The next week was peaceful. Suspiciously peaceful. After the disaster of the group project fight, Aiden and Mia seemed determined not to repeat the experience. They texted more, talked more, and made an effort to actually tell each other when something was bothering them. It was working surprisingly well. In fact, things were going so well that Noah became concerned. According to him, they were "being too normal." Nobody knew what that meant, not even Noah. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from saying it.
"This is weird."
Aiden looked up from his lunch.
"What is?"
"You two."
Mia blinked.
"What did we do?"
"Exactly."
Neither understood.
Noah pointed dramatically.
"You haven't argued all week."
A pause followed before Sophie nodded.
"That's actually true."
Aiden stared at both of them.
"Most couples don't argue for fun."
Noah looked unconvinced.
"I don't trust it."
"Nobody asked you."
"Still."
At that exact moment, Ava appeared beside the table. Again. As usual. Nobody knew where she came from anymore. She simply showed up whenever there was gossip.
"They're definitely going to argue about something soon."
"Can everyone stop predicting our relationship?"
"No."
Aiden sighed because apparently that wasn't an option.
The conversation eventually moved on, but Noah's words stayed in the back of Aiden's mind. Not because he agreed with them, because he didn't. Things were good. Really good. The jealousy issue was over. The project was nearly finished. His mother was slowly becoming less terrifying whenever Mia's name came up. Everything felt normal again. Which was exactly why he wasn't prepared for what happened on Thursday afternoon.
It started with a text. A completely harmless text. At least, that's what Mia thought.
Mia: Can't hang out after school today :(
Aiden: Why?
A few minutes passed.
Mia: Family thing.
Aiden frowned. That was it. Just "family thing." Normally, he wouldn't think much of it. Normally. Unfortunately, later that day, he happened to walk past Sophie in the hallway.
"Mia's been talking about tonight all week."
Aiden stopped walking.
"What?"
Sophie froze immediately. The way people froze when they realized they'd accidentally revealed information they probably weren't supposed to reveal.
"Nothing."
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"Sophie."
"Nothing."
"Sophie."
Sophie sighed.
Then gave up.
"Her cousin's birthday dinner."
Aiden blinked.
"Oh."
That wasn't suspicious. Not really. But it did raise a question. If Mia was excited about it, why hadn't she just said that? The thought stuck with him longer than it should have. By the end of the school day, he was still thinking about it, which was annoying because logically it didn't matter at all. Yet somehow, it bothered him a little. Not enough to be upset. Just enough to wonder.
That evening, Mia was getting ready to leave when her phone buzzed.
Aiden: Have fun tonight.
She smiled.
Mia: Thanks :)
A few seconds later, another message appeared.
Aiden: Sophie told me it's your cousin's birthday.
Mia froze.
"Oh no."
Her mother looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Which definitely meant something.
Mia looked back at her phone and immediately typed a reply.
Mia: Yeah.
A pause followed.
Then another message appeared.
Aiden: Why didn't you just tell me that?
The message wasn't angry. Not even close. Which somehow made it worse. Because now Mia felt guilty even though she hadn't actually done anything wrong. She honestly didn't know why she'd been vague about it. Maybe she'd been rushing between classes. Maybe she'd forgotten. Maybe she'd simply assumed it wasn't important. Whatever the reason, it suddenly looked strange now that Aiden had pointed it out.
Across town, Aiden sat staring at his phone, waiting for a response. Eventually, it arrived.
Mia: I don't know.
Aiden read the message, which raised even more questions than it answered. It wasn't enough to start a fight, definitely not enough for that, but it was enough to make both of them spend the rest of the evening thinking and overthinking. Because despite everything they'd learned from the last argument, they were still teenagers, and teenagers had a special talent for turning tiny problems into much bigger ones, even when they promised themselves they wouldn't.