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I CAN’T SHAKE IT. The thought of him lingers longer than I’d like to admit, like the faint scent of someone’s cologne clinging to your clothes. It’s been two days since we hung out at the park, and yet every time I close my eyes, I hear his stupid voice, see that smug grin plastered across his face.
He weirds me out. Not in a bad way. It’s just… unusual.
I shouldn’t have had fun the other day. Not with him. But somehow, I did. Shaking my head, I press the heel of my palm to my temple. It doesn’t make sense. None of it does.
Why does he even care? That’s what I keep coming back to. Those moments where he’s been… different. Softer, almost. The way he looked at me in the library the other day, like he could see right through me. The way he stepped in at that party when Felix was yelling. And even the time at practice when he accidentally yelled at me, he apologized almost immediately after.
It’s ridiculous, right? There’s no way he actually cares about me.
I slam my maths book shut, tossing it onto my desk. I can’t focus on anything tonight. Not when my mind keeps looping back to him. I glance at my phone sitting face-up beside me.
And then, as if summoned by my thoughts, it buzzes.
Aaron:
Blondie, what are you up to right now?
I stare at the screen for a moment before picking up the phone. It’s almost midnight. Why is he texting me?
Me:
Nothing. You?
His reply comes almost instantly.
Aaron:
Bored. Wanna go somewhere?
I blink at the screen, rereading the message twice to make sure I’m not imagining it.
Me:
What? It’s literally midnight. Plus I’m grounded.
Aaron:
So you know sneaking out is a thing…
Right?
He’s unbelievable.
Me:
Funny.
Aaron:
I’ll take that as a yes.
Rolling my eyes, I glance out the window. The street below is quiet, lit only by the dull glow of the streetlamps. My parents are asleep. Felix is probably still awake, but his room is on the other side of the house.
This is a bad idea.
Aaron:
Is your house the one with four fucking garages?
I blink at my phone, reading his text. What?
Me:
Yes… but how are you already on my street?
Aaron:
I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist my charm and agree to sneak out.
I roll my eyes, a small huff of disbelief escaping my lips.
Me:
Shut up.
Aaron:
I will if you hurry.
Me:
Five minutes.
Tossing my phone onto the bed, I glance down at my outfit: sweatpants and a tank top. Okay… I look somewhat decent.
Quickly, I throw on a jacket and slip into my trainers before heading to the window.
The night air is cool as I slide the window open and swing my legs over the sill.
Climbing out onto the roof, I carefully lower myself onto the garage roof below. My heart pounds, but I take a deep breath, steadying myself before leaping down onto the grass. The second I land, I see him leaning against the gate, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
“Four garages, huh?” he says, his voice light with amusement. “What are you hiding in there?”
“It’s my dad’s thing,” I mutter, brushing off my pants. “What are you doing here? Do you make a habit of stalking people?”
“Stalking?” He raises a brow, feigning offense. “No, I just happened to be in the area.”
“At midnight?” I ask, crossing my arms. “When you live near Trinity?”
He raises his brows at my response. “Who’s the stalker now, huh?”
Shit. Why did I say that? Clearing my throat, I reply, “I’m serious, Aaron.”
“I got bored,” he says with a shrug. “And you’re way more entertaining than sitting at home.”
“Wow, I’m honored,” I reply dryly, though I can’t hide the small smirk tugging at my lips.
“Good,” he says, flashing me a grin. “Now, are we going to stand here all night, or are you coming?”
“Lead the way,” I say, rolling my eyes as I follow him.
We fall into step together, the streetlights casting long shadows as we make our way toward the playground.
“So,” I ask after a moment, “do you always text girls at midnight on a Saturday asking them to sneak out?”
“Only the interesting ones,” he replies with a wink.
I snort. “How many times has that worked for you?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” he says, flashing me a cocky grin.
I roll my eyes again, but fighting the smile making its way onto my lips. “You’re impossible.”
“Impossible,” he repeats, nodding. “I like that. Makes me sound mysterious.”
“No, it makes you sound annoying.”
“Annoyingly handsome,” he corrects, nudging me lightly with his elbow.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Letting out a sigh, he throws his arm around my shoulder. “What’s up with the attitude, Blondie. Lighten up a bit.”
“It’s freezing and you made me sneak out,” I huff.
He glances down at me with an amused smile. “I didn’t make you do anything. You snuck out because you wanted to.”
I immediately stop in my tracks at his words and spin around on the heel of my foot. “Well, then I’ll gladly leave.”
“Wait!” he calls out, grabbing my arm gently as he turns me around to face him. “You’re right.”
“Exactly.” Rolling my eyes, I continue to walk but this time keeping distance between us.
“You’re always right, matter of fact,” he adds.
What? My brows furrow at his reply. Glancing at him, I see an innocent smile on his face that slowly drops, as if he’s wondering if he said the right thing.
“Yeah, don’t push it,” I laugh, shaking my head.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I don’t bother turning to look at him but I can feel his eyes on me until we cross the street and enter my local park. I haven’t been here in years, not since I was a kid. We’d all play football and tag here, Felix and his friends versus me and my friends. Somehow JJ would always end up on his team though.
“Here,” Aaron says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look up to see him leaning against a tree that has a swing beside it.
“Really?” I ask, raising a brow.
“It’s our thing now, no?”
It could be.
Sighing, I sit down on the swing anyway. For a few moments, it’s quiet except for the faint rustle of the breeze and the occasional creak of the swings. I lean my head back, looking up at the sky. The stars are bright tonight, scattered across the sky like glitter on black velvet.
“I used to come here as a kid,” I say, the words spilling out my mouth before I even get a chance to think.
