affinity

42. vulnerability

Stella's P.O.V

I chew the inside of my cheek as my eyes gaze over to Luna and Eric. They're by the creek together, her head in his lap as his fingers graze her hair. This was the exact same place Jordan and I spent after the camp games, but seeing Luna and Eric there doesn't make it seem so special anymore.

The creek was my place to be.

I haven't eaten breakfast yet but I've lost my appetite. I can't stop staring at Eric being so love sick for Luna. How was I supposed to tell him what's really going on without breaking our friendship? I don't even know if we have it anymore.

Jordan told me to forget about it. Let time do it's job. I don't know how much longer I have to wait for all of this to get better. I'm scared it won't but I need to do something about it.

They haven't noticed me yet.

I sit under a tree, leaning my head against the rough bark. At this point, I'm not even worried about insects crawling in my hair and bird poop. I just want things to go back to normal with Eric and I.

I don't know how long those two were going to take.

Minutes later, I see Luna give Eric a kiss on his cheek. They both get up as she leans in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. I see his smile from where I'm sitting as he securely wraps his arms around her petite form. She starts to walk away as Eric remains standing by the creek. She sees me sitting by the tree and smiles sweetly, "Morning Stella."

She seems too happy to be bitchy with me.

I find it odd.

As Luna leaves the creek to head to the cabins, probably grabbing her things, I make my way to Eric. His back is facing me, his arms crossed as he looks at the creek. I take a deep breath, licking my lips as I prepare myself to make this right.

"Eric."

He turns around to see me, his eyes widening for a second before he relaxes. He gives me a small smile, "Hey Stella."

I don't know what to say next. We stare at each other awkwardly. There has never been a moment in my life where Eric and I have been silent.

He clears his throat, "How...how are you?"

I nod my head with a smile on my face. "I'm okay."

"That's good." He says shortly.

This awkward talk is making things worse. It all seems so forced. If I were Jordan, he'd say what was on his mind. He would straight forwardly say what he's feeling. There would be no awkwardness.

But I'm not Jordan.

"How are things with you and Luna?" I manage to say as he purses his lips. He puts his hands in his pockets as he stands on his heels, sucking in through his teeth.

I can tell he feels awkward too.

"Look...I know that you don't like Luna but she's not so bad. She's actually a really nice girl. Kind of different from when things were before, when she teased me and all but I just never expected-"

"For her to change." I say as he meets his eyes with mine.

"I won't judge you, or maybe I will but that's not the point. We've practically grown up with Luna and we knew her good side, but after that..." I let out a shaky breath, remembering the memory engraved in my mind. "She was never the same. She still hasn't changed since then. You haven't been here Eric, you don't know. After our fathers' big business drop, she became restless, angry, moody and well...rude. She blames my father for her dad's unemployment. She's been putting all her anger out on me and ever since my dad left, a year after the business crash..."