Authors Note: Sorry it's been a while, the holidays have preoccupied my brain-meats. So, here's chapter 8. I really hope you guys respond to it ok... I'm kinda worried, but then I did warn you in the beginning...
Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.
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Friday afternoon rolled around and no one had seen Warren since lunch the day before. Eddie didn't mention the visiting-Baron thing to them, it wasn't her place, so she pretended to question and ponder where he was along with the group. Everyone made plans to meet at Will's before the dance the next night, and Eddie somehow agreed as well. She thought about what Warren had said, and knew he was right, they really were just trying to get her involved. And she could tolerate bad rap for a night. She could. Maybe. Ok, so she would try.
She got home after school and searched her closet for her dress slacks and blazer. She found them under an old pair of shoes and threw them in the washing machine without even attempting to smell them first. She sat around, pretended to do homework, watched some TV, fell asleep and eventually ended up in the kitchen. She really loved the kitchen. She had just sat down in front of the TV again when her dad walked in.
"Hey, Ed." He dumped his briefcase on the floor and took off his dress shirt, letting his wings peel themselves out of his skin and relax for a little bit. Eddie stood up and followed him to his bedroom.
"Can I get an address from you?" She leaned against the doorway and her dad looked at her skeptically. "Warren's." His expression was relieved and he handed her a little GPS-looking device. She beeped some things in and threw it onto his bed. "Thanks."
"No problem." Chance turned on the shower while Eddie went back to her room to put her shoes back on.
She walked across town and straight up to Warren's front door. She knocked a few times and waited a few minutes before it was answered. "Hey." He looked at her and frowned. "Why are you here?"
"Everyone's freaked out that you weren't at school today. Just wanted to make sure you were still alive." Eddie was just as chill and normal as always, and Warren figured out in an instant that she was being serious and genuine.
"Yeah. Alive is me." He nodded. She nodded.
"Ok. Will's tomorrow at nine." Warren nodded some more. "Later." She walked down the front steps and Warren moved to close the door.
But on second thought... "Hey." She stopped and turned on her heel. "Thanks." He looked like the word was foreign and he frowned a bit when he said it.
"You're the most normal one out of the lot. Gotta make sure you're still kickin'." She shrugged and kept walking.
Warren closed his door and went to his room thinking about Eddie. She was weird for sure, but there was something refreshing about being able to sit and not talk to someone. He didn't feel awkward or pressured to do anything around her. She wasn't like other girls, but she wasn't quite like Will or Zach or any of the guys, either. She was just... Eddie. She didn't push, she didn't pry. It was a nice change for him.
Eddie could not sleep that night. She knew she didn't want to go to Homecoming, she knew and she agreed to do it anyway to make everyone happy. But the prospect of being stuck in the gym with a bunch of sweaty hormone ridden teenagers bound to be dancing in ways that Eddie couldn't even comprehend... She couldn't sleep. No. Not even a little.
Morning rolled around eventually. Then afternoon. And finally night. The dreaded night where all her absent high school memories that didn't exist would be created and her peacefully boring memory of smelly locker rooms and ditched classes would be shattered by dramatic girls crying in bathrooms and pubescent boys with bitty boners. She stood in her mirror, looked at herself and grunted.
Her black slacks fit. That was a bonus. They were just as baggy as any other pair of pants she owned, but she wore a belt. Kinda. More like it was there for style. She grabbed the matching blazer and headed downstairs locking her small silver hoops in her ears.
Chance was in the living room in his hero costume tracking something on the little GPS-thing. He looked up at his daughter and laughed. "Nice suspenders." He raised his eyebrows in good humor and Eddie just mock-smiled at him.
After a moment, she tugged on a black suspender. "What's wrong with them?" She frowned and twitched her lips.
Chance just shook his head and went over to her. "One day you'll learn how to tie a tie properly." He adjusted her black tie and loosened it so it hung low around her collarbone. She stood patiently as he did his dad thing.
"The wife beater ok? Should I put on a white T instead?"
"Is Eddie-- Are you nervous?" Chance looked at his daughter in disbelief. Eddie had never been nervous about a single thing a day in her life.
"No, I'm not nervous, I just don't want to look like an idiot." She looked down at her feet and took a deep breath. "Should I wear my fedora?" Chance's bellowing laughter erupted into the living room. "That's a yes." She darted back to her room nearly tripping on her sneakers' lace.
Nearly twenty minutes late, she showed up at Will's. Everyone was already there and waiting but no one really minded that she was late. Eddie took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Will answered it a quick minute later.
"Hey, what's up?" He moved aside to let her in, not paying her attire any attention. Julie came running as soon as the door was open, though.
"Hey! You find the place ok?" Eddie nodded and looked at Julie's white and blue dress.
"Yeah, it was fine." She gave a small, mostly-fake smile and the rest of the group gathered in the room. She looked behind Julie at Layla and Maj in green and black respectively, Zach in his blinding yellow, Ethan donned in pumpkin orange and Lash in his normal stripes. Warren came in last with black dress pants and blazer and red t-shirt. Eddie and Warren looked at each other and smirked. Guess they had the same idea. Will was luckily leaving his red and blue at home, sticking to white and black.
