and they were starting to feel like bit of a game. If it was a game, I was losing badly though. I’d been so good at ignoring him at school, but the more time I spent with him, the harder it was to stop myself from laughing at his sad attempts at flirting. I also found myself firing back a reply more often. In Aiden’s books, any response was a good response. It felt like I was only encouraging him.
The one thing I wasn’t getting used to though was Aiden seemed to have zero personal boundaries. He always snagged the chair next to me at dinner and sat far too close. And, whenever he was talking to me, he always made a point of standing firmly within my personal space. After waking up to him working out in my bedroom on my first morning here, I’d seriously considered leaving a bear trap by the door. I really should have gone through with it because it seemed he was back again this morning.
“Clary, Clary, wake up!”
I groaned and blinked one eye open. Aiden’s smiling face was hovering over me. The guy always looked so happy. Even this early in the day. It only made my grumpy morning mood even worse.
“Aiden, I told you to stop letting yourself in here!” I threw an arm over my face and closed my eyes again in the hopes of blocking him out. If I couldn’t see him, then perhaps he’d take the hint and leave.
“I know, but this is an emergency.”
Could you roll your eyes when they were shut? It definitely felt like I could. It was far too early for this. “Surely, this can wait until later…”
“It can’t, actually,” he said, dragging my arm away from my face. “They’ve reopened school, and thanks to you, we’re running late.”
“What?” I jerked up in bed, suddenly feeling wide-awake.
“School is open again. Didn’t you know?”
I reached for my phone. “No, I didn’t, and that doesn’t make any sense. Surely, I would have heard before now if school was opening again.”
Aiden grabbed my hand and started to pull me from the bed. “You’ve been distracted all week, and I can’t help it if you don’t check your emails. Come on, you better hurry, or we’ll be late.”
I grumbled under my breath as I let him drag me up. Once I was standing, I immediately shrugged out of his grasp and went to grab my towel. Aiden snatched it from my hand.
“You haven’t got time for a shower. Just throw some clothes on. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
“Five minutes?” I glanced at the time on my phone and swore under my breath. Aiden had woken me up with absolutely no time to get ready. “Aiden, why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”
He shrugged. “You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Please tell me you weren’t watching me sleep…” I shook my head, deciding I could leave that conversation for another time. “Get out of here so I can change.”
He nodded and dashed from the room. I rummaged through my suitcase until I found something that seemed appropriate to wear in the outside world. Most of my clothes looked like I’d slept in them or spent days lazing around in them while watching Netflix. Both were probably true.
I couldn’t believe I’d missed such an important email. I was also surprised Zoey hadn’t been gushing with excitement about school starting again when I spoke with her last night. She was finding lockdown even harder to cope with than me.
I reached out to pick up my phone so I could text her, but a pounding knock echoed through the door. “Clary, we need to leave now.”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” Who knew Aiden was such a stickler for the rules?
I opened my door and found him leaning against the wall just outside the room. I went to push past him. “I just need to brush my teeth…”
He grabbed my hand though and pulled me toward the stairs. “Nope, no time.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Apparently, he wasn’t, because he kept dragging me down the stairs. I hesitated at the bottom. He was on a mission to reach the front door, but my whole body was urging me toward the kitchen.
“Can I get some coffee before we go?” There was no way I’d make it through the first day back at school without my caffeine hit first.
“Sorry, no time,” he said again, as he continued to pull me to the front door. This time