The New Saviors 2.0

A frown. He seemed to have asked Alexandria the wrong thing and mentally cursed himself for doing so. It had seemed like a valid question, but Aidan wasn't really expecting an answer. It was just a thought he had accidentally let slip. Although, he was completely thrown aback by her answer. He hadn't expected it to be so truthful. Aidan searched her face, looking for any signs to further indicate what she was thinking. Alexandria seemed to be a bit defensive about her pillow count. Aidan smiled, "That may be but it held some truth in this case, too."

He was preparing to try and reassure her that it was okay to be lonely. Everyone, at some point in their life or another, experienced loneliness and Alexandria shouldn't have had to feel shameful about it. It was all coming together.. Alexandria's depth of love for books, the way she spoke of her friends and parents, and the way she spoke of her parents all made sense to Aidan. She was lonely, and incredibly so. He couldn't quite understand why she was, but it was obvious to him now that she was. Aidan frowned, frustrated that she had still grown up feeling unloved. He opened his mouth to begin saying something but it slowly shut as he realized Alexandria was already gone.

Thinking about the time he missed with Alexandria, Aidan attempted to compare what he knew about her to his life. Obviously, she was previously completely unaware of her descent or her importance. So, perhaps she had somewhat of a normal life. Her parents loved her, but somehow Alexandria could not feel this. She apparently despised her friends and. And Alexandria also had self esteem issues. Aidan had grown up unloved, besides the care he received from Daniel. But that was quickly lost after Aidan had lost track of Daniel.. He had no idea where he was. Aidan had no friends, but he continued to despise the people around him. And Aidan perceived himself as worthless. With their upbringing being so different, he hadn't expected the results to be so similar.

His thoughts were interrupted by Alexandria walking out of the bathroom. Before he could say anything, she asked him a question. Was Aidan ever lonely? Well, why did she care? Why was that any of her business? And so what if he was! Aidan hadn't realized how completely hypocritical this sounded, although he decided against saying them. "Well.. that doesn't really matter, does it?" Aidan concluded, his attempt to evade the question. "My loneliness wasn't an important factor in finding you," Aidan explained, assuming this was enough to ease Alexandria's curiosity.
 
Her love for books stemmed from the characters constantly being there whenever it was opened. The way they were always there for one another unlike so many of her so called friends. Though she had to admit she had a few good ones, but in a sea of "popular" kids, it felt like she had none. Her parents, she adored them, they gave her everything she needed to thrive and grow. However, with their ever growing business, the idea to leave her behind with a babysitter and soon by herself when she was old enough became a little more frequent than she would have liked.

She was hard on herself, always striving to be perfect. Perfection didn't exist, humans were not perfect, but how badly she wanted to be. Maybe if she did this one thing right, or accomplished this other thing, then it would be enough to have the friends by her side, it would be enough to make her parents refuse the business trip, or the quick unplanned getaway for just two. Or maybe it was the pressure from her bother to be better than anyone else and nothing less than that. And she hated herself for thinking that they were anything less than good parents, because they were. Just like any other parent in the world, they were flawed.

But even flawed parents could cause so much damage depending on whether or not they wanted to approach those, and Alexandria herself wasn't too sure if they ever stopped to think if they should come straight home after their business trip instead of extend it into a small vacation. Letting out a long sigh she shook her head free from the thoughts and stepped out of the bathroom, asking Aidan if he ever felt lonely. Though his answer felt like he was slamming the door on her face and she couldn't help but internally flinch. What was she thinking? That he would just open up and they would become the best of buds? That he would divulge every deep dark secret that he had in his heart. She would be lying if she said she wasn't thinking that.

"It does. It matters." She countered, brushing off the bit of hurt that came with her stupid naivety. "Because just like you believe in the pillow count, I believe that even people who don't enjoy being around others feel lonely too sometimes. And if they say they don't, then they're lying to themselves." The sound of a knock on the door caught her attention and she turned to look at it before glancing back at Aidan. "Let's just drop the subject I guess." She told him as she moved to open it, thanking the person who had handed her the extra pillows that she had requested for.
 
Aidan scoffed. What had Alexandria expected him to say? And why was she acting like she knew all about him? She knew nothing! Alexandria lost her right to get to know Aidan when she left and never came back. Despite her earlier excuse, being abandoned by her still stung and he'd use every opportunity to remind himself of it whenever things got rough with her. Perhaps this was the reason why he was unable to become close to anyone. Anytime someone seemed to be making progress with Aidan, he'd shut down and reverse any of the friendship that had been made. "Now why exactly does it matter, hm? Because you say it does, Savior?" his voice seeped with venom, practically spitting as he said the word savior.

