To say that Stella was a bit on edge and nervous was to say that the homecoming decorations were just nice. It would be like saying that Oliver’s bowtie made him look alright. The bottom line was that, while completely accurate to say that Stella’s nerves were on high alert, it didn’t do them or her any justice. She was experiencing a lot. No matter what she tried to do, whether that meant she was focusing on Oliver’s occasional comment from the time she entered his car to when they stepped into one of the tents, his hand holding hers, she just couldn’t shake this uncontrollable feeling that was churning in the deepest regions of her small stomach.
As she tried to feel the groove of the current song playing, much like she had seen the others a few yards away do, she was only able to partially give into the rhythm. The rest of her was too nervous (or was it anxious?) Truth be told, at the rate she was going, the two might as well be one and the same. What seemed to bother her the most was the fact that Oliver was looking finer than hell and the romantic lighting the stars and lights that made her think of what Kavi said. How that she was the one least likely to get any sort of action.
She didn’t know why it got under her skin. Just about anyone who knew her, which she knew Kavi knew her but he was just being a dick about it, knew that Stella Lambert wasn’t the kind of girl who slept around for the sake of it. The last time she got herself that close to even doing that sort of thing was when she was briefly involved with Santiago Fernandez. Maybe that was it? Maybe Stella was nervous because she didn’t want this night to go that way. It was certainly a possibility. She hadn’t really thought about it that much. She didn’t think it would be on the table because Oliver wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who swung in the same area code as her, but she still couldn’t help that there was a chance. The way he looked at her was enough to give her some hope.
I’m probably fooling myself--
And just as Stella was going to poise herself right up, she saw …him. There he was with his dark hair groomed in the way she could remember. Even in the light and how dimmed some areas, she could still spot it a mile away. And his choice of outfits reminded her of the time he took her out on a date, which wasn’t a date date, but it still involved him romancing her (more in her mind than what actually happened). She knew he was the reason her mind was a giant, scattered mess.
“I can’t..not with him here,” she muttered to herself. Before she could do anything, however, she acted without thinking. “Santiago!” She shouted. He was only a few feet away from where she and it was too late for her to take it back. What was even worse, she saw that he heard her and he was coming her way. “Oliver, please don’t let this be the reason our night is ruined. I just...can’t control myself around him,” she said rather quickly, knowing the seconds were counting down quickly until the devil himself came to greet her.