You are not an artist you just have big emotions

aiden jackson hale. 30, psychology professor, dad wannabe, and the coolest big brother ever - sorta. 

[professhxle-blog]

“And i hope they don’t know how to lock up so I get a real laugh. Although this is a pretty good laugh so maybe I don’t need them to.” She said with a cheeky grin stretched out across her lips, looking up at the Professor. “Maybe i’ll even put some effort in and plant a bug in the tents.”

He made a face. “Nooo, don’t be a pest. I am pretty sure disturbing anyone’s sleep will cost you a dunk in the lake. Or the fire, depending on how much people around here love their sleep.”

[professhxle-blog]

“Laying under the stars? Aww, aren’t you just the secret romantic.” Raina smiled at him, her eyes soft. “Let me know if you fancy some company with that.” She leant over and whispered, a small smirk on her lips as she glanced around to make sure no one could hear her words. “I’m totally on the same page though, why bother going camping if you’re just going to stay in a room like you would at home? It’s utterly pointless and moronic.” She shrugged, speaking her mind.

Aiden rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I do have my moments. And company wouldn’t be completely terrible. I think I am supposed to stay up most of the day and like....half the night anyways, since I am more or less the only chaperone here. I am technically doing my job, even in the middle of nowhere. Fun, isn’t it? Consider yourself lucky.” He chuckled, glancing around to make sure everyone was settling in nicely, adjusting the strap on his duffle.

[professhxle-blog]

text ✉ open

Imogen: am i allowed to sleep the whole day or do i have to actually do something for this camping trip?

Aiden: I am pretty sure you are allowed to sleep all day.

Aiden: It is not 4-H camp. We are not going to force you to be social or active.

[professhxle-blog]

“I’d only take offence if you hadn’t offered me some of this.” Raina grinned, taking the cup from the man and taking a long drink. “That’s good water. Really really good water.” Her voice was pointed as she turned and looked over at the lake, raising an eyebrow. “You’d probably have to tie a brick to your leg to effectively drown in that, hate to break it to you. I think you should pick life, it’ll just be easier.” She turned back to him with a small chuckle, enjoying her time in the outdoors, she’d always liked nature. “Are you in a tent or a cabin Mr Hale?”

He scrunched up his nose, looking out at the body of water. “Yeah, life wins for now. I am too lazy to do all of that work.“ He then turned back to her, sipping the drink and clearing his throat to deal with the burn as it made it’s way down his throat. “Ah....tent, actually. I love the woods. The only issue is the bugs. But I rarely get a chance to do stuff anymore, so I make sure to really take advantage of the opportunity. Plus, that moon is going to be ridiculous. Much rather lay beneath it then watch it through a window.”

[petitclaradubois]

“I don’t know what’s more amusing, the people who came out here seemingly not aware of what the fucking woods consists of, or the ones that chose to camp instead of staying in a cabin.” Regina cackled, before cutting herself off and putting her hand on her lower ribs. “Fuck, I wish I wasn’t so funny, that hurts like a bitch.”

[professhxle-blog]

Professor Hale shook his head at the blonde. “I know I am not supposed to admit this, but it is kind of amusing watching people wander around aimlessly searching for cell service. I hope the ones in tents know how to lock it up so bugs don’t get in. That is the worst.”

[leviwhitmore]

“Ah,” he paused, standing outside his cabing with a cigarette in hand. The sun blinding him for a brief second, Levi squinted. “The Satanic ritual begins at dusk, I hope you have your sacrifice ready. Finn’s currently tied up ready to go.”

[professhxle-blog]

Aiden quirked a brow. “Satanic ritual? Do I even want to know what that is code for?” He handed the other a small bag of trail mix, seeming to pass one out to all the students before grabbing a water bottle and tossing it at the other.

[wtfariaunderwood]

“Why does everyone here seem surprised that they’re in a forest, with a tent, and no cell service? Camping isn’t a trip to the four seasons, did some people actually think there would be outlets and feather beds here?” Regina said in confusion as she heard yet anouther person complaining about having to put up their own tent. She’d done plenty of camping in her childhood with her cousin Zach in the woods behind his house, so this was nothing new to her. 

[professhxle-blog]

“Be nice Raina, not everyone knows that life exists outside of technology and starbucks like you do. Alright? Cut them a little bit of slack if they can’t access wifi out here.” Aiden spoke up, walking over with a duffel bag flung over his shoulder and a yeti cup in his hand. He handed her the drink in offering. “Would you like some tasty, healthy water? I brought a bit of ‘water’ because I feel like that is the only way I can get through this thing without drowning myself in the lake. No offense, of course.”

