A/N: Heeeyyyy… It's been awhile. I've been here. Just not writing. Too many life things have happened. I haven't forgotten about my other stories. I've been working on them and I am determined to finish them. This story was one that I've wanted to write for awhile and I'm so glad that I finally did.
This is a slight alternate universe. In this AU Libby has never been friends with Jimmy, Sheen, Carl, or Cindy. This story takes place in high school during the characters' senior year. I hope you enjoy!
I slammed my locker closed and ran to class. I was running late, as usual. Mrs. Abbott would send me to detention again if I was late to class. I rounded the corner and nearly ran into Nick Dean.
"Watch it, dirtbag!" Nick shoved me to the ground and laughed as he walked away.
The bell rang. I was officially late for class, and destined to spend yet another afternoon in detention. I shuffled to class in defeat, my tailbone and my spirit both bruised.
"Thank you for joining us, Mr. Estevez," Mrs. Abbott said. She didn't even look up from her desk, she already had a detention slip in her hand, filled out and signed.
I sighed, grabbed the slip and my morning work, and sat down at my desk. Today was off to a fantastic start.
"Sheen, what happened?" My best friend Jimmy whispered. "You can't have detention, I need your help this afternoon."
"I guess you'll just have to test without me. I would have been on time, but I ran into Nick this morning, and obviously that went well."
Jimmy gave me a look of pity and went back to his work. At the same time, the classroom door was opened once again to reveal another late student: Libby Folfax. The girl of my dreams.
"Miss Folfax, it's so nice of you to join us this morning," Mrs. Abbott said. She handed Libby a detention slip and went back to her work.
Libby rolled her eyes and wandered to the back of the classroom where her seat was. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she walked past me. She got to her seat and slumped down, leaning casually on the back of her chair.
I could have stared at her for the rest of class if it wasn't for Jimmy jabbing me with the eraser of his pencil.
"Dude, you look like a psycho."
"I can't help it, she's amazing, Jimmy. She's all I can think about."
"You know Nick would kick your ass if he ever found out that you liked her."
"Please, Nick doesn't give a damn about me. He would never see me as a threat. Besides, Libby doesn't even know who I am."
"Of course she doesn't. You've never even talked to her before," Jimmy reminded me.
"I know, but I'm going to. We've got gym class in half an hour. I'm going to say hi to her today," I stated.
Jimmy shook his head in disbelief. "No, you won't. You'll awkwardly stare at her and you might wave at her, like a dork, but she won't notice you. Honestly, Sheen, you're better off just moving on."
"Way to have faith in me, man. I can't move on. She's all I can think about. She's so pretty and mysterious. I had another dream about her last night—"
"I don't need to hear about that!" Jimmy motioned for me to stop talking.
I chuckled at Jimmy's response and turned back to finish my work.
As the bell rang at the end of class, I packed my things and stood up to leave for gym class.
"Good luck, Sheen," Jimmy whispered as he left for his next class.
I made it to the locker room and changed quickly. I practiced in my head what I would say to Libby. I was going to say hi to her during our warm-up laps around the gym.
I left the locker room and walked into the gym, taking a deep breath. As I entered the gym, there she was: Libby was running her warm-up laps. She was wearing white Keds and some striped tube socks. The waistband of her gym shorts was rolled down and her t-shirt was knotted above her belly button, clearly disregarding the coach's dress code. I stared at her as she rounded the corner of the gym. She was getting closer to me. Now was my chance!
As she rounded the last corner, my mind went completely blank. Everything I had rehearsed was gone. So instead of saying anything, I plastered a stupid grin on my face and waved awkwardly. She didn't notice me. She ran right past me and didn't even break her pace.
"Estevez, get going!" Coach Sherman hollered.
I sighed in defeat and started my laps. Jimmy was right: I was in way over my head.
At lunch I sat at my usual table and waited for my friends to show up. While I waited, I casually looked around the cafeteria trying to find Libby. I don't know why, she and Nick always left school for lunch. I guess I just hoped that maybe today would be different.
"You know she's not in here, Sheen," Cindy said loudly as she and Jimmy approached.
"You never know," I replied.
