Fast Times at Westfield High

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Robin found that to be pretty interesting, owning a farm. He didn't know much about caring for animals besides his pug, Joey, but he'd never minded horses or cows or whatever, although he imagined them to be aborrently dirty, rankling his slightly obsessive compulsive tendencies. Dogs were his favorite animal. And he had an odd soft spot for especially adorable ones. So, he figured farm animals couldn't be much worse, as long as her family kept things clean, as getting his new shoes, specially teal from Nike, dirty would be a nightmare - economically, hygienically, and personally.

He pulled out his phone and nodded noncommitally, not really saying yes or no, but stil giving her a smile before checking his messages, seeing he had a new one from Marshall, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Marshall said:

When u ask her out, offer 2 do a double date w/ me and Paige. Girls like that stuff. (Or at least Paige does.)

He was tempted to sigh and delete it, but he kept it around instead, maybe to laugh at later, seeing as how he most definitely wasn't going to go to some stupid winter dance, and there was no way in heck he was sticking his neck out for a girl he barely knew. Quickly, being a rather skilled texted, he typed back:

Not asking her out or going to dance. She's really cool and funny. She wants me to go to her farm and ditch. Help. Will stall as long as possible but I need an answer quick. And Paige is psychotic. She has no opinion.

Awkwardly, he stuffed his phone back in his shorts pocket and said back, smiling nervously, "A farm? That's pretty cool. It must be fun." He blushed slightly. "I just live near a hardware store."
 
She walked outside and waited by the schools front gates for her mother. "My moms pretty cool with you ditching school as long as she's benifitting from it."
Moments passed before a dark blue mustang pulled up.
Sarah opened the door to the passenger side and hopped in then unlocked the door to the backseat for Robin.
"Ooh, he's cute!" Sarah's mom whispered to her daughter who blushed, hoping that Robin didn't hear any of that.
After Robin for in the car they were off, "so Sarah, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She smiled in a teasing way.
"Mom, this is Robin...Robin this is-"
The driver then interrupted her daughter, "the names Carol honey!" She said.
Sarah sank in her seat, first she just wanted to get through school, then she met a boy that she barley knows and now she's starting to like him on the first day? This was complicated and all too much, she wasn't sure if he even liked her! Probably not because they just met. She needed to stop complicating things and slow down.
With a deep breath she turned to the boy from the front seat. "Your going to love the farm, it's absolutely beautiful," she's smiled.
 
Sarah's mom seemed really nice - a lot nicer than his dad, and much more laid back. Even his mom was a little overbearing, with how much she smothered his social life on a daily basis, and how stringent she was when it came to schoolwork, but Sarah's mother seemed to be far above the ideal parent, especially for the kind of person Sarah seemed to be. Robin didn't mind his stepmom much, though, with how smart she was, but still, Camilla didn't radiate the same kind of warmness that Carol did. In short, Robin liked Mrs. Hart. And he thought the farm thing was increasingly interesting.

Robin flashed a small smile, readjusting his hair for a moment before saying, "Sounds interesting. I've been to vineyards before, but never a farm-farm. Thanks for inviting me."

He felt his phone vibrate within his pocket, so he gave Sarah another half smile, then began fishing through his shorts until he grabbed his dark teal iPhone from the left, a new message from Marshall apparent on the screen. He said:

WAIT, SHE asked YOU out??!! Duuuuuuude, u got sooo lucky! Ask her 2 the dance or 2 hang tomorrow or something.

Robin sighed almost inaudibly, and reached into his pocket to return his phone, but then decided against it, typing out a response message instead. He said back:

Not a date. Stfu.

He rolled his eyes and stowed his phone away, not wanting to continue the conversation much further. It seemed like Sarah liked him back, but he wasn't much ready for dating anyone at the moment, and he found friendship, without the stress and obligation a relationship entails, to be far more appealing than a rushed, short lived fling with someone he barely knew. Marshall was stupid. And he knew that better than anyone.

"So, uh..." he began, his face reddening slightly. "Where did you guys move from?"
 
