Hidden Girl

12- New Friends

They hug briefly before the next guest comes in.

"Alex! Why would you let me suffer alone all day with her?!?"

I look away from Alex and Azalea to see another cute guy walk in. My breath catches in my throat.

Why do they all have to be extremely pretty/cute? This makes me feel like crap.

He has blonde hair that kinda stands up and has brown highlights. He's a little bit taller then Alex, but equally as strong. He has a lip ring that makes him look even hotter.

He sees me standing there awkwardly alone as Azalea and Alex talk and ignore the guy who just walked in. His eyes brighten and he walks towards me.

"Hi there," he says with a smile.

"Aurora," I introduce myself and offer my hand.

He shakes his head. "I don't shake hands. I like hugs!"

He laughs and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. I laugh at him.

"I can't breathe!" I yell at him.

"Yes you can! If you couldn't breathe you couldn't talk!"

"I don't even know you're name!" I laugh at him. "And I already like you!"

"I like you too!" he laughs and finally releases me. "And I'm Sebastian. Nickname Bass."

"Nice to meet you Sebastian," I smile at him. He just has this way to make you smile, even if you don't want to.

"Alex!" he screams since apparently he's too lazy to go talk to him at the other side of the kitchen. "You never told me she was this pretty!"

I immediately blush and smack his arm. "Shut up!"

He laughs at my reaction and swings his arm over my shoulders. It's so weird how we are completely at ease with each other. We walk towards Azalea and Alex in deep conversation. They finally look up and Azalea smiles kindly at me, where Alex gives Sebastian a death glare.

"Aurora," I say as I offer Azalea my hand. She quickly accepts and shakes my hand.

"Azalea," she smiles. "I've heard a lot about you."

I raise my eyebrow at Alex and he smiles at me innocently. I roll my eyes at him. "Nice to meet you, Azalea."

"I want food!" Sebastian complains from beside me. "You promised me food, Alex!"

"Yeah, Alex!" I join in the complaining.

Alex rolls his eyes and walks over to the pantry. "What do you want to eat, sweetheart?"

"Anything sounds good, sweetie," I tell him as I shake Sebastian's arm off and hop on the counter.

"You guys sound like a married couple," Azalea laughs at us making me smile.

"I don't even know why we do that," I tell her with a smile. I reach beside me and turn on the radio, hoping to listen to some music.

The new song, Steal My Girl by One Direction, starts playing on the local station and I get all excited.

"I love this song!" I say to absolutely nobody.

"Omg you do too?!?!" Azalea says, jumping up and down. "Finally someone to support me and my boy bands!"

"They're the best!"

"Favorite?" she asks me with a big grin on her face.

"I'm a Harry girl," I blush. It's kind of embarrassing to be in love with a guy that you don't deserve.

"Louis for me," she smiles.

"He's amazing!" I laugh as we fangirl a little more.

"Omg it's the chorus!" she screams. Sebastian rolls his eyes and Alex just laughs at us.

I hop off the counter and turn up the radio.

"Everybody wanna steal my girl!" I sing to Sebastian. I take my hands in his and we dance around the room. He laughs at me but dances with me. "Everybody wanna take her heart away."

Azalea joins in and sings the next line from her spot now on the counter. "Couple billion in the whole wide world. Find another one 'cause she belongs to me."

We all laugh and I finally let Sebastian go.

"You're not too bad at dancing," Sebastian laughs at me. I shrug my shoulders. I jump up on the counter and sit next to Azalea. I look to see Alex silently putting a pizza in the oven with his jaw clenched.

"Hey, Alex?"

He looks up at me and his jaw relaxes a little bit.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He nods his head and I walk into his room and he follows after me. I shut the door and stand right in front of him, with him towering over me.

"Alex," I sigh. "Are you okay? You're friends are great, but you're not happy. I can tell. It pains me to see you like this."

 "You can not say that to me," he growls at me with angry hazel eyes. "You do not have the right to say that to me."

"And why is that?" I cross my arms.

"Pains you to see me upset? How do you think it makes me feel to see you cry? To see you have to suffer working at that bar?" He raises his voice and I'm positive that Sebastian and Azalea can hear us. "Do you have any I idea how much it hurts me to see you starving? I've been hurt before, Aurora, but nothing amounts to the pain I feel to see you in pain."

I'm speechless.

"I care about you a lot, Aurora," he yells at me. "It's time you figure that out!"

He takes a step towards me in anger and I do the first thing that comes to mind. I raise my hands and prepare for a blow.

But it never comes.

I feel a pair of strong hands guide my hands down. I open my eyes to see Alex looking very concerned at me. I shake his hands off of me and take a step away. I cover my eyes with my hands and sigh.

"Sorry," I say quietly. "It's an instinct."

I lower my hands and stare at Alex. He nods his head but he doesn't seem to completely believe me. I rush forward and hug Alex around the neck. He immediately picks me up around the waist so I can hug him easier. He hugs my waist just as much as I'm hugging his neck.

"I'm sorry for yelling," he whispers to me like he is afraid to break this moment. "But I do mean it. I care for you."

"Thank you," I whisper back and give him a squeeze. I feel this warm sensation in my heart at him saying those words. He actually said them.

"And I never want you to forget," he continues. "I will always care for you, even if it seems like I don't."

"Okay," is all I manage to get out but he's fine with that.

He sets me down and hugs me into his chest like he just doesn't want to go back out there yet. He just wants to stay with me.

He pulls me away and kisses my forehead. "We should probably go back," he whispers in my ear and I nod my head. We finally completely release each other my body feels immediately colder without him against me.

We walk back to the kitchen to see Sebastian and Azalea in an argument. They both look up as we walk in and Azalea smiles at us, but Sebastian just frowns.

I try to ignore Sebastian's reaction and I go and sit on the counter with Azalea again. "Pizza done yet, sweetie?"

"Almost, sweetheart," Alex calls back to me as he checks the oven.

"You guys all good now?" Azalea whispers in my ear so the boys don't hear. I nod my head and she smiles. "I knew you guys would make up," she adds on. "We should hang out some time. I like you."

I smile at that answer and quickly agree.