Ladies and gentlemen, blocks and crafters, I, the Gamerwhogames, am here to give you the totally revamped version of "Bad Trade"! The word-count alone is enough to make a grown man cry tears of joy! Honestly, the original version of "Bad Trade" was a poor attempt at getting a better writing-style, as was "Diamonds". After a bit of experimenting, you'll see that in "Elevator" I mastered the writing style (not really, but you get what I mean). So, I decided to write this! It follows the same basic story-plot, but just has better words and a few extras to make the story more interesting. How? Well, let's put it like this: If you liked sexy Aiden, you're going to love this.

WORDS OF FALSE ALARM! This isn't lemon, or non-con. If you've read "Bad Trade" before, this one's pretty much the same, just better.

Well, hit it, Crisper!

Crisper: (hits it)

Petra tried to act cool and collected as she walked down to the Ocelots' house, keeping her hands in her pockets and her head level. When she got to their front porch, she knocked on the oak-door and waited silently. She glanced at her watch which told her it was 4:52, and her stomach shifted. She didn't have much time. At five o'clock, no sooner and definitely no later, she was supposed to meet someone who'd saved her life, only if she didn't show up, he'd probably be the one to ruin it, or worse. She'd borrowed food from him one night, promising to pay him back later with an emerald. The food saved her life from near-starvation. It was truly a blessing, but it was about to transmogrify into a curse that would leave her worse off than hungry.

The door opened and she looked up, making eye contact with a blond she knew as Lukas. "Hey, Petra," he greeted.

"Hey," she said with a friendly wave. "Hey, could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Why don't you come inside so we can talk?"

"I can't. I've gotta be somewhere soon."

"Is everything alright?" He asked concernedly.

"Things are fine." She white-lied. Some things were fine, others weren't. She never said which things.

"Alright. What do you need?"

"I hope it's not too much, but do you have an emerald on you?" She asked, her eyes squinted as if it was a pain to ask. Lukas glanced at the floor, trying to remember the last place or time he'd seen an emerald. When he remembered, he pursed his lips. Petra nervously watched his tense expression.

"Well, I don't have one, but I know someone who does."

"Really? Who?" Petra asked brightly. Lukas frowned her way, slightly dampening her mood.

"You're not gonna like this," he said. "Aiden's the only one here with an emerald."

Petra tried to hide her growing ire, but her eyes and cheery smile instantly fell to the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, her watch told her it was 4:5. She knew she'd have to suppress her feelings for now. She forced a smile, squeezing her hands into fists in her pockets. "That'll be fine. Where is he?" She quickly asked.

"Hang on, let me go get him." When Lukas went into the house, her fake smile fell even faster than her real one, and she glared at her feet. Aiden. His harsh beratement of anyone he deemed less than him (everyone) was enough to make anyone with a conscience squirm, and she'd done herself some squirming. Anyone who could see past the black leather-jacket, his laid-back grin and general Ocelot-perks knew to keep her distance from him. Petra was one of those people, but there was someone who really didn't get that: Aiden himself. If he wasn't joking about someone's weight or another's last-year's fashion-sense, he was paying Petra compliments. Flirtatiously. And too many of them! If she had an emerald for every time she had to send him a glare (a glare he completely ignored), she'd be able to do dinner-deals for eternity. He didn't seem to get that she didn't want anything to do with him. And if he thought she was one of those hard-to-get girls who would eventually come begging for him, she was going to—

"Oh, hey, Petra!" Gill called from inside, waving at her from his seat on the couch. She glanced at him but instantly looked away when she saw his naked, hairy chest. She tried not to look shocked, but couldn't help it. So, Gill just sat around without a shirt all day? "How're things?" He asked, oblivious to her stunned expression.

"Um, they're—they're fine." She stammered, once again trying to force a grin or even a sane face. She silently willed Lukas to come back. When he finally made it down the stairs, she would've given a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the person standing right next to him, giving her that levelheaded leer. Petra forced herself to make eye-contact with Aiden.

