Humorous Hostility

The entire hall went quiet as everyone's attention was drawn to Derek and his grandfather. It seemed like they had all been waiting for a moment like this ever since Derek arrived. The two people just stared at each other for a moment before Derek sighed and broke the silence.

"I would've greeted you had I seen you. Now that you're here, hello." He spoke in a calm manner with a neutral expression but apparently his response wasn't the one his grandfather wanted to hear.

"Tch! 'Hello'? You call that a greeting? Nevermind. I shouldn't expect more from you since you've always been like that." Things were getting a bit awkward and then the worst possible thing happened. Lyla joined in.

"Hello! I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce myself." When she started talking, Aiden lightly hit his forehead with his palm. What made her think it was a good time to introduce herself? She really was an idiot. "I'm Lyla and these are…"

"I know perfectly well who you are." Derek's grandfather cut off her introduction and his frown deepened. "Just so you know, the servants will be counting the silverware later tonight so don't bother pocketing any." The expression Lyla made was priceless.

"Pfft!" Aiden desperately struggled to hide his laughter but it was in vain. He had covered his mouth but it hardly helped. When he couldn't help it any longer, he laughed out loud and the sound of it filled the hall. "Ha ha ha! I-I'm sorry. Hah! That was…just too funny! Ha ha!" Everyone stared in astonishment except Lyla, whose face was red in anger.

"Aiden!" Lyla shouted.

"What? Ha ha! That was brilliant! Ha ha ha!" Aiden wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before addressing Derek's grandfather. "Hey, you might want to tell them to count the napkin rings too. Just in case. Ha!" He held his side and tried to stop laughing. In the meantime, no one seemed to know how to react. The onlookers had been expecting a good show but Aiden's burst of laughter had disrupted the flow and mood of the conversation.

"Hmm?" Derek's grandfather surveyed Aiden, who had finally managed to stop laughing. "You're a man, yes? Then why are you wearing a dress?" Derek tensed and was about to speak but Aiden answered before he could.

"I am a man. As for why I'm wearing a dress, that's because it's pretty and I look amazing in it. So, why not?" Aiden gave a radiant smile and something unexpected happened. Derek's grandfather smiled too.

"Hm. I like this kid. You should learn a thing or two from him, Derek." A look of complete shock showed on almost everyone's faces. Derek was the most surprised out of all of them. Without caring that he just turned the entire evening upside down, Derek's grandfather casually strolled away.

It took some time for the rest of the people in the room to come back to their senses but soon enough, the hall was once again filled with indistinct chatter and whispers. Many people were paying extra attention to Aiden but he didn't mind and just ignored them. Derek had been rendered speechless by the shock but Cameron stepped forward to speak to Aiden.

"Hello. I'm Cameron, Derek's older brother. It's nice to meet you. I must say, you're quite fearless. I don't know anyone other than my father who is able to laugh so freely in front of my grandfather even when he's not angry. To think you could do so when his mood was like that." The two of them shook hands.

"I'm Aiden, but you probably figured that out already, and I don't think what I did was anything special. It was funny so I laughed, that's all."

"It was funny?" Lyla's voice was low when she spoke.

"Ah." Aiden had completely forgotten that Lyla was standing nearby and not happy in the slightest.

"Your blood related aunt being insulted and humiliated is amusing to you?" Aiden thought for a moment before speaking.

"Did you want an honest answer to that?" Lyla stormed off to who knows where with Becca and Spencer following after her. Cameron elbowed Derek to get his attention and then whispered to him.

"You should go after her or people will start to talk."

"Yeah, yeah." Derek looked at Aiden and warned him before leaving, "Stay out of trouble." Aiden saluted.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Cameron chuckled and Derek walked away.

"It looks like you and my brother get along well. I'm glad." A few minutes passed by while Cameron and Aiden were talking. Soon though, they were interrupted by a group of younger people in their early twenties.

"Cameron! Why don't you introduce us to your friend here?" The man leading the group had a smug expression as he looked Aiden up and down. Cameron frowned looking at the group of troublemakers.

"I see no need for that." Aiden looked from Cameron to the man and then back again. One of the women in the group stepped forward and held the man's arm tightly against her chest.

"Tommy! You don't need to care about a nobody like that anyway. All he's got is his face and someone else's money."

"Even if that were true, which it isn't, at least he'd have the looks unlike you, who only has someone else's money." They all turned to see a rather annoyed Derek walking up to them. The woman scowled but said nothing.

"Derek, long time no…"

"They've opened the dining hall. Let's go." Derek ignored the man, Tommy, trying to talk to him and instead spoke to Aiden and Cameron. They both nodded and the three of them walked away. The group was left alone.

"Damn him!" Tommy pulled his arm out of the woman's grasp and walked towards the dining hall.

Inside the room where the dinner was being served there were many large round tables with flower arrangements and place settings on them. There were name cards indicating where everyone should sit and Derek led them to their table. Each table was set up to seat eight people. Derek's father, Lyla, Spencer, and Becca were already at the table. When Cameron, Derek, and Aiden joined them, there was one empty seat left.

Since it was one of the seats next to Aiden, he leaned over to read the card. William Montgomery was written in gold lettering.

"Who's William Montgomery?" Aiden innocently asked. Derek's father, who took a drink just as Aiden asked the question, spit some of the water and choked. "Oh my gosh! Mr. Montgomery, are you okay?!" Looking at the expressions of Derek and Cameron, Aiden was even more curious about the person's identity.

"Please, just call me Silas." He spoke in between coughs. "Is that really the name on that card?" When Aiden nodded, Derek's frown deepened and Silas swore under his breath. Cameron forced a smile and started to explain.

"You see, William Montgomery is…" Before he could finish, a voice interrupted from behind Aiden.

"Me." Aiden turned around and was shocked to see Derek's grandfather standing there with a triumphant smirk. It was strange since there was a larger, fancier table set up at the other end of the hall that was clearly meant for the more powerful and influential members of the Montgomery family.

"What the…" Silas had started to speak but, sensing the incoming danger, Cameron interrupted.

"Grandfather! Why are you sitting here this time? You always sit at the head table with the elder's." Cameron voiced the question on everyone's mind. Even people sitting at other tables nearby were listening in for an explanation.

"I felt like sitting somewhere else tonight so I had them do some rearranging with the seats. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, not at all. We're glad grandfather wanted to join us." Apparently Cameron was pretty skilled at lying through his teeth. The old man motioned for the attendant standing nearby and he promptly walked over and pulled out the chair. After sitting down, William leaned his cane against the table. "Well now, shall we eat?"

That was all the servants needed to hear in order to start bringing out plates of food and placing them in front of each guest. Soft classical music was playing in the background and waiter's went around filling people's wine glasses. Despite the relaxing atmosphere created in the dining hall, the air around Aiden's table was tense. No one was speaking which only added to the heavy mood. How in the world were they going to make it through this dinner?

Aiden was relieved and extremely grateful when a nervous waiter approached the table. He looked like the only reason he was serving the table at all was because he lost a bet.

"Wine, anyone?" Silas, Derek, Lyla, and William all raised their glasses and answered simultaneously.

"Here!" The waiter hesitated before filling William's glass and then the others, one by one. Aiden took a deep breath. This probably wasn't going to end well.