Black Rose

Chapter 2 : More than what meets the eye

*Please check out Kyle's character card up here^^^*

Author's Pov

"Kyle, seriously, I don't mind sitting ith you guys," Ileana groaned, trying to dig her feet into the cafeteria floor as Kyle dragged her towards the table, and she kept resisting.

"What's with you today? You're being such a baby—wait, is it that ti—"

"Oh my gosh, shut up, Kyle!" She cut him off, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment because he was actually right; it was her time of the month. "It's rude to ask a woman that."

Kyle held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. My bad," he said with a grin, still pulling her along.

As they reached the table, Lucas was the first to leap out of his seat, pulling Ileana into a bear hug. "Ileana! It's been forever. Did you forget about us?"

"Nice to see you too, Lucas," she said with small giggles as she hugged him back.

Mason offered a wave and a warm smile, but of course, Aiden had his own way of greeting her.

"Well, look who decided to bless us with her presence," Aiden said as she hesitantly took the only available seat—right next to him. He leant back casually, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips. "Fat Cake, how are you doing today?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Oh, but it suits you," Aiden said, his tone light but needling. "Honestly, you shouldn't have come. Wanna know why?"

"Nope."

"Too bad." He leant closer, lowering his voice like he was letting her in on a secret. "Every time I look at your face, I lose my appetite."

Ileana raised an eyebrow, pausing just long enough for his smirk to settle. Then, with a calm smile, she said, "Aiden, you wanna know what's tragic?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." She picked up her fork and gestured lightly in his direction. "That you waste perfectly good air on insults that aren't even clever; start using your brain cells a little."

Everyone just had muffled laughters as Aiden gave them a stern look to not even try to get worse. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I think you heard me," she replied, unbothered, cutting into her Shrimp Tostada.

He narrowed his eyes, muttering just loud enough for her to hear, "You're going to pay for that."

"Looking forward to it," she said with a wink before turning back to her plate. 

"Too bad, I'm telling you anyway." He leant in as if sharing a secret. "One look at your face, and boom, there goes my appetite."

She held up a piece of tostada in front of him with mock sweetness. "Oh, don't be mad. Want a bite? Or wait, you're not eating, are you?"

"Aiden, aren't you hungry?" Lucas asked, noticing his untouched plate.

"He's probably on a diet," Ileana said, her voice dripping with false concern.

"A diet?" Kyle asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, since today," she added, grinning like a cat with a canary.

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "I can speak for myself, you know." To prove his point, he snatched a piece of tostada off her plate and popped it into his mouth.

"That's thieving!" She cried, smacking his shoulder as the rest of the table doubled over in laughter.

"You two keep fighting like a married couple; do you want to just go get married already?" Mason said through his laughter. "They'd be chaotic but entertaining, our very own Deana."