Status: closed for @aidenjcarter
Location: Aiden’s house
Time & Date: January 2nd, early evening
After fielding a dozen of calls from Priscilla after first rolling into town a few days before Christmas, Jameson had promised not to approach his half-brother until after the holidays. He didn’t know why the fuck it matter, but after a little bit of thinking, her idea made sense. This was quite a bombshell to drop on someone. Hell, he’d barely wrapped his head around it at all, but the moment the holidays ended - finally - Jaime was checking the file from the PI to look up his address again.
In the car before heading up to the house, Jaime looked at the high school graduation photo attached with the file. He didn’t... look like someone Jaime would’ve ever known. Before putting more thought towards it, Jaime hopped out of his beat up Chevy and marched up to the door, knocking rapidly. He pushed back his long, dark waves and waited.
“Hi!” Jaime greeted with an unsure smile. He very rarely felt out of place, but this? This was surreal. “You’re - Holy shit. You’re actually Aiden. That’s fucking awesome, man. I’m Jaime.”
The last time Evan had seen Aiden Avery, it had been from across the street. He had been in Duagon Alley to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts when he spotted that surprisingly familiar face. Familiar, because Aiden and Evan had known each other for almost Evan’s entire life. Surprising, because by all appearances, Aiden was ignoring Evan. Had been ever since Archer died. But that was Aiden’s choice, and Evan respected it; grief made people do odd things. So he observed his old friend from afar. Aiden did not appear to be holding up well. There were bags under his eyes, faint as they were, and his shoulders were hitched just a little too high for him to pull off the ‘casual’ look. The longer Evan watched Aiden, the more he got the impression the other boy was ready to jump out of his skin. But still, Evan said nothing. Did nothing.
He waited some more.
A few months later, when word reached Evan that Aiden had been spotted in Hogsmede, he decided that the waiting game had run its course. Now was the time for action. So he did the logical thing: track down Aiden’s new address and proceed to show up unannounced.
Evan wrote to his father asking for Aiden’s new address. Presumably, his father would either tell him if he knew or reach out to Aiden’s father if he didn’t. The two men had been ‘neighbours’ (a term that was more loosely defined among wizards than muggles) for many years, so it was a reasonable assumption that a child’s new address was a topic of conversation between them. It was a risk, but going through two parents seemed better than going through Ava. She had a lot on her plate and didn’t need something else to worry about. Luckily, the next day, Evan received an owl during lunch with Aiden’s new address.
And that was how Evan found himself sneaking away to a secluded spot in Hogsmede village on that fine March afternoon. Once he was positive no one had seen him travel to that spot, he disapparated-
-and appeared at the beginning of a front path leading up to a perfectly fine (if a tad large) old house with white walls and a lovely little garden. Evan had actually been where he stood before, a few years back, when he had been wandering around the area surrounding the Avery estate with Ava. Evan walked up to the house and knocked three times. When the door opened, he walked right into the entryway, so as to eliminate the possibility of having the door shut in his face. (That was a real possibility, what with the way Aiden had been ignoring him.)
“Aiden, how have you been doing?” he asked, admittedly a little pointedly. Maybe not the best way to start this conversation, but enough was enough. He hung his coat on a hook and looked around the foyer. “Lovely garden. I presume you’ve been waiting for it to be in full bloom before having a house warming?”
Characters: Aiden Wells & Becca Wellington
Date: 1st of March, 2015
Time: 10pm
Location: Octavia
Notes: Becca & Aiden go out to dinner for the first time since Becca’s reappearance. She explains everything to her ex.
Becca sighed biting down on her bottom lip. The New Yorker had stalled for long enough. "Alright, so, there's no easy way to say this, but some of my debauchery has caught up to me. And the only way to avoid juvie was to go back to America. But I didn't even get to make a decision because I was a minor. So I was pulled out of school and forced to cut off all contact; it was almost like I was in juvenile hall, but it was lonelier."
Aiden: stared at the smaller girl in front of him. He was utterly confused, debauchery? What wasn't she telling him? A blank stared appeared on his face, not knowing what to say to Becca. "Debauchery?" He said after a short awkward silence. The whole situation was still weird for Aiden. Even though they basically lived next to each other, it was still strange to see Becca in the hallway. Now, sitting in front of her, it was even weirder than before.
