She was beautiful. Dancing with her friends on a rainy night in a sketchy club. She seemed to shine, her confidence carried over to where Ayden was standing. She surely had to be every guys dream girl. Long blonde hair, perfectly styled,  a tiny red dress that hugged her figure tightly and deep green eyes. She was picture perfect. Dancing on her high heels like it was nothing. Ayden had noticed her long before she came to him. His friends had pointed her out and he had felt the obligation to not let her out of his sight. It was some sort of competition between his friend group. Who could take home the most beautiful girl. He had convinced quite the fair share of pretty women already and if u asked him, he was definitely winning the competition. He basked in the looks of jealousy his friends always gave him whenever he managed to talk some girl into going home with him. The envy and admiration were his main drive. Oh, how good it felt to have other people wish they were you. He knew it had boosted his ego significantly, maybe a bit too much, but life was great so why should he worry? His best friend Gavin, who hadn't joined them tonight, had told him multiple times that eventually he will crash and burn. That his high on women and jealousy from other men would eventually end. Ayden didn't listen. He knew he should, Gavin was the only one with a well working brain. He preferred to stay out of their "childish" competitions, often said that it was disrespectful, but no one listened. Ayden often made excuses for the rest.

"Come on, it's just a little fun, don't take it so seriously. No one is getting hurt, just a mutual decision between two adults."

And everytime Gavin would roll his eyes and tell him he was disappointed in him. 

They had a long history together. Being neighbors and sharing all their classes had made them close friends. It wasn't always smooth sailing. Gavin had from an early age been more mature than Ayden and their difference in opinion had caused enough fights. But they had always stuck together. Gavin was the only friend that Ayden would set aside his pride for. Maybe he was the only real friend he had, but he wasn't about to let his mind go down that route. He preferred to keep his thinking light, like about how the beautiful girl he was just eyeing was currently making her way towards him. He shot a quick smug glance towards his friends and then focused his attention back towards the girl. Her confidence hadn't dimmed one bit. When she reached him he put on a questioning look, like he didn't already know where this was going to go. (In all fairness, he didn't, but his own confidence certainly didn't lack.) she smiled at him and cocked her head a bit to the right.

"Hi, I'm madeleine, but you can call me Maddy, how are you doing?" 

Her words were soft and flirty as she looked at him with those big green eyes. No man could resist right? 

"I am doing quite well now that I'm talking to you Maddy. I'm Ayden, how has your night been so far?"

Granted, he was a little cliché, but he never took himself too seriously and was always careful not to come off as too creepy or desperate.

"My night has been great so far, but i was hoping you could make it even better."

She smiled innocently at him. In his head he did a little victory dance. He was sure the other guys were watching them with so much envy right now. The thought made him excited and eager to get out of there with her. Ayden could already picture it. He would have his arm around her waist as they walked to the exit together and he would stop by his friends to tell them he was going home early. They all knew it was just to show her off, but no one ever said anything about it. But whilst he was fantasying about how his night would go, Maddy abruptly put an end to his thoughts.

"Me and my friends were actually about to leave, but i thought i should try and get your number. I think you're very cute and I'd like to go on a date."

He was surprised at her boldness. No one had ever asked him on a date before. He didn't know how to feel about it. Sure she was pretty, but he didn't really want to get to know her.  From the corner of his eye he could see his friends all looking his way. He could just reject her, say he wasn't interested in dating. 

"Look-" he began, but he stopped once he saw her hopeful eyes. One date couldn't hurt right? And hey, maybe he would end up liking her. With her as his girlfriend his friends would surely be jealous. 

"-I would love to! What kind of guy wouldn't." He smiled awkwardly.

She frowned for a second, but never stopped smiling at him.

"Great! Alright let me just-" , she rushed back to her friends, one of them seemingly having her phone, and then came straight back, " here, you can put your number in."

He hesitated slightly when he took her phone. Maybe he should put in a fake number? But what if she tests it out immediately? That would be extremely humiliating. Maybe she would make a scene and then the guys would know. 

But why would he even want to do that? This was his potential first girlfriend, he should be excited about this. He knew they wouldn't last long, he always got bored of women quite fast. That's why he never dated in the first place. But hey, switching it up couldn't hurt right?

He typed in his number and gave Maddy her phone back. She smiled and thanked him.

"Well, I have to get back now. My friends are getting ready to leave, I'll text you later okay?"

