Chapter 24

Krystina's POV
             FREE DAY!! I have a month left and I've gotten so much better that I can officially leave the hospital with a nurse. After a little bit of convincing and begging I managed to get Danni to be the chaperone, Talia, Frayia, Duncan and Sky all have this privilege too.

            "I vote we go to a club!" Frayia says grinding against Duncan. He steps back looking a little flustered and blushing, really Frayia, how could you not realize this guy is head-over-heels for you?

            "I second that." Sky says raising his hand.

            "I kinda wanna go to a karaoke bar." Talia says shrugging. I throw my hand up almost hitting Sky in the face.

            "I SECOND TALIA'S SUGGESTION!" Duncan laughs at me.

            "Wow, I think we should do that, Krystina is about to shit herself over here." Everyone laughs and I'm just smiling like an idiot.

            "So," Frayia looks at me, "Do you think Aubrey will come with us? Maybe let us borrow some clothes? I don't wanna be seen in this drab." She says pulling at her shirt. I laugh and turn to Danni.

            "Can you take us to her house?" Danni laughs and nods.

            "Sure thing, if you want I have clothes too. Actually." She looks at Sky and Duncan. "I think it's best if we just go to your house Krystina. Cause there they also have clothes to make you boys took decent." Sky crosses his arms over his chest.

            "I'm hot even in this shit." Every one laughs and I can't help but junk around.

            "Can we go now?" Danni looks at her watch.

            "Yes we can! Let's get the move on!" I yell in excitement and everyone around me asks similar questions, 'what fucking kinda noise was that?' And my answer was the same to all of them, "excited noises." We all pile into the van, Sky called shotgun.

            Soon enough the radio turns on, "Hall of Fame" by The Script Featuring will.i.am, everyone including Danni sings along. Together singing we all sound really good except for Sky who is purposefully singing horribly off pitch in order to make us laugh. After the song ended I asked Danni to borrow her phone and I called Aiden.

            'Hello?'

            "AIDEN!"

            'Krystina? How the hell did you get a phone?'

            "It's Danni's, tonight a few of us are allowed to go out under supervision and we are all going to a karaoke bar."

            "MAYBE EVEN A CLUB AFTER!!" Frayia yells loudly.

            "God damn Frayia! He can hear you if you drop down the volume a few notches." She laughs and continues talking with Duncan.

            "So back to the subject, I was wondering if you wanted to come. Right now we're going over to your house."

            'Why?' I feel a blush rise to my cheeks.

            "I'm not gonna lie, I told everyone that we can borrow you guys' clothes but in all honestly I just really wanted to see you." Everyone in the van yells 'aww'. "Shut up all of you!" I head Aiden laugh over the phone.

            'So a big laundry day and horrible singing to see you again? I can deal. I'd love to come.'

            "Yay! We will be there in a few minutes."

            'Alright see you soon.' Just as I'm about to hang up I hear Aiden yell wait.

            "What?"

            'I love you.' I feel a blush rise to my cheeks.

Aiden's POV
'I love you too.'

            'Aww!!'

             'Shut up all of you, fucking annoying.'

             'Don't hate on us cause we think your romance with a not crazy boy is cute!' I hear someone yell. I can't help but laugh. 'Danni, I love you but shut up and drive.'

             I hear someone laugh, I assume Danni. 'We'll see you soon ok?'

            "Alright, you better not be afraid to give me a kiss in front of your friends." I laugh and I hear her sigh.

            'I'm not afraid of my friends I would do way more than kiss, I could have sex with you in front of them and I wouldn't care.' I honestly don't know what to say at this point.

            'FUCK!' I jump lightly, 'you were right.' Some guy.

            'Told ya! Now 5 bucks Sky.' Sky. That sounds familiar.

            "What just happened?"

            'I bet everyone that I could make you just stand there awkwardly quiet. Everyone except Talia owes me five dollars.' I laugh and sigh.

            "You're crazy. I'm gonna hang up now and tell everyone you're on your way."

