/fos-fEnz/

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I tend to feel everything deeply or not at all.

●●●

He could tell the days when she took a shower.

And he was aware on how creepy that sounded, but it was something he was proud of noticing.

She would smell fruity - a weird blend of shampoo and blue berry body wash that found his nostrils whenever she sat beside him.

S̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶m̶e̶l̶l̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶.̶ ̶

And she showered today - her scent of floral sweetness tickling his nostrils as she sat beside him; her delicate shoulder brushing against his own while her eyes held amazement looking at the books around them.

A̶b̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶

He felt like a giant compared to her; noticing how hIS shoulders were firm against her soft ones, and even how her fingers were the tiniest things compared to his.

But the moment he left the library, a huge smile was playing on his lips, a whole hearted laugh bubbling in his chest as he stifled it.

S̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶n̶u̶m̶b̶e̶r̶.̶

He shook his head as that silly grin was still tickling his lips before he noticed all the wide eyed stares he was getting.

And it was gone.

The smile vanished as quick as it came, a frown replacing it while he could feel his stare harden.

B̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

There was always something new about Rose everyday: he didn't know whether it was the way her ponytail was sitting on top of her head, or perhaps the new twinkle in her eyes that somehow always seem to peek through those brown orbs.

He never really thought of a girl this much, but when he did, it just felt...weird.

Aaron DeGarner was anything but a flirt - much less a guy who thought of a particular brown eyed girl. He never thought much of the female population, respecting them when no one was, tried to protect them when danger was lurking and of course, never looked at a girl wrongly.

He never got any attention from any girls, which partially made him happy considering all that went to Aiden.

B̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶t̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶.̶ ̶

Aaron knew he would be late for class if he kept letting his thoughts take over his pace, and with an empty mind, he rushed to Accounting.

B̶u̶t̶ ̶R̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶n̶d̶.̶ ̶

✘✘✘

When Tristan told him that he had a tutoring session with Rose at lunch, he honestly couldn't help the swarms of butterflies that invaded his stomach. He could even feel the little twitches his arm was making, and he could sense the weird looks both Tristan and Aiden were giving him.

"What the hell is up with you?" Aiden asked, raising his eyebrows as he noticed Aaron's twitchy arm. "A little too excited for lunch?"

Keep calm, lie

"Just hungry," Aaron said smoothly, shrugging as Tristan eyed him suspiciously.

Aiden gave him a look. "If you expect me to buy bull crap like that, then I don't know what's going through your little brain." Aiden then shrugged. "Just don't do drugs."

There we go, Aaron thought, nodding his head as Tristan cracked a small smile.

It wasn't something new when these guys were walking through the hallways together, but it was weird when Aiden kept rummaging through his bag, spilling a few worksheets on the floor as they moved along.

Tristan crossed his eyebrows, obviously just as confused as Aaron is. "What are you looking for?"

Aiden spared Tristan a glance before continuing to rummage through his bag. "My biology notes."

Even Aaron had to cross his eyebrows for this one, but Tristan beat him to it. "For what?"

Aiden gave him a flat look before shaking his head and drifting his attention back to his over-stuffed-but-still-looks-sleek bag and explained. "Listen Tris, if you have a cutie like Rose coming over, you need to think about ways to impress her," F̶u̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶u̶b̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶v̶e̶i̶n̶s̶, Aiden then grinned triumphantly as he gestured towards the neat notes in his hand as he slung the bag back on his shoulder. "And mine is to give her my notes in hope that she understands."

Tristan rolled his eyes, a groan escaping his lips followed. "Grow up."

Aiden scoffed, his eyebrows raised as he managed to continue. "At least I have a strategy," His signature grin was back, his green eyes twinkling with mischief as he said. "And I didn't need to ask anyone to help me with Biology."

Tristan gave him a flat look, snickering as he said. "She offered, and the only reason I agreed was so that I could tutor your sorry ass."

Aiden shrugged. "Your bad."

"Oh for fuck's sack," Aaron grumbled, sending a malicious glare to both his friends as he looked down on his watch. "You my friend are 5 minutes late, so stop arguing and hurry your ass up."

