Narrator's POV

Knock, knock, knock. 

Three little pebbles hit Evelyn's window, one after the other, capturing the concearned girl's attention. She left her bed, in which she had stayed for the past three hours, staring at the ceiling. One word tormented her head. Defeat. 

Opening her window, she faced him, smiling weakly. "Look who's up" he said, and she returned a small smile. "Hey" she replied, her voice barely audible. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked her, hiding his concearn with playfullness. "No, I just woke up" she lied, and he read right though it, but chose not to say anything. "Lucky you, I made breakfast. Head over" he proposed. 

Evelyn looked at the locked door behind her, reminding herself who was in the living room. "Cole's downstairs, I can't" she refused, but then an idea popped in her head. "I'll climb" she added, contradicting herself and completely ignoring her fear of heights. She couldn't stand to be in that empty house any longer, it felt empty without Jason. 

Carefully, she slipped one leg after the other on the window, resisting the urge to look down. The only thing she focused on, was the ocean-eyes boy in front of her. She stretched her right leg as far as it could go, gripping on Aiden's window. The next leg went. Before she could climb inside, she lost her balance, wiggling her arms in front of her. Two strong arms caught her own, bringing her inside. 

She clawed on him, hiding her face in his neck, and he knew it wasn't because he helped her climb in. "Hey you" he said, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Hungry?" he asked her, hearing her rumbling stomach. "Not really, I ate before I went to bed. Still working on it" she giggled weakly and he chuckled "Right" he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. She probably hadn't eaten anything since he last saw her last night. He checked the time. Two. It wasn't like her to wake up at this hour he thought. 

She took a seat too, looking away. "I'm sorry I put you through all the trouble of cooking... I can smell the omelette from here" she apologised, trying to cover the sound of her stomach rumbling once again. "It's okay, more for me" he smirked, kissing her head. He quickly left the room, coming back with what smelled like paradise in a plate. 

Under any other circumstance, she would've mauled the food on it, but even though her body protested repeatedly, she couldn't bring herself to eat. 

He took a bite, satisfaction covering his face. "Not to brag or anything, but this shit's good" he said, making Evelyn laugh. "Here I was thinking your forte was being the chaotic element of my life" she replied and he pretended to feel betrayed. At this point he would do anything to make her laugh. 

"Are you doubting my cooking? I dare you try this and tell me it doesn't taste good" he grabbed a piece with his fork, bringing it close to her mouth. Once she felt the taste on her tongue, she realised just how hungry she really was. Victory, he thought once he saw the most treasured person in his life, finally eating. 

"This is nice" Evelyn said after a few moments of comfortable silence. "I told you I can cook" Aiden replied, clearly proud of himself. She giggled. "No, I mean this is nice" she explained motioning to themselves. "I wish i could..." she stopped herself, hesitating to let the words come out. "What?" he urged her, stuffing a mouthful of omelette in his mouth. 

"I wish i could wake up like this every day" she confessed, making him smile. He put the plate on the bedside table and scooted over to where she was, bringing her close to him and wrapping his arms around her. "Once this is over, I'm taking you away. Just me and you, wherever the fuck you want to go." he said, kissing her forehead. "I don't care where, as long as you're there" she said, feeling her chest fill with love. 

Her words made a strange feeling settle in the bottom of his stomach. It wasn't bad, but he didn't know how to describe it. He felt like he had the entire world in his arms, but he didn't know how to satisfy it. In his mind, any gift seemed small compared to her. 

Evelyn's hands gripping on his shirt, and the wetness that was forming where her head rested on him, brought him back to reality. "Baby, are you crying?" he asked, feeling his chest tighten when he heard a small sob leave the lips he loved so much. "Hey, what's wrong?" Aiden rubbed soothing circles on her back, and kissed her head repeatedly. He was almost sure he knew why she was crying, but couldn't bring himself to say the words, knowing the part he played in the situation. 

"You know what's wrong! I'm sitting here making plans with you while Jay's all alone somewhere, and i'm doing nothing to help him." she struggled to get the words out her sobs jumbling her speech. 

