Sterling narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the subtle glance away and toward someone else. He hadn’t caught who she’d looked at, though, and faintly wondered if it was another guy. Maybe she really wasn’t into him like he thought…
“Okay… If you’re sure,” he murmured, patting her knee comfortingly. “Just know I’m always willing to talk if you need to, okay?”
Willow saw how his eyes had narrowed with a quick glance at Sterling, and she hurried to comfort him, slightly wary of what he was thinking. Placing a hand gently on his face, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Okay,”
She glanced back again, this time significantly longer. Sophia made a slow motion, dragging a finger across her neck. Fear spiked through Willow, and she flinched.
Sterling sighed at the kiss. Okay… Maybe she was okay. He certainly hoped that this would all end well.
“Anyway, hows your lunch?” he asked, changing the subject.
"Good," Willow said, rummaging through her lunchpail and pulled out a sandwich. She unwrapped it and began to eat it, munching slowly. Maybe she would tell Sterling about what happened later at his house, where it was much safer.
“Good…” Sterling said softly, nodding as he went back to his own lunch. He could ask her about it when they got back to his house. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too aloof about it…
“How’s your day so far?” Willow asked softly, glancing up at Sterling for a moment before taking another bite of her sandwich.
She could still feel the two girls’ eyes glaring into the back of her head. She ignored them, paying full attention to Sterling and her lunch. I’ll tell him when we get back home.
“Pretty good. Classes are, you know, classes. Boring,” Sterling said with a shrug before taking another bit of his own food. He swallowed it before turning back to her. “What about yours? How’s your day been?”
"Good, I guess. I swear Mrs. Dodman hates me though," Willow said, rolling her eyes at the thought of her least favorite teacher. She swore up and down that Mrs. Dodman lowered her grade just because of a nasty look she gave her that was apparently "disrespectful."
(Do you want to skip to when they get to Sterling's house?)
(Sure!)
Sterling pulled up to the driveway of his house and killed the engine of his car. He sat for a moment before sighing and turning to Willow.
“Is everything all right?” he asked gently. “At lunch you seemed a bit… worried…”
Willow’s eyes watered slightly at the mention of the earlier incident. Come on, be strong. Reaching over, she gently took Sterling’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Can we… can we talk about this inside?” she asked softly, glancing up at him.
Sterling frowned at her look. What could have her so worked up? She looked like she was about to cry…
"Yeah, of course," he agreed gently, lifting their entwined fingers to his mouth to kiss her hand. "We can talk in my room if you want. Or your room. Whichever makes you more comfortable."
Willow’s cheeks warmed slightly at the kiss, but it did nothing to take away her nervousness about telling Sterling about the situation at hand.
“Can we talk in your room, please? Only if it’s okay with you, I don’t want to intrude.” she said shyly. She still wasn’t used to all this kindness.
“Of course,” Sterling agreed, letting go of her hand and climbing out of the car.
Willow followed Sterling inside the house, drifting slowly behind him. She looked lost in thought, eyes unfocused.
When they reached his room, Sterling quietly pulled the door shut behind them. He sat down on his bed and patted the space beside him in an unspoken invitation for her to join him.
Willow took the seat beside Sterling, sighing quietly. Well, here goes nothing.
“I’m guessing you want to know what happened at lunch today?”
"I would, yes," Sterlinc murmured, offering her his hand without looking over at her. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by staring…
Willow sighed quietly, and took his hand. "Well today, at lunch, I went to the bathroom, and Jessica and Sophia were there too. They pushed me around a bit, and threatened to do stuff to me if I didn't blow you off. " As she talked, tears started to slowly flow down her cheeks, and her voice wavered.
Sterling made a low sound in his throat, almost like a growl, and gently squeezed her hand. Why couldn't those girls see that he wasn't interested in them? He had someone much better than they could ever be.
Willow’s head shot up at the sound, eyes wide. Did he just growl? “Please don’t do anything!” she pleaded, gripping his hand slightly tighter. “It’ll just make it worse, and I don’t want to make them angrier.”
Sterling sighed and closed his eyes. He shook his head slowly before opening them to look up at her again.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “I just… I don’t like that they think they can do whatever they want. If they do anything to you, tell me. Please. I don’t want them hurting you.”
"I will, I will," Willow soothed, meeting his gaze with a tired smile on her lips. Today had worn her down, but it was better than others.