She turned around and walked back to her friends again. Ayden could see some of them looking his way and giggling. He rolled his eyes and went back to his friends. He sat down on one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs they had gathered and smirked at them.

Immediately he was bombarded with questions and cheering. This always happened when he managed to get a girl. He relished in these moments.

Ayden answered all their questions with exaggerated gestures as one of his friends ordered another round of drinks. They lost themselves in the alcohol and the atmosphere of the sweaty club until none of them could walk in a straight line anymore.

  ~^~

His head was killing him, but he was used to it. Memories of last night flooded in as Ayden slowly opened his eyes. He had made it to his bed at least. His shirt lay on the floor, but he was still wearing his pants. Nevertheless, he had slept quite well. Apart from the stinging headache he was now battling. He stood up with a grown. It would be nice to have someone who takes care of you at times like this, he thought to himself as he slowly stumbled to his kitchen.

His apartment was quite big for one person and he liked it that way. Ayden had always been content with being on his own. Other people would just disrupt his daily life. 

He filled a glass with water and took an aspirin which he had already prepared before he went out last night. He sighed as he leaned against his counter. His hand went through his dark blonde hair as he roughed it up a bit. He sadly remembered what transpired the night before. The girl, Mila? No, Maddy. Yeah, that was her name. 

He could barely remember her face. Why had he agreed on a date again? He could only hope she had forgotten about him so he could just stay at home all day and watch movies without having to stress about pleasing her.

Maybe he could just ignore her? No, he couldn't do that to her. She had genuinely seemed nice. And she could have been in his bed this morning, but she wasn't. It would've been a pretty sight, he thought. Ayden opted for another glass of water when his phone siddenly lit up.

A text from an unknown number.

"Hi, It's Maddy 

From the club last night

I was hoping you would be free today to grab some lunch?

If you have the energy for it of course"

Her text was polite and not pushy in the slightest. He could just say he wasn't feeling well today or that he actually wasn't interested in a relationship. She would probably understand. And it would put an end to all of this. But Ayden found it hard to say no. Why did he suddenly feel bad now? Had it been the hopeful look in her eyes as she approached him? Or just the fact that she was brave enough to walk up to him in the first place? Maybe it was a combination of both. He unlocked his phone and send a text back.

"hey maddy, im free today

Lunch sounds great;)

Do you have a place in mind?"

He put his phone down and slowly walked towards the bathroom.

He really needed a shower.

  ~^~

The water was warm and soothing. The sound could drown out his thoughts as he just focused on the feeling of the water running down his body. The shower was his safe space. He often showered with the lights off, it made him feel protected. His own little world that he didn't have to share with anyone. He closed his eyes and breathed in. Maybe she could fix the slight emptiness he felt, maybe Maddy was the answer. 

Yeah, maybe he would feel whole again with her by his side. Ayden smiled at the thought. 

He picked up his peach shampoo and started washing his hair. He loved the smell of freshly washed hair. Unfortunately most products for men smelled absolutely terrible so he had opted for the female products. It was something he felt slightly embarrassed about, but it's not like he would ever let anyone else shower at his apartment. That would feel like an invasion of his privacy. And he quite liked his privacy. 

He finished washing up, turned the shower off and stepped into the cold bathroom. The mirror was only fogged up a little. A vague image of himself stared back at him. He was quite handsome. He had a strong jaw and his hazel eyes looked soft and friendly. Everyone always complimented him on his eyes. On how they seemed to sparkle. He never could quite see it himself, but he gratefully took the compliments nevertheless.

He drew a smiley face on his reflection. It didn't last long as the fog on the mirror was quickly disappearing. There went the smile. Now he was just staring at his own tired face.

He could've been the most handsome guy in the world, but all he could see right now was pure exhaustion.

He shouldn't go out that much anymore. Every time he did, Ayden told himself it would be the last. But he didn't have anything to do all day and the jealousy of the other guys were one of the few moments where he felt good. 

Gavin always told him to go to therapy or to get a job. Ayden alway refused.

He didn't like talking about his feelings and he wasn't in need of any money. His grandparents had won the lottery 10 years ago and had given him quite the large share once he was done with school. As a result he never had to get a job. 

His grandparents did make him promise to not tell anyone and to not spend it too quickly. 

Of course he did tell Gavin, but he hadn't thrown away all the money. Neither did he use it to get girls. It wasn't as satisfying as simply picking up girls purely with his charm and looks. He smirked to himself for a second.