Did she just accuse him of lying to himself? As if his eighteen years of being stuck with himself weren't enough for him to know himself. As if the few hours they spent together meany that Alexandria had him all figured out! Well, fuck that and fuck her. "Who said I didn't like being around people?" Aidan jabbed, defensively. While it was true, Aidan wasn't about to give Alexandria the satisfaction of being right. The knock at the door seemed like the perfect excuse to drop the subject, and Alexandria had taken that opportunity. "Sounds like a good idea," Aidan concluded, crossing his arms and scowling. He wasn't quite sure why he had become so upset, but he'd rather be consumed by his anger at Alexandria than admit she was right.

Aidan contemplated leaving the room. Leaving the hotel. Leaving Alexandria stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to go back home. He thought about what this would mean. His death. And just because he had failed his mission, did not mean that the need to kill Alexandria would disappear. The dirty work would just be handed off to someone else. Although, he knew it'd be significantly more brutal. But perhaps dying wasn't the appropriate response to this argument. Aidan examined the doomed girl. Her red locks were still damp, she had changed clothes. Though, he couldn't quite read her facial expression. It wasn't until she glanced at him that he looked away, as if being caught.

Another knock at the door. "I got it," Aidan rushed, using this as an excuse to get away from Alexandria for a couple of seconds. It was the pizza delivery guy. Aidan took the pizza and paid the man before slamming the door on his face without saying a word. He tossed the pizza on the dresser, making his way back to the bed. The room was small and cramped. Aidan hadn't noticed before but it felt suffocating. He glared at her princess. Little Miss High Maintenance. Why did she act like she cared? After all this time? "Fuck me," Aidan angrily muttered. His muscles tensed as he stared at the ground, brows furrowed. Why was he so upset? Why was he so insistent on blaming her? Perhaps he was looking for any reason to make it easier for him to deal with her premeditated death.
 
His words were harsh, aimed to sting, and she couldn't help but flinch. She wanted to tell him it mattered because she wanted to considering him a friend, but with all the venom that leaked out with those words, she didn't dare say anything. She was so stupid to think that things would go back to the way they were when they were kids. That he would be ecstatic to rekindle the childhood friendship they had. For some reason she didn't think that there would be resentment, or hatred, but that was what she was feeling as she sat in the room with Aidan.She didn't even want to be the savior, didn't even know what that entailed. Instead of trying to defend herself, the room was plunged into silence until the knock at the door and she hurried to get it.

She was quick to drop the subject, grabbing the pillows and setting them on the bed. And upon hearing the next knock, Aidan seemed to be quick to jump at it, quickly taking the pizza and throwing it on the dresser. The sound was deafening to her ears and she stared at the box before looking over at Aidan when he angrily muttered those two words. Suddenly she didn't feel so hungry. She wanted to leave, her fingers itching to throw open the door, call her parents or her friends and ask them to come pick her up in the dead of night. She needed to get away, the room far too suffocating, threatening to close in on her and rob her of any sanity that she had left. This was a bad idea, agreeing to Aidan's stupid curse thing and not fighting hard enough to get him to take her back.

Alexandria ran a hand through her damp hair before grabbing her wallet and the spare key to their room. "I'm just gonna…go get something to drink." She told him, not really sure if he would care or not. Either way she wanted to prevent him from yelling at her or getting even more angry. She didn't want him to think she was running away either, though that thought was very well still in the back of her mind, lingering like a hungry wolf ready to strike. Before he could say anything more she opened the door and left, her footsteps retreating down the hallway. She didn't get why he seemed to slam the door in her face when she asked him that question, after all she could have done the same. And yet she didn't, she was honest with him and look where that got her.

Stopping at the vending machine she put the money in and pressed the coke button, listening as the machine worked its wonders and spit out the cold drink. However, instead of heading back to the room like she possibly should have, she took her time to wander, pressing the elevator and going down to the main level. She took a right, one that didn't lead to numerous rooms upon rooms, but instead led to a small glass door with black framing which led into a smaller space and two of the same doors. One door led to the workout room which looked as if he had seen better days, and the other led to the pool which looked as if it hadn't been touched in years. She headed to the pool. The smell of chlorine reached her nose, and the sounds of her feet against the stones echoed throughout.

The water glistened in the room, creating an almost mystical like feel. Kicking her shoes off she sat down at the edge and dipped her feet in, the cool water submerging her skin. The ripples spread out vast and far with each little kick she gave, the splashes taking over the echoing of her walking feet. She could stay here for the night, surely it wouldn't be that weird, though it kind of was. If anything she would stay here until Aidan possibly fell asleep and then she would just sneak back into the room, create a small bed on the ground and go to sleep. She would have to remember to ask the front desk for an extra blanket before she went up, that way she wouldn't be too cold and she could try to get a good night's sleep.
 
The heat Aidan once felt was slowly beginning to soothe. He listened to Alexandria leave the room and sat in the silence. She had left but he could still feel the suffocating tension. Although he was alone, the lack of Alexandria's presence was deafening. He stood up, walking over to the cheap pizza. Opening the cardboard box he discovered something truly horrifying. Pineapple pizza. Groaning, he shuffled away from the food. Any amount of hunger wouldn't ever result in eating that sweet and savory mess. He needed to take his mind off of Alexandria. She was too confusing and frustrating to think about.

