☾THE MECHANIC☽

11. Self-Defence

You, Ben, Ashlyn, and Aiden are waiting at the front of Ashlyn's house for Logan and the twins. You and Aiden are throwing a football back and forth. "You have a good arm [Y/N]" Aiden compliments. "Thanks. I used to play sports before I moved here" You inform. "What sports did you play?" Ashlyn's eyes peek over her phone. "Rugby and track were my main sports but of course, I did others for fun. Growing up I wasn't the kid to play on the playground. I played with the kids in the field and joined them in whatever they were playing" You explain, throwing the football back to Aiden who seems to be distracted. "Oh, the-" Aiden is interrupted by your warning but it's too late. The football hit Aiden in the face, "I'm sorry!". "All good!" He smiles, giving you a thumbs up. You chuckle at the blonde while turning to look toward where the snickering is coming from. Your eyes land on Tyler covering his mouth, trying to hide his laughter from when Aiden got hit in the face with the football.

"[Y/N], are you sure you should be throwing a football with your injuries?" Logan saunters over to you with his scooter. "It's just a scratch, plus I'm used to it" You smile. "Is that a good thing?" Taylor sweatdrops. "Depends on how you see it" You shrug. Tyler leans his bike on the side of the house followed by Logan's scooter. The seven of you make your way to the front door. "You guys should really wear helmets" Aiden glances over his shoulder at the twins. "Oh like you would," Both you and Tyler say, concomitantly. The two of you make eye contact before you look away. You feel a nudge in your side. You send a glare at the smiling blonde, who eyes Tyler in the corner of his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but you beat him to it, "Say something stupid and I'll punch you". Aiden snickers and leans it closer, whispering, "It's okay to admit it". You feel the heat rise to your cheeks and you shove Aiden's face away from you, "Shut up".

Tyler watches as you shove a chuckling Aiden away with a pink hue on your face. "You didn't punch me so it must be true!" Tyler watches as Aiden laughs at you. Your face becomes a darker shade of pink as you send a punch to Aiden's arm, "I said shut up!". You're kind of cute when you're embarrassed but why are you? What were the two of you whispering about? Ashlyn enters the house first followed by you, Aiden, and the rest. "Mom? Dad?" Ashlyn calls out to her parents. "Kitchen!".

"Could you move any slower?"

"Yeah,"

You hear Tyler and Aiden bicker behind you. "Um... What are you guys doing?" Ashlyn raises an eyebrow at her parents. "Making a snack platter..." Her mom answers. "I see that... But why so much? You two can't possibly eat all that by yourself" Ashlyn says. "W-well you and your friends usually go straight to the graveyard to hang out" Ashlyn's dad trails off, looking at his wife. "But when you called, you said that all of you wanted to speak with us this time so... We made snacks to eat while we talked" Ashlyn's mom finishes. The three of them stand there eyeing each other before her parents start whispering to each other. You chuckle while walking up to Ashlyn, "Thank you", you say to her parents. "You're welco-" Ashlyn's mom's eyes widen seeing you, "What happened to your face?!". You sweatdrop, glancing over your shoulder. It was bound to be questioned sooner or later, your dad hasn't even seen this yet. "We'll talk about it later," Ashlyn says.

You sit in between Tyler and Logan on the couch as Ashlyn's parents place the snack platter on the coffee table. You're all distracted by Aiden, who's chewing obnoxiously loud. "Gross..." You mumble, a shiver running down your spine. "Dude" Tyler eyes Aiden with disgust. Aiden finishes with a burp and by that time you believe you lost your appetite. "So... What did you kids want to talk about?" Ashlyn's dad questions. "Oh right... We uh" Ashlyn pauses before she stands up. She stands behind a lamp, her shadow cast on the wall behind her. "Do you notice anything weird about my shadow?" Ashlyn holds up a braid that doesn't show in her shadow. You eye her parents who seem confused. "Well, not uh... Not particularly, no?" Her dad answers. You sulk over before you take in a sharp breath, placing a hand over your abdomen, quickly straightening up. "Are you okay, [Y/N]?" Logan places a hand on your shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine... Just too much pressure" You answer.