"I can't believe this shit," I muttered to myself as I tended to Aiden's wounds.

We were in his house at God knows what time, and I was still recovering from the shock. If it weren't for the cuts and bruises on Aiden's face, I wouldn't have been sure that what went down tonight really happened.

After I got Aiden to calm down, I drove him home. As for David, one of his teammates had to drive him to the hospital. His face was all bruised up and I'm pretty sure he needed some stitches. He was barely conscious when they took him out of the house.

I shook my head, and whispered "I'm so sorry." I continued to clean Aiden's wounds even though there wasn't much left to do.

Aiden smiled at me and gently grabbed my wrist. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'd take a punch for you any day."

I snorted, mainly to keep tears from falling out of my eyes. "Then you're a very stupid boy."

He looked at me solemnly. "You know what happened tonight wasn't your fault, right?"

I turned away from him. If only you knew the truth.

Sensing that I didn't believe him, he cupped my cheek with his palm and turned me so I faced him again. "I'm serious. How could you have possibly known that David was going to be at that party drunk out of his mind?"

I got a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Guilt. It can be a nasty thing.

I have to tell him the truth.

I took his hands off of my face. "I did know he was going to be at that party," I almost whispered.

"What?" His face twisted in confusion.

I looked down again. Sighing, I readied myself. He's going to hate me when I'm done.

"Okay, hear me out. When I said we could have our first date, it was 99.9% because I really really wanted to spend the night with you. However, .1% of the reason was because I was concerned about David. You see, ever since I broke up with him, he's been partying non stop and acting recklessly. I was scared that he was leading himself down a dark path. And just because we're not together doesn't mean I can't care, right? Anyway, I always planned on going to the party, just to check up on him. But I didn't want to go alone. I wanted to be with someone who made me feel safe and never fails to make me happy. I also wanted someone who was strong enough to take him home should he not be able to do it himself. I know I shouldn't have used you like that and I know you probably hate me right now but I truly am sorry. I really care about you and I don't want to lose you Aiden."

I took a deep breath, regaining my energy after such a long speech. I dared myself to look up.

His face was blank, and I couldn't read any emotion. I had no idea what was going on in his head. He stayed silent for a few minutes, and I watched him in anticipation of what he might say.

Finally, he exhaled. "So...you used me?" His face still hid all emotions.

"For the party. But the rest of the date was real, I swear. I would've never agreed to the date if I didn't really like you."

I was met with silence again.

"Well, none of that matters now. I would still take a punch for you any day my cupcake," he said, clenching his jaw. I still couldn't decipher how he was feeling, so I didn't really know how to process what was happening.

Suddenly, he got up and started to walk away. Before I knew it, I was up as well and chasing after him. I grabbed him by his shoulder to stop him, and urged him to turn around.

I stared at him, desperately trying to understand what was going on through his mind. When I realized it was futile, I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him.

At first he stilled at my touch, but soon he returned my kiss with such intensity that it made my toes curl. It was a desperate kiss, and I could feel the need radiating off of him. I was pretty sure that my desperation matched his.

Aiden ran his tongue across my bottom lip and I parted them, granted him access. Our tongues danced in desire and need, and everything else in that moment didn't matter. It was only Aiden and I.

All too soon, his hands were on my shoulders as he pushed me away. I looked into his eyes, and whatever walls he had up before were now down. They were filled with hurt and they glistened with unshed tears.

Without another word, he walked away. I watched his retreating form go up the stairs, and I felt tears burning the back of my eyes.

I really fucked up this time.

Feeling defeated and remembering that I had no way of getting home, I walked back to the couch. When I was as comfortable as I would get, I let the tears that seared the back of my eyes fall freely. Aiden had every right to be mad at me, I bring trouble and pain into the lives of everyone that I care about.

Somewhere between the tears and self-loathing, I drifted into sleep.

-

I opened my eyes slowly, confused. Why aren't I in my bed? Closing my eyes, rubbing them, and opening them again I realized where I was and groaned.

Looking around, I didn't see or hear any signs of Aiden being downstairs. He probably doesn't want to be within a mile of me right now, and I respect it. I really should have thought out my plan more. What I did was really stupid. I've always known how to mess up a good thing.

I pulled out my phone and thought of who I could call. Trey? No, he probably already knows what happened last night and is ready to tear into me. I'm not ready for whatever hurtful things he has to say to me this time.

Wow, that only leaves Bianca. Calling my mom is totally out of the question. If she knows that I spent the night at a guy's house yet again I'd be grounded until the end of time.

I started dialing her number when I saw Aiden out of the corner of my eye. I froze.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting a ride. Don't worry I'll be gone soon." I didn't look at him.

There was silence. I felt the couch sink down next to me, but I still kept myself from looking at him. He put his hand on my chin and turned my head towards him. When I finally looked at him, he wore a look of confusion on his face. I mentally sighed with relief. Confusion is better than anger.

