"Um…what are you doing?" Mia felt ambushed. Yu was starstruck blushing with her hand over her mouth. Crouched outside was a handsome raven-haired stranger with eyes so green it took her breath away. Then there was Mia James who looked at him like the biggest idiot In Shanghai. Aiden brushed himself off before adjusting his hair.
"Your hot." Mia quickly covered Yu's mouth almost strangling her in the process. Aiden smirked at her stone-cold face; girls usually swooned around him why was she so stubborn.
"Forgive her she hit her head today. What do you want?" Aiden couldn't contain his smile; she was as blunt as ever but at least she hadn't threatened to punch him this time. For some reason she made him nervous, there was no way to charm her at all.
"I wanted to get to know you better, I didn't want you to slip past me." Mia rolled her eyes; he was too persistent for a guy. His confession was embarrassing enough and now stalking? She had better things to do.
"So, you decided to ambush me at school. What a great plan, don't you have anything better to do?" Aiden shook his head enthusiastically. This would be one tough girl to win over that was for sure, but he couldn't get those sky-blue eyes out of his head. Yu was even surprised by her sarcasm; Mia was usually blunt but kind. Tough love in the simplest of words.
"Will you come on a walk for me?" Yu stared at Mia with all her might, wiggling her eyebrows to say yes. Yu was more enthusiastic than Mia. Was she cruel enough to break his heart another time? Aiden was also looking at her with pleading eyes. It was an ambush indeed.
"Fine let's walk. I'll see you tomorrow Yu." Yu squealed childishly; Mia pushed her away before she spewed anymore nonsense. Yu waved before running away. And then there were two.
"So where are we going?" Aiden smirked before taking her hand, Mia hated this side of him. Just dragging her away whenever he wanted this was the second time now did, he have no shame? Still she gave him the benefit of the doubt and lagged unenthusiastically behind. They walked for a while to the point where Mia had a sneaky suspicion she was about to be murdered. Aiden sensed her unease and gave her a hopeful smile.
"Do you drag every girl around like this?", Mia.
"Nope you're the first one." Mia frowned so he could be slick too, what was he thinking that they'd take a walk and fall in love? Aiden finally slowed down when they came across a lake. Mia was slightly taken back by the sun struck water sending white shimmers across the surface. It was sundown making the orange glow light up the plain like a canvas. Aiden just stood there taking in every inch along with deep breaths. Maybe this was tranquillity for him Mia thought still why was he so desperate for her to see it?
"It's beautiful." Mia interrupted his moment commenting on the scene, there was no room for criticism it was truly stunning. Aiden was shocked to see such a soft expression on her face however his glare was quickly detected. Mia shied her face away causing him to chuckle.
"Come on there's a seat over there." Aiden dragged her off yet again until they were both sat awkwardly soaking in the scenery. Aiden was completely captivated as the sun hit her long curly raven hair; he'd never seen anyone look like her before. Big blue eyes, slender long legs and a slim waist she was perfect in his eyes.
"Where are you from?" Bravely he broke the ice, Mia sighed as if tired of this question.
"England, we moved over here at the beginning of the year." Aiden couldn't believe she'd come from so far; it explained her slight accent in speaking he struggled to put his finger on.
"Why would you move so far are you a criminal or something?" Mia smirked at his poor joke, but he seemed fun to tease.
"Good spot, I've killed sixteen guys so far. Would you do the honour of being the seventeenth?" Aiden face went pale, her expression was serious sending shivers down his spine. Mia quickly burst into laughter seeing the panic in his eyes.
"Sorry it was a joke. We moved here so I could make a difference." Aiden gripped his chest and exhaled a big breath. Still it was the first time he'd heard her laugh despite being for something quite sinister but that interested him. It was sort of like a manga he used to read about a foreign exchange student who fell in love with a rich CEO that wanted to give her the world. That's what he dreamed of having with Mia.
"Make a difference?" Mia was so caught up in the sight of the lake she didn't quite register Aiden's question until the silence became heavy. It was spring so the Sakura trees were blooming causing little pink petals to float onto the clear water, it was the kind of scenery she appreciated.
"Well, this part if China has one of the worst mental health crises' in the state of Europe. I've always wanted to help people with their mental struggles and England was well equipped on that front." Aiden was lost for words, even now she sounded so mature and her career goal was so admirable. Most girls these days worried about what make-up they would buy to attract a good husband, not seriously pursuing a career. Mia already told his she was an honour student; they were already so dedicated to studying he felt slightly guilty he had it so easy.
"Enough about me, what about you? What do you aspire to be?" Mia sensed his intimidation, most people reacted like that once she sternly expressed what sort of career, she wanted to be in. Aiden extended his neck to speak when his words caught in his throat. What he aspired to be? That was something no-one had ever genuinely asked him before.
"The…CEO of my dad's company." Mia tilted her head and frowned, his confidence wavered quite a bit in his speaking, it was so clear when someone's dream wasn't their own. A lack of enthusiasm gave that away instantly.
