Sterling's Daughter

"We don't need to talk," she could hear her tone losing its sharp edge as she managed to find her tongue again.
"Yes, we do," Will was still staring at her.
"Why?" she whined.
"Did you know Tempo was going to be my horse?" he demanded so suddenly she took a step back. Her heart began to thump heavily in her chest and she really wished she wasn't in this situation. She swallowed nervously.
"Um...yeah," she studied her fingernails.
"Is that why you didn't want to ride him that night?" he asked.
"Why would I care about that?" Laya snorted.
"I was going to ask the same thing," he asked evenly. "There's something more, isn't there? You didn't want to ride him but you were so determined not to give in to me and the others that you pushed it aside."
Laya glared at him. Boy, he noticed a lot.
"Was it fear?" Will looked at her so intently, she thought she was going to burn up on the spot.
"No!" she scoffed. "I've ridden horses like him all my life! Why would I be afraid?"
"I was just guessing," he shrugged. "What was it?"
Laya glowered at him, but he didn't seem to be relenting. She kept it up for a few moments before she found her heart beginning to slam painfully against her ribcage. He cocked is head at her, eyes narrowing. That was when Laya realised she was studying his eyes. Horrified, she looked away, feeling flustered.
"I promised Mum I wouldn't ride him without her permission and without her being with me," the words suddenly poured out in a torrent as she attempted to slow her racing heart. Why did this guy do this to her? She wanted to yell out in frustration.
There was a very still silence.
"What the hell?" he yelled suddenly. Laya leapt back, startled, and felt the rails of the wooden fence digging into her spine as she collided with it. She glanced at him. He looked mad, frustrated, and confused - almost exactly how she felt.
"What?" it came out as a whisper. His gaze fell on her again.
"What the hell were you thinking?" any trace of anger or frustration was gone from his voice. "What it the world possessed you to listen to me before your mother? You could have died if that horse had actually landed on top of you! I know I pressured you and I have been a total jerk to you, but I'm not fanatical enough to put you in a situation where you could have been killed. Why didn't you just tell me?"
Laya blinked at him for a couple of seconds to gather her wits.
"I...I don't know," she mumbled. His eyebrows rose high on his forehead.
"Man, Laya..." he began, then let his voice trail away.
"I tried but..." she leaned back against the fence. "But maybe it's because a dare's a dare?"
Will groaned.
"Did I really say that?" he asked, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Yeah," Laya said, letting her eyes follow his movement. "But I'd wanted to ride Tempo for a while. I decided to use your dare as an excuse. But I wish I hadn't."
"So do I," Will took a step closer and Laya stiffened, eyeing him warily. "I'm sorry."
Laya blinked. He was appologising to her? Well, that was probably a first and a last.
"For what?" she tried to sound dominating, but this guy was getting to her, and every sharp edge her voice held were gradually draining away.
"For daring you to do something stupid, and not bothering to listen to you," there was definetly a different look in his eyes that Laya could quite place as to what it meant.
Laya suddenly felt a sharp impact slam into her back, throwing her forward. She collided heavily with Will's chest as he tried to steady her. She pulled away from him hastily, cheeks burning, and spun to face her attacker that had approached her from behind. It turned out to be Juno, one of the horses. She gave the horse a savage glare and whipped back around to Will as he started to laugh.
"Okay, you've apologised to me and laughed at the idiot horse who charged into me from behind, but you can go now," she tossed her head haughtily in an attempt to cover up her embarrassment and the different air that had begun to hang between the two of them. She shot him a stony glare as she flounced past him as best she could because of her injured ankle, and headed for the house.
"I'm going," he called, and Laya heard his footsteps fading. She paused at the front door and risked a quick glance over her shoulder at him.
He was doing the same thing in her direction.