Chapter 27- Just Being Teenagers

Chapter 27-Just Being Teenagers

-Emma-

A few days had passed and no sign of Mark at all. Not a note, a call or any sight of him especially on the surveillance program we had retrieved from his laptop and that was strange. You would think since Mia left so suddenly that he would at least look for her. That over the two years he would at least care for her a little, but I guess he's just a cold emotionless shell of a person.

When we left Mark's house we had decided it was best that Mia stayed at Aiden's house for a few days, just in case Mark would be after her and she wouldn't put her family in danger of him. If you're wondering if I'm jealous, honestly I'm not. I trust Aiden and his choices and I have to say Mia is turning out to be a sweet person. She fit in perfectly with our little group. She decided to transfer back to our high school to finish her senior year and all of us couldn't be more happier, she even has some classes with us and things were going great. So far.

"You okay?" Amy asked nudging my shoulder with her own. We were currently walking down hallway to our lockers. Our first class hasn't started yet since we have fifteen more minutes.

"Is it bad to still be on edge because Mark hasn't made a move yet?" I asked opening my locker.

"Honestly, I don't think so. Like Mia said, he has men watching our every move and even though we got Mia out of there and he hasn't made a move we know he is still watching. Mark is just waiting for the right time to make his move." Amy replied leaning against the lockers.

I sighed and slammed my locker shut. "I need to stop thinking about this, or else this just might eat me alive." Amy nodded in agreement. We were just about to walk down the hallway when we saw the rest of our group walking towards us. "Hey guys." I greeted them with a smile.

"Let's skip school today." Derek said not beating around the bush.

I raised an eyebrow at his bluntness. "Skip school?" I questioned.

"Yes." Aiden said wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Don't you ever get tired of being in school all the damn time?"

"Yeah, but have a test in Chemistry and a quiz in History." I replied.

"Nerd." I heard Aiden muttered under his breath. I slapped him on his chest and gave him a death glare. "I mean a cute adorable nerd! Please don't hurt me I'm too young and hot to die." He pleaded.

"Too young, yes. Too hot, no. I've seen better." I teased shrugging off his arm from my shoulder causing our friends to laugh.

"She's right you know." Mia added. "There are way hotter guys out there." I chuckled and walked over to her giving her a high five.

"See even Mia agrees with me." I said slinging my arm around her shoulders and Aiden just gapped at us.

"Seriously?" He asked incredulously.

"Face it man, there are better looking guys out there." Derek said slapping his back. "For example, me." Aiden turn to Derek and I could see he was giving him a death glare.

"Cruel man, just cruel." Aiden said looking at all of us and we all just chuckled.

"So you in for skipping school today?" Matt asked with his arm wrapped around Amy's waist.

"Err, I'm not sure about that." I said a bit skeptical.

"Come on please!" Amy and Derek said in unison both giving me puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.

Don't fall for it, Em!

"Please." They said getting closer.

Don't cave in. Be strong!

"Fine! I'll do it! Just don't give me those puppy dog eyes and pouty lip anymore." I said.

Derek and Amy high fived each other. "See, I knew it would work. She can't resist it." Amy said.

"I hate you guys." I said glaring at Derek and Amy.

"Aww, but you love us!" Derek said as him and Amy engulf in a bear hug. Since my arm was still around Mia's shoulders she also got tangled up in the hug.

I pounded my fist into Derek's back. "Let go! I can't breathe." I said just as Mia was trying to wiggle free. Derek and Amy let us go and I turned to Aiden. "You couldn't help!?"

"Nope." He said simply while leaning against the lockers.

I could feel my left eye twitch in annoyance. "Idiot." I muttered under my breath.

"We should leave before class starts." Matt said and we all nodded in agreement. We were all walking down the hallway to the exit doors at the end, until I decided to jump onto Aiden's back. He is my boyfriend after all, I can do these things.

"Why didn't you save me from the iron grip of Amy and Derek?" I asked him as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"Because you don't think I'm hot." He said grabbing my legs so I wouldn't fall, I could hear the pout in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at him and smack his chest. "Idiot, you are hot. Possibly the hottest guy I know." I mentally slapped myself for saying that last part.

"Really?" I heard the smirk in his voice. "Well, I can't deny that."

"Damn it, I shouldn't have said that." I muttered. "I'm boosting your ego too much."

Aiden chuckled. "Yeah, love you too sweetheart." He said kissing my cheek and I grinned at him as I jump off his back. We walked out the building and to Matt's SUV. Matt sat in the driver's seat, of course, Aiden in the passenger seat and the rest of us in the back.

"Derek, go to the back seat!" Mia said pushing him. He decided to sit in the middle of the seat with Mia and I squished next to him and Amy on Mia's side near the window.

"No! I get lonely." Derek argued.

Amy looked at me and I could see the mischievous look in her eyes, I glanced over to Mia and she nodded. Mia started tickling Derek which cause him to move everywhere in fits of laughter and let his guard down. Amy and I grabbed Derek's legs and pushed him over to the backseat causing him to go down with an ''oomph."

