— "I MISSED YOU TOO, KYLIAN."
she found it ironic, really. in the presence of her brother were the times that aria and kylian were closest, despite matteo telling her it wasn't a good idea. matteo wasn't stupid, he could read his sister very well even though she thought she was being extremely sneaky.
"you're a terrible liar, aria i hope you know that." he laughed as she desperately tried to explain herself. "you're so annoying, teo." she huffed.
"hey, all i'm saying is you can't go after a guy with a girlfriend. believe me, i've been in your situation too aria, it never ends well." he patted his little sister's shoulder.
"just saying, i liked him before she did." she rolled her eyes at her older brother. "i know you did aria, believe me." he laughed at her trying to defend her reasoning.
"maybe i'll have a shot one day, once they break up." she remained this optimistic because she never had a guy have the same relationship with her as kylian had.
"do you want me to be honest with you, aria?" he said, the tone of his voice began to scare her now. "i always want you to be honest with me teo, come on now." she looked over with worry in her expression. her brother wasn't the blunt type, he'd often sugar-coat things to soften the blow of information he knew would be hard for others to hear, that's why people liked him so much. matteo was just the type of person who always put others feelings into consideration before his own.
"this time, i think he really does like her, she may be permanent." he looked over at his younger sister.
"oh." was all she could mutter out before being pulled into a hug by her older brother. "hey, don't beat yourself up over it. there's plenty of other people out there, aria." he squeezed her shoulder.
not everyone was him.
"do you want to maybe grab dinner together and reconnect soon?" kylian suggested. he was nervous, she could easily tell and he wasn't the best at hiding his emotions, not 5 years ago and definitely not now. "um, don't you have a girlfriend?" aria winced.
"no, we broke up a little while ago." he chuckled. she didn't know what was that funny and she questioned it mentally, a long-term relationship that had just recently ended? it wasn't looking too good for her.
nevertheless, she took the risk. she was eager to properly enjoy his company and be around him once again for the first time in what felt like forever. "okay, i'm free tomorrow if that works." she reluctantly agreed.
"yeah, it works." he smiled at her, she missed seeing that smile everyday. "you still have my number right? text me." she smiled back at him, keeping the eye contact. they may have been older now but he still got nervous around her.
"will do." he smirked before hugging her quickly as they headed their separate ways.
— "HE ASKED YOU OUT?" aria heard marie scream over the line.
"i mean, not really, having dinner and going on a date are two different things." she shrugged, rubbing her eyes as she still felt tired. kylian's encounter with her had kept her up all night, she wanted to make sure she did everything right and not mess up. she clearly hadn't thought it through too well as the lack of sleep showed on her face.
