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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓
the feeling
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( ice pick; pt.i )
TAKING a quick glance at her feet to make sure she doesn't slip, Maddie pulls herself up on the climbing wall as she tries to ignore the person beside her. Out of all the people she could've been paired with on this exercise, Coach just had to put her with Lucas. He keeps staring at her as he climbs up, purposefully taking his time to complete the exercise so that he can talk to her.
She keeps her lips pressed together, trying to curb her frustration. She would complete this task faster if she didn't already know that going fast would cause her to slip or fall. She doesn't need to give anyone more ammo to think of her.
They're half way up when Maddie has decided she's had enough of this. She knows why he's staring but can't help but feel a little self-conscious. Focusing her hearing, she listens to everyone down below having conversations with the people around them, not caring in the slightest about her and Lucas climbing. With that, she looks over to Lucas and he meets her eyes, giving a faint smile. She doesn't smile at him, not moving from her place as she waits for him to tell her what he wants to say, to get the words off his tongue.
When he realises that's why she's waiting, he quickly catches up to her so that they're at the same level. "I'm sorry about the formal."
"Oh, so he speaks," Maddie sarcastically replies with a blank face, quickly looking away to find the next rock to hold onto. "I don't want your apology."
"I just, I needed to say something—"
"I—" she stops herself, trying to collect her emotions before she ends up getting too mad at him and possibly shouting, having this private conversation fall on everyone's ears. She breathes in, calming herself. "I don't— I don't care. I don't blame you for that night, and second, you realise how hypocritical you're being, right? You want to apologise for me getting hurt when you won't even tell your friends to stop talking about me."
"I was going to tell them—"
"But you didn't!" she seethes, continuing to climb. "There is a difference between saying something and actually doing that something."
Ending the conversation there, Maddie reaches the top of the frame moments later, bouncing back down to the floor before taking off her harness. Allison steps up to swap with her, giving an attempt at a comforting smile to try and help her friend feel better. Maddie returns it weakly, sparing a quick glance over to Lucas as he steps onto the ground, Scott already standing to the side to take his place.
Arms crossed, Maddie walks over to Stiles, puffing out her cheeks before blowing out the air from her lungs to try and release the pressure she created from the conversation. She knows that Lucas only means well; he's only doing something any decent person would do. His date ended up in the hospital when technically they should've been together. But she chose to leave, she chose to follow Lydia over to the field.
Though Maddie has a nagging feeling that following Lydia wouldn't have made a difference.
"What did he want?" Stiles asks, causing Maddie to look over to him. His arms are crossed, looking at the frame as Scott and Allison start climbing. He looks over to her, seeing her slight confusion at his question. "Saw your annoyed face."
YOU ARE READING
Empathy ⌯ Stiles Stilinski
Fanfiction❝ the way he looks at her, i don't think he's never looked at me that way ❞ ❝ maybe you just weren't looking ❞ High school is supposed to be hard. The homework, the socialisation, the worry of deciding your future. At least, that's what's supposed t...