"I hate you guys." Derek growled from the backseat which cause Matt and Aiden to laugh and us girls to smile in triumph. "And you guys hurt my sides." He whined. He was about to start whining again so I took a cookies had in my bag for lunch and turned around stuffing one in his mouth.

"Shut up and eat the damn cookie." He glared at me but complied and ate the cookie. I shared the rest with my friends and now I was left cookie-less.

It took us about twenty minutes to get to wherever we were going and once Matt parked the car I looked out the window and saw the beach. "The beach?" I asked incredulously. "It November and freaking cold outside and we're at the beach?"

Matt turned around. "Live a little, Em." He said smirking at me and I rolled my eyes at him. I do live a lot! You know what I mean.

We all got out of the SUV and walked onto the beach. The ocean waves were a bit rough on the shore, but the rhythms of the waves were relaxing and I instantly felt at ease and happy. I knew I wasn't the only on feeling this way, because when I glanced at my friends each of them had a grin on their faces.

Aiden slipped his hand into mine and smiled down at me. I laced our fingers together and grin back at him, I knew he felt the same ease as I did. Aiden and I walked down the shore as our friends ran ahead of us goofing off.

"You know this is the first time in the last few days I've seen you so relax." Aiden said.

"Well, you can't expect me to be relaxed when Mark can strike at anytime." I said and I could feel Aiden tense up at my side. I looked up to Aiden to see his jaw clenched and his eyes staring off into the distance looking deep in thought. I squeezed his hand trying to snap him out of his thoughts. "You okay?" I asked.

He looked down at me with a hard expression but it eventually soften when he saw the worry in my eyes. "I'm fine sweetheart. It's just when I hear his name I just wanna go and beat the living shit out of him and the fact that I got you and everyone else I care for all caught up in this makes me feel like a horrible person."

I stopped in my tracks which made Aiden stop also. "What's wrong?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Aiden." I said looking up at him. "You know you're not a horrible person, we would do this again even if we had a second chance. We care for you deeply and would do anything to help you out of this mess. We chose for ourselves to get involved in this, not the other way around. So don't think it's your fault that we're in this." I went up on my tippy toes and kiss him softly on the lips to which he immediately responded to.

"When did you get so wise?" Aiden asked when we pulled away from each other.

"Ehh, I've always been this wise." I said giving him a sweet smile which caused him to chuckle.

"One!" I heard a voice yell and look over to my left and saw my friends up on the sand of the beach.

"Two!" Amy yelled and I raised an eyebrow at them. What are these idiots doing?

I turned to Aiden and our eyes widen in realization, but it was too late because as soon as Matt yelled 'three' they all charged towards us. Mia and Matt tackled Aiden into the water and Amy and Derek tackled me into the freezing cold water.

"Holy shit! It's freaking freezing!" Aiden yelled at our friends and they just smiled at us cheekily.

"Live a little." I said repeating Matt's words with a smile and splash some water at Aiden which caused him to just gap at me.

"Yes! She learns!" Matt yelled in triumphant flinging his arms in the air. I laughed at him, even though I was freezing my ass off in this water it felt good to be swimming in it.

For the next few hours we swam in the ocean, laughed and just had fun. It was something we needed for a while now. Just to kick off our shoes and let loose for a few hours letting all the stress and worries melt away into laughter and happiness. Soon we all got out of the ocean soaking wet, of course, and smelling like sea salt.

"Dude, I'm exhausted." Derek said lying down in the sand.

"Same here." I said laying down next him causing our shoulders to touch. The rest of them sat down and looked out to the ocean.

"This was the most fun I've had in a while." Mia said smiling as she ran her fingers through her wet blonde hair. I smile at her statement. I bet it was because she was with Mark for two years of her life and I'm pretty sure he was no fun.

"Same here." Matt said. "It felt good to get away from our usual routine for a while."

"Definitely, school was becoming such a drag and I felt like we were doing the same thing over and over again." Amy said and we all nodded in agreement. No one mention the problem with Mark, but I could tell that everyone was hinting at it someway when we were talking.

"It's three o'clock." Amy said picking up her phone from the sand and checked it.

"Seriously?" I asked. "We spent most of the day here? Well damn."

"Yeah, can we get going though? I'm starting to feel awkward in these wet sandy clothes." Amy said. I nodded in agreement and was helped off the ground by Aiden. After brushing off our sandy clothes we got into Matt's SUV and he turned up the heat in there, because we were all freezing our asses off and I bet by tomorrow most of us would be sick with high fevers.

We decided to go to Aiden's house for the rest of the day to hang out. Once we got there we all went our separate ways in the house. Matt and Derek went to separate rooms that they had to in Aiden's house and Mia and Amy went to her room so Amy can borrow some clothes from her. I went with Aiden up to his room to borrow a shirt and some sweats.

"You can go take a shower, sweetheart. There some towels on the top shelve in the cabinet near the sink." Aiden said going though his draws. "I leave the clothes on the bed."

"Man, you know me to well." I said walking towards the en suite bathroom.

