The Trouble With Three

A/N: I got a few comments regarding Carly's reaction to the news that Aaron paid Kevin to be friends with her. It's sort of continued at the beginning of the chapter, but just to clear things up...no, she's not upset. It was many years ago, and they were eight years old!

Chapter 5 – Holiday in Connecticut

“I can’t believe you paid Kevin to be my friend! And I can’t believe you paid him…five dollars!” Carly cried out, punching Aaron in the arm. The duo had met up at the local mall’s food court. Aaron was eating a particularly greasy slice of pizza, while Carly was nibbling on a particularly greasy order of French fries.

“Five dollars was a lot when we were in second grade,” Aaron answered.

Carly rolled her eyes and grabbed another fry.

“You should’ve seen the look on that bastard’s face when I told you the truth!” Aaron pointed out. His hearty laughter rang out, and even though their conversation was being mostly drowned out by the sounds of other people, Carly could identify Aaron’s laugh in even the largest of crowds.

The revelation that Aaron had bribed Kevin into liking her was a surprise, but not in the way that the others had thought. Carly had always known that Aaron was the sweet one. Maybe he had felt sorry for Carly when she had first moved to Davenport, but whatever the reason, Aaron had gone the extra mile to make sure that Carly had a little extra happiness in her life.

Aaron regarded Carly through his intense gray eyes while sipping on his Coke. Carly gulped. Aaron had been looking at her this way more and more. It…confused her for one thing, and…ignited something else within her, as well.

“So, you’re good friends with Eden Halliwell now, are you?”

What a strange turn of conversation. “Huh?”

“You seem to be hanging out with Eden a lot.”

“Eden’s cool. She’s way cooler than any of the fake-bakes I knew in Cali.”

Aaron nodded. Carly sensed that Aaron wanted to say more but wouldn’t, in typical Aaron fashion.

“Any plans for Labor Day weekend?” he suddenly asked.

“Um, Eden’s taking me to New Haven to visit her cousin.”

“Oh.”

Was that a tinge of disappointment she detected in his voice? “What’s up, Aaron?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You’re too old not to tell me what you’re really thinking, Aaron Holt,” Carly replied sternly.

“It’s just…” Aaron began, scratching his head, “…I mean you’ve just gotten back, and I was hoping…that we could spend more time to…gether.”

“We are spending time together, silly!” Carly answered, gently slapping Aaron’s wrist. Aaron noticeably tensed at the slight contact, and Carly attempted to remove her hand. Aaron surprised her by covering her hand with his free one, leaving Carly speechless. Aaron’s touch wasn’t meant to be so intimate, but she couldn’t help the feeling that rose within her. The warmth of Aaron’s body seemed to collect in the hand that covered Carly’s, alone, so that that one point of contact practically…sizzled.

“I didn’t mean it that way, Carly,” Aaron answered in a deep voice.

This time, Carly pulled her hand out between Aaron’s hands and attempted to regain her composure. She felt really uncomfortable right now…like that day when Kevin had confronted her at her locker. What was going on with these guys?

“I should get going,” she managed pathetically, scooting abruptly out of her seat and nearly knocking her half-eaten fries over.

“Carly –

“I’ll see you in school tomorrow, Aaron…Bye.” Before Aaron could answer, Carly booked it out of the food court as fast as her long legs could carry her.

****

Aaron growled in frustration as he saw Carly descending the steps of the food court toward one of the mall exits. How could he have said that? Was he nuts? Why would he jeopardize a perfectly good friendship with the best girl in the world just because she was gorgeous and he wanted to date her and eventually marry her and…

Jesus. He was fucking nuts.

Aaron threw the rest of his dinner away. He didn’t have much of an appetite after being abandoned by Carly. He sat back down and ran his hand through his hair. He sighed as the truth sank in.

He was jealous of Eden Halliwell. Aaron had gone six long years without Carly, and the moment that she walked back into his life, she was spending all of her time with someone else. Aaron supposed he should have been happy that Carly hadn’t gone running back into Kevin’s arms, but still, how was he ever supposed to reveal his true feelings for Carly if she spent all of her time with Eden?

Aaron’s thoughts drifted back to the moment that Carly’s soft fingers had made contact with his warm hand. Aaron hadn’t intentionally placed his hand atop hers; it had happened sort of…instinctively, and while he didn’t regret it, he figured that it wasn’t the best move to place on someone so determined to reunite Kevin and him back together.

Her fingers were so delicate, and it surprised Aaron slightly. How could someone who liked the outdoors so much and loved playing sports so much still have such soft hands? Well, Carly always had that ability to surprise even her closest friends, he supposed.

