Chapter 55: Homecoming
Currently looking over his shoulder, Richard watched with pride as his son came down the stairs and into the living room.
"At this rate, you’re set to be a professional heartbreaker like your old man was in his prime, champ." the man arched a teasing brow, his smile much the same.
"What can I say, Pops? It runs in the family." Aiden tilted his head slightly, a corner of lips pulling into a confident smirk as he walked into the living room in confident strides.
Just as he was about to head out the door, Richard called out;
"Here,"
Aiden effortlessly caught the key that was tossed to him, his father winking at him as he spoke;
"We don’t want that learner’s permit of yours going to waste,"
"Besides, I also don’t want you losing any..." Richard’s voice thoughtfully trailed off, only to suddenly snap his fingers in recollection;
"Ah! Aura."
To that, Aiden chuckled amusedly, his father grinning as he remarked proudly;
"That’s right. I speak teenage lingo."
"’Course you do, Pops." the youth flashed his old man an amused grin.
Staring at the key in his hands for brief while, reminded that he did in fact know how to drive, Aiden then waved his father goodbye as he headed out the door;
"Thanks, Pops. I’ll try not to crash it. See you later."
"I trust you won’t. See you later, champ." Richard casually replied as he continued watching the game on the television, a glass of homemade brandy in his hand.
...
...
...
By the time Aiden arrived at school, it was already early evening, the sun slowly taking on that beautiful orange hue.
As several parents dropped off their kids, the youth brought the 2015 Toyota Camry to a halt in the crowded parking lot, a couple of his peers equally stepping out of either theirs or a rented vehicle with their respective dates.
At the moment, Kevin and Lizzie were currently stepping out the star quarterback’s 2017 convertible Benz, the former in the black suit and the latter in a long, wine-red, velvet party dress.
In fact, he could clearly spot Benjamin’s Wrangler and Casper’s Lexus parked down the lane, an indicator that they’d arrived too.
Perhaps the rest of the gang had also arrived, Aiden couldn’t say. He’d be finding out soon anyway.
No sooner had Aiden killed the engine though, his hand pulling the gear to ’Park’, his system updated.
-
[Ding!]
[Skills updated!]
-
Dismissing the panel, Aiden stepped out the vehicle, his hands briefly adjusting and buttoning up his jacket.
Just as he was remotely locking the vehicle, another vehicle--a Chevrolet Equinox--cruised into the parking lot, opting to halt just behind his Pop’s vehicle a moment later.
As the windows slowly rolled down, a familiar bulky man glared down at Aiden, his hazel-irises intimidating.
Completely unperturbed, the coal-haired youth’s expression remained reserved as he offered the man a respectful nod and said;
"Good evening, Mr. Hale."
"That’s Sergeant to you, kid." the man’s deep voice replied instead.
"Good evening, Sergeant Hale." Aiden casually corrected, his smile much the same.
Before the man could continue his intimidation tactics--one that was clearly failing--a hand slapped at his muscly shoulder, clearly in reprimand as a low, almost imperceptible whisper warned him.
Then, after a minute or so of hushed exchanges, the backdoor from the opposite end opened, a champagne-gold platform heel with an open square toe stepping out.
No sooner had Clarissa fully alighted, her father glanced over to Aiden once more, gave him the ’I’m watching you’ finger gesture and then drove away.
Naturally, it functioned to reveal the queen bee whom was standing opposite to Aiden.
As if she wasn’t already a stunner of a lady, she’d gone and dolled herself up for the night, her appearance exquisite, all of which was accentuated by her simple jewelries.
Yet, it was her breath that hitched for a moment.
Aiden on the other hand, did a little bow, his smile warm as he spoke;
"Clearly, I underestimated how much more gorgeous you could get, Clarissa,"
"But I stand to be corrected," he added as he raised his head up, to which he then offered his arm;
"Aiden North, at your service."
No sooner had the lady heard that, her hazel irises glinted in genuine appreciation and her expression brightened up.
Dressed in a floor-length, sequined and embroidered navy evening gown with a fitted mermaid silhouette, a sweetheart neckline and thigh-high front slit, a sheer navy cape draped off one of her shoulders as she slowly walked over to him.
At the same time, she tilted her head slightly to one side, her wavy, chestnut-brown hair following the movement and her smile stunning as she spoke;
"Aiden, you fine, majestic gentleman,"
"I’m not even a real date, yet you’re treating me like this..." she added with a playfully arched brow.
"Makes me wonder how you’ll treat a real date, then." she gently linked her arms with his.
"She gets a kiss on the hand." Aiden grinned in response to which Clarissa immediately cursed;
"Fuck! Could’ve been me!"
Aiden was already laughing before he knew it, both individuals already walking towards the field.
It was also why...
"Damn, Aiden! You work fast! Thought your whole schtick was being the most eligible bachelor this year?!" Kevin whom had spotted them from ahead audibly remarked.
By now, the news had long circulated that Aiden and Clarissa would be going to the dance as friends, so the star quarterback was just being a tease. Not that Aiden minded.
"Oh, the schtick’s still on! Just happened to have promised this dame next to me that I’d be her gentleman for the night!" he replied in kind to which Kevin laughed.
As for the respective ladies, they seemed to staring each other down. The former because she didn’t like what she was seeing, and the latter because she was scoping out the competition.
’Alright. That’s gonna be tough to beat,’ Clarissa inwardly mused as she acknowledged Lizzie’s dress and appearance.
Yet, no sooner had the latter heard Aiden speak, she stopped paying attention to Lizzie, her eyes darting over to him;
"For the night?" she repeated, her eyes widening in excitement.
"It’d be rather sad if a possible Hoco Queen didn’t have anyone to dance with for the night, right?" Aiden simply asked instead to which Clarissa suddenly let out girlish squeal as she hugged him.
Through it all, Lizzie had watched with growing discomfort at the proximity between the duo, one that only seemed to have exploded with Clarissa’s current reaction.
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do as Kevin kept leading her towards the field.
Soon enough, both parties arrived, as did Aiden and the queen bee alongside several others.
Naturally, everyone broke off from their current dates to meet with their friends in the stands, especially the ladies.
Clarissa was no different as she waved Aiden a little goodbye for the meantime, and then proceeded to meet up with her girls whom were letting out ’wows’ and complimenting each other’s fits.
At the same time, the ladies couldn’t help but eye Aiden whom was already walking off to find his buddies, their exchange with the queen bee quickly moving into boy talk territory.
Clearly, they could see what Clarissa had seen when she’d finally laid eyes on him a few minutes ago. One that they could only wrongly assume to him being in a form-fitting suit.
Aiden on the other hand had--surprisingly--located Theo first.
The youth was currently seated alone at the top of the stands, quietly observing the dotted stands, track, and field as several teens interacted with one another.
Yet, he couldn’t have been more stunned, same as several other ladies whom were constantly stealing glances at him from time to time.
Theo had gotten a haircut.
One that did a good job of styling his thick, curly brown hair into a fringe with a taper fade that accentuated all the features that were normally hidden under its previously messy volumes.
"My man!" Aiden suddenly offered him a dap, one that startled the youth at first, but he eventually reciprocated upon seeing that it was his friend.
"Hi, Aiden." the wallflower greeted with a light smile.
This was his very first time attending the homecoming dance so he was a bit at a loss of what to do, hence why he’d opted to quietly seat here.
Aiden also knew that, which was why he’d been initially surprised when he even spotted him.
Taking the seat next to him, the coal-haired youth then asked, his tone amused;
"So, what brought a change of heart?"
To that, Theo sheepishly scratched the back of his head and then replied;
"It was my mum. She refused to allow me miss out on my last homecoming... especially now that I have you guys as friends, she said."
"The haircut was also her idea. Since I started doing a few gigs on the side with the laptop you lent me, I’ve sort of been helping out around the house with the little I make." the youth continued.
"I was planning to drop the hundred bucks I made yesterday, but she instead went and had me get a haircut for cheap from a neighbor with it and also borrow a suit from another."
"We could have really used that money for a couple provisions but she was so happy to see me finally go, I couldn’t afford to let her down." Theo let out a resigned but loving sigh.
To that, Aiden simply nodded, a warm smile touching his lips as he said;
"Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here,"
"Besides, we’ll make sure to recuperate that hundred dollar several times over come March next year." Aiden assured him with gentle pats to the shoulder, one that Theo equally nodded to, his expression resolute;
"For sure."
No sooner had he said that, the rest of the gang appeared, the quartet looking at the reclusive youth with stunned expressions on their features.
Then they all suddenly erupted in sync, same as Aiden had;
"My man!"
Soon enough though, after all the pleasantries, mundane discussions and exchanges, the teachers and students of the committee in charge of handling the Homecoming event, announced to everyone to get ready for the Homecoming Parade.