I own nothing. All characters are owned by their rightful owners.
Peach Creek Junior High
Thursday
1:00 p.m.
Nazz was moving books from her locker, in order to get ready for the next class which was gym. She was also just relieved that the day would soon be over.
"Hey." A voice said to Nazz.
"Hello Kevin." Nazz said, her gaze never straying from the inside of her locker.
"I heard some dumb rumor that you were hanging with the dorks this weekend." Kevin said. "Want me to beat up the dork that made it up?"
"How'd you hear about it already?" Nazz asked, turning to Kevin with genuine curiosity.
"Big Dork ran around the school saying "Nazz is coming over", over and over again." Kevin elaborated.
"Well that's not true." Nazz stated, matter-of-factly.
"Duh." Kevin scoffed.
"We're meeting at Eddy's place." Nazz clarified.
"That's what I said, y'know he has better music than-WAIT WHAT!?" Kevin asked shocked. "How can you hang with those…those…!?"
"Don't stop now, it's the one word you know." Nazz said sarcastically.
"…Dorks!?" Kevin finished. "Especially when you can hang with me, and ride on my sweet bike, cruising down the lane?" Kevin said flexing.
"As if." Nazz scoffed. "Besides, like I said, I have plans to hang out with the Eds this weekend."
"You don't seem to get how this works." Kevin growled.
"No you don't." Nazz retorted, slamming her locker. "And this conversation is over."
Nazz started to walk away, however Kevin then grabbed Nazz's arm and squeezed.
"Kevin…you're hurting me." Nazz said shocked, and a little scared.
"No." Kevin ordered. "Not until you understand that-"
"Hey shovel-chin, the lady said back off." A new voice said from down the hallway.
The two looked to see the voice came from Eddy.
"Watch it short stack." Kevin threatened.
"Or what you'll beat me up?" Eddy asked, in mock innocence. "Golly gee Mister Kevin that's NEVER happened before!" Eddy mocked as he often does.
"The clock's ticking, dork." Kevin growled through grit teeth.
"You leave Nazz alone, or I'll tell the whole school I saw you hurt her." Eddy threatened. "Sure, if it was just Nazz, it'd be your word against her's but a witness…"
"Alright dorky, but mark my words." Kevin threatened, letting go of Nazz. "This. Ain't. Over."
Kevin then stormed off.
"Thanks Eddy." Nazz said rubbing her arm.
"No prob." Eddy said smirking. "When you deal with that lunkhead as much as I have, you learn how to deal with him."
"Also, a little blackmail never hurt anyone." Nazz added with a smirk.
"Oh, please not blackmail, its such a dirty word." Eddy said. "I prefer extortion, the "x" makes it sound cooler, and if the 90's taught me anything its that things with an "x" in them are cooler."
"My hero." Nazz said rolling her eyes.
"Eh, it wasn't anything that any ruggedly handsome, lantern-jawed, idol of millions wouldn't have done." Eddy boasted (and how!).
"I see Awake-Eddy is back." Nazz noticed.
"Eh I took a nap in English." Eddy admitted, as the two walked off to the gym. "Not like I'm gonna use it or nothin'."
Nazz laughed.
Eddy blushed.
"I'll see you in gym." Nazz said smiling. "We can talk more then if ya like."
"Uh, sure." Eddy said, rubbing his arm, all the while his ears felt like they were on fire and his face was redder than an apple.
Eddy went to the boy's locker room and changed into his gym clothes. At this point, he realized that Nazz would be doing the same thing in the girl's locker room. And unfortunately, couldn't force the thought of the pretty blonde girl changing in the adjacent locker room.
"Gee Plank you're right." Johnny 2x4 said to his wooden board.
"What Johnny?" Eddy asked, hoping this would force the image out of his head.
"Plank just said how you're so sweaty and we haven't even gone outside yet!" Johnny explained.
"Johnny can you tell Plank something for me?" Eddy asked politely.
"Sure thing Eddy." Johnny answered. "What?"
"I hope he gets termites." Eddy said angrily.
Eddy then stormed out into the gym.
Attendance was taken, they went outside, and were going to be running laps in order to practice for the Mile Run next week.
Eddy, deciding to take some initiative walked over to Nazz.
"Hey Eddy," Nazz asked as the two started to jog, "what's up?"
"Look you, uh said we could talk, right?" Eddy asked, shaking, as he sweat.
"Yeah, dude what's up?" Nazz asked, smiling from ear to ear.
Eddy, red as a beat and sweating like a pig in an oven, said the first thing that came to mind.
"So how dumb is it that we gotta practice for a mile run, amirite?" Eddy asked, nervously.
…
Don't give me that look, he could've said something WAY worse.
