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(Sterling: You need to be friendly! And I totally didn’t just disappear to force you into it, what are you talking about???)
Sterling’s POV:
To-go box in hand, I sat back down beside Eden, kissing her cheek quickly before handing her the box.
“What’re you girls talking about?” I wondered, replacing my arm around my girlfriend’s waist as I smiled at them both.
(Very nice, Sterling. xD He’s like a wingman, except to make friends. XD)
Eden’s POV:
When Sterling came back, I immediately relaxed. I smiled softly as I leaned against him, my hand over his arm.
“We’re talking about common interests,” I answered him before I turned to answer Violeta. “I’ve heard of Panic!, too. I like their song, Nicotine, among others.”
I offered Sterling a smile when he returned, nodding to Eden. “Yeah, that’s a really good one. Do you listen to much music, Sterling?” I asked, so as not to accidentally exclude him.
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(Hi, sorry. I’m babysitting. :)
Sterling’s POV:
“Not a lot, but I do listen to some,” I said, reaching over with my free hand to ruffle Eden’s hair with a playful smile. “My mom loves Countey music, and I kind of picked up some of her tastes.”
(Np, hows it going?)
“Cool,” I answered, nodding along. But I was running out of conversation topics— making friends had been much easier in high school, when I already had ties with some of my fellow peers. I was normally outgoing and friendly, it was my nature to be that way, but even here I was starting to slip up. College— it was entirely new territory for me. I needed a bit more time to adapt. Didn’t we all?
Eden’s POV:
I ran my fingers through my hair to fix the mess Sterling most likely caused. I didn’t know to continue the conversation anymore. It seems Violeta was the same. Finally, I turned to Sterling.
“It seems everyone’s finished eating,” I commented. “I suppose we should go back.”
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(It’s good! The older boys are playing video games, the older girl is going to watch “The Greatest Showman” with me and the youngest boy, and the younger girl is eating — or supposed to be eating — her food.)
Sterling’s POV:
Eden was right, I supposed. There wasn’t much to talk about, yet, and she had most likely had enough of being social for the time being. It couldn’t hurt to just head back now.
“Sure. That’s probably good. My next class starts in a bit, anyway,” I agreed, giving her a soft smile before turning back to Violeta. “We’ll catch you later?”
(Oh that’s a good musical
And a lot of kids)
“Yup.” I gave my signature, carefree grin and lifted two fingers as a gesture of farewell. “Have a nice day, you two.” Slipping my bag over my shoulder, I pushed my seat in and took a step back. “Thanks for the lunch, it was nice to talk to you.”
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(Yeah. Lol. But the older three can mostly take care of themselves and the younger two.
The middle boy just got sick, so that was fun… He’s good now, though!)
Sterling’s POV:
I nodded at her with a grin before she left. “Have a good rest of your day. I hope your classes go well.”
Turning to Eden, I kissed her temple, smiling at her softly. “Do you want to walk back with me, babe?”
Eden’s POV:
I nodded in reply, smiling brightly.
“Did you already pay?” I questioned as I poured my salad into the box, knowing the answer would probably be a yes. No matter how many times I tried, Sterling never let me pay. It wasn’t fair, I told him. It wasn’t that I didn’t have money. I did, but he said I was his girlfriend. He wanted to pay for me.
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Sterling’s POV:
“Of course I did,” I chuckled, waiting for her to finish as I stood. I offered her my hand, giving her the grin that I used so many times in high school. It could get me in trouble sometimes, but in this case I didn’t think it would.
Skip?)
group
(Sure. Unless you and Callie wanted to do a scene with Violay?)
(Ooh, maybe she could bump into Gray?)
Eden’s POV:
I smiled back widely, linking our fingers together as I stood up, standing on my toes to give him a peck on the cheek.
“Let’s go,”
Grayson’s POV:
I huffed in irritation as my character died once again. I didn’t like to lose. Definitely not. It wasn’t like it was the first time I lost this round, so it was getting frustrating.
