Brewed Tension

Aiden was in a good mood for once. Not because he had two hours of potions class ahead of him, but because his first few weeks at school had went better than expected. Going into this school year, Aiden had spent the first few days sulking in his usual shitty mood as he tended to do any time his dad was involved in the picture. For someone who wanted nothing to do with him, the man had habit of inserting himself in situations where he was not wanted. In Aidens life, for one. So in other words, summer had been shit as usual. Well- Not really; It wasn't always shit- but hearing from his dad had been a hell of a way to end his summer. Not in a good way.

Luckily his aunt was both protective and 'no bullshit' kind of woman and had told the man to fuck right off, giving him enough solid ground to not lose his sanity in the process. It was thanks to her he was keeping it together, and- as recently discovered- his new friends at school. Mostly Slytherin boys that he shared a dorm with. Well, friends might be a generous term to call his relationships, but they were slowly getting to a point where Aiden dared relax enough to lower his guard a bit.

With his new formed friendships and flirts in mind, Aiden joined potions class with an uncharacteristic easy smile. That was usually reserved for people he was trying to charm. A means to an end, if you will. After taking a seat next to one of his housemates, he was soon separated to work with another Slytherin student instead, on the professors orders. Victoria Blythe. The name didn't ring a bell to him, but when a pretty brunette walked in his direction with a look he interpreted as internal dread, he noted that he'd seen her around the common room. Despite her obvious lackluster mood, Aiden offered her a smile for politeness sake. He knew how he came across- what reputation he had. Whether it was warranted or not was a different question, but he didn't care to correct them. In the grand scheme of things, Victoria was right to be wary of him and his talents. The Slytherin could be really charming if he set his mind to it.

By the time she arrived to his potions table, she seemed to have collected herself. But seemed no less distant, putting a respectable distance between them. “Looks like we’ll be working together," Victoria said in obvious, but nevertheless correction observation. "How are you with potions?”

Finding that question funny considering this was his, what- fourth potions class ever? Aiden smirked amused in her direction. "You can relax." Aiden never really half-assed anything. And even if he did, he still managed well. "It's not that difficult if you just read the instructions," he drawled, knowing the smartass answer would probably annoy her. "That's what the book is for."

As expected, she was not amused by his comment. The narrowed look he received didn't bother him. Definitely not enough for him to fold over and apologize for being difficult. Aiden never did, because he was- the absolute majority of the time- always right. Even if he wasn't, he wasn't the type of person to ever admit it. More of the go stubbornly cold and sulk type of person if anyone tried to prove him wrong about something, and- god forbid- managed. Besides, he'd had worse reactions.

"I don’t think it’s just about reading the instructions. Everyone in class has a book. And I’m pretty sure everyone can read. Yet somehow, not everyone manages to brew the potion correctly."

"Then they're just stupid," he said with a shrug. And that mean they would get no sympathy from him. That wasn't the books fault, just the incompetent reader who couldn't follow instructions correctly. Regardless, Aiden was confident enough in his abilities that they would be fine- if Victorias determination and nagging was anything to go by when gauging her own skills. Beyond just reading the instructions.

Speaking of nagging; They divided the work on the girls order. He was technically fine with grabbing the ingredients, but he couldn't help but roll his eyes at her attitude and the backhanded comment that followed. Annoyed that she was trying to boss him around already without any credit. Aiden wasn't bossed around by anyone. Refused to be. Or at the very least, responded exceptionally bad to orders given by others unless he had some sense of control of the situation. Right now he felt torn, not wanting to give in without a fuss to prove a point, but he also didn't give enough fucks about the task at hand that it was worth a fight. It was just potions.

Aiden remained seated, just cooly staring at her for long enough that it was clear that he was not willing to just comply on her whim. Not until she asked, sounding resigned, if they could just do this potion. "Whatever. You wanna stir a pot, be my guest," Aiden sighed and rose from his seat to fetch the ingredients from the jars, the list already memorized in his mind. And didn't mean just in potions.

Aiden returned with the ingredients balanced lazily in his arms, already bored with the task before he’d even dropped the first sprig on the table. He wasn’t in any rush—never was. And Victoria wasn’t exactly someone he felt like impressing.

He was just about to toss one of the jars down onto the workspace when something splashed warm against his hand. Not scalding, but enough to make him blink and jerk back an inch. “What the—?" His voice cut off as he looked up sharply, only to see her expression already twisted in panic. Her apology came quickly, eyes wide and unguarded—so unlike the usual frosty, perfectionist mask she wore.

He didn’t respond immediately. Not because it hurt—please— but because the concern in her voice threw him off. He wasn’t used to people caring, not unless they wanted something from him. He didn't like it. It edged dangerously close to sappy- and feelings were something Aiden refused to deal with. The look in her face of genuine concern triggered his flight or fight instinct. Flight usually won.

