forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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Sterling shot Eden a surprised look as she began to help him. “You don’t have to help with this. You should go enjoy the company,” he murmured, reaching for the dishes she held.

Eden snorted, moving the plates away from him. “I’d rather not,” she said quietly. “I prefer putting these away.”

“If you’re sure…” Sterling murmured, beginning to wash the dishes already there. “Then you can grab the rest while I wash.”

Eden nodded as she set each plate on top of the other, balancing as much as she could. She carried the plates to the kitchen before setting them in the sink. There wasn’t anything else she needed to bring over, so she stayed near Sterling, leaning against a counter.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For yesterday.”

She didn’t know the exact reason why she was thanking him. Because he hadn’t left her alone, thinking she would be unsafe by herself? Because he kept her mind from the pain half of the time? Or because he was there, she had more motivation to pretend it didn’t hurt?

Sterling slowly raised his eyed from the plate to look at her. He cocked an eyebrow before offering a tiny smile, shaking his head.

“You don’t have to thank me for that, Eden. Any decent person would have done the same for someone in need,” he murmured, handing her a plate. You just happen to be someone that I want to help. A lot… “Dry these for me?”

Eden grabbed a clean towel from the side before taking the plate from him, his long fingers brushing against hers. She pretended not to notice as she dried the plate.

“No, they wouldn’t have,” she replied just as softly, a distant look in her eyes. “Not without wanting something in return.”

Sterling let his eyes linger on her for a moment longer, his gaze soft as he took her in. She was pretty, there was no doubt about that. And she didn’t flaunt it, either. Did she even know how beautiful she was?

“No, they wouldn’t have. Good people do good things and want nothing in return. Why can’t you see that?” he asked softly.

Eden felt his eyes on her, but she chose to ignore them as she set the dried plate away, grabbing another one.

“Shame I’ve yet to meet people like that, then,” she said calmly as she dried the dish. “Perhaps other than you. I’m not too sure about that.”

Sterling sighed and drew his gaze back to the dishes in the sink. “Yeah, well, I guess they are harder to find these days… Gosh, I sound like an old man. What’ve you done to me, Eden?” he chuckled, hoping to lighten the atmosphere a bit.

Eden rolled her eyes at his attempt.

“What, are you going to say you’ve walked a thousand miles to school during a blizzard, too?” She asked sarcastically, shaking her head. “Give it a few more years, Ainsley. You’ll begin to look like an old man as well.”

Maybe a lot more than a few years.

“Hey, you don’t know what it’s like! Those were the coldest winters of my life,” Sterling laughed, flicking a bit of water at her. He shook his head, grinning. “How rude…”

Eden’s eyes widened a fraction when he flicked water at her, surprised at his actions. Was he really doing that with her? Her, a girl who could break his arm and still not care?

Then she glared, dipped her hand in the soapy water and smeared the bubbles on his cheek. Her hand burned when it touched his skin.

“You poor baby,” she crooned. “Can’t handle a small cold?”

If Sterling had been one to be easily flustered, the touch of her hand alone would have caused him to be a spluttering mess. Instead, he grinned and retaliated by dipping his hand into the water and flicking even more of it at her face.

“No, no. It was the winds I was having trouble with. They were enough to blow a man over!” he exclaimed, chuckling.

Eden wiped her cheeks of the water, her face set into a glare. Her hand still twitched, and the carefree look on his face almost made her drop her guard. Almost. She composed herself before she made the mistake of stumbling again.

“You are like a child,” she said simply, shaking her head, but there was still amusement in her eyes. “A child who cannot handle a few strong winds.

And she was back to being calm, cool, and collected Eden once more… It was nice to see her like that, even if it was just for a moment. But, gosh, what Sterling would do to see her like that again. Almost carefree, but not quite there yet. She was almost opening up to him, but she was still very closed off.

He nodded, his smile going back to the small, soft one he had worn before. “That I do, that I do… I think it’s just who I am, though.”

