Where Do We Go From Here?

Tony watched me as I finished off my soup. The entire time I grew self-conscious as to whether I was sipping too loudly or eating too hastily. It came to a point where I had to take a minute long bathroom break to gather my bearings before I combust.

“You’re sure you didn’t want anything to eat or drink?” I offered.

He shook his head. “No, I ate before I came over.”

“Well, not to sound rude but this silence and staring thing that you’re doing is creeping me out.” I pointed out. I figured it was better to be honest than deal with it internally and end up getting nowhere.

“I’m glad you didn’t sugar coat it.” Tony laughed.

“I’m being serious.” I remarked. My headache crept back, throbbing with a vengeance. Rubbing my temples, I stood up and walked to the medicine cabinet.

“You feeling okay?” Tony asked with concern.

I waved him off. “I’m fine. I just need to hunt down some aspirin.” I assured while finding the bottle which was next to the cough medicine. I shook out two tiny white pills and tossed them in my mouth.

“Other than being sick, what were your plans for the day?” Tony asked after I drank some water to chase the pills.

I shrugged. “Probably try my best to finish my stop motion project and then I have Physics to finish up on and an essay that I haven’t started yet.”

“Is that all?” Tony asked incredulously; his voice laced with sarcasm.

“I take AP classes.” I pointed out through narrowed eyes.

He laughed. “How do you even accomplish any of that in one day?”

“I don’t.” I admitted. “I usually do as much as I can in one day.”

Tony didn’t say much after that. Instead, we sat in silence as I placed my dishes in the dish washer.

“Have you started the stop motion project?” I asked, breaking through the silence.

Tony shook his head no. “I didn’t know what to do.”

My bravado was on an all time high as I asked “Do you want to see mines?” I quickly added “It’s not finished, but I have about ten seconds worth.”

Tony smiled a toothy grin. “Sure.”

“It’s um—it’s up in my room.” I said with hesitancy.

God, what if he thinks I’m trying to make a move on him?! I thought in a panicky way.

“Are you trying to seduce me?” Tony teased.

“Hardly.” I said impassively, even though on the inside I was slightly freaking out.

“Lead the way, milady.” Tony said with a broad smile.

I rolled my eyes while heading down the hall that led to the stairs. Tony followed me as I slowly climbed the stairs. I kept chanting to myself that all I was doing is showing off my work, nothing more. When we reached my room, I stopped.

Turning to Tony, I said “My room is kind of a wreck, so don’t mind the mess.”

Opening the door I walked in, noting that I had clothes and books on the floor. I cringed at the mess I had left my room in and quickly glanced at Tony. His eyes weren’t assessing my messy dresser or the fact that my bed was unmade. Instead, his eyes were locked onto the wall that had my unfinished canvas hanging from.

“It’s a part of my stop motion project.” I explained even though he didn’t say anything.

Tony looked at me then back at the painting. “It’s remarkable.”

I scrunched my nose. “Really?”

I had accomplished more than just the background since last night. As of right now, there was a field of flowers lining the bottom of the canvas. It was nothing more than dotted color’s though, since I was aiming for a ‘Romantic Era’ painting style.

“Verity, this is…it’s really good.” Tony said in a soft voice.

I was chewing on the insides of my cheeks as he walked closer to the painting. Art was always personal to me, something that I’ve only shared with Callie and on occasion with my mother. The only other person who’s ever seen my work is Ms. Archer.

“So you’re taking frame by frame the making of this painting?” He asked; eyes still focused on the canvas.

I gulped. “Yeah. It’s a lot more time consuming than I had anticipated.”

I stepped around the cans of paint to reach my camera, which I placed in the corner of my room for the time being. Twisting it off the tripod, I turned on my camera to show Tony the shots I’ve taken so far.

“This is all I’ve got.” I said while handing him my camera. “Mind you that’s about fifty frames which I believe only takes up about ten seconds, and that’s me high balling it.”

Tony flicked through my pictures and smiled. “This is super cool.” He commented.

When he looked up at me I felt something stop; it might have been my heart or my breathing. It was the way his stare held mines, something that no one had ever done to me. It made my insides flip with uncertainty and excitement that I almost screamed just to break the silence in the room. I felt shifty as I casted my gaze towards my window and switched from leaning on my left leg to my right.

“Thanks.” I said before grabbing my camera from his hands. “I think I’m a little tired.” I said abruptly.

Tony smirked. “I can keep you warm while you sleep.”

I narrowed my eyes at him; relieved that my normal self came flooding back. “Thanks for the offer, but I can manage without you.”

“You sure? I’ve been told that I’m great at cuddling.” He dragged on.

I scoffed. “I’m so sure, I’m practically deodorant.”

Tony rolled his eyes as he started making his way to my bedroom door. I followed him; glad that I wasn’t allowing what just happened get to my head. I walked Tony to the front door and waited for him to actually step out and leave.

“Thanks for the soup.” I said gratefully.

“Thanks for the tour of your room.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes. “Talking like that is what makes those damn rumors impossible to die down.”

Tony mumbled something under his breath. It sounded vaguely like “Maybe I want them to be true.” But I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to know what he said in fear that I just might like it.

“Bye Tony.” I said more urgently.

“Bye Verity.” He smiled. “By the way, I totally saw that lacey bra of yours hanging on the back of your door. Very sexy.” He winked and skipped down the steps of my house.

I almost died of humiliation as I shut the door in a hurry. I didn’t want him to see the growing blush on my face.

Notes

Last update for tonight. Thank you to everyone who's been commenting. Your love and support for this story motivates me a ton to update faster. <3

Hope you like this update :)