"Well, you looked uncomfortable with those clothes and I'm pretty sure all that sand and salt water has to feeling awkward."

"Aww, you care." I turned around to tease him. "Someone is getting soft!"

Aiden rolled his eyes at me. "Shut up and go." I just smiled cheekily at him and walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

I gapped at the bathroom in front of me, it was huge! There was a stand up shower that I'm sure would hold five people, a Jacuzzi, his and her sink and of course a toilet. Who needs such a huge bathroom?

I opened up the cabinet near the sink and took out a fluffy white towel, I stripped down my soaked clothes and got into the shower. The hot water felt relaxing on my body and I'm pretty sure I spent a good twenty minutes in there.

I turned off the water and grabbed the towel and wrapped around my body as I stepped out of the shower. I walked into the room and saw the clothes laid on the bed. I slipped on the sports bra that was there and a pair of boxers too. I just about slipped on one of Aiden's t-shirt, which fell mid-thigh, when the door to his room opened.

"Um, uh, err, Sorry. I thought you were done." Aiden said nervously. His hair was damp probably from the shower he took, his sweatpants hung low on his hips and he was shirtless his tan skin and abs looked amazing in the low light. God, those abs. I couldn't stop myself from gawking at him.

"See something you like?" Aiden said walking into the room and closing the door obviously he caught me checking him out, a smirk placed on his lips as he walks towards me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and adverted my eyes up to him. "I've seen better." I tried to say teasingly, but I was failing miserably.

"Don't kid yourself." Aiden said huskily and grabbed my waist pulling me towards him and crashed his lips onto mine. I immediately responded and wrapped my arms around his neck. The kiss started off slow and sweet, but with each passing second it was get hungrier and passionate. Aiden grabbed my legs lifting me up and my legs automatically went around his waist, he backed up until my back hit the wall. He licked my lower lip asking for entrance and I gladly granted him it, our tongues moving in sync with one another. I felt his hand moved slowly up my thighs sending sparks through my body, his cool fingers brushed against my warm skin sending shivers down my back.

A loud knock at the door interrupted us and I heard Aiden growl against my lips. "Hey guys, come downstairs! We're watching movies and about to pig out on junk food." Matt's voice sounded through the door.

I pulled away from Aiden, my cheek flushed. "Okay!" I replied. "Aiden just finished in the shower, we're coming." I lied. Matt replied with a 'Hurry up.' and I heard him mutter something like 'That dude takes too much time to get ready like a girl.'

I giggled when I heard that and Aiden just glared at me, obviously he heard it too. "You can put me down now." I said.

"What if I don't want too?" He said playfully leaning in for another kiss.

I peck his lip softly. "Well I want you too, I'm starving and I want to get down there before all the good food is gone."

Aiden look thoughtful for a moment and finally set me down. "Fine, but we'll be continuing this later." He said giving me a wink which caused me to blush. I knew what he was implying, but the fact is that Aiden and I only went as far as what we just did. He knew I wasn't ready and he wouldn't try to force me into anything. He was willing to wait for me and that's one of the reasons why I love him so much.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved my hand dismissively as I slipped on the sweatpants. Aiden pulled on a black t-shirt that showed off his muscle and grabbed my hand and led me out his room and down the stairs to the living room where our friends were sitting in a pile of blankets and pillows in front of the large flat screen TV and were arguing about which movie to watch.

"Well it took you guys long enough." Amy said and I rolled my eyes at her plopping down on the comfortable blanket bed next to her.

"Sorry, Aiden was taking forever in the shower." I said grabbing a slice of pizza from the box on the table in front of us. A little white lie never hurt anyone

Aiden sat next to me. "Hey! It wouldn't have taken me so long if you weren't in there for a half an hour." He said playing along.

"Yeah, right. We know what you were doing in there." Amy said obviously not buying it and I blushed at her statement. "Anyways, which movie? The Fast and the Furious or Rush Hour?

"The Fast and the Furious." Aiden and I said in unison.

"Ha! I told your ass that, that movie would win!" Matt said to Amy and she just glared at him and smacked him over the head.

Derek grabbed the DVD from her hand and went to put it on. We goofed off for the first five minutes throwing popcorn at each other and telling jokes only because the DVD was going through the advertisements at the beginning.

"SHHHH!" Mia whispered yelled. "Total hotness just appeared on the screen!" She said pointing to a young Paul Walker who just appeared on the screen.

About halfway through the movie, almost everyone was asleep except Aiden and I. Derek was upside down on the couch, Mia was cuddling a pillow and Matt and Amy were wrapped up in each other and the blankets. I rested head on Aiden's shoulder as he wraps his arm around me pulling me into his chest instead. "Sleep." He said whispering into my ear. "We've all had a long day." I nodded, but didn't respond because sleep was taking over quickly. Today was perfect, hanging out with each other, going to the beach with friends, forgetting about all the stress and worry that Mark caused on all of us. Today was the day for us to just be normal teenagers and enjoy our life and I couldn't be happier.

With that last thought, I fell into the deep sleep while cuddling with Aiden.