Chapter 5: If it was Aiden....
Seth came downstairs as I was making some waffles for Maia. She poured a dangerous amount of syrup on them and dug in like there wasn't a cause for diabetes on her plate. Seth sat down and I handed him a plate of waffles. "You got any peanut butter?" He asked. I nodded and tossed him a jar from the cabinet. He caught it and scooped out a huge amount with his hand. "Dude! Use a spoon man!" He laughed. "Chill Vulcan I'll buy you a new jar." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I'm gonna shower then we can head out. Could you watch out for Maia's school bus?" Seth nodded, unable to speak because his mouth was full of peanut butter. "Maia, get Seth some milk before he chokes." Maia giggled and nodded, getting up to grab the milk from the fridge. I shook my head again and headed upstairs. I stepped into the bathroom and stripped, fully intending to make this a quick shower so we could leave.
As I let the hot water run over me, my mind drifted. "I'll get to see Aiden today." I smiled, happy for a moment before I realized what I was saying. "Wait, what?" Then my mind drifted to when I was being held in Seth's arms only it was different. Instead of Seth it was me and I was holding Aiden. "Holy shit!" I jumped. Where was my mind going? I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head as I grabbed the soap and lathered up. But everywhere I touched, in my mind it wasn't me. It was Aiden's hands, and I could feel Aiden's touch. My skin immediately sizzled. I groaned, feeling my cock come to life at the thoughts I was having. "This is not the time." I said, trying to wrestle my hormones into submission. "Why am I reacting like this?" I almost whined. Then Aiden's face appeared in my mind and he was smiling. I groaned and turned off the hot water. "I can't take care of this now." I said as I stared down at my cock, glaring at it for reacting the way it did. I turned on the cold water and sighed. "Fuck me..." I mumbled as my hormones calmed.
As soon as I finished my shower and I was sure my body was calm, I got dressed, grabbed my stuff and headed downstairs. Seth was waiting in the living room with his backpack swung over his shoulder. "Maia left for school. You ready?" I nodded, still annoyed with myself. "Are you okay?" Seth asked. I nodded. "Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it. Got everything?" Seth nodded, still looking a little worried. "Is this about this morning?" I almost smacked him. "Seth, I am not nor will I ever be mad at you for holding me. It was perfectly okay." I said, smiling at the end. He calmed and smiled slightly. "Then what's wrong?" I just shook my head. "Nothing is wrong. Now, let's go to school and maybe I can actually be on time." Seth chuckled. "All right, all right. Let's go then." We ran for the bus stop, just in time to see the bus arrive. We sprinted and got on. As we sat down, Seth pulled out the jar of peanut butter from my house and a spoon. "Dude...what?" I just looked at him. He looked back at me all innocent and doe eyed. "What? I'm still hungry. Besides, I said I was gonna buy you a new jar." I rolled my eyes. "You're such a child." I muttered. He must not have heard me because he dug into that jar like it was the last food source on earth.
When we got to school, I headed straight for my locker. I grabbed the necessary books and sprinted to class, ignoring every hall monitor on duty. However I was derailed when I ran into Lee. "Mr. Magnus, you're actually on time today?" "Lee, what would it take for you to call me Vulcan or even Vee? Seriously, Mr. Magnus makes me sound old." Lee smirked. "Fine, Vulcan then." "Good, now if you'll excuse me I need to get to class." I said as I was about to walk past him. "Hold on there Vulcan." I almost groaned but I held it in. "What?" I said. "I thought you might like to know that Mr. Ross is well taken care of." I looked at him. "Seriously?" "Yup, he was arrested last night. Apparently he's been causing trouble for quite a few students." Lee said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "It was a brave thing you did. Stupid, but brave." I smirked. "Well I guess it was worth it then." Lee nodded. "Now get to class. You have three minutes before the first bell." I looked at my watch and cursed. "Gee thanks Lee." I said as I bolted. I could hear him laugh.
The whole day I couldn't focus on my classes. So much for being on time. My mind kept floating in and out, playing one image after another. I only snapped back to reality whenever the bell rang. Why was I only thinking of Aiden? This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. Then came the class where I had both Seth and Aiden. I was grateful that I had Seth in that class. He kept talking which took my mind off Aiden for a while. However I made the mistake of letting myself glance at him because when I saw him, I stopped breathing. He had a bruise on his face and he was balled up like he was trying to turn invisible in his chair. I waited for class to end, trying to figure out how I was gonna corner him and ask him what happened. I knew he'd be hesitant at first. He may even try to run from me. I was getting angry and if he ran from me I was prepared to chase him down. Finally, the bell rang and I grabbed my stuff. Aiden practically bolted out of the classroom. I turned to Seth. "I'll be a little late." I said as I ran out. I didn't even give him time to say anything.
