Eddie clambered off of me, talking a mile a minute and giddy. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him, grinning. He turned to me, beaming, and pounced on me for one more kiss.
"Okay, okay – I'm going to go get Shelob ready. I can be back here around six? Does that work?" he asked, holding my face in my palms. I grinned at him and gripped his shirt, pulling him back to my lips and kissing him hard. He pulled back, bright red and smiling. "I'm going to take that as a yes."
I nodded and stood, prompting him to follow me. We started down the stairs, Eddie still chattering to himself, and I smiled to myself. I couldn't tell if New or Old Margot was excited – I think it was both.
"Oh, Eddie – before you leave!"
Before we got to the front door, we turned to my father. He strolled over to us, something in his hand. He pressed it into Eddie's hand, grinning.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm about my books," he said. Eddie looked down – my dad had given him a copy of the original Crown and The Shadow book, with his signature on the front. Eddie's eyes widened and he looked up at my dad.
"Sir, are you sure?" Eddie asked, stupefied. My dad laughed and nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Absolutely – we've got plenty of copies. I think Margie's gone through three herself," my dad replied, winking at me. I felt my face flush – was my dad going to blow my cover to Eddie?
"Thank you, sir, thank you so much, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, sir," Eddie gushed, shaking my dad's hand. My dad nodded and patted Eddie on the shoulder before dropping his hand and padding back to the living room. Eddie turned back to me, staring at the book in his hand like it was the Holy Grail itself.
"You alright?" I asked, teasing him. He looked back up at me, his grin goofy and silly. He bounded towards me, his face close and stopping when he realized we were no longer in my room by ourselves. He placed a hand on the side of my face, tracing my cheek with his thumb softly. I was thrown off by the intimacy of the gesture.
"I can't wait for tonight," he whispered.
I felt my stomach flip and smiled up at him, nodding. I opened the door for him, and he took my hand, squeezing it as he walked out. He turned to me and shot me finger guns, our new tradition, it seemed. I watched him climb into Shelob, smiling as he waved at me. He zoomed away and I shut the door, still fluttery from his touch.
I floated to the kitchen, needing a glass of water to calm down. I started pouring myself a glass, my mind racing with New Margot thoughts. Why was I doing this? Why was I risking everything I had worked for? Why did I feel this way?
"That Eddie seems like a wonderful new friend."
I nearly jumped out of my skin at my dad's voice. I turned to him and let out a sigh, smiling at him.
"You scared me!"
"Is he a friend?" he asked, still pushing the issue. I took another sip of water and didn't look at him.
"We're partners for an English project," I replied, trying to evade the question he was actually asking. He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.
"So, you hang out with a lot of project partners outside of school, on the weekends?" he pushed, raising an eyebrow. I flushed.
"This is a really important project," I insisted. He raised his eyebrows and nodded, feigning that he agreed with me. I flushed and tried to slink out of the kitchen. I was unsuccessful as he followed me to the living room.
"He reminded me of the kids you used to hang out with – he seems like a really kind, young man," my dad continued. I felt my stomach drop – this was what New Margot was afraid of. That Eddie was like the people I used to be around. I gnawed at my thumbnail and tried to smile at him.
"You don't have a problem with all of his rockstar get up?" I asked. My dad laughed and shrugged.
"I did until I saw the Lord of the Rings