Becca: "I got into a bar-fight a while back in London. It was before I met you... Some creeps were messing with a very drunk and defenseless girl. And I couldn't just stand by and let them hurt her." She explained, remembering that night so vividly.
Aiden: 's mouth fell open. "A bar-fight?" He hesitated on the words he was going to say. Of course Becca would step in when being in such a situation, but it was still hard for him to believe it. "What exactly did you do?"
Becca: "A couple guys were put in the hospital; I'm not proud of that." She admitted, and she wasn't. "Honestly, I don't think I even inflicted any pain on anyone, but because I was a part of it I got in shit or it."
Aiden: "How did you even get in that crowd, Becca. You know that's dangerous." Aiden's hands started trembling, "Were you drinking?"
Becca: "I was." She said slowly. upon noticing Aiden's hands, Becca instinctively reached across the table to hold them. "I couldn't just leave that girl; she was so drunk and couldn't have been any older than fifteen. It hurt seeing her like that."
Aiden: Becca's hands quickly made Aiden's stop trembling. It was a soothing and familiar feel. Aiden intertwined their fingers, her hands were warm and comfortable. He couldn't deny the fact that it actually felt good to hold her like that, but he quickly let that thought go away. "And that's very noble. But you could've easily just taken the girl elsewhere."
Becca: "They were drunk and belligerent, there was no getting her out of there completely unscathed."
Aiden: "Maybe you shouldn't drink so much then." He blurted out, not really thinking about what he actually said.
Becca: promptly let go of Aiden's hands, shutting down completely, "I didn't step in because I was drunk, she reminded me of myself and I never had someone look out for me like that. Maybe I wouldn't have turned out the way I did if I had."
Aiden: shifted on his chair. "I shouldn't have said that."
Becca: "You're right." She spoke curtly, completely forgetting what she wanted to say about regretting the whole situation because it took her away from him.
Aiden: "Where did you go?" Aiden said, "Back to Broadway?"
Becca: "Yeah... But if I knew that I was going to be taken away from you I wouldn't have even been in that bar that night."
Aiden: stared at Becca. Had she really said that? Aiden stood up very quickly, his head started pounding from the sudden movement and he just stood there for a few minutes. He was not sure what he was doing.
Becca: looked at him quizzically, just as unsure what Aiden was doing as he was.
Aiden: He walked up to Becca and put his hand on her face. "Taken away from me?"
Becca: bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from quivering, her eyes flitted to his, "Yeah, I was."
Aiden: "What do you want me to say, Becca?" Aiden sighed, "What do you want me to do? Forget everything that has happened?" He paused for a moment and just stared at Becca. His heart was pounding and his hands started shaking again. And then, in a split second everything went black, he felt his lips on hers and his body warm up.
Becca: The second that she felt his lips on hers everything felt inexplicably right. It was almost as though the last three years didn't happen, almost. Every fiber of her being ignited with this familiar feeling. The pair parted, just slight enough for Becca to look up at Aiden. "I fucked up, I know." She whispered solemnly.
Aiden: As they parted, Aiden actually didn't want it to be over. The familiar feeling had given him a new kind of spark. Did he really still love her? Aiden didn't say anything, he didn't dare to ruin the moment and pulled her closer to him. The warm hug gave him chills. Not the kind of chills you get during the winter when you walk barefoot on the kitchen tiles, but the chills that only appeared on good occasions. The happy moments. After a moment he unknowingly started thinking out loud. "I love you, Becca Wellington." He said, not realizing he was saying that out loud.
Becca: "And I love you, Aiden Wells." The familiar words tumbled out of her mouth before she could even attempt to stop them. Not that she would've wanted to.
Aiden: "I don't know what to do, Becca." Aiden said, not letting go of the girl yet. He kissed the top of her head and then put his head on hers. "I really don't."
Becca: "I don't either." She sighed, not at all wanting Aiden to let her go, ever. "All I know is that I miss you; I miss us."
Aiden: removed his arms from Becca, every so softly. His hands graced her skin in a soft way. He really did still love her. "I miss us, too." Aiden said. For some reason tears popped up into his eyes. Was it the memory of them together? The situation around it? He didn't know and it hurt his head. "I don't know."
Becca: At the sight of Aiden tearing up brought tears to her crystal blues. "I'm so sorry, Aiden."