"Um, hey." She said detachedly.

He chuckled softly at her attempt to hide her anger. "Hey, Peets." While Petra silently fumed at his nickname for her, Aiden sent Lukas a grin and a dismissive nod. Lukas eyed him for a moment and reluctantly left. Probably jealous, Aiden thought. He turned to see Petra staring daggers at him. "Well, that just makes me want to give you every emerald I have, now." He griped. Surprise flashed across her face, and Aiden knew he'd hit the right spot. He didn't know how or why, but Petra needed him right now, and he would be stupid to not milk the possibility. He smirked when Petra's angry expression softened to a more neutral one. "That's better. So, you need an emerald?"

"Yes. Do you have it?" Petra stared at the emerald when he pulled it out of his pocket, letting her have a good look at it. But when she reached out, he pulled it away from her. She scowled at him.

"Not before you tell me what I get in return."

Petra held back a growl. She happened to glance at her watch to see time was running right out of the room, along with her patience. She didn't have to deal with this! She should've been on her way already, with an emerald given to her by Lukas. Not haggled for with Aiden.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Peets. I thought you knew how to make trades. You know, if you're going to trade something, you actually need something to trade with." He joked dryly. Petra enjoyed his sense of humor so much she wanted to give him a good, hearty slap to the face. With a shovel.

"How about shovel?" She asked bitingly. He laughed, thinking she was joking. "How about gold?"

"Mmm… no. That's a tempting offer," he said, giving her lean figure a good grazing, "but I already have gold. Something else, Peets." That name again. Petra's fingers curled into hard fists.

"If you're going to call me Peets, why don't I just call you Aids? Sounds like a fitting name, don't you think?" She would've smiled when Aiden's eyes widened, but she still felt too angry. It worsened when his look of surprise quickly melted into one of pleasure.

"Feisty. I like that about you. So feisty. What other nicknames do you have for me, huh, Peets?" He chuckled.

"Look, I have somewhere to go. Could we please hurry this up?"

A hand flew to his mouth and he feigned a surprised look. "Oh! You have somewhere to go! Why didn't you just tell me?" He spoke like an enthusiastic daycare provider encouraging a toddler. Petra raised a brow, on the edge of confused and ready to rip out her hair. Or his hair. "Okay, how about we do this? I give you the emerald today, and you come over here tomorrow and we can discuss what I want?"

"Or, you can just give me the emerald, I leave and never come back, and we just go on with our lives."

"Nope. That's the deal. Take it or leave it, unless you have more time here." He said, flashing her a wide grin. Their eyes locked, and Petra could see the enjoyment twinkling in his green gaze. Then her eyes flashed down to the emerald in his hand. She didn't dare glance at her watch.

"Okay, fine. Deal! Give me the emerald!" She reached out to grab it, but he pulled away again. "Aiden!" She screamed, making him turn away with shut eyes.

"What's the magic word?" He asked, his voice seething with anger and enjoyment at the same time.

"Please!" Petra shouted, snatching it out of his hand. Aiden watched as the angry redhead stormed off like her life depended on it, and he grinned.

The next day….

The Ocelots' front door was the last place Petra wanted to be that noonday. She forced herself to knock moderately instead of bashing it in a fit of rage. While she waited, she glanced at the brown leather-satchel she had slung over her shoulder. She'd spent the rest of her day poking around for things she thought Aiden might like. What a way to waste her own valuable time. She'd managed to scrape together some gold and iron, enough to make him an iron sword with a very basic enchantment. With that she had shears, a compass, and a watch. It was all she could afford in such little time. In addition to that, she'd also packed some dyed glass and wool he might've wanted for a building project. She hoped he was going to be gracious with her, but she knew not to get her hopes, much less her expectations up.

