Alex watched Aiden from the corner of her eye. He didn't look too enthusiastic about showing her around town, but she could probably convince him. After all, she knew how she looked and, if that didn't work, she could just keep asking until he finally caved.
By the end of the day, she had gotten him to agree to the tour. It had taken every ounce of self-control she had not to singe him out of frustration, but after much cajoling, teasing, and finally (though she wouldn't admit to it) begging, he had said okay.
Unfortunately, once the bell rang, Alex realized there was one more obstacle to get past.
"No."
She fought down another sigh. "Aiden, this is much faster. Walking would take too long."
He shook his head that much harder. "No."
Alex was astride her motorcycle, holding out her helmet to him. He was eyeballing the contraption and the girl with a mix of awe and terror.
"I've had her for years, Aiden. I have never, ever crashed." At least, not with a passenger, she thought but said nothing. She glanced over his shoulder, barely holding back a grin. "And the last bus just left."
Aiden whirled around, though his vision swam for it, and saw that she wasn't joking. He watched with a heavy heart as the tail lights of the bus disappeared around the corner. He turned back to her with a long sigh. Though he was still glaring at the bike, he took the helmet and tugged it over his ears then slid onto the seat behind Alex, swallowing hard.
With a slight grin, Alex gunned the engine, which made Aiden latch onto her waist. "Hang on," she said, somewhat after the fact as she drove the bike from the lot. If she was going to be honest with herself, it was a little thrilling to have a passenger, especially a guy. And he's kind of cute, if a little awkward.
Once they were going, Aiden relaxed a little. Being on a motorcycle was... terrifying, but the girl driving it was nice. He started blushing when he realized just how close he was to her and just how little was separating them.
They stopped at the mall first. Aiden was glad to be off the rumbling behemoth, if only momentarily. Alex couldn't help laughing at the visible relief on Aiden's face.
"Not too bad for a mall," she commented as they walked through the building.
Aiden glanced at her. "It's nice." He tried to think of something, anything else to say, but his mind was drawing a blank. Just sound dumb, Aiden. I'm sure she'd appreciate that.
Alex shrugged. "I've seen bigger." They paused in front of an ice cream shop and she gave it a wistful glance.
"Bigger?" Aiden glanced around. Though he didn't really have anything to compare it to, he thought it was a decent-sized mall.
"Yeah. Ever heard of the Mall of America? I've been there." She forced her gaze away from the cool, inviting interior and they started walking again. "I've been all over the country."
Aiden frowned. "What about your parents?"
She nearly tripped. "I mean... I've been all over with my parents, of course." She forced a laugh which she hoped didn't sound forced. "They, uh... they like to travel a lot." She needed to get the subject away from her 'family'. "What about you?"
This time it was Aiden's turn to stumble. "What about me?"
"Have you ever been somewhere interesting like that?" Alex was starting to realize that Aiden wasn't a very social creature. He obviously didn't go out with people very much.
Aiden rubbed his arm. "No. My dad... doesn't like to travel."
Alex cocked her head. "What about your mom?" The second the question was out of her mouth, she saw the pain and sadness in Aiden's eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry. I..."
Aiden shook his head. "It's fine. She... she died when I was born." He trailed off and Alex didn't push the issue.
After the mall, Aiden showed her the two theaters, one of which showed older movies, and then a park. After her slip at the mall, Alex had been trying to coax a smile out of him all afternoon, but she far she'd had no luck.
It was starting to get dark when Alex dropped Aiden off. "Thanks for the tour. I'll see you tomorrow at school." She smiled and waved before she rode off, leaving Aiden feeling somewhat elated, if a little bewildered.
Did I just... make a friend? He was so focused on his 'fun' afternoon that he didn't see the punch until he was hitting the floor. Before he could get away, a foot connected with his solar plexus, forcing all the breath from his body.
"Stupid fuck! Where's my dinner? You were supposed to be home hours ago, you little asshole!"
Aiden could barely draw breath, much less respond to his father's accusations. The man lashed out again and again, always aiming for Aiden's ribs. He'd finally had enough and stormed off, muttering under his breath about useless brats and pizza.
Although he had been riding high after a worry-free afternoon, it all came crashing down around him as he forced himself to crawl up to his room. Shallow breaths were all he could manage, at least without a lot of pain, as he lay on his bed. He wouldn't make this mistake again. Letting people get close to him only ended badly, usually for him.
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