Chapter 1: Average Aiden
Ah, 2020.
In one universe, it almost felt like the end of the world.
Yet, in another universe... earth was much the same, that dastardly virus nowhere in sight.
Which was why,
The closing bell rang incessantly, heralding the close of the school hour at Silverlake High.
Yet, instead of pouring out the front door in droves, only a select few students attending one of the top-ranked high schools in Brooklyn could be seen making their way out.
Instead, the back doors were pushed open to reveal the hordes of lively, chattering and spirited teenagers spilling out the corridors, classes and hallways and onto the well-kept lawns.
Animated conversations rippled across the grounds as the teachers, personnel and non-staff members joined in, making their way to the expansive field and track stadium.
Silverlake’s boys’ football team were once again matched with their rival team, Midtown High, for the finals in their competitive year-round youth championship league.
Having lost the previous championship, there was a burning need to see their school claim victory this year, hence why the turnout was immense despite the game set to begin by 5pm.
Soon enough, another surge of people swarmed into the stadium, comprising mainly of Midtown High’s team, alongside their students.
A good number of parents and guardians from both schools equally turned up, joining in with their kids to support their respective schools.
It didn’t take long before the atmosphere became supercharged, swads of light-blue, silver-lined jerseys mixed with crimson, bronze-lined ones filling up every inch of the bleachers.
Shuffling amidst the bubbling crowd was sixteen-year-old, Aiden North, his average height of 5’8 nothing particularly impressive amidst several of his friends as they made their way to their seats.
"Gentlemen, I say we make a bet," one of his friends, Larry, proposed whilst cuffing a lanky arm around his neck.
"Five bucks says she rejects him." he declared over the noise, his grin confident.
"Agreed!" the other guys, Benjamin and Clyde chimed in.
"Love the emotional support guys. Great job." Aiden audibly retorted, his olive-green irises rolling in dismissal.
"Also, who’d you little shits reckon you’d get your five bucks from? My broke ass?" he sardonically added.
"Oh, don’t you worry, champ. Don’t you worry." Larry amusedly remarked.
"Just get us entertained with your misery, eh?" Benjamin chipped in, his round face looking notably cherubic.
"It is a bit disappointing though," Clyde raised his glasses up, wiping it with a fiber cloth.
"What is?" Aiden squinted, spotting the faint twitch on the boy’s lips.
"I mean, you’re the only one amongst us who won’t be having a date to prom, or a girlfriend for that matter for the forseeable future,"
"Even Casper’s rambunctious ass has a date to prom, and he’s halfway across the country." he casually donned and adjusted his glasses.
Aiden’s mouth hung slightly agape, his gaze impressed yet unable to formulate a proper retort at the shots Clyde had fired.
Larry and Benjamin hadn’t even gotten the chance to hype Clyde on the roast when a familiar set of chants reached their ears!
"I got spirit! Yes, I do!"
"I got spirit! How ’bout you?!"
As if expecting it, the crowd chanted back;
"We got spirit, yes we do!"
"We got spirit, so should you!"
And then, all together with the cheerleaders;
"Go...! Silvercats!"
Through it all, Aiden’s gaze had been trained on the newest addition to the cheerleading team, Lizzie Montgomery, a classmate he’d had a crush on since sophomore year.
Even as the game began following rivalling chants and cheers from Midtown High, a wild cheering shaking the venue, his gaze kept finding its way back to her.
Lizzie was a natural blonde with ocean-blue irises and the perfect features to boot. She was also... well... hot, making her a prime target for the interest of several guys in their school.
Originally, the lady had been the shy, quiet kind in their freshman and sophomore year.
However, as she progressed through high school, she’d slowly began to shed that nature of hers, becoming the upbeat, outgoing person that she was now.
She was also the lady his friends had bet would reject him.
If Aiden was truly honest with himself, he was quite nervous about asking her to prom.
He wasn’t quite the looker, he’d admit, and pretty much everything about him was notably average.
And though he’d interacted with her several times due to their shared classes, and even making her laugh on occasion, he was still quite realistic about his expectations.
A resounding rejection, so to speak.
Yet, he remained undeterred.
’You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,’
’Besides,’
’The worst she can say is no, right?’ he mused to himself, equal parts wishing for the game to dawdle on but also, end quickly.
After an exhilarating and thrilling ninety minutes, and equally an extra time of thirty minutes, the game finally came to an end, the Silvercats cinching victory at the very last minute.
As Silverlake High cheered in victory, and most of Midtown High’s audience sullenly left, Aiden shot to his feet, his expression determined.
Lizzie was finally alone and was currently making her way to the bleachers, so he hoped to intercept her before anyone else could.
"Alright boys," he glanced over to his buddies.
"Wish me luc--"
Aiden blinked, watching the trio in disbelief as they dipped their hands into a popcorn bucket from somewhere only they knew where they’d gotten it from.
"You know what?"
"Fuck you guys." Aiden spat distastefully as he made his way down the stairs.
"Godspeed, man!" all three replied, the amusement on their features evident as they cackled amongst themselves.
Waving off their feigned support, Aiden soon reached the bottom of the stairs, his hands on the barricade as he called out to the lady;
"Hey Lizzie!"
Locating the source, the lady beamed him a smile, her hands waving in reciprocation as she walked over;
"Aiden! Hi!"
"You were great out there," Aiden complimented when she was within earshot, a genuine grin forming on his lips.
"Thanks. That’s really sweet of you." she flashed him a dazzling smile.
A tad bit stunned, Aiden quickly recovered and offered a simple nod in response.
Then,
"I, uh,"
"I’d like to ask if--" he paused.
Intending to vault over the barricade and stand before her properly before he asked her out to prom, Aiden placed his leg atop it.
However, just before he could, he watched their school’s star quarterback, Kevin Leeroy, jog up to Lizzie and give her big smooch... an action the lady reciprocated, her fingers clutching at his hair.
Then, leaning in for a few more, she paused, breathless as she turned to face Aiden.
"Sorry about that, Aiden. What was it you wanted to ask?" she asked, her face flushed.
Practically frozen in the awkward spot he was, a reaction the snooping trio shared as their hands froze mid-grab at another handful of popcorn, Aiden slowly backtracked.
"It’s, uh... it’s nothing," he said simply, his smile forced.
"Nothing at all." he added for good measure.
Then, turning around, he waved as he made his way up the stairs;
"I’ll see you around."
Walking up to his buddies, hands in his pocket;
"Well,"
"That happened." he said simply.
Aiden was expecting the typical jabs, playful pokes, harmless roasts and ’I told you so’s’ from his guys.
Instead, he got something else entirely...
"Just take it man," Larry said, prompting all three to hand over their five-dollar bills.
Seemingly taken aback by the gesture, he tilted his head slightly in surprise and reluctantly received them.
"Um, thanks."
"Don’t mention it," Benjamin waved it off, his face oddly empathetic.
"Yeah. Don’t sweat it." Clyde chipped in and then casually added;
"Afterall, you’re gonna need a body pillow to hold onto tonight. Invest the funds in that."
For a moment, a loud silence stretched between all four despite the noise around them.
Then Larry and Benjamin burst into an unrestrained laughter, cackling like the assholes that they were as Aiden’s lips twitched.
Unfortunately, even he ended up joining in alongside Clyde whom had been doing a good job of suppressing his.
Larry’s and Benjamin’s cackles were just that infectious.
"It’s a shame Casper missed this." Larry remarked a minute later with an amused sigh.
"Eh. He’ll get the gist of things when he’s back from his trip." Aiden shrugged as they made their way out the stadium.
"So, afterparty at Clarissa’s?" Benjamin offered upon reaching the parking lot a few minutes later, the keys to his 2005 wrangler jeep jingling his hands.
Though Clyde and Larry nodded in the affirmative, notably excited to have the time of their lives, Aiden waved it off in a vague gesture.
"Nah, I think I’ll seat this one out,"
"You guys have fun." he added immediately after, his smile genuine.
Though the trio had been poking fun at their buddy all day long, they knew when to push and when not to.
Now was the time not to.
Aiden, as they knew him, hadn’t ever been the type to give his all to something, mostly because he had a crippling fear of failing at things.
Setbacks tended to hit him hard, and usually prevented him from wanting to try his hand at things again.
Unfortunately, that trait of his bled into everything in his life, one his friends were more than aware of.
Which was why they’d been notably glad when he declared he would ask Lizzie out.
In fact, considering they’d believed the girl equally liked him back, all of their jibes had just been to fuel his resolve.
However, even they couldn’t have expected that turn of events.
Given the image she had, it was all the more jarring that she and Kevin, an infamous playboy to say the least, were a thing.
Simply nodding in response though, they then exchanged stylized handshakes and goodbyes.
Having done that, he watched their vehicle drive out of the parking lot and into the distance.
No sooner were they out of vicinity, Aiden’s expression turned sulky, his façade crumbling.
With a resigned sigh, he slowly made his way home, strolling down the street.
