Aiden Blaire

Aiden was trying to figure out how he got here. Well, not on the dock by the boathouse. That was a simple matter of walking. Alone because he walked out of a large building with lots of people in it with a cellphone cradled against his ear. Now, his phone was held loosely in one hand as he watched sunlight play on the lake waters.

He supposed he should be afraid of the lake. He nearly drowned here a couple weeks ago. But that was a special circumstance. There normally wasn't lake monsters there. Or giant squids. Or anything that Hogspimple place had in those books. It's not that he forgot what happened either. The taste of the water and the burning of his lungs were not things that would easily meander away from his recollection. It's just... he couldn't blame the lake for what happened to him.

He could blame himself for the past two conversations with his father on the cellphone. The first came the day Hana had made it to Japan. Apparently, the haunted and haggard look had stayed for the flight and beyond. It was nice to hear she got there okay. It was less nice when Dad started to prod for information. Aiden managed to stay vague for a bit; he hadn't known what Hana would want told or not. His father was a light touch most times; people barely noticed he turned things the way he needed. Except when it came to the welfare of his wife and children. Even the cranky older younger brother.

"Aiden." Dad didn't sound like he thought he had been given the whole story.
"But that's what happened."
"Not entirely. Everything, Aiden." His voice was getting a little harder and insistent.
"I... don't know what she wants told. I don't know everything. Misha probably does. Call him?"
"Aiden..." The third time his name has come up. Dad is not giving up.
The teen sighed. "Alright. Here's everything I know has happened lately."

The second call from his parents came at what was probably the end of his sister's stay. Aiden hadn't been too sure how long she would be gone. Both parents on the line, so it seemed like something serious. When they said everyone was fine, Aiden relaxed. Which made the gut punch in the next sentence hit a little harder. Hana didn't want to be there anymore. She wanted to move out. Away. It was at that point he had started walking. He couldn't be around people. People distracted him. He needed to think. To wrap his mind around how miserable his sister had to be and how he had done not enough to help her not feel that way.

He went over everything that had happened from his end. It gnawed on him that he did something wrong. That he didn't do enough of something to keep his twin happy, but then again, he was getting the idea his stock with her was diminishing. He had made her promise not to avoid him anymore. Period. She could have avoided everybody but him. Before she left, she was still avoiding him and everybody else.

There was some serious thought on the end of that dock that if her promise to him meant nothing, then his promise to not go off on adventures without telling her didn't have to be followed. Except he couldn't justify going back on his own promise. His bike racing wasn't an adventure. It was more of a test. A challenge. And he always came home with no stories to tell. Adventures needed stories. Even if the end included being impaled on a samurai's sword.

But he thought he had until graduation. Aiden knew life would probably take him on a different path than his sister, but he thought he had more time. A few more months to hang with her. A little longer to be two goofy kids late at night in front of a television. That couldn't happen when she was elsewhere and commuting in. He had always had a sense of comfort knowing his sister was sleeping under the same large roof. That one person in the mass of students and teachers understood him implicitly and was always there. Now, he didn't have it.

It was stupid and childish and probably a bit too possessive to ever bring up to his father. But it was what Aiden felt.

The Mojoworlder stood at the end of the dock and stared vacantly over the water. His cellphone was held so loosely it was threatening to fall either on the wooden dock or in the murky waters under the dock.

He just needed to get a handle on this. Hana wasn't abandoning him. It was probably better for her peace of mind if she left. Because things had been pretty terrible around here for her. She would never mean to purposefully hurt him. So, he would just have to try out some acting skills of his own. Be supportive. Ignore his own feelings. Help her out.

...

He thought he had until at least May.

It had taken sending his aunt after his father for Aiden to finally get the chance to talk to Longshot alone. And even then, he still had to wait for it to happen. Aiden assumed Dad was really not happy with him after hearing about his phone call with Mom. Due to some twists of luck, Longshot was either in the room when Aiden was asleep or he had company. Never a chance alone. Aiden couldn't tell if that luck was on purpose or not, but he hoped it wasn't because Dad wanted nothing more to do with him and the presence was just that Japanese form of politeness. So, the teen fiddled with his bed sheet as his father came into the room and closed the door behind him.

"I've been told you wanted to talk to me," Longshot said as he turned around. Aiden couldn't really pick up any emotional tone to his words.

"I..." He sighed and looked up at his Dad. "I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have ever told you to forget anything. I didn't handle our last con-argument right. And if I made you think I don't love you anymore, I was more wrong than the last test I missed. Which hasn't happened in awhile! But..."

He scratched the back of his neck. He waited for a reaction. Except his Dad was being as cool as the stream that ran not far from their home. Aiden dropped his hand down to the bed with a hollow flump. The silence lingered, and Aiden wanted to squirm under his father's steady gaze.

"So," he tried to break the silence, "I'm sorry. I still love you. And, uhm, I'm ready for any punishment."

"A month," Longshot replied quietly. "Which is down from the rest of your life."

