Getting To Know You

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

I blinked my eyes open groggily, hit with a headache of a lifetime. 

Aside from the monotonous humming coming from all around me, there was also an insistent tapping emanating to the left of me. Blinking my eyes a few times to help clear my vision, I looked over lethargically to where the sound was coming from Aidan typing on his laptop.

It was then that I quickly came to the realization where I was – an airplane.

All of the window shades around the area I was in were drawn down, blocking out the natural light. There were only two seats in the row we were in and I did my best to subtly look around the rest of the area – two large seats were opposite of us.

It looked more like a jet than it did an airplane –

Aidan has a private jet-?

I didn't take Aidan to be the type to willingly pick the window seat – he felt the need to control everything...I thought that the aisle seat would have suited him better. He could have dictated who stood up and permitted who he seemed fit to exit out of the row.

Instead...I was situated in the aisle seat.

"You're awake," Aidan announced, being quickly reminded of his awful presence next to me.

I narrowed my eyes at his grating voice – it wasn't the first thing that I had wanted to hear after waking up. Technically, it was the background humming of the airplane and the sound that his keyboard that were the first few things that I had heard.

I couldn't even move my hand to feel the golden medallion that was thankfully, was still safely secured around my neck. I could feel the cold material hidden under the dress I was wearing.

I wasn't sure if there would be a signal at this altitude, anyway...but at the very least I had to try. After trying to move my arms a couple of times, and being met with nothing, I slammed my head the best I could against the headrest of the seat.

The drug he injected me with must have still been in my system – I'm stuck sitting next to him and there wasn't any way that I could escape from him. I might as well have been paralyzed and defenseless in the state that I was in --

At least drug me again so I don't have to deal with you-!

"Vienna –

"When will you stop-?" I asked in irritation, interrupting him before he could begin his lecture.

I turned my head to look at him, mostly moving my eyes since my head still wasn't willing to fully cooperate with me. He stared at me, taking his complete attention away from his laptop screen. It seemed as though he needed more information before he could respond to me.

"When will you stop...?" I rolled my eyes, gesturing to the plane that we were currently in. It was extreme – everything about Aidan's methods were extreme. I didn't see why he was this obsessed with me and was unable to let me go, be free, and live my life. "All of this this?" I finished, rocking my head back and forth lightly at my own words.

He didn't answer my question – it must have been classified as 'too stupid' to warrant a response from him. I distinctly remembered all that time ago, back when he had first taken me to his mansion in Japan...when he said that he didn't answer stupid questions.

Aidan reached his hand up, placing the back of it against my forehead.

I clenched my eyes shut, not having enough strength to shy away from his touch or avoid it completely. For the moment I had to let him to what he wanted because the very terrifying truth of the matter was that I couldn't fight back-!

"No fever," Aidan muttered under his breath as he continued to ignore my question, seemingly too preoccupied with his own internal thoughts.

"Answer me-!" I spoke up, glaring harshly at the man that was seated next to me.

Aidan tilted his head to the side at my stern order.

I didn't know if he was silently telling me to continue, but my anger overruled all other judgement that was feuding and battling inside of me – it didn't matter if he didn't want to hear what I had to say...I would always be rebelling against him and his wishes –

I would never let him win.

"When will you be done with all of this...?" I asked, not bothering to quench my hostility or curve my tense tone.

Aidan smiled gently, fueling my anger even more. It didn't even have a chance to simmer and let me settle down. I never could be at ease or calm when I was talking to Aidan -- it was always one of us that had to overrule the other --

One of us had to be winning.

"To what are you implying-?"

"The operation," I spat out instantly, quickly cutting him off – I wasn't going to play another one of his word games. I realized that I needed to be direct or he would guide me into talking in circles until I wore myself out. "The kidnapping of me..." I spat out.

I went to sit up straight, but could only twitch my fingers.

I let out a small hiss at being incompetent to do anything, struggling to arch my back and practically force myself to perform my intended action. The drug that he injected me with at the mansion looked like it wasn't dissipating anytime soon – although that was overwhelmingly unsurprising.

Aidan had wanted me in this state, after all.

"When will you stop it all?" I asked, wanting to know.

I so desperately wanted to know when I could stop looking over my shoulder, or having my guard raised all the time. I wanted to know when I would be able to stop my muscle training, or gun practice, or having to carry a knife or this God damned medallion around my neck.

I just wanted to know –

"When will you be satisfied...?" I finished my series of questions, the last one coming out barely above a mumble.

"Stop moving," Aidan instructed, but I ultimately chose to ignore that.

I kept moving my back up and down, only succeeding in lulling my head more to the side against the back of my seat. I wished that my head had fallen on the side where Aidan wasn't sitting – he might take it the wrong way as some sick form of endearment-!

He let out a quiet sigh, though I could have sworn I heard a chuckle.

"Where would you run to this time, Vienna?" He gestured around the space that we were in with his eyes. "It's not as though you can escape out of an airplane."

I let out an annoyed huff at him undermining my intelligence.

"You've obviously never heard of sky diving before..." I muttered under my breath.

He must have heard it since he let out another quiet chuckle that I nearly hadn't caught if I hadn't been paying close attention to him. I frowned, biting the inside of my cheek from saying anything else that he might find amusing...

He placed a hand up, letting it hover closer to my face.

"We'll be making a short detour along our route --

"Don't you fucking touch me-!" I growled out, and he hesitated, letting his hand linger in the air, centimeters away from touching my face that was regretfully currently angled towards him.

I wouldn't just let him touch me whenever he had wanted – I would not let him...even if I needed to slide down this chair with the drunken energy that I seemed to have.

Aidan stared at me for a few seconds, lowering his hand on the armrest between us.

I eyed his hand, following his movements intently in case he was about to suddenly raise it up again –

Not that I could do anything about it, anyway...

"I hate that color on you," he stated dryly, for what I could have sworn was fiftieth fucking time since I had met him.

He was heatedly looking at the color of my hair, as though his mere gaze would be able to change its color.

I had bleached it a blonde color since I no longer wanted to look in the mirror and be reminded of the old Arianna --

Arianna Hopkins – the one that couldn't save her sister and got all of her friends killed.

The one that would forever be remembered in history of how pathetic and useless she was even though she was trained to be a killer since birth...she couldn't even defeat Aidan Mathis before he inevitably broke her.

It was meant to contrast how I felt; and maybe it was the survivor's guilt that was eating me alive every single night -- the countless nightmares that haunted me when I slept, or the day dreams of never ending, dark self-loathing thoughts, that infiltrated my mind when I was awake.

It was for taking accountability for the tongue-less teenagers that I couldn't save and get out of Japan...the ones who had suffered before taking their own lives.

It was a rebirth -- one that signified that I would never go down without a fight. Isabella would have wanted me to be strong and live again – which is what I was doing before I was snatched and taken to Mexico-!

I would never be the weaker part of me again – that part of me was dead.

"It needs to be dyed back to that natural color of yours --"

"You can try," I challenged, glaring over at Aidan.

I knew that I had interrupted him again, but the only feeling that overcame me was the undeniable anger that surged throughout my entire soul. He could try to change my clothes, or my hair...but I would never let him do as he pleased the first time.

I didn't know what to expect when I was first taken – Aidan had terrified me at the start, and sometimes...he still does.

However, I wouldn't let my fear ever get in the way.

If fighting tooth and nail is what it took to stall for time until I can figure out an escape plan, then...that is what I intended to do.

He blinked only once, taking in my words.

Then, he shrugged slowly in nonchalance.

It was in a split second before he was towering over me, gripping my cheeks with his hand. He was squeezing them together, forcing me to look him directly in his darkly lit eyes. His fingers dug harshly into my skin, and I wasn't able to tell him properly to 'fuck off' this time.

I wished that I had full movement of my legs, and that I hadn't been still recovering from my drug induced sleep. I would have kicked him so hard in between his legs that he would be tasting it for fucking weeks-!

Instead, I quieted my breathing as best as I could, though with my heart beating rapidly in my chest...it was hard to do.

I would not show him any ounce of fear that threatened to rear its ugly head. No...I would remain composed and be a fighter until the bitter end with every inch of resentment and anger that I felt being directed towards him.

I wished I could claw his eyes out – I wished that I could at least get a few good hits in-!

"I dislike your newfound attitude, Vienna," he spoke darkly, his eyes narrowing.

I felt him lighten his hold on my cheeks...graciously, allowing me to speak. I wasn't about to squander this moment and took the opportunity that he gave me: "I will never be Vienna again..." I argued back.

I could see his eyes darken at my words --

He didn't like it when I rejected the name that he had given me. It was like I was rejecting him, at least, I'm assuming that's what it was. I was happy with every low blow I could deliver to him...even if it was with just my words --

It was all that I could do right now.

"I can promise you that, Aidan," I stated as I narrowed my eyes, not intimidated by him as I was in my compromised state and position.

We were now staring at each other with narrowed eyes.

His eyebrows began to rise, and I could tell that he was thinking – I dreaded to know what about, since, wherever Aidan receded into his mind...it usually accompanied an ultimatum when he returned.

An ultimatum that I would not like hearing.

"Master Aidan," came a voice to my right.

I blinked my eyes, unable to fully look at the stranger that was brave enough to interrupt our heated encounter with each other. I still didn't have the full use of my head, although I could now feel the soles of my feet – therefore, my feeling was very slowly coming back to me.

Aidan stared down at my face for a few more additional seconds until his gaze was directed to the person. Unfortunately for me, he still had not completely let go of his grip on my cheeks...which were starting to burn at the intensity of the pressure he was applying down on them – it didn't matter if he had loosened his grip slightly in order to let me talk earlier.

