"You said you wouldn't laugh," Aden deadpans, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms across his chest.

Jia clears her throat, her small eyes getting even smaller with effort as she tries to pretend that the corners of her lips aren't twitching, aching to turn into a smile. Aden continues to stare at her with a blank expression, and eventually, he's left to watch as she breaks.

She lets out a strangled noise and then covers her mouth with her hand, her blue-black painted nails on display as she begins to laugh.

Really laugh.

"It's not funny," Aden grumbles.

"You're right," she wheezes, barely getting the words out and slapping the table with her palm. "It's not. It's hilarious." She shakes her head and her pin straight, now-purple hair swishes left and right with the movement, and if Aden wasn't so embarrassed, he would have made fun of how her entire face has turned red.

"Laugh all you want, this is all your fault."

She wipes under her eye, still shaking with laughter. "How is this my fault? I asked you to confess, not commit homicide."

"Well, I didn't know he was going to eat it!"

"Technically, he does have your number now," she comments, snickering to herself again. "In his stomach."

"I hate you." Aden looks away, his cheeks red. He's humiliated.

Neo not only had a coughing fit, but by the time he had been able to stop, he had been so teary eyed, the girl with him had to take him home without either of them finishing their food or drinks.

"Your confession was so epic, you left him breathless."

"Jia, shut up."

"Neo was rendered speechless."

Aden sighs, covering his face with his sleeve-clad hands.

"Took the wind out of his sails."

"Are you done?"

"Knocked him senseless —"

The sound of Aden's chair sliding back makes her stop, but he can tell she's still amused. "I'm going to class," he announces, taking a slice of carrot off her tray and throwing it at her face. It hits her on the forehead and drops down unceremoniously on her lap.

"Shook him out of his complacency!" she calls after him, cackling, uncaring of all the people that turn to stare at her. Aden continues walking, his head down and his cheeks reddening further. Times like this, he hates her.

Jia couldn't care less about people, but Aden doesn't like being stared at.

He walks faster and faster until he's out of the cafeteria, letting out a sigh of relief once he's away from all the noise.

Sighing, he thinks about the other day again. At least, he didn't get into trouble... right? He feels like it should have been obvious that Aden put something in the sandwich. Doesn't that put his job on the line?

Maybe I should talk to the boss before he gets a complaint...

Losing his job or not, though, this is clearly not his week.

Because as he's rounding the corner, eyes downcast and another sigh on the tip of his tongue, something hard collides with his forehead, sending him stumbling back a step.

His vision goes black for a few seconds, sharp pain rushing to his head.

"Holy fucking shit —" Aden cringes at the colorful words, holding his head with his hands and letting out a pained ow. "Dude... are you okay? I'm so sorry. I had no idea someone was coming."

A hand touches his shoulder, and he slowly opens his eyes, the heel of his palm still pressed to his head.

He had run into a locker door. A locker door. And the person in front of him was apologizing to him when Aden had been the one not watching where he was going. End my suffering. Please. Wincing when he takes his hand off his head, looking down at it to check just in case he was bleeding, — he wasn't — Aden finally looks at them.

"I opened the locker and you just... ran straight into it," the girl explains, warm brown eyes full of concern. Aden has never seen her around before, but again, he's one of the most oblivious people ever. "That looked like it really hurt. Can I please take you to the nurse's office?"

"No, 'm fine," he mumbles, but he flinches again when he touches the spot where the metal hit him. That's definitely going to leave a bump. And then his parents are going to question him for it.

They already think he's being bullied in school.

"Please. It would make me feel better," she insists, and because Aden feels awkward saying no again, he just goes with it and nods.

She shuts her locker, and Aden doesn't miss the way she awkwardly fiddles with her fingers as they begin making their way to the nurse's office. On one hand, he's glad he isn't the only one who's at a loss for words. But on the other, he feels the pressure to say something because she looks just as lost as him.

"You're Aden, right?" she asks after a moment, surprising him out of his reverie.

He blinks at her. "Yeah. I um, don't know your name, though."

"I'm Kiara. You were in my History class last year."

"Ah."

Aden has no idea who she is. He tries to remember, really. Knocks his head from the inside and waits for a memory to pop out. Nothing does, and Aden is left to continue walking by her side with his head blank for the rest of the journey.

He's terrible at names.

And he's even worse at remembering faces.

When they finally find themselves standing in front of the nurse's office, Kiara looks more relieved than Aden does, and that's saying something.

"Do you want me to, uh..." She gestures awkwardly at the door, and Aden shakes his head.

"I'll be fine. Thanks, though."

"Right. I'm gonna... yeah. Sorry again. Really. I didn't mean to."

Stop. I don't want to talk. Why didn't the blow knock me out? "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

He gives her one last terse smile, and makes his way inside the office, only for his eyes to widen and his steps to retract as soon as his eyes fall on a familiar figure sitting on one of the beds.

But he isn't quick enough, because blue eyes meet his green ones and widen in familiarity.

No. Crap. God. Please.

"Aden?"