There was a sinking feeling in Aiden's stomach, but he was not going to argue the punishment. He could take it. He nodded. "Okay."

That got a reaction from Longshot. He stepped closer and looked confused. "No arguments? You're not allowed to leave the grounds for a month."

"I knew I was going to be punished when I left. I don't regret leaving. If I didn't, Misha wouldn't be alive. I might not have went the right way about it, but I'm not going to fight what I don't need to." He started to tug his top sheet between his hands. It took a minute for Aiden to catch the nervous gesture and stop himself. "So, I'm grounded for a month. What else?"

That made Longshot squint. He seemed to be looking his son over like he was a pod person. "Since you're determined to go out and get in over your head in duels, you have early morning lessons. You will attend them and not even be a minute late. Logan was kindly willing to teach those lessons to you."

Aiden nodded again. The lessons part by itself wouldn't be bad. The early morning portion would be torture. Especially since Logan was teaching it. There would be no dozing or charming his way out of it. "Alright. Then what do I have to do to make everything up to you?"

"Aiden..."

"C'mon. There has to be something. I said I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem to be enough. You probably think I hate you or something, and you probably don't like me anymore because you've been avoiding being alone with me. Err. Being with me when I can talk to you alone. So, what do I need to do?" There had to be something. He didn't want to see the worry and hurt in his Dad's eyes. Longshot might have thought he was covering it up well, and he was to a point. But sometimes he let his guard down and his son picked up on it.

Longshot sighed and rubbed his chin. "I.. don't know, son. You hurt me and disappeared. So the hurt's been around awhile."

"Oh." Well, if he couldn't get things back to square one with his father, Aiden had no chance in hell of getting any of the other family things fixed. He couldn't look at his Dad anymore. He was too ashamed. Instead, he stared at a spot right next to his knee. He blinked a couple times. He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't mean to make you hate me..."

There was some sort of sigh from Longshot. Aiden couldn't place it and didn't try to. His mind was racing on how he could still make things right. He almost jumped when his father gently grabbed his hand. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Aiden. I love you more than life itself. And you know me. I'm a pretty life-loving guy."

Well, the spot by his knee wasn't interesting anymore. Though he couldn't quite look up. Maybe looking at his father's hand on his should count. "So, what do I need to do to make this right? If I can't make it right with you, I'll never be able to make things right with Mom."

"You already did what you needed to make this right." His hand disappeared from on top of Aiden's. The side railing disappeared and Longshot was sitting on the very edge of the bed. Two strong arms wrapped around the teen. "I'm just built for drama. Sometimes, I have a hard time letting it go. I see you're sorry. I see you still love me. That's all I need, Super Frog."

The laugh couldn't be stopped. It was relief in its best form. Dad was stilling calling him Super Frog. It wasn't irreparable.

"You're still on thin ice, Aiden. But I know you can work us back to where we need to be. I am proud of you for saving Misha. That was some quick thinking. And luck with your girlfriend there. For a brief second, when there wasn't an explosion going off around me, I knew that you were my son without a doubt." Longshot gave a gentle squeeze. "And I almost died on the spot when I saw you standing there with a sword through your chest. You might be closer to an adult in age, but that was my baby boy over there. The one who looked up at me when he was six months old and told me Ecuador was the top exporter of bananas in one word."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anybody told you you're weird lately?"

This time, it was Longshot's turn to laugh.

Aiden was sure classes were over this time. There was no Hana trailing behind him and clearing her throat. He had honestly thought classes were done for the day at noon! He walked into his dorm room and walked past the empty part. It would be for a roommate when he got one. The boys dorms seem to be filling up slower than the girls were. While half of the room was bare and waiting, Aiden's half was crammed and lived in. His half of the room was plastered with posters. Except the windows. He needed to let some light in.

There were laminated posters brought from home. Keith Moon. John Bonham. Roger Taylor. Rick Allen. Tommy Lee. Mick Fleetwood and Ringo Starr to appease his mother.

Where there was supposed to be a desk was Aiden's drum kit instead. Hana wasn't the only one who got musical talent from their mother. Hers just happened to be able to be done quieter. Aiden tossed his backpack next to his bed and went digging under the sheets for his drum sticks. He figured he wouldn't get in trouble for playing now. It wasn't during class. It also wasn't midnight.

Aiden's hand closed around his drum sticks after a minute of rifling. He grinned at them as he pulled them out. "Ready, steady?"

So what if he talked to them? They talked back when used properly. He pulled his drum stool out and seated himself. He rolled his shoulders and went through his mental inventory of songs. He shoved the gymnastics moves out of the forefront. That was another means of thumping he got into trouble for doing at midnight.

He could hear the synth and vocals going 'Ohhhh'. Then came the crowd cheering and clapping. The power chords. And then Aiden was up. His sticks hitting the skins. Hitting them like a jackhammer. There was a girl's laugh and then he was completely lost in playing the song. He would stay that way through song after song until somebody got him for dinner.