"I mean why practice for running?" Eddy asked. "S'not like we haven't been doing it forever."
"Well, they're trying to test if we are healthy enough to run a whole mile under a certain amount of time." Nazz explained.
"Oh…uh, yeah sure." Eddy said, embarrassed.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Eddy thought. "Of course, Nazz takes her grades seriously, just like sockhead."
"Now what you should be asking is how running a mile under a certain amount of time automatically makes us healthy." Nazz suggested, smiling. "And why our personal health has to be tied to our grades."
"Yeah, that's what I'm sayin'!" Eddy, said his hair perking up. "I mean, sue me if I can't run fast enough to outrun a lion."
"Oh darn, there goes a completely necessary skill with all the lions in the cul-de-sac." Nazz said sarcastically.
Nazz and Eddy laughed, with the latter making a mental note to use lions in the cul-de-sac for a future scam.
"Look Nazz, I gotta ask this," Eddy sighed, relenting to what he really wanted to talk to Nazz about, "why're ya doin' this to yerself?"
"Doing what?" Nazz asked, confused, but still smiling.
"Throwin' in with us Eds?" Eddy asked.
Nazz paused, her smile faded, and she slowed her jog to a crawl.
"Y'know if ya hang out with us yer popularity'll take a nosedive, right?" Eddy added, making the downward motion with his hand. "What am I sayin'? Of course, you'd know. Yer smart."
Nazz blushed at the compliment.
"Look," Eddy said, avoiding eye contact, "remember the time I made up those phony identities and started hanging with you guys?"
"Yeah?" Nazz asked, eyebrow raised. "You even had me fooled."
"That was probably the best day of my life." Eddy said, without a hint of his usual, trademark sarcasm.
"Wha-how-Eddy?" Nazz asked, taken aback by the statement, that she was having Eddy open up to her.
"That day I wasn't a loser, I had a fresh start and could be cool." Eddy elaborated. "The best day of my life, and I wasn't even me that day…well most of the day. I got to be popular. I don't want you to lose what you got because we're not cool enough. Ta lose what the boys and I wish we coulda had. Y'don't deserve it."
"Eddy." Nazz said putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Look is this a prank?" Eddy asked bluntly, pulling away.
"What?" Nazz, asked surprised at the allegation.
"I know everyone thinks I'm just a big mouth who's barely smarter than Ed, but even I can see the writing on the wall." Eddy responded. "I know pranks aren't your style, but Kevin…"
"Eddy." Nazz said seriously. "I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, that this isn't a prank. But…" Her tone then changed from one of sincerity to anger. "…how could you even think that!? You saw what Kevin just di-"
"That's what I'm saying." Eddy interrupted.
"Huh?" Nazz asked, in shock.
"Yer smart, like Double D," Eddy explained, "but you'd have to know Kevin wouldn't be too happy about you hanging with us."
"I just…" Nazz stammered. "…I never thought he'd bully me…"
"…the way he bullies us?" Eddy said, finishing Nazz's sentence. "Yeah Kev beats us up." Eddy admitted flatly. "A lot. And way worse than just squeezin' yer arm."
"Why are you telling me this?" Nazz asked. "I thought you'd be the first to go and take credit for me wanting to hang out."
"Psh, like I'd do that!" Eddy scoffed, taking the moral high ground.
"You already did, didn't you?" Nazz asked, deadpan, and folding her arms.
"You can't prove it, though." Eddy said, smugly.
Nazz chuckled.
"Look all I'm sayin' is this," Eddy began his tone far more serious, "I won't hold it 'gainst ya if ya wanna stay home that day and tell everyone it was a prank."
Eddy then started to walk away a bit faster.
"Even if it wasn't from the start." Eddy said before zooming off.
Nazz stood there, half surprised at how fast Eddy ran, and the other half surprised at what Eddy said to her.
"Eddy just tried to get me to back off?" Nazz asked. "He wanted me to back off…to protect me? Of all people I thought he'd want me to hang out the most. Or…is it because he still doesn't trust me?"
Nazz wanted to be angry.
She really did.
But then she thought back to Kevin.
And looked at her bruised arm, her hand open.
"To be honest I don't really blame him…" Nazz thought. "I guess I'll have to prove myself then." Nazz said to herself, closing her fist, looking to the sun with determination on her face, and fire in her eyes!
*TWEET*
The high-pitched screech of the gym teacher's whistle pierced the air.
"NAZZ THIS IS GYM!" The teacher bellowed through the half of a hoagie he had crammed in his mouth. "MOVE YER BUTT!" he said as he sat his butt on two chairs (one for each cheek)
"Yes coach!" Nazz shrieked, taking off like a bullet.
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