"Well you see, we were all born in Florida but my mom Patsy was born in New Orleans where I grew up. Then later on we moved here." She said as she kept driving.
As Carols mom was yapping on about family history. Sarah looked out the window hoping that her horse Penelope was alright.
The car pulled up into this huge gorgeous cabin, the kind that looked like you would only come here to stay the weekends.
"Home sweet home," Carol said and opened her car door. Sarah was next, she got out and opened the door. The interior design was amazing.
In the living room was a huge bear carpet on the ground with a fireplace in front of it. On the chimney right above the fireplace was a huge flat screen television. The sofas were huge and soft. The two sliding doors in the back porch roamed all different types of horses in fences. Next to them was different types of other animals and next to that on the other side was a chicken farm.
Sarah opened the door as Carol gave some shoes to Robin "we can't have those nice shoes ruined can we?" She smiled at him.
Sarah ran out back and opened the gate to the horses. She then closed it behind her and disappeared into the horse barn.
 
Robin smiled. The shoes didn't exactly match his outfit, but they seemed like sneakers that would fit him, so he gratefully took them from Carol with a warm 'thank you' said under his breath. The woman, homely, with a face like Sarah's, allowed him to sit as he pulled on the shoes, and, smiling subtly, he did so, slipping on a pair of blue and gray tennis shoes that were just a little bit snug, but comfortable enough for his liking, then placed his original sneakers, far more fashion forward, on the mat by the door. He liked how considerate she was. He knew his obsession over his favorite teal Nikes might have been a little ridiculous, but it'd still be an undeniable shame if they were to get defiled in anyway, so the gesture made him feel welcome, if even for a moment.

"Thanks for the shoes," he said again, half smiling as he loosened the laces a little. Standing up straighter, he added, smirking, "My kicks are my babies."

He chuckled a little, if only under his breath, and peered out the sliding door toward the barn, which Sarah had entered moments before. Curiously, he stepped out back, walking without much urgency throughout the farm in the direction of an imposing red barn that looked a little worn, although still breathtaking in an odd sort of way, observing the various animals and scenery as he walked along, especially enthralled with the playful activity of the waddling chickens. He couldn't help but smirk.

Almost at the barn, he picked up pace a little, his nervousness adding an unusual jolt in his step as he approached the door. His jog, however, was quickly interrupted, as he felt a familiar buzz against his thigh,and, in a usual fashion, he rolled his eyes. Stupid Marshall.

Quickly, he pulled out his phone and read the message under his breath, not in the least but winded by running the several feet. Marshall said, likely texting from the back of his next period class:

Dude, ur at her house, right? How is that NOT a date?? Just get it over w/ and ask her out. Not like ur getting married. What r u guys doin rn?

Usually, he'd stifle the sigh pushing its way up his throat at the moment, but he saw no reason to suppress it, so he let the moan, irritated and vexed, free from his mouth, and began to type back. Within seconds, he said:

She's in her barn looking for a horse or something. I was going in too, but then I was interrupted... It's beautiful here.

Satisfied, he stuffed his phone in this pocket and strolled the rest of the way to the barn, his hands rested confortably in his hoodie pockets to keep out the December cold. Freezing out here. Robin preferred the summer.

Finally, he reached the big red doors, and entered, trying desperately to be casual despite hius significantly increased anxiety at the moment. Amiably, he waved at her, his brows raised in a perplexed sort of way, and said, "Hey. Whatcha doin'?"
 
"Getting two horses, we can find her faster this way," she said as she opened two horses stalls and let them both out. She then strapped saddles on them, she looked gorgeous in the light.
"Have you ever been horseback riding before?" She asked.
 
