Song for chapter twenty seven: Treacherous by Taylor Swift

|Skyler|

"Austin what are you doing here?" my voice wavered slightly as I stepped towards the door. Aden opened the door wider by a fraction, though his body was rigid and tense as if it were the last thing he wanted to do. "How did you know where my room was?"

I wrapped my arms around myself. Maybe I was paranoid but I didn't want a repeat of what happened at the party — or worse, what could have happened.

"I need to talk to you," Austin began, shuffling on his feet. I guess he needed alcohol to feel confident. "I overheard the room number Mr. Woods gave to you when we first got here."

That's stalkerish.

"What do you want?" Aden demanded through gritted teeth, keeping a firm grip on the door as if he would shut it if Austin got too close.

"I wanted to talk with her, alone," Austin shot Aden a look, which he ignored.

"Like that's gonna happen," Aden's eyes narrowed to slits again.

I made my way over to Aden and placed a hand on his forearm. "It's fine," I told him. He stared at me intently for a few moments before giving in, stepping away from the door. He plopped down onto my bed, still in his wet clothes, earning a glare from me. He gave me a sheepish smile and stood back up, leaning against the wall instead.

I turned to Austin with an eyebrow raised, not inviting him into the room.

He glanced at Aden beside me, awkwardly before turning his attention back to me. "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted at the party," he scratched the back of his neck. "I know that I was a huge jerk, and I was just drunk. It won't happen again."

"It's.. it's okay," I managed a smiled at Austin. What he tried to do was horrible, but I was just glad it didn't actually happen because Aden was there. Though, I also had an itching feeling that Austin must've been slightly aware of his actions if he could still remember them.

"Really?" Austin's face brightened and I nodded.

"Just, please don't ever do anything like that again. To anyone. I'll see you tomorrow," I sighed. The crooked smile didn't leave his face as he turned and began walking off to the elevator down the hall. I shut the door behind him, letting out a heavy breath. I spun around to see Aden's unimpressed expression. "What?"

"You're too forgiving, Clumsy," Aden said, pushing himself off the wall. "He's only apologizing because he wants to feel better about himself."

"He didn't even actually do anything," I avoided his eye contact.

"Yeah, because I was there and I saw what he was trying to do. What if I hadn't been?" Aden raised an eyebrow and I kept my gaze on the floor. I knew he was right, but what was I to do, hold a grudge against Austin?

"Well it's okay because you were there that time," I shrugged.

He approached me, "And what if I'm not next time?" His brown eyes softened as he watched me. My eyes trailed to his damp, messy hair that was sprawled over his forehead, to his toned body underneath his wet shirt. I tore my gaze away from him, swallowing hard.

I shrugged in response again, impulsively wrapping my arms around Aden's waist, nuzzling my face into his damp shirt. His tense body slackened as he sighed, resting his chin on top of my head.

"I'll be fine Aden," I told him, my words muffled by his shirt. "I can take care of myself."

"I know," he responded in a soft tone.

_________________________

I took off my sweater, leaving only a t- shirt and stuffed it inside my backpack. For some reason, it was oddly hot outside, warm enough for just a shirt when it was already October. If only yesterday had been like that, then I wouldn't have had to turn into an icicle when Aden pulled me into the lake.

Ryan somehow had gotten the memo, sporting a pair of jean shorts — I called them jorts — and a regular t- shirt. Kyle had said we'd gotten lucky today with such great weather.

Kyle droned on about various facts about the hiking trails we were in, but I could also tell that most of our class had zoned out on what he was saying — all but Mr. Woods anyways. He walked at the front of the group, intrigued and nodding at every factoid Kyle spat out. The rest of us trailed behind lazily, the guys in front of me picking up random sticks and chucking them at each other. Ryan grabbed a granola bar from his bag and began devouring it.

"You are very... unprepared for this hike," I looked at Aden's shoes, which were just a pair of vans compared to everyone else that sported a pair of runners or even a pair of hiking boots.

We entered a tight trail, the ground full of soil and lined with overgrown tree roots that I could easily trip on if I didn't pay enough attention. Twigs and branches from the trees around us tickled my face as we walked by.

"I'm hiking in style," he smirked, running a hand through his hair and I raised an eyebrow at him. Aden's cheeks turned into a bright shade of pink. "Okay fine, I don't own hiking boots and I forgot my runners at school," he admitted.

"Aden," I tsked. "I didn't take you for the irresponsible kind."

Aden gave me a flat look, taking a few steps forward to cut me off in the tight trail. He ducked under a large, low hanging branch, and pulled it back with a smile to let me through. I returned his smile as I began to walk past the branch, only to yelp out in surprise when Aden let go. The branch swung back to its original position, slapping me square in the face.

"Ow!" I took a step back from the momentum of the hit and blinked, my gaze zoning in and eyes narrowing at Aden's face as he laughed hysterically.

"That's for calling me irresponsible," Aden smirked as he continued walking.

"You're so petty," I muttered under my breath as I trailed behind him. I could still see the smug smile he held on his face from the bulging of his cheeks.

"Only to you Clumsy," he winked.

His wink and the nickname he had for me gave way for a swarm of butterflies in my stomach and I felt my cheeks heat up way hotter than the sun that was shining above us. I focused my gaze on the ground as I weaved my way over and around a bunch of tree roots and branches, trying to cool my warm face.

But it only grew redder when I felt Aden's hand wrap around mine. I looked up at him to see him smiling down at me, his cheeks also sporting two pink dots on them.

