They Came In Hoodies

Chapter 11: What I Needed To Survive

Look out for the <> and happy Wednesday!

Stella POV

I sat on the sidewalk waiting for Alice to finish her group meeting on the Saturday morning so we could go dress shopping. I still had no idea why she wanted me here so early when clearly she was still in her meeting. Anger bubbled within me as I chucked a rock into the parking lot. Bed could have held me captive still, I could have been in my warm home, but instead I was waiting for someone that was late on the cold sidewalk.

With the weather changing around me, it caused a feeling of bitterness to come. I was never a fan of cold or cold weather things. That was why I was in LA, when it was summer all year round. But with the leaves on the ground, I knew that snow would come soon enough, which meant frozen weather, leaving me cold and sour.

I took a deep breath and tried to look on the bright side of the situation. Only a few months and spring would come with flowers. Spring was rebirth, green, and lively. That thought pushed me forward with hope.

<>

Breaking me from my thoughts was when I heard a snap of a branch behind me. I turned around to see Gray standing, looking down at me from across the sidewalk. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to notice because his eyes held some kind of concern, as if he was worried that I would be in the mood to start a conversation he didn't want to have. "Hey," I said plainly to him as his posture loosened.

"Hey," he replied simply as he took a step forward as if wanting to close the gap between us.

Silence spilled into the space between us like lava. "What are you doing here?" I finally asked Gray as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, as if hiding something from me.

"Just taking a walk."

I hardly believed that. No one wanted to go walk around school on a Saturday morning. Something else was up, but I needed to approach this carefully in order to get the questions I needed answered. "At school? Do you live close to here?"

"Not far."

As I stared at him, I realized we hadn't had a conversation since he came over a few days ago. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him, but other things pulled my attention, especially when my dad told me he wanted to spend more time with me. That late night conversation over a glass of milk practically knocked my socks off. "So how did you do on that last test?"

A hint of a smile appeared on his face, as if proud of the memory. "I got a B-."

Everyone said he didn't care about school, but that smile told me otherwise. I smiled back at him with excitement. For someone that never studied before, that grade was fantastic. "That's awesome. Congratulations!"

He nodded, then looked at the school as if knowing our moment of privacy would end any moment. "Hey, what are your plans for Monday night?"

I quickly thought about what I had on my plate and suddenly none of it seemed important, not as important as what he was asking. "Nothing."

"Would you be interested in another study group? I feel like there is so much I need to catch up on."

I smiled at the thought that he wanted to hang out. He asked me to hang out with him, which meant something, didn't it? "Of course. We can do that."

"Do you want to meet at my place this time?"

His place sounded like such forbidden fruit, and it caused excitement to build within me. Homes were so personal, and it showed that he wanted to let me in as a friend. This showed me that Grayson was human, and he had a heart. He was more human than most people at this school and no one would see that. "Sure. That sounds good. I can't wait."