Robin almost didn't answer the question. It was like she was talking straight through him, or the words just weren't coming out. She looked amazing in the light. Amazing. Brunette hair falling in waves, shining at the top. Green eyes sparkling. Expression as such an intense gaze, as if she were ready for anything. She seemed to be...in her element. Like this was where she belonged. With her gorgeous looks and almost go-getter sort of attitude, and the casual but stylish way she dressed. Surrounded by horses and hay and all the other signature, quintessential farm stuff you'd see in a barn. Despite the fact that she was literally at her place of residence, it seemed as if she was at home. Like the way Anastasia looked when she'd read her writing to the class, or talked about her characters, or showed how good she was at math. It irritated him at times, how she was such a know it all. But such a beautiful one at that.

And it was different, he knew, because he didn't know much about Sarah, or her personality, or really what she loved at all. But he felt as if she was where she belonged, even if he was completely incorrect. And there was nothing he loved to see more than someone who just plain knew what they were doing. (And looked super hot while doing it, too.)

[BCOLOR=transparent]He didn’t think he’d recover from the moment that just occurred, because, although he was usually so confident, there was nothing that scared Robin more than a girl he wanted to be with, and who maybe wanted to be with him, too, but he was able to organize his scattered thoughts just in time for her second question, which knocked him from his daze and into something more ready, more awake.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]He wanted desperately to impress her at this point, because he figured he looked like crap in this lighting with his various acne, shoes that didn’t match his outfit, and hair that was likely completely wrecked from his lack of mirror and styling gel, and he most certainly wasn’t in his element. But it wasn’t as if he could pretend like he could actually ride a horse. Sure, he could act like it for a second or two. But when he actually got on the horse? He’d be toast. Not to mention the fact that even the mere premise of it freaked him out.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Shaking his head, he scratched the back of his neck, his palms unusually sweaty for the coldness outdoors. He hated it when that happened. Anastasia made him sweat gallons. Now, he was only a day into knowing this girl, and he was already freaking out. Great.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]“Actually, I…” He chuckled slightly, trying to dissipate his anxiety and awkwardness with a little levity, his signature saving grace. “Yeah, you’d probably need to help me with that. I’ve never even been this close to one until today.” He backed up a little as one of the horses turned its head slightly, as if it was surprised to hear he’d never ridden before. Cute.[/BCOLOR]


 
Sarah smiled gently, she was very understanding at her age.
She knew that she had to be careful about teaching someone, they could get very offended if you keep telling them how to do stuff all the time. They feel like they're three even of your only trying to help.
"It's okay," she said "I will teach you...and don't worry, you will get the hang of it."
She then walked over to Daisy, a brown horse with a white streak across the snout.
"Just smile and establish trust to the horse before you get on...like this."
She looked the horse into the eyes and held her hand above the snout. "Horses are like people, when they get scared they need to feel in control so...if she accepts you as her rider she will put her snout against your hand then you pet her."
The horse rubbed her snout against Sarah who rubbed her nose then her neck.
"Robin, your turn" she said backing away.
 
Robin found Sarah's demeanor to be very nice so far, and he appreciated the kindness of teaching him how to ride. Horses, like most large animals, had always sort of intimidated him, but he felt himself grow less worrisome when he saw how affectionate Daisy could be, the same one that turned its head in a quizzical sort of manner when he admitted he'd never seen a real life horse, and the bond between her and Sarah. He supposed that the animal was far gentler than its size, even if he was still nervous about actually sitting on top of it without falling off. He hated to admit it, but heights, especially coupled with inconsistent movement, freaked him out a little. If someone was on a roller coaster with him, he certainly wouldn't scream, but if he was by himself, the fear would be ever present, and at this moment, it was all he could do not to admit how intimidated he was. Robin was not the type to reveal his insecurities. Especially around someone who's opinion he held at a high standard at this point.

Nervously, he approached Daisy, rubbing the back of his neck almost roughly, leaving a red mark on his skin, blanketed in sweat. The barn, despite the frigidness outdoors, was actually quite stuffy, not to mention the warmth of anxiety burning him from the inside. After a moment of apprehension, he lifted his hand to the horse's snout, his teal eyes locked to the creature's deep brown ones, and left his hand in place, just as Sarah did before. The horse itself, much to Robin's surprise, seemed just as nervous as him, but within a second or two, Daisy pressed her snout, almost velvety to the touch, to his shaky hand, snorting in contentment in the way that only equines can do. Grinning in mesmerization, he followed Sarah's earlier instructions and pet Daisy gently on the nose, his hand becoming more steady, and guided his palm to the back of her neck, feeling the softness of her brown coat.

