Do What You Do 3/?
They had no idea what they were getting into. At least, Ruby sure didn't. She had never really cared what people thought, so why should she now? That was why she walked down the hill and sat on the wall at the bottom, letting her legs dangle over the sidewalk below. She was greeted with a sigh and a hand pushing her feet to the side. "Ruby," an exasperated voice stated simply. She smiled and leaned over to look at the boy. He sat with his knees in the air, hands resting over whatever he had been sketching on the notebook leaning against his thighs. "Hey, Ollie," she laughed. "Don't call me that," he scowled as he looked up at her, "And come down here if you insist on talking to me. This is gonna kill my neck." Ruby rolled her eyes jokingly before carefully dropping herself to the pavement. She immediately got herself into a cross-legged position, pulling her large tote bag onto her lap. Oliver eyed the bag for a second, obviously amused at its ridiculous size. "So what are you drawing?" she asked, poking her head in front of his face for a peek. "No, no, no," he reprimanded, holding the notebook out of her reach, "You know I don't like anybody looking." "Yeah, but I don't know why," she told him with a frown, "It's not like I would criticize it." "You've never seen my artwork," Oliver reminded her. "Which is something we simply must change!" she insisted, making a move for the sketchbook. "Ruby," he pleaded, "Just stop." But she had always been persistent. Ruby leaped across his lap and snatched the book from his hands, ending up in a somewhat awkward position. She quickly stood up before Oliver had a chance to recover. "This is amazing," she stated in awe as he got to his feet and grabbed it back. "I can't believe you," he snapped in frustration. "Oliver, you practically drew the whole park, and in detail too!" she noted in excitement, "I mean, how long have you been working on that?" "Awhile," he replied unhappily, flipping the notebook closed and beginning to walk away. "What- where do you think you're going?" she asked, hastily picking up her tote and following. "Anywhere but here," Oliver answered, not even looking in her direction. "Are you seriously mad about that?" she questioned in a slightly patronizing tone, "How come you can't take a joke, and yet you're the one who always makes all the humorous comments in class?" "It's not a joke when I ask you not to do something and you go out of your way to do it." he replied angrily. "You're overreacting, Oliver," she told him matter-of-factly as she walked briskly at his heels. "Why are you even following me?" he asked with a dry laugh, turning around to face Ruby. She was silent for a second. "Because I like you, Ollie," she replied softly. "Don't call me that," he insisted with a slight wince. "I'm sorry, I keep forgetting," she defended quietly. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "No, I just..." he paused, obviously contemplating his next words, "What do you mean? You like me?" "As a friend, as a friend!" she clarified urgently, putting up both her hands. The corner of Oliver's mouth twitched up into a half smile for a split second, before returning to a reluctant frown. "Your dad hates me," he said with almost no emotion. "I barely knew you the day my dad met you." she reminded. "So?" "Well, why does what he think even matter?" she questioned. He opened his mouth but closed it a moment later, seemingly not knowing what to say. His hand nervously fingered the pencil poking out from his pocket, not quite meeting her eyes. "Ollie?" she said, slightly concerned. He flinched as he glanced around the park anxiously. "I've gotta go, Ruby," he practically whispered before briskly walking away, leaving her staring after him in confusion. Maybe Oliver did know what they were getting into, so it really was too bad that he refused to tell her.