So, even though I wanted to die from how mortifying the situation was, I sucked in a breath and dug my hands into my top. Here goes nothing. A few seconds later, my hands were returning with… A moment of silence was what followed, with Aiden staring from my hands to me, and then back to my hands, and then to me – the both of us holding each other's stare for a drawn out second. And that did it. We burst out laughing, with Aiden resting his head on the steering wheel, shoulders shaking with laughter, and me, nearly toppling over the car seat, body raking with mirth. "You stuffed it with…tennis balls, how…" That was how far his voice allowed him to go before he trailed off between laughs, with me echoing the throaty sounds from beside him. "Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time, okay?" I choked out between chuckles. "Sure, whatever you say," came his amused reply. "Besides, your dedication to this shows I'm right; you do enjoy the drama." Ok, fine, maybe I did enjoy it a little. But come on, I was a single twenty-year-old with a very limited number of friends, and absolutely no plans for the weekend. Playing dress up for another of Aiden's messy relationships, was pretty much all I had. But of course, I couldn't tell him that. I instead scoffed. "Oh please, I do not. If anything, I feel like such a shitty person. I'm probably going to end up in heartbreaker hell right beside you, Bobby Jensen from high school, and every other jerk out there who spends their time on earth breaking innocent hearts." I cringed just imagining it. But I seemed to be the only worried one here, because Aiden was bubbling with chuckles from beside me. "Heartbreaker hell, seriously?" He questioned, the amusement in his voice clear. "Oh, you know aiding and abetting is pretty much an offense too. And thanks to you, I've been aiding a lot of heartbreaks," I reasoned. But if anything, Aiden seemed more amused by this. But when he caught the: 'don't you even dare' look I threw at him, he was quick to raise his hands in mock surrender, suppressing whatever remark I just knew he was going to make, poking fun at me. "Ok, how about this? Instead of thinking of it as aiding and abetting, you should consider it to be something like say…" He snapped his fingers in that 'aha' way, that told me he finally found the words he was searching for, and it was further confirmed by his addition of: "female solidarity." I couldn't help the "what?" that slipped out my lips at that. "How does that have anything to do with female solidarity?" "Well, you know – thanks to you, they hate me and want nothing to do with me. Which then means that they can finally move on and find the kind of guy who'd be willing to really commit to them. See?" He finished with a wink. "Well," I drawled. "That is true though. I mean, I'm practically saving them from a jerk face. And you do know you're the jerk face, right?" I quipped. "Really? I never would have guessed." I ignored the dripping sarcasm in those words, and nodded instead, saying, "well, yeah, you are. You're such a jerk face, you could even say you're the jerkiest of all the jerk faces. You're like super jer-" "Ok I get it," he cut in, feigning exasperation, and I could only titter. But I wasn't done just yet. "Since we're in the spirit of female solidarity, I think it's only right that I should also consider things from their point of view. Since they all probably hate you after what you did, it's only fair that I show my support. Which is why I won't be helping you out with your relationship drama for the next two weeks. You can deal with it all by yourself." Of course, that got the reaction I knew it would. Because now, I could practically sense the panic in his voice. "What? Come on, you wouldn't leave me with them all by myself? You wouldn't do that to your best friend, to the only person you've ever truly loved." He even made a show of holding his chest in mock pain. "If by all that, you're referring to Mr. Pickles, then no. But to you? Hell yes!" "But what if I get stuck in a situation with someone like crazy Jessica?" He questioned, seeming truly horrified at the possibility, and honestly, so was I. Crazy Jessica – how could I forget her? She was just another one of the many poor girls who had fallen under Aiden's spell. And let's just say it wasn't as easy for her to break out of it. But things were quick to turn weird, as she was certain her and Aiden were lovers who got separated in another life. Hence, she wanted to do some kind of blood ritual to ensure their burning hearts were forever connected. Trust me, it took a lot more than my usual stories to get her to give up on being with him. I'm talking a whole lot more. And even when she finally did accept that they couldn't be together, there was a lot of violence in the aftermath. And let's just say Aiden lost some good patches of hair that day. So, with that memory in mind, I knew a part two of that wouldn't be fun – for Aiden. Thus, the wicked smirk that settled on my lips now. "Well, you'd have to deal with it yourself. Female solidarity comes before anything else," I finished, holding my hand up as one chanting a freedom cry would. "Really?" "Yes." "And what if I said I would double your gummy bear stash for the next two months?" Oh, no he didn't. But the sly smirk on his smug face showed he just did – he was using my love for those sweet, delicious pretty gummy things against me. Oh god, I could almost taste it and…no! No way was I giving in so easily. "No," I said simply, feeling my lips curl in a smirk at his surprise that I turned down his offer. Well, what did he think – that I could be so easily bought? I was a girl with integrity and… "Five months," he shot, eyes holding mine in a sort of silent challenge. And me? "You know what, Aiden? Feel free to use me in whatever way you want. I'm completely at your service." Oh, come on, it's five months of filling my gummy bear stash! My integrity wasn't strong enough to resist that. And Aiden also knew that – hence, his using it against me. He could be so sly. Now though, he was letting out a low whistle. "I mean, when you say it like that, I could think of a few things which involves us in the backseat of a parked car." He wiggled his brows suggestively, a teasing tilt to his words. It took a moment, but when I finally got his meaning, I found myself hitting his arm between cries of: "eww! You're such a perv." But trust him to just laugh as though I gave him some kind of compliment. "You're the worst Aiden Finch, the absolute worst," I added, my words coming out between bursts of chortles. "Maybe. But you love me anyway, Aria Levine," he quipped, smiling at me in that stupidly charming way of his that made it impossible not to smile back. Still, I managed a scoff. "You wish." "Hey," he cried dramatically. "That was supposed to be a sweet moment." I shook my head at his antics, tittering slightly. Yeah, I was best friends with a crazy guy. But what can I say? I loved him just like that