Welcome to Gaia! ::

Even with the sound of music serving as an auditory distraction to the bustling world around him Aiden was still quite aware of his surroundings.

One woman, with a way too strong perfume on passed by in a short dress, seemed to undoubtedly be trying to gain the attention of the first horny man only to publicly shame him. With the way her head tilted back and she seemed to be looking down at the world the raven haired young man could only shake his head head at her and let her pass before the students at the parkour gym teased him for smelling like a girl.

With his arms cross in front of him, while he waited for the crosswalk to signal it was their turn to go, Aiden’s index finger tapped against his bicep in tandem with the beat. Three… two… one… Slate blue eyes glanced up as the traffic lights turned from green to yellow to red then Go…

In the same second the red hand blinked into the white light of the person walking, his foot had already stepped off the curb. As bad as it was to admit to, which is why he hadn’t ever voiced this before, a part of him always wished that some driver would pull too far forward over the stripped lines just so he could slid across their hood or try what they do in the movies when the main actor is about to be hit and instead they roll over the top and land on their feet. A strange life goal but still something he wanted to do at least once in his life.

Just as Aiden had reached the midpoint of the street where the red Subaru, which was in the left turn only lane, was facing the intersection eagerly anticipating that green arrow so they could gun it, he watched as a young girl, likely still in grade school, had approached the corner with her head buried in some book she was holding. Thoughts of his sister’s moments of absent mindedness brought a single memory to the forefront from a time she had walked into a closed sliding glass window while she had been texting a friend. While what happened to Jenna was funny, seeing someone step out into oncoming traffic would be less than humerous.

“HEY!” he yelled in an attempt to get the blond haired chick’s attention.

Three long strides and he was jumping over the curb reaching out to grab her arm just as a semi-truck's mirror flew by narrowly missing her forehead

She was quick, but years of parkour training had taught Aiden enough about being aware of his surroundings that he at least saw the closed fist as she swung at him.

Much like on TV when someone was dodging a bladed weapon being swung at their abdomen, he too sucked his gut in and arched his back so she caught the front of his shirt instead of his ribs; however she did graze his abs a bit. “Woah woah… watch it.”

His face was full of both surprise and confusion from the volatile reaction he had just received “I just saved you from a rather nasty nose job thank you.” Which was true, though chances are, given the speed the vehicle was going it would have more than likely taken off more.

Without needing her to repeat herself, Aiden let her arm go and held his hands up in defence. “I’m sorry, listen I was just trying to keep you from walking out onto incoming traffic,” he tried to explain, hoping she would at least listen to reason. To try to calm her down a bit and not draw too much more attention onto them the raven haired young man knelt down to help gather the book and flowers she had just dropped.

Having a sister of his own, about the same age as the girl beside him, Aiden was all too familiar with that look on the blond's face. An attempt to remain composed or even uncaring in the face of devastation, the same way Jenna looked when they were younger and they failed to at least place in the top three at a dance competition.

With one hand he reached out to pass the book back to Dessie as he ran his other fingers through his hair. It seemed clear enough by her reaction that they were a gift for someone rather than something she had just received from a boyfriend.

“Hey, I don’t know how busy you are, but if you have some time there is a grocery store two blocks away. I’ll get you a new one.” Not that he really had the money to be spending on such things but he could get away with skipping lunch for two days. Worse case scenario Aiden would just swing by his mother's house and make a quick PB&J sandwich and grab a glass of milk to go.

“Listen,” he said with a sigh before rising to his feet. “I don’t know who you’re going to visit at the hospital, or what happened them, but I can tell by the tone in your voice that you don’t believe what you just said.” Slate blue eyes locked with a vibrant glacier blue. Her destination was an educated guess based on the fact unless it was a nursing home for the elderly or someone being cared for at their own house, he couldn’t really think of a place nor reason a room would have a lot of flowers unless someone was sick or hurt. “Am I right?”

Without waiting for her reply he continued, “Regardless of the circumstances it was pretty much my fault your gift was destroyed. So please,” he reached out his hand to help her up. “Allow me to replace it for you.”

“I wonder who spit in her oatmeal.” A curiosity spoken out loud as he watched her cross the street with unmatched determination and a heavy foot.

Drawing in a deep breath Aiden exhaled slowly women… No matter how much he tried, there would be no understanding the ways they think. Forever an enigma to those of the opposite gender.

Curious, he pulled the samsung phone out of his back pocket to check the time. “Eh, I got time.” he shrugged his shoulders disconcerned with how much time he had left to get to work. Fifteen minutes was enough to get to the pool and into his lifeguard suit with at least four minutes to spare; no need to rush.

One last glance in the direction the young girl ran off, Aiden half smiled and raised his hand in a farewell gesture. “Take care, and watch your step.” Words of caution though nobody stood close enough to hear just as the blond haired female disappeared into a crowd of people.