CHAPTER TWENTY TWO !
[ real life ]

❝ MINE ❞

📂﹖﹕𓂃𐩐💻

ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ

surprisingly, matt and aurora used to be best friends.

years ago, throughout all of elementary school, the pair were practically connected at the hip. most of the time when you found one of them, the other would be right there as well.

they obviously had a falling out, a big one at that, but it's not like their past friendship is a secret. it's just not talked about anymore. the pairs hatred for each other usually overpowers any sort of bond they had when they were just children.

sometimes though, matt finds himself thinking back to when he first met to the girl, all the way back in second grade.

matt sits at one of the very last open swings on the playground. all the other swings are occupied by his other classmates except for the one next to him. the swings are always his favorite part about recess.

he doesn't have any friends in this class though. his brothers nick and chris were both luckily put into the same class while he got stuck here. he feels a little lonely, wishing one of them were in the empty seat next to him, but tries to enjoy swinging anyway.

just as he begins kicking his feet back and fourth to get higher on the swing, he's stopped abruptly by someone pulling onto one of the chains of the swing roughly. immediately, he's sent into an aggressive pattern of rocking from the side to side until eventually, it straightens out. he looks to where the chain was pulled and sees two older looking kids. he gulps.

"get off," one of the guys say. "we wanna swing."

matt does not want to give up his swing but they look like fourth graders and he's a little scared honestly. he wants to stand up and give the swing away but decides against it. "um," he says quietly, looking at the ground instead of them. "i was here first."

"we don't care," the other guy says, matt looking up at them now and wishing for a hole to submerge in the ground and swallow him whole. "get off the swing."

he frowns, not getting up from the seat. when he takes too long, one of the guys step forward and begins repeatedly tugging on one of the chains to get him off.

"hey!"

a voice shouting makes everyone pause, turning to see where it came from. a girl, one matt recognizes from seeing her a few times in his class, comes stomping forward.

woah.

"he was here first!" she exclaims to the older boys once she reaches them, matt silently watching with wide eyes.

"so?" the guy who was yanking on the swing chain drops his hand and instead crosses his arms. "he's taking up one of the last swings and the other one is empty 'cause he's got no friends."

matt glances down at the ground awkwardly. he's right. he should just give the swing up at this point.

the girl glances over at matt and frowns. he looks sad just because of some idiots.

she stomps up closer to the guy that's been most adamant about matt giving his swing up. "don't be a..." she pauses, her face scrunching up as she gains enough courage to say the next word. "dick!"

woah.

matt instantly looks back up at the girl with wide eyes and the two boys' lips part in shock. the boy who's been quieter speaks up in a shocked voice, "that's a bad word."

"yeah," the girl says sassily. "i know."

"w-well," the scarier guy gains his composure and puts up a tough exterior. "we say bad words too."

the girl rolls her eyes and matt's widen even more. she's literally standing up to fourth graders!

"i don't care!" she responds, beginning to cross her arms like the boy in front of her. "go away and leave him alone."

"no."

"yes."

"no," he repeats, this time beginning to walk over to matt. "i'm not listening to a girl," he says as matt's eyes widen. the guy reaches a hand out to quite literally shove him off of the swing. matt braces himself for the impact coming but it doesn't because the girl suddenly storms over to the fourth grader and punches him right in the nose.

woah again.

matt's eyes are as wide as saucers at this point and the other boy gasps loudly. the boy that's just been hit clutches his nose and stares at the girl in shock.

"what the heck!" the quieter boy shouts before turning around and running off elsewhere.

"you just got hit by a girl!" she tells the boy still holding his nose, her hands coming to rest on her hips.

tears begin to well up in his eyes and he quickly shoves past her, running off elsewhere like his friend.

the girl watches him run, quite satisfied, before turning around to matt. his eyes widen for the twentieth time once she looks at him.

"hi," she smiles at him. "i'm aurora."

"h-hi," he greets back, still in shock that she just punched a fourth grader so he'd leave him alone.

"what's your name?" she asks.

"matthew," he immediately responds before stuttering. "i-i mean my names matthew but um, people call me matt."

"okay," she says, giving him another smile before walking over to the swing next to him. "can i swing with you?"

"y-yeah," he answers, wanting to facepalm after he talks. he sounds so dumb. he keeps stuttering!

she nods her head and sits in the previously empty swing. "sorry those guys were so mean," she says after a while.

"oh uh, it's okay," he rubs at the back of his neck for a second. "thanks for um... hitting him, 'rora."

"'rora?" she repeats in a question, eyebrows furrowed.

"yeah it's like your name but short!" he responds in an exclaim, pausing for a moment before looking at her with wide eyes. "wait."

"what?" she asks, intrigued by his sudden enthusiasm.

"rory!" he enthuses.

"rory?" she repeats with raised eyebrows, thinking for a moment before speaking again. "no one's ever called me that before."

"really?" he asks.

