Forgotten Memories

Chapter 20: The Pool

-Aria-

Alex just stares at me while I gape. "Is this a date?"

He grins. "What do you think?"

I frown. This isn't what I expected. "Have you every stopped and thought about what other people feel? I mean, I just had to leave my whole family behind, and you brought me here, for a freaking date?"

He froze. "It's not a date. Jeez, Aria, not everything is about you."

I roll my eyes. "And there's the jerk I know. Why are we going on a picnic though?"

He sighs. "Mark knows the whole thing is a scam and all, so he told me to make it believable. Technically, all this really turns out to be is a faux date."

"What?"

I turn around and see the little kid I saw at dinner. The little kid who thought I was crying out of joy.

Alex's eyes go wide and he stutters. "Uh, Dante, uh, w-what. . . Come here."

The kid, Dante, walks up to Alex cautiously. "Why did you lie to us? Why did you lie to me?" The little kid sees Alex reach out for him and he winces, walking away from his grasp. "Why?"

Alex sighs and looks up at me. I crouch down to Dante's eye level and smile. "Dante, right?"

He nods. "What's your name?"

I smile. "My name is Aria. I'm a-" I hesitate, wondering what I should tell him.

"-I'm a friend of Alex's. I came to live here for a while."

The kid nods and frowns, confused. "But why did you lie? I'm not dumb. I may be this many," he holds up six fingers, "but I am smart. That's what my mom and my teacher told me. Alex told me that too, right Alex?"

He chuckles and nods. "Sure."

I smile. "That's nice of him. Anyway, we would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about what you've heard. How about this," I said, grinning as Alex realized what I was about to say. His deadpan face amused me. "We'll take you to the picnic with us if you keep our secret."

"No!" Alex cries, making me laugh. "What the heck is wrong with you? He can't go-"

"Why?" I interrupt. "It isn't like this is a date, right?"

Alex practically growls at me. "Whatever."

••••••••••

-Alex-

We drove for an hour, me scowling at the windshield, hating the fact that Aria blackmailed Dante and ruined my evening, while Michael sleeps in his seat. Aria has had her earphones plugged in for the whole ride, so we haven't talked.

"Dante," I half-whisper. He's practically knocked out. "Dante."

"Hmm?" he mutters in his sleep, but doesn't really wake up. Smiling, Aria takes her earphones out of her ears. "He's asleep. Let him be."

I sigh. "I can't just let him be, Aria. He always gets what he wants and I don't want him getting used to that."

She laughs. "Why do you care so much?"

"He's my brother."

She grins. "That's why you two look so alike! He's so cute, and his cheeks are so squishy!"

I laugh. "Yeah. Everyone says that."

She smirks. "Uh-huh. Sure they do. Anyway, where are we headed?"

I look out the windshield and grin. "To a place."

She looks at me, clearly annoyed. "And where is this place?"