He chuckled under his breath. "Whoa," he muttered, almost inaudibly. He raised his voice a little, still stroking the horse, and shifted his gaze to Sarah, who was watching from behind him. "I thought she was gonna kick me or something, to be honest," he said, laughing. He returned his attention to the horse, carefully patting her snout. "Or bite me."
 
She chuckled "they warn you if your going to do that but don't take their eyes off of them when they are scared they tend to become nervous...and now...to ride Daisy" she smiled.
Just then Carol called out to her daughter from inside the house.
"Honey! Can you get dinner this time?" She asked and Sarah called back "yes!" Before grabbing a bow and arrow from a huge sachel and wrapped the bow around her. She then took some arrows from the same sachel and put it in a pouch on the horse.
 
Robin was, despite his underlying excitement, thankful for the distraction, as he was hardly ready to ride the horse just yet. But, as Sarah equipped Daisy with arrows and strapped a bow around herself, he was beginning to wonder what other talents his new friend had. 'Get dinner'? he thought to himself, the puzzled look apparent on his pale, oddly cute face. She couldn't mean...His teal eyes widened.

He chuckled slightly, although he wasn't sure why. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked, somewhat nervously. He couldn't explain the weird sort of attitude he was donning at the moment, but it was hard to stifle the slight tremor in his voice. Probably an aftershock from the horse endeavor, he reasoned, nodding subtly at the thought. His phone buzzed yet again in his pocket, startling him enough to jump slightly as if he was spooked much like a horse. He smirked and rolled his eyes, deciding to check his messages later, as it was probably something stupid from Marshall again. Idiot.
 
"To hunt..." She smiled before getting on the horse. "It's okay just try to get on the saddle," she said pointing to where the feet need to be. "My family hunts when we need to..." She said.
 
Robin thought that was pretty cool, but he wondered what exactly they hunted. Quickly, he reasoned that they may try for turkey, quail, or another game bird, as they seemed to be in great profusion in this area of the state, but he couldn't help but contemplate where exactly she learned such skills from. It was pretty amazing, come to think of it, being adept at the bow and arrow at such a relatively young age, but to be able to hunt efficiently as well? That was rad. It almost made him think of Katniss for a little - he was a guy who read The Hunger Games before they were cool. And she seemed to be the girl who lived them. He smirked, his thoughts traveling far and wide, but was interrupted yet again by another buzz against his thigh. Stop texting me! he felt like shouting, although he kept a level head and even straighter face. He'd thought it before, but it definitely bared repeating: Idiot.

His Hunger Games thoughts were shattered. Now, he was face to face with Daisy with a phone vibrating irritatingly in his pocket, almost a million times a second. If he's calling me, I swear to God...

He wanted to turn the thing off, but feared being rude for having his phone out when Sarah was waiting for him to mount the horse. So, he just rolled his eyes and sucked it up, and approached the horse from the side, infernal nervousness yet again creeping its way down his throat and up his spine. He glanced down at where Sarah gestured at the stirrup - or, at least that's what he thought it was called - where he was directed to place his foot. It didn't seem very complicated, he noticed, and he was already a fairly agile guy, so, being as careful as possible, but still fast enough to get the initial scare over with quickly, he placed his left foot in the stirrup, and hopped up and down slightly for better momentum, and clumsily hoisted his leg over the other side of the horse, gripping the horn of the saddle for dear life, as if there was a pit of lava underneath him. Awkwardly, he readjusted himself, trying his best to sit comfortably, although the position was undeniably chafing. Not fun, he thought to himself, rolling his eyes internally, although the action was probably more external than he hoped for it to be.