"How did gym go?" Jimmy asked.
I groaned and slammed my head to the table.
"That bad, huh?" I could practically hear the smile on Jimmy's face.
"It's not funny. I was all ready to say something, and right as she got close to me, my mind went blank! How do you even talk to someone that amazing when you're just a dirtbag?"
"You're not a dirtbag," Cindy sympathized. "You're just overwhelmed. Do you even know anything about Libby?"
"Of course! Well, no, not really. How am I supposed to get to know her if I can't even say one word to her?"
"Have you tried stalking her?" Jimmy joked.
"That's not funny." I rolled my eyes.
"What's not funny?" Carl asked, walking up to our table.
"Jimmy said he thinks I should stalk Libby to get to know her better."
"I was joking! Come on, Sheen, be real."
"I think that Sheen is doing fine," Carl commented.
"Are you kidding?" Cindy laughed. "Sheen is a mess. He has no clue what he's doing."
"Great, thanks," I grumbled. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you guys." I stood up and walked out.
"Sheen! Don't be so dramatic!" Cindy yelled after me.
When I got outside I sat on the curb in the parking lot. Why was I such a loser? Why was it so hard for me to talk to Libby, or any girl for that matter?
I was getting lost in my self-deprecating thoughts when a car pulled in and nearly ran me over. I jumped up just in time. I could feel my heart pounding with fear and rage. I was about to yell at whoever had nearly hit me when I saw Nick getting out of the driver's side. I was scared silent. I stared as Libby got out of the passenger's side and closed the door. I watched as she walked toward me. She was looking at me!
Libby smiled at me and said, "Nice shirt," before joining hands with Nick as they walked into the school.
I looked down at my shirt to see what I was wearing. I had on my dad's old Iron Maiden tee. I smiled to myself as I walked back into the cafeteria.
"Someone's mood changed," Cindy noted as I sat back down in a daze.
"What happened?" Carl asked.
"I talked to her!" I declared.
"You did?" Jimmy questioned, clearly not believing me.
"Well, she talked to me," I clarified.
"What did she say?" Cindy asked.
"She said, 'nice shirt,'" I sighed happily.
When I finally came back to reality, I saw all my friends staring at me with confused looks.
"That hardly counts as a conversation," Jimmy stated.
"I don't care. All that matters is that she noticed me, so I'm counting it," I declared.
"But you didn't even say anything to her!" Jimmy yelled.
"It doesn't matter. I'm that much closer to actually talking to her," I said with confidence.
The last bell of the day rang, and rather than being excited about it, I sighed in frustration. I had detention. Again. The one thing that was bringing me any relief was the fact that Libby had detention too. But then again, I'm sure Nick would also be joining us this afternoon. I gathered my things and headed toward room 105, a room that I was unfortunately familiar with.
With my new found confidence I was hoping that I would be able to sit next to Libby in detention, but I had to time it right. If I showed up before her, I would have to take a seat and leave it up to her to sit by me. I had to show up after her.
I waited in a connecting hallway to watch for Libby. I chuckled to myself as I realized that I was essentially stalking her. I saw her walk up to room 105 with Nick, and my heart sunk. Of course Nick was in detention. Nick kissed her and walked away. Hallelujah! Nick wasn't in detention. I waited until Libby walked into the classroom and then I made my way in.
Libby was sitting in the back of the room with her feet up on the desk. The teacher wasn't in the room yet, so now was my chance. I walked past all the usual detention attendees, most of them already stoned. I took a deep breath and I actually said, "Can I sit here?"
Libby didn't say anything. She didn't even look at me. I stood there, not knowing what to do when Libby finally noticed me standing in front of her. She pulled out an AirPod and said, "Sorry, did you say something?"
"Oh, um, I just asked if I could sit by you. Sorry, I didn't realize you were listening to music," I explained.
"Hey, you're the kid with the shirt I liked," Libby smiled as she pointed at my shirt.
I just shrugged in response. I didn't know what to say, and yet my heart was pounding a mile a minute because I was having an actual conversation with Libby!
Libby gestured for me to sit down in the desk next to hers. "So do you actually listen to Iron Maiden?"
