Believe It Or Not (An Eddie Munson Story)

Forget Me Nots

I walk into school the next morning with a sugar sweet smile plastered to my lips, trying to avoid the stiff crick in my neck from sleeping on the sofa overnight. My eyes still feel puffy and I decided against heavy makeup today to try to give my skin a break. I even wore casual clothes, a nice pair of light jeans and a baby blue sweater with my hair still in its braid down my back.

Robin walks beside me to my locker, talking about her shift at work last night and I try my best to listen but I'm finding it hard. She seems to notice because she stops and ducks her head to the side giving me a quizzical look.

"What's the matter?" She asks and I sigh shaking my head.

"Eddie and I got into it again yesterday," I say, exhausted. She looks ahead as we push our way through the waves of students.

"Is it because of the same crap as before?" She asks.

"Sort of," I huff, getting annoyed by the situation all over again and Robin pats my back trying to soothe me. "They needed a sub for their dungeons and dragons campaign and I told them I would help, but then Eddie upset when he saw me and accused me of trying to blackmail him or trying to get Gareth and Dustin to make promises to do me favors in the future in exchange for helping as if I'm some shady person."

Robin tsks along with me as I talk and a weight lifts off my shoulders as I vent to her. I feel so much better once I've let it out. My breathing grew shallow as I talked, my anxiety building. But now I sigh deeply and the air flows in and out of my lungs in an easy rhythm.

"I think he's just trying to make excuses for his shitty behavior," Robin mumbles and I nod, feeling validated and supported. "You aren't a terrible person. You never were and Eddie knows that. He is just feeling some type of way about you becoming well liked and pretty, which I mean don't get me wrong you were pretty before but it was understated and less obvious, but that's beside the point. He just has this personal vendetta against the jocks and the cool kids and honestly I don't blame him with how they treat him, but he shouldn't take that out on you."

"They treat him poorly?" I ask. I haven't noticed anyone really bothering Eddie, but then again I haven't really been around Eddie to notice. I've been avoiding him so heavily I wonder if I've been avoiding all things about him as well.

"Oh, yea," Robin huffs with a snort as though what I asked was obvious. "I'm surprised they haven't called him Eddie 'The Freak' Munson around you yet. I'm also surprised you haven't seen Jason Carver try to pick fights with him in the halls. They got into a terrible fight last year. Jason and three of his friends ganged up on Eddie and broke his arm in the process. It was terrible and all the while he was just upset he couldn't play guitar until it healed." Robin shakes her head ruefully and I can imagine Eddie pouting over not being able to play and I snicker softly to myself.

"So a part of me thinks," Robin continues. "That Eddie is just upset that he lost his best friend to the dark side. That he's worried if he gets close to you he will have to get closer to the people that hate him and he is scared. So he's lashing out and trying to protect himself by ending your friendship and being the bad guy."

We get to my locker and Robin twirls around to face me, leaning her shoulder against the locker next to mine and smiling down at me with a proud grin. I stare up at her shocked. Everything she has said makes perfect sense.

"You're good," I chuckle and shake my head in disbelief and she laughs.

"I try. What are best friends for?"

I unlock my locker and open it, needing to grab my material for English but when I look inside I'm surprised to find a small bouquet of flowers sitting on the shelf with a little note. I pick up the little blue flowers and hold them up for Robin to see. She straightens and a curious gleam shines in her eyes. I pass the flowers to her and she takes them, holding the petals up to her nose and takes a sniff. I open the card and look inside. On the parchment in sloppy handwriting are two words: