The Drummer Across the Street (Rodrick Heffley Fanfic) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 16

We arrived under the large tree, new leaves growing from the branches and old ones crunching under our feet as we walked. We both sat down simultaneously, flinching slightly from the noisy, dead leaves underneath us. I crossed my legs and shivered slightly at the cool wind that decided to pick up. Rodrick placed the bag of fries down between us as well as the drinks and noticed my shiver. He shrugged off his blazer and wrapped it around my shoulders, engulfing me in his warmth.

I looked over at him, receiving a boyish grin in return that made me get butterflies all over again, "Thanks," I smiled, earning a nod from Rodrick before he grabbed his fries from the bag.

He stuffed a handful in his mouth and looked up at the clear sky. "It's crazy, y'know," he blurted with his mouth full.

"What's crazy?" I asked, popping a few fries in my mouth and taking a sip of my drink.

"The year's almost over," he said in realisation, "We're almost out of school forever. We'll be going off and doing things with our lives and-" he stopped himself short, glancing over at me before fixing his gaze on the stars again. "Soon we'll be adults. Doing adult things and living adult lives."

"Not so fast there, bucko," I laughed, "We gotta go to college and get money and shit first. Do you think you're ready for that kind of responsibility?"

Rodrick rolled his eyes and shoved me softly, "Why you gotta make everything so serious?"

"Just thinking logically," I sighed, placing my food and drink next to me and laying down on the cold grass. After some rustling, I felt Rodrick lay down hip to hip with me.

I turned my head to look at him, watching him as he smiled up at the stars above. He shifted his head to look at me and furrowed his brows together. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

I smiled and shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on him. "You don't care about what I've done to hurt others in the past. Why?"

"Because I know why you did it," he answered almost immediately, "And I know that under that protective shell lies a lost girl who blames herself for her mom's choice."

I smirked, "That's like the smartest thing you've ever said."

Rodrick mirrored my smirk, keeping his eyes on me. We were both silent for a long moment before Rodrick quietly asked, "why do you blame yourself for your mom leaving?"

"Because I showed her the texts?" I shook my head. "If I would have kept it to myself, then maybe dad would have deleted the messages and refused to see the woman again." I smirked, knowing how untrue that was, "But even back then, I knew that wouldn't happen."

Rodrick nodded in understanding. A cool gush of early spring wind blew a shiver down my spine, even though I had Rodrick's jacket on. Without thinking, I rolled over and placed my head on his chest while resting my hand comfortably on his stomach. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, behind my neck. I smiled against him as I felt his chest rise and fall softly with his breathing.

"So...are we like a thing now?" Rodrick asked.

I laughed and shifted my head to look up at him. "Only if you want to be, Mr Heffley."

Rodrick's nose scrunched up at the name and shook his head. "Mr Heffley is my dad. Never call me that again."

"How about Rick?"

"No."

"Roddy?"

"Definitely not."

"Babe?"

Expecting a silly nickname, Rodrick opened his mouth to counter back but stopped short. His open mouth slowly turned into a smirk as he thought about the name. "Now that I could get used to," Rodrick smirked, wrapping his arm around me a bit tighter.