The problem with overthinking was that once it started, it was very difficult to stop. Aiden spent the entire weekend trying to convince himself that Mia's vague answer didn't matter because it didn't. Probably. Maybe. Unfortunately, every time he thought he'd finally moved on, something happened that made him think about it again. First, Mia kept texting Sophie during lunch. Then she disappeared with Sophie after school on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, Aiden walked past an empty classroom and spotted Mia, Sophie, Noah, and, most suspiciously, Ava all gathered around a desk. The moment they saw him, the door slammed shut. Which was not suspicious at all. Not even a little.
Later that afternoon, Aiden found Noah sitting alone outside.
"What's going on?"
Noah immediately looked nervous.
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"You know something."
"No."
"You do."
"No."
"You absolutely do."
Noah stood up.
"I have somewhere to be."
"A minute ago you were sitting on the floor."
"I have an appointment."
"With who?"
"My floor."
Aiden stared.
Noah walked away.
Very quickly.
Which somehow made everything worse.
By Wednesday, Aiden was officially confused. Not upset. Not angry. Just confused. Mia was acting completely normal whenever they were together. She still texted him. She still spent time with him. She still laughed at his terrible jokes. Yet every now and then she'd suddenly disappear with Sophie, or Ava would start acting suspicious, or Noah would run away whenever Aiden asked questions. At this point, he was beginning to feel like everyone knew something he didn't.
That afternoon, he finally confronted Mia.
"Mia."
"Yeah?"
"What are you hiding?"
Mia froze for only a second, but Aiden noticed immediately.
"What?"
"What are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Mia."
"I'm not."
"You are."
She crossed her arms.
"I'm not."
"You literally froze."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Mia looked away.
Which was not helping her case.
At all.
Aiden stared.
Mia stared back.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then
"It's a surprise."
Aiden blinked.
"What?"
"It's a surprise."
Now he was even more confused.
"A surprise?"
"Yes."
"For who?"
Mia immediately realized her mistake, but it was already too late, way too late. Aiden's eyes widened.
"For me?"
"No."
"That sounded like it was for me."
"It wasn't."
"It absolutely was."
Mia groaned because somehow she'd managed to make everything worse. Again. Aiden couldn't stop smiling now, which was extremely annoying from her perspective.
"You're planning something."
"No."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You just admitted it."
Mia dropped her head into her hands.
"I hate you."
Aiden looked delighted.
"No you don't."
Unfortunately, he was right. That evening, Mia immediately called Sophie.
"He knows."
Sophie's voice nearly exploded through the phone.
"WHAT?"
"He doesn't know."
"Then why are you panicking?"
"Because he sort of knows."
"Mia."
"I accidentally told him it was a surprise."
A long silence followed.
Then
"MIA."
"I KNOW."
Across town, Noah received approximately twelve messages in under a minute.
Sophie: SHE TOLD HIM.
Noah: SHE WHAT?
Sophie: SHE TOLD HIM.
Noah: HOW?
Sophie: BECAUSE SHE'S MIA.
Noah: Fair.
Meanwhile, Aiden sat in his room staring at his phone. At this point, he knew two things. First, everyone was definitely hiding something from him. Second, whatever it was had something to do with him. Unfortunately, that knowledge only made him more curious. He considered asking Ava. Then immediately remembered that Ava would never tell him anything useful. He considered asking Noah again. That would be even worse. So instead, he did the only thing he could do. He waited. And waited. And waited. The problem was that patience had never been one of Aiden Scott's strengths.
And somewhere across town, Mia was beginning to realize that keeping a surprise secret from Aiden might be far more difficult than planning the surprise itself.