"no rain, no flowers."

⋆✧⋆✧⋆

I watch as a piece of her dark brown hair falls in front of her eyes and I fight the urge to tuck it behind her ears.

That would be weird right?

Definitely.

But still... tempting.

I observe the focused look on her face; her chestnut eyes shinning with concentration and her lip tucked under her tooth as she bites it, a habit of hers I've become familiar with.

"What are you doing, creep?"

Laney's words snap me out of my daze and I awkwardly clear my throat, "Just looking at something more interesting than my textbook."

"Well, thank you for that possible compliment, but you really need to get back to work."

I hum in response and place my gaze back on the boring words printed out onto crumpled paper, not where they truly want to be.

These tutoring sessions have definitely been helping, there's no doubt about that, however, I don't think I'm improving as much as Laney or my coach hope.

But honestly, that's not my fault, I mean how do I focus on the notes in front of me when my tutor is quite possibly the prettiest person I have ever laid my eyes on?

"Sterling,"

"Yes, Laney,"

"You're still staring." She gives me a stern look.

"I know, sweetheart."

A blush rises on her cheeks and I can't help but smile over the effect I have on her.

She rolls her eyes and stops writing, "I'm beginning to think you're helpless."

"Now that's not something a tutor says," I quip.

"It is now."

I turn her chair out from under the table to face me and I rest my hands on either side of her.

"Let's go somewhere," I offer, "please."

She sighs making it clear she's given up on me for the day, "Fine. Where?"

"Somewhere with food."

The two of us decide on a café just off campus and we get into my car.

⋆✧⋆✧⋆

We walk inside and Laney heads straight to the counter.

She scans all the dessert trapped under glass deciding what she wants.

The cashier notices the two of us and makes her way over, ready for our order.

"How can I help you today?" A girl possibly my age questions.

Laney quickly looks up to acknowledge her, "Can I have one more minute to decide, please? Sterling you can go ahead if you're ready."

"I'm happy to take your order while your friend over there picks," the worker says with a venomous and slightly insulting tone as she scowls at Laney.

It's clear Laney is oblivious to this as she mutters something to herself on whether she should pick the eclair or scone.

"I'll take the blueberry muffin and she'll have an eclair and a scone," I answer straight faced, not breaking my eye contact with the smiling brunette to my left.

"Right," the server speaks mockingly as she bends down to get the food.

I don't even bother speaking to her any further as I pay and take the dessert from her hand.

Laney, clearly distracted by the food and oblivious to the worker's judgment, says thank you and wishes her a good day as she wanders over to an empty table.

We sit down and start eating

Her eyes find mine, "Thank you."

"No problem,"

"No really, you didn't have to pay, especially because you got me two things."

"It was my pleasure, really sweetheart," I assure her.

She looks at me and hesitates, clearly trying to decide if she wants to say something or not, "Why are you so nice to me?"

The randomness of her question catches me off guard, "I am?"

"You are, but judging by your interactions with other people and your reputation on campus, it seems that I'm one of few on your good side."

"Are you trying to say I'm mean?"

"I am..." she starts but quickly goes back on her words, "I'm not. I'm saying you can be."

"I guess I don't feel the need to be obsessively nice to strangers."

"Clearly," she retorts smiling.

"What does that mean?"

"Remember the first time we met?"

Her words bring me back to the night I first laid my eyes on her, "You scared me."

I couldn't process the fact that she had me captivated within minutes. I guess my impoliteness was a coping mechanism to try and convince myself I hadn't fallen for her the second I laid my eyes on her.

"I scared you?" she furrows her eyebrows and tilts her head like a confused puppy. God, she's fucking adorable.

I hum in response, not quite ready to give up my full explanation.

"Why?" She searches for an explanation.

I don't answer, instead, I shrug my shoulders and avoid her heated gaze.

"But I don't anymore?"

"Oh no, you do, maybe even more than before."

If only she knew how fucking much she scared me, or rather how much I scare myself when I'm around her.

I'm not used to this; wanting to be around someone, enjoying their company.

"So, then why are you nice to me?" Laney tries to get an answer from me one last time.

"I don't know, I guess there's just something about you," is all I can offer her. If I'm honest, I don't even fully understand it myself.

"You know, I hated you the night you came to get Charlotte."

"You did?" I chuckle at her seriousness.

She hums in confirmation as she takes a bit of her eclair.

⋆✧⋆✧⋆

After we finished eating I dropped her off at her house and I went back home.

"Blake!" I hear Mason yell.

"What?" I shout back down to him.

"Come downstairs, we're going to watch a movie!"

Groaning, I get out of my very comfortable bed and join my friends downstairs.

I take a seat next to Mason who has his arm around Daisy.

"Where's Owen, Theo, and Luke?" I question.

"Theo's out with Aspen and I don't know where dumb and dumber are."

Daisy chuckles, "I think I saw them go out to the garage."

I ignore the part of my brain telling me to go find my two friends who are most definitely doing something idiotic, "What's going on with Theo and Aspen?"

"Last I heard from Theo the two of them fucked after a few drinks but they're 'just friends' apparently." Mason uses air quotes as he speaks.

Daisy nudges her boyfriend, pretty hard may I add, "You don't need to phrase it like that. I think they're really sweet together and I hope the best for them."

I look at the girl who has been attached to my best friend and therefore one of my good friends since middle school, her dimples showing as she lovingly looks at Mason, even as she scolds him.

I can't help but think about how nice that must be. To have someone you know loves you. Someone who wants to spend every day with you.

I used to think it sounded really unappealing; never having a break from someone, having someone rely on you constantly.

But I don't know, the more I think about it, the more I think it sounds kinda nice, at least when it's with the right person.

Just as I'm about to bring up our two imbeciles of friends and recommend we go look for them, I hear a crash followed by a loud pained screech.

"Oh jesus, I'll be back," Mason sighs as he gets up from the couch and walks out the backdoor.

"How are you doing, Sterling?" Daisy asks sincerely, taking the time away from Mason to check in on me.

As much as she's Mason's girlfriend, she's one of my closest friends too. She's been there through so much of my life and she's seen me at my worst. Not only has she always been there for me, she's always been there for Charlotte too, that's what means the most to me.

"I'm doing good, I think." A smile instinctively appears on my face as I think about the new things, or rather people, in my life.

"Good, I'm glad." But her knowing smirk tells me she wants to poke at me more, "Any particular reason?"

"Judging by your shit-eating grin, I think you know."

Daisy chuckles at my words, "Do you like her?"

I pause for a second and, for the first time in a while, actually assess how I feel.

"I like being around her." I offer a half-assed answer.

She just nods, completely aware of my exact feelings, "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

She pretends to zip her lips and throw the key away as she winks at me.

"Those fucking idiots were trying to get something from the top of the fridge outside and knocked the whole damn thing over." Mason comes back into the house, holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger.

Daisy bursts into laughter so hard she clutches her stomach and I leave her on the couch to compose herself as I walk out into the garage.

"You little fuckers," I assess the damage and the two culprits.

Luke and Owen just stare back at me trying to look as innocent as possible.

God help me.

⋆✧⋆✧⋆

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I spent like 5 fucking hours writing this because I had literally zero ideas of how I wanted to go about it. I knew I needed to add Sterling's thoughts because it's been a while since we heard from him, but honestly, I was just winging this entire chapter.

I tried to introduce Daisy in this chapter because I feel like I haven't written about her much but I think her and Sterling's friendship is really sweet.

Anyways... I hope you guys enjoyed it all the same.

Question of the chapter: Eclairs or scones?

Thank you all for the love (quick reminder votes are always very much appreciated <3)

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, and please reach out if you need anything!