Gaijin No More

Cody's POV

I hummed quietly under my breath as I walked back to school. During my everyday lunch walk I had been able to get a few pretty awesome photos, if I dare to say so. And it had resulted to my memory card getting full. Now I couldn't wait before I got back home and could upload the photos on my laptop.

Despite my good mood, I felt a bit uncomfortable. It felt like someone was staring at me. Discreetly I glanced around, but didn´t see anyone looking at my direction. I think I'm getting more and more paranoid every day.

Shrugging I continued my way through the doors of the school building, heading towards my science class. Only two more lessons and then I would be free to go home.

I picked my way through the other students in the crowded hallway, successfully getting to my locker. My fingers quickly twisted the combination so I was able to take all the necessary books and stuff them into my messenger bag.

Slamming my locker door shut I turned around to walk to the class and I nearly jumped out of my skin when my eyes met, yet again, the same lean chest I had almost bumped into this morning. Geez, this dude needed to stop sneaking up on me.

I looked into Aiden's sparkling eyes with a stoic expression, although I was pretty sure that he saw the confusion in my eyes and the slight pink coloring my cheeks. I seriously had to learn how to control my blushing around strangers. It was getting irritating and embarrassing.

“You are Cody, right?” Aiden's words surprised me. How did he know my name? I didn't know that anyone in this fucked-up school knew my name. Besides teachers, of course.

“Yeah,” I confirmed Aiden's words, wondering why in seven hells he was talking to me again. This day was getting annoyingly unusual. What happened to the get-ignored-by-everyone -routine? It was just fine by me and I didn't want it to change.

Okay, maybe I did, but that's not the point right now. The question was, why was Aiden Miller, a popular guy, talking to me?

Only conclusion I was able to come up with was that Aiden had gone nuts. And the grin on his face kinda confirmed my suspicions.

“Great!” Aiden exclaimed happily “So, would you like to hang out later today? Go to the movies or something.” Okay, now this was getting really odd. Aiden Miller, asking me to go to the movies with him? Had I somehow ended up in to an another reality? Or had the aliens finally conquered the Earth?

Despite the thoughts of Aiden being out of his mind, I actually pondered his suggestion for a moment. Why not? Maybe it would do good to me if we hung out. No matter what I tried to make myself believe, it would have been nice to have at least one person in the school who I could talk to and, dare I say it, call my friend.

So, maybe I should give Aiden a chance? Who knows, he might actually be tolerable.

Just when I was about to say yes, my eyes caught a small group of people standing a few feet away from me and Aiden. I recognized one of them as Daniel Wieners. Wasn't he Aiden's best friend or something along those lines?

That Wieners guy was staring at our direction with a smirk on his face, making me realize something. This was a joke. One huge, lousy joke.

They had obviously made a bet. Clearly Aiden was supposed to talk to me and probably get me to see a movie with him. Ha ha, good try, but it was not going to work. I had no reason to help Aiden to win their stupid bet.

“Sorry, I don´t think I have time,” I muttered as politely as possible in that situation. Although what they were doing was unbelievably childish, I hadn't any reason to be mean to Aiden.

Without another word I turned my eyes on the floor and began my way to my next class. I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Deep down I had hoped that Aiden would've been serious. Now it seemed like having a friend in this school was only a distant dream, and that's how it would be till the end of my high school.

Aiden's POV

I just stood there, staring at the spot Cody had been only a second ago. When I asked if we could hang out I had the feeling that he would refuse, so it wasn't such a surprise. I just wanted to try direct approach at first, and now it seemed like I'd have to think another kind of plan to get to know Cody better.

But still, for a moment I could've sworn he was about to say yes. The look in his eyes gave it away. They got this happy spark in them, but then just it disappeared. As if he suddenly thought of something that made him say no.

Cody seemed to be so cautious around people and it frustrated me since I didn't know why. As far as I knew he wasn't bullied or anything so he really didn't have any reason to avoid people at school. The more I thought about him, the more determined I got. I was going to get to know him. He had built a wall around himself, and I wanted to be the one who got through it first. Even if I had to demolish the wall brick by brick.

It's a good thing I liked challenges.

The ringing of the bell told me that I was getting late from my history class. The subject was boring as fuck, but the teacher wasn't very strict so I´d have plenty of time to find a way to get Cody open up to me.

Cody's POV

“Dad I'm home!” I yelled as I opened the front door and stepped inside.

“Good!” came my dad's voice from the kitchen “I have some news for you.” My eyebrows shot up when I heard this. News? I hope they are not bad. I dropped my messenger bag on the floor and walked in to the kitchen. My dad was leaning against the counter, talking on the phone. I looked at him questioning expression. He gestured me to wait so I sat down by the table and tapped my fingers on its surface, staring blankly through the window.

I was shaken from my thoughts when my dad waved his hand before my eyes.

“So what are the news?” I asked, staring at him and waiting for the news. My dad grinned widely.

“I'm not telling.” I'm pretty sure my look was priceless. What the hell was that old man trying to play? First he gets me all curious and then he says he won't tell what's going on. Not fair!

“What? Why not?!” I whined, wanting to know what had made my dad look so enthusiastic. “Does it have something to do with the person you talked on the phone?” I tried to lure him into telling me.

“Yes, indeed it has. But you'll find out the rest tomorrow.” And with that my dad walked out of the kitchen.

“Why can't I know it now?” I yelled after him but he just laughed. Frowning I poured myself a glass of orange juice and headed to my room. April was sleeping on my bed and she had pushed a few of my stuffed toys on the floor. And yes, I still have stuffed toys. They are comfortable to sleep with and they look cute. (I have a soft spot for cute and furry things.)

I threw the stuffed crocodile and panda back on the bed and switched on my laptop.
To my surprise I had a new friend request on MySpace. And what was even more surprising, it was Aiden who had requested me as a friend.

What the...? I thought with a frown on my face. Why couldn't he just give up? I wasn't going to help him to win their stupid bet. Didn't he and his friends have absolutely nothing else to do than bother me?

Although my brain screamed me to just ignore Aiden's friend request, my body seemed to have a mind of its own. Without much of a thought I accepted him as a friend.

It took me a moment to realize what I had just done, but it was quickly forgotten when I noticed that it was raining.

Squealing in happiness I ran out of my room, planning to go for a walk. I loved rain. It was always so refreshing when it rained and sometimes I spend hours just by walking around while it rained. The streets were usually quite empty when the heavens cried.

“I'm going out!” I yelled to my dad and pulled my shoes on.

“Okay! Just don't catch pneumonia!”

“No worries, I won't!” My dad was used to my love for the rain, so it didn't surprise him when I dashed out of the door . He just reminded me not to get sick or anything. Tsk, like I'd get sick because of getting wet.

It took only a few minutes until I was drenched. My hair was dripping with water and I was pretty sure that my eyeliner was running. But I didn't care.

I had only walked a few blocks when my phone started vibrating. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was my cousin Tom who was calling.

“Hi Tommy!” I answered, walking to a playground and sitting down on a swing.

”Hi Cody!” came his voice from the other end “What time does your school end tomorrow?” Well that was something I didn't expect him to ask.

“At two thirty. Why?” I said and swept my wet hair behind my ear.

”Your dad didn't tell you, did he?” There was a mischievous tint on his voice, making me suspicious.

“No, he didn't tell me anything. He just said I'd find out tomorrow. What's going on?”

”Sorry, I got to go, talk to you later man!” And then he hung up on me. What were they hiding? What would happen tomorrow? I wanted to know dammit!

Sighing I put my phone back into my pocket and started walking back home. It looked like I should just wait till tomorrow to find out what my dad and Tom were up to.