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"I'm taking you to Aaron."

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"Justin, no! Let me go." I screamed at the top of my lungs, but to no avail. My pleas were falling upon deaf ears. Justin seemed adamant and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't release the death grip he had on my arm. My mom had left before we came down and, so, I was left to fend for myself.

Wow. The first person on earth to put more energy into holding an arm than in generating basic facial expressions.

"Justin!" I repeated anxiously when I realised where we had just crossed- the sidewalk near Aaron's house where our last encounter had occurred.

The sidewalk where I had internally proclaimed my love for him.

I sighed. The keyword being internally. I was always a coward, that I knew. Ever since I had grasped a coherent understanding of the word 'fear', there was never a time where I had been brave or- in the least bit- altruistic. Not even at moments like this, when time was something I had little of, could I muster enough courage to at least tell Aaron how I felt.

I screamed yet again, but this didn't deter Justin from his 'god-given' mission. He power-walked into Aaron's front yard; rang the doorbell and only then did he turn to me.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" He asked sarcastically, his grey eyes boring into mine. I glared as harshly as I could at him, and tried pulling out of his grip, using all the strength I had. However, my strength wasn't enough. He looked down at me with the same 'poker face' expression, amused by my pathetic attempts. His eyes were stone-cold, but- for a fraction of a second- I caught a glint in them. Almost as if he was trying to stop himself from smiling. To stop himself from smiling at how weak I was.

I was now starting to see the resemblance between him and Aaron.

Before I could give him a mouthful on 'how I was fighting him on an empty stomach' and 'how we should pick it up again after I was fully satiated on a large plate of eggs and toast', the door flung open and- on the other side- stood the only boy who could make my heart flutter.

Aaron.

There he stood in all his glory- shirtless and wearing sweatpants. The look of shock on his face was clearly obvious. He wasn't expecting me to be at his door, that too with Justin. He didn't speak and I frowned. It had been a while since I heard his voice and I wanted to know if he was okay to calm the small pit forming in my heart.

Justin cleared his throat, hiding the hand that held my arm.

"Can we come in?" He asked, gesturing to the inside of Aaron's house and, although the question in itself was polite, it seemed so blunt and cold coming off Justin's tongue.

Just like everything he said.

Aaron nodded numbly before moving aside and allowing us entry. Justin took no time in dragging me inside and into the living room. Aaron followed closely behind, confusion apparent on his features. I could tell he knew this was no regular meet up. There were words that needed to be spoken.

Words that I wasn't ready to say.

"Something up?" Aaron questioned, looking between us again. My heart dropped to my stomach upon hearing his voice. Well, that was until Justin gave me a pointed look, signalling me to speak. I sighed, choosing to look down at the ground. It was too much to speak and look into his eyes at the same time.

"Lexi, is something wrong?" I heard Aaron's voice call out to me and I smiled happily at the evident concern in his tone.

The smile disappeared; I couldn't feel what I did; we had to end this now before I sunk too deep. It would destroy me, I knew that.

"Lexi?" Aaron questioned, moving closer and, instinctively, I moved closer as well. I turned to see Justin stood leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room. He was waiting for the news and I had to deliver.

"Aaron, what I wanted to say was that..." I couldn't find the courage to continue. The last words just couldn't come out. I didn't know why, but it was an easier task to tell Justin than it was to tell Aaron.

Aaron nodded, urging me to continue. He moved closer until we were a few inches apart. I cleared my throat in nervousness. Having him in such close proximity was definitely taking a toll on my behaviour.

"Your well-being, Aaron. I wanted to know if you're okay now." I lied, smiling at Aaron. I even had the gall to send Justin a small smile to which he returned with his infamous glare.

Aaron was still confused. I could tell he knew that I had intended to say something else, but- nevertheless- he dismissed it, smiling as he answered.

"I'm fine, Lexi." He said, folding his arms across his chest and, for a second, my mind was off my illness and was on Aaron's health.

Was he actually okay now after Sam's passing or was he going through an emotional turmoil that he was choosing not to tell us about?

I moved closer to where Aaron was stood, pulling him down on the sofa.

"Are you telling the truth?" I asked, searching his eyes. At this, Justin stopped glaring at me and turned his attention to Aaron. He too wanted to know if his best friend was fine and I smiled at how much he cared for Aaron.

Aaron smiled slightly, running a hand through his hair. He then, suddenly, leaned forward and kissed my lips gently before sitting back.

"I'm fine, Lexi. Trust me." He said, trying to reassure me, but I wasn't listening anymore. The turmoil in me increased at his kiss and I felt myself being slowly roped in again into the whirlwind that was us.

Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, Justin pushed himself off the wall and came closer.

"Alexis has something she wants to tell you, Aaron." He said abruptly, making my heart beat faster. He then turned to me and gave me another look, one that I knew meant 'tell Aaron the truth'. I sent him another pleading look, but he wouldn't relent. He was adamant on Aaron knowing the truth. I nodded reluctantly at him and, at this, Justin sighed in relief before exiting the house, probably deciding it would be best to give us our privacy.