"I promise you i'll find him" Aiden took her hands in his own, leaving soft kissed on each one. The caramel-haired girl simply shook her head. "Don't say stuff like that, you know it's not up to you to find him" she protested. "You don't understand, this is 100% on me. I'd go to the end of the fucking world to get Jay" he assured her, but he knew he couldn't convince her with words, she needed actions. 

He let go of her hands, grabbing his phone. He found the contact he was looking for and let it ring. Once, twice, three times, but no one answered. "Why the fuck isn't she picking up" he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. He got up and started getting dressed, leaving the girl in. his bed confused. "Where are you going?" she asked, wiping her tears. "Lindsay's. I promised to find Jason and I will" he announced. 

"You can't go alone!" she protested, but he didn't answer. "Please, don't go alone" her worried tone made something shift inside him. He knew she liked him, loved him even, but he hadn't realised just how important he was for her. Looking in her doe eyes now, he could feel it. 

Aiden crouched in front of her, his hand caressing her cheek. She leaned into it, sighing softly, and holding it with her own. "Take Cole with you. He can help" she begged, but he shook his head. "Cole's the last person that needs to know about this. I'll be back, I promise" he said and pecked her lips. "I always do, don't I?" he laughed, and Evelyn nodded. 

"Come on, I'll take you home. I wanna speak to him" Aiden said, and she followed, not thinking about what excuse they'd tell her brother. On the way to her house, Evelyn took the time to study Aiden. His body, his hair, his face. Her feet grew heavy when they reached her door, because she knew she'd have to let him go. Something felt...off. She didn't believe in premonitions or anything like that, but she couldn't ignore the weight pooling in the bottom of her stomach that made her grip on his hand as if her life depended on it. 

Cole was sat on the couch, the tv was on for no particular reason as he didn't seem to be paying any attention to it. His mind travelled elsewhere. Why hasn't she called? What if... no. She'll call. She has to, he thought but the sound of the door opening snapped him out of it. He reached for the knife he hid behind the pillow. 

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for coffee?" he heard Evelyn's voice and dropped the weapon back to its hiding spot. "Nah, i've had enough coffee for today, thanks" Aiden replied, shutting down Evelyn's last attempt to keep him close to her. "What's up Cole" Aiden spoke, making the man even more alarmed than before. 

"Weren't you just in your room?" he asked Evelyn, ignoring Aiden. She frowned. "I went for a walk like twenty minutes ago. Are you okay?" she asked him, although she knew that if there was one person in that room that wasn't okay, it was herself. Cole frowned, and looked around the room, confused. "Yes..yeah I guess I got too absorbed with the show." he said. 

His head was buzzing, palms sweating. He could feel the color drain from his face, as more time went by without a signal from Lindsay. Aiden noticed his uneasiness, and the fact that he couldn't stop checking his phone. They were looking for the same person, but for different reasons. 

"So, Cole; found anything?" Aiden asked him, studying his every move. The man on the couch nearly had a heart attack hearing the question. "Me? No. I know as much as you do, so unless you found something, I've got-" 

"-nothing. Got it." he cut him off. Evelyn fumbled with the bottom of her shirt, a habit she caught herself doing a lot lately. Her gaze went back and forth between her brother, and the man that owned her heart. He was much different now compared to five minutes ago; a deep wrinkle had settled in between his eyebrows, and she wished she could smooth it with her finger. 

"Alright, I think I'll get going, Catherine's probably waiting for me. I'll call you later" he told Evelyn, struggling not to kiss her. "O-Okay" she mumbled, walking him to the door. She waited until he got in the black Scoda he borrowed from Parker. He winked at her from inside the car, and she gave him a smile, before she closed the door.

~~~

gave y'all a bit more romance than usual in this chap, cuz the next one will be.. interesting;) 

also i experimented a bit with the narrator's pov thing, let me know your thoughts on it, cuz i really enjoyed writing this way. 

Cheerio<3