"really!" she answers, beginning to speak again but getting cut off by someone shouting for her.

the two both turn their heads to find a teacher and the boy she punched earlier a couple feet away from them. the teachers arms are crossed and the boy is crying.

"oh darn," she sighs, standing up from the swing and looking back at matt. "i'll see you later, matt."

"see you, rory," he responds back before she walks off to the teacher.

and then there was the time in summer after third grade that matt had first felt.. differently towards the girl.

"what if they don't like me though!"

"don't be a dummy, rory," matt groans. "they're just like me! you'll be fine."

"i'm scared though!" aurora emphasizes with a frown.

"don't be!" he exclaims impatiently. "i know they'll like you."

"are you sure?" she frowns again.

"yes!" he answers. "now come on," he rushes her, beginning to pull the front door open.

when they enter the house, matt begins making his way to the kitchen where his brothers are while aurora hesitantly walks a few feet behind him. they silently walk to the area and once they get there, aurora instantly notices the two boys that look strikingly similar to matt. they're turned to their sides so they don't notice when matt and aurora come in.

"guys!" matt exclaims, immediately causing them to turn around. they look at matt first but then instantly notice the girl beside him and widen their eyes. "this is aurora."

"this is rory?" chris questions matt, earning a scrunch of his face and a small nod from him. once it's confirmed, he walks up to aurora and hands his hand out for a shake like they do on tv. "hi rory, i'm chris."

matt groans now, his face scrunching up again as aurora grins and shakes chris' hand. "don't call her that!" he exclaims.

"why?" chris' eyebrows furrow as aurora and him drop their hands. nick begins walking over to aurora as well as chris continues questioning matt. "you call her that!" he points out obviously.

"because i created it!" he crosses his arms stubbornly as nick reaches aurora and smiles. "you didn't so you can't call her it," matt continues with a frown.

"hi rory," nick says carelessly to aurora, matt's jaw dropping. "i'm nick."

"stop calling her that!" matt begins to pout, growing ridiculously annoyed as they use his nickname for aurora.

"no." chris blows his tongue childishly at his brother. "we can call her it if we want."

matt huffs loudly before storming out of the room dramatically and plopping down on the living room couch with his arms still crossed. aurora watches him with a frown and just as chris and nick begin to talk to her enthusiastically, she says, "i'll be right back!" right before turning around and following where matt went and sat.

"what's wrong?" she asks with a frown once she walks in front of the couch to see him sitting there with his arms crossed.

he glances at her before staring back at the wall in front of him, now letting out a loud breath. "nothing."

"matt," she sighs loudly, stepping forward and nagging on his arm that's crossed repeatedly. "what's wrong."

he rolls his eyes, pulling his arm out of her grip before sighing and giving into her question. he turns to her but looks away once she looks back at him, instead looking down and beginning to pick at the fabric of the couch. "i don't know," he says quietly, aurora having to lean slightly closer to him to hear. "it's just dumb that they're calling you the nickname i gave you."

aurora frowns, staring at his anxious expression before whispering so chris and nick can't hear from where they are in the kitchen. "it doesn't matter who calls me what because they'll just be my friends while you're my best friend."

matt just nods his head, still feeling annoyed but happy from her words. aurora frowns deeper from how he continues to pick at the couch so, she leans forward and quickly pecks his cheek. as soon as her lips meet his cheek, she pulls away and stands up.

matt's eyes widen comically, a blush beginning to spread on his face as he looks up to the girl once she stands up.

woah.

"let's go now!" she exclaims impatiently, the same heat rushing to her face from her own action as she tries to quickly brush what just happened away.

matt gulps, a strong, fuzzy feeling spreading in his stomach that kinda has him second guessing if he's somehow began levitating.

"come on!" she groans impatiently, reaching forward and tugging on his arm again.

matt snaps out of it and stands up from the couch.

during all of the time he spends with aurora for the rest of the day though, the same fuzzy feeling is now in his stomach. it won't go away so he learns to get used to it.

and after that day, it seemed everyone was calling aurora his nickname but, he also learned to be okay with that because no matter what, he'd be her best friend.

well, that's a tad bit ironic now.

after that day, matt began to gain a childlike school boy crush on aurora but refused to tell her. it didn't matter in the end anyway because on the very last day of fifth grade, she came up to him teary eyed saying she didn't want to be friends anymore. at the time, he didn't take it very well and cried over it for weeks and weeks like a baby. he didn't see her at all during the summer and when they entered middle school, it became abundantly clear she hated him now.

his only problem was that even though she hated him and stopped at no bounds when it came to insulting him or making fun of him, the fuzzy feeling he got when he saw her hadn't gone away.

so, he taught himself to hate the feeling he got around her and as the years passed, hatred for the girl herself grew as well.

it all worked perfectly really.

or maybe not so much because recently, he keeps catching himself saying things he know he wouldn't say if actually hated her.

but he does hate her, he does.

the things that have been coming out of his mouth though, are completely unexplainable to him.

