Atlas High

Chapter 16 - Aria's Relationship

Ellie's Point Of View...

    The three of us go ahead and move over to my bed so Aria and Steph can pull out their outfits for tonight. Each of us has three possible outfits that we could choose from. I head over to my closet where I have my possible outfits. Coming out of the closet I lay out my clothes next to Aria.

            "Do you like this for tonight?" Steph points to her first outfit which is a yellow crop hoodie with the words "New York Pride" in red cursive lettering. A pair of Tommy Hilfiger shorts and white all-star high top converse.

            "I love this shade of yellow on you! It makes your skin glow! What do you think E?” Aria asks.

            “You look so good Steph but let’s see the next one?” I say while pointing to her next outfit. 

            “Okay, so I have this v-line spaghetti strap top in this shade of purple.” Steph lets out a chuckle having trouble describing the color of her top. “I think it’s violet.”

            “I’m pretty sure that’s the shade of purple,” Aria says.

            “Oh, and these light washed ripped skinny jeans, silver rings, and violet sneakers. Do you like this one more than the other one?” She eyes both Aria and me.

            “I would go with this one instead. What do you say Aria?” I look in her direction as she eyes both outfits.

            “You would look so good in this one but let’s see the last one.” 

            "Okay, this is gonna be the last one." Stephanie grabs her last outfit and shows us a white off the shoulder drawstring split from the front. Light wash shorts with the ends frayed, a white circular bag, and all-white Adidas. "I personally love this one but what do you think?" 

            Aria and I look at each other before looking back at Stephanie. "You should definitely go with this one, Steph," I tell her before shoving her into the bathroom to change.

            “Be quick Steph!” Aria yells out before Steph closes the door to my bathroom. 

    A few minutes past by before we hear the door open revealing Steph. She walks towards us before giving us a twirl a few feet in front of us. 

            "That is definitely the one!" Aria yells out.

            "Definitely," I say.

            The three of us break out into a fit of laughter. Steph is the first one to be able to stop. "Okay now that I know what I'm going to wear tonight whose going next?"

            "Why don't you go next Aria." 

            "Okay sure um...what about this one?" She holds up a dark grey bandeau, a classic black leather jacket, a matching mini leather skirt, a Micheal Kors crossbody black leather bag, and Gucci Zareen Raisa boots. 

            "I love your shoes Aria!" I can see Steph nodding her head agreeing with me.

            "You would look so cute in this!" Steph says.

            "Okay, what about this outfit?" Aria shows us a  silk pastel pink spaghetti strap top, black skinny jeans, black ankle boots, and three 4 gem rings. 

            "You look so good Aria," Steph says.   

            "Really?" Aria looks at herself unsure of what Steph said.

            "Of course you do Aria." I try to make her see what we see in her. "Why don't you show us your last outfit so you can see which one you want to wear." 

            Aria nods her head and shows us her last outfit. A long sleeve red and black checker flannel, black bandeau, high waisted black skinny jeans with rips throughout them. A black square bag with silver studs on the perimeter and red vans. "I really like this one..what do you guys think?"

            "First, you should go with this outfit. Second, is that Asher's flannel Aria or...?" I say while slightly teasing tone to my voice. The scent of his signature cologne fills my nose being so close to his flannel shirt. The blush that made its way to Aria's cheeks confirms my suspicion. 

            Stephanie also sees the blush on Aria's cheeks lets out a giggle before speaking up. "You should go with this outfit at tonight's party. Show everyone you're his girl." 

            The smile that was on Aria's face disappeared as soon as those last few words left Steph's mouth. I wasn't the only one who notice Aria's sudden change. Steph and I gave each other a look that made it clear that both of us were confused. 

             "Yeah...his girl," Aria says looking down to her lap avoiding look at Steph and me in the eyes.

            "Aria what's wrong? Was it something I said?" Stephanie goes towards Aria who sits down on my bed. Steph goes to sit on her left side where I sit on her right side. Making an Aria sandwich so there is no way she can leave without struggling a little bit. 

            "Nothing wrong Steph um...why don't I go change. I'll be right back." Aria grabs her clothes quickly before we can stop her. 

            Steph looks at me then at the now occupied bathroom before looking back at me."What did I say E?"

            "I'm not sure but let's wait till she gets out so we can find out what's going on." I can feel the worry that Steph has for Aria. 

            "Do you think something happened between her and Ash? I mean right after I said being his girl she got upset."  Steph looks at me waiting for my response.

            "Maybe but I think there is something deeper going on."

    We wait about 5 minutes before Aria comes out dressed in the one we all like. She sits in the middle of us still looking at her lap playing with her hands. Steph reaches over and cages her hands in her own. We hear Aria sniffle before looking at us with tears in her eyes. 

            "Aria w-what's going on?" I say while wiping away a tear from her cheek.

            "I'm fine it's um my period?" She says as if Steph or I will fall for that. We both know she's hiding something from us. Giving her a look she huffs out before she nods her heads letting out a breath. "I just don't feel like Asher's girl."

            "What do you mean you don't feel like his girl?" Steph asks 

            "Do you know that no one besides our friends knows we're dating? Let alone know the fact that he's not single?" She says with annoyance. 