"Maybe you didn't hear me, I asked what you wanted to be." Mia repeated the question this time looking him right in the eyes, she wanted to know the truth about this brave boy whom plucked up the courage to confess and pursue her. If he aspired, then they could move forward together. Aiden could barely hold it together; he had been brainwashed into accepting his future fate whereas Mia was making him question that. He didn't want to uphold a company he hated for bringing strange men home and keeping his father occupied all the time. Mia could see him struggling to think and quickly caught on to his troubles, she had read about this in psychology.
"Did you know that parents whom were brought up pressurized by their peers to become successful will 80% of the time never feel good enough and will eventually work through blood sweat and tears to climb to the top only to be bored when unable to achieve anymore? It's frightening isn't it, that one can work so hard for such a little gain all because they strive to impress others? Aiden listen to me; you don't have to be your father or your mother or anyone for that matter. Do what make you happy, strive for the life that you want. Don't become a slave to tradition." Mia words hit him so hard he questioned his very existence but that was the day Aiden woke up from that silver bubble he'd been lathered in majority of his life. It taught him what true desire was. Mia picked up a grey pebble and skimmed in across the lake, showing an example of a ripple effect. In each ripple she imagined a generation of depressed, rich entrepreneurs so settled they had become sick of the same old day. Eventually they die from stress or ill themselves from boredom. Then Aiden's face popped into her head, for some reason she didn't want to see that blushing bright smile disappear.
"You said I should do what makes me happy right?" Mia startled at him desperate tone, surprisingly he recovered from mental shock quite quickly, there was a different light in his eyes now. Nodding sternly with a soft expression, Aiden practically leaped from his place and ran over knocking Mia off her feet. Before she could complain, Aiden pressed his lips against her and held her hands by her head. Mia couldn't believe what was happening and squirmed under his weight, had he snapped under the mental pressure. As a trickled of fear entered her mind, Aiden released her allowing them both to finally breath freely.
"Being with you makes me happy, so I want to stay with you." Mia was halfway through mentally scolding him for doing such a thing without permission when those words enticed a sound, she had never heard before. It was a thumping sound, deep inside of her tickling her stomach and chest. It tingled up to her cheeks then to her lips where the heat from his sloppy kiss still remained. Aiden's green eyes glowed to see her blushing, so the stone-faced beauty could make such an expression after all. Finally, he felt free, like a cloud was lifted from his mind and it was all thanks to the little raven-haired maiden beneath him.
"Good for you, could you get off me now?" Sadly, his freedom had awakened something else in him which made him much more troublesome to deal with. Aiden was spoilt when it came to objects, but desire was something he had been depraved of. If you give someone an inch, they will most likely take a mile.
"I'll only let you up if you agree to go out with me?" Mia gave him the most flustered look in Shanghai, surely, he was bluffing yet his cheeky grin held nothing insincere at all. Both did Judo but his strength was never and still to this day be too much for the firecracker Mia James. Reluctantly admitting her defeat Mia huffed and glared and him.
"Fine, you win I'll go out with you." Aiden face glowed with victory as he gently helped her to her feet. This feeling in his chest was too much he thought, did happiness like this really exist. Mia couldn't even look in his direction red from ear to ear. Not only was he her first official boyfriend but he had stolen her first kiss.
"Seriously, no take backs! " Mia reverted from blushing before covering her mouth to stop herself laughing in Aiden's face. There was something so naïve about the way he was handling this situation but for some reason it was tickling her.
"Are you five years old? Hey, uphold your end of the deal get off me." Aiden jumped up flustered seeing the position they were both in, Mia did Judo he was surprised she hadn't beat him to a pulp. Facing away from him Mia brushed her uniform off and picked up her bag. Aiden's face lost it's glow as she was about to leave, he wanted to spend a bit more time with her.
"Five o clock, tomorrow.", Mia.
"Huh?", Aiden.
"Meet me outside of school tomorrow at five after Judo. I'll be waiting." Aiden grinned widely, had he really won? Mia could feel his sense of achievement and turned around one last time giving him a blunt serious look, the same one he'd seen that day he'd confessed.
"Try anything like that again and I won't forgive you." Mia's face was stone cold, but her cheeks were flushed causing Aiden to chuckle. As they both toom their own paths home all they could consider were their feelings. It was a one-sided love and she wouldn't want to date him out of pity however Mia had a sixth sense when it came to people who could be saved. Aiden was one of them and she didn't want to see him hurt.
--------------------------------------Present Day-------------------------------
"Mia?" An overwhelming sickly feeling came over her when his sweet voice called out breaking her from a dream she wished would last forever. Aiden was sitting on the bed beside her stroking the stray black locks from her face. It was clear from her empty eyes that she did not want to face anyone especially her attacker.
Today was the court date…
"Morning." Aiden was her supported and had worked hard to get the best lawyers the least she could do was make an effort. Yu was standing in the doorway biting her nails anxiously, it wasn't clear at this point who was more nervous for her Aiden or Yu.
