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Ashlyn had only see Aiden cry once, when they were in the Phantom Dimension and she almost died.
She half-expected it to never happen again. Aiden didn't show many emotions other than clingy and batshit crazy. It wasn't like she minded much anymore. She wasn't exactly great with emotions either.
So it shocked Ashlyn when out of seemingly nowhere, about two hours before midnight, Aiden broke down.
They were all sleeping in the living room at her house, just waiting for midnight. Everyone was asleep, except for Ashlyn, or so she thought.
Just when she was starting to get comfy, positioned between Taylor and Aiden, the latter rushed out of the room. Immediately, her instincts told her to follow him.
So she did.
She followed Aiden outside. It was dark out, the sky a deep, starless black that oddly calmed her. Maybe it was because it wasn't the same chilling red as the sky in the Phantom Dimension, or because it was finally something normal.
Aiden sat down on the railing of the porch, feet dangling off the edge. Ashlyn wasn't sure what do make of him right now, when he was being so quiet and unpredictable.
Ashlyn, like a creepy stalker, stood by the door and watched without him noticing.
And that's when it happened. Aiden began to cry.
It was quiet, and if Ashlyn wasn't paying so much attention, she could've missed it. But she was paying attention, so she saw the whole thing play out.
She saw the way Aidens naturally dark eyes, not red like the contacts he usually wore, watered up. They were like the nights sky when the world was calm and they were safe.
Then, she saw tears begin to fall from those pretty eyes.
And what Ashlyn did next was beyond her. Because Ashlyn Banner, despite everything about herself, walked up and wrapped her arms around Aiden Clark from behind.
Aiden tensed up, and there was silence for a few moments. Then, in a quiet voice, "Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't let go," he whispered.
"Okay," she agreed. "I won't let go."
So Aiden cried and cried and cried. Which wasn't the problem, Ashlyn had seen Logan and Taylor cry plenty of times, but she had no clue what to do.
Even when Ashlyn eventually let go, it took a little while for Aiden to climb off of the railing, turning to face Ashlyn.
"It's getting late," she said. "Don't you think we should get some rest like the others?"
"Let's just... stay out here," he mumbled, his voice broken from crying.
Ashlyn understood. She knew the stress, the feeling of embarrassment and shame that came with breaking down into little pieces. She nodded and sat down on the wooden boards of the porch.
"Okay. Let's stay out here. We can join them in there later."
As Aiden sat down next to her, Ashlyn could see in his eyes, something was different. He was upset and sad in a way she didn't know how to handle.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aiden asked, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face.
"Thinking," she replied.
"Bout what?"
"What I can do to make it better," Ashlyn admitted. "I don't like seeing you so down, Aiden."
He chuckled. "You can hug me again."
"Well now that you're getting so cocky about it, I'm not going to."
"That's cold, Ash."
Ashlyn could feel herself starting to smile. Recently, Aiden had that affect on her. He said something and she would just... melt.
So of course, because Ashlyn was weak, she wrapped her arms around Aiden again and felt him gasp.
"What happened to 'I'm not going to'?" Aiden asked with a laugh.
"What happened to shutting your mouth?" She retorted, hiding her freckled, undoubtedly red face in his shoulder.
She hadn't noticed before, but Aiden wasn't as skinny as when they first met. He was almost... muscular now.
It was to be expected, after dealing with phantoms and training for so long. Still, for some reason, it wasn't what she expected.
"Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"You're, like, digging your fingers into my ribs."
Before Ashlyn could move away, mortified, Aidens hands clasped over hers. It felt like that same warm, melty feeling she got in her chest when he spoke.
It took her a few seconds to realize that he was adjusting her hands, not moving them off.
"Much better," he said. His hands stayed still on top of hers.
They sat like that for a while. It wasn't like the handful of times they'd hugged before, when both of their lives were at stake and all they needed was someone to hold.
She could've held Taylor or Logan or Ben or Tyler, but she held Aiden because he was closest. And he held her because she was the leader. That was it.
Now, Ashlyn felt like it had to be her and Aiden specifically.
She didn't know why, but she got the feeling that the moment wouldn't be the same with any of the others. It was just Aiden.
Aiden.
The way Aidens hands slowly wrapped around her waist was oddly soothing.
Maybe it was because she hadn't gotten good sleep since before they got trapped in the Phantom Dimension, or because Aiden was warm like a heated blanket, but she fell right asleep.
"ASHLYN, WHERE-"
Ashlyn was jolted awake by Tyler's voice and immediately jumped up.
She saw Tyler standing in the doorway, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.
"Oh, you two were... Well, good for you."
"NO, NO, IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!"
Tyler ran back into the house, snickering and yelling, "Ash and Aiden were making out on the porch!"
She was about to jump up and chase after him when she realized that Aiden was still holding onto her tightly.
"Aiden?"
"It's about five minutes until midnight, Ash."
"We'll be shifting through soon, I know."
"Do you think we'll ever get out?" He asked.
She went quiet for a few seconds. In all honesty, she didn't know. On one hand, they had a plan to get back to the Sorrel Weed House, but on the other, if it didn't work, they would be hopeless.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I hope so."
"Me too," he agreed.
"Do you think... we'll all stay together after this is all over?" Ashlyn asked hesitantly.
"Yeah," Aiden said. "Ash, you're crazy if you think any of us are gonna let you go."
Ashlyn got the feeling that when Aiden said 'any of us' he really meant himself. She decided that, for the sake of Aiden's mental stability, she wouldn't mention it.
"I don't want to let any of you go either," she confessed. "I never knew how great having friends and loving people could be until this year."
"Aw, you love us?" Aiden asked with a shit-eating grin. Ashlyn scoffed and made the littlest movement to climb out of Aiden's arms.
"It's time to get back inside. We should be shifting-"
She felt the familiar feeling of the world slightly changing. The sky became a bright red, and she was back in the School Bus Graveyard with Aiden across the room instead of holding her.
Logan looked like he was just waking up, but the others were already awake. Even worse, they were all staring at her.
"Right now."