Jumping in the shower, Aidan felt numb to the cold water bouncing off his skin. He drenched himself with soap, hoping to wash away his negativity from the day. He had lost his anger for Alexandria. Rather, it was replaced by hatred for himself. He hated the way he let his thoughts and emotions consume him. He hated the way he treated her. He hated his purpose. It took a surprising amount of will to stop himself from throwing his fist at the wall. But Aidan refused to let that be his way of dealing with himself. He had learned long ago that violence was only a destructive force towards oneself. And he wasn't in the mood to fuck up anything else.

Exiting the bathroom, Aidan had assumed Alexandria would be back by now. Scanning the room, he realized that she had yet to return. Aidan had driven her off. He had possibly fucked up everything. The idea that she had run away plagued his mind and he rushed to the main lobby, hoping to catch Alexandria before she got too far. "Have you seen a red headed girl? Fuck, do you know where she is?!" Aidan practically shouted at the person seated at the desk. A hesitant shake of the head warned Aidan that Alexandria had yet to leave. He thought to himself. Okay, where would she be? There, his quest began to find the Savior, once again.

~~~

Eventually, he spotted her in the pool area. He observed her through the glass door, contemplating what the best course of action was. Aidan opened the door, slowly making his way toward Alexandria. She hadn't run away. Why didn't she run away? His throat tightened as he got closer. What would he say? How would he make this better? Instead, he decided to sit next to her. A cool approach would work, right? He sat there, trying to muster something, anything to say. His anger was gone.. He just felt solemn. His facial expression relaxed, and he sighed glancing over at Alexandria. "Uh.. the pizza guy fucked up the order," Aidan started, hoping his statement wouldn't further upset Alexandria.
 
The pool was nice, it was comforting, even though the walls obviously needed to be painted and the bottom of the pool was rather disgusting, but she was calm right now. And she would take calm over the pain of Aidan's words. Savior. What did that even mean? How was she supposed to save a stupid town from a stupid curse whens he couldn't even save herself from her own dark thoughts sometimes? Fingers gripped the edge of the pool too tightly at the thought, her knuckles turning white and her nails digging into the chipping stone. It was a lot of pressure to put on someone, especially if she didn't even know where to start.

Besides, it wasn't like there was anything special about her. She had no glowing powers, she couldn't fly, couldn't fight. She didn't even know how to hold a gun. The best she could do was probably throw something at someone and even that was a long shot unless they were up close. She was just your average teenager, going to high school, sometimes hating her friends and yelling at her parents. The idea to run pushed itself out of the recess of her mind, urging her to get out while she could. It would be easy, she could just run off, head to a nearby store and ask to use the phone since hers died. She could even fake some tears just to pull a little extra sympathy from whoever was working behind the counter.

Whatever Aidan was doing, he probably wouldn't even realize that she was gone until she could get far enough away. Drawing her feet out from the water she moved to stand, though she hesitated and let her feet fall back with a small splash. For whatever the reason, an inexplainable one, she couldn't bring herself to run away. That frustrated her. Heaving a big sigh she opened her coke and took a swig before leaning back on her hands, her head tilting back up towards the ceiling. The sound of distant yelling caught her attention, but it was so muffled and she could barely even hear that she couldn't find it in herself to care. It wasn't her problem.

~~~

With time escaping her, she wasn't sure how long she had stayed. Though it was probably time for her to get out and head back up, maybe Aidan would be asleep. However the sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching caught her attention and she briefly glanced over to notice Aidan. She silently watched as he sat next to her before she redirected her attention back to the water she kept lightly kicking around with her feet. Talk about awkward. "What, don't tell me they put pineapple or something on it." she laughed faintly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips, trying in vain to lighten the mood.
 
Aidan didn't quite understand why Alexandria kept putting up with Aidan's outbursts and bad moods, but he was grateful. Not because he liked being in her company.. It was his mission to stay by her side, that was all. He felt slightly uncomfortable being watched by Alexandria, although he wasn't sure why. He smiled sincerely, although it was more sympathetic than happy. "I will never understand people's desire to ruin perfectly good pizza with tropical fruit," Aidan joked, faking exasperation.

Her smile eased his uneasiness, if only slightly. "I-" Aidan stopped, unable to finish his sentence I'm sorry? I didn't mean to upset you? "I think I like it better when you're not upset with me," Aidan declared, looking down at his calloused hands. He didn't understand why he was trying so hard to mend things with her. But he tried to shove these thoughts out of his mind. In retrospect, his entire goal was to trick her right? Make himself seem like a viable plan. Right, this was his focus. "I know I can be difficult. I know this whole situation is overwhelming and I haven't made it an easy task for you," Aidan admitted, still refusing to look up at Alexandria.