Tristan looked down at his own watched before a groan escaped his lips, his legs immediately running fast against the wooden floors as he shouted out. "Okay see you guys later!"

Aiden let out a small chuckle as he said. "Why aren't you the time saver?"

Aaron gave him a look. "And why aren't you the asshole?"

Aiden pursed his lips, a laugh following a moment later as he asked. "Well what's gotten you in a crappy mood? Last time I checked, you just scored the highest in our accounting test," Aiden quirked an eyebrow in question, looking weirdly at Aaron as he asked. "So what could possibly crawl up your ass and put you in a bad mood?"

T̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶R̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶T̶r̶i̶s̶t̶a̶n̶.̶ ̶

"None of your business," Aaron said harshly, shaking his head as they kept walking. "And it doesn't matter anyway."

Curiousity sparked up in Aiden's green eyes, a sly grin garnishing his lips. "Wait...." His eyes widened in realisation as his grin widened. "Are you jealous?"

Aaron rolled his eyes, sighing as he shook his head, l̶i̶e̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶ ̶, "Jealous of what?"

That glint of playfulness in his eyes didn't falter. "Of Tris?"

"Why the hell would I be jealous of Tris?" L̶i̶e̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶e̶.

Aiden rolled his eyes as he pulled his friend closer, quirking an eyebrow as he told Aaron. "Listen Aaron, if there is one thing we guys need, it's attention from the females." He nodded his head to himself. "And we can do insane shit to get that, but all we need is to know that at least one girl is looking at how stupid we are." That stupid grin was back. "And once you figure out who you want that girl to be," His voice became quiet, as though speaking Aaron's thoughts. "it would be pretty upsetting knowing she is with another guy."

Aaron shook his head. "You are fucked up,"

Aiden grinned wider, raising an eyebrow in question. "Really now?"

Aaron nodded his head, a sigh of frustration escaping his lips. "Yes, and you're annoying the absolute fuck out of me."

His eyes were still twinkling. "You mean trying to admit your own feelings?"

He scoffed, annoyance clear in his tone. "No, annoying the absolute fuck out of me."

Aiden let out a small chuckle. "Anywho, it was nice talking to you Aaron, but I have somethings to take care of, and so, you can go ahead," He was smirking now, walking away. "And see your girlfriend."

H̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶f̶l̶u̶t̶t̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶.̶

Aaron shook his head as he mumbled. "Screw you,"

"I HEARD THAT!"

He scoffed as his legs guided him to the cafeteria.

H̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶f̶l̶u̶t̶t̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶

✘✘✘

"Wait, so an amoeba is a protista?" Tristan asked Rose, scribbling down some notes as she nodded her head, a small smile on her face. "And so is a paramecium?"

"Yup," Rose said, flipping through the pages of the rather thich biology text book. "Give me 4 characteristics of a protist Tris," She gave him a smile and added. "Please,"

He could see the hint of pink that invaded Tristan's cheeks.

S̶t̶a̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶m̶,̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶m̶,̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶m̶.̶ ̶

"Uh yeah, Protists are usually unicellular besides the exceptions of Algae and sea weeds, and are eukaryotic creatures that cannot be classified as either plants, animals or bacteria. Protists are mostly heterotrophic but some are autotrophic and have the ability to produce their own food and protists prefer to live in wet conditions such as moist soil or under water." Tristan recited, giving Rose a shy smile when she clapped her hands in glee.

"That was great Tris! Now onto the classification of....."

Aaron couldn't hear anymore, h̶i̶s̶ ̶v̶e̶i̶n̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶u̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶j̶e̶a̶l̶o̶u̶s̶y̶, he just wanted to leave the table. Even the tray of food in front of him didn't seem appetizing anymore, and the blonde haired girl that Rose brought with her was keenly listening to Rose's tutoring session - if you could even call it that.

H̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶T̶r̶i̶s̶t̶a̶n̶.̶ ̶

But his eyes couldn't help but linger on Rose, watching as those bubbly brown eyes concentrated on the words in front of her, and occasionally glanced at him, h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶l̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶f̶l̶i̶p̶ , while she explained it to Tristan.