            "How are we the only ones that know your dating? Haven't people seen you guys out together in public kissing or something?" I ask since that is all they do with each other. Either kissing or holding hands or in between each other arms.

            "At Melody's party, Asher told the guys that I'm his girl. Nobody but our group knows we are no longer friends." Aria says while wiping away her tears. "Did you know that for so long...for years we've just flirted that when he said I'm his girl I thought things would be different. That I wouldn't be like those other girls. How could I be so stupid?!" 

            "What do you mean Aria?" Steph asks

            "Well Asher has always been known for one night stands even when he was a freshman. His whole group of friends is known for this at our school. Freshman year we had a lot of classes together which meant Asher would flirt with me and any girl in his classes. So we started to have this flirtatious relationship but I never let myself be one of his hookups." 

            Steph squeezes her hand and Aria continues. "So for years, that's all we have been to one another until the night of the last day of our junior year.  Both of us were at the house of the host which was our famous quarterback, Hunter Young. By the time we found each other in his enormous house, both of us have already had a couple of drinks which had the needed effect of loosening us up. I was on the dance floor dancing with a guy I still can't remember the name of on the dance floor." Aria chuckles as she relives the past. 

            "The whole time I was on the dancefloor I could feel someone's eyes on me and when I looked up I saw his lust-filled brown eyes. After moments of staring at each other Asher leaves the girl he was dancing with and moves towards me shoving the guy I was with. The whole night Asher and I were inseparable from one another. He kept his arm wrapped around my waist keeping away any guy who dared to take me away from him or ask me a simple question."

            "By the end of the party, Asher decided to drive me home since I really shouldn't be trusted driving while sober and much much less when I'm tipsy. The ride to my house was great but it wasn't till he parked at my driveway where he made his move. He gave me a goodnight kiss...I don't know what came over him to ask me out or what made me say yes but I did. We started dating going on a few dates and when we went to that party at Melody he introduced me to his friends as his girl."

            "Everything was going great between us until I overheard Christina Lewis one of Asher's regular hookups saying something along the lines of this year she and Asher will be dating. What she said made me think that no one knows that his mine or that I'm his. No one besides our friends known which made me question what we really are to each other. Am I the girl that thought she was more then what she actually was? Then this morning happened which made me feel like even more and I can't help but feel like I'm a hookup or something.

            "What happened this morning Aria?" I ask. 

                                                                           ...Aria's Point Of View...

            "All morning I've been trying to convince Ash to go to Carter's and Sebastian end of the summer bonfire. But, all morning he's been trying to convince me not to go. Instead, stay in and uh do other stuff. I can't help but feel like I'm being played or this was a fling meant to end before school starts." With a heavy sigh, I continue, "am I?"

            "Aria neither Steph or I can possibly give you the answer that you need. Those can only come from Asher but no matter what happens between the two of you remember that we will be there with you. But, let me tell you that Asher looks at you the same way every time..he looks at you with so much love." Ellie says with a small smile on her face.

            "He may have been a player in the past but I really think that changed when he started dating you. Have you ever seen the way girls look at him? With lust and jealousy over you for being near him? All the while he is paying attention to you. Making sure your not cold or that you remember where you left your keys? He only has eyes for you Aria. Let some girl fantasies she has a chance with him because that is the only realm where they will be together." Steph says as she leans over to Aria giving her a sideways hug. 

            "Talk to him about your feelings and make sure you are on the same page," Ellie says joining in on the hug.

            "I promise the next time I have a chance to talk to him I will. And girls, thanks for all of this I really needed this." 

            "No problem Aria," Steph says. 

            "Okay now that this is done with we should really help Ellie in choosing her outfit. We only have an hour and a half before the guys come." I say while shoving Ellie to her clothes.

            "Um, what about this?" Ellie asks while holding up a white square line spaghetti strap top bodysuit, black ripped skinny jeans, round black leather bumblebee crossbody bag, and all-white sneakers.

            "I love your bag, Ellie!" I say while noticing the small details. 

            "Thanks, Aria...what do you think Steph?" 

            "I love this one but let's keep our options open. What's your next outfit?" Steph asks.

            "Well, I have this one what do you think?" Ellie says while holding up a Princess Polly black mini dress dot pattern. A pair of Dani studded Chelsea ankle boots, a black leather jacket, and a simple black crossbody bag. 

            "You should go with this one! You look so good in that dress Ellie." Steph says 

            "Go try it on, Ellie!" I say 

    Ellie laughs at us but goes into the bathroom to change into her outfit. After a few minutes, she comes out looking mysterious and even more confident. 

            "I think this is the one," Ellie says to us who nod agreeing with her. "Well I guess we should get started on our make up don't you think?" 

            "Yes we should," Steph says while going to get her makeup stuff. I do the same thing going through my duffle bag for my makeup bags.

    We get our makeup brushes, foundation, lipsticks, and much more stuff we may need for our looks. We spend about 25 minutes before we are done. We all go for natural looks that complement our features but don't look like we went overboard with products. By the time we are done we decide to play a game to kill time before the guys come over. 

    The wall nearest is where my built-in closet. The 5 columns hold both my shoe collections and clothes. Some racks are for my shorts other for my dresses or for my jewelry but most important tailored to my needs. The last stop is my bathroom but that is for another time since we have to get ready before the guys come over.