Yeah even when he felt like shit he at least he had the knowledge of his many conquests.

Something in the back of his mind questioned why he would even care about that in the first place, but he pushed it down.

He should probably check if Maddy had answered already. And maybe call Gavin.

He walked out into the room and picked up his phone. He wasn't very eager to see if she had sent something already so he went to his room first to get dressed. An old shirt and soft sweatpants. For now. He hoped Maddy would give him some time before the date to relax a bit. He let himself fall on his couch and let out a deep breath. His limbs were sprawled like a starfish. With an exasperated sigh he finally opened his phone.

Maddy had indeed texted him and so had Gavin.

Ayden opened the chat of his best friend first.

"How is the headache?"

Ayden smiled to himself. Gavin always asked the exact same thing everytime he went out, and ayden always answered the exact same way.

"Aching"

"As always i see"

It was nice to have this little routine with Gavin. He didn't get to see him too often, because his job stole most of Gavins time sadly. He worked as a full time sales manager. Ayden never really asked about it cause it sounded so boring, but apparently it paid well.

"There is something i gotta tell u tho" he typed.

"Did you finally get rejected?"

Ayden rolled his eyes, of course Gavin was hoping for that to have happened.

"No and thank god for that

But…euh… i did accidentally get a date"

"Congratulations! That's a first, she must be special"

"Well I didn't really want the date

I just couldn't say no"

He cringed at his own inability to refuse such a small insignificant request.

"I mean, maybe she is exactly what i was missing in life" He added.

However, Gavin wasn't impressed.

"Aha

Or, maybe you should just

Ya know

Go to therapy and find out what it is you're missing"

He always suggested that, Ayden was getting a bit tired of it.

"I can figure that out by myself Gav

And this could really work

Dates could be fun"

"If you say so…"

He could feel Gavin rolling his eyes through his screen. 

"Hey, you always call me childish for sleeping around

Cut me some slack for trying something different"

"You're right, maybe this will work out well

Just don't be a dick."

He promised to Gavin that he would try and exited their chat to finally look at what Maddy had send him.

"Oh, i know this really cute place we should totally go there

Is 13:00 alright for you?"

Ayden looked at the clock. 11:23.

"Yeah sure

Whats the adres?"

She send him the location and he looked it up.

It was a cute cafe decorated with all kinds of plants and flowers. It seemed nice enough.

At least it wasn't some expensive restaurant. Not that he didn't have the money for it, but it would immediately put so much pressure on him to dress fancy and act chivalrous.

He also really didn't like paying a thousand dollars for three shirmps.

"Looks cute

Ill be there!"

Ayden let his phone fall onto the carpet with a sigh. He better eat some breakfast and get ready. It was a half hour drive and he didn't like having to rush.

Slowly he dragged himself off the couch and into the kitchen. 

God, what had he gotten himself into. He constantly had to convince himself that this might be good. That maybe she would be good for him, but everything in his body screamed otherwise. He almost dropped the cornflakes and almost spilled half the milk. His head really wasn't all there today. He turned on the sink amd splashed some water in his face. "Come on Ayden, wake up. You should be excited about today. A beautiful girl asked you on a date, what more could you want?" He said to himself as he worked a bowl of cornflakes inside. If he was quick, maybe he could watch an episode of one of the series he was watching. That thought motivated him and he rushed to his room to pick out an outfit. His closet wasn't the most special. He knew he should probably invest in some new clothes, but shopping was just not his thing. 

After some careful thinking, Ayden picked out a black shirt with short sleeves that showded off his arms really well and some normal jeans. 

One time at a club, a girl slapped his ass and whispered in his ear about how good he looked in those jeans. The moment had made him very uncomfortable, but he had filed her comment away in his head. He wished she would have just told him normally though.

Ayden looked at himself in the mirror. He looked good, handsome. Not too overdone, but there was some effort there. Or maybe, he just looked effortlessly good. He tried to smile at himself, but his mouth refused to work with him. Hopefully it would work when he saw Maddy again. He shook his head. Of course it would work then, Maddy was gorgeous. When he saw her, he surely wouldn't be able to contain his smile.

He ruffled his hair a bit. 

Right, now all he had to do was just watch one episode of a random series and go.

He couldn't say he was nervous, but Ayden certainly wasn't looking forward to it very much either. 

It felt like a chore, but if he was lucky they would click. And they would have fun together. And she would help him to escape from the emptiness he felt.

Yeah, Maddy would be the key to his prison.