"Well, I'm not dead," he said, with a chuckle, smirking slightlu. But I sure am suffering. "That's..." He paused, scooching in the saddle slightly into a better position. "Interesting that you hunt, though. What kind of..." Silently, he searched for a technical term, but was at a loss, and decided to settle for sounding as uninformed as he actually was. "What kind of animals?"
 
"It depends on what we find. Sometimes deer, other times wolves. Don't worry though we only hunt wolves when they try to attack...you don't need to worry, they won't hurt you I'm here.." She smiled then said "when you tap your horse on the sides that means you want her to go faster...when you give a little tug on one side of the reins then you want them to go there."
Her and her horse walked out when she tapped her horses belly with her feet.
 
Robin was now completely and thoroughly freaked out and amazed at the same exact time.

First off, he thought it was pretty incredible that she could look into the face of an attacking wolf and not be the least bit scared. He thought it was funny seeing people mauled on TV, but most certainly not funny if it were to happen in real life, especially to someone as skinny as him. Robin was fairly strong, but not strong enough to single handedly fight off a wolf without a weapon, even if his agility could save him by the scrape of his teeth in the end. She must have been almost inhumanly brave, or at least incredibly hardened by experience. And the way she could apparently take one down with a bow was pretty insane, too. The fact that she spoke of it like it was just everyday stuff, as well, like the way he talks about hitting home runs, was also impressive.

And frightening.

He would be on a horse that he could barely ride, following a girl wielding a bow and arrow, hunting wolves with the potential to hostally attack, and deer. He'd either fall off the horse and die, or get slaughtered by a rabies induced wolf. Either way.

There was no way Robin was ready for that. But he did believe that she had it covered. Just the way she talked about it suggested the experience she had with such endeavors. But he hoped, very much so, that she was good at what she did. He knew she had a way with horses, but horses weren't exactly life or death (okay, maybe, in Robin's case, they could be a little daunting), but rabies induced wolves were.

He felt another vibration in his pocket, almost startling him from his horse. Are you kidding me? he asked silently, slapping the phone roughly against his side, shooting a surge of sharp pain up his leg. Smart, he thought sardonically, rolling his eyes. The horse whinnied, likely feeling the blow, but he was thankful - oh so thankful - that she didn't take off running like he expected her to. That would be a literal thrill ride straight off a movie screen.

He sighed, his hands glued tightly by sweat to the reins balanced on the saddle horn, and steadied himself on the horse. In one, gentle motion, he tapped Daisy lightly on the side of her belly with his overly tight tennis shoe, and stifled the urge to hyperventilate as she began to walk out of the barn, following Sarah and her steed. He wanted desperately to close his eyes as he did on roller coasters, but he found that to be more disastrous since it was dangerous to ride without looking ahead, so he clenched his teeth, as well as his hands around the reins, and guided the horse to Sarah's direction.

"This isn't so bad," he said, getting more used to it than before. He felt his heart drop a little as the horse tended to speed up and slow down slightly, but it wasn't as terrifying as he imagined it to be, as long as he kept a level pace. "I'm kinda gettin' the hang of it."
 
"Your a quick learner, I think Daisy might like you," Sarah smiled then saw how he was clenching tightly onto the reins and held his hand gently "here" she said handing him black gloves. "These gloves have a better grip and keep your hands from getting frostbite."
The horses trotted slowly, loving the excersise.
"When I was a little girl I've always wanted to wield a bow and arrow...my aunt practice archery and I thought it was amazing. So I practiced...a lot actually...when I was 13 I had my first sword...then a year later hand to hand combat..."
She breathed before continuing. "I never really had much friends because I always practiced and could never get along with any girls...all they talked about was boys and make-up...now that I'm opening up to you, why don't you tell me a little about yourself."
She found it hard to really communicate with him if she didn't know much about him to begin with.
 
Robin was more focused on the fact that she held his hand for a second and gave him gloves than anything else, really.