"hi cameron," matt says into the phone, shooting aurora a slightly smug grin, her glaring at him as she slowly makes her way to the pools exit.

he notices her beginning to reach the steps and quickly speed walks through the sliding doors and into the house just as cameron responds, "who's this?"

"matt," he answers blankly, rushing upstairs once he reaches the staircase. once he's on the second floor, he sneaks through ravens parents bedroom and into their bathroom.

"great," cameron says sarcastically, continuing to speak again after a small pause. "i've been meaning to talk to you."

"oh really?" matt raises his eyebrows. "let's hear it then."

"aurora," he says into the phone, matt's ears instantly peeking up. "you say you don't like her but glare at me every time i step within ten feet of her. what's your fucking deal, man?"

"alright," he sighs in response, not hesitating to change his tone to a harsher one from the new subject. "my deal is that you're not good enough for her."

he hears him scoff through the phone. "and what?" he says. "you are?" he can easily hear the condescending tone to his words. "in case you forgot, she literally fucking hates you."

"i don't give a fuck if she hates me," matt responds, his jaw beginning to clench as he's already getting angry. "stay out of it and stay away from her."

"why? do you seriously think you're better for her?" cameron has the audacity to laugh after he's spoke, making matt all the more annoyed.

"better than you could be," he answers harshly, the anger he's feeling enough to not have him questioning him words yet.

"hate to break it to you but she'd never go for you," he tells him on the other end of the phone, matt's patience thinning more and more as he scoffs.

"i don't care," matt says, beginning to murmur as he hears someone who is presumedly aurora around the corner. "just back the fuck off already."

he loses focus on whatever cameron says after that, noticing aurora entering the bathroom from the gigantic mirrors reflection and pulling the phone from his ear with a sigh.

"what the fuck is wrong with you?" matt exclaims as he opens cameron's bedroom door, not caring to barge in as cameron just sits there on his bed. he instantly glances up at him, his eyes narrowing as he already begins scoffing.

"you're fucking joking," he says, standing up from his bed and walking over to him. "why the fuck are you here?"

"because you're a fucking asshole," he answers easily, anger fueling his every word.

"yeah? is that why you came all this way to come get aurora?" he narrows his eyes at him, instantly knowing matt's here because he came to get aurora. "you know if you had waited a bit longer i might've of actually been able to hit th-"

matt doesn't realize what he's doing until his fist comes flying out in a swing across his left cheekbone so harshly it has his face whipping in a different direction.

a moment of silence washes over them, cameron scoffing loudly and raising his hand up to where he hit. he slowly turns his head back to him and speaks, "why do you fucking care so much?" he asks angrily, catching matt off guard for a second from how much he's been asked that recently. "just let it go, she likes me and you two literally fucking hate each other."

the words come out of matt's mouth in the heat of the moment before he can think on it, his pure anger taking over what he says.

"so what if i hate her? she's still mine."

cameron's eyebrows instantly raise and matt's eyes widen once he realizes what just came out of his own mouth. what the fuck is he saying?

without another word, he grabs the charger he spotted on cameron's bed once he walked in and turns around abruptly. he exits his room quickly.

see, he really, really doesn't know what's been going on with him recently but he's been blaming it on his unresolved feelings from elementary school.

every time he catches himself staring at aurora for too long, thinking about her when she's not around, or finds himself wanting to do something he know he shouldn't — he tells himself to straighten the fuck out and blames his younger self.

he had begun to feel differently though and that's how he knew he was fucked. he knew he was fucked as soon as the words left his mouth in cameron's room.

when he snuck off to ravens kitchen in the middle of the night and saw aurora outside, he knew he was done for. when he found himself stepping through the sliding doors, he knew he stood no chance. when he leaned in and kissed aurora, he knew there was no going back.

he has never been so goddamn confused in his life so naturally, after watching her run away from him after he kissed her, he's started avoiding her.

it was friday night they kissed and now it's thursday. he hasn't spoken to her once.

he left ravens house early with nick and chris saturday morning so he wouldn't have to speak to her. she had begun texting him a course of texts mainly saying 'what the fuck' but he didn't respond to any. he had to give her a ride to school monday morning and it was beyond uncomfortable. she tried approaching him as soon as they exited the car but he walked right past her. once he had to give her a ride home as well, she texted him that elijah would be giving her rides to and from school. he didn't respond, just stopped going to her house in the mornings before school.

she tried approaching him for the first two days but when he wouldn't budge, she just began staring at him constantly. he wouldn't even meet her eye though so after a day, she stopped that as well.

he just can't. he doesn't know what the fuck is going on anymore.

why the fuck is kissing his very own sworn enemy even on his mind in the first place and for the love of god, why is he acting on it?

💌

woah

...

he just wanna be hers so bad fr 😟😟

too bad we're in a fanfic written by me 🤣🤘 and this is not an enemies 1% and lovers 99% story...

sorry this chapter took so long i thought it would take longer to write so i was postponing it & i've had a lot of diff personal matters

<3
jaden