One Story, Four Lives, and the Thing that Changed Them All

Today, we're just going to skip the whole italicize thing, because if I wasn't the whole chapter would be italicized.

Oh, but you wanted my side of Avery's birthday party? Well, I worked my ass off to make it happen and it went magnificently. I was super proud and Avery seemed really happy about it. So it was great, am I excused..? Cool.

Now to what I originally came to speak to you about, Aiden.

Because of our connection with the royal families of the Pixies and the Vamps, our families have known each other for years. Heck, the King and Queen are sometimes close enough to seem like siblings.

Much like the two of them, me and Aiden have been friends since birth. Well, we're nearly a year apart so not literally, but pretty damn close. Our fathers watched football and our mothers sipped coffee and gossiped about the who's who in the supernatural world and who knocked up who and when and where and why and sometimes how.

Meanwhile, me, Spence, Aiden and his older sister Danika played out in their endless back yard with their trillions of toys and fun things that weren't necessarily better than ours, but different and so that made them so much cooler.

You know when you start to grow up and suddenly this huge gender gap opens up and you find yourself losing those friends of the opposite gender you've had since birth? That didn't happen to me. Maybe it was because of Spence, my twin brother, or maybe it was just because we were so damn close. Whatever it was, we got through the awkward stage with barely a hitch.

And then my mom started getting extremely protective. I never really found out why. I thought that she got in a fight with Aiden's mom because she wouldn't let me go over there anymore. I didn't really understand it. Spencer went over all the time. And when Aiden came around, Mom always made sure I was shut up in my room or I had Avery over or something. It was strange and I didn't like it, but it was hard to not like my mom.

This random action to keep me and Aiden separated, at first only drew us closure. We we would sneak out, text under different names, lie about where we were going and even who we were with. Our parents believed us, never suspecting a thing - at least that's what we thought - but eventually we got tired of sneaking around, it wore us out and eventually the separation and different genders kind of smashed into one another and we grew into enemies.

To us it made no sense, our families went from open about everything to standing in corners watching us and whispering in urgent voices and tones. When we did see each other at one another houses, our dads sat at in their offices or on the porch table drawing on papers like army generals. Our moms sipped their coffee, occasionally adding a word, worry lines forming.

This happened a lot, for months and then it had been a year, I was ready to stand up and ask what was going on, I was in 8th grade and I had grown up quite a bit. Me, Spence, and Aiden had the right to know what was so urgent. My mom at first had told me she was just nervous about having a baby, but she had already had me and my brother, she shouldn't have anything to worry about, but I let it slide.

Then the baby came, a good detraction at first but it happened again and I was ready to say something. I remember my parents leaving on a trip, they were gone for several weeks and Aiden and Spencer harassed me the whole time. The day mom and Dad were due back I told them we had to say something and they both agreed fully. As soon as dad got back though, he sent Aiden home and broke the news that mom was dead.
Neither Spencer nor I broke down, we were both just shocked, we looked at each other before standing and walking out of the room. Spencer became a more composed and quiet person then, I, loud and obnoxious and cocky, confident and more bitchy then ever. During this time, puberty was hitting so the over confidence wasn't helping it was also that time in life where you find yourself. Aiden was hurt by my mothers sudden death as well, she was his second mom, and his hurt he took out on me, Aiden had always been confident and independent but the cockiness in his confidence only began to expand at a dramatic rate after this.

As me and Aiden grew further apart, me and Avery grew closer. And Aiden and Spence grew closer. Avery would be at my house, Spencer would be at Aiden's. Avery, in the beginning, was a little bit indifferent to the fact that me and Aiden had fallen out of touch. But after a while, she began insisting that we hang with him and Spence. I asked her if she had a crush on him and she denied it in a way that made me believe her, but she never stopped asking. And then in 8th grade he turned into a legit douche-nozzle. For some reason he was just cruel, hitting me where it hurt.

He would say things like, "I bet your mom didn't die. I bet she just left to get away from you."It hurt, and it was like uncharacteristically cruel. Avery stopped trying to hang out with him after that.

He matured a bit in high school. He stopped seeking me out to be mean, but when he got the chance he would take it. It was actually nice when me and Vinny started dating. Aiden stopped being a complete jerk-wad and just a jerk. You know, the Aiden we now know and love.

So I guess that's it. The rest-- when we got engaged and stuff-- you were there for, so there isn't much else to tell you. Just to stay tuned. Things are getting good.