Aaron secretly wished that he could tag along to New Haven. If Carly was going to have fun, he wanted to be with her. He loved hearing her laughter and loved seeing her enjoy life. But he wasn’t invited and didn’t think it would be very gentlemanly to request an invitation. It was Eden Halliwell’s affair after all, and he barely knew the girl.

His cell rang. He checked the caller ID, secretly hoping that Carly was up to talking to him again. Instead, he found a number he had never seen before flashing back at him.

“Hello?” he answered cautiously.

“Aaron? Hey, Aaron. It’s Eden.”

“Oh. Hey, Eden,” Aaron answered, trying not to show how weirded out he felt by having Eden Halliwell call his cell.

“I got your number from Carly. I’m sorry if that’s a little weird. I actually have a question to ask you.”

“O-kay.”

“Um…would you like to tag along to New Haven with Carly and me for Labor Day weekend?”

There was a God after all.

****

“You made it!”

Kevin hugged the small blonde imp in front of him. “How’s life, kid?”

She placed her hands on her hips and lifted her eyebrows. “My name’s Kaitlyn.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.”

Kaitlyn spun around and stomped over to the kitchen in her seven-year-old way. “Follow me!” she called out. “Mom! Kevin’s here.”

Kevin followed his half-sister into the kitchen. His stepmother was hunched over the stove, cooking something that smelled great. “Hey,” he called out over the sounds of cooking.

Lynette turned around at the sound of Kevin’s voice and smiled. “Hello, Kevin. You’re just in time for my stir-fry.”

“Thank God, I’m starved. D’you need any help?”

Lynette shook her head, Kevin pulled out a chair for Kaitlyn before taking a seat himself. Kevin’s head drifted toward the fridge, where some of Kaitlyn’s second-grade artwork was displayed. A feeling of longing formed in the pit of Kevin’s stomach. His father had never posted any of Kevin’s artwork on the fridge when he had been Kaitlyn’s age. No, Garrett and Caroline Maguire had been busy finalizing their divorce while Kevin had been in the second grade.

“When’s Daddy coming home, Mom?”

Lynette looked over her shoulder and smiled at her only daughter. “Soon, sweetheart.”

Kaitlyn looked thrilled. Too bad Kevin couldn’t share the sentiment. The only reason he still visited his father was to appease his mother and to visit his sister. Kevin also didn’t mind seeing Lynette, who was as wonderful a person as there ever was. Other than that, Kevin actually hated to see his father. He hated the awkward silences and knowing that his own Dad seemed to look forward to these meetings about as much as Kevin, himself, did.

“I’m home!” a deep voice called out from the garage door entrance.
Kevin heard the clink of keys hitting the table near the entrance. He decided that he would engage in some frivolous conversation with his little sister, but the brat had a different idea in mind. Kaitlyn scooted out of her seat and ran out the kitchen toward the garage door entrance.

“Oof,” Kevin heard his father say. “You’re getting way too big, Kaity.”

“No I’m not!” Kaitlyn protested. “I’m smaller than you!”

Kevin heard his father’s deep chuckle, and despite the warmth that it should have incited within Kevin…he could never remember a time when he hated his father more.

****

“Sorry it’s not more fun for you guys, but I wasn’t told to provide fake IDs.”

“That’s okay, Val,” Eden called out to her cousin. “None of us are for getting hammered over Labor Day weekend anyway…we’ll save that for spring break.”

Aaron chuckled, and Carly smiled weakly. The truth was she hadn’t had much of a sense of humor the entire weekend. Eden had sprung the news of the newest member of their entourage at the last minute, so of course, Carly didn’t have a chance to protest. Carly wondered why Eden had even bothered inviting Aaron in the first place.

“See ya later, kids,” Val called out, shutting the apartment door behind her.

“Your cousin’s pretty cool,” Aaron commented. “It was real cool of her to have us all over.”

“She’s about the only member of my family who isn’t a total loser,” Eden grumbled. She clicked the remote at lightning speed until she landed on a rerun of “Saturday Night Live” hosted by Tom Brady. “Ugh,” she complained, “don’t get me started on athletes trying to do comedy.”

“I like Tom Brady,” Carly chimed in.

“Of course you do,” Eden answered. Despite Eden’s protestations, she continued to watch the show in intrigued silence, paying particular attention to the sketch where the New England Patriot was clad only in big boy briefs and a dress shirt.

Carly tried paying attention to the show; she hadn’t been kidding when she had said that she liked Tom Brady, but the fact that Aaron had been staring at her the entire program was making her more than a little edgy. She caught a glimpse of his gray eyes directed towards her out of the corner of her eye. She wished he’d stop looking at her like that; it wasn’t that she didn’t like it per se…but it did make her a little – no – very uncomfortable.

