Tangled Hearts

y, buried in his textbooks, looking as if he couldn't care less about the noise around him. Kyla was on her phone, flipping through party invite

none of it interested me. I wasn't the kind of guy who stayed in unless I was forced to, but right now, the usual distractions fel

t me, clearly not reading the room. "Aiden, a

l of people who didn't matter to me barely register

gh it mindlessly. Parties weren't anything new, and neither were the people who

red, glancing at

pan. "You can't just bail. You've been the life of

'll show up. But I'm not

n from across the room, glancing up from

against the counter, trying to act like I care

ht. You say that every time. But who else is goi

ay unless it was about school or some boring philosophical

t the group. Her carefree nature was always evident-she didn't care what a

etching out on the couch. "We all know you'll be ther

aybe I'll just leave

u say that every time, but we both know the rea

kept my mind off other things. At least when I was surrounded b

Just admit it, Aiden. You can't resist being

't need to be the center of atten

n the back-and-forth. "Whatever. I'm in it for the drinks. I'm n

rated flair. "That's the spirit, Samantha. Just make s

ooking around the room. "

an extension of everything I wasn't interested in right now-social, engaging, always a st

smirk playing on her lips. "You planning to show up t

lazy sip from my drink. "Bu

ng into a chair. "W

debate. But my attention kept drifting, especially as I found myself thinking about Aurora again. The conversation from earlier-t

that felt different. Something that made me rethink the way I lived. Maybe it was the way she was so... unaffected by me. Every

ady to admit th

ng to ignore the thoughts that wouldn't stop swirling in my mind. This wasn't about her, or

retend the world didn't exist. But there I was, lying sprawled across the couch, doing exactly what I always did o

abbed it, and saw

p with tonight? Are we

entless about this kind of stuff-always throwing these last-minute par

ng out when another message p

. You in fo

came to parties. I couldn't remember the last time I actually said no to them

ys better not expect me to be t

came almost

ys are, bro.

cent way to waste the night away. But honestly, I wasn't in the mood to deal with

show up at my place, and Eth

. My thoughts were starting to wander, but before I could entertain them, m

ped i

ll on for the

But then again, Aurora wasn't the type to chase after anyone. She wasn't the one who'd let thing

h, I'm in.

3 PM? Same place

g an afternoon with her, but I'd made a commitment, even if I was still

e. I'll se

went back to my earlier thoughts.

nd I had agreed to meet up. Of course, I wasn't exactly in a rush. I grabbed a quick

. It was one of those days that made you want to go back to bed an

before seeing Aurora. But even as I walked, I couldn't sh

er shoulders, and her light violet-grey eyes shimmered with an energy that couldn't be ignored. She wasn't looking detached; she was completely engaged in the work in f

s from her witho

her face. It wasn't just any smile-it was a knowing one, like she'd already

pening my own laptop. "Let'

she raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my less-than-enthusiastic mood. But she d

ally go anywhere beyond that. I noticed how she wasn't afraid to call me out on things when I half-assed them. She wasn't intim

t

needed to divide up the work, and that'

r gaze flicking up from her laptop screen. Her voi

. "Whateve

impressed. "I'm not letting you sla

enge was obvious, but I wasn't the type t

glint in her eyes-something that said she wa

a split second. There was no hesitation, no nervousnes

exactly wha

a smirk before I could stop myself. So she was thinking abou