I nodded. "Oh yeah. My dad got me into them when I was pretty young."
"Right on. My dad did the same. Although it drives my mom crazy!" Libby laughed, and I laughed with her. "Where'd you get that shirt anyway?" Libby asked.
"It's my dad's from back in the day. He got it at the first Iron Maiden concert he went to back in 1981, The Killer World Tour."
"Vintage! That's awesome. Do you want to listen? I've been listening to them non-stop since I saw your shirt at lunch." Libby held out the AirPod she had removed.
I was about to answer when Mr. Howard walked in. "Feet down, Miss Folfax. And remove your earphones please. Detention is a punishment, not a nightclub."
Libby rolled her eyes and smiled at me as she did as she was told. She rummaged through her bag and searched for her AirPod case. She put her earphones away and pulled out a pack of gum. She offered me a piece and my heart just about beat out of my chest. I couldn't believe that I had actually had a full on conversation with her, and she was offering me gum! I took a piece and smiled my thanks. This was the best day of my life.
When detention ended I started to gather my things. I turned to talk to Libby, but she was already walking out the door. It all felt surreal. Did I really talk to her? It didn't seem possible, given my track record, but it was true. I actually had a conversation with Libby Folfax.
I walked out to the parking lot to get my bike. I started to unlock it from the rack when Nick pulled up in his car. He pulled up onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting me again. He cut the engine and got out of his car to get Libby who was walking out of the building. She smiled at him and greeted him with a big hug and a quick kiss. I turned away in disgust.
"Bye, Iron Maiden," Libby said to me as she walked to Nick's car. I was speechless. I just smiled and gave a small wave.
Nick noticed me then and glared as he helped Libby into the car. He closed the passenger door and then walked toward the front of his car to get to the driver's side. On his way, he pulled out a pocket knife and jabbed it into the front tire of my bike. He smirked at me as he walked away.
I waited for Nick to leave before I started kicking my bike in frustration. Of course Jimmy was right: Nick was furious at me for talking to his girlfriend. I sighed and wondered what I was going to do. With a slashed tire, I couldn't ride my bike. My dad was still at work, and my grandma didn't have a car to pick me up anyway. Jimmy lived close to school, so I decided to head to his house. Maybe he was still working on his project and could use an extra hand, and possibly help me fix my bike tire.
I made it to Jimmy's house and dropped my bike on his front lawn. I walked over to the clubhouse where I knew he would be working on his latest experiment. I knocked on the door and spoke into the microphone, "Jimmy, open up. It's Sheen."
There was a click as the door was unlocked and I walked inside. As I made it down to the lab, I saw Carl hooked up to a bunch of wires. He was sweating profusely and had a terrified look on his face.
"What are you doing? Carl looks like he's about to pee his pants," I asked as I sat down.
"Just some minor pulses going into his brain. I'm seeing if I can pinpoint where nightmares come from. If I can figure out where the nightmares originate, I can help Carl stop having them," Jimmy explained. He didn't even look up from his laptop.
"Minor pulses? Jimmy, these aren't minor. It feels like my head is going to explode," Carl argued.
"That's because you won't calm down. If you calm down, the pulses won't feel as strong."
"Didn't you already do this? Like in sixth grade?" I questioned.
"No, back then I was trying to prove to Carl that dreams were only a part of the subconscious. Now I'm trying to pinpoint exactly where they come from," Jimmy answered. "Carl, you need to calm down."
"Calm down! Jimmy, you're asking me to imagine the things I'm most afraid of and you want me to calm down?" Carl started to wheeze and the monitor attached to his pulse started to quicken.
"Okay, okay. We can stop for now." Jimmy shut off the device and pulled the wires off of Carl's head. "This would have been easier if someone didn't go and get detention." Jimmy looked over at me accusingly.
"I told you it wasn't my fault! Nick shoved me. But thanks for your concern," I defended myself.
"Sorry. Did detention go okay?" Jimmy empathized.
"Detention was great, actually. I sat next to Libby, and I actually had a conversation with her!" I smiled.
"That's great, Sheen!" Carl chimed in. "What did you talk about?"