Aiden: "I don't know." He sighed, "What do you want me to do, Becca? You were going to be there. You were going to stay. My grand father died that summer. You were going to be there." Aiden's tears started flowing, and he quickly stepped outside of the restaurant. He walked towards the park near the restaurant, not knowing he left always all of his stuff at the table.
Becca: "Oh, Aiden, I'm so sorry." She reached for Aiden's hand and rubbed her thumb over it consolingly. "I should have been there, I know, but I couldn't be. I really fucked up."
Aiden: "You were going to be there." He said, the tears were flowing over his cheeks.
Becca: "I know, sweetheart." She fought back tears as she pulled Aiden into a hug. It hurt-seeing Aiden hurt like that. Becca held him there for a long time, just silently rubbing his back. "I'm here now."
Aiden: stepped back when she spoke. "Yeah. You're here now, but for how long?" he frowned. Aiden crossed his arms.
Becca: bit down on her bottom lip. Honestly, she understood why Aiden would be concerned about how long she would be sticking around; what with her past and things. "I'll be here as long as you want me here."She promised, certain about not leaving, more so than she ever had been before.
Aiden: stared at the smaller girl in front of him. She was beautiful. So beautiful. His heart started pounding a bit faster and his head started hurting a bit. "I love you, Becca."
Becca 's eyes softened, "You said that already."
Aiden: "I know that." Aiden's hands went up to her shoulders. "I just want you to know that- I want you to know that I will never stop waiting for you."
Becca: "Can we stop waiting for each other now and just- just be?" She wanted nothing more.
Aiden: 's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" He let loose of Becca and tugged his blue sweater a bit.
Becca: bit down on her bottom lip hard. "Obviously we can't just go back to the way things were, but I would like to try us again."
Aiden: "Try again?" Aiden hesitated for a moment. Could they really try again? Would he be able to trust that she wouldn't leave like that again? He really didn't know. He started tugging his sweater some more, and felt his hands get sweaty and clammy.
Becca: "Only if you wanted to." She added in as an afterthought. Becca didn't want to force Aiden into anything, but god did she miss him. She missed who she was when she was with Aiden.
Aiden: stared for a moment. "I don't know if I want to."
Becca: felt her stomach drop. If you listened closely, I'm sure you could hear her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. "Oh."
Aiden: felt Becca's disappointment. "I didn't mean it like that." he said slowly. He didn't want to make her think terrible things like that, he just knew that when he said things sporadically he was often misunderstood. "I- I do want to be with you. I just don't know if-" Aiden breathed slowly "if I can trust that you're not going to leave again. And if my coach will give me enough time to properly maintain a relationship."
Becca: "That's fair." She choked out, fighting back tears with all that she had. "I-um, I have lines to memorize for tomorrow... I should probably head back to campus."
Aiden: He took Becca's hand and pulled her closer. Aiden's lips touched her's and a sigh of relief escaped from his lungs. "I never thought you'd give up that easily. I cannot be without you. My heart feels empty without your beautiful smile."
Becca: "I didn't really give up... I just-it felt hopeless to keep fighting if your mind was made up."
Aiden: "I couldn't be happier to have you in my arms again." Aiden said, smiling widely. He brushed his thumb around her eyes to wipe away the tears.
Becca: grinned, "And I'm ecstatic to be back in your arms."
Brooke's evening had been less than fantastic, and since she got the news of Cullen leaving, all she could think of is the time she drank with Adisa and felt on top of the world. It was a good night and it made her loosen up and forget about every little stress in her life. Hopefully drinking with Aiden would result in the same reaction.
She was unsure about whether or not she was planning on sleeping with Aiden. At this point, she thought maybe it wasn't such a big deal and she should just do it. It'd definitely be a distraction from the Cullen-brain she'd had. It wasn't like Aiden was going to ever actually care about Brooke. It'd be a mindless hookup. She tried to shut down her mind and stop contemplating everything. She made her way to Aiden's apartment and knocked on the door. "Aiden, it's Brooke!" she called through the door.
Eyes toward the sky, head in the clouds, Jin managed to walk directly into another body. Spinning around on her heel, she quickly reached out, successfully grabbing the person's elbow to steady them before they could fall. "Shit, son, my bad."