"Do you want something to eat?" Mia shook her head; food was the last thing on her mind and the physical representations of stress were too painful right now. Aiden was great at hiding his emotions, but he always furrowed his brows when he was worried. Not wanting to be a part of the pity party Mia got up.
"I'll take a shower and get ready, is at 10am?" Yu nodded handing her some formal clothes from her closet, she was being careful not to say too much along with Aiden. Mia didn't look like it, but she was like glass right now. Everything with Yang Hai, Sam had adverse effects.
"I'll make you a coffee just take your time." As they left her alone Mia rubbed her hands over her face in dread, today was the day she got justice for her ordeal, but it felt more like a cliché drama than real life. Time would only tell how she would feel seeing that monsters face again.
Letting the hot water rush down her head she kept taking deep breaths, she could do this. This was her time to shine against the dark, remembering her training Mia knew the best way t overcome her trauma was ensuring that the person responsible wouldn't be able to commit the same evil to another. Brushing her hair and applying her make-up Mia applied concealer over the black bags under her eyes. Not only would she stand strong but look strong too, so Sam had no way of feeling satisfaction. In her Black trench coat and white body dress she clicked down the spiral staircase into the kitchen.
"Wow you look beautiful." Aiden kissed her out of the blue pushing away her worries just for a split second, when she saw Yu snickering, she instinctively flicked her forehead like the good old days.
"Thank you, is everything ready?" Secretly she was rushing, the more time they spent waiting around the worse she would feel. Aiden and Yu gulped down their coffee and began packing, the court was about half an hour away from the house. Just as everything was settled Mia heard a knock at the front door. Seeing Aiden and Yu were busy she wandered to the door thinking it was just a delivery but upon opening she was shocked to see none other than Mika standing at the front door.
"Mik—ug" Before she could question him Mika hugged her with all his might. His cologne was nice, and his blonde hair tickled her face. What on earth was he doing here so early? Didn't he have a movie to shoot?
"I came to see you before the court, are you okay?" Aiden had heard the commotion and walked in only to have a face like thunder seeing Mika so close to her. Mia felt like a rag doll as Aiden gripped her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. Mika rolled his eyes, Aiden never changed when it came to his possessions. Mia could feel their glares clash like lighting and broke the ice.
"You didn't have to go out of your way to check on me, I'm not that fragile you know." Mika smirked; she was as sassy as ever.
"Of course, I was really worried about you." Mia pried herself from Aiden's body. Mika looked really good; it had been a while since she'd seen him. However, if he knew about the court case that meant the publicity was bigger than she imagined, and it made her even more nervous.
"I appreciate your concern but I'm fine…" Mia tried to stay polite, but her tone was pretty menacing. It felt awful when Mika touched her for some reason only when she felt Aiden's pulse did, she feel at ease.
"What are you doing here Mika?" Aiden said defensively, this man had a thing for his girl after all. Mika ignored him and kept his eyes fixated on Mia, she looked a lot skinnier than before and even though she'd tried so hard to hide her bags her eyes were tired…
"Relax I'm not here to start trouble again I just wanted to check on Mia. Have you seen the news paparazzi are all over the place?" Aiden felt his anger flare up; he'd tried his best to keep that from Mia she had enough on her plate.
"Mika, I appreciate you checking up on me but I'm a big girl. I'm perfectly aware the press is all over this, the last thing I need is you reminding me. Yu we're leaving let's go." Mia walked past him and got her paperwork ready in the car. As expected, Yu was starstruck by the movie star, but Aiden looked furious.
"Hey, are you okay?" Aiden gripped her hand tightly; she was trying so hard to keep it together but the rage in her belly was too intense. Mika had come at the wrong time and Yu wasn't helping either, she always got swept away at the most important times.
"I think I am. What I'm feeling is normal…I'm nervous, sad, angry. That's what every person feels at this time right?" As Yu finally got in the car she shuddered at the energy. Aiden looked even more furious than before.
"You're not everyone else, your you. Don't lump yourself together with everyone else. This is scary, painful. If your sad you can cry if your angry you can yell but if your scared…what can you do? Just sit there in silence." Mia looked at him teary eyed, had Aiden seen through her or did he just understand her better than before. His words reached her so much…
"It's okay to be scared, you don't have to be strong to prove to other people your strong. As long as you know you're a survivor that's enough. Don't be considerate of Yu or me this is your story Mia." That was all it took for Mia to let go as he sobs filled the car; she was so scared it was hard to breathe. This façade she put up of the famous Joni, or the firecracker Mia James was too much of a burden at this moment in time. Yu hugged her from behind the seat feeling the weight flow down through the floor, they had been waiting for her to cry like this since the accident. It had just taken a little longer than expected.
"I'm scared." Aiden pulled her in close happy she had finally let go and confided in them.
"I know but that's okay, after today he'll never hurt anyone ever again."