Chapter 24
1312words
"How old did you say he was again?" Natasha queried, walking back into the room and sitting beside her.
Aurora resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead answering, "I didn't call you here to ogle my brother," Mason turned at that, making an exaggerated eye roll as he sauntered towards them,
"I can't believe you, bitch!" He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, settling on one of the beanbag on the floor, "Why didn't you tell us that you have a hot single brother living with you?"
Natasha bobbed her head in agreement.
She scoffed, shaking her head at them, "I never said he was single."
"I didn't see a ring on his finger."
Aurora gave him an incredulous look before saying, "He's not into guys, Mason. So back off."
Mason smirked slyly, batting his lashes at her, "Trust me darling, that's only because he hasn't met me."
She made a disgusted face causing Natasha to burst into a fit of giggles. Aurora waved him off, focusing on the zippers of the leather skirts she wore.
"When's your plane leaving?" Natasha asked softly and her head slowly rose up,
"I don't know," Aurora answered bitterly, "I don't even know where the wedding is holding or the hotel we're staying at. All I know is that my aunt is marrying some big shot and the wedding is supposed to be the event of the year."
Mason whistle lowly, clambering to his feet and walking towards where they sat. "I wish I could come, I bet there would be plenty hot guys there. The variety too," He winked at the last statement but she did not laugh,
"Oh, come on, babe. Everything is fine, the Chancellor broke the information to us himself during class this morning. It was a miracle your flight got canceled else we wouldn't be able to see you before you left."
Natasha nodded, placing a hand on her thigh, "You shouldn't worry about what those douchebags will say. They don't know you."
Aurora smiled weakly, squeezing Natasha's hand in comfort. In a way, she was right. Those people at the institute knew nothing about her, they only saw things as they were and assumed the worst.
"Thank you, Nat." She whispered gratefully, making the girl smile and stretch her arms wide. Aurora chuckled but accepted the embrace,
Mason made a sound, "Hey! What's a group hug without me?" He jumped on top both of them, causing them to squeal and tumble on the bed.
"Mason! What the heck?!" Natasha screamed, swatting at his chest while Aurora laughed. A full open sound that came from her heart and caused tears to well up in her eyes.
The sound of light knocking disrupted the cheerful ambiance and Aurora instantly sat up. Evan was standing there, in front of the open door, looking at the scene with narrowed eyes,
"What?" She snipped, offending by his entrance.
He smiled, narrowed eyes suddenly crinkling, "The car is ready. We should go." He nodded at her friends before making his exit.
Aurora stared quietly even after he had gone but Natasha suddenly squealed, making her head turn in her direction.
"Did you- Did you guys just see that!?" She gasped loudly, dramatically fanning herself. "He just winked at me!"
Mason scoffed, "Pretty sure that was meant for me."
"No, stupid. It was for me."
"Keep on dreaming."
"Oh, I will-"
Aurora tuned them out, facing the empty doorway again. They would leave soon but suddenly, she was beginning to feel nervous. Although, her friends had told her that she had nothing to worry about, she still knew that wasn't entirely true.
She was supposed to be in the institute, practising her moves with James Arthur, no matter how unappealing that sounded. If she was a regular student, she would have kissed this opportunity goodbye if she was willing to leave over a relative's wedding.
But since she was Aurora Rochester, exceptions could be made and somehow that was okay. She shook her head, exahling tiredly as she rose to her feet,
"Come on, let's go."
She had packed three suitcases, two large and one small. Her mother had asked her to shop for an outfit for the wedding over there with her aunt but she till brought several dresses to choose from. One could never be too careful when picking out a dress for that huge occasion.
Mason and Natasha helped with one luggage each, they were still arguing over who the wink was meant for even after they were outside, placing the trunks into the car. Calvin helped place it inside before shutting the car booth.
"Can you two stop arguing, that wink obviously meant nothing!" She yelled in frustration and they instantly fell mute, "Evan is like that, he winks at everybody."
Natasha frowned, her dark brows furrowing together, "He does?"
"Yes," She breathed out, ignoring the way Nat's face fell.
"Ma'am, the car is ready." Calvin announced before turning to enter the vehicle.
Aurora sighed and faced her friends once more. She hadn't even spoken a word when Mason threw his arms over her neck,
"I'm going go miss you," He murmured and she smiled softly, patting his back.
"I'll only be gone for a week."
Natasha pouted, joining the big, "That's like months away."
Aurora's smile widened as she shut her eyes, allowing herself to soak in the warmth of their embrace. When she pulled back, she was stunned to see Natasha teary-eyed,
"I think my eyes are sweating," The girl said, fabning herself and faxing away.
Aurora couldn't help but chuckle, giving main one last parting bod before sliding into the open door. Mason helped her shut the door and she muttered a thanks.
"That took long enough."
She almost jumped out of her skin at the voice, spinning to see Evan sitting beside her, his head relaxed against the head rest and eyes closed.
"Don't talk to me," She said gruffly, shifting as far away from him as possible. The engine started and they slowly began to drive away, she stole one last look at her friends and sure enough, there were still standing there, waving a hand at the moving car.
That brought another smile on her lips and she made a mental note to call them as soon as she arrived.
"You have good friends, they care about you," Evan spoke up again causing her to bite the inside of her cheek.
She chose to ignore him, bringing out her phone and tapping random apps on it.
"Wonder how they'll react once they find out your little secret."
That made the hairs at the back of her neck stand. She slowly turned her head in his direction, her widened eyes meeting his. He was already staring at her, a crooked smile on his lips,
"Do you think they'll support you?" Her eyes darted to the driver's side and was relieved to see that the partition was up.
"Evan," She called warningly, narrowing her gaze and he snickered.
He sighed loudly, turning to face the roof of the car, "I was just curious. I wonder if those sweet friends of yours know how dirty you actually are." He scoffed darkly, "It should be fun."
Her heart pounded erratically and her fingers shook, the phone in her hold dropping go the floor. She didn't bother to pick it up, gluing herself to the door as if that would make her disappear.
In a way, Evan was right. Would her friends still support her if they knew what she was hiding?
If they knew everything?