He didn't want to admit to himself that he completely spaced out, because he found that to be insanely childish and rude, since she was essentially opening up to him and he basically just ignored it, especially since, although he heard the second half of it, she provided him with information he was rather curious to know. But he was sweating almost inhumane amounts now. Not just because of the horse, but because of her. And because the only girls that actually appeared to be interested in him were mindless airheads with no substance or a lack of interesting skills. She was, like, the real deal. And he found it so strange, since he didn't even know an incredible amount about her besides her hobbies and what she was good at, which is only, he supposed, around half a person. Or, in his case, a small fraction of himself. But it was really something he couldn't control.

He liked Anastasia for almost three years. They dated two thirds of that. The majority of the first year, he spent denying it to himself, because he was in middle school, and seventh grade adolescent first love kind of stuff was easy to suppress until he actually felt himself falling seriously in love with her. But now, at this age, and with this experience, he had absolutely no force field against his emotions. And he wasn't sure whether that was good, or bad, or somewhere in between, but he figured he'd stop thinking about it and focus on his riding, since getting lost in such insane, contemplative thoughts while on the back of an animal that could take off any second was almost as dangerous as playing tag with a rabies induced wolf. Freaking killer.

He took a deep breath and said, his hands warm and held firm around the reins because of the thick leather gloves, "I'm..." He wanted desperately to sound more interesting than he actually was, but the attempt was almost drastically futile. "Well, I'm pretty into sports...." Sound like a stereotypical jock. Go right ahead. He rolled his eyes internally. "And science is cool. I used to do this engineering club thing in middle school. And I'm on science league now, and do academic competitions and stuff. But I mostly like baseball." He smirked. "And shoes."
 
"My mom used to play baseball in New Orleans when she was a kid!" She seemed so interested in what Robin was into, "I never learned though...too busy helping animals and surviving...do you think, maybe you could teach me one day?" She asked sweetly.
Suddenly she took off her bow and shot three bows in the blink of an eye. Two in the bushes and one in the forest. A deer dropped next to her from the forest and two foxes from the bushes plopped in front of the bushes dead.
She put the bow around her once more and got off the horse. She then dragged the bodies, all under the bushes. "Let's come back for them later," she said and got on the horse once more.
 
"My mom used to play baseball in New Orleans when she was a kid!" She seemed so interested in what Robin was into, "I never learned though...too busy helping animals and surviving...do you think, maybe you could teach me one day?" She asked sweetly.
Suddenly she took off her bow and shot three bows in the blink of an eye. Two in the bushes and one in the forest. A deer dropped next to her from the forest and two foxes from the bushes plopped in front of the bushes dead.
She put the bow around her once more and got off the horse. She then dragged the bodies, all under the bushes. "Let's come back for them later," she said and got on the horse once more.
(I meant she shot three arrows sorry)!
 
Robin smirked. "If you teach me how to do that..." He gestured to the three dead animal carcasses, lying limp in the bushes, and the sadistic part of him wanted to chuckle, while the humanitarian part of him felt kinda bad, although sadism seemed to outweigh empathy at the moment. Not to mention shock at the fact she was such a great shot. He imagined her to be good, but dang. He chuckled under his breath. "I can teach you how to play baseball."

Together, they road along a little further, and, becoming more comfortable on the back of a horse, he began to loosen his grip slightly on the reins, while still keeping a steady hand. He figured horseback riding to be much like any other sport, when he came to think of it, so, being an athlete such as himself, that was the way this needed to be treated. And, with a mentality like that, Robin was doing pretty well.

The cold tickled at his bare legs, making him regret wearing shorts today, but he tried to remind himself of the way Sarah held his hand earlier, hoping to generate some warmth, but heat inside his chest wasn't going to do much for his shins. Nice. He rolled his eyes internally, then continued his earlier thought, feeling welcome enough to share a little more about himself, although he'd never quite been in a circumstance such as this. He smiled slightly. "I guess it just depends on what position you want to play. I could teach you a lot about being a shortstop. A good amount about the others as well, although my pitching's kinda whack." He smirked, then added, a little more sarcastically, "You thinking about joining any extracurriculars? I'm sure the literature club would love you."
 
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