He never saw eyes as warm as hers, and never noticed how even the energy she was radiating was warm. On his side of the table it was cold and unwelcoming, while on hers....it was warm and comforting.

Nothing could express how much he yearned that ability to make someone feel comfortable, at home, but how could he when he didn't even have a proper one?

He shook his head - stop.

H̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶.̶ ̶

And then, everything else happened in slow motion.

One second there was a glass full of milkshake on top of Rose's head, and the next it was gone - the contents spilling right on top of her head.

Fire blazed in his blue eyes as he watched Rose let out a little yelp and gasp, his poisonous gaze shifting to the culprit who is going to get it.

He would recognise those green eyes anywhere.

"Oops my bad," Emette said, mock apology laced in his tone. "I didn't see you there."

H̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶o̶d̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶

"It's you again!" Lana exclaimed, fury mixed in her tone as she snarled. "You little asshole!"

Emette quirked an eyebrow. "I could say the same to you, bi-"

One moment Emette was a foot away, and the next he was face to face with Aaron, his infuriated gaze penetrating into Emette's green ones.

He had him by his collar. "Again?" He snarled. "The nerve you have to even-"

"Aaron get back!" Aaron didn't even know from where Aiden popped out from, but he could feel himself getting dragged away. "Get your shit together and let me handle this!"

"No!" Aaron growled, sending the most malicious glare to Emette, who even fidgeted at the sight. "You can mess with her once, but if you think you can twice, then think again you prick!" He snarled, lunging at Emette who immediately backed off.

"Back OFF!" Aiden said, roughly shoving Aaron behind him; his deathly BLUE stare boring into Emette. "If I were you, I'd rather clean Rose up rather than waste my time on this asshole." His eyes then flickered to Rose, who hung her head low. "Get her cleaned up Aaron, just do it and I'll handle this prick."

He could see all the colour drain from Emette's face before Aaron stomped off, the fury in his system not even faltering as he softly took Rose by the arm before Lana piped in. "I have some towels in my locker, but I don't think I have a spare top." Lana frowned, looking at her pink soaked friend as she sighed.

"I got it," Aaron said coldly, his gaze still latched onto Emette. "Don't worry about it."

He took Rose by her arm, right above her elbow as they moved out of the cafeteria. Apparently he did make a scene, noticing how several people darted their eyes to the ground, other sitting down as they walked out.

He kept taking deep, quiet breaths, trying to calm himself down but no avail.

This was a raw kind of fury, a̶ ̶f̶u̶r̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

"Aaron?"

His blazed blue eyes flickered to her, and he could feel his hammering heart calm down. He completely forgot about her and let his rage take the best of him, and he was so ashamed of himself.

He let out a small sigh as he looked at her again. "I'm sorry Rose." He could feel his gaze soften.

She crossed her eyebrows, wiping away a few streaks of pink milkshake that reached her temples. "For what?"

He watched as a few strands of her blonde locks soaked themselves in light pink while they clumped together, and even how some of her lashes got soggy with the pink liquid. And of course, other than her entire face and neck, her shirt got most of the damage.

He let out another breath, shaking his head as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "For being an asshole." But before she could even reply, he said quietly. "Let's get you cleaned up."

✘✘✘

Cleaning up milkshake was harder than Aaron thought it would be (Considering he was never really a milkshake drinker) because he didn't think it was as sticky as it was now.

He kept soaking the bathroom's tissues in water before he dabbed off the sticky pink solute off of her, grimacing when some of it came on his fingers.

"You're really brave." Rose commented, nodding her head as she looked at Aaron.

"For what?" He asked her, not sparing her a glance as her removed the pink from her nose, grimacing when some of it landed on the sleeve of his sweater.

"For being in the girl's bathroom with me," Rose noted, giving him a small smile (Which he didn't see), "Not a lot of guys can do that."

Aaron shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway, what I'm concerned about is getting this gunk off you."

"Sorry," Rose said quietly, her lips pressed into a thin line as she admitted. "For getting you into this."