I turned my game off and stuffed it back in my bag, standing up and stretching. I still had an hour left to waste. I was about to leave when I heard a yelp of pain and sounds of laughter.
I walked over curiously to find a girl on the floor, her books on the floor. I knew I’d seen her before, but I couldn’t remember where. She definitely was from my school, that much I knew. The people around her, two boys and three girls, began laughing as the girl tried to pull herself to her feet.
I clenched my fists, telling myself to turn around and walk away, that it wasn’t my fight. But I couldn’t help it.
“You know, it’s not nice to pick on people,” I said before I could stop myself, passing a smile towards the bullies before walking over to the girl and helping her pick her books up. I held out my hand for her to take, and pulled her up carefully.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly. I didn’t like bullies. I found them utterly pathetic. When the girl nodded, I pulled her along.
But bullies don’t really like being ignored, or having people turn their backs on them. I knew that first hand.
(Ooh, maybe she could bump into Gray?)
(Oh, I saw your messages too late. :o)
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Eden’s POV:
I smiled back widely, linking our fingers together as I stood up, standing on my toes to give him a peck on the cheek.
“Let’s go,”
Sterling’s POV:
I grinned and winked before tugging her outside. “C’mon, let’s go,” I said with a chuckle, wrapping an arm around her waist as we walked.
(Should we skip?)
(Wait are we skipping or is Gray facing the bullies?)
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(It’s up to you two. I’m good with whatever.)
(Wait are we skipping or is Gray facing the bullies?)
(I wanted to leave it just at that.)
(Oh okay
So should Violeta just be walking outside?)
(Oh okay
So should Violeta just be walking outside?)
(That could work~)
(Kk)
Shielding my eyes against the bright sun— the cloud cover had shifted away by now— I re-inserted my earbuds and put my happy playlist on shuffle. Nine in the Afternoon came on, which washed away any trace of residual awkwardness from the lunch. I was so engrossed in the music, though, that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and crashed straight into someone for the second time that day. (Gray)
Grayson’s POV:
I rubbed the sore spot on my side, wincing. I knew I shouldn’t be getting into fights, but I couldn’t help myself. It wasn’t like I was any good. I could only defend myself, but I couldn’t bring it in me to walk away when I’d be in a similar situation when I was younger.
I finally looked ahead of me instead of poking at my side but I was too late. Someone crashed into me and I stumbled back, but managed to regain my balance. I looked to see who it was.
Violeta. Go figure, it just had to be the girl who hated my guts. I would have normally passed a flirty smile in her direction, but I wasn’t in the mood to flirt.
“My bad,” I said instead, stuffing my hands in my pockets and sidestepping to walk away. She hated me, anyway. There was no point in sticking when it would only end terrible.
Normally, I would have nodded and gotten away as soon as possible, before he tried to ‘flirt’, AKA make fun of me, but something stopped me this time. He seemed… off. Like something was wrong. As much as I disliked the guy, my instincts to ask what was wrong overpowered me, not to mention my curiosity. “Gray? What happened?”
Grayson’s POV:
I raised my eyebrow in her direction. What did she just ask me? Did I hear that correctly?
“Could you say that again?” I said, furrowing my eyebrows. “Did the girl who hates my guts actually ask me what happened? I think I should be the one to ask you that.”
And the sympathy disintegrated immediately upon hearing his words. I crossed my arms, jaw clenching. “I do not ‘hate your guts’. Please, Gray, don’t play stupid, you know exactly why I avoid you. I asked you what happened, you look upset. Care to answer?”
Grayson’s POV:
“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t know,” I said instead, ignoring her question. I tried not to bend, knowing it would make my already-throbbing bruise hurt more. “Why do you avoid me, Violeta?”
I gritted my teeth, turning my head away. This was exactly why I avoided him, he was trying to get me to say it, to open my mouth and say it. He knew how much it would hurt to say, even if I'd mostly gotten over my self-esteem issues– yet he still tried. "I'm not having this conversation with you right now," I said firmly, biting the inside of my cheek. "I just wanted to know what was wrong."
