That’s him telling me “that’s final,” and kicking me out of his class.
I sigh and leave the room grumbling. What does Mr. Fidiott know anyway? His name literally has the word idiot in it.
Why he thinks I’d benefit from Aiden tutoring me is beyond me.
Even so, why would Aiden agree to tutor me? Why would he show me this little-known fact about him—that he’s actually a genius? We’ve established that we don’t hate each other, and I’ve taken his actions to mean that he considers me his friend, but that doesn’t mean he would willingly volunteer to spend extra time with me alone. I don’t think he’s that worried about me failing calculus and thus not graduating.
This is bull. Aiden can barely speak to me like a normal human being, how is he supposed to teach me to understand calculus? He’ll probably get mad at me for not getting one of the theories, I’ll say something snarky, and the cops will be called by my neighbors to investigate all the yelling.
At lunch, I sit down right beside the Student of the Year instead of in my usual seat. “What the hell, Aiden?” I don’t care that I interrupted Mason in the middle of his monologue about some football game.
“I guess you didn’t enjoy your conversation with Mr. Fidiott?” Aiden says.
“What conversation?” Annalisa asks as she sits down, Julian and Noah behind her.
“Our calculus teacher told me that I need a tutor to raise my mark. If I don’t pass, I don’t graduate. He’s making Aiden tutor me,” I explain grudgingly.
None of the others except Charlotte seem surprised that Aiden is smart enough to tutor me. I guess being as close as brothers for years now, they’d know that Aiden is a genius.
“What the hell, man?!” Noah exclaims. “I ask you to help me with math all the time and you never do!”
“That’s because you’re helpless,” Mason snorts a laugh. “Plus, he got that hot girl from fifth period to help you instead.”
“I’m sure you enjoyed her company more than you would’ve enjoyed mine,” Aiden adds, still looking bored, but slightly more amused.
“Oh yeah! Monica was great. We didn’t do much studying though.” Noah smirks.
“Anyway.” I bring them back to the subject at hand. “Why would you even let yourself get roped into helping me? You don’t strike me as the tutor type.”
“Far from it,” Julian adds under his breath.
Aiden throws a glare at him, and Julian unaffectedly adds, “What? It’s true.”
Aiden looks back at me with a neutral expression. “What? A friend can’t help another friend out?”
What? Did he—? Did I just—?
“So you consider me your friend?”
My voice sounds more tentative than I hoped. Aiden’s piercing gray eyes lock on mine, the intensity of his gaze making my heart speed up slightly. With his eyes holding mine hostage, he says in his steady, deep voice, “I don’t volunteer to give up my time for just anyone.”
I’ve stopped breathing. Unable to take the intensity of his gaze anymore, I look away, praying that I’m not blushing.
“Oh.” I curse myself for being unable to think of anything else to say.
The conversation veers back to Mason’s rant on football, and I sit there quietly, thinking about Aiden’s words. Beside me, I feel Aiden lean over, his face dangerously close to my ear. I feel his hot breath when he says in a low voice, “Plus, I still have to figure out what it is that you’re hiding.”
I turn my head to watch him lean back in his seat, a neutral expression on his face, like he never said anything. My eyes narrow at him while he takes a swig of his soda. No way in hell will I let Aiden crack me.
The day flies by pretty fast after that since my mind is occupied with the whole calculus tutor thing. Maybe Aiden tutoring me won’t be that bad. Lord knows I need all the help I can get.
Shutting my locker and then shoving my way through the body of students, I’m hoping to catch Aiden before he leaves. Out of the front doors, and scanning the parking lot, I’m relieved he’s still here, standing beside his black Dodge Challenger. He’s talking to Mason and Julian, who are parked on either side of him.
“Aiden!”
I crane my neck up as I reach the three towering frames. Mason beams and Julian smiles as well. Aiden crosses his arms, eyes scanning the parking lot with his signature scowl before his eyes meet mine.
Seeing him now—his tall, muscular frame in front of his awesome car, his muscles straining as he crosses his arms over his chest, a scowl on his face—it’s easy to see why he’s so intimidating. I suddenly remember the Aiden who fought off all those linebackers at Noah’s party by himself; the Aiden who can intimidate anyone with just a hardened glare. I blush as I remember that he did both of those things for me.