Aria hated people.
If it wasn't obvious enough already, she really despised them with a burning passion.
No matter the age, race, nationality, or even social status a person may have, she hated everyone essentially equally.
Besides men of course, who she absolutely hated more.
Unless if she needed to actually socialize and interact with people for whatever purpose it may be, she liked avoiding and getting away from people as much as possible.
Some of this obviously stemmed from the fact that she was significantly much more prettier than everyone else she's seen before.
Models, idols, famous actresses, and even princesses.
No matter who it was, her beauty had always surpassed theirs with ease.
As a result, whenever someone tried approaching her or began doing things for her for whatever reason it was, she always knew that they had an ulterior motive behind them.
Because most people she met were like that.
And sure, although it sounds like a blessing at first, given the amount of opportunities that have opened up to her solely because of that, it becomes very tiring after a while.
Having people constantly come up and confess to her, having people talk behind her back, and having people constantly lust over her 24/7 while not caring about anything else about her... she despised it.
It just gets to a point where sometimes she wonders how much better of a life she would've had if she was even just slightly less attractive.
All of the things she could've done with a peace of mind, all of the experiences she could've had without worrying about her own safety, and all of the friends and relationships she could've built without doubting others' true intentions…
She just wanted to know how it feels to be treated like a human being for once.
Even if it was just for a little bit.
Thankfully, even despite her unfortunate circumstances to begin with, she at least had a friend in her life that made everything easier to deal with.
This friend after all, was in a similar position as she was.
She also lost her parents at an extremely young age and prefered to be alone most of the time, was extremely beautiful, always had people coming up to her, and in some cases, even had people approaching her for very nefarious reasons.
In a sense, her friend has had it way worse than she ever did.
That was why she and her friend were able to become close to each other so quickly, and why both of them found comfort in one another so easily even to this day.
It was because they were essentially the same person but just in different shoes.
And Aria was certain she would never care about anyone else in her life besides her one and only friend.
She was absolutely sure of it.
Because that was the only person she truly thought that she ever needed in her entire life.
Until today.
When her heart started beating extremely fast and erratically as she watched Eric Porter kneel down to her level on his injured leg like it was nothing and spoke to her in a monotone voice.
Not because she suddenly stopped fearing him all of a sudden or something like that when he gave that speech of his.
Oh no, Eric still scares her very much.
In fact, she's probably more afraid of him now than ever before.
And truthfully, who could blame her?
Even just ignoring all the wounds and cuts he had received just the day before, which should have already been a big deal for him to begin with, the way that he treats the big gaping hole in his thigh as something like a minor inconvenience more than anything else was more than enough to send chills down her spine.
That was initially why Aria didn't want to go see the individual that she wanted to confront after being presented with the opportunity to do so, and why she had a whole panick attack when he got closer to her.
Because despite clearly being human, he looked like a monster instead.
Like he had lost his humanity both physically and emotionally long ago.
But when she saw the look he gave her while he was kneeling, there was something deep in those hollow eyes of his that she couldn't help but stop focusing on.
After all, there were hints of...
'Remembrance and nostalgia.'
And that's when everything finally clicked.
Because originally, even ever since the moment when they first met, she thought that he had a hidden agenda just like everyone else she's met beforehand.
And her belief in that only grew stronger when she stopped by his place yesterday and was able to obtain valuable information from him without even trying.
Nobody just tells a random stranger about the supernatural 'ability' he has, gives up information that is clearly meant to be kept secret from the outside world, and then willingly assists her further just because she asked after all, unless if they have something to gain from it.
That much was plain clear at least.
However, people with a hidden agenda usually value their own lives above everything else, otherwise they wouldn't bother trying to benefit themselves in the first place.
But Eric didn't value his own life more.
He pushed her out of harm's way when she wasn't even aware of the danger present, took an extremely critical injury for her, and then tried to comfort her while she was having a panick attack even though he clearly knew that she was trying to use him in the first place, all while his blood was spilling everywhere uncontrollably.
Even if he was one of those self-sacrificing types, or someone too blinded by his love for her, nobody would be able to do everything he just did and then act as though it didn't bother them at all.
At the very least, they would have some sort of complaint, or be slightly annoyed at their own expense.
But Eric didn't.
Not at the sacrifices he made at least.
Instead, judging by what he said, he seemed annoyed by the fact that she wasn't using him more.
That's why Aria couldn't help but genuinely care for him now, and it hurts to see him like this.
Because at the end of it all, even if he looked like some kind of monster, and she still didn't understand him in the slightest, especially now that he had given her a nostalgic look for some reason, she knew that he was at least someone who truly cared about her well-being despite her constant terrible behaviors towards him.
Because nobody else in the entire world would ever go this far for her.
Not even her best friend Aurora.
And Aria didn't want to let him go.
Ever.