Ashley's POV:
I reached up to kiss Lucas' cheek before murmuring in his ear, "Why are you doing this to her? Just let her be happy. She's your sister; don't you want to see her happy again?"
Sterling's POV:
I noticed Eden drop back behind our group, so I fell back to walk with her. I shot her a quick smile before looking ahead again. "It was cool of your brother to plan this."
Lucas’s POV:
I frowned.
“Of course I do,” I answered. “I’m only teasing her, Ash. If I tease her, she’ll end up directing her anger at me. Whatever that’s bothering her would be at the corner of her mind. I’d rather she be mad at me than sulk because some idiot dumped her because he had nothing better to do.”
Eden’s POV:
“Lucas isn’t usually the initiative type,” I answered back quietly, happy that he joined me, although trying not to show it. “I’m grateful he’s like this, despite being annoyed.”
Lucas was always like this whenever he thought something bothered me. It was probably a twin thing. I wish he’d stop, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t like it. He always went ahead and did things to please me, although half the time it ended up with me getting frustrated with his teasing. He did it anyway.
Ashley's POV:
I nodded slowly, humming my response. "M'kay… Good. I'm glad. Now… Please don't leave me in there because you know how I get with these things."
Honestly, I wasn't such a big fan of haunted houses. I just endured them because he suggested it. I would do almost anything Lucas wanted to with him.
Sterling's POV:
"Hm. That's cool, I guess," I said, sticking my hands in my front pockets. "Did he happen to say anything about me? Like, not like me or anything?"
Lucas’s POV:
I grinned. I loved my girlfriend. She was really caring, and I loved her even more for being like that towards Eden.
I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
“We’ll get in the line behind them,” I whispered in her ear. “And wait for them at the other end. I know you aren’t fond of haunted houses.”
Eden’s POV:
I raised an eyebrow, pretending I didn’t want to hold his hand.
“Why?” Why would Lucas have a problem with Sterling? “Did you guys get into a disagreement?”
Ashley's POV:
I grinned up at him before kissing him softly. What did I do to deserve such a considerate boyfriend like him? Or just to search him in general?
"Thanks, Luca, but we can go in if you really want to. I'll be fine," I assured him with a small smile.
Sterling's POV:
I sighed, shaking my head. "No, I just get the feeling he doesn't like me for some reason. I don't know, I could be totally wrong… Just, uh… Yeah. Forget I said anything about it. It doesn't matter at all."
Lucas’s POV:
“Nah,” I answered, kissing the top of her head. “Honestly, haunted houses are boring. Who wants to go in there, anyway?”
Eden’s POV:
I looked at Sterling with a frown before looking ahead again.
“I don’t think he does,” I said with a small shrug. “He’s cautious.”
Ashley's POV:
I grinned and gave him a tight side hug, since we were still walking and all. "Thanks, babe. I appreciate it a lot."
Sterling's POV:
"You don't think he likes me? But you still choose to hang around me?" I asked, a little confused. If she didn't even like me, why would she be hanging out with me? And why would she still be doing it if she knew her brother didn't like me?
Eden’s POV:
I stared at him blankly.
“I meant I don’t think he dislikes you,” I corrected, this time a little louder. “Also, my choices of friends don’t depend on my brother. I choose to talk to whoever I want.”
Sterling's POV:
Oh. Well, then… Now I just feel dumb. Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, I guess.
"Of course," I said, grinning at her even though I was a little embarrassed. "He can't make decisions for you, right? You're an adult just as much as he is."
Eden’s POV:
I hummed, looking at Sterling a while longer before I turned my gaze ahead.
“He doesn’t tell me what I should do and what I shouldn’t,” I said. “He… trusts me to make the right decisions, but he’s always there to lend support when he sees me faltering.”
Sterling's POV:
"He sounds like a good brother," I said as I nodded slowly. "It's cool you guys are so close. Tobias and I aren't like that… We hardly ever see each other anymore."
Eden’s POV:
“Tobias?” I echoed, unfamiliar with the name. Sterling had never mentioned a brother before. “Is he the boy you came with to the zoo?”
(MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!)
Sterling's POV:
I grinned, nodding in affirmation. "Yeah, he was. We spent the day there because my parents were both out on business stuff, so we were home alone and bored out of our minds," I chuckled. "It was a fun day."
(MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU, TOO)
Eden’s POV:
I felt thankful that my father didn’t inherit their company, nor did my mother take a job there. Although my father was the Vice President, it felt nice knowing he wasn’t always gone. He was there. From my birth to my turning eighteen. He was always there. He never missed anything, not even a single event of my life.
“Why don’t you get to see him often?” I wondered, looking at Sterling with a curious expression.
(I'm rereading the Cliché RP… Gosh, my writing was so cringy…)
Sterling's POV:
I shrugged and glanced around, avoiding catching her eye. "We just tend to be home at different times. I leave for school before he does, and then we both have things we need to do afterwards. And on the weekends we usually have things planned," I explained.
(Saaame.)
Eden’s POV:
I nodded in understanding, glancing down at the ground, furrowing my eyebrows.
Lucas turned back and called us over, pointing us over to the haunted house. The line was big, but we hoped it wouldn’t take a long time.
(Lol. Should we skip to when they're in the HH? To the thing we have planned?)
(Yes xD)
(Cool beans!)
Sterling's POV:
I glanced around the Haunted House, taking in the things that I could see. Overall, it wasn't very impressive. I'd been to better, scarier ones that my friends had dragged me to. For an amusement park, though, it was actually pretty good.
(And Cash is behind the building… Probably making out… Lol.)
Eden’s POV:
I looked around, biting my lip. I wasn’t too fond of haunted houses, but this one didn’t seem to be too… creepy, I guess.
It might be silly to admit it, but I wasn’t very fond of creepy places. I could watch horror movies and the likes, but I wasn’t fond of them.
“Let’s get through this quickly,” I muttered, fisting my hands.
Sterling's POV:
I shot a quick glance over at Eden and saw her hands clenched into tight fists. She didn't seem like she really wanted to be here, and I had lost sight of Lucas and Ashley a while ago…
"Sounds good to me," I said softly, not sure if what she'd muttered had just been meant for herself.
Eden’s POV:
I was afraid of many things, but those fears were bearable. I could fight them head-on and pretend they never terrified me because that was what I could do best.
Three things… out of all my fears, three things could push me against the floor and prevent me from getting back up. Those fears rendered me powerless, and I hated feeling powerless. I liked being in control, and most of all, I liked pretending nothing could wear me down.
The first fear was trust. I was afraid of trusting people because I was afraid they’d stab me in the back when they were done with me. My second fear was… never mind that one. The last one was that I was afraid of the dark. It was pretty silly for a girl like myself. Why would I be afraid of the dark?
Well, I didn’t exactly fear the dark. I was afraid of what was in the dark. My fear of the dark connected with my first fear, associating with lack of sight and thus, getting myself caught in a trap I could have avoided had there been a source of light.
And right now, the more I walked inside this building, and the more black filled my vision, I knew I was a goner.
I would show another weakness of mine to Sterling. I’d show another way for him to push me around. I thought I could bear this because I simply needed to focus on reality and pretend this wasn’t real. Me being in a dark place wasn’t real.
But it was. It was as real as the creepy lights, barely allowing me to see, concealing what was hiding perfectly and rendering me blind. It was as real as Sterling beside me, walking slowly to match my place.
And I knew it was real because the moment I sensed danger, my hand shot out to grab Sterling’s, squeezing it tightly because that was the only thing I could do to tell myself I wasn’t alone.
Sterling's POV:
I blinked in surprise when Eden suddenly grabbed my hand, both at the quickness of it and the fact the she had done so at all.
Another glance over at her showed me just the outline of her silhouette, due to the deep darkness of the path. Gently, I squeezed her hand back, hoping that it would give her some comfort, even if it was only a bit.
Eden’s POV:
The moment Sterling squeezed my hand back, I had the feeling that I was safe; nothing could get me.
I took a deep breath, stepping closer to Sterling, linking our hands together all the while fighting off the heat trying to stake claim on my face. His hand, although big and rough, seemed to engulf my small one entirely. It seemed to fit—perfectly.
And before I knew it, we were out. I admit, I had my eyes closed most of the time, sticking close to Sterling, somehow believing he’d lead me out of there. And he did, safely.
Sterling's POV:
I didn't want to let go of her hand. Ever. It was so soft and gentle… And a perfect fit to my own.
When we were out of the haunted house, I turned to her, giving her a quick, small smile. "You okay?" I asked gently.