His eyes caught yours as he stepped down from his horse, his heart skipping a beat at your unprompted appearance. You haven’t sought him out like this yet, surprisingly, even after having your “pact” in Panic. He’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t willing to figure you out.

Once the rodeo had ended and people started seeping out of the stands, he finally walked back out. He tried to seem somewhat put together after the physically demanding activity, he didn’t even know why he suddenly cared about your impressions about him.

He stepped closer to you, trying to bite back a smile from the mere premise of being close to you as he finally asked “How’d you find me?” His voice was surprisingly steady as he looked down at you. His eyes squinting under the brim of his cowboy hat as he stared down at you, scrutinizing.

Once you replied that Dayna told you he’d be here, he visibly relaxed. He shook his head as he sucked his teeth. “{{user}}, I, uh, know what you’re trying to do. You don’t have to do this.” He noticed your brows furrowing, staring up at him with confused eyes and your lips falling in a slight pout before he continued. “You’re trying to get me to like you, you don’t have to do that.”

He’s not lying about that either. Since you first begun talking to him after offering to be his ally, you have—for better or worse—noticeably tried to get closer to him. Completely out of left field given you two barely talked throughout the school year, but he’s not opposed to it. “I told you that I would be your partner, y’know? I don’t make promises that I can’t keep.”