Before she could fuss over him again and make him even more uncomfortable, he quickly reassured her, "... It's fine. Don’t bother," wiping the water off of his hand. “Just don’t spill the cauldron on me next. I’m not fetching all this crap again.”

Aiden had meant what he said when he told her that it was fine. He wasn’t hurt, even if the hot water had left a red sting where it had grazed his skin. At least not to the degree that justified her concern. Aiden didn’t think he'd ever met someone who worried this much before, that it reached an exhausting degree. The Slytherin didn’t want her pity or worry. In this case, he didn’t need it. It was grating on him that she kept insisting. Despite that, not for a second did his composure slip, remaining cool and calm… Until he was rendered speechless when she suddenly reached out to take his hand.

Soft, warm hands gently held his, turning them to examine him like he was something fragile and precious. Aiden was frozen in place, staring at her like he was treading between offence and simply flabbergasted. Not that she noticed, too busy trying to gauge how much he was hurting(he wasn’t). “Ehh…” Was the only sound that left his mouth. Victoria had completely caught him off guard. It was so surreal to him- and uncomfortable to be touched in such an intimate manner- that he was too stunned to do anything before she'd already released him. Like she just realized she was coddling a venomous snake that might strike her any second. It wasn’t too far off. At least she had the audacity to apologize for stepping over the line.

“Sorry. Don’t dry it with anything too harsh—you might irritate the skin more. I think it’ll heal... if we apply some ointment.”

Aiden retracted his hands, glancing from the girl down to his hand for the first time with a scrutinizing gaze. The skin was a bit red- ointment wouldn't hurt- but he wasn’t worried it would leave any lasting means. He still hadn't said anything when she once again fussed over his health. Her concern likely came from a genuinely good place, it was just emotions wasted on someone like him.

“If you’d like, we can use something to ease the pain. Just… let me know if it hurts, okay? I didn’t mean to— I’m really sorry.”

“Stop,” he cut her off, voice calm but final. Green eyes fixed on her face, whether she held eye contact or not. “You've gotta stop doing that. Worrying over insignificant things.” His words were blunt but not in any way a lash out. Aiden rarely raised his voice, and this wasn’t an exception. He rarely needed to since his no-bullshit and serious attitude demanded enough attention. Probably sounded more harsh than intended, however. Of course he didn’t know if this was her usual behavior with everyone, but he could imagine her overthinking in any other situation. He didn't mean to come off as harsh or upset the girl, but he'd frankly had enough. Boundaries were a huge deal to someone like him, even something so meaningless like spilled hot water, and he didn’t compromise or sugarcoat for anyone. He could stretch himself to getting the ointment for the mild burn, if only to ease her mind. But unsolicited hand holding and domestic caring was something he could not handle.

His words hit harsh, which he had suspected from the start. Without a word, Victoria turned to her book and didn't speak- or as much as look at him for the rest of the assignment. Aiden sighed, debating whether being ignored was the preferable option over being fussed over like a child. The silence was nice for once, but unfortunately the knowledge behind said silence made it harder to appreciate it. It would also make it more difficult to collaborate and create a decent potion, but suppose she hadn't thought that far when she decided to give him the cold shoulder.

Letting her have her moment- or hour- Aiden prepared the ingredient by counting each and everyone of them, laying out the correct amounts on the table ready for Victoria to cut, crush or whatever the book said. Everything was continuously done without a word spoken between them. But the tension was palpable. At some point he caught her glancing around- at the group, but perhaps him too- only for a second before she returned her focus to the cauldron. He knew what she must be thinking- or at least he could imagine it: that he should do something about his hand.

When everything was laid out for her and he'd returned the jars to their spots on the shelves, he studied his hand. It was still sore. Nothing too bad, but enough that he bit the bullet and decided to go look for some burn ointment to treat it with. He didn't announce his plans, obviously. She was ignoring him, but most importantly: he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she'd won. Perhaps stupidly, his ego couldn't take admitting he was wrong- or weak. That he decided to take her advice, even if it was in his best interest.

Finding a jar of burn cream behind some jars of lionfish spines, Aiden stole a decent amount out of the jar and spread the cool cream on the burn. For a moment he just stared at it, as if he would be able to see it heal his skin in seconds. Nothing happened for now, but the stinging heat felt cool and soothed. Better, anyway. Returning it to the spot he'd found it, Aiden turned and walked back to the table where Victoria was still focused, acting like nothing.

Aiden glanced at the cauldron to gauge their progress. It seemed fine, but it was too soon to tell the final outcome. He really didn't feel like breaking the silence first, especially since he wasn't the one who'd started it in the first place, but it was getting ridiculous. Rolling his eyes that he even had to, Aiden spoke up, dreadfully. "I used a burn cream, just in case. So you can stop sulking now."