Fated Love [BL]

Chapter 16: Wolf Pups

Aiden was sitting on his couch, already wearing his uniform, holding a cup of coffee on his hands as he stared blankly at the flat screen television screen in front of him. The living room, as well as his entire condominium unit was completely dark, an outward and actual projection of what he was feeling inside. The only sound that can be heard in his living room was the ticking of the clock, above the wall mounted television which was at 29-minutes past four in the morning. His thoughts consumed by the revelations that happened during the weekend, and the fact that he visited the place where he lost his mother and brother on impulse. Seeing the memorial that was erected for them at the site of the accident was a painful episode for Aiden, which has since been turned into a rotunda and a memorial park in their honor.

The impromptu visit was by no means an easy one, but something that Aiden was able to push through. It took an enormous amount of strength and willpower to force himself to leave the place, which left him emotionally battered and drained. Although battered emotionally and mentally, the revelations and visit only strengthened his resolve and determination to push through, further empowered by the fact that the people at the Gutierrez mansion gave him another chance at life – allies he fully trusts and rely on.

The trip to the place he never once visited since the accident not only tested his resolve, but the strength of his emotional and mental endurance. Although still suffering from the trauma from that night, Aiden unwittingly proved that his emotional and mental strength were far stronger than it was since that fateful and tragic night. It was a trial by fire in which Aiden was able to pass in a comfortable margin – a complete opposite to his academics and achievements which were all overwhelmingly achieved with flying colors.

As he was reflecting on everything, the alarm that he set for 4:30 AM on his phone started blaring, illuminating the dark living room, and drowning out the sound of the ticking clock. The intervention from his alarm managed to bring Aiden back to the real world, who hasn't properly slept since he got back from his trip the other night – one of the many sleepless nights he would probably face by his projections.

He slowly turned the alarm off before returning to his original position, trying to process and absorb everything before resuming his life as Aiden Kobayashi, the persona he donned after the death of Yukiya Aiden Kurosawa Labrador. Although Aiden doesn't want to admit it - a continuous struggle, further fueled by the events that transpired the past 72 hours – there was still a small, albeit fading part of Yukiya still alive inside of him, fighting to regain control of the hollowed and scarred body that Aiden has been occupying all these years, yet another part of his past chained and sealed by his subconscious mind.

Although his mind was heavily preoccupied, he managed to get himself to leave his condominium at around 5:00 AM, while there was still darkness outside – and still barely any people out. Aiden doesn't usually like to eat at fast food joints, since he thinks they are too greasy and somewhat nasty – given the clean freak that he is – he forced himself to go to a nearby McDonald's to get a large hot cappuccino with four extra shots of espresso, since the Café he usually frequents was somehow closed that morning.

After his stop at McDonald's where he thought he would never get out from since the cashier was too distracted eyeing him that she literally could not properly get his order correct, he immediately proceeded to the train station to get to Mount Juliet. Even though he has a car, complements of the Gutierrez Family and their household staff, Aiden could not bring himself to drive such an expensive car leisurely, most especially going to school where it would undoubtedly get a lot of attention.

As he got on the train, he placed his earphones on his ear and played some random song from his BTS playlist, listening to "Airplane Pt.2" as his thoughts slowly started transitioning to the Student Council and his academics, the former he was worried the most, given that he missed school last Friday, and he would surely be greeted by mountains of things he would need to quickly attend to. Just the thought of dealing with his officers was enough to move his mind away from what transpired during the weekend, a subtle pivot that even Aiden failed to notice.