"Iron Maiden. Apparently she's a big fan. There was a tiny problem with Nick afterwards though."
"What happened?" Jimmy and Carl said at the same time.
"I was unlocking my bike and Libby said bye to me as she was getting into Nick's car. That made him mad, so he slashed my bike tire. I was actually hoping you could fix it Jimmy," I explained.
"Sure, let's go take a look." Jimmy grabbed a can off of a shelf and a bike pump and led us outside.
"What is that?" I asked.
"This is a rubber regenerator. I made it for the landing gear of the hovercar, but it should work for your bike tires too," Jimmy answered.
We made our way outside and over to my bike. Jimmy sprayed the solution in the can on my bike's tires and almost instantly they were fixed. I pumped some air into the tires and my bike was good as new.
"Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate it. I better get home though, it's my turn to make dinner tonight." I mounted my bike and waved to my friends as I took off down the street.
I turned into my neighborhood and was nearly home when I heard the revving of an IROC-Z Camaro engine. I cringed as I saw Nick working on his car in his driveway. I pedal by as quickly as I could and turned into my driveway just a few houses down. I opened the garage, dumped my bike, and ran inside.
I breathed a sigh of relief once I closed the door. I'd made it inside without incident. I walked into the kitchen and noticed my grandma and my sister sitting at the counter. They were making tamales.
"Grandma, what are you doing? It's my night to cook dinner."
"Quit complaining! You were late and your sister said she wanted tamales," Grandma chided. She pulled out the chair next to her and motioned for me to sit down to help.
"Sorry, I had to stay after school today. Then I had some problems with my bike," I explained as I finished washing my hands and sat down.
"Yeah, heard you got detention. Again," Dani, my thirteen-year-old sister, chimed in.
"You know, I would be on time to school if you didn't take so long in the bathroom in the morning." I grabbed a corn husk and started to help. "Wait, how did you know that I got detention?"
"The school left a message. That's the fifth time this term you've been late. You're going to get held back again if you don't go to school."
"I go to school! And I was only a couple minutes late today. Mrs. Abbott just hates me," I argued.
"Right." 'Dani rolled her eyes. "Your teacher hates you. That's why you got detention. Is it really so hard to get to class on time?"
"Hush!" Grandma scolded Dani. "Leave your brother alone. He does his best. Don't you?"
I stuck my tongue out at Dani as Grandma patted my hand. We finished assembling the tamales and I walked into the kitchen to start heating the water, but my grandma shooed me and my sister to our rooms to work on homework. Truthfully, I was relieved that Grandma insisted on making dinner. I had a lot of homework and whenever I cooked dinner, it usually ended up burnt.
My dad came home about an hour later. He was always exhausted when he got home from work. I was setting the table when he walked in the door. "Sheen, can you make sure to put your bicycle away properly next time? I nearly ran over it," my dad mentioned as he sat at the kitchen table.
"Sorry, Dad. I was in a rush today. Dinner is almost ready."
"Yeah, I see that. Mama, why are you cooking? It's Sheen's night."
"Leave the boy alone. He has to focus on his schoolwork," Grandma defended me.
I smiled. My grandma was always so supportive. I was grateful she didn't bring up detention.
"Fine. At least we'll all have lunches for the rest of the week. Dani! Come help your brother set the table!"
Dani came downstairs and saw that I was done setting the table. She grabbed the serving bowl of rice and a salad she must have made earlier. Grandma brought over a big plate of tamales. I felt guilty that they had made dinner, but I'm sure they didn't want to eat another meal burned by me. I mouthed the words "thank you" to Dani as she sat down. She smiled at me.
"How was your day?" Dad asked me.
"Okay. I have a lot of homework."
"And how was detention?"
"It was fine—I mean, crap. You knew?" I confessed.
"The school called me at work since no one answered here. Detention again, Sheen?"
"I promise, I left for school on time. I got caught up in the hallway before class started. I was only like a minute late."
My dad sighed and set down his fork. "I know you're a good kid, Sheen. But I don't want any more tardies, detentions, or phone calls from the school this year, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir. I sighed.
"The school year is almost over. I know you can do it, son."
