Roots - h.s

6.

Too shy to say but
I hope you stay.
Don't hide away.
Come out and play.

STERLING'S POV:

    I continue to sit in the car seeing as I have no other choice. I texted my dad and told him I was out for pancakes which isn't a lie... But I have no intentions of staying out with Harry longer than an hour or maybe two at most. I'm here, and he's going to pinky promise to take me home when I say so... Or else, it's the least he could do after he kidnapped me. I stay sitting in the car, crossing my arms over my chest, looking straight out at the open roads as we drive farther away from Portland.

    "Can you at least tell me where you're taking me?" I ask.

    "Well do you want to eat your pancakes?" He asks, and I look down at the to go container sitting inside a paper bag by my feet.

    "Well I'd be wasting food, and your money if I didn't." I reply smartly, and he lets out a soft, short laugh.

    "I found this place yesterday when I was out with my mum.. She likes to hike, and it seemed peaceful.. Not a lot of people passing by and stuff. I don't know much about you, but I can tell you obviously don't like being around people... Well except for me." He grins, and I scoff.

    "And who says I like being around you?" I ask.

    "Your body language... and you... Well not with your words, but the way you are.. Today proved that." He keeps looking at the road just as he pulls off towards a rough patch that overlooks a large lake. We pull onto the gravel, and I continue to think about what he said to me but he acts as though he's completely forgotten it even slipped from his lips. He parks the car, and gets out, so I follow, and see his target. A picnic bench with another adjacent to it that overlooks the pretty lake. I walk with him, and bring my bag with me.

    "What does my body language have anything to do with my opinion of our time together?" I ask as I sit down. I'm interested in the way he speaks... I'm also interested in his incredibly weird facts, and why he constantly spouts them... I learn a million new things every time I sit with him.

    "Well for example... When I see you in the treehouse, sitting far away, you're incredibly relaxed... Because you're on your own, unbothered besides hearing my voice from afar... Today in the grocery store on the other hand you were completely shocked... You were nervous I mean. Your movements were everywhere, and you were shaking. I know your 'not friends' were there so that was a trigger but I also can concur that being around people in general makes you feel that way." He tells me, reading me like a book.

    "What does that have to do with you?" I ask, opening the container.

    "Well.. I'm people, but you're not jittery, nor flustered around me. You're blunt, and stubborn, somewhat closed off, but you're not nervous... Which doesn't necessarily mean you enjoy being around me, but it does mean that I don't cause you the same stress as others do." He tells me, and I think about it. "You don't see me as a threat." He adds, and I shrug.

    "I don't trust you. But you're not threatening." I admit to him.

    "I haven't given you a reason not to trust me Sterling." He informs me as if I don't know.

    "Well, your newfound friend group is my old friend group. Meaning anything I tell you, or say around you is most likely being spilled to other people and word spreads fast with people our age... Your friends alone give me plenty of reason to not trust you." I admit, but I don't look at him, knowing he's most likely studying my face right now. He seems to keep good eye contact, always looking and reading into every little thing.