"What the future holds for you.. What it holds for me. I don't know if I'm prepared," he continued, trying to be as sincere as possible. Aidan was worried, in all honesty. He didn't know if he had the strength to go through with the things that Regina wanted him to. He didn't know what choices to make or what the right course of action was. But it seemed that whatever he did ended up making matters significantly worse. "I had lost you all those years ago and I just can't afford to have that happen again," Aidan confessed, as Regina had made that abundantly clear.

"For the majority of my life, I have been alone. I don't remember the years before you but I remember the ones after you left and I never had anymore. It was something you tried to ignore but it was always there. Even surrounded by people, I was always lonely," Aidan finished, staring out at the foggy water. He told himself he was only telling these things to Alexandria to gain her trust, and to get her to forgive him and convince her to nit run away. "I'm sorry, Alex."
 
The smile that tugged at the corner of Alexandria's lips only stood to widen more. She gave a shake of her head, her grip relaxing and the tension in her body melting. This seemed off to a good start, at least he wasn't yelling at her for not coming back right away. "I don't know, there's something about the sweet taste and the tomato sauce that just goes well together." Alex gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Or so I've been told. I have never once tried it, don't really think I never will."

Honestly the last thing she expected from Aidan, was an apology, or any form. She didn't really expect him to come looking for her. "I like it when I'm not mad at you too…" She shifted her gaze. "Or when you're not mad at me either." The redheaded female muttered, kicking her feet just a little, but making sure not to splash him. Difficult was definitely an understatement, but then again she couldn't really say she had been making it that easy either. She wasn't really sure if she had been too demanding, but when he first told her about it and he refused to turn around; instead of talking about it, she shut down and gave him the silent treatment. That was probably annoying.

"I'm sorry too…" Her voice was soft and gentle as she too refused to look at Aidan. "It might be hard to believe that I didn't forget about you, especially since I never visited or made contact or whatever." She shrugged her shoulders. "But I didn't forget, I just…gave up. And I'm sorry I left you behind. I swear if I could do it over again I would have done whatever it took to make sure you came with." The past was the past though, she knew that, and there was nothing she could do about it. It probably was meaningless to him anyway, but she would, she really would try to change it if she could.

"Also sorry for trying to run away." She muttered. "Well I didn't, but I thought about it, and I was about to, but I…stayed here." She faltered a bit, moving to take a sip of her coke. It was nice to just sit here and talk, instead of bickering or arguing, or getting mad at one another for who knows what. She had to admit it was also kind of weird, since they constantly flipped back and forth from trying to understand each other to just slamming the door in each other's face. There was a part of Alex that even expected Aidan to push her out, out of the blue.
 
Alexandria's smile was much nicer than her silent treatments. Aidan smiled in response, examining Alexandria's face. There was a unique charm about her smile, her red hair, and her childish attitude. It reminded Aidan of the version of Pan that was told to children. It made him feel almost comforted? Aidan relaxed and he gave a wide grin to Alexandria. Maybe he made the right decision in bringing up pizza. "Well, there's some upstairs if that appeals to you," Aidan stated, gazing gently over at Alexandria.

Aidan laughed. Alexandria's statement was fair enough. He knew he had probably overreacted, but at times his feelings just felt too impossible to control. "Let's just both try limiting the getting mad at each other, yeah?" Aidan joked, rubbing the back of his neck. Aidan watched as she kicked the water, noticing her shift in gaze likely due to tension. "It just feels like a lot of pressure sometimes, you know?" Aidan explained leaning back on his hands. "It's a problem.. I'll try and do better, okay? You haven't done anything wrong," Aidan reassured.

Alexandria apologized and Aidan wished she hadn't. His guilt came rushing back accompanied by dread. Before he could say anything, she continued to explain why she was sorry. "Unfortunately, no do-overs in life. But I think that's okay.. We're okay. I've tried my best to move on and understand. It wouldn't be fair to blame you for everything, Alex," Aidan countered, trying his best to dismiss her apology. It wasn't necessary. Yes, his anger about it came back once in awhile but it was always unjustified.

This is when Aidan had panicked a little bit. He'd have to be more cautious and watch over Alexandria better.. He had almost fucked everything up. "Well, thank you for deciding to stay. Whatever your reason was," Aidan said, giving Alexandria a sad smile. He wasn't sure how he could further console her. Aidan was sure she'd be offended if he touched her so he settled for silence. "You're a good person, Alex. I hope you know that."
 
Alexandria laughed and shook her head. "No, I think I might have to pass on this one. No matter how hungry I may be, I don't think I can bring myself to eat it." She ran a hand through her now fairly dry hair. "We could always just order room service, I mean just cause this place looks like of crappy doesn't mean their food is." A purse of her lips. "Well, let's hope it isn't." Another small laugh escaped. "Or we could get back in the car and go scope out some restaurants and just get takeout."

