→ Erica 

My name is Erica Earhart, and I think I've lost my mind.

"Erica, where are you going? Do you realize how late it is?"

"Mom, I'll only be thirty minutes or so."

"Come on, don't give me a hard time while your father's away. Who are you going to see currently? We just moved here a week ago."

"It's not anyone, in particular, mom."

"Well, it can't just be anyone, sweetie. Did you make a new friend?"

"Something like that. I have to check something with a guy."

"A GUY?! At this time?!"

"Mom, I'm not a kid. And trust me, we are not what you're thinking. He's not that type of person, at least."

"Your birthday might be exactly two months from now, but that doesn't mean I'll let my seventeen-year-old daughter run to some boy's house. Especially one I don't know and while it's getting dark out."

"Mom, can you just let it go this time? Please."

"Step away from the door, young lady."

"Mom."

"Now, Erica!"

"Mom, it's Aaron, it's Aaron Wheeler. Ok, that's who I'm going to see."

My mother stood there in shock. A huge smile came over her face and shooed me away. I stood there momentarily, utterly embarrassed because I could tell what she was thinking. "Oh my God, it's Aaron!" "He's such a sweet boy!" "Oh, I don't mind if it's him." Yuck. Mom, it isn't like that. And oh my God, why are you so popular everywhere I go, Aaron?

I've been chasing Aaron for a long time. He's always been so far ahead of me that it seems unreachable until now. But at school during gym today, I heard him say something about me. I thought he completely had forgotten, but that line hit me. He was pretending.

"She's nothing more than an annoying leech you can't shake off."

I was standing near the boy's locker room, waiting for him. That's when I heard it. I think he was talking with the kid named Marcus. They seem close, and yet he says he hardly talks to anyone. He looks like he's putting on a big show. So, I've decided to ask him about something essential in person. 

"Still, I don't understand why I'm walking to his house." 

Well, it doesn't matter. I know Aaron can't lie to me; he gets so clumsy. I think it's pretty cute how he tries to be calm about everything. I'm just surprised he was able to create a name for himself. Let alone become so popular. He was always so bright, but the sports thing surprised me.

"Hm. I'm only seven minutes away now. I should have just taken the car."

"Huh, who is that? M-mom?"

"Sweetie, get inside. I'll drop you off. Your father's plane just landed, and I'm going to pick him up. I'll drop you off at his house."

"Fine. Thanks, I guess." 

"So, are you going to have a sleepover?"

"HUH?! Mom, stop that! I told you it's nothing like that. Besides, it's a school night."

"Ha-ha. You should see your face. You're redder than a tomato."

"Don't make fun of me! You're embarrassing me."

"Ok, ok, I'm done."

Still, just what type of person are you, Aaron? What is that you hide from everyone else? Something about you that I can't read at all. My gifts have never had this problem. And it's not a bad feeling, but more like it's something sad. What are you carrying on your shoulders that you won't let others near you? Hm. We're about a minute away. I just hope my mom doesn't come out with me. She will make things very uneasy. Why am I stressing about this so much? I was with him all day until he ditched me. All because his little sister wanted help with her assignment. I wasn't trying to be a creep. I wanted to check on him after what happened in gym class. I wonder if he knows that Marcus, his friend, threw the ball. 

"Well, here we are, honey."

"Thanks, mom."

"Wait, what time will you be back? Or at least time me how long you'll be?"

"I told you thirty minutes or so."

"Be more specific, young lady. I don't want your father yelling at me later." 

"I don't know, mom. Maybe an hour."

"Erica."

"Ok, an hour."

My mother drives off with a massive grin on her face. She is something else, isn't she? Well, for one thing, mother, I'm here on essential matters. Not some romantic; I don't even want to think about it. 

Aaron's house is big. I didn't expect all this, but it even has a fountain in the middle of the driveway. That's a lot of coins, and I estimate there is at least two hundred dollars worth. 

"Alright, now I just need to knock on the front door."

It's already late. But Erica, why did you come here then? Ugh. What do I do? Wait, I still have his number. Maybe he's still up. He is up, and I bet he's studying or something. It wouldn't surprise me at this point. So, after my inter conflict with myself, do I dare to text him. I'm telling you, when we were at school, it took a lot to text him as well. It wasn't easy. I wonder if he bought my lie about his number. Or did he completely forget?