            'Ok see you soon.' She hangs up the phone and I laugh to myself. That girl is fucking crazy. I run upstairs and go into Aubrey's room to see Hayden and Aubrey wrestling on the floor, I look up and see Ellie sitting on the bed watching them.

            "Who are you betting on Ellie?" She laughs and points at Aubrey. I laugh and kneel down. "Why are you two on the floor fighting?" Aubrey pulls her arm out of Hayden's grasp holding up an Oreo.

            "Ellie gave us the last Oreo. I want it." Hayden looks down at her.

            "What if I want it?" Idea, I want that fucking Oreo.

            "Krystina and some friends are on their way here." Aubrey and Hayden stand up.

            "Really?" Aubrey asks. I nod, grab the Oreo, shove it in my mouth and chew. Aubrey's mouth drops open, Ellie starts laughing and Hayden sighs heavily.

            "Yes really." I say after I swallow the Oreo. "They're going to a karaoke bar and possibly a club after. They need to borrow clothes and we're invited." Aubrey smiles. "No drinking for you." I point at her and her face drops.

            "Fine, but when are they gonna be here?" Just then I hear the doorbell ring.

            "Now, go tell mom the stuff." She gives me a confused face and I run down the stairs. I open the door and Krystina runs in hugging me rightly. "Hey."

            "Hi." She pulls away and kisses me. I kiss her back and when she pulls away she intertwines her hand with mine and introduces me to everyone. "This is Danni, our group counselor, person thingy." She gestures her hand to a girl about our age, light brown hair put into a messy bun.

            "This is Frayia." She is unhealthy skinny with tanned skin, light brown hair and deep green eyes.

            "Talia."  She's taller than Krystina by about 3 inches, has shoulder length raven black hair, and tan. She's not as skinny as Frayia but still unhealthy skinny.

            "Sky." Why does he sound familiar? He's about my height, blonde hair and hazel eyes, not as built at Hayden or me but if given the chance he very well could be.

            "And Duncan." Really thin guy, he's slightly smaller than Krystina. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

            "Hey everyone, I'm Aiden."

            "Oh we know," Talia says looking at me, "Krystina never shuts up about you. The way she described you I expected you a bit shorter." I look down at Krystina.

            "I'm not good at guessing this stuff alright?" I laugh with everyone else and soon Aubrey runs down.

            "Krystina!"

            "Aubrey!" Aubrey runs to Krystina and pulls her into a hug, Hayden is holding Ellie and Jonas is walking behind him. Krystina and Aubrey pull apart and as Aubrey introduces herself to everyone personally, Hayden hugs Krystina. Soon enough my mom walks down the stairs.

            "Krystina." Krystina walks over to her and hugs her.

            "Hi Nina." They pull away from the hug and my mom grabs Krystina's hand.

            "You look so beautiful. You're getting more of a healthy figure." Krystina laughs.

            "Yeah they feed us all a lot."

            "So who are all you?" Krystina introduces everyone to my mom, Hayden, Ellie and Jonas, Aubrey walks up to me.

            "You happy she's here?"

            "Most definitely, and I'm happy to see she's making friends."

            "I'm happy to see that she's actually smiling." I nod and Krystina looks over at me smiling for a few seconds then back at Ellie.

            "Me too."

Aubrey's POV
             All the girls went up to my room and the guys went to Aiden's room, my closet is so trashed, but that was my fault. I literally threw everything out of my closet. I picked my outfit and now I am waiting for the rest of the girls to pick.

            I picked a pink and black strapless dress; it clung to my hips and chest. Krystina picked a teal blue dress that really showed off what curves she had; it was knee length strapless and had a slight slit up the side.

            Frayia chose a backless purple dress that reached mid thigh, I'm surprised my clothes fit her; she's way skinnier than me. Danni decided on a lime green dress that ruffled past the hips and reached knee length.

            Talia was the only one to chose a dress that even I haven't worn, a black and white dress that had 'poof' from the waist down to her knees, it actually looked really good on her, I walked up to her and zipped it up for her. "When you get outta the hospital you should take this to keep. It looks so much better on you than me." She looks down at it and smiles at me.

            "Really?" I nod. "Thanks Aubrey." I clap my hands and reach for a drawer under my bed.

            "Now for shoes!"

Hayden's POV
             After Ms. Masters said she's watch Ellie and Jonas for me I felt really excited, I haven't been to a club in a long time. Aiden, Sky, Duncan and I were in Aiden's room trying to find clothes that fit Duncan. Sky fit mine and Aiden's clothes easily, he chose what he wanted to wear, changed and is ready, Aiden was dressed and ready to go, it was just Duncan and I that weren't quite ready.

            "Gimme a second." Aiden say and steps out of the room.

            "Sorry for the hassle guys." Duncan says giving us a sad look.

            "It's totally fine bro." Just then Aiden walks in hesitantly gripping the clothes in his hands. I stand up straight. "Ashton's?" Aiden nods and hands it to Duncan.

            "It was his freshman dance. He was a bit bigger than you are but they should be a better fit."

            "Are you sure?" Duncan asks just holding the clothes.

            "Yeah." Duncan takes off the shirt he had on and put on Ashton's shirt.

            "It fits." I say looking at Aiden. He nods and smiles at Duncan.

            "Great, now Hayden get your ass in gear and get ready." I scoff, grab my clothes that I put aside and walk to the bathroom, just as I'm about to go in the door opens and Aubrey walks out.

            "Wow." She laughs and looks up at me.

            "So I'm guessing I look good?" I nod and pull her in for a kiss.

            "You look beautiful." She smiles and lifts her straightener and curler in one hand.

            "I should go get the rest if the girls ready. We'll meet you guys in the living room." I nod and as she walks away I grab her arm and pull her into another kiss. She pulled away and gave me a questioning look.

