Shy

nine

NINE

Indianna hadn't seen her mother for the whole evening. She had gone straight to her room and collapsed on the bed, stressing about the evening she had to spend with Greyson. She was sweating and she didn't know if it was because she was ill or because she was nervous.

7 pm rolled around very quickly and Indianna felt sick as she walked downstairs, dressed modestly in blue jeans and a white top that sat off of her shoulders, her beige coat was draped over her arm. Nothing fancy, especially since the last thing she wanted was to spend the evening with Greyson. She was surprised to see her mother walk out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and with a tea towel in her hand. "Indie, there you are!" Iris called. "I was just making-" Iris looked at her daughter's outfit and frowned, "are you going somewhere?"

"Yes," Indianna said.

"Where?" Iris questioned.

"I don't know," Indianna said honestly and she checked the time on her phone. It was exactly 7 pm.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're making friends," Iris said. "I know that you... struggle."

Indianna pointed awkwardly to the door, wishing that this stage of Iris showing interest would pass. It was easier when her mother didn't care about her. Indianna had forgotten how to talk to her mother, it always felt so forced and unnatural. "I have to go. Grey-" Indianna stopped short, her eyes widening and she cursed under her breath when Iris's eyebrows raised.

"Greyson?" Iris said. "You're going out with Greyson Evans?"

"N-no! I'm not going out with him. We're just... It's just this once."

"You need to stay away from that boy!" Iris scolded. "He's bad news, he's trouble! You should stay in tonight. You're not seeing him."

For once, Indianna wanted to listen to her mother, but she knew she couldn't. "If I don't leave this house in the next minute we both know he will knock on the front door," Indianna said with a sigh. "It's a one time thing. He has something I want."

"What could you possibly want from him, Indie? He's dangerous!"

"Answers," Indianna said shortly. "Unless you want to tell me about what you and he discussed the other day then I'm leaving."

Iris paled. "I d-don't know what you mean! You can't go with him, Indie. He's going to take you away from me!"

"You lost me yourself, mother," Indianna sighed and continued to the door. Greyson was waiting in the car, engine running. He checked his watch as Indianna approached the car, tutting.

"7.03 pm," he called.

"Consider yourself lucky I'm even here," Indianna grumbled and got into the car, turning to look at Greyson. He pushed the sleeves to his black top up and reached forward, brushing a piece of Indianna's hair behind her ear.

She froze at the contact, feeling the familiar sensation of tingles that were becoming more present at Greyson's touch. She sucked in a breath, unable to place the feelings of the sparks. She had felt nothing like them before. "You're not wearing your glasses, sugar."

"I only wear them at school," she told him, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, I'll be making sure to see you outside of school if it means I can spend longer staring into your eyes," he said and smirked when Indianna shifted uncomfortably. He pulled his arm back and focused his attention on the road. "We should get going."

"Where are we going?"

"You wouldn't know," Greyson said dismissively.

"My mother told me to stay away from you," Indianna said once they were driving.