Sitting on the floor, they allowed the last laughs to escape their lips. Sighing, Aiden lifted himself from the ground. He held his hands out and she took them, feeling the weight leave her body as she was lifted to a standing position. They stood, facing each other, hands still clasped together.

"I trust you know where to look for pajamas," Aiden remarked.

She giggled.

"Axel's closet?" she questioned teasingly.

He groaned, shaking his head and grinning at her playful manner.

"You are unbelievable. Only wear my clothes, okay?"

Her lips dove into an exaggerated pout. Aiden, as always, found this move incredibly sexy.

"But what about my clothes?"

His grin widened.

"Fine. Only my clothes and your clothes, deal?"

He leaned down to her eye level, his breath mingling with hers.

"Deal."

Reaching her lips, they met in a chaste kiss. Though it was short, they both felt the connection forming in a bond of endearing love.

"Now go change, I'll be waiting," he smiled, patting her butt as she made her way to his closet. She jumped a little at his touch, giggling.

Emily relaxed on the bed as she waited for Aiden to finish brushing his teeth. He graciously let her use his toothbrush. Her eyes drooped. Feeling tired without Aiden around to enliven her spirits, she rested her head on the pillow.

"Miss me?"

Aiden came out of bathroom. His white shirt stretched across his frame. 

"I did," she replied, yawning.

He sauntered over to her and plopped on the bed. Tilting his head back, he caught her staring at him.

She lifted herself to her elbows, moving so that her head was directly above him. She gently laid her lips on his in a sweet kiss.

Pulling away, Emily sat back on the bed. Aiden pulled up the covers and got comfortable. He motioned for her to join him. She obliged, dropping her head on his shoulder. 

His arm around her, he traced little circles on her wrist, causing her to shiver.

After a moment of silence, Emily felt the need to start a conversation.

"Who is Sam?"

He puffed out a laugh at her bluntness.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked. "This bad boy persona you love may crumble."

She smacked his chest lightly.

"Of course I do. I'll care for you, even if you're not the player you seem to be."

"Okay then," she watched as his lips formed a straight line.

His chest rose and sunk as he breathed steadily. The light from the nightstand caused their figures to silhouette on the comforter.

"Sam and I dated for two and a half years. We met at a soccer camp during my freshman year. She was one of the camp counselors that helped train me. One time, she knocked me in the head with the ball for goofing off and I got a concussion," he laughed. "She would always sneak off to my dorm at night so we could..."

Emily gasped a little at his innuendo. He gave her a sideways smile, scratching the back of his head with his hand.

"How old was she?" she asked.

"Oh, she was a senior at the time. She took up counseling as a summer job."

"Ah," she didn't think that made it any better. "Continue."

He loosely wrapped his hand around her waist.

"Well anyway, I thought things were going great. We continued seeing each other after camp, she would visit from college. We started getting pretty serious, or at least, I was. On our two year anniversary, I even took her to a lake and, um, promised I'd marry her."

Emily felt nervous butterflies worriedly fluttering inside her. She knew this wouldn't have a happy ending.

"Oh Aiden..."

He sighed.

"Yeah, I even got her a ring. It wasn't much, but I spent a long time saving up for it. She looked so happy, I thought she was so happy," the pain was evident in his voice. "After that, her visits became more infrequent. I missed her so much, I made a surprise trip to her school. I brought flowers and everything. I went to her dorms and... her door was unlocked so I..."

A single tear rolled down his face. He brushed it off hastily.

"She was... sucking off... another guy. Apparently, she had been cheating on me with him for a year. I got beat up for... peeping. I couldn't even fight back. My heart just... broke. I... loved her."

He hated to admit how vulnerable he'd been. How weak...

"She just watched me with pity as I got pummeled to the ground. I tried to confront her later, but she just said it was over. After that I just... lost all sense of myself. I started going to the gym. I got really into boxing. I still practice in competitions sometimes. And when the women kept throwing themselves at me, I gave in. It helped me forget, little by little. I liked the new me, not the weak idiot I was before."

Emily squeezed into him. His stone-cold expression softened a little.

"And then I met you. I mean, you didn't notice me, but I did. I'd see you in the halls, all innocent and happy. It felt like I was seeing an image of my younger self. The same personality," he chuckled, gazing into her eyes. "But when I saw you staring at my brother, I saw the same thing happening. I knew if you fell for him your heart would get broken, just like mine."

She frowned. She thought Axel was still a pretty decent guy. But why did she care so much about Aiden's story?

"Your brother's a good person though," she responded.

He shook his head slowly.

"No, Emily, he's not. There have been many girls before you that thought the same thing. I haven't seen them around since Axel brought them to his room. They all left crying."

Emily's eyes widened. Was this true?

"Is that why you told me to give up on him at the party?"

He nodded.

"So, you were..." she paused.

"Protecting you," he grinned at the obvious presence of his usual manner. She had the ability to make him feel better immediately.

She smiled back at him.

"As always, my hero."

He laughed at her comment. She joined in laughter.

"Have you... seen her since?" she asked after the laughter died down.

He shook his head yet again.

"Nope. And I hope I never do. I wouldn't want seeing her to tear down everything I've built up."

She unconsciously pouted a little.

"I hope you can tear your walls down for me."

He rubbed the side of her arm comfortingly.

"I have, for the most part. There are still some things I need to work through."

She held him closer.

"We can work through them together."

He hummed. She wasn't quite sure if it was in agreement or as a simple acknowledgement of her words.

"Should we go to bed now?" he asked after a while of laying in silence.

"Yes," she replied.

They pushed themselves under the covers and he turned off the bedside lamp.

"Um... Aiden?"

"Yes?"

They stared into each other's eyes in the dark.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," he spoke.

She felt nervous again as she released the words.

"Why did you agree to help Penelope?" she asked quickly.

His face resembled slight embarrassment.

"Uh... honestly, I didn't know about her plan. That day Axel saw us, Penelope told me they had broken up and she wanted me. Before you came along, I was still so heartbroken from Sam that I... didn't resist. I thought if she wanted me and they were broken up it was fine. When she insisted on keeping it up for a while, I thought we were just sex friends."

She frowned up at him, confused.

"So the day she confessed about the plan..."

"I never knew. That was the first time I'd ever heard of her plan. But, I didn't really care if she used me. It's not like I wanted to be anything more than what we were."

Aiden glanced down at Emily's slightly parted lips. The surprise on her face was obvious. He could almost hear the gears turning in her brain.

Meanwhile, Emily was pissed. Penelope is such a dirty... no, she's not worth cursing over, she thought, mulling the information over in her mind.

"I'm so sorry, Aiden. This must have been so hard..."

He lifted his hand to her cheek, rubbing the skin tenderly.

"None of it matters anymore. I have you now, that's all I care about."

She smiled kindly. Her steady heart beat faster at his remark. Words itched to be released from her throat, but she couldn't utter a sound.

"Can we, hold each other tonight?" he asked, feeling slightly bare and vulnerable. He craved the comfort of her body heat.

"Of course," she replied sweetly.

He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, pulling her close to him.

They cuddled in each other's arms, letting the sound of their breaths and the warmth of their bodies drift them into a deep sleep.