"Ok, Erica, just type the message. Everything will be fine. What's the worst that can happen? Hm. I can't think of any. Here we go."

EE_… Are you able to come outside for a moment? I'm at your house.

[~~~]

AW_… [typing]

"Oh, awesome, he's typing."

I hope he isn't mad that I came to his house this late. He'll probably have a lot of questions for me. I'm the definition of creep, and he's probably called me that. I must know if he knows. I just must. Please let it be. 

AW_… Um, I'll be down in a moment. 

"YES!"

EE_… Alright.

[]

Alright, Erica, let's not mess this up. Just ask what you need to and leave. I only have an hour, so I need to be quick. Well, we still have school now that I think about it. No, that's a bad idea, and people might overhear our conversations. 

"Hello."

"Hey, Aaron. I wanted…"

"So, you decided to come to my school after all these years."

"What are you talking about?"

"But the whole day, I kept thinking. It's not a coincidence that we had the same classes, part of the Gifted Program, and my teacher asked me to show you around. I was friendly and respectful. "

"So, you do remember? The whole time you were just pretending as usual."

"Pretending? No, seeing you made me think and feel things again. But the whole day I kept thinking, who is she? Why do I feel like I've met her before? Then it hit me. Middle school, no, it goes back farther."

It's just such memories I locked away. Pathetic that I keep lying to myself. What a hypocrite I am.

"Look, the things that happened are in the past, alright. I just wanted to start a new slate."

"New slate? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing more than a leech, and that's what you've always been."

"So is that what you're calling me now after all this time. Spreading names about people is really nice."

"…."

"Just like you told your friend Marcus in the locker room?"

"Marcus? You think he and I are friends, and you'd be wrong. He's trash."

"Excuse you."

 "Your leech. Valerie is a bitch. Jasmine is a trustworthy friend. And me and the boys, well, were teammates."

"So that's how you've categorized everyone, huh?"

"No, everyone else in that school only cares about status or themselves. Hence there are some good ones. I've got a good list of names in my head. "

"So, you profile people now? You had changed from when you used to be…."

"Weak, pathetic, unpopular, or as you once said, a nobody and easy. But just like everyone now, you never knew who my family was, and you started to treat me harshly when you learned how powerful my family was." 

"That's not true, and you know it."

"Then what was it, Erica?"

"I-I started to have...well, the reason I treated you like that back then was...because I…."

"See? You can't even tell me why, just like that day. Oh, don't worry. I'll continue to help you out and be respectful. But when we were outside of school. You're a leech to me and nothing more. And don't even think about telling anyone at school. After all, you and your family like that nice house you're living in, right? Yeah, I know about that."

"Aaron, please just…."

"I'll take charge of my family's companies after college. Tell your family to enjoy the next four years. Get off my property, leech."

And that was the end of that. Aaron shut the doors and went back inside his house. I stood there a moment, just flabbergasted. He's changed so much. I looked up at the balcony and saw his little sister was listening. 

"It's good to see you, Andrea."

"Is that so? Hm. Well, not for my brother. I see, so he was talking about you from before. So that you know, I saw you were peeking at us. You're a creep."

"Huh. So, you saw me? Then is that why you…"

"Oh, so you're smart. Bravo. You'll never have Aaron as long as I'm here so that you know."

"Is that so? I think Aaron's big enough to make his own decisions."

If you say so, just to let you know, the person most likely to get a chance is that Jasmine girl."

"Ah, good to know. You're still sneaky as ever, and you haven't changed."

"Is that so? Hm. Just what did you do to him? He hates you."

"It's a long story. Aaron won't ever give me a chance to explain; he never has. And I did do something to him way back. Hey...I just want you to know that- that I am serious."

"Is that so? Hm. Well, goodnight."

"Night." 

That girl is more intelligent than she leads on—that fox.

Afterward, I walked home feeling like crap as usual. I still can't believe Aaron's still holding on to all that, which I can understand, a little. Well, seeing the nice side at school was excellent when he didn't recognize me. Still, I kind of regret everything I did and said back then. I wish he'd give me a chance to explain things. It's whatever.

"But at least I know something about him that he doesn't know. I'll wait until the right time to corner him. Then he'll listen."