"Can you not be so scared of me? You're acting like you expect me to beat you any second."

I felt heat on my cheeks. "I-I'm not scared of you, I just know that you're mad at me after last night."

He frowned. "I'm not mad at you. Hurt, definitely. But I'm not mad. I can't stay mad at you. I still really like you, last night didn't change anything."

This time, my sigh of relief wasn't in my head. "Really?"

Aiden smiled at me and cupped my cheeks. "Of course. You'll have to do worse if you really want to get rid of me.

I laughed, and then looked into his eyes, drinking in the look of adoration he was giving me. "I really like you too Aiden."

He smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips that made my pulse quicken. Then, he got up and started walking to the front door.

"Come on, let's get you home."

-

When we pulled up to my house, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and promised I would talk to him soon. He didn't pull off until I was inside the house. I watched him leave, and then I walked into the living room.

I got there, and I stopped short in my steps. My mother and Tremaine were sitting on the couch having what seemed like a normal conversation. But the tension in the room was so thick, there was obviously something wrong.

Trey saw me first, and he wiped the smile off of his face. "Hey," he said icily.

I gulped. He definitely knows what happened last night.

My mother followed his gaze. "Oh, honey you're home! Where were you all night? Actually, it doesn't matter. Are you okay sweetie?" she rambled off.

"I'm fine mom. What's this about?" I asked gesturing to Trey.

"I'm here to take you to the hospital," he said with the same icy tone.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "For what?"

"David wants to talk to you."

-

I reluctantly got into the car with Trey, and now we were riding in a thick, crushing silence.

"Why did you do it?" he suddenly broke the silence. I noted that the icy tone was now gone, but I knew that he was still upset with me.

"What?"

"Don't play stupid. Why did you go to that party with Aiden? You knew David was going to be there."

I slumped in my seat. "I didn't think it through. I certainly didn't think that anyone would get hurt."

He sighed. "It's still your fault, but them fighting was inevitable. I knew it was going to happen eventually."

I didn't respond, and pretty soon we were at the hospital. I followed him inside and watched as he got permission to go to David's room. It was then that I started to panic a little. Why did he want to see me, after all this pain that I caused him? This couldn't be good.

When we walked into the room, I had to hold my mouth to keep from gasping. David looked a lot worse than Aiden did.

David had stitches on his cheek and his bottom lip and a nasty black eye. I knew that couldn't have been the extent of his injuries because he definitely wouldn't still be here if that was the worst of it.

When he saw me, he smiled. "You made it."

I gave him a weak smile in return. "Yeah." Why am I so nervous?

Maybe because you're the reason he's in the hospital right now. My inner voice explained.

Oh yeah.

"I'll be outside," I heard Trey say from behind me.

David looked at him and said thanks before returning his gaze to me. I found myself walking over to him and sitting down at the edge of his bed.

"So, how bad is it?"

He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, confused, but when he realized what I was talking about he chuckled. "Oh, I just have some cuts, bruises, and a few broken ribs. It's nothing." he shrugged it off.

My mouth dropped to the floor. "He broke your ribs?! Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking sorry this is all my fault. You didn't deserve this."

He only laughed again. "Trace relax! It's not your fault, I was the one acting like an idiot last night. Plus, they've got me drugged up so I don't feel a think." he tapped his IV, smiling.

I shook my head furiously. "If it wasn't for me showing up to that party with Aiden you wouldn't be here right now."

David sighed, the smile leaving his face. "To be totally honest, the way I've been going lately I would've ended up here with alcohol poisoning sooner or later."

"See, that's why I had to check up on you last night. I knew something bad was going to happen."

His eyes lit up. "You went to the party to check up on me?"

I smiled. "Of course you idiot, just because you're my ex doesn't mean I don't still love and care about you. I just didn't know what to do because you shut me out," I said sadly.

He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry for being so terrible towards you lately. Me being hurt isn't enough of a reason for me to treat you badly. I still care about you too, and I know you only wanted to stay friends."

I smiled, fighting back the tears I felt in my eyes. "So what do you say? Can we be friends again?"

He smiled back at me. "It's going to take a while to get over everything, but yeah. I still want you in my life Trace."

I squealed and wrapped my arms around him, careful not to touch any of his injuries. He laughed and hugged me back.

"You're really something Tracey."

___________________

So what did you guys think?

I'm not going to ask a million questions this time, but I hope you enjoyed it! Comment, follow, vote, anything if you did (:

See you next Sunday!

-Theaa (:

*Song for this chapter is Hallelujah by Panic! At The Disco because they're an amazing band, amiright? AND I think that this song is about acknowledging that we're not perfect, but trying to become better. I might be totally off with my interpretation, but who cares it's still a good song.