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“You’ve been receiving fucking love notes and you said absolutely nothing about it.”
Kevin was glaring at Aaron with a stupid-looking pout on his face. God, why did Aaron have to befriend the most annoying man on the planet?
“I would tell you if that was important.”
“And you think it’s not?”
Aaron shrugged. It wasn’t. Kind of. It started off as loose pieces of paper she would sometimes find in her bag. When she had first unfolded one of them, she was sure she’s in for getting called slurs and possibly worse. The world wasn’t ever kind to her in the slightest, and now she could add being a “transsexual freak” to her pile of emotional baggage. Seeing the words have a nice day and a smiley face scribbled on the paper was so unexpected Aaron thought she was hallucinating from sleep deprivation. It was real but surely just a coincidence. Possibly a trap.
The second time it was your smile makes the world a better place and Aaron started wondering who would bait her like that and for what. Just to punish her for their own entertainment? Most likely. Aaron’s smile most definitely did not make the world a better place. She already had a hard enough time looking at her face before and it only became worse.
Sometimes she would just get heart doodles. Aaron decided that the best she could do for her peace of mind was to just ignore that. She couldn't take the bait or harvest false hope that someone had genuine interest in her.
And she would tell Kevin if that was something she deemed important. Kevin essentially became her only friend, which was an insane thing to say. Andrew iced her out after she came out, which Aaron half expected. They still had a long way to go and she held no grudge. Maybe minimal grudge. Andrew’s little pet project approaching her was the last thing she expected. Kevin just sat down next to her one day and acted as if he was always supposed to be there. Since then, Aaron had a permanent study buddy and a whiny diva on her side.
Despite everything, having an ally was nice.
The newly opened coffee shop near the campus became their regular hangout spot. Aaron tried to study, Kevin talked her ear off and funded her caffeine addiction, and that was it. Aaron desperately needed something that resembled what “normal” girls her age were doing.
Kevin groaned dramatically and gently closed Aaron’s textbook. He pointed to the coffee he ordered for Aaron earlier. “Look. You even got a little heart here! Secret admirer barista…”
“There’s no secret admirer! And there won’t be! It’s a coffee shop, Kevin, everyone gets a fucking foam heart!”
Kevin furrowed his brows. “I’ve never gotten one, then. Not fair. Besides, why are you so against the idea of someone liking you?”
Aaron couldn’t help but snort. “Someone. Liking me. Do you hear yourself? God.”
Aaron didn’t want to redo her whole wardrobe. She was growing her hair out to see if she likes it. It was at that awkward stage where it mostly just stuck out weirdly and was impossible to style one way or another. She knew that putting clear lipgloss or trying to pitch her voice up didn’t matter to the outside world. Aaron felt like a cheap copy of her brother that couldn’t even firmly be one thing. Someone’s barbie doll, but the unfortunate one that someone practiced cutting hair on and that nobody wanted to play with afterwards.
The idea that someone liked her was laughable.
“Yes.” Kevin reached and tucked a lock of hair behind Aaron’s ear. “Seriously. I don’t think anyone’s trying to trick you. Also, I have eyes, and one of the baristas has been staring at you.”
Aaron turned around just in time to see Katelyn looking in her direction from behind the counter. Aaron’s heart skipped a beat. Fuck, no. She knew Katelyn from some of the classes they took together. Aaron thought Katelyn was the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen in her life. She wanted to get closer to her, but what if she grossed Katelyn out? There were too many what ifs for Aaron, so she never allowed herself to be attracted to anyone.
Katelyn waved at her and moved to approach their table with something in her hands. Kevin winked at Aaron and got kicked under the table in retaliation.
“Hi, hope you’re enjoying your drinks.” Smile so charming Aaron might’ve actually died.
“Yeah, uh, they’re very good.” Aaron nodded. She was so tense she was sure she would strain something.
“Well, I have to go back to work, but… Aaron, can you please look over those notes for me? You’re, like, the goddess of keeping your notes neat. I’ve seen them. No pressure, though, just wanted to make sure I have everything I need before finals.”
Aaron just nodded and held the notebook as if it would bite her. Katelyn mouthed a thank you and left before someone yelled at her for dillydallying.
Aaron opened the notebook and the first thing that she saw was a loose piece of paper. Addressed to her, specifically. Kevin looked over her shoulder and loudly gasped, earning another kick under the table.
I might need some help from a certain pretty girl… Call me when you’re free.