THE FREAKS ~ Eddie Munson

Chapter Seven: Eye Contact

Dustin POV
"Guys! Is she looking at me? Look. Look now." Eddie demanded at the lunch table. Veronica was about to walk past our table, and Eddie wanted us to look and see if she was looking at him while she did.

Everyone at the table tried not to be obvious as we looked over towards where Veronica was coming from. She was walking past our table with Chrissy Cunningham, laughing about god knows what. Once she got to her table, she sat down and continued her conversation with Chrissy...without once looking our way.

I sighed. As much as this upsets me for Eddie, it kind of hurts me too. I mean, she was so nice and we got along great. I was kind of hoping she would eventually be a more permanent member of hellfire...

"Yikes." Mike commented. I hit him on the shoulder and gave him a glare before we all turned to look at Eddie.

"What? What happened?" He asked, looking around at us frantically.

"No acknowledgment." I told him with a sigh. Eddie chewed his food faster, showing obvious signs of frustration.

"I mean, she can't just act like nothing happened right? That was a big bonding moment." Gareth suggested, causing Eddie to stand up.

"You're right, Gareth." He said, anger in his tone. I looked at Mike with a worried look and watched as Eddie walked around the table.

"That girl will talk to me eventually right? We bonded, right? But she can't look at me once in Chem class? She can't acknowledge my existence in the fucking cafeteria? Bull-fucking-shit. I shouldn't have let her leave that easy last night." He said, walking back to his chair and falling into it dramatically. He put his hand over his face and closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Like what? Am I an idiot?" He asked, taking his hand off his face and looking at all of us.

"I-" I began, putting up my index finger.

"Don't answer that." Eddie snapped, stopping me before I could say anything.

We all sat in silence and ate our food, but I couldn't help but notice Eddie watching her. You could tell it was hurting him to watch someone he can't have. Well, I suppose he could have her, but it's pretty obvious that it wouldn't go by her friends and she would end up having to choose one or the other. It's so shitty...but the obvious pick would be her friends. No offense to Eddie, but why would she pick freaks over popularity?

Veronica POV
It was driving me crazy...not looking at them. I just couldn't though, I couldn't risk them taking it as an invite to come talk to me. I know it sounded so shitty, but if they talk to me, especially Eddie, people would ask questions. I'm just not in the mood to lose my friends today, k?

I could feel his stare upon me as I talked with Chrissy. As much as I wanted to look at him, to smile at him...

All of a sudden, the seat next to me creaked. I took a deep breath and looked over to see Andy giving me a smile.

I clenched my jaw. "Andy, if you're here to be a dickhead again, I suggest you go do it somewhere else." I warned, causing him to put up his hands in defense.

"Woah, woah. Listen...i'm here to apologize. Ya know? For yesterday night?" He said, trying to make eye contact with me. I wouldn't give him the pleasure of looking at him. He deserved a shoe in his face if anything.

"Well let's hear it then." I said, looking at everyone from our table with a sarcastic smile before turning to Andy. Once everyone was looking at him, he gave a nervous laugh.

"I-um. I'm sorry, Veronica. I'm sorry for not taking the rejections and making you uncomfortable." He said, looking around at everyone watching him.

I raised an eyebrow. "And?"

He seemed annoyed, like he didn't want to admit to his stupid little friends what he did to me in the car.

"And i'm sorry for grabbing your thigh when you didn't want me to. There. Better?" He asked, giving attitude.

My eyes went wide and Chrissy looked at me with a 'is he serious' look.

"Nope. Not better. Try again when you're done being such a prick." I said, turning away from him.

Without thinking, I glanced over to the hellfire table. It was as if my body thought it would calm my nerves.

I immediately locked eyes with Eddie, who was standing up with a worried look on his face. He looked as if he was ready to come over here if the argument between Andy and I escalated. He was watching. He was always watching.

I gave him a sympathetic smile before he acted oblivious and fell back into his seat, not giving me another glance.

I immediately felt bad for not giving him the time of day today. He watched as if he would have taken a bullet for me. He was prepared to rush over here...or at least that's what it looked like when I finally looked at him.

That's the moment I realized that his hellfire club wasn't just a club. He took care of those people like they were his family. That's why he watched me. He wanted to make sure I was okay. It still shocks me, i'm not even a real member and he still watches out for me.

As I finally snapped back to reality, I noticed Andy was gone and all of the boys were laughing.

"You alright?" Chrissy asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. He's just such an asshole." I finished with a small laugh, proving to her I was alright.

"I know right," she began, going on about his reaction when I told him off. As she continued talking, I couldn't help but look one more time at the hellfire table. And to my surprise, I made direct eye contact with Eddie again. But this time...he didn't look away. There were no smiles, no nods, just eye contact. His head was facing his table, but tilted up a little bit. He just sat there watching me, and I couldn't help but notice the sad expression upon his face as he did.