Eden's scowl hardened at his wink, but she couldn't help the faint blush that coated her cheeks. Damn him, indeed. At his next question, though, she dropped the scowl and looked away, running a hand through her hair. "I don't have much of an appetite."
And throwing up at even the slightest of provocation doesn't sound too inviting.
“Are you sure? Not even something small?” Sterling asked gently, sitting down in a seat.
Eden looked at him before sighing again. “Maybe I’ll just get a fruit or something, if that makes you stop worrying.”
Sterling smiled a little as he opened the bag of his food. “It would, thank you. Please do.”
Eden shook her head and made her way to the kitchen, opening the fridge. She pulled out a box of strawberries and took two of them out, washing them and cutting off their leaves. She walked back into the living room, taking a small bite out of one, taking a seat on the couch.
“How much time do we have?” She questioned, peering up at him from her position.
Sterling hummed around a mouthful of food and checked the time on his watch. “About twenty minutes. I should be done here soon.”
Eden nodded, laying back down on the couch, her feet hanging in the air, chewing softly. “Yeah, okay. Twenty minutes. We don’t have fourth block together.”
“No, we don’t…” Sterling sighed, taking another bite of his food. He chewed and swallowed before continuing. “What are you doing after school?”
Eden swallowed her bite, closing her eyes, feeling a little sick. She took another bite, anyway. “Probably nothing,” she murmured. “Hanging around with Razor.”
Or in the shower. Wallowing in self-pity. Who knows.
“We have that test this week, don’t we? Maybe we could study for it together,” Sterling suggested with a shrug, even though she couldn’t see him.
“Ah, the algebra one?” Eden closed her eyes, exhaling through her nose. “We could. I have one test next block, actually.”
“Yeah, the algebra one. It’s Thursday, right? If we start to study for it later today, then we should be plenty prepared by then,” Sterling mused as he continued to eat.
Eden hummed to herself. “I’m actually done with all the reviews he gave us. I had nothing better to do.”
Sterling looked over at her from the table and raised an eyebrow. “Really? Wow… I only just started them,” he admitted with a chuckle. “Maybe you can help me with them, then.”
“That works for me,” she murmured. “It’s quite easy, actually. Especially if you have a graphing calculator. Do you have it? I don’t think I’ve seen you using it.”
“I have one somewhere… It might be in my locker, though,” Sterling answered with a shrug.
“Use that, then. Graphing with it is better,” Eden looked at him. “Are you done eating?”
“Almost,” Sterling mumbled before shoving his last forkful into his mouth. He picked up his trash and carried it over to the garbage bin, throwing it away before making his way over to Eden. “We have about ten minutes to cuddle, I think… Unless we skip, which I’m all for skipping PE today.”
Eden sat up straight as he approached her, her heart hiccuping at his words. She tried focusing on his last words instead of the cuddling bit. “Isn’t it Blue day today?” She quirked an eyebrow. “We share fourth block on Black days, which is PE.”
Sterling clicked his tongue, sitting on the edge of the couch near her. “Dang, you’re right… I can skip graphic design, too. That’s not as important as PE, anyway.”
“I have a test. I can’t skip,” Eden muttered dejectedly. She tried not to skip classes she had a test in, but at that moment, she really wanted to skip. She moved closer to him unconsciously. “Unfortunately.”
“Darn,” Sterling murmured, noticing her move closer and shifting so that he could wrap his arm around her. “You said that, too… Well, then, I guess we’ll be going back to school.”
Eden tried fighting off the small smile from her face when he shifted and wrapped an arm around her, but she failed. She snuggled into his side, eyes closed. “As I thought… your embrace feels relaxing…”
“Does it? I’m glad you think so,” Sterling murmured, turning to fully embrace her and tug her down so that they were laying side by side.
Eden felt a flutter in her chest at his actions. She responded by snuggling further into him, questioning what they were doing, but she didn’t pull away. She closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest. “It’s soothing,” she murmured. “I should stop talking now.”