Josie and Steve came in right after Warren and went to Eddie. She saw their faces falter at her, but said hello and shook their hands anyway. She was trying this new thing were she wasn't entirely rude to everyone constantly. She even made an effort not to be brash or short when she spoke but to actually end sentences and conversations. Well, maybe not with Warren.
"Everyone ready?" Will looked around at the jumping girls and nodding guys and he motioned for the door. Josie and Steve waved goodbye and everyone left quickly.
The gym was set up pretty nicely, adults and teachers scattered the place not really paying attention to what the kids were doing. Layla and Julie were the first on the dance floor while Maj and the guys got a table off near the corner. Eddie walked around, taking everything in. She went past Boomer at the food table who nodded politely at her, not really wanting to talk to her or engage her in any kind of interaction. She appreciated it more than he'd ever know. She joined the group at the table and after a few songs Layla and Julie did, too.
"Hey, oh my god, did you guys see Laura Silver! She looks so gorgeous!" Julie gushed about the girls dress and hair and earrings and everyone's eyes searched the floor for her. "There, dancing with Peter Whatever-His-Name-Is." She pointed to a tall couple in the middle of the floor.
"Damn, she does look good. War, you wanna be my wing-man?" Will rubbed his hands together like he was plotting something and Warren grunted at him.
"Not so much." Will punched his arm.
"Peter is so gorgeous. Laura's a lucky girl." Julie took a sip of punch while Ethan shrugged. He was accustomed to Julie checking everyone out, which he wasn't sure was good or bad.
Layla watched them for a minute before agreeing. "Yeah, he is pretty damn sexy."
Maj just shrugged. "He's alright. Too tall."
Layla shook her head vehemently. "No, I like 'em tall." She glanced at Lash who smiled proudly. Well, more like he was gonna get some later, but same difference.
"What do you think, Eddie?" Julie looked at her and Eddie shook her head.
"Not my type." Ok, so maybe she wasn't trying that hard to be polite, but they weren't adults, they were friends. Sort of.
Julie gasped and Ethan honestly thought she was having a heart attack but couldn't not laugh. "How is he not your type! He's everybody's type! Tall, dark, handsome..." She trailed off.
"Is she describing War or Peter?" Maj cocked an eyebrow and Warren shifted awkwardly. Ethan stopped laughing.
"I'm gonna get some air." Eddie stood up and stalked out to the front courtyard, taking a deep breath into the air. She slowly raised herself off the ground and flew to the top of the building, sitting and watching the night sky move around her. How long she was out there she didn't know, but it wasn't nearly long enough. She made her way back inside and everyone – including Warren – was dancing. She just sat down, took her fedora off and rubbed her short hair.
Zach sat by her after a little bit but didn't say anything. He just sat. Eddie looked over at him and he was watching Laura dance with Peter. "What's that guy have that I don't?" He slumped in his seat as Eddie shrugged.
"Laura?" Zach looked at her like he was gonna smack her and she had to snort. "Maybe you should talk to her."
"Yeah, like it's just that easy." He kicked at the table, slightly jarring it and spilling a cup of punch. He didn't wipe it, just moved out the way while it spilled down the side of the tablecloth.
"Uh, actually it is." She looked back at the dance floor and saw Laura talking to Julie. "Just talk to her. Say hi." Julie started dancing with Ethan, continuing her conversation with Laura.
Zach watched Eddie's line of gaze. "When did you know?"
Eddie didn't turn her head to look at him, thinking it was just another one of Zach's nonsense questions. "Know that you should talk to Laura?"
Zach shook his head even though Eddie wasn't looking at him. "No, I mean know you liked Julie. Is that why you gave her such a hard time when you first met her?"
He almost expected Eddie to be outraged that he accused her of liking Julie, but she just shrugged. "Yeah, kinda. I mean, she's cute for sure. I knew that from the beginning. But she definitely took some adjusting to at first." She looked at Zach who just nodded. She was almost surprised that he was the one to notice. But then looking at the rest of the group... She wasn't too surprised. Zach was the most perceptive of them, they just never gave him a chance to be anything other than a goof.
"When did you know you were gay?" She finally turned and looked him in the eyes. "I mean, you are gay, right?"
She nodded slowly smiling a bit. "Yeah, I'm gay. How could I not be? She gestured at herself then scratched her left arm above her "/fear/" tattoo. Zach watched her muscles move and wondered if she worked out or was just naturally toned. Cause it mattered so much. "I guess I always knew." She didn't offer more of an explanation, but turned her attention back at the dance floor where everyone was dancing with each other. Julie waved them over and Zach stood. "I'll sit this one out."
Zach nodded but neither of them noticed Julie running over. "Oh, no. You're coming, too!" Zach raised an eyebrow at Eddie who continued to shake her head more anxious than before. "Come on, Ed! You haven't danced all night, it's the last song!"
"I don't dance, it's not pretty." She frowned and shook her head, but Julie grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. Eddie shuffled and pulled back, but Zach gently pushed her and nudged her all the way to the center. "We're not friends anymore, by the way." She whispered at Zach who suggestively raised his eyebrows as Julie started dancing on Eddie, who just played it cool.
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Review it and let me know what you think...! There isn't going to be a ton of action on said...issue...but there is going to be innuendo and implication. If anything changes on that, I'll let you guys know.
George Michael - Amazing