When I caught up to Aiden he had gone into the boy's room. I followed him only to run into Brett. He stared at me and then saw where I was heading. "What, you planning to take him in the bathroom?" I shook my head. "Brett this is no time to be immature." I tried getting past him. He blocked my path and smirked. "I owe you for what you did to me." I rolled my eyes this time. "As much as I would love to stay here and maybe kick your ass again I have to help a friend." I pushed passed him and this time he grabbed my shoulder and swing me around. I dropped all my stuff on the floor. That got everyone's attention. Soon, a small crowd gathered around us. "You gonna fight me or what?" I sighed and shook my head. "This is bullshit." I mumbled. "I don't have time for this." Brett just sneered and lined up to punch me. "Fine, come on. Take a swing, this'll be over quickly anyway." I sighed. He swung at me and I grabbed his arm flipping him over and slamming him hard on the floor. I took this opportunity to gather my books and pick up my backpack.
I glanced at Brett before I made my way to the boy's room. Aiden was still in there, staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Aiden, are you okay?" I asked slowly, trying not to frighten him. He just looked at me like he didn't know me. "There's a woman behind you." He said in whisper. I turned around and no one was there. "There's no--" Then it hit me that this might be the whole dead people thing. "What does she look like?" I asked. "She's a beautiful woman with auburn hair and deep green eyes. She's smiling at you." That almost sounded familiar. "Anything else?" "She has a small locket around her neck with the letter V on it." I almost dropped everything. "Could you ask her to flip it over?" Aiden looked at the spirit behind me and smiled. "There's an M." I chocked. "Mom..." Aiden smiled at me now. "She says that you've done a great job raising Maia. She also says that she's sorry that she had to leave so soon." I smiled. "No worries mom." "She says that she came to really say good bye to you, and that her and your father are happy. So don't worry." Aiden looked so serene. His face was so angelic when he was relaying my mother's words to me. I don't know why I was so ready to believe him. But I just felt that I could. My parents were okay. "Thanks mom. Tell dad that we're fine." "She's going now." Aiden said and his features relaxed. "Vulcan I didn't know your parents were gone." I wiped my eyes, careful not to let any tears fall. "I don't talk about it. But thanks Aiden." I smiled at him. He walked over to me and smiled. "I'm sorry if I freaked you out." I don't know what came over me but as he gave me an apologetic smile I held him. He froze. "Thank you Aiden." He placed a hand on my back. "You're welcome."
"Now about that bruise..." I said as I let him go. He looked away. "I got punched." "By who exactly?" I pressed. He seemed a little hesitant. "Dude tell me." I insisted as I put my hands on his shoulders. "My dad..." He mumbled. "Your dad..." I nodded my head slowly. "Okay, why?" I tried to be calm about it. "He just does it sometimes." I let him go. "Okay, so when do you want me to take care of him?" He looked at me with wide eyes. "What? No, are you crazy!?" I arched a brow. "That, my friend, has been in serious question since I woke up this morning." "What?" I waved it off. "Nevermind, point is your dad isn't suppose to do that. What's your mother doing?" "I don't have a mother. She left." Now my patience was slipping. "Okay, have you tried calling the police? Social Services? The child welfare agency? Somebody?" He shook his head. "I ran away once. But the cops found me and brought me back." The bell rang then. "Shit, okay give me your notebook." He handed me one from his bag. I scribbled my address and my cell number. "If it your old man lays a hand on you again, come find me. You got it? Find me." I stressed every word. "All right, I'll find you." He said. I nodded. "Good, now get to class. You have a new Biology teacher I think." He looked at me wide eyed and then smiled. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. In my daze, it took me by surprise when he lunged at me, clinging onto my shirt. I slowly wrapped my arms around him. He nuzzled my chest before he let go and grabbed his stuff. He gave me one last smile and bolted from the restroom. "He's so..." I smiled and scratched the back of my head. "What the hell?" I laughed as I walked out. I must be losing my mind. Aiden, that kid was messing with my head and body but right now, I couldn't give a damn.