“So who wants the spare bedroom?”

Both Carly and Aaron swiveled their heads toward Eden, who had yet to take her eyes off of the television program.

“What?” Aaron asked.

“Val’s got a spare bedroom available ever since her roommate moved out. Any takers?”

Carly and Aaron regarded each other uncomfortably. The truth was Carly desperately wanted to stay in the spare bedroom, as long as it meant distancing herself from Aaron.

“I’ll take it…if you don’t mind, Eden.”

“I don’t mind at all, Carly.”

Carly stole a glance over in Aaron’s direction. His face was expressionless, but she was pretty sure she knew what Aaron was really thinking.

“And I’ll just crash out here with Aaron.”

Aaron and Carly simultaneously snapped out of their current thoughts. “What?” they cried out in unison.

“What?” Eden asked back. “God, you guys are prude. I’m not going to sleep next to Aaron if that’s what’s crossing your dirty little minds. I’ll take the loveseat ‘cause I’m shorter, and Aaron can crash on the three-seater. Okay?”

How could Carly argue with that? It was what she had wanted, wasn’t it?

“Then it’s settled,” Eden answered before anyone had a chance to disagree with her.

****

Aaron squinted his eyes open when he heard a sound from the kitchen. He peered over at the wall clock, but it was too dark to see what time it was. Aaron was able to make out a sliver of light emanating from the refrigerator. Apparently, someone was seeing to a midnight – early morning? – snack.

He heard the fridge door close and the subsequent sound of bare feet shuffling across the kitchen floor. The footsteps ceased when the individual’s feet met carpet. Aaron kept his eyes open; whoever it was wasn’t going to be able to tell that he was awake anyway.

As the individual grew nearer, Aaron was eventually able to identify the person. It was Eden, and she was grasping a tall glass of water in her hand. When she got within a few feet of the three-seater, Aaron quickly shut his eyes. Aaron heard the sound of glass tapping the wooden coffee table that sat in front of the couches. He didn’t hear Eden return back to the loveseat though.

For some inexplicable reason, she wasn’t moving. Instead, he could feel her presence still very near to himself and wondered what else Eden was up to besides quenching her thirst. Seconds of awkward, uncertain silence followed, in which Aaron could only rely on his other senses – sans sight – to understand what Eden was exactly doing at that moment.

He felt Eden approach the three-seater until her knees touched the cushion. Aaron was severely tempted to open his eyes, but his curiosity was stronger at that moment. He felt increasing body heat around himself as Eden knelt down. He felt the pressure of her hands grasping the cushion in front of her. Aaron could hear Eden breathing. What the hell was going on?

“Thanks for accepting my invitation,” she spoke in a barely audible whisper.

Did Eden know that Aaron was awake? If so, was he supposed to say something back? Aaron thought about it, but he chickened out at the last moment. He decided to remain quiet and hear if Eden had anything else to say.

“I wish you could look at me the way you look at Carly,” she continued.

Uh-oh.

“I know that you and Carly have a history together, Aaron, but I’ve known you since freshman year of high school. Technically, I’ve known you almost as long as you and Carly have known each other.”

This is not good.

“And I know that you’re the type of guy who wouldn’t just fall in love with a girl because she’s pretty or because she’s skinny, Aaron. You’re not like Kevin Maguire and all those other jerks out there.”

That’s a pretty nice thing to say…I guess.

“So deep down…I know it wouldn’t be so impossible…for you to fall in love with…me.”

If Aaron could, he would have groaned in frustration right then. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Eden Halliwell hadn’t invited him just to be nice. The girl had had a hidden agenda all along.

“Good night, Aaron.” Eden finished in a soft whisper before placing a gentle, feather-like kiss on Aaron’s cheek.

Aaron didn’t open his eyes until he heard the creak of the loveseat as Eden crawled back into bed. He had been excited about following Carly and Eden to New Haven because it meant that he could spend more time with Carly. The more time he spent with Carly, the less time Kevin Maguire spent time with her, and that was just fine for Aaron.

Only now, things had gotten ten times more complicated. Eden Halliwell had professed love? to him not two minutes ago, and Aaron was left to worry whether Eden’s friendship with Carly was sincere or a mere ruse of Eden’s in the hopes of growing closer to him. He would never forgive Eden if that were the case because no one was going to hurt hi Carly.

His Carly.

Aaron realized that he was still thinking like an obsessed, possessive nut. He had to stop that if he had any chance of winning Carly over. He had to stop being the “guy” with a one-track mind and start being the friend that Carly had grown to love nearly ten years ago.

Aaron sighed inwardly. He was definitely not going to get any sleep tonight.

****

A/N: And the plot thickens...(I hope :)