The touch of his hand around my smaller one sent a wave of tingles up my arm, the butterflies in my stomach increased tenfold. I didn't ever want to let go. As cheesy as it sounded, his hand felt like it belonged holding onto mine. It wasn't awkward or weird, it felt perfect.

I must've been distracted because the next thing I knew, I let out a scream as my body teetered forward when my toe stubbed a large tree root. I placed an arm out ahead of me — the one that wasn't holding onto Aden— in attempt to balance myself.

I was about a foot away from falling flat on my face when Aden's arm wrapped around my waist, hoisting me back up on my feet smoothly.

"Thanks," I breathed a sigh of relief, meeting his amused expression.

"Damn Clumsy, you've gotta stop falling for me," he smirked and I rolled my eyes, groaning.

I straightened myself up again. "You think too highly of yourself," I returned his smug smile. I might not have been falling for him as I fell to the ground, but figuratively speaking I wasn't sure if I could deny that.

"Do I?" he looked at me quizzically and my cheeks grew hotter.

Rather than responding, I squeezed his hand tighter in mine and we stayed that way for the rest of the hike, occasionally shoving each other lightly or making jokes about the random facts Kyle threw at us.

At the end of our 15 kilometre hike, most of the people from our class seemed exhausted, besides some of the soccer players. I was only out of breath because the feeling of Aden's hand around mine had completely taken it away.

"Alright guys, it was amazing for me to be your guide," Kyle announced at the end of the trail. As if he had a choice to not be our guide. "I hope you all take something away from this trip and I wish you all luck in the future. It has been great meeting you all."

Our class muttered 'thank yous' and 'it was nice to meet you too' as Kyle gave us one last wave began walking back to the hotel building. I knew we wouldn't actually take anything from this trip, cause let's be honest, no one had listened to him the whole hike.

Mr. Woods stepped in front of us in place of Kyle. He checked the time on the Apple Watch he had around his wrist. "It's about four o' clock already so you guys can have some free time. You can do your homework, or not. We'll meet up again at the main doors tomorrow morning for the last day."

At the sound of that we all dispersed. As I began walking towards the hotel again, Aden's grip on my hand tightened and I turned to look at him.

"I don't want this day to be over just yet," his face held a mischievous grin.

"What do you suggest?" I asked, feeling a small smile stretch over my lips. To be honest, I didn't want this day to be over yet either, it had already been too good to be true. Aden said a quick goodbye to Ryan, who glanced between us with a knowing smirk before walking off to the hotel alone.

"Come on," he tugged on my arm and he lead me back into the hiking trail we'd just been on.

"You want to keep walking?" I raised an eyebrow at him. I wasn't exhausted, but I didn't exactly want to walk the trail all over again.

"Shh, you'll see," he shushed me.

"So it's another surprise," I said knowingly.

He glanced back at me with another breathtaking smile that sent me swooning, "Yeah, you could say that I guess.

I stayed quiet for the next five minutes, my eyes zeroing in on his hand that was still connected to mine, sending another wave of heat to my cheeks just from the sight. Aden weaved around the tree roots like an expert and I followed close behind him. He broke through a wall of trees and lead us into a clearing.

In front of us was a large lake, clear enough that it reflected the trees and the bright blue sky above us. The lake reflected the sunlight, creating an iridescent and tranquil illusion. Aden let go of my hand and jogged towards the lake.

"What are you doing?" I laughed at his excitement, following him to the lake. He didn't answer me as he turned around, a devious smirk on his face.

"Going for a swim," he said as if it were the most obvious thing ever as he dumped his backpack onto the grass near the lakeside. My eyes widened as he began taking of his shirt, revealing his toned chest and stomach underneath.

"Aden!" I was tempted to close my eyes, but the rather mischievous side of me wanted to see the rest, underneath his pants. His eyes never left mine as he slowly slid off his jeans.

When his clothes were all off and scattered all over the grass, leaving only his boxers, he jumped into the lake with a big whoop, creating a large splash that rivalled that of an Olympic swimmer's.

His head broke through the water within moments, a large smile spread over his face as he shook his hair free of water again.

"Are you coming?" he asked. "I bet you're too scared." He raised a teasing eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes, "No, I'm not."

With a smirk, I slid off my leggings, revealing my black underwear that I'd carelessly thrown on after my shower. Thank god I picked black and not a childish polka - dotted one.

Aden's eyes widened just a fraction, his Adam's Apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard. With this newfound confidence, I took off my shirt, leaving only my bra when I jumped in after him. The water was cool, but nothing I couldn't handle.

I gave the water one hard kick and reached the surface again, swimming towards Aden, stopping in front of him.

"So, I think that rules it out. I win the bet," I said when I caught my breath.

"Aaaand what do I owe you for losing the bet?" he challenged, his dark eyes twinkling as his lips stretched into a lopsided grin.

I stared into his eyes, the sun highlighting the green specks that dotted around his brown eyes. His hair was sprawled over his forehead, ruffled and dishevelled from the water. Water droplets lined the ends of his hair, and raced down his cheeks, mouth and nose. He was absolutely breathtaking.

Everything about Aden made my insides bubble with excitement and giddiness. How was that even possible?

A surge of confidence coursed through me.

"I'm going to do this," I whispered, leaning in towards him, connecting my lips to his.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hope you all liked this chapter! Please do vote comment and share if you did! I'd really appreciate it!

Also... THIS BOOK WON FIRST PLACE IN THE JUNGLE AWARDS!! Thank you all so much for your support, it truly means the world to me.

~SweetnessInTheSalt