[professhxle-blog]

“I don’t think I know who Pietro Maximoff is…” she said, her crumpled brow showing her confusion. “I’ve only really seen the X Men films, and only the new ones because I am a really big fan of Jennifer Lawrence.” She laughed lightly, aware of how silly this made her sound but it was the truth, she’d watch anything that girl was in. She took a gulp of her coffee, savoring the rich flavor that was going to send caffeine through her and wake her up. “Ah, so you’re like…nervous? That’s kinda adorable.” The dark haired girl girl looked over at him with a small smile on her face, her coffee mug clasped between her two hands. A guy that wasn’t cock sure about himself was a new one for Raina, but she was liking it so far, he didn’t understand how much fun he was to be around that was clear. “Ah! So what you’re saying is I need to get you drunk. Got it, hint taken.” She joked, giggling, although that was a long time ago for him to have last flirted with a woman. Last time she’d flirted she’d been pregnant and ended up going home with the guy. The memory of it made her feel sleezy and she tried to push it away. “Just be yourself, it’s already awesome.”

Aiden laughed and shook his head. “Oh good lord, no. I mean, I can put away some whiskey I will admit, but under the influence my personality just does a complete one-eighty.” His voice lowered as if someone were listening, even though he knew they weren’t. “One time....I came to work drunk. That one day is the only reason my students think I am ‘cool’.” He laughed and shook his head, sipping his drink. “I was never even caught. The other professors just thought I was acting really funky. Like I had some bad tuna or something.” He snorted and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, I don’t really want you seeing me like that anytime soon, thank you. I have to keep up this professional facade for just a bit longer.” He joked. “Are you going to this camping trip thing? I volunteered to chaperone it and I am sort of terrified.”

[professhxle-blog]

“Well I already know you like literature and fire whiskey. And that’s only after talking to you for the first time,” Pushing back her chair and standing up, she pulled a cigarette from her front pocket. “Imagine the interesting stuff I’ll learn eventually. You smoke?” she offered. 

“Eventually is the key word here, I think.” He stood up as well and shook his head. “Very very rarely I will smoke. I am a bit of a healthnut.” He stated, shrugging a bit. “I can walk you out though, since I only have one more move left against myself.” He glanced down at the chessboard. “I think myself is beating me.”

[shieldedworldd]

[professhxle-blog]

Not looking forward to supervising this trip.

[professhxle-blog]

“Great, that’s exactly what my thighs need. I’m still in the midst of trying to shift the weight I added.” She pulled a face, not mentioning that she was trying to shift excess baby weight to be exact. Raina pulled the mug towards her and looked at it, a grin on her face. “Totally fine, just the right size, are you a big Marvel fan?” She asked as he poured the coffee, adding a tad of milk to hers and stirring it gently, the spoon clinking on the edge of the porcelain. “are you okay? You look tense.”

Aiden shrugged. “I mean, I guess....a little.....or a lot. I kind of love Marvel movies. Don’t have any comics though. Pietro Maximoff is my favorite character.” He laughed and sipped his coffee. “Not tense. Just....not sure how to....I guess, do this whole thing. You know.” He motioned between the two of them. “This whole thing. I promise you, it is not an issue with your age or the job. It is an issue with the fact that you are another human being and you sort of know me now. I don’t have a bunch of books and a laptop screen to hide behind like I get to in the library, from the other questioning professors who want to ‘chat it up’.” He looked down, shrugging with a smirk. “Besides, the last time I flirted with a woman was like...my twenty-first birthday when I hit on the waitress - drunk.”

[professhxle-blog]

“I’d love some coffee.” she smirked, following him out of the room and into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he started to make the beverage for them both. “So, what you were saying before is you don’t want me to think you’re taking advantage of me because i’m so young but you do find me to be an attractive individual.” She repeated his words again, waiting for him to turn around and look at her. “Do you have any soy milk by the way?” She asked casually, although her hand gripped the edge of the counter as her eyes watched his back, running up and down his shirt to where it met his hair at the nape of his neck. “I like spending time with you too…” She said in a quite voice.

He opened the fridge to check, pulling out a jug of milk. “Nope, sorry. Whole milk only. It makes you gain weight.” He patted his own stomach before setting up two slightly big coffee mugs, each with some sort of decorative logo or symbol on it. One had the Marvel logo and the other was a picture of a floral X, the rest of it black. He slid the Marvel one over to her before making his own cup of coffee, deciding to ignore her repeating him, terrified to put his foot in his mouth or make things awkward. Even worse, do something to set off her temper. Like breathe incorrectly, for example. “Is that cup okay? I have some more if it is too big.”

[professhxle-blog]

Raina raised her eyebrow and looked back up at him, her face still flushed. “You’re saying you don’t want to be balls deep in me?” She asked, immediately closing her eyes once the words were out her mouth and making a face. “Fuck, please can we forget I said that, it was crude and I didn’t think about it before I let it out of my mouth.” She muttered, although she was disappointed in the fact that he had no interest in her considering her age. “I mean…why did you invite me over if you’re not even a tiny bit interested?” She worked up the courage to ask. Raina didn’t know where this newfound bolshy attitude was coming from, it was normally reserved for when she was in one of her rages, but honestly she just really wanted to know what was going on now.