Eden was once like that, too. Carefree. Happy. Childish. Once. She realized the hard way that being kind got her nowhere. It only got you tossed in the bottom of a dark pit.

“I see,” she murmured, turning her head away. “Well then, the next time there’s a strong wind, I’ll remember to get a chain to tie you up with.”

It was only when she said it did she realize the double meaning behind her words. She pretended she hadn’t realized.

Sterling shot her a glance, raising his eyebrow. He chuckled softly to himself and continued to wash the dishes in silence, assuming she no longer wanted to talk or joke about anything. And he was okay with that, as long as she was near him.

[TIME SKIP:]

Eden set a hat on her head, her handbag over her shoulder. Without bothering to check her appearance, Eden moved to exit her apartment. Lucas wasn’t going on the field trip. It was for her class, English Language Arts. It didn’t make things better that Sterling was going to be there.

That made her double check her appearance. She wore a pretty shirt with a little skin of her arms exposed, along with a blue jeans. Her ears supported earrings, and she had bothered to smear some pink lipstick, a blush, and some eyeshadow to make her appearance a bit more… okay. She sighed before she left her apartment, locking the door behind her. She merely walked to school, having no need to bring her car along. The students were all meeting at eight-thirty, and when Eden reached the school’s parking lot, she noticed she wasn’t the only one who had come half an hour early. There were three students as well, Sterling included.

She sighed.

(https://pin.it/3mxpq5rlgzz7o2)

Sterling had simply dressed in a gray T-shirt, a dark blue button-up pulled over that but left unbuttoned, a pair of jeans, and white sneakers. Currently, he had his hands stuck in his pockets as he talked with another one of the students. That is, he was talking with another student, until his gaze found Eden making her way over.

He smiled a little to himself as she walked over, simply raising a hand in greeting.

Eden nodded in greeting, her eyes looking him over before landing back on his face.

“Ainsley,” she greeted, no emotion in her voice. She held nothing that she’d shown that weekend at their house. Where she had momentarily forgotten who she was and took part in childish antics with him.

The September sun blazed down heavily and Eden was grateful that she had worn a hat. At least it kept her eyes from burning. Her eyes fell to the student near Sterling, who had frozen upon her arrival. She should have felt pride, but she felt nothing.

“McArthur,” Sterling greeted her back, grinning even though he knew she wouldn’t smile back. “How’ve you been?”

“Decent,” Eden responded, turning her head to look at the school bus. She turned to face him again. “And what about you?”

Sterling shrugged, glancing around. “It’s been pretty good… I’ve nearly caught up on my homework. I’ll probably finish tonight, even.”

“I see,” Eden tucked her hair behind her ear. “Well, that’s good for you.”

Eden checked the time on her phone. Eight fifteen. Fifteen more minutes till they leave.

“What do you think about the field trip? Think you’ll enjoy it?” Sterling wondered, sticking his hands back in his pockets.

Eden gave him a humorless smile, though she knew very well that she would. Animals, she adored.

“Who knows,” she answered simply. “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.”

“And I suppose we shall see, won’t we?” Sterling chuckled, shaking his head. “The mysteries continue, don’t they?”

Eden gave him a smile, one that hid everything and showed nothing. A blank smile, never reaching her eyes.

“You’ll soon realize I’m shrouded in them,” she said. “The mysteries.”

If only that was her real smile, like the one he had seen at his house the other day. He liked that smile a lot and wished he could see it again. Would she ever let him?

“I feel like I’m beginning to see that already,” he mused, the small smile still on his lips.

Eden nearly rubbed her eyes, but then remembered she was wearing lenses. She huffed to herself. She should have just worn her glasses. She had barely gotten any sleep and she knew—she knew she might fall asleep on the bus. The soothing movement of the vehicle always put her to sleep. Lucas occasionally took her out on his car whenever she couldn’t sleep.

“Ten more minutes to go,” Eden murmured, taking off her hat to run her fingers through her hair before she set it back on her head. Her eyes began to itch again and she sighed. “I’m going to the restroom.”