It took a lot of nerve just to walk up to Eddie Muson and actually speak to him. Not only walk up to him and talk to him but also ask him for weed. The only reason Chrissy was able to do it at all was that it was a last minute decision.
She'd been going to her locker during class to fetch her forgotten math book and there he was coming out of the locker room, probably skipping gym class.
Chrissy took a deep breath and moved into his path. "Eddie?" She wasn't sure how she knew his name. She'd always known it somehow. It wasn't that strange, she supposed. He was always causing trouble in class and during lunch. Always boisterous and loud. Making everyone laugh or roll their eyes.
He was taken aback. Literally. He took a step backward. Brow furrowing, confused, he looked over his shoulder as though there might be another Eddie that she was speaking to standing behind him.
His large eyes were so dark they were almost boundlessly black, peering into hers. She was caught off guard by this. The way he was looking at her so intently.
She snapped out of it when the seconds dragged on long enough to make it more awkward than it already was. "Oh hi."
"Hi?" He questioned.
Chrissy was sure he was confused as to why she was talking to him at all. It wasn't that she didn't like him. She honestly didn't know him. It was just in school there were certain social boundaries that a cheerleader and a known bad boy drug dealer, Dungeons and Dragons player didn't cross. She didn't make the rules. She only followed them.
"Can I talk to you?" She asked.
He eyed her again, from her white tennis shoes up to her to the bow in her hair. It was game day and she was required, as captain of the cheer squad, to wear the green and white uniform. He wasn't leering at her so much as reminding the both of them who she is and in contrast who he is.
"Yeah, I guess."
He jutted just his chin toward a seldom used hallway that led to the back of the building. She found it weirdly gentlemanly that he let her go first, lifting a hand to guide her by the elbow, quickly dropping it when his fingers came into contact with her bare skin.
They stopped short of the exit door. "I umm... I was," she fumbled over the words.
He chuckled, making her cheeks flush. "Spill it. I doubt it's anything I haven't heard before." He waved his face with his hand dramatically. Flipped his long hair and pretended to clutch an invisible strand of pearls. "But I am rather shy," he said with a faux southern accent that mimicked her Aunt Sue from Georgia almost perfectly.
She covered her hand with her mouth to hide her giggle. "You sound like my aunt."
"Well see, then I'm harmless."
"I was wondering if you know where I can get some..." she looked around making sure no one was nearby. They were indeed alone. Still, she pinched her thumb and forefinger together and brought them to her mouth, inhaling.
"Oh." His eyes widened briefly. "Oh yeah. I can help you out."
"I've just been having trouble sleeping and," she began to explain.
"Whoa," he said. Putting his hands in the air, palms out in defense. "Whoa. You don't gotta explain anything to me."
Her shoulders slopped in relife and the muscles that were clamped tightly in place relaxed marginally. She unfolded her clamped hands, letting them fall to her sides.
They made a plan to meet at lunch. In the few minutes they were together in the hallway, he was nice to her and she had a feeling it was just because he wanted to be nice, not because he expected anything from her. He didn't judge her. Didn't make her explain. He just agreed to it, giving her a shy smile before they went their separate ways.
