In My Veins:
Hey there reader. This is just a quick author's note before I start the story. First off, these characters are the children of the main Pretty Little Liars crew (Tessa Rivers is the daughter of Haleb, Aaron Cavanaugh is the son of Spoby, Kira Fitz is the daughter of Ezria, and Emily's kid won't appear until the second chapter). There isn't an A, but there is a villain. This story is what happened after I watched PLL, Gossip Girl, and some emotional Wong Fu videos. Also, the original Liars are in Jamaica with their significant others, so they won't be present right away. Their kids don't know about A, but they have grown up together. There will be flashbacks.
"You have ice cream on your lip," Tessa giggled, perched on her chair outside of the ice cream shop. Aaron smiled and wiped his mouth, his blue eyes watching her laugh. Tessa cocked her head to the side questioningly.
"What?" She asked, tucking her blond hair behind her ear and scooping some Rocky Road into her mouth. Aaron gazed at her; at the way her hair glowed in the afternoon light, at her blue eyes with flecks of green, at her fluttering eyelashes, and at her bow shaped mouth.
"I love you, Tessa."
One Year Later
Tessa rolled onto her side and stared at her lavender bedroom wall. The picture of her and Aaron on their anniversary stared back at her. Tessa bit her lip, holding back tears.
"Aaron," She whispered to herself, the letters sliding off of her tongue and into the air. She missed everything about him. His firm hands, his gentle kisses, the way her head fit perfectly into the side of his neck. Tessa forced herself to get ready for school, even though she wouldn't be thinking about anything other than him the whole day.
"Tess!" Kira Fitz ran up to her friend in the Rosewood Day courtyard. "You came to school today!" Kira exclaimed. Tessa forced a smile at her best friend. "Yeah, my teachers didn't want me to miss any more school."
"Well, now you're here, and you've missed out on so much drama," Kira grinned and linked arms with Tessa. "Come on, class is starting." Tessa sighed in defeat and followed the raven-haired girl into the school hallway.
"If we use the distance formula in this equation, you can find the distance between points C and D," Tessa fiddled with the side of her notebook as her math teacher droned on about formulas. She blew her golden hair out of her eyes and glanced out the window.
"Ahem. It seems we have a student switching into our class. Aaron,"
Tessa jolted out of her daydreaming and saw the tall brown-haired boy standing in the front of the room, his black and red backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Oh my god," She breathed, shocked. He stared back at her, then quickly lowered his eyes. Kira, who was sitting in front of Tessa, whipped around. "What is he doing here?" Kira whispered furiously. Tessa shook her head, too stunned to speak.
"Mr. Cavanaugh, you may sit in the free seat behind Tessa." Tessa sat in dumbfounded silence as Aaron took his seat behind her. She turned to face him immediately. "Hey," He whispered with a meek smile. "Aaron? What are you-" She fumbled for words as the wound she'd been nursing in her heart since their breakup opened once again. Aaron sighed.
"Miss Rivers, please tell me what the answer to problem three is." Her teacher looked pointedly at her, giving the message that she had to focus.
"Um, 25x?" Tessa guessed distractedly. "Correct." Her teacher continued with the lesson, and she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Meet me after school," Aaron whispered in her ear. Tessa shuddered slightly, the words bringing back a memory.
"Meet me after school," Aaron whispered to Tessa. Tessa smiled; she loved the way his voice sounded.
"Hey," Tessa cooed as Aaron kissed her cheek in the empty Rosewood Day School courtyard. Her looked at her with sad eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked him gently. "Tess, I love you, okay?" Tessa smiled. "You told me that at the ice cream shop yesterday, silly." She nudged him playfully, but he looked pained. "It isn't working out," He looked away.
Tessa stepped back, stunned. "What?" He avoided her gaze. "You just told me you loved me and now it's over?" Aaron finally looked at her, and she could see there were tears in his eyes. "This isn't easy for me either," He bit his lip. "Well then why are you doing it?" Tessa cried, a lump forming in her throat. "Because, I don't have a choice-" He began, but Tessa cut him off.
"Was this all a joke to you? Did you ever even love me?" Tessa screamed. "We were going to move in together, Aaron!"
"I know, but I have to keep you safe," Aaron choked. "That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard," Tessa spat. She swiveled around on her heel and stomped away, hot tears pouring down her face.
"I'm so sorry," Aaron whispered to himself as she sped away in her car.
(Aaron's POV in the flashback)
"Great job," a girl's voice congratulated him. "You got what you wanted, now leave her alone," Aaron said with his fists clenched. A leggy redhead sauntered over to him from the steps of the entrance. "That's not up to me, sweetheart." She simpered, her voice dripping with false sweetness. Aaron glared at her, his eyes full of hatred. She smiled at him mischievously. "That decision will be made by someone who hates her very much, so I'm not making any promises. But you should be proud, you played a big part in ruining her life."
Tessa gathered her books and left the classroom at the bell, with Kira hot on her tail. "Tess, are you okay?" Kira asked anxiously.
"I'm fine." Tessa brushed her off, even though that couldn't be further from the truth. The rest of her classes were a blur, with teachers periodically telling her to snap out of her stupor. But all she could think of was how Aaron's hair looked exactly like it did last year, and how his eyes were just as soulful as they always had been. When the last bell rang, she practically ran to the courtyard to wait for him. She sat down on a bench and looked through her music playlists, stopping on one called "winter favorites". Clicking on the first song, Tessa's mind filled with nostalgic memories of Christmas and Valentine's Day, and of every day they had spent together in between. Each song brought more memories, and she was on the verge of tears when the playlist finally ended.
"Tessa?" She looked up from her iPod at the mention of her name, and quickly wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweater when she saw Aaron. He sat down next to her on the bench and placed his hand on the knee of her jeans like he used to. Tessa glared at him and pushed his hand away.
"No, you can't just come back and think that everything is okay between us. Because it isn't." Tessa looked away. She didn't want to cry again. "I know, Tess. I'm so sorry for what happened. I never wanted to break up with you." Aaron explained. "So why did you?" Tessa asked, hurt. "Someone was blackmailing me. They wanted to hurt you, so I had to break up with you and then disappear to keep you safe."
Tessa scoffed. "And if that is true, then why are you here again? Aren't you putting me in danger?" She asked mockingly. Aaron wrung his hands. "Well, she found me and told me that her boss didn't have an interest in you anymore, so I came back. I'm not lying, Tess." She looked at him and he seemed to be honest, but she wasn't going to have her heart broken again.
"If I hadn't been blackmailed, do you think I would have told you I loved you and then broken up with you the next day?" He protested. Tessa looked at the dirt and sighed. "Well, no, but-"
"Exactly!" He grabbed her hands and lifted her chin with his finger so that they were eye to eye. "I wouldn't have done that. You know me better than anyone, Tess. And you know I'm not like that." She really wanted to believe him, but how could she? He had put Tessa through so much, and she couldn't take him back that easily and risk being let down for a second time. After much internal struggle, she finally succumbed.
"Well, you have to prove that you were blackmailed, and have a full explanation for everything." She finally said. Aaron grinned. "Thank you. I promise I will." He laced his fingers through hers for a second, then kissed her forehead and walked away. Tessa stared after him, feeling warm inside even though her brain told her not to.
Tessa sat at her desk at home, drowning in homework and listening to music. Her hone buzzed, and she looked at the caller ID.
"Hey, Tess!" Kira exclaimed on the other end. "Hey Kiki," Tessa replied. "So, did you talk to him?" Kira asked nervously. Tessa stayed silent for a second, unsure of how to respond. "Um, I did. He wants to prove that he broke up with me because someone blackmailed him by threatening to hurt me."
"Really? Well, if he proves it, will you forgive him?"
"I don't know, Kira. I'll probably want more answers before I can even consider forgiving him."
"Sounds reasonable. Who could have done that? And why would those people want to hurt a high school girl?"
"I don't know. All he said was that they threatened me, and so he ended things and disappeared in order to keep me safe."
"Wow, that's a pretty dramatic story. If it is true, I will hunt down the people who caused you so much pain."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Do you want to meet up and get some smoothies?"
"Ugh, that sounds amazing right now. See you in ten."
"Over here!" Kira waved to her friend from her seat, a smoothie cup in her hand. "Hey," Tessa waved back and grabbed the stool next to her. "Can I get a small Mango Tango? Thanks." Tessa smiled at the cashier and handed her a five-dollar bill.
"You look happy," Kira remarked. Tessa blushed. "I realized how much I had missed him when I saw him again today. He makes me happy, even if I'd rather not admit it." Tessa winced at her own honesty. Kira placed her hand over her heart. "Aww, that's so sweet!" She gushed. Tessa took her smoothie from the nonchalant cashier and sipped it happily. It felt so good to get her feelings off of her chest.
"So, are you going to the dance next weekend?" Kira asked casually, combing through her black hair with her fingers. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you up to?" Tessa asked, suspicious. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kira denied. Tessa crossed her arms. "Yes you do. You always play with your hair when you're up to something." She pressed.
"You have to tell me!"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Kira! Tell me!"
"Fine. Aaron asked me if I could get you to come to the dance so that he could surprise you with a big romantic gesture or something." Kira caved, just like she always did. Tessa sat back in her chair. "What gesture?" She asked, curious. "I don't know. I'm just doing the dirty work. But is sounds like something big." Kira shrugged. Tessa smiled slightly. She had known Aaron was a sucker for romantic gestures when he got his cousin (Melissa's pilot son, Alex) to write "T+A" in the sky with his plane. She felt a tinge of affection for the boy who had been the love of her life just a few months ago.
Kira snapped her fingers in front of Tessa's face. "Earth to Tessa!" Tessa blushed and tugged down her sweater sleeves. She was anxiously awaiting whatever Aaron had planned for her.