The rest of the evening went without incident and as I settled into bed, I thought about my conversation with Libby again. I still couldn't believe that she actually spoke to me.
My phone buzzed, alerting me to a new email. I tapped on the notification to open the email and saw that tickets for the upcoming Iron Maiden concert were now on sale. I closed the email and put my phone back on my nightstand. There was no way I could afford to go.
The next morning I made sure that I was at school extra early so I wouldn't have to rush. I walked inside and saw Cindy and a few other people hanging up posters and banners.
"What's going on?" I asked Cindy as I walked up to her.
"Hello! Prom is this Saturday. Tickets go on sale today," Cindy explained.
"Right." I shrugged and started to leave.
"You're going to come to prom aren't you?" Cindy called after me.
I stopped and turned around. "Why? It's not like I have a date. Besides, money is tight right now at home. I can't go spending money on something silly like that."
"Wait! I got a ticket for being on the dance committee." Cindy pulled a ticket out of her pocket. "Take it."
"Don't you need it to go with Jimmy?"
"He won some raffle at lunch yesterday after you left." Cindy shoved the ticket closer to me.
"I still don't have a date."
"Who says you need a date? Just come hang out with us. Carl is coming too. It'll be fun." Cindy opened my palm and placed the ticket in my hand. She turned back to hanging up her posters. "See you at lunch!"
I headed over to my locker and put my things away. I tucked the prom ticket inside my backpack. I was still debating in my head if I wanted to go. On one hand, it would be fun to go and hang out with my friends somewhere besides Jimmy's lab, but on the other hand, going to prom by myself felt pathetic.
The first bell rang and I immediately headed to class. I was not going to be late today. I walked down the hall and saw Libby walking toward me. She was smiling and she was staring right at me. I looked around me. I couldn't believe that she was actually smiling at me. I paused in the hallway, stunned. Suddenly, I was falling to the ground. Someone had shouldered me as they passed. I looked up to see Nick adjust his leather jacket and smirk at me as he walked by and put his arm around Libby.
Of course she wasn't looking at me. I quickly gathered my belongings and ran to class, stepping inside right as the tardy bell rang.
"You're on time today," Mrs. Abbott stated. She sounded surprised.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my morning work and sat down. Jimmy gave me a thumbs up and a smile as I sat down. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think Libby was actually smiling at me in the hallway. I really was a dirtbag. I turned around to look at Libby and she was staring out the window. Who was I kidding? She would never go for a guy like me.
She must have sensed me looking at her, because Libby drew her focus away from the window and looked at me. She smiled and winked at me before going back to her work.
At lunch I was the first one to sit down, since I'd brought my lunch from home. We decided to eat lunch outside today, so I was sitting at the picnic table catching up on my reading for English class. I sighed and put my book down. Great Expectations was not living up to its name.
I looked around the lawn and noticed Libby, Nick, and Nick's friends standing around. Libby saw me and smiled. She gave me a small wave. I waved back. It was exciting that Libby finally seemed to know who I was and we were on the road to forming a friendship.
Suddenly, I was pelted with a wet and sticky paper bag. I looked up to see Nick and his friends pointing and laughing at me. My face fell as I wiped off whatever had been on the bag off of my arm. Jimmy, Cindy, and Carl came up at that point and sat down.
"Ew. What is that?" Cindy asked as she kicked the bag off the bench so she could sit.
"I don't know. Nick and his friends threw it at me. All I did was return a wave to Libby, but apparently that's enough for them to get pissed off with me," I explained. I looked up and each of my friends had a look of pity on their face. "Don't look at me like that. I know I'm pathetic."
The rest of the school week went by fairly smooth. I didn't have any run-ins with Nick, and I wasn't late once to class. Things seemed to go back to normal. The only problem was that normal meant that Libby had no idea I existed. I supposed it was for the best. It was better for her to not know who I was, than to have Nick harassing me any chance he got.
Friday afternoon I was walking out to unlock my bike to head home when Jimmy and Cindy came up to me.
"Last chance," Cindy stated.
"Last chance for what?" I asked.
"Prom! Please, come with us. It won't be the same without you!" Cindy exclaimed.
"I don't know. Prom by myself? Doesn't that sound a little pathetic?"
"Come on, Sheen. It'll be fun," Jimmy chimed in. "Carl rented this ridiculous tux, and I'm bringing some burping soda to prank the faculty!"
"I don't have a tux, or even a suit." I was trying to find any excuse not to go.
"I knew you would use that as an excuse, so I had VOX create a custom suit for you," Jimmy mentioned.
I shook my head in disbelief. "There's no getting out of this, is there?"
Cindy and Jimmy just smiled and walked over to the hovercar, leaving me alone and frustrated.
Saturday morning I headed over to Jimmy's to pick up the suit. I was still feeling apprehensive about going to prom, but it was something that I would never get to do again. The suit fit perfectly and I began to actually feel a little excited.
My dad let me take the car for the night. Before I left, Grandma wanted to take a picture of me. I tried to convince her that it wasn't worth it because I didn't even have a date, but she didn't care. Dani sat on the couch laughing as Grandma tried to make me pose. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started taking pictures of Dani until she ran away, but not before stealing a selfie with her. My little sister drove me nuts sometimes, but she was one of my favorite people.
Once I got to the school, I found my friends sitting at a table together. They all looked really nice in their best dress, even Carl, who had rented a ridiculous powder blue tuxedo with a ruffled shirt. We were all laughing and chatting and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Except for me. I couldn't believe that I was alone at my senior prom. It was pitiful. Not once in my high school career had I been able to get a date for anything. It wasn't for lack of trying. Something always seemed to come up. I had to take Dani to her soccer practices, or Grandma needed a ride to the doctor, or I had to work a double shift at McSpanky's to help pay for groceries. I never had money left over for anything for myself, including those Iron Maiden tickets for next weekend.
I was lost in my own miserable thoughts when Jimmy nudged me. "What?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.
"Look who's walking over here." Jimmy gestured out toward the dance floor.
I looked up and saw Libby walking over to our table. She had a small smile on her face and it seemed like she was walking in slow motion. I looked around in confusion. Surely this was fake. There's no way she would actually be coming up to talk to me. She got closer and I could feel my heart racing and my lips start to shake. I didn't think she knew who I was. I didn't think she gave a damn about me.
All of a sudden she was standing right in front of me. I had to look up slightly to see her face. "Hi." Libby smiled at me.
I looked back at my friends to see them trying to act casual and pretend that they weren't paying attention. "Hi," I replied breathlessly.
"So, I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden next Friday. Come with me? Please don't say maybe," Libby said. She almost sounded nervous.
I sat speechless for several seconds. I finally responded. "Really? What about Nick?" Instant regret. Why would I bring him up?
Libby laughed lightly. "He broke up with me. I saw what he and his jerk friends did to you at lunch the other day and I told him that it wasn't cool. I walked away and ate lunch with my friends instead. Later he tried to apologize to me, but I told him that he needed to apologize to you. He said that if I was going to be friends with a dirtbag like you then he didn't want to date me anymore."
"Oh." I dropped my head and felt my face start to warm with embarrassment. She didn't really want to go out with me. It was just a pity thing.
"Hey," Libby said softly. I looked up at her again. "I'm a dirtbag too." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to standing. She led me out onto the dance floor. I looked back at my friends briefly to see all of them giving me a thumbs up and encouraging looks. I smiled to myself. Something good was finally happening for me.
We made it to the middle of the dance floor and Libby draped her arms on my shoulders. I placed my hands on her waist and we started to sway. I looked at her beautiful brown eyes and couldn't help but melt. Libby smiled and placed her forehead against mine.
Libby laughed lightly. "I just realized I don't even know your name."
I smiled. "It's Sheen."
"Nice to meet you, Sheen." Libby tilted her head, leaned in, and kissed me softly.
A/N: There you have it! I hope you enjoyed this one shot. I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm writing the next section of Evil Genius, and I'm doing some revising and editing on the next chapter of Party at a Rich Dude's House. I even have some other stories in the works, but they are VERY raw and need a lot of help.
Thanks for reading, and as always, let me know what you think!