The door opened. When she looked up at Aiden, she tightened her grip on the satchel as her ire grew. She couldn't ignore the revealing V-neck shirt he wore. There was no doubt. who he was wearing that shirt for. But it still didn't vex her more than his flirtatious grin and half-lidded stare. "Hey, Peets." He wasn't ashamed to look her over again, but he was wounded that she didn't care to dress up for the occasion. He stepped aside to let her in.

"Hey, Aids." She murmured as she walked past him and into the living room. She hadn't been to their house many times before, but when she walked in the silence felt unusual.

"Why don't you lie on the couch?" Aiden suggested.

"No, I think I'll sit." She plopped onto the couch with a disdainful glare. Aiden smoothly sat next to her, his face so close to hers that she could smell the mints on his breath. She scooted away from him to the left, and he stuck close, not intending to keep any distance at all. And the scooting games commenced. When Petra found herself at the edge of the couch, she swiftly plopped the satchel on her free side, blocking Aiden but only by a few inches. She heard a suppressed growl from him as he furrowed his brow.

"Well, you're not being very nice." He murmured.

"You're not being so polite yourself." She spat back. A grin crawled across Aiden's face. There was that feisty girl again. Petra looked away. "Where is everybody?"

"Maya and Gill went out, and I don't care where. Lukas is also out, if you're wondering. But let's not worry about them. Instead, let's focus on us." He took a moment to linger on the feeling Petra's disgusted, surprised look brought him. "Our deal." He finally said.

"Right." Petra said, eagerly reaching for her bag. Home alone? With Aiden? So many things could go wrong if she was in a room full of people with him! Being alone with him on a couch made her stomach twist and turn. She moved her hand to the latch. The sooner she could go home, the better. "I've got some things you might like, and—"

"Don't bother," he said, placing a hand on hers and holding it against the latch. She blinked in surprise at her hands and looked up at him. He smiled widely, gazing at her with desire and making Petra wish she could put more space between them. "I've been thinking, and I've already decided what I want. Here's a hint," he leaned close and whispered into her ear. "It's not in that bag." Petra sent him a glare, sure of what he meant by that. He only chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it's not that." He said, though she stayed tense.

"Then what is it?"

"I want you to kiss me." Inwardly, Petra breathed a sigh of relief. It was a real blessing he didn't want something so extreme from her. He just wanted a… wait.

"A kiss?!" Aiden shrugged and sent her his classic grin. Petra stared at Aiden with disbelief. Her slapping-hand (every girl has one) was beginning to itch. Her urge to knock Aiden's stars out actually seemed stronger than his urge to be with her.

"Well, you have a better offer? You don't seem to like this one, odd as that is."

Petra reached into her bag and snatched out the sword and he flinched. She pointed it at him so that it was just under his chin, ready to pierce his neck if need be. "How about a sword?" She asked sweetly, though her stare was ice cold. Aiden forced himself to chuckle, keeping his eyes on the sword.

"No, thanks." He said tersely. "What else do you have?" She put the sword at her side and reached into the satchel, pulling out the dyed glass. Aiden shook his head, his wary eyes still on the sword. Then Petra pulled out dyed wool. He shook his head again. The same went for the gold, the watch, the compass and the shears. "Well, looks like you're out of stuff. But, I think I'll hold onto this until we come to an agreement," he snatched up the sword and Petra flinched.

"Whoa! Are you threatening me?" She demanded. Aiden hummed softly, looking the sword over.

"I guess it would seem like that." He gave the sword one more look, and then tossed it over his shoulder across the room like it was nothing more than a pair of shoes. "Now, no one's threatening anyone, are we?" He asked, confident that Petra wouldn't feel inclined to walk across the house to pick it up. Like he hoped, Petra sat still, glaring nonetheless. "Well, you were the one who insisted we make this trade as quickly as possible, so I'll be accepting that kiss now." He moved in quickly, and she barely had time to stop his face with her hand. Instead of ramming right past, he stopped to give her a smug look. He suddenly grabbed her hand and gave it a long, noisy smooch. After a short struggle, she ripped her hand away. He started to laugh until she delivered him a slap that was just as loud as that kiss. "Just fooling around." He hissed as he rubbed his cheek and glared at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Then stop."