He glances over at me, his brow arching. “Why’d you stop?”
“Because I grew up and things happen.” Sadly, that’s just how life works.
“Yeah,” he mutters quietly. “What were you like as a kid?”
His question catches me off guard and I turn to look at him. “Take a guess.”
He lets out a hum before replying, “Bossy, full of attitude, and scary?”
I let out a gasp. What? “Excuse me, I was adorable. People loved me,” I correct, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Oh, yeah?” he chuckles, a smirk tugging on his lips.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you when you were definitely the type of kid to cause trouble and set stuff on fire.”
“I’m no arsonist,” he scoffs, narrowing his eyes at me. “The trouble part may be right however.”
“Knew it.” I smile in victory. “So what sort of trouble did your younger self get into then?”
He glances over at me, a small, almost boyish smile playing on his lips.
“Mostly dumb stuff,” he says. “Skipping class, stealing footballs, breaking windows by accident…”
“By accident?” I echo, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Alright, maybe on purpose once or twice.” He chuckles under his breath. “I feel like you were the type of kid to have a secret treehouse or something,”
“Close.” I smile at his comment. “But no. I was more of a ‘build forts in the living room and declare war on my brother’ type of kid.”
He laughs under his breath. “Figures. You probably took it way too seriously too.”
“I did not,” I protest, even though I absolutely did.
“Did too,” he says, raising an eyebrow like it’s obvious. I roll my eyes, smiling.
Then he tilts his head, studying me. “Be honest. Did you ever do anything dumb when you were younger? Like get in real trouble?”
I snort. “Define trouble.”
He laughs. “Like… bad enough to get yelled at. Or grounded.”
Thinking back, I shrug a little. “The worst thing I ever did was steal a packet of chewing gum from the corner shop when I was nine.”
Aaron bursts out laughing. “That’s it?”
“Hey! It was a big deal!” I gasp, shoving his shoulder playfully. “I cried for hours because I thought the police were gonna show up at my house.”
He laughs even harder, the sound making me smile despite myself.
“You’re unbelievable,” he says, still chuckling. “Stealing gum? You’re a real criminal mastermind, Carmen.”
I shake my head, fighting back a laugh. “Don’t underestimate me. I was this close to a life of crime.”
“We’re lucky you turned your life around,” he teases, flashing me a grin.
I laugh, kicking my legs out on the swing. The air feels lighter, and for once, everything feels… easy.
We keep talking and laughing, the conversation slipping from one random thing to another—and somehow, we end up talking about weird food combos.
“Alright,” Aaron says, leaning forward with a smirk. “It’s not that weird, but cucumbers with vinegar and salt.”
“What?” I gasp, laughing, my nose scrunching up. “That sounds disgusting.”
“Don’t give me that look,” he says, grinning. “I swear down it’s good. Try it before you judge.”
“You’re so weird, Aaron,” I laugh, shaking my head at him.
He chuckles, but when I say his name, something in his expression shifts just a little… Softer
“I like when you call me that,” he says suddenly.
“Aaron?”
“Yeah.” He nods his head, a small smile peeking through his lips.
I’m confused. “But that’s your name?”
He responds with a low hum, nodding his head again. Huh? Now I’m even more confused. As if he can read my mind, he adds, “No one calls me that though. Everyone calls me Connie.”
“Do you not like it when people call you Aaron?” I ask.
“I like it when you do,” he replies with no hesitation.
My heart skips a beat. Does he really mean that? “What about anyone else?” I find myself asking.
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Only my mum used to call me Aaron while everyone else called me Connie, so I usually don’t let anyone else do it.”
“But me?”
“But you,” he confirms.
“Oh.” Oh.
We sit there for a few seconds, the quiet stretching between us but it’s not uncomfortable. If anything, it feels kind of… nice.
I kick at the dirt with the toe of my shoe, still swinging a little. “So,” I say eventually, glancing sideways at him. “Did you ever steal gum when you were a kid too, criminal mastermind?”
He smirks. “Nope. I was too busy setting things on fire, remember?”
I laugh, shaking my head. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I try,” he says with a wink, making me roll my eyes but smile anyway.
The swings creak as we both rock gently back and forth, the cool night air brushing against my skin. It’s one of those rare moments where everything just feels… simple. Like it used to when we were kids. Before everything got messy and complicated.
But then I glance at the time on my phone and groan. “It’s late,” I say, not really wanting to move but knowing I probably should.
Aaron checks his own phone and nods. “Yeah. Should probably get you home before your dad sends a search party.”
I snort. “Trust me, he’d probably won’t be the one leading it.”
His brows furrow at my comment. Shit. I send him a teasing smile that says ‘I’m just messing with ya’ but I was being completely honest.
He leans off the tree and holds out his hand toward me without saying anything. I look at it for a second, my heart doing a weird little flip, and then I place my hand in his.
His fingers are warm around mine as he pulls me off of the swing easily, steadying me when I wobble a bit on the uneven ground.
“Come on, troublemaker,” he says with a grin. “Let’s get you home.”
We start walking down the path side by side, the night settling around us, our arms brushing every now and then—and for once, I don’t mind. Not even a little bit.
As we walk up the street, I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. “You’re lucky I didn’t get caught.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies smugly.
I shake my head, laughing softly. When we reach the gate, he stops, leaning against it just like before.
“Goodnight, Blondie,” he says, his voice low and teasing.
“Night, Aaron,” I reply, rolling my eyes but smiling as I head back inside.
I didn’t know what tonight would be. Boring. Or awkward even.
But nope. It was nice. Really nice. And fun.
I’m only now realising how much I needed that.
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