Glancing at Aidan when he laughed she felt her heart melt briefly and she nodded her head. "That sounds like a wonderful plan." Her hazel hues shifted back to look at the pool. Scooting back she withdrew her feet and wrapped her arms around her knees, moving to rest her chin on top. She nodded her head in agreement, knowing everything about pressure. There was a bit of her that found it rather strange, almost having this heart to heart, and she only feared when it ended. Would he really try and do better, or would something else set him off and cause him to shut her out?

She would just have to trust him. She hoped he was right, that they were okay, or that they were going to be okay. Of the time he was out of her life, she wanted to try and incorporate him back into her life in anyway that she could. It might take time, but she wanted to be there for Aidan like she couldn't when she was younger. Call her sentimental, but she remembered ( or at least what she remembered ) was good times with him. He was her knight and shining whatever.

Alexandria wasn't sure she had a reason, but she had decided to stay. She just hoped she wouldn't regret her choice later on. Glancing over at Aidan she noticed the sad smile stretched across her features and she turned back to look at the water. "You're a good person too, Aidan." She said softly, gently rocking herself back and forth. "I hope you know that as well, and I hope you believe that." Unfurling herself she moved to stand up, stretching out her limbs and glancing down at the blond male. "Well, you want go get some real food?"
 
Her laughter seemed to break the rest of the wall of tension that remained. "Right?! I'd never subject myself to such cruelty," Aidan exclaimed. It was funny how similar their sense of humor seemed to be. Bonding over pineapple pizza was a first for Aidan. In fact, bonding with another person was nearly a first as well. Hotel room service? That sounded quite interesting. "I've never order room service before," Aidan admitted. Even if the food was crappy, Aidan didn't mind much. After all, it was a new experience and he didn't have to drive.

Aidan watched as Alexandria switched positions, and it reminded him almost of a child's pose. "Well, I'm glad you agree," Aidan commented, smirking over at the red head. It was easier getting along with Alexandria than it was having to deal with all the bickering. He preferred their relationship this way. In retrospect, it was likely because it provided an easier and peaceful way of journeying to Storybrooke. Alexandria had only nodded in response so Aidan assumed it had been a touchy subject for her, and let the subject drop.

Although he tried his best to conceal his reaction, Aidan couldn't help but grimace at Alexandria's words. He was sure that he wasn't a good person. And he was sure Alexandria wouldn't be saying so if she knew who he truly was. Although everything he had said to Alexandria was true, he was hiding so much. But it was the first time anyone had claimed Aidan to be a good person and it hurt him. "Alex, I-" He what? Wish she didn't think that? Hoped that she'd realize he was a piece of shit? Aidan had to fight against saying anything more.

"Yeah, I'm fucking hungry," Aidan declared, gathering his thoughts and standing up. He glanced over at Alexandria. She was so short. Comparatively, at least. "Why the pool? You are a strange one, Alex," Aidan concluded, smiling down at the red head. The two seemed to be on a current high note, and Aidan would do practically anything to avoid ruining that.
 
Never in a million years did she think she was actually going to end up talking about their hatred for pineapple pizza. Alexandria had to admit though, it seemed to be a good bonding moment, and it definitely broke whatever remaining tension there was, so for now she was going to go with it. She silently thanked the pizza man who ever made the stupid pizza for screwing up so badly. "It almost makes you wonder about the person who created it. They must have really wanted to torture themselves!" She added, her eyes lightning up with the joking that was going around.

"Wait, you've never had room service?" She questioned, eyes widening. "You're missing out. You know, unless the room service here sucks, then sorry for ruining your first room service experience." She gave him a grin, moving to stand up and pausing when he began to speak up. "Hmm?" She hummed, glancing at him when he began to speak, but seemed to stop suddenly. She wondered what he was going to say but never finished his thought, instead jumping up and mentioning that he was hungry. "Alright, let's get some room service!"

Glancing back at the pool, Alex couldn't help but give a small shrug of her shoulders. "I like the pool, it's always helped calm me down when I'm upset." She explained as she headed back out to the hall and over to the elevator. "Probably why I joined the swim team at my high school, because I can swim all my anger out. Or I can just sit by the side and think about things." Everyone had their own little thing that helped anchor them to the present and prevented horrid thoughts from taking over their minds, at least that's what she liked to think.

Stepping off the elevator when they got to their floor, she made her way to their room, opening it and sliding in. "Alright, there's gotta be a menu here somewhere." Alex muttered as she began to search, spotting it on the desk and picking it up. "Perfect! It looks like they have some good choices, so I'll let you choose and then we can order." She stated as she handed Aidan the menu and moved to sit on the bed.
 
Her eyes. They seemed to happy and so bright. For some reason or another, it made Aidan feel as though he had accomplished something. He never wanted to see those lights fade out. "Or they must have been incredibly sadistic and wanted to torture others with their failure of a pizza," Aidan countered. This was a new part of their relationship. As a kid, Aidan was too preoccupied with watching over Alexandria to joke around. And the first half of their reunion was filled with bad attitudes and insults. This was nice.

