Aiden barely slept. Not because he was worried. Okay, maybe he was a little worried. His mother had never outright disapproved of something important to him before. Usually she'd lecture him, threaten to take away his car, or complain about his grades. This was different. This was Mia. And somehow that made everything feel more complicated. By the time he arrived at school the next morning, he was already tired. Unfortunately, Noah noticed immediately.
"You look awful."
"Thanks."
"What happened?"
Aiden thought about lying. Then decided it wasn't worth it.
"My mom found out about Mia."
Noah froze.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"That's literally what Mia said."
Noah looked concerned now.
Which was unusual.
Very unusual.
"How bad?"
"She doesn't approve."
Noah blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Your mom doesn't approve of Mia?"
"No."
"Or she doesn't approve of you having a girlfriend?"
Aiden paused. Because honestly? That was a good question. Before he could answer, someone dropped into the seat beside him. Mia. She looked nervous. Aiden immediately sat up straighter.
"Hey."
"Hey."
For a second, neither spoke. Noah looked between them and wisely stood up.
"I'm leaving."
Neither stopped him. The moment he was gone, Mia turned toward Aiden.
"How are you?"
The question sounded simple. It wasn't. Aiden shrugged.
"I've been better."
Mia nodded.
"Yeah."
Silence followed. Not awkward silence. Just the kind that happened when two people were thinking about the same thing.
Finally, Mia sighed.
"So what do we do?"
Aiden leaned back in his chair.
"No idea."
"Great."
"I know."
Mia stared at the desk for a few seconds.
Then suddenly looked up.
"What if we prove her wrong?"
Aiden frowned.
"What?"
"Your mom."
"Mia."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"No, listen."
Aiden did, mostly because she looked determined, and determined Mia was difficult to argue with. If she thought his mom believed he was going to get distracted, then proving he wouldn't was actually a pretty good idea. Aiden blinked as the realization settled in. That... actually made sense, which was annoying, because Mia usually made sense.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying maybe we don't try to convince her with words."
Aiden looked interested now.
Mia smiled slightly.
"We convince her with actions."
For the first time all morning, Aiden felt something resembling hope. Unfortunately, Sophie arrived before they could continue. Naturally.
"What are we talking about?"
"Nothing."
"Something."
Sophie looked suspicious, then very suspicious, then excited, which was somehow worse. Five minutes later, she knew everything. Absolutely everything. By lunch, Noah knew everything too. Aiden regretted telling anyone immediately.
"This is perfect."
"It is not."
"It absolutely is."
"How?"
Noah pointed dramatically.
"You have a mission."
Aiden stared. Mia stared. Sophie stared. Noah looked very pleased with himself.
"Operation Approval."
The table went silent, then Mia laughed, then Sophie laughed, and then, despite himself, Aiden laughed too because it was ridiculous, completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, it was also kind of accurate. The rest of lunch was spent brainstorming ideas. Most of Noah's suggestions were terrible. One involved baking cookies, another involved making a presentation, and a third somehow involved a PowerPoint and dramatic music. Sophie wasn't much better. Eventually, Mia was forced to take control before the conversation got any more ridiculous. By the time lunch ended, they hadn't actually solved anything, but they did have a plan, sort of. A very loose plan. The goal was simple: prove to Aiden's mom that their relationship wasn't a distraction, that they were responsible, and that they were serious. The execution, however, was still a work in progress. After school, Aiden and Mia walked home together, and the conversation drifted from school to homework to the dance before eventually circling back to the real problem.
"Do you think she'll ever approve?"
Aiden looked at her.
Honestly.
"I don't know."
Mia nodded.
She appreciated that he wasn't pretending.
Then he smiled.
"But I think she'll eventually listen."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Mia smiled too. For a moment, things felt easier. Not solved. Just easier. Because whatever happened next, they were dealing with it together. As they reached the corner where they usually split up, Mia stopped walking.
"Aiden."
"Yeah?"
"We'll figure it out."
The words sounded familiar.
Aiden smiled.
"Together?"
Mia laughed.
"Together."
And for the first time since his mother found out, Aiden felt like maybe the situation wasn't impossible after all. Difficult? Definitely. Annoying? Absolutely. But impossible? Maybe not. Because if there was one thing he'd learned over the past few months, it was that things somehow always felt easier when Mia was standing beside him.