#machk x aiden

[professor-abeloved]

aiden "open mouth, insert foot" zhou, everyone

[professor-abeloved]

so i’ve had machk rose as an oc since 2009 and tbh im thankful for choices hss for giving me the avenue to develop his personality and backstory since it was hard for me to pin down HAHA

[backstory - or should i say, machkstory- and mc/aiden ship manifesto incoming]

(abuse and divorce ment ahead!)

in essence, machk’s a brat. he’s brat who makes silly puns, finger-guns, and generally just does whatever and tries to not to care too much because of his fear of commitment. “why commit to anything if you’re just going to get tired of it? why get youreself attached to someone if they’re just going to leave at the end?”

this mostly stems from the fact that he feels like his older sibling, hailey, abandoned him after the divorce was settled because ry*n s*mmers his dad took machk far away from his abusive mum. then they just kept changing locations, exacerbating machk’s notion that everything was temporary, until he landed One School that hailey (aka one of my OG hss mcs) helped build LMAO

but at this point their mother has died and hailey’s living with their boyfriend tony so it’s chill. ish. but not really because machk keeps running away whenever hailey tries to seek him out in school. idgaf what pb says, og mc is still in oliver m. berry high, fite me.

so machk’s there, trying to running away anytime he feels an Emotion, except he’s starting to feel a somethings for this lil ragtag squad. michael just gets him, emma and caleb invoke a protective feeling from him, and while he’s scared shitless of her, maria flores is someone to be admired.

and then there’s aiden. aiden who’s committed to both music and the band, who doesn’t back down even if ezra doesn’t agree with his ideals, even if he has to deal with privately tutoring a saxophonist who only knows three notes and careless whisper.��

but aiden doesn’t give up on him because this saxophonist can play by the ear and for all that he says that he doesnt care, he’s there when aiden needs him. the fact that machk’s got a cute smile has nothing to do with this at all, nope.

tbh seeing aiden be so committed would intrigue TF out of machk. like i said, he doesn’t see the point in being of committing yourself to anything/anyone because everything is temporary so why do it?

but then aiden just does it anyway. he does it and he just keeps moving forward despite the difficulties. in spite of himself, machk ends up being charmed and rooting for aiden 

and its machk’s faith in aiden that keeps aiden going.

it’s a sweet romance where both parties mutually inspire each other. one that sure takes its time because machk keeps denying his feelings to the point where myra and the rest of band play “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” whenever aiden and machk are within 5 feet of each other and machk just wants to disappear into a hole in the ground.

but as machk’s High School Story unfolds and he hangs more with the squad, it really helps with his trust issues. yes, machk can be selfish, immature and terrified of being let down, but deep down, he’s a caring kid that doesn’t want anyone feel the way he did.

eventually, the squad piece two-and-two together about machk’s sibling, and they offer a variety of solutions (ranging from talking to anyone of the OG hss squad to tell hailey to just leave him alone or something more... creative), machk realises that these people are willing to ride-or-die with him. he doesn’t quite believe it, but they’ve been through so much together that maybe it’s okay. maybe it’ll work out, but he’ll never know if he keeps running.

so he talks to hailey. they have a long, emotional chat about what happened and machk isn’t completely ready to accept them as an older sibling, and hailey isn’t ready to face their father, but they’re willing to try and at least be friends. they dance at homecoming and have a lot of fun, surprisingly. machk meets tony, who offers to take him out for ice cream, and instantly approves.

speaking of home-coming!! aiden confesses his feelings when he shows up at machk’s door. machk’s shookt because even if they’ve been doing ~romantic things~ together, they’ve never really put a label to it. aiden, however, reiterates that he doesn’t want to pressure machk and he’s chill as going as friends. all he wants is for machk to be comfortable and happy -- and at this point, machk just hugs him in the middle of his speech. he holds him tight because’s it’s aiden, wonderful, talented, sweet, awkward, dedicated aiden, and he’ll be damned if he lets him, if he lets this, go.

[professor-abeloved]

hiding in the closet (literally) with aiden part 2 thesis statement: holding hands for comfort is ALSO one of the BEST tropes ever, thus mc/aiden is such a top tier ship

[professor-abeloved]

pictured: aiden zhou as the cutest bae alive

[professor-abeloved]

Machk (MC): I’m doing a great job at keeping my crush on Aiden a secret.

Aiden: *smiles*

Machk (MC): *trips over himself* I have to gay-I mean go. I have to go.

[professor-abeloved]

hiding in the closet with aiden (literally) part 1 okay but "you're still holding my hand" remains to be one of the BEST tropes EVER

[professor-abeloved]

they! are! too! cute! for! words!!!!!

[professor-abeloved]

left: machk rose, when aiden is in the immediate vicinity

right: machk rose, when aiden is not in the immediate vicinity

made using https://bebinator.com/

[professor-abeloved]

i have to continue studying for my psych quiz tomorrow but damn i cant stop thinking of how cute it is that machk (hss mc) is aiden’s muse for music while aiden is machk’s inspiration to start painting again