Aidan shook his head, "Is that such a surprise?" Her eyes seemed to widen, so he was sure room service was more common than he had assumed. She was apologizing in advance? The silliness of her apology made Aidan laugh. "Crappy or not, I'm ready! And grateful, of course," Aidan reassured. He was sure that any quality of room service would be significantly better than the pineapple pizza that was mocking them upstairs.

The balance had shifted more towards not-enemies than enemies. Which should have been a good thing; however, this meant more lying to Alexandria. She questioned what he was about to say, but Aidan shook his head in response. This was his indication for her to just quietly drop the subject. Aidan had hoped she would just get the hint and listen. "Let's do it!" Aidan exclaimed, only slightly excited to finally get some food.

Swim team? Aidan hadn't exactly pictured Alexandria as a swimmer. It had made sense that this was where she had retreated when they had began to argue. "You got a lot of anger then?" Aidan inquired. He understood being upset, but she had specifically mentioned her anger. Aidan didn't really have a healthy way of coping with his He didn't go around punching things, however. He just ran around making bad decisions and usually using girls as a pseudo-comfort.

He decided to follow Alexandria, rather than lead. She had seemed quite excited for this room service. Entering their room, Aidan immediately eyed the pillows and the pizza. Of course, he couldn't blame an inanimate object for his fight with Alexandria, but he would have. Aidan leaned against the wall in the entranceway as he watched Alexandria look for the menu. It was entertaining to watch her scramble. He took the menu and thoroughly examined its contents, looking for one particular item. "Waffles," he finally declared, setting the menu down on the dresser. "With extra syrup."
 
Joking around was new, but it wasn't something Alexandria was going to complain about. It was nice, to be able to laugh freely and not feel awkward about it. "Probably both!" She exclaimed at the thought. "They were probably thinking that they wanted to torture themselves and then when they found the perfect way, they thought that the world should suffer along with them." She clapped her hands together. "And thus the pineapple pizza was invented and brought into this world against the will of others." Her grin was bright as she looked over at him.

Upon the question that was never completed, she noticed the slight shake of his head and she gave a tiny nod back. Got it, no further questions. Though she was curious, she was respectful enough not to push; after all there were things that people wanted to keep to themselves. That was the thing about secrets, they weren't secrets if you told them. "I'm starving, so I'm really hoping this will be good! If they have pizza, remind me not to order it, they might screw it up." She joked as she ran a hand through her hair.

As they headed back up, the small girl couldn't help but tilt her head to the side in question. "Hmmm maybe anger was the wrong word. But I've got a lot of frustrations." She couldn't necessarily pinpoint the last time she was angry, but frustrated, well that just seemed to be her life. She was frustrated with her friends, her parents constantly leaving her. She was frustrated with herself if she got a bad test score, or if she forgot something important. She might as well change her name to frustration.

Once they had entered the room, she handed the menu to Aidan once she found it. Hazel eyes looked over at the box before she stood up and swept into the trash can without remorse. "I highly doubt anyone will miss that." She commented with a small smile. Upon hearing Aidan's want for waffles, she blinked, not really pinpointing him as a waffles kind of guy. It was actually kind of cute, for a brief moment it reminded her of a child. "Waffles it is!" She exclaimed as she picked up the phone and dialed the room service number. "Yes, hello. I'd like to order waffles with extra syrup as well as chicken tenders with fries on the side."
 
It wasn't as uncomfortable to be under Alexandria's gaze anymore. In fact, there was something enjoyable about watching her doe eyes glance over at Aidan. It had meant that he did something right, or at least just caught her attention. Aidan listened to her rant and it made him smile, imagining this evil pizza man seeking to hurt others. "That definitely seems like a viable conclusion to come to," Aidan stated, with obvious sarcasm. Although, this sarcasm lacked the malice before.

The subject had been dropped, much to Aidan's approval. It was funny that the girl seemed to notice so much, and yet the most important and obvious things flew over her head. He mentally shrugged the thought off. After all, it wasn't his problem that she was too oblivious to see the truth.. But, she was observant enough to notice that Aidan was uncomfortable. "Will do," Aidan promised, with a slight smile still on his lips. For someone who had never tried pineapple pizza, Alexandria was very distrustful of it.

Frustrations? Like being tossed around from house to house? Or losing everyone that ever matter or meant something to him? Or like fucking up everything he came in to contact with? "Well, tell me about these frustrations then," Aidan prodded, hoping to get further insight into her life without him. After leaving the foster care system at fourteen, Aidan had quit his education. He pursued self education and thus prided his learned knowledge. This was his way of dealing with frustration, either running away or forcing the situation under his control so he could fix everything. It was more often the former than the latter.

That pizza was money wasted, but Aidan tried not to think about it. Although, he flinched as Alexandria threw the pizza away. He didn't have a lot of income, and he surely didn't have a stable way of making it so Aidan tended to try and save every last penny. "I'm sure the rats at the junkyard will be grateful," Aidan commented, shaking his head. Waffles had always been Aidan's favorite meal. The sweet outside crunch followed by the soft, almost chewy middle. Whip cream, strawberries, syrup, blueberries. It was heaven for him. And relatively easy to make for a child. Aidan's stomach groaned and he furrowed his eyebrow in response. "So, how long does this take?"
 
