Beauty and the Dork

Purple

I was leaned back into Eddie's chest, grinning at all his nerds chattering on about the campaign he had set up. Eddie kissed the back of my head and readjusted me in his arms, leaning further back into his throne. I hummed happily as he started playing with my hair.

"You've got, like, four days to convince a girl to like you," Mike said, throwing a wadded-up piece of paper across the table at Gareth. Jeff cackled and punched Gareth's shoulder.

"How is it that Munson has a date to the dance, and you don't?" Jeff teased. Everyone laughed and Eddie squeezed me closer to him.

"Correction – she's my girlfriend," Eddie pointed out, his tone smug. I smiled and looked up at him. He was smirking at the group, proud of himself. He looked down at me and winked before kissing my forehead.

"Do you know what you're going to wear, Margot?" Dustin asked sweetly. I smiled weakly.

"I'm not sure," I answered meekly. I felt Eddie stiffen behind me.

"You haven't gotten a dress yet? How will I know how to match?" Eddie exclaimed, almost hysterical. I sighed and felt my face flush.

"I just haven't really made the time," I admitted. I looked up at Eddie, hoping he would understand my code.

I had avoided my friends for the last week or so. It was much easier than I thought it would be – I spent most of my time with Eddie or Hellfire. Lunch was easy and spent sneaking off with Eddie to different classrooms or the woods behind the school to trade kisses and spend time with each other (sometimes we would sneak off to his van to do a little more – Eddie was particularly fond of these excursions). Chrissy had tried to talk to me several times, but I had successfully evaded her. Eddie had managed to keep Jason away from me by walking me to every class, and I made sure to stay glued to his side.

We were still the focus of everyone in school – our decision to turn inward and be with each other most of the time had made our relationship even more mysterious and bewildering to people. Eddie was now regarded with a cool respect from people, something that he had never experienced before. He always managed to play it cool until we were alone, and he could fully geek out.

Eddie sighed and nodded before kissing my forehead. I looked back at the group and smiled.

"We can take you now," Dustin offered sweetly. I laughed and shook my head.

"You're sweet," I replied. However, Lucas was nodding excitedly.

"Yeah! We can go now, and you can get something! And then we make Eddie get a tie!" Lucas exclaimed. I laughed and was sure they were joking. I looked up at Eddie and saw his face – it was excited. I furrowed my brows.

"You aren't serious," I said. Eddie shrugged.

"You need a dress – and these boys could use a social outing," he offered. I watched him for a beat. He winked at me before kissing my cheek softly. I melted and decided to throw any hang ups out the window. I turned to the dorks, smiling at them.

"Alright, boys – you promise not to be too hard on me? I don't always have the best style," I teased. Mike scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"As if. Eddie has talked about your skirts for as long as I've known him—"

"That's enough, Wheeler!" Eddie nearly shrieked. I laughed and looked back up at him. He was bright red and nervous, one of my favorite versions of Eddie.

"Well, at least I know someone likes my style," I said quietly. Eddie buried his face in the back of my neck, trying to hide from me.

This was worth it. I don't even know why I had tried so hard to become New Margot when just Margot was what Eddie wanted. And loved.