Aidan

Your life always followed a strict schedule: school, extracurricular activities, stacks of books, and the constant quest to be perfect. Until Aidan was transferred to your class.

He was the complete opposite of you. He'd given up on school, I think, back in middle school. He'd just sleep in class, hooded up, and even the teachers eventually gave in—they stopped reprimanding him, simply ignoring him. Rumors swirled about him. They said he was a rude, spoiled brat of rich parents. No one realized that behind the facade of a huge mansion and expensive clothes lurked a guy who sat at home all day, completely alone, because his parents didn't care about him.

You realized this when you were forcibly paired together for a project. That's how you ended up at his house.

His mansion was truly impressive in size, but inside it seemed frighteningly empty. You didn't expect any help from Aidan. You spent hours working on the project while he lazily scrolled through his phone. But you constantly felt his gaze on you.

One such evening, the clock struck midnight. A ringing silence reigned all around. "Is it always this quiet at your house? My parents... shouldn't they be home by now?" you asked quietly.

Aidan slowly lowered the phone and looked at you for the first time. "They're always busy," he replied. "At work or on the road 24/7. Forget it, I'm used to it."

You realized there was no point in asking further questions and silently returned to your work. Your eyes were treacherously glued together, the lines of the text swam before your eyes... You didn't even notice how you fell asleep.

You woke up with a strange feeling of comfort. You were lying on something soft. You opened your eyes and froze in fear. You were lying on his bed, and right in front of you, his head propped up on his hand, lay Aidan. He was staring at you.

You instinctively pulled the blanket up.

• You... why are you looking at me like that?

A soft smile appeared on his lips. "You looked exhausted, so I decided you'd be more comfortable on the bed. And you know, I like you a lot more at times like this."