There was a slight pause, and Alexandria let the silence settle in. She was sure her frustrations didn't even begin to compare to Aidan's, and she felt bad for even feeling that hers were a big deal. She knew that compared to others who were dying of starvation of stuck in foster homes with parents that shouldn't even be parents, her problems were nothing compared to what they were going through. "Well…" She began, pursing her lips and searching for something she wanted to tell him.

It would have been a lie if she said she wasn't slightly afraid that he would brush off her concerns, tell her that she was being dumb. Because even though her problems weren't as big as others, they were still problems that weighed heavily on her mind. "First off, I don't think it should take too long, about ten to fifteen minutes? Sometimes less." She quickly jumped ship of the subject at hand. She moved to fiddle with her wallet, zipping and unzipping it as she glanced down at her lap.

"I would have to say my mother is one of them I guess." She finally spoke. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound ungrateful or anything but she just expects so much. It's not even the "I expect you to do your best" kind of parental love." She wasn't sure how to explain it to someone else. It wasn't an issue she fully addressed head on either. "It's more of a "you have to be better than everyone else and nothing less." Alexandria felt stupid as she was explaining, and it seemed so trivial. But the constant little digs her mother gave her, and the looks she would give her if she didn't score high enough on a test.

It wasn't just a parent giving her child a push in the right direction. Sometimes it felt like a hard shove off a cliff while she yelled at her to figure out how to swim. And yet, she still felt bad for thinking of her mother being anything less than a great mom, because then she felt as if she was being an ungrateful brat. Fun fact, her mother had told her that once while her father was away on a business trip. Out in the public they were like the perfect family, and behind closed doors, well that's when the chaos ensued. The knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts and she quickly sprang up, throwing it open. "Thank you so much." She let the person into the room where they set the food down and she paid for it. It was her treat.
 
His intention was not to bring Alexandria shame or guilt. Aidan understood very well that no matter how small or how trivial a problem may have seemed, it was another person's entire world. He was not fit to judge others by what they found important. Everyone had a different level of frustration they could handle before they broke. And there was no universal measurement of frustration. For example, not having pillows seemed like a big frustration to Alexandria but it meant little to Aidan. It varied with every situation and person.

Fifteen minutes?! That pizza was sounding better and better by the minute. Aidan was praying to his nonexistent god that it was going to be a "sometimes less" type of room service. Drawing himself back to reality, Aidan had realized that Alexandria had taken him far off the original subject. But why? What was so wrong about confiding in him? Aidan watched as Alexandria played with her wallet, perplexed. "Are you okay, Alex? Is someone hurting you?" Aidan interrogated, furrowing his brows at the thought.

High expectations were something Aidan knew little about. No one was expecting him to go very far or be successful.. He was just disappointed at how right everyone else was about his capabilities. "But you are better than everyone else why would you have to prove it?" Aidan inquired. If he had more information about the situation, perhaps he would have been more reassuring but he was ultimately unfamiliar with these feelings. "Alexandria, no one else can measure your worth but you. Your mother is just pushing her own insecurities on you," Aidan stated, leaning in to try and mentally convince Alexandria to look up.

"She should probably reevaluate her own worth if she doesn't believe in you," the blond declared, crossing his arm as if this strengthened his point. Mothers shouldn't treat their kids as servants to do their bidding. Criticizing and judging was not the role of a parent.. A parent was supposed to love and support, and it upset Aidan that Alexandria's mother had seemed go fail to do that. Aidan was further disappointed as Alexandria ran to get away from the conversation. As the delicious waffles were wheeled toward him, he lacked his usual joy. He suddenly wasn't in mood to eat.

"Let's get you fed and then to bed, okay?"
 
There was a small part of her that wanted to cry. She could feel it; the way her throat tightened up and her eyes started to sting. She had to blink them back and tell herself that it was okay. It was one thing to constantly tell yourself it was okay, and to hide your problems away from others, but it was another to vocally speak them. Hearing his questions she looked up at him and shook her head. "What? N-No, I-I mean not physically no, or not anymore." She quickly rushed to add.

Her mother was more of the verbally and emotionally abusive type, constantly getting on her case for little things. She didn't have a boyfriend? Maybe that was because she spent too much time focusing on swimming and school. She didn't get a hundred percent on a test? Maybe that was because she was putting too much effort into her swimming and spending too much time with her boyfriend (when she had one ). Her boyfriend broke up with her? Maybe if she spent a little more time into her looks, then he wouldn't be chasing tail with some other girl.