Aaron shook his head as he wiped off the pink from her temples. "I got myself into this Rose, not you," He took her chin and lifted her face up, moistening the tissue again before removing the milkshake from her neck. "And you don't need to apologise for something like this."

Rose shrugged as he continued to wipe away the sticky pink. "Can't help that I-"

And then she giggled - freaking giggled.

His hand movements abruptly stopped as he watched her clamp a hand against her mouth as she gave him a surprised look.

Silence watched over them before Rose laughed again.

"What was that?" Aaron asked, looking at Rose weirdly.

She suppressed a huge smile. "Promise you won't use it against me?"

He gave her a flat look before he said warningly. "Rose,"

"Okay, okay," She surrendered, putting her palms out as she smiled. "That was one of my ticklish spots."

He looked at her with a long face, a flat expression on his face before he laughed.

He actually laughed.

It was one of those few times where he couldn't control that ball of laughter tickling his chest, and so he laughed.

S̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶c̶u̶t̶e̶.̶ ̶

He shook his head, a small smile still etched onto his lips, but then laughed again ; ducking his head down as he placed his free hand against his mouth.

He shook his head again, trying to control his smile, but miserably failed before he continued wiping the pink stuff off her. "I'll try not to hit it again."

And when he looked up to her, he couldn't breathe.

Chocolate eyes softly twinkling as her raspberry red lips were supporting a gentle smile. A gaze so soft that he could feel every nerve in his body tickle his soul, that every impulse that was running through his body was one he couldn't bother with and that made his throat dry.

B̶e̶a̶u̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶y̶.̶ ̶

He flickered his attention back to her neck, quietly letting out small breaths as he continued his work.

H̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶k̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶

He continued dabbing away the little pink left, but when his eyes flickered back to her, he could feel the warm invade his body again.

It wasn't an everyday thing when someone would look this warmly at Aaron DeGarner, let alone give him a smile that could blow up his insides.

H̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶m̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶ ̶

"Alright," He said quietly, inspecting her one last time. "You're all done."

Rose snapped her warm gaze away from him before she inspected herself in the bathroom's mirror, "Wow," She said to herself as she nodded her head. "Not bad."

Aaron gave her a flat look. "Wiping away some milkshake shouldn't be hard Rose, now come on,"

She crossed her eyebrows, giving him a weird look before she asked. "For what?"

"We need to find you a shirt," Aaron said flatly, rolling his eyes as an annoyed sigh escaped his lips.

But how? he thought, scratching the nape of his neck, Even blondie doesn't have a spare shirt.

He thought for a moment before he got an idea, nodding his head to himself as he took the hem of his sweater and pulled it up.

"Aaron," H̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶, "What are you doing?"

He took his black sweater off, leaving him in his black shirt before he handed it to her. "Here you gO," He told her, watching as a raid of pink danced on her cheeks.

"What - no." Rose said, shaking her head. "Not again."

"You don't seem to have another choice Rose," Aaron said, exhaling a breath. "Even your blonde friend doesn't have a spare shirt."

"Lana," She corrected.

"Even Lana doesn't have a spare shirt," He repeated, watching as Rose went into thought before she huffed in annoyance.

H̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶f̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶m̶i̶l̶e̶.̶ ̶

"Fine," She dragged on, a scowl on her lips as she finally folded the black article of clothing in her hands. "I can't believe this," She grumbled, pursing her lips as she sighed in annoyance.

"Don't worry about it." Aaron said. "You can even keep it if it makes you feel better."

She widened her eyes. "No Aaron, it's quite chilly out today."

Aaron shrugged. Look around before he looked at her. "It's alright, I can handle it."

H̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

She pursed her lips, her annoyed brown eyes looking at him before she sighed. "We'll discuss this later."

Aaron nodded his head. "Smartest thing you ever said."

She playfully glared at him. "Jerk," She muttered, darkly eyeing him.

"Alright then," Aaron said, stepping away from Rose. "I'll leave you to it. I'll wait outside." He told her, watching as she gave him a smile before he left the bathroom.

Now when waiting outside the bathroom, no one is actually aware on the numeral things that could happen.