A deep blush painted his cheeks and he opened his mouth to speak but a stupid lopsided grin just froze there instead. “Ah.....Uh....Um....” He fiddled with the corner of his sleeve. “I....I mean, I don’t.....I mean I do, but.....Wait....that’s not....I mean....ah.....” He laughed out, wiping a hand over his mouth. “Y-y-ou are an extremely attractive.....individual....and.....I quite like....conversing with you.....” He gulped heavily, trying to avoid eye contact bashfully, his face still tinted. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind.....Er, well. No, I meant......I mean, you are so young so I wouldn’t want you thinking that I’m trying to......you know......” He shook his head quickly. “Would you like some coffee? I would love to make some coffee right now.” He quickly shuffled out of the room, an awkward stupid grin still on his pink face.

[professhxle-blog]

Raina couldn’t help but grin at his answer, her nose wrinkling as her lips spread out into a smile across her face. “You’re right, you’re a total hottie and I had to be sure of your interest in girls before I was able to spend anymore time with you.” She chuckled, putting her hand over her eyes before letting her hair fall over her face to hopefully hide the redness that was appearing there. “That pose was adorable.” She giggled. “So as a reward you can ask me one free question.”

He laughed and shrugged. “I may act like I am a dinosaurs age, but I can tell when a woman is flirting. You forget, I research a lot of stuff. Playing with hair, avoiding eye contact when you smile, trying to hide your face when you are embarrassed or blush. See! Right there.” He pointed at her when her hair fell over her face. “You can’t argue with science, Raina. I am flattered, I admit. But....I do need to warn you I am not into that whole.....I don’t know, naughty....teacher student....thing. There have been a lot of rumors of teachers being, as one of the students at the university so eloquently put it, ‘balls deep in the kids’. I....No thank you. Not my style.”

[professhxle-blog]

“He didn’t blame himself though, he blamed you.” She said pointedly, her tone harder than it had been up until now. She didn’t know who this man who’d left was, but she sure as hell knew she didn’t like him. Not at all. “You didn’t answer my question Aiden, why do you think I asked the question?” She said quietly, ignore the question his asked her, not wanting to talk about herself at all. She ran her hand across the bedspread as she looked at it, pulling at a loose thread so she didn’t have to look at him while he answered her.

"Well, isn’t it obvious?” He asked, his voice lighter now. “I am a total hottie mchunk pants.” He was clearly joking as he tried striking a ‘sexy’ pose, which turned out to be more embarrassing than anything. He then burst into laughter, mostly at how stupid he knew he looked.

[professhxle-blog]

“Why do you think I’m curious?” She asked with a hammering heart, feeling somewhat bad about how he was sharing so much with her and she was sharing basically nothing with him. What did Raina expect? For him to like her but not ever come across Delilah or her family history in the whole span of their lives? The concept was laughable but it’s what she’d do if she had a choice. “So he blamed you and left for England? That doesn’t seem right to me, in fact it seems incredibly cowardly of him.” She muttered. “I’d have bashed his head against a rock.” She was seeing red slightly when she thought about this man who had abandoned Aiden after the terrible tragedy. “You’re well rid of him.” She said, not thinking about how that could be incredibly rude to say about his ex. She was angry.

Aiden nodded. “It is rude of him, sure. But he did have a bit of a point. I mean...I know a lot of people in situations like this try to blame themselves, even if there was nothing they could do to stop it but....” He sighed, looking at his shoes before glancing back up at her and shaking his head. “Can we talk about something a bit lighter, please? Tell me about you. I feel like I have been rambling.”

[professhxle-blog]

Raina let out a relived sigh, nodding her head. She agreed with him but for some reason the question had been playing on her mind and she’d had to get it out. “No, I totally agree anyone is free to love whoever they wish, I wasn’t asking based on your clothes. I think you dress really well, I was just asking because you said you and your boyfriend had adopted Winter and I didn’t know if it was because you were gay or….you know what it really doesn’t matter. You say you’re not and I believe you. And even if you are that’s totally fine!” She smiled brightly, although her eyes displayed that it wouldn’t be fine at all, she’d actually be quite upset.

Aiden eyed her carefully. “It’s alright. I think I know why you were curious....” He inhaled deeply. “But no. We sort of fell head over heels for each other, adopted, planned to get married even somewhere down the line. But then Winter....well, after all of that happened, he blamed me for it and last I heard he is somewhere in the United Kingdom with his wife and two children. So, I sort of just moved on. Never really been a big fan of the whole commitment thing. Not that it is hard for me, it is just....I don’t really make time for relationships. My work has become my mistress, so to speak.”