the window, hands on his waist, and suddenly bangs the table beside him, making everyone, except Aaron, leap.

''One day. I was just one.day. away and you guys let this happen? Well Malcolm, out of all the people you shouldn't stay this quiet!''

''Well I..uh...only if Neha told me before about thi-''

''Enough''. Shae eyes Neha in a reprehensible manner, and she nods in acceptance. 

''Anyone coming near this loser, and I'll make sure you are ridden over and torn to pieces, you understand?''

Everyone nods in unison, hiding the like-you-control-us expression. 

Everyone exits the room serially, Shae on the lead, and Zack at the back , while the latter leaves a small piece of paper beside the wounded Aaron, still lying on the floor. As the bell rings, he gets up and grabs his broken spectacles, which he later smashes  on the ground and stomps at it like extinguishing fire, the burning fire inside him. With his vision blurred, he barely reads the note from Zack, which goes like ' Bleachers. Basketball court. Lunchbreak. Zack'. 

As he stands up, feeble from all those brutal attacks, he eyes the board, which contains notice for a homework. It goes like , '' Write an essay about friendship in highschool''.

Aaron gives a ludicrous half-smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lunchbreak. At the Bleachers.

With both of his hands clasped, Zack waits patiently for Aaron as he appears from behind. He gives a doctor-kind of smile, assuring that everything is perfect about life. Aaron, on the other hand, lives with the sarcasm of that smile.

''Well...lemme get straight to the point.''

Aaron rubs his injured jaw while Zack clears his throat.

'' As far as I have heard, you gave a thank you note to Irina that day at my place, and yesterday, you said to her that just looking, or analyzing  her cured you from depression, is it?''

Aaron rubs his forehead, seemingly negligent to Zack's words. Zack, however, regards  that he is gripping to what is being said.

''Listen uh... I'll put it in both ways, from your point of view and from the gang's. At the car, you asked me if I actually felt something when the song came up. I was dumb to that question, so that night, when everybody was off to their places, I listened to that song again and again, but couldn't find any meaning. Shared it to Ash, and we shared the same confusion. However, as I heard from Irina, and listened to that song again, I got it.''

Aaron finally looks up.

'' You are like...having new feelings. You want to get rid of depression and start a new life, a life full of excitement. I totally get you on that but...''

And that 'but' follows a tough silence.

'' But why Irina, though? I mean...she didn't do anything, and based on your descriptions, it feels a lot more like unrequited love-at-first-sight, you know. I mean...how could a person's appearance make you fall-''

''Zack, I realized I haven't said this yet but thank you for being a very good friend to me...'' , Aaron says while digging his head deep between his legs. 

''Yo man it's chill. Thankss. But anyways...as I was saying I-''

Aaron stands up straight, picks up his bag and while departing, leaves Zack that same, pathetic smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aaron has no strength to bike. As he walks along his bike, it takes him half an hour more than his usual 'reporting time' at home. When he was thinking about hugging his mother and let all his feelings stream into her, Mrs. Reeves' reception was beyond expectation.

''Aaron...son...what are these..?''

Hanging from her right hand was the detention paper that the Principal gave Aaron on the 17th. On the left, however, was something more fatal : a suspension letter reporting several bunked classes and a fight in the English class.

Aaron world turns black as he  faints, falling to the ground.