"It will be five minutes until we land, Master."

"Leave," Aidan barked out his order. The person had left quickly, not at all eager to remain in his presence. I also didn't want to be around Aidan, but it didn't seem like I had much of choice on that matter. "Vienna," he made sure to emphasize the name.

I didn't look at him, deciding to keep favoring looking over by the aisle of the plane, staring at the space that the attendant had been at seconds ago.

He squeezed my cheeks harder, causing a wince to be released from me.

Don't give in –

Don't give in, Arianna-!

"Vienna, look at me," he ordered, and I couldn't resist disobeying him for much longer. My cheeks were beginning to cramp up, and so I quickly diverted my gaze away from the aisle and back to Aidan's dark eyes.

He slowly smiled maliciously at seeing my compliance.

We stared at each other for a bit longer until he let out a breath.

"You will learn once more to accept your place," Aidan informed me. He slowly released his hold on my cheeks. I moved my mouth from one side to another, relaxing it. "Behave when we land and I might let you look around the city."

I gave him a curious, yet suspicious look. I even raised an eyebrow at what he was insinuating. "W-What-?" I couldn't help but question him.

"We are landing in Stockholm, Sweden," he spoke, giving me a quick glance before settling back into his seat.

There wasn't a chance in hell that he had chosen this city without a deeper meaning behind it. I didn't know if he was insinuating that I would eventually come to love him, but he could keep that dream. It would forever be unattainable for him – it would never happen.

"We need to fuel up before we take off to Russia..." Aidan commented off-handedly.

"Why Russia?" I asked, and he smiled slowly.

I was anxiously waiting on what he was going to say next – if he was even going to answer my question --

"That's where I was raised," Aidan answered. Then, it seemed as though his entire accent began to change as he spoke something in what I assumed was Russian. "моя любовь (My Love)," it was thick, making me naïvely think for a few split seconds that it was his native language all this time.

He must have seen my surprise and bewilderment at what I was hearing --

How many languages did he speak-?

He was speaking fluent Spanish back in Mexico in front of me, and now he was speaking perfect Russian, with even an accent that he managed to mask until now. Then, there was English, which I had thought was his first language...

I must have been wrong about that, too...

I didn't know a single thing about Aidan.

"There is an underlying reason why the United States government has not caught me after all this time, Vienna," Aidan humbly boasted. I couldn't help but glare over at him with the way he was speaking. "I am proficient in a multitude of languages -- it makes blending it quite easy, does it not?"

"How many-?" I asked, before clamping my mouth shut with my teeth at my mistake.

I hadn't meant to appear curious about Aidan in any sense. After all that time in the mansion at Japan, I was so careful to only learn the bare minimum about the man. I hadn't wanted to humanize him – it would have been harder to hate him --

It would be harder to kill him.

He gave me a short smile.

"No-!" I yelled, shaking my head adamantly. I was able to move my head even better now, the drug was wearing off some more. "No – No, I don't care," I settled for glaring down at the ground. I hadn't even wanted to look at him – in case it would encourage him to further answer my question.

"Pretend like I didn't say anything...!" I added.

"I know at least the top common ten, if that helps simplify it down," Aidan began to explain, relaxing some more in his seat. I couldn't even place my hands to my ears to muffle out his words. I felt his hand at the top of my head, picking up a couple of strands in between his fingers. "You still don't take care of your hair, do you?" He mused.

Now...he was insulting my hair.

"Why didn't you pursue being a hair stylist if you care about hair so much?" I asked, ignoring the fact that just a couple of minutes ago he was towering over me, practically threatening me to watch my attitude.

"As much fun as that would be..." Aidan removed his hand from my head, and instead settled for interlocking our hands together. I followed his hand with my eyes, glaring at him thinking he could hold my hand – as though he had the right to something that I would never give him.

I could feel the plane begin to descend.

"The Mathis family has no need for children that do not follow their predetermined success path."

I had accidentally learned more about the Mathis family – and indirectly so, I had learned more about Aidan.

I really wasn't doing a good job with keeping him a faceless, monstrous entity.

If I had free range of my hands...I would have face palmed at my horrible failure.


A/N: Thanks for caring about my health from last chapter, guys! It was so terrible, I feel like I broke a rib from all the puking! I'm not even sure what happened, though it was probably a bad case of food poisoning -- if I had to guess. Everything is all better, now, and I don't have to be within six feet of the toilet anymore. 

Yes, guys, they chose the long way in heading towards Russia from Mexico. I am right handed and I didn't even think of looking to the left and seeing the best air pathway to Russia. I am not good at Geography! 

All I can say is that we see a familiar face next chapter -- I can't spoil on who

Thank you all for your continued support and I will see you all next week for the update! <3


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net