Aaron slowly watched the exchange between me and Justin. His eyebrows were furrowed and I could tell that the cogs were turning in his head. Finally, the imaginary light bulb lit up and he looked at me with a frown.

"Is there something going on between you and Justin?" He asked, his tone distant. His face was hard and expressionless; I couldn't help, but see the resemblance between him and Justin.

"What? No! That's not it." I exclaimed, feeling my cheeks heat up. The thought of anything more than friendship between me an Justin made me feel slightly awkward. I knew he didn't feel that way about me and neither I towards him. Justin deserved a special girl; one that could tolerate his antisocial nature yet be good enough to see his beautiful smile.

Aaron raised an eyebrow at my response, clearly not buying it.

"Oh, really? Then what is it that both of you need to tell me, huh?" He questioned, folding his arms.

At this, I faltered.

What could I say? Should I tell him the truth?

I composed myself before I had a panic attack and took a deep breath. Aaron watched every action intently, the frown still on his face.

"Well, what Justin was forcing me to tell you was that..." I said, but stopped. For the life of me, I just couldn't tell him. I just couldn't.

Aaron nodded his head.

"Yeah. I'm with you so far." He said sarcastically and I ignored the urge to stick my tongue out at him, choosing rather to focus on the matter at hand.

"Well, he just wanted to... make me apologise to you." I lied.

Sorry, Justin.

Aaron eyebrows furrowed and he nodded, signalling me to explain what I meant. I nodded vigorously as I spoke.

"Yes, apologise, that's what it was. I told him about the fight that occurred between us a while ago. You know, the one in the classroom. Well, I didn't tell him what it was about, but he still said- regardless of what the fight was about- we needed to attempt to make amends, so he basically dragged me here in the hope that we reconcile our differences." I said this in one breath, finishing with an insanely wide smile and the batting of my eyelashes.

Aaron gave a strange glance at my demeanour before sitting back in his seat, a serious look on his face. With this, I knew he remembered that fight. The fight in which I had basically implied he was a cheat and a liar. I knew he felt bad, anyone would if such false allegations were thrown at them.

I sighed, knowing I had to do the right thing.

"Look, I'm sorry, Aaron. Believe me, I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you like I did." I said, each word as honest as the next. I actually meant everything I said this time.

Aaron sighed in response, running a hand over his face.

"Don't sweat over it, Lexi. I really don't mind." He said, but I knew he was lying. He was saying one thing, but his face was saying another. It had genuinely hurt him.

I moved closer and put my hand over his to which Aaron looked up. I smiled at him, my body feeling warm from just seeing his beautiful eyes.

"I know you're telling the truth, Aaron. You were all along. It was him. He was was the dirty liar." I said, my voice laced with disgust. I didn't have to clarify who 'he' was. We both knew who I was talking about and, as that sentence left my mouth, Aaron stood up abruptly.

"How? Did he come talk to you? He didn't touch you, did he?" Aaron questioned, pulling me close to him.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Yes, he did come and no. He didn't touch me." I said.

Well, technically, no. I had touched him, not the other way around.

"Alex?" The intimate name left Elliot's lips and as soon as he said this, I couldn't restrain myself anymore and my hand flung out, finding its way to his face. I could hear the slap resonating through the hallway and his face snapped to the side, my hand leaving an imprint on his face. I could hear my shallow breathing in the silence as I glared at him. His hand found its way to his face as he stood in silence, feeling his face as if he was mulling over what just happened.

I shook my head. I shouldn't be thinking about this and nor should Aaron. We shouldn't be wasting our time on talking about scum like him.

Upon hearing my answer, Aaron pulled my face up.

"He did come? What did he say? Tell me." He said, his voice loud and urgent, but I wasn't going to tell him. He was angry and it wasn't right to tell him all this now when he was in this state. I'd probably have to wait when he was in a calmer state to talk.

I looked into his dark eyes, frowning before I spoke.

"I don't want to talk about it now. Please, I'll tell you later. Let's talk about something else." I pleaded, putting a hand on my forehead. Just thinking of Elliot was giving me a headache. I had just seen him today and I was in no mood to relive it. It would be best to talk about what happened with Elliot when both of us were in a better state of mind.

Aaron nodded reluctantly, the look of anger dissipating off his face. He was still a bit cautious, that much I knew. Nevertheless, he still changed the topic.

"School's in 2 days. You ready for that?" He asked, relaxing back down onto the sofa. He looked at me with his breathtaking smile and it took everything in me to not melt into a puddle onto his beautiful wooden floorboards.

However, his words soon knocked the warmth right out of me.

School- and, with Sam gone, I should now stay away from Aaron. We needed the time to recuperate. I took a deep breath at the thought, looking to him as he continued speaking with how it was now that his Aunt had moved in and I smiled. Perhaps, I could distance myself then, but I would allow myself to enjoy his company today.

Just one more day.

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