What The Heart Wants (Stereo Kicks/ James Graham)

Chapter 72

The days that followed the return of me and Caden were uneventful. It was just more of the same stuff we always did. Vocals, choreography, FIFA, and movies in the bedroom. Caden and I got back to London Tuesday night, and it is now Thursday evening. The boys and I are all huddled in the room playing on our phones. "Anyone up for a--" "James, if you say 'anyone up for a game of FIFA I will rip your head off." I snapped. "Who pissed in your Corn Flakes?" James smirked at me. "You know, I've never understood that expression." I said flatly. "Well then what do you want to do miss princess? Since you don't want to do anything here." He walked towards me and got down on his knees so we were eye level. "Let's go ice skating!" I beamed. "Ice skating? Seriously?" Casey said. "Yes. Now get your ass up and get ready. We're going ice skating." I smiled as I walked out of the bedroom to go change into warmer clothes. Before I got too far I heard Caden tell the boys, "you guys should seriously get ready or else she'll come back and bring a whole fist full of fury you don't want to face." He chuckled. I smiled and listened for their reaction. "How do you know that?" Casey asked. "What's the date today?" Caden asked randomly. "November twenty first. Why?" Casey answered, and I could hear the confusion in his voice. I can't blame him I'm confused too, what does the date have to do with my mood? "It's almost the last week of the month." Caden said. "So?" Me and Casey were still confused. What happens the last week of the month? Wait..."she's gonna start her period soon, and her mood swings kick in about a day or two before it happens. Like I said, I'd get ready." That bastard! Why did he think it would be ok to tell them when I'm on my period?! Ugh! To be fair, it was probably a good idea though, so now they know for the future. But I'm usually pretty good at controlling my emotions. Except for crying. I cry at everything when I'm on my period. Especially those damn commercials where they show the abused and neglected animals. Fucking animals pulling on my heart strings! Oh. Maybe this is what Caden means by mood swings...I shook my head clear of all thoughts and went into my room to get dressed. After I was dressed and ready to go, I joined the boys in James's bedroom. "You guys got ready fast. What made you decide to listen to me?" I glared at Caden who gave me a little smirk. "We just really want to go ice skating. This was a great idea." Charlie hastily replied. Aw, little Charlie is actually scared of me. I chuckled to myself. "Yes, and did I tell you how amazing you look tonight? Because you look exquisite." James gushed. "Ok you guys can stop. You haven't noticed all the other times I've been on my period, and you wouldn't know this time if my big mouthed brother hadn't told you." I said throwing a pillow at Caden. "Ow! Broken arm remember? And ribs, and collarbone." He complained. "Your collarbone is fractured, not broken." I argued. "But I'm sorry." I apologized anyway. "Uh huh." He dismissed me. "Whatever, I'm gonna go have fun. I need fun." I stuck my tongue out at him. "Yeah, or you need to get laid." He mumbled and all the guys started laughing, including James. "Excuse me?" I stared at him and the boys continued to laugh. "I said," he set his phone down and looked at me. "You need. To get. Laid." He said, taking little breaks in between his words so my brain could comprehend them easier. "He's right you know." Chris agreed and the boys started laughing again. The sound of all their laughter made me laugh. "You guys are so stupid, let's go." I laughed and rolled my eyes as I turned to walk downstairs. When we walked outside we came face to face with Louis. "Hey guys where are you going?" He asked us. "Oh, um, we were gonna go ice skating downtown." Jake answered. "Ah, and whose idea was that?" Louis asked. "Mine." I answered. "Well I guess that saying 'great minds think alike' is true." He smiled. "I was just on my way to come get you guys to take you to the skating rink. I made you guys some shirts and I wanted to test the publics knowledge of your names." He smiled and opened the backdoor of his car, where a box of white t-shirts sat. He grabbed out each shirt and handed them out individually. We each got one with our name on it in red print. They were basic, but we put them on anyway and got into the van. Our van followed Louis's car for about fifteen minutes before we pulled into the packed parking lot of the ice skating rink. "Alright, go ahead and get your skates and then meet me back here." Louis ordered. We all left and went to get in line for our ice skates. "This blows." Reece complained. "I invited Meg, but now that Louis is here we aren't gonna get to hang out." He said. "I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll barely notice he's here." I said, but then realized I was wrong when I seen four men unpacking their cameras and other equipment. "Yeah. Barely notice." Reece said sarcastically. "Hey, I didn't know they would be here. But we signed on for this. It's just a part of the show, so suck it up." I said. "You know, you really do need to get laid." Reece rolled his eyes. "Believe me, I would have already had sex with James if we weren't stuck in a house with twenty other people." I said honestly. James