forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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“Then I’ll keep you safe,” Sterling whispered as his arms tightened around her. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you.”

“Promise?” Eden murmured into his chest, breathing him in. “Stay with me. Don’t ever leave.”

“I promise. Upon my life, I promise, Sterling murmured against her hair.

“Thank you,” Eden whispered. “Thank you, Sterling…”

“Any time, beautiful,” Sterling whispered.

[Time Skip: Tuesday — lunch]

It had been two days since their trip to the bookstore, two days since they’d both revealed more about their pasts to each other… And Eden was avoiding Sterling. He would pass her in the halls, and she wouldn’t even look his way. He sat next to her in class and she didn’t even spare him a glance. He tried to catch her attention from across the hall, and she pretended like she didn’t even see him.

What was going on with her? Why was she doing this?

Eden was being a complete, utter idiot. It had been unbearably hard to avoid Sterling, but she needed to do it. In the midst of confessions and making out, Eden had forgotten who she really was. Crystal. She had enemies at school, students who wouldn't think twice about doing anything and everything to get back at her for humiliating them. And if they found out she was dating Sterling… they'd use him against her. Eden could not have him get caught in the middle of something she started. So she avoided him as best as she could, only spending time with them after school.

Now it was lunch and she was trying to walk out as quickly as possible before Sterling decided he had enough. Which, Eden was sure he was.

Sterling was grabbing his lunch from his locker when he noticed Eden trying to slip out of the school. He quickly grabbed what he needed, then hurried to follow her. Once she was out, he caught up and grabbed her arm gently.

“Eden. Hey. You’ve been avoiding me for two days,” he started quietly, his gaze piercing as he looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”

Eden nearly jumped when someone grabbed her arm, ready to throw them off her shoulder when she realized it was Sterling. She breathed in relief, a hand over her racing heart. Then she registered his question in her head and nearly winced.

"Ah… I'm sorry about that," she murmured, avoiding his intense gaze. "It's… it might be a stupid reason to you."

“Sorry for staring you. And I guess we wouldn’t know if it is unless you tell me, would we?” Sterling questioned with a raised eyebrow. “But Eden, really… I highly doubt it will be.”

Eden rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I… don't want anyone bothering you," she said quietly. "If they find out I'm dating you, they'll bother you just to spite me, and I don't want them doing that."

Sterling snorted and pulled her into his arms. “Eden, I don’t care what anyone tries to do to me. I can handle myself, you know.”

Eden sighed, rested her head against his shoulder. "I know, but I care. I don't want anyone hurting you. Or even trying to do it."

“They won’t get very far, Eden,” Sterling murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Plus, I’m sure you’d repay the favor if they did.”

"I'll ruin them if they do," Eden muttered, eyes darkening slightly, fingers gripping his shirt. "No one can hurt you and get away with it."

“Trust me, Eden, they won’t get the chance,” Sterling assured her, squeezing her gently.

"Promise?" Eden murmured, looking up at him. "Don't let them lay a single finger on you."

“I promise, Eden. I can hold my own,” Sterling murmured back, kissing her on her forehead tenderly.

Eden finally smiled, though it was a small one. “Good,” she loosened her hold on his shirt. “It would be weird if the boyfriend of the Crystal couldn’t hold his own.”

Sterling chuckled. “Yeah. Definitely. Now… I’ve missed my girlfriend for the past couple of days. Can I kiss you?” he asked, trailing a line of kisses down the bridge of her nose. “Properly, that is.”

Eden squeezed her eyes shut, releasing a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Yes,” she whispered, her grip on his shirt tightening once more. “Please.”

Sterling didn’t hesitate to press their lips together. His arms tightened around her, drawing her closer. He backed himself up against the wall of the school, leaning down further to kiss her better.

Eden immediately kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her toes to press their lips together harder. God, two days of not kissing him had driven her insane. She missed the taste of him. She missed him.

Sterling kissed her slowly, humming when she kissed him harder. It felt so good to be able to kiss her again. Two days without her had left him wanting her more.

Eden pressed herself further into him, one of her hands cupping his cheek, rubbing soft circles with her thumb. They kissed softly and slowly, and Eden wondered if she could take it far. Could she, or would she feel sick once they took it the next step further? But how would she know if she didn't try? She wanted to take the next step, no matter how small it was. Baby steps. Baby steps were important.

“I missed this, missed you,” Sterling breathed, pulling away to press their foreheads together. “It’s only been a day and a half, and I already missed you…”

"I missed you, too," Eden whispered, her eyes still closed, mouth dry. "God, I missed you. I'm sorry. Kiss me again, Sterling. Please."

“Anything for my queen,” Sterling whispered. He connected their lips again, loving the way she fit against him, how she fit in his arms.

Eden kissed him back, their lips moving together gently. She loved the feeling of his mouth on hers, moving it along with hers. She loved how her lips fit in his—loved how carefully he kissed her.

And Eden decided she’d take that next step. If she couldn’t handle it… Sterling would understand.

She parted her lips gently against his.

Sterling was content with kissing her the way they were, he would have kissed her like that forever. So when she parted her lips for him, he almost didn’t know how to respond. He pulled back, opening his eyes, and looked down at her.

“Eden… Are you sure?” he murmured, only cautious of hurting her. He definitely wanted to deepen the kiss, but if she wasn’t really comfortable with it and was just doing it for him… he didn’t want that.