Aidan made it back to the hall just in time to watch Lian be taken off stage. At least she was safe. Mr and Mrs White told the guests not to panic, for it was all part of the show. The ball was to be held by candlelight. As if to prove their point, Mrs White snapped her fingers and the maid and butlers lit every candle in the room. The guests 'oo'd and 'ah'd, for the room had become more beautiful than when the chandeliers had been lit. While Mr and Mrs White took matters into their own hands, Aidan slipped out of the hall to find Lian.
Backstage, Lian was freaking out. Her breath was raggedy and rushed, and her hands were shaking. "Hey, hey," Matias said softly. "It's OK. You're safe. Nothing's gonna happen to you." Lian looked up at him and then wrapped her arms around his waist, tears streaming down her face.
"Lian?" Aidan called out to the mansion. Why couldn't he find her? He had searched everywhere, well… Almost everywhere. He ran to the backstage entrance, bursting through. His breathing was unstable, his hands twitched at his sides. He found Lian, crying her eyes out, holding onto Matias for dear life. Why wouldn't she hold him like that?
"Lian…" he croaked, slowly stepping towards her.
Lian didn't hear Aidan, but Matias did. He glanced up to see who the voice belonged to, and he glared when he saw it was the eldest White child. Matias secretly despised Aidan, a fact he had never told Lian. She didn't need to know: she already had enough on her plate.
Aidan inched closer to his sister, kneeling down beside her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "Lian, it's me. Aidan. Lets get you to a place with light."
Lian jumped, and she instinctively moved to being behind Matias, using him as a shield. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to see any of her family right now. Especially Aidan.
"I see how it is." Aidan stood up, glaring at Matias. The fire in his eyes gave away every emotion he was feeling, but he knew he needed to stay calm. He couldn't hurt anyone, not while his sister was there. His fingers began twitching again and his entire body became suddenly uncomfortable in the suit he was wearing. He couldn't stay there, he needed air. He quickly turned away from them, striding towards the door, and before leaving he planted a large hole in the door. "If you touch my sister in any way I deem unacceptable, I will kill you."
He left and swiftly walked upstairs to his room. He needed to hurt things, he wanted to tear things apart, he wanted to hurt Matias because Lian trusted him more than Aidan.
"You aren't the one to decide that!" Matias called after him. He turned around and hugged her close, sensing that he was still stressed. He rested his chin on her head as she clutched him tightly, waiting for her to calm down. It was true: Matias liked Lian. He liked her in a way more than friendship. But that didn't matter as long as Lian was trapped here with her parents. He had to be her friend first and foremost. Feelings came last.
When Aidan reached his room, he slammed the door so hard it almost fell off the hinges. He had never done anything wrong to Lian, never laid a singe hurtful finger on her, yet she would trust some random kid instead of her own brother. Did she really hate him that much? All he wanted was for her to love him, like any other sister would… He stood in front of his bathroom mirror, trying to see what was wrong with him. His pupils were wider than they should have been, his eyes in general were slightly red. He leaned down into the basin, cupping his hands under the running cold tap to throw water into his face. What was he doing wrong? Aidan could understand why Lian didn't trust their parents, but why didn't she trust him?? He tore off his bow tie and ripped open the top few buttons of his shirt. In a sudden burst of rage, he let out a loud yell as he punched his mirror to shatters.
Lian heard Aidan's scream as it echoed down to her. No one in the ballroom would be able to hear it: it was too loud in there. But where she and Matias were…they could hear it clearly. It made Lian jump and clutch Matias closer. She didn't like depending on one person, but he was her only rock outside of her family. She trusted him, more than she trusted her own family. "Do you want to spend the night at my house?" Matias asked. "You know, give your parents and Aidan a chance to calm down? They don't know where I live."
Aidan's yelling turned into weeping. He stared at his distorted reflection in the broken mirror, gently touching his face with his bloody hands. So that's what it felt like to cry, he thought. He hadn't cried for a long time, so long in fact that he had forgotten what tears felt like, what the heartbreak felt like. His pulse quickened as more tears streamed down his cheeks. He needed company, he couldn't stay in his room alone. Since talking to Lian was out of the question, he decided on someone outside of the estate. He left his bathroom, changing back into clothes he was more comfortable wearing, and took his car keys out from his bedside drawer. No one would notice him leave, his parents were too busy entertaining their guests and his sister was too busy with- He couldn't even think his name. Aidan made a break downstairs and slipped out of the front door. His black Chevrolet was parked around the back, but no sooner had he turned the key in the ignition he was off down the road.
"Yeah…yeah, that sounds good," Lian said softly. She just wanted to get out of that place, somewhere she was safe.
"I'll take you out the kitchen entrance. No one but the cooks and similar people will be there, and they won't stop us. I'll text the other band members what's happening so that they know where I am."
(Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, I'll reply as soon as I get the chance)
(cool, just wanted to remind)
His eyes flickered across every street sign, desperately searching for the one he needed. The rain had begun again, which made everything that much harder to make out under the dim streetlamps. Aidan's patience was wearing thin as he tapped his fingers over the steering wheel, he couldn't have been that far away by now, surely. A sigh of relief flew from his lips when he found the street he was looking for. He cut the corner sharply, his tires screeching on the wet road as he raced down to the end of the road. In front of him was pair of large iron gates that protected a mansion somewhere within. The intercom at the gate buzzed and asked who was there. Aidan simply looked at the camera, without uttering a single word.