looked over at me with a shocked expression. "What? You can't tell me you haven't thought about it." I shrugged. "Well, of course I've thought about it. I just didn't think you were ready for that." He said. "Well I am." I smiled seductively. "Good to know." He winked and I could feel excited butterflies in my stomach. I wanted him. Now. "Too bad Louis's here." I whispered. The other boys were having separate conversations now, but I still didn't want them to hear. "Why's that?" James whispered back with a grin on his face. "Let's just say, if he wasn't here, you and I wouldn't be in line to get skates, that's for sure." I looked up at him and slowly rubbed my hand across the front of his jeans. He gasped a little at my touch, causing me to giggle. "Next." The woman at the counter called. I stepped up and told her my size and she handed me my skates in exchange for my boots. James then got his skates and we walked back to Louis in just our socks. "Alright, so you guys just skate around for a little bit and me and the cameramen will come get you when we're ready." Louis smiled. The boys and I put our skates on and wobbled to the rink. "No laughing when I fall." Jake warned before we stepped onto the ice. I nearly slipped as soon as we stepped in the rink. "Oh shit." I breathed and grabbed onto Casey's arm to regain balance. He laughed, but remained steady. "James, get over here." I waved my arm for James to come grab my other arm. The three of us skated arm in arm for a few minutes before James grew restless. "Go. Skate. Have fun. Be careful." I waved him off. "You sure?" He asked. "Yeah I'm good." I smiled. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek after he made sure Louis wasn't looking. "You're the best." He whispered before he took off around the rink. "You know, you two really are good together." Casey complemented. "Thanks." I smiled. "What about Layla? Are you guys still together?" I asked. "Oh yeah, she's great. I just wish I could see her more, ya know?" He asked. "Of course you don't, you live with your boyfriend." He chuckled. "No, I do get it. Not with James, but with a past relationship. I went through sort of the same thing. Actually not really, but kind of." I told him. "What was his name?" Casey asked curiously. We were easily gliding along the ice, so it was easy to focus on the conversation and not everything happening around us. "His name was Zach. He was my first boyfriend. I was so in love with him I never thought I'd be with anyone else." I smiled painfully at the memory. "What happened?" Casey asked. "I was young and naive. Too blind to see the truth. He never loved me. He would leave town for days, sometimes weeks at a time without saying goodbye or telling me where he was going. I would sit and stare at my phone just waiting for him to text me, because no matter how long he was gone, he always texted atleast once. I started skipping school to hang out with him and his friends while they got high, or drunk because I just wanted to be with him. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could, but no amount of time ever seemed to be enough for me. Eventually, he got caught carrying narcotics and was arrested. He was only supposed to be in jail for a couple months, but then the cops did some more research on him and it turns out, he was also involved in human trafficking." I took a deep breath before I continued. "He was supposed to sell me to some pimps over in Indonesia. That was part of his act. He would get young, impressionable girls to fall for him so they would trust him. Every time he left town, he was visiting another one of his potential victims. If he hadn't been pulled over and arrested that day, I probably wouldn't be alive right now. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drug distribution, kidnapping, and the trafficking of women and children. After I learned the truth, I became depressed for a while, but Caden helped me get better. He would force me to get out of the house and to help him with his homework and cook dinner. They were just small things, but they helped bring me back. After a few months, I was better and I devoted all of my time to school, and eventually working so I could take care of me and Caden after my mom got sick. And then Zach was released three days before I came out here to audition for the show." I took another deep breath. "I was terrified that he would find me again, and then I found out about my mom and I just ran. I came here believing that I would never have a normal life, or trust anyone but my brother ever again. But that all changed when I met you guys. The old me started to show more and more everyday and I became less scared of my future and more excited. My life has done a complete 180° since my first audition, and I have you guys to thank for that." I smiled. Casey stopped skating and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through. You are the strongest person I have ever met. You're seriously amazing Aria."  He said softly. "Thank you." I whispered, and he squeezed me tighter. "There's no need to thank me." He whispered before he pulled away and we continued to skate slowly, and carefully around the rink.

SOME CARIA ACTION FOR YOU LOVELY PEOPLE! :) YOU GUYS GOT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ARIAS PAST AS WELL. I HOPE YOU LIKED IT.