"But I'm not better than everyone else Aidan." She countered. Honestly she wasn't trying to be difficult, she just truly didn't see herself as anything special. She was a student like everyone else, she worked hard like everyone else to get the grades she wanted. She trained at her sport just like everyone else, she just simply didn't understand the point of pushing someone till they basically broke. There were things in this world that she couldn't understand and her mother was one of them. Sometimes she couldn't even understand her father who, though he loved her and doted on her, sometimes stood back and let her mother berate and belittle her.

Half of her wanted to tell Aidan that he didn't understand what he was talking about, and the other half wanted to just go to bed. Forget about eating. She knew though telling him off wouldn't be fair, her frustration wasn't towards him, it was towards her mother. Once the food was here, she paid for it and glanced down at it, her appetite gone. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." She offered him a faint smile as she sat down and picked up a fry, sticking it in her mouth. At least the food wasn't bad, and it brought back a bit of her hunger. There was a part of her that wanted to continue the conversation, maybe get some more insight from someone who was slightly older and wiser, and there was another part of her that just wanted to go to bed, or go back down to the pool and relax.

"So, how is your first room service experience?"
 
Stuttered words indicated that Aidan had struck a sour cord, although this was unintentional. He watched as Alexandria seemed to try and contain herself, not knowing how to help. He was useless. What was it about him that seemed to always make Alexandria upset? "Physically?" Aidan probed, going against his better judgement to stay quiet. "Not anymore?! What does that mean?" he exclaimed, practically yelling at this point.

He had naively assumed that once Alexandria had left the foster care system, the abuse had stopped. How had he managed to miss how big of scumbags her parents were when he meant them? Why did he let Alexandria just leave with fucking strangers?! Aidan should have just taken her and ran away, like he had been planning to do. Who were these people to think they could insult Alexandria? She was born to be a fucking hero and this was how she was treated? Aidan's temper boiled, although he tried his best to be inconspicuous about his anger.

Although Aidan to admit he was also prone to treating people like shit, it was plainly disrespect for strangers. To antagonize a loved one was a different, much crueler story. She was born to be better than everyone else! That's what the Savior was! And somehow these pricks had convinced her otherwise. "It is quite worrying to see the fate of our town rest in the hands of someone who cares so much about other people's opinions," Aidan admitted, sighing as he nudged at his waffles.

"Listen, Alex. You were chosen specifically to be you. What makes you special is who you are! You are yourself. Not me, not your mother. That makes you better. Your power, your origin, who you have become," Aidan reassured, hoping that Alexandria understood what he was getting at. "You are the best you," Aidan concluded, his eye glinting with determination as he watched Alexandria. "You need to understand that to be worthy means to feel worthy. You don't obtain worth from anyone but yourself."

Aidan took this silence as an opportunity to devour his platter. The first bit was heaven, followed by the next and the next. He had inhaled the stack of waffles in a matter of minutes. His indulgence had fulfilled him and Aidan was able to let go of some of the stress of today. In fact, he had managed to steer his thoughts away from Alexandria and her stupid ass mother. But as he glanced over at Alexandria, the feelings of resent came rushing back and he sat there, silently fuming.

"Not what I expected," Aidan decided, after moments of pondering Alexandria's question. "Tell me something nice about yourself. Or something you like about you."
 
"Shh, stop, why are you yelling?" Alexandria held her finger to her lips, wanting to clap her hand over Aidan's mouth, but deciding against it. "It's fine Aidan, everything is fine. It's nothing I can't handle." She told him, trying to reassure him. She had to admit she found it kind of strange that he seemed to care, but she chalked it up more towards the fact that he needed the "savior" in good condition, not broken or bruised. How would she save the town then?

His words struck a chord with her and she gulped, a feeling of relief spreading through her body. She wasn't sure why though. Maybe it was because it felt like he was taking the weight of the world she constantly shouldered and lifted it off her. Very rarely did she ever hear someone tell her that she was already the best version of herself, and she was herself for a reason. It was funny how those simple phrases, simple but powerful, phrases lifted the weight from her chest and finally allowed her to breath again. "You don't know how much I needed to hear something like that." She muttered softly. Though she was sure she could have done without the first part, not needing to be reminded that the fate of a town was in her hands, his words were still what she needed to hear.

Alexandria picked at the fries on her plate, and nibbled on some of her chicken tenders. Every once and awhile she would glance over at Aidan, watching as he shoveled bite after bite into his mouth. Either he liked waffles that much or he was that hungry. Though it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to her if it was a mixture of both. The scene itself was cute to watch. It reminded her of a child who would shove their food in their mouth in order to prevent others from asking for a bit.

"Not what you expected in a good way, bad way, alright way?" She questioned with a tilt of her head, blinking and eyes widening when told her to tell him something nice about herself. "Oh uh…" She stopped to think. Alexandria was not someone who talked about herself that much. She had a good number of accomplishments under her belt, but sometimes sharing that information, or the things she prided herself in, she couldn't tell if people would think she was bragging and being annoying, or simply taking pride in her abilities.

"I can make a pretty mean fort," Alex finally settled on, "I mean I would even have to say it's award worthy."
 
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