affinity

35. do you really hate me that much?

Stuart's P.O.V

I find Stella by the canoe lake pulling grass from the ground and as she lamely throws it in the air. I sit down next to her as she continues pulling the thin green strands, playing around with them as she traces it on her palm. Her eyebrows are scrunched together, an expression that I know very well.

She makes that face when she's upset.

"What are you doing?" I ask but she doesn't look at me.

"Pulling grass. What do you think I'm doing?" She grumbles, before grabbing another handful of grass.

"Pulling your anger out?"

"Stewie why do you think I'm always angry? I can feel other things too. Stop making it sound like I'm a brick." She snaps as some of her hair comes into her face and she blows it out of her eyes in frustration.

"I don't know. You're always angry maybe that's why." She glares at me as I bite my lower lip, wondering if what I said maybe wasn't the best thing to do so at the moment.

What? It is true.

"I'm angry. I'm always angry. It's the only way I can feel sad and strong at the same time." I hear her mumble but I couldn't quite make out her words properly. I tilt my head a bit to look at her face, "What did you say?"

"Shut up Stewie," she grumbles, shaking her head to the side in annoyance. I frown slightly wondering what exactly did she curse at me for as she moves a few centimeters away from me and I can't help but scoot a little closer to her.

"If you hate me so much then why do you keep calling me Stewie?" I raise an eyebrow as she glares at me again. I still don't understand her constant glaring every time I come talk to her.

She's been calling me Stewie since the first day. I wonder if she just randomly starts making peoples' nicknames after she meets them. That's strange.

"It's because I hate you, Stewie."

"Hate is a strong word."

"You want me to use a better word to describe my relationship with you?" She raises her eyebrows at me as I chew the inside of my cheek. I wish there was some way I could somehow change her perspective about me. She's been hating on me since the first day and I don't blame her. We didn't want to be forced to sit next to each other in the guidance room and communicate with each other just because we had similar situations occurring in our lives.

We met in detention.

All of it was a coincidence.

But it was a coincidence that I'm glad happened.

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"I've been waiting for the day I tell you how much I detest you." I can't help but snicker at the change of her word as she pokes a piece of grass on my forehead and I go cross-eyed.

"How much do you hate me?"

"You see that creek over there?" She says as she points a piece of grass to the side.

"What about it?"

"The depth and the length of that beautiful creek of water is how much I hate you. As you can see, it's pretty long." She chuckles cutely as I can't help but smile.

"Still, there must be a reason why you call me Stewie."

"Are we still talking about this?"

"I'm curious."

"But you're always curious." She frowns, putting a few strands of her dark brown hair behind her ear.

"Not always." I chuckle as she gives me a glance. She turns herself around an inch so that she can see my face clearly.