            "Just had to do it, not that sorry about it." She smiles and walks back into her room, I look inside and see Krystina in a dress that really suits her. The door closes and I go into the bathroom to change and pee.
~~~
             Duncan, Sky and Jonas are playing something on the Xbox; Aiden is in the kitchen with me. Ellie is in my arms asleep on my shoulder so we are talking quietly.

            "So what do you think?" Aiden asks with concern.

            "Well, I personally think you should tell her. She's there to get better, there's a chance she can come back later but at least she'll be aware of the situation and be careful." Aiden just told me about the situation with Krystina and her past.

            "But that could lead to anxiety or paranoia." "Aiden, it's really up to you. Do you wanna put her in danger by not telling her or give her some anxiety because she knows of the danger?" Aiden sighs and looks behind me; I turn around and see Aubrey and Krystina standing by the entrance of the kitchen.

            Krystina's black hair is wrapped into a messy and curled side ponytail, she has on the wedges she wore when she came out last time and the blue dress she wore reached her knees and had a slit up the right side. Her makeup was simple just like Aubrey's both had silver eye shadow, black eyeliner and pink lip gloss.

            Aubrey looks absolutely amazing in her pink and black dress, it showed off enough to get second glances but not enough to make her look like a slur. She wore black heels that she wore at her graduation. Krystina walks over to Aiden and gives him a kiss.

            "You look amazing." Krystina laughs and wipes his lips; I'm guessing she got some lip gloss on him.

            "Thanks, but you really should be thanking Aubrey." She smiles at Aubrey and Aubrey nods and walks over to me.

            "Let's put Ellie to bed." I nod and hold her hand while we walk into the living room; Duncan is basically drooling over Frayia. Danni, Sky and Talia are all taking to Jonas. All the girls actually look really nice, it kind of makes me wonder if all the good looking girls in the world are crazy in a sense. Aubrey and I walk upstairs and into her room, Aubrey moves the covers on her bed and I lay Ellie down. Aubrey grabs Ellie's Pooh stuffed animal and wraps her arm around it. She pulls the covers over Ellie and tucks her in, just watching Aubrey take care of Ellie makes me realize just how amazing she really is. Ellie isn't even hers and we have only been together about 4 months, she's selfless, caring and compassionate, values that are really hard to find in a girl.

            "Night Ellie." Aubrey kisses Ellie's head and grabs my hand. I lean down and kiss Ellie's head, "You're some specimen to make a cute little thing." I laugh lightly and nod.

            "Yeah well, as much as I love Ellie I really wish I could have had her later in life." I feel Aubrey pull me into a hug.

            "Life's full of choices, at least that choice had something good come out of it." She looks up at me and smiles, "Ellie keeps you sane." I laugh lightly and nod.

            "Yeah, and you drive me insane." She pushes me away lightly and we walk out of her room. I look down the hall and see Aiden inside Ashton's room. I grab Aubrey's hand and when she looks at me I point to Ashton's room. She looks over and sighs.

            "I really wish he wouldn't torture himself." I pull Aubrey with me and we walk into Ashton's room, Aiden has his arms around Krystina and she is rubbing his back in a comforting way. Aubrey pulls me away quietly and we head downstairs, Aiden might actually be talking about it. He needs someone to talk to and I'm happy that Krystina is there for him.

Aiden's POV
             When I saw Krystina in that dress I'm not gonna lie I was a little 'happier' than expected. Since she's been in the psych ward she's gained enough weight to look healthy and she had an ideal body of any 'sexy' girl. She had an amazing figure; it kinda makes me wonder if Aubrey would look the same if she gained a little bit of weight, or even her friends Frayia and Talia.

            "So what do you think?" She asks moving from left to right. I'm not sure she's aware of just how much she's got me going.

            "You look amazing." I can hide it, just as long as she keeps some distance.

            "Do you want me to change?" I tilt my head slightly.

            "Um, why would I want you to change?" She gave me a slight smile and I see her cheeks turn pink.

            "Aiden, remember?" I raise my eyebrows and shake my head slightly. "Aiden, psychic remember? Empathy to be more specific." I laugh lightly and nod. "I'm fine with changing; I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." I shake my head.

            "I'll be fine, you look amazing. I get to show you off and claim you as my own." She laughs and grabs my hand.

            "No peeing on me." I laugh with her and pull her into a hug.

            "I'm not gonna mark my territory. Just want people to know you're mine." She laughs and pulls away from the hug.

            "Don't try anything either. I bet ten dollars I'd beat your ass." I laugh uncomfortably and rub the back of my neck.

            "Yeah I bet you could." Her face grows serious.

            "What's up?" I sigh and pull her upstairs, I'm about to walk into my room but slowly take her into Ashton's room. "Who's room is this?" I sigh and sit on the bed.

            "My brother's." Krystina kneels in front of me, placing her hands on my knees.

            "Is there a reason you brought me to this room? I know you're a bit uncomfortable here." I sigh and put my hands on top of hers.

            "Just hoping he heard my call for help." She stands up and sits on my lap, I wasn't expecting it at all but I don't think she was planning on doing it.

            "Aiden you know I'm here for you. If you ever need help just ask me, I don't remember much of life experiences but I'll do my best." She kisses me lightly and runs her hand through my hair. "I'm always here for you." I smile and nod.

            "Would you get mad if I told you something about your past?" She shakes her head.
"I'm willing to hear anything about my past. Good or bad." I sigh and nod.

            "Well I'm gonna tell you now it's bad." I look into her deep brown eyes, I feel myself wanting to tell her everything. "You know how to fight really well, almost professional. I found out the reason why earlier, Aubrey told me. Your birth dad was a drug lord and he taught you how to fight to defend yourself." I can't seem to stop talking, this is all I wanted to tell her but it feels good to vent everything. "Your birth dad died after your brother Brody killed himself. Turns out your dad ripped people off and to get back at him people tried to kill you and Brody. He died in a gun fight, then you and your mom moved here." Krystina stands up and walks to Ashton's dresser. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to tell you all of this." She shakes her head and sighs.

            "I'm happy you did. It helps me learn a little bit about myself." She turns to me, "Is that why drug abuse was written on my records?" I nod and she sighs. "Well this isn't exactly the highlight of my night." I stand up.

            "I'm sorry Krystina. I-"

            "Don't worry about it." She holds out her arms, "but I really could use a hug right now." I smile and walk up to her pulling her into a hug.

            I hate everything that's happened in her life, I hate that I can't help her. I hate the fact that she's an amazing, one of a kind girl that has had to deal with terrible things that don't involve her at all. She pulls away from the hug and sighs.

            "Thanks Aiden." She looks up at me, "I'm happy you didn't keep this from me. I needed to know." I smiles and put my hand under her chin and kiss her. When I pull away from the kiss she rests her head on my chest, I wrap my arms around her.

            "I'll do anything to protect you Krystina. I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you." She looks up at me and smiles.

            "I love you." I smile and kiss her forehead.

            "I love you too." I let go of her and grab her hand, "You ready for a party then?" She laughs and nods.

            "Let's go. You better sing." I laugh and shake my head.

            "I'm not much of a singer, I sing in the shower and in the car, that's it." She laughs and we walk out of Ashton's room.

            "Wait." She stops and walks back into Ashton's room, when she walks out she pulls out a letter. 'Aiden and Aubrey'.

            "Where did you find this?" She shrugs her shoulders.

            "I just had an urge to look behind the picture collages of you, Ashton, Aubrey, Hayden, and your mom and dad. I didn't mean to jump any boundaries but I couldn't leave until I found this." Hayden walks up the stairs and waves at us.

            "You guys ready to go?" I look over at him and nod.

            "Yeah, we'll be down in a second." Hayden nods and walks back down the stairs. "When did you feel like you had to find it?" Krystina shrugs her shoulders.

            "As soon as we walked out of the room I just had a feeling I had to go back inside the room. Then I had the urge to walk over to the collage board and when I lifted it, there it was." I look down at the letter, I haven't seen Ashton's writing in forever. "Are you upset with me?" I look at her and kiss her forehead.

            "Not at all." I grab the bag she's holding and set the letter inside. "Thank you for finding it." I hand her back the bag and she smiles at me. "Now let's go before people carry us out." She laughs and grabs my hand. I officially believe Krystina was brought into our lives for a reason, Aubrey wouldn't be alive, she wouldn't be happy, I'd be lost, we never would have found this letter, Hayden might have lost Ellie and Jonas. A whole list of things could have been different for the worse if she didn't come into our lives.

            She's literally our guardian angel in disguise. My angel. I look over at her, the moonlight illuminating her fair skin, her eyes seem to glisten at night. The dark of night always seemed more beautiful than the brightest of days, I think Krystina is that way as well. No matter what darkness has happened in the past or is buried within her, she's an amazing and beautiful girl. I doubt she would be the way she is now if she was never affected by this shit.

            "I've always liked the moon." She says suddenly. I smile and lean closer to her.

            "Why?" She turns to look at me.

            "The beauty of the night is illuminated by many stars millions of miles away, yet they make an amazing impact. It's dark but the light from the stars and the moon illuminate truly beautiful things." I smile and kiss her cheek.

            "It's like you took the words out of my mouth." She looks down and intertwines her fingers with mine. "You're the moon in my life." She looks at me with a slight smile, "Believe it or not I'm not as happy as I seem. I'm lost, but you're helping me find my way."

            "To where?" She smiles wide and I can't help but smile back.

            "Ihonestly don't know where to, but as long as you're there, I don't care howlong the journey is." I lean in to kiss her when I hear Hayden laugh.Krystina and I look over at him.
"Dude you're fucking whipped." I see Aubrey hit him and everyone elsein the van laughs. I kiss Krystina on the cheek and lean back in my seat. I'mperfectly fine with being whipped for this girl.

?/CW