Vic’s p.o.v

Ever since Mike came in, he has been moping around: complaining.
“I just… Why am I the bad guy?” He complained
“Dude, I don’t know.”
“No, you don’t care! I mean, what the fuck? Last week Amelia was setting a death date for Ari and now Ari’s protection Amelia like it’s her mission in life!”
“Maybe it is…” I murmured
“Fuck off, Vic.”
I didn’t respond, in the hope he would shut up. I love Mike to pieces, he is my brother after all, but all this complaining was really starting to piss me off.
“Maybe I should call her…”
“Mike, no. Just leave her. She obviously isn’t in the mood. Why can’t you face it, dude? Girls are complicated. They love each other, then they hate each other: it’s a vicious cycle.”
Mike sighed and threw himself back on the couch.
“You could call her? She’ll listen to you.”
“I’m gonna go to my room.”
Standing up from the couch, I waved in Mike’s direction and headed to my room. I threw myself onto my bed. I was scared, to be honest. Two people have decided that they’re going to risk their lives for me. Sure, Amelia was doing it more for Aria than me, but she wouldn’t have to if it wasn’t for me. Also, I wasn’t doubting that Mike, Jaime and Tony would risk their lives to try and protect me, whether they knew what was going on or not.
I could still faintly hear Mike complaining back in the living room, I wasn’t listening though. For the next ten minutes, I was drifting in and out of sleep until Mike came barging in and threw a pillow at me.
“HEY!” I shouted at him
“Have you even been listening to me?” Mike asked
I shook my head.
He sighed before laying down on my bed.
“What if she hates me?”
“She doesn’t.”
“But the things I said, they really hurt her.”
“Apologise. It’s pretty clear that you didn’t mean to hurt her. Aria’s gonna have to get used to you not phrasing things very well if she wants to continue hanging around with us.”
Mike chuckled. “Guess so.”
“Let’s go watch a movie, or something.” I suggested
“HARRY POTTER!” Mike screamed before running out of my room
“Of course.” I mumbled
After our Harry Potter marathon, which consisted of the first two films, I noticed Mike had fallen asleep. I hesitated, then lifted a pillow up. However, before I could throw it, my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I sighed and looked down at my phone to see Jaime calling me.
“Dude, what do you want at midnight?” I asked
“It’s Aria.” He stated
My eyes, widened and I crept into the kitchen, closing the door behind me.
“What’s happened?”
“Couple of guys attacked her. She’s fine, just shaken up a bit. She told me to call you.”
“Why are you guys out at this time?”
“She said something about family problems, and so I was coming to pick her up so she could stay at mine but when I got here they’d cornered her.”
“Right, okay. Where are you guys?”
“The old skate park we used to hang out at, y’know round the corner from your house.”
“I’ll be there in 5.”
“Alright.”
We hung up and I rushed to put my shoes on. Before leaving the house, I checked that Mike was still asleep. Lucky, for me he’s a heavy sleeper. I headed out the door and ran round to the park. I found Jaime and Tony sat on the curb, just outside the park, with Aria cuddled into Jaime’s chest. Walking in front of them, I held my hands out towards Aria. She looked up and smiled a weak smile in my direction, then took my hands to help herself get up.
We all got into Tony’s car and drove back to Jaime’s house. We snuck up to his room. Jaime, softly closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the end of the bed, whilst Aria hugged one of his pillows on the other end of the bed. Tony made himself comfortable on the floor and I sat in the middle, on the bed, and stared at Aria, examining her body for bruises or cuts. Suddenly, I noticed that one of her sleeves was damp with blood.
“Aria, your arm.” I spoke softly
She looked down and nodded.
“You got a first aid kit?” I nudged Jaime
He nodded and trudged out the room, before returning back a minute later with a box in his hand. Slowly, I shuffled closer to Aria and unwrapped her arm from the pillow. She didn’t resist. I peeled her sleeve back to reveal a gash on her arm. It wasn’t too deep, so I began cleaning it up before wrapping her arm in a bandage.
“Thanks.” She whispered
“Who were they?” I asked
She fearfully looked into my eyes and I nodded. I knew what that look meant.
“Are we missing something?” Jaime questioned
I looked to Aria for permission and she simply nodded. After explaining the whole Paige issue to Jaime and Tony, a look of realisation washed over Tony’s face.
“That’s why you two are always together!” Tony gasped.
“We honestly thought you two were getting on it.” Jaime wriggled his eyebrows
Aria giggled.
“Guys you can’t tell anybody.” Aria’s face dropped as she spoke
“Why? Mike’s gonna be pissed if he finds out.” Jaime tried to reason
“I’m not ready yet.” Aria stated
“Plus, I don’t want to put him in any more danger. Sorry about that by the way.” I told Jaime
“Alright. Who else knows?” Tony asked
“Just you two and Amelia.” Aria replied
“Alright, so I’ll steer clear of this topic around Mike.” Jaime suggested
Both me and Aria nodded in appreciation.
“I better get going.” I stated. “You alright here, Aria?”
“Yeh.” She smiled at me
“Okay. I just want you to know, that Mike’s really sorry. Let him explain tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“I’ll give you a ride.” Tony offered
“Thanks.”

Notes