"Then deal me something else. But not a compass or a watch or anything like that. I'd like a kiss… or a diamond, if that's not too much to ask." He said, knowing very well that that was too much to ask from her. She glared at him a moment longer, and then something about Aiden's deal stood out to her. Something very important. Surprise flickered across her face, followed shortly by a smug grin that stretched across her face.

"Let me get this straight. You, want me," she pointed to herself, "to kiss you."

He smiled at her sudden excitement, sitting up and gazing into her eyes. "Yes, I'd like that a lot." Petra tried to suppress the rush of joy his words brought. He wanted her to kiss him, meaning she was essentially the one in charge. Why hadn't she seen it before? She could've been home by now!

"Would you?" She asked deviously.

Aiden leaned closer to her and spoke slowly. "I'd. Like. That. A lot." Petra grabbed the satchel between them, flinging it to the floor. She lunged at a surprised, blushing Aiden and knocked him over. She remained on top of him, unable to remember seeing his face this red. But who knew that such a red hue could still be described as pure gold. She heard and felt his stifled chuckle as he grinned at her and gazed with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Well, Peets, why the sudden change of attitude, hmm?" He asked, making her chuckle softly. He hadn't expected Petra to be this… compliant. Especially with her "rude behavior" in the beginning. He'd never understand why, but he could live with her eagerness. He'd thrive on it. His hands moved down to her waist and he took hold of her hips. It took every ounce of Petra's being not to flinch. She knew she had to keep the act going if she wanted her revenge to be sweeter than cream. He shifted on the couch, sitting up just so that his mouth was near her ear, their chests pressed up against each other's. "Seeing how excited you are about this, I guess I should let you know, we can go much, much further than just a kiss," he moved his hand to play with her red hair. "I know it's not part of the deal and all, but I figured you'd be willing to… shift things around?"

She laughed and leaned close, staring right into his eyes. "Trust me, a kiss is all I need." She suddenly latched onto his face, dipping it slightly and lightly pecking him on the forehead. She quickly pulled away, staring at his face and grinning. This was something she was willing to hang around to watch. The immense pleasure that once plagued his face was suddenly cured with a look of growing anger. She patted him on his cheek, which was still red from the slap she'd given him. "That's the deal." With those words, she bounced onto the floor and scooped up her satchel. After a minute's battle in her head, she decided to go behind the couch to grab her sword. Aiden was too stunned to do anything but watch her with a glare. His senses jolted into him when she headed for the door.

"Hey, get back here! You know that's not fair!" He shouted after her.

"You said you wanted me to kiss you, and I did. End of story." She rushed outside, slamming the door in his face. When she got outside, she wiped the sweat away from underneath her bandana and smiled to herself. This wasn't the first time she'd gotten herself out of a sticky situation by clever means, but she felt measures of pride and relief knowing what she'd escaped this time. She didn't plan on telling many about her encounters, but those who were lucky enough would surely hear of how Petra kissed Aiden and didn't die of a disease.

So, there you have it, folks! "Bad Trade (Revamped!)" It seems Petra's still got it! It was good getting to relive that scene and typing it with more emotion. She's learned in the tricks to her trade, ain't she?

How'd you like Sexy Aiden 2.0? No telling how much fun I had writing that aspect of his character. Everything from the door-scene to the kiss was fantastic, and I hope you'll agree!

Actually, revamping this whole story was pretty cool. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Here's some critical acclaim from other magazines I submitted this to!

It's Bad Trade, but it's... better!

~The Minecraftian View

She just needs to slap him. Just... slap him. He's rude.

~Feminists Daily

Where's his number? He sounds hot. Why'd she even turn him down?

~Fangirls United Magazine

It needs more cake.

~Ivor Weekly

Ditto on that cake.

~Axel Weekly

Amazing story! Would recommend to all my friends!

~Me (xD)