Countryside Adventures

Chapter 3 – Magic on the Meadow

The next day, Troy was up at 11 am. He showered, ate, and then he went outside. He played with Floppy in the garden, before the dog got to tired and went to find a shadow where he could sleep.

Troy saw that Gabriella was sitting in her garden, reading a book, against a tree.
Troy smiled. She was wearing a short white skirt and a yellow t-shirt. Her skin was perfect and tanned, along with her legs.

Troy jumped over the fence and into their garden. He walked up behind the tree.

"Good morning," he said. Gabriella jumped.

"Oh my God, Troy! You scared me," she said.

"Sorry," he said as he sat down beside her. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"Twilight," she said.

Troy noticed that she still wasn't as chatty as she had been at the start of the night before.

He stared at her, the features of her face, and the way her eyes moved when she read.
For a minute or so he looked at her.

"Will you stop that?" she asked.

"Stop what?"

"Staring," she looked at him.

"Only if you come with me for a walk," he said.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

Troy got up and offered his hand.

"Yep," he said.

She sighed, took his hand and let him help her up. She left her book on the ground.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Nowhere special," he said. He went against the meadow. She followed without saying anything. When they were about 100 m's from the farm, Troy suddenly sat down.

"Here we are," he said.

"Here?" she sat down to.

"Yep,"

"Okay?" she shrugged.

"Does your sister talk about my brother?" he asked.

"Not really," her voice became cold again. "Why?"

"Just wondering. He really likes her. He's always had this thing with blonde ones,"

"So you're competing with him?" she asked.

"Competing? What do you mean?"

"Troy, you like Jessica too," she said. Cold as ice.

"WHAT!? No freaking way!" he exclaimed. Then he realized what he had just said. "Sorry, I mean, she's just not really my type,"

"Really? I thought you liked her," Gabriella said.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, confused.

"Well, yesterday, you seemed pretty interested in her. And you asked me if she had a boyfriend," she said.

"First of all, I was not interested in her. I was just watching Daniel, who can get very crazy when it comes to blonde girls, talking to her. And second, I only asked because it would've been pretty stupid of Daniel to hit on her if she already had a boyfriend. I'm not crushing on her," Troy said.

Gabriella felt like a rock was being lifted from her chest. She smiled.

"Okay," she smiled.

"So do you look forward to start school?" he asked.

"No. Not really. How is the school anyway?"

"It's okay, I guess. The cheerleaders aren't that bitchy, in fact. Or, sometimes they are. It depends on who you are. We have a basketball team, the school's pride," Troy said. Yet he hadn't told her about the basketball. He hadn't told her about the riding. She didn't even know that he had a horse.

To him, it was too soon. He had barely known her for 12 hours.

The riding was a big part of him, and no one really knew about it. At school, he was the captain of the basketball team. The girls were all over him. And only because of the popularity, not because of the person he was. But here, home at the farm, he was himself, and it felt good to talk to a girl without her knowing about the basketball.

"Great!" she said, sarcastically.

"What?"

"Sounds just like my other school," she sighed.

"It's not that bad. And some of the basketball-players aren't that bad," he said.

"I suppose that means you're friends with them?" she said.

"Yes, I guess you can put it that way," he grinned.

"Okay, well, I just thought that, you know, maybe this school would be different. Like I could actually fit in somewhere. Anywhere," she shrugged.

"It's okay. You have me," he grinned.

"Thanks, that helps," she said, sarcastically.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. That was the first time a girl ever had dared joking with him, and he enjoyed it.

She held up her hands.

"Just kidding!"

"Good for you, Montez," he said.

"Tell me a secret," she said, as she lied down on the meadow and watched the sky above them.

"I hate my middle name," he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Chaplin," he blushed.

"It's cute," she smiled.

"Your turn," he said.

"I love my middle name," she giggled.

"What is it?"

"Adair," she said. "Your turn,"

"I like your middle name too,"