"Welcome back sir."
The intercom died and the gates slowly opened. As soon as there was a gap big enough for his car to fit through, Aidan pressed down on the pedal and shot down the cobblestone road. A large mansion slowly appeared before him, not a single light could be seen from within. The car skidded to a halt, and Aidan scrambled out just as a middle-aged man, presumably the butler, in a blue raincoat ran out of a nearby side door.
"The young master isn't awake." he panted, trying to stop Aidan from going towards the front doors. "Please sir, I must advise you to not ring the bell."
Aidan turned on the butler, with a solemn expression in his eyes. "It's an emergency. Please return to your quarters, I'll take responsibility for whatever happens."
The butler faltered for a moment, before he sighed and bowed. He turned away from Aidan and ran back towards the door he came out from. The rain fell harder, soaking through Aidan's jacket and t-shirt. He quickly made his way under the cover of the front doors and violently pulled down the doorbell handle.
Lian and Matias made their way around the back of the house, avoiding all members of staff when they could. The pair could hear Mr White speaking in the background, and they could hear the murmur of everyone in the ballroom. It stressed Lian out.
The front door slowly creaked open, and a boy, not too far from Aidan's age, yawned. "Don't you know what time it is?!" he opened his eyes a little. They widened when Aidan came into his view.
Aidan himself was shaking from both the cold, and the surge of emotions he felt inside. He didn't say a word, he was trying not to cry and his voice would have given it away that he was upset. But Kaison knew, just from Aidan being there, that the latter was in trouble of some kind. He stepped back, allowing Aidan to enter, and nodded slowly as he took his hand.
"Come on," Kaison sighed. "I'll draw you a bath, then you're spilling the tea."
"Lillian! Lillian!" Lian and Matias could hear Lian's mother yelling. Lian squeezed her friend's hand, not wanting to talk to her mother.
"It's OK. I'll meet you in the kitchen," Matias whispered, then let Lian go. She walked up to her mother, breath shaky.
In the bathroom, Kaison sat by Aidan's side, flicking the water and soap suds with his fingers. Aidan stared up at the ceiling, his breathing heavy, tears falling down the sides of his face. He'd told Kaison everything: the party, Lian, him crying - everything.
"I just want this feeling to go away. I hate feeling helpless like this." Aidan croaked, his fingers twitching.
Kaison took his twitching hand in his own, and ran his other hand through Aidan's hair. "I can take the pain away, even if only for a short while, if you want?"
A smile curled on Aidan's lips, he knew Kaison was going to say that, he thought he could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Finally ended it, huh?"
"She wasn't worth my time." Kaison spat, a shadow crossing his eyes for a split second. "She was gold-digging whore, just like you said."
A sharp chuckle left Aidan's lips, that's right, he'd forgotten he'd told Kaison that. It was true after all, and he didn't want his best friend to spend the rest of his life with someone who was only using him for a money.
Aidan sat up in the bath, facing Kaison with wild, seductive eyes. "Two bottles and I'm yours."
"Why on earth would you risk doing that, Lillian?!" Mrs White practically screamed. "Now everyone can know what our family is like!"
"No one will figure it out!" Lian yelled back, voice cracking.
"The media will put two-and-two together!"
"It's….it's just a song, Mother."
"Just a song? It could ruin our whole family." Lian suddenly had a burst of confidence.
"Our family is already ruined. What difference would it make?" She walked away quickly, heading towards the kitchen. She felt confident, but she knew it was going to be short-lived. As long as she got out of the mansion, she would be fine.
(This next bit may be a tad OTT and so I apologise in advance)
Empty wine bottles lay strewn across the floor of Kaison's patio, the smell of weed lingered in the air above them. Open bottles of Mandy and Shrooms sat atop the table. Aidan had forgotten all about the party, his parents, and his sister, for in that moment nothing else mattered apart from Kaison. What few stars glowed in the sky grew into thousands of fireflies, hovering around them, making shapes and patterns above their heads. They were no longer at Kaison's mansion, but in a beautiful moonlit forest with swaying trees. In front of them, a white, sparkling stream rippled gently. Shadows of unknown creatures wove their way through the trees, not daring to come closer to the two men as if they were somewhat afraid of the human presence.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Kaison whispered into Aidan's ear from behind. "You see the stream too, right?"
Of course he did. Whenever the two of them took hallucinogenics they always saw the same things. It was their own private escape, and had been ever since they were teenagers.
"Come on, lets go for a swim." Kaison tugged gently on Aidan's hand, pulling him slowly into the water. They threw water at each other, like they used to do as children, neither of them caring that their clothes were soaked. Aidan slipped backwards on a 'stone', falling into the water. Kaison let out a soft chuckle and offered to help him up. With a grin, Aidan took his hand and pulled the other man down with him. The two of them sat in the stream laughing, everything felt right when it was just the two of them.
Kaison leaned his head against Aidan shoulder, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "My parents won't be home until the weekend, fancy staying with me until then?"
"I'll stay for as long as you want me to." Aidan was in no rush to return home, besides, Kaison owed him something.
