Rodrick x Reader

Chapter 2 - Cute

"I'm home!" Your voice echoes through the sparsely furnished home.

"Hi hun!" Your mom's voice calls back from the living room. "How was your first day at school?"

"Oh, it was alright," you reply carefully, wondering how much you should let on. You poke your head around the door to see your mom working hard at her laptop. "I made a new friend. "

"That's great honey! What's her name?" 

"His name is Rodrick," you say as casually as possible. Your mom had the habit of blowing every friendship you had with a guy way out of proportion."He lives kind of nearby actually." 

"That's nice, dear." She's clearly too busy to fully process this information. You decide to venture a bit further while she isn't paying that much attention.

"I invited him to the housewarming party this weekend. " You can see the cogs in her brain beginning to turn at the mention of the words 'housewarming party', and she switches her gaze over to you, making direct eye contact. Damn. 

"Why don't you ask her to bring the whole family? The more the merrier!" Your face falls. This was not the plan. Your chance to spend some quality alone time with Rodrick was ruined. Despite your disappointment, you couldn't think of any reason not to invite the Heffleys that wouldn't result in some embarrassing 'girl talk' with your mother, so you have no choice but to agree.

                                                                  ------

The next morning you wake up feeling utterly drained. Getting  up at 6am for school was still relatively new for you after being allowed a few weeks off while you were moving. It also didn't help that you were up late texting your old friends about everything that had happened recently. Surprisingly though, you're looking forward to the new day. You take extra care with your skin care routine and while choosing what to wear, and looking in the mirror you think it's pretty hard to tell you got less than 6 hours of sleep. Admittedly, you had a certain someone in mind while getting ready and whether consciously or subconsciously, you find you've incorporated a little more black into your look than usual.

Entering the kitchen, you find your mom and dad drinking coffee together at the table. After making some toast, you decide to take a chance and ask your mom for a ride to school. You knew Dad needed the car to get to work, but riding the school bus was not an experience you wanted to repeat.

"No, honey. You know if I do, your dad will be late. Why can't you just take the school bus?" 

"Your mother's right. Speaking of, I'd better get going. Bye, girls!" Your dad rises from the table, loading his empty cup into the dishwasher and walking towards the door. You sigh. It was worth a try.

"Bye, Dad." Where was Rodrick and his van when you needed him? 

Dejected, you head back upstairs to pack your bag for school. You leave the house not long after your dad, and walk towards the bus stop at the end of your street. It felt weird being one of about fifteen juniors that took the school bus. At least you could use your music to drown out most of the noise, and that one overconfident sophomore that keeps hitting on you.

Arriving at school, you think you can see a familiar figure getting out of his van. Your suspicions are confirmed when you get off the bus and see him striding towards you with that cheesy grin of his. God, he was so adorable. Today he was wearing a black button up shirt, unbuttoned a little too far down for modesty. 

"Hey."

"Hey." You smile back. The tension was unbearable. The seconds you wait for his response feel like hours.

"Don't you have a car?" he asks eventually with a mocking smirk. You explain that your dad needs it to get to work in the mornings.

"You know, I could give you a ride now and then, since we live so close together." When he says this, he's barely able to make eye contact and starts looking around as if he could see something really interesting in one of the parking lot trees. You couldn't believe your luck.

"That would be great!" He immediately perks up, going a little pink in the cheeks.

"Cool, cool! Can I get your number then?" Now it was your turn to blush. Even though it was just so you could contact him for a ride, you felt a thrill knowing you could text or call him anytime you wanted. You swap details and add each other to your contacts, and you couldn't help wondering what name he put your number under. Did he have some cute nickname for you, or was he the type of guy to just use a person's full name? You decided to keep it simple, just typing in 'Rodrick', partly in case he caught a glimpse of your phone screen. 

Despite your feeling of dreamy light-headedness, you manage to remember about asking the rest of Rodrick's family to the party, but you're aware that you're running out of time before first period starts.

"Where's your locker?" you ask, so that you can walk and talk together.

"I'll show you. Come with me." He places his hand on the small of your back and gently pushes you forward. How could you describe the way it feels? It's as if a thousand tiny needles are stabbing you where his fingers rest. You didn't know that it was even possible to feel so sensitively and so much, every nerve ending was fizzing like a bag of pop rocks. It was as if your skin was screaming, no, singing out, and it gave your stomach that kind of falling feeling, as if you were plummeting to the earth on some big rollercoaster. By the way it felt you would think that you had never been touched by anyone before in your life. You try to stop yourself from gasping at the surprise and sensation of it all, but succeed only in reducing your gasp's conspicuousness. 

After recovering, you ask him about bringing the rest of his family. 

"Uh yeah, sure." He seems disappointed, but he continues. "I've gotta warn you though, they're kind of weird. Especially my dad."

That didn't bother you. For all you cared, Rorick's family could be a herd of elephants. All that mattered was that he came too. 

"Rodrick?" you ask before knowing what you're going to say next.

"Yeah?"

"Just so you know, it was my mom who asked me to invite the rest of your family. I only really wanted to spend time with you." Oh God. Why did you have to say that? You can't bring yourself to meet his eyes.

"Oh, is that so?" he asks with a sly smile. "For the record, I think you're pretty cute." You feel a rush of excitement travel from your stomach to your blazing cheeks. He thought I was cute! Before you have time to process this and respond, the bell rings, and you're both forced to say your goodbyes and get to class. For that moment, it felt as if you could fly. You smiled to yourself all the way to class, and you didn't care who saw.