stevens pov
i was heading home from the starry bakery after briefly catching up with lars, it's good seeing him happy
once i had left, i decided to head back through the woods to check if jasper was doing fine, she didn't have to talk to me or even know i was there, it was just to see if her gem was still fine.
"hey excuse me~" a strangers voice calls out
i turned around, correctly assuming they were talking to me
a group of three girls stood no more than five metres away, the shortest of the bunch heading closer towards me
"yeah?" i look down at the pretty brunette girl as she twirls a few strands of hair around her finger
"do you know any good beaches? you look local"
"well there's one right ther-"
"Aubrey! look at his eyes!" the blond one cuts me off
the short one took a closer look
"are they contacts?"
"no"
"pft" the silent one speaks up
"what?" i direct my question towards her
"they're clearly fake"
i take a few steps closer, her naive grin fades swiftly when she sees my slightly irritated face
"um never mind haha."
i was just about ready to leave when aubrey spoke up again
"so do you?"
"if you head up that way there's a nice spot"
i point further up the path, assuring them it would be visible once passing the thick tree line
"can you take us?" the taller one asks
frankly i was getting annoyed, but i'd have to go that way regardless
"sure."
i had no intentions of talking to them more than needed, so i chose to make it clear by absorbing myself on my phone.
i scrolled on my device aimlessly, switching from app to app with no interest in any content
"so.." the second tallest one grabs onto my arm as we walk "whats your name?"
"steven"
"im adelaide"
i just nod with a fake interest
"this is Aubrey" she continues "and this is violet"
"so steven, when are we gonna get to the beach?"
"i don't know like in five?"
"cool earrings~" adelaide mentions
"thanks."
"your hairs so cute~" states violet
"thanks?"
"why are your eyes like that? they're soo cool~"
"just born like that i guess?"
they all giggle as if i just made the funniest joke imaginable.
honestly, i knew they had some sort of weird intentions but i didn't care nor was i even slightly interested
"you wanna swim with us?" violet asks
"i have things to do" i somewhat lie
"come on~"
my face scrunches up to avoid answering, i just wasn't interested
before anyone could speak again, adelaide stumbles over a large exposed root protruding from the moss covered ground.
after back a grin, i help her up and she hugs me as a thanks.
awkwardly, i half hugged her back until she finally let go and we continued walking in the direction of the beach
"okay if you go there" i point in the near distance "take a right at the graffitied rock you'll see the beach. there's a ton of rock pools"
the trio say farewell and head off but aubrey, dissatisfied with her failed flirting attempts turns back whilst her friends weren't looking
"hey steven can i get your digits?"
i would've said no or lied but she already knew i had my phone and was insistently holding hers to me
"sure" i punch in my number and leave
the rest of the journey to where jasper had been staying made me realise i could've just given her a fake number, i guess i'll just have to block her if she tries contacting me
your pov
i was sitting alone on a large rock with one foot dangling in the warm water and my head resting on the left knee while i watched all the tiny marine life go about their daily lives.
a distracting muffled talking came from further back, resulting in me switching my attention away from the vast ocean
i release a sigh as i clearly heard a group of people approaching where i was perched.
once turning slightly right, i could see three girls, upon closer inspection i realised they were the ones with steven from just before.
if they sat or swam near me, i was planning on leaving and just going home, there were plenty of other things to do right?
carefully, i listened to them, trying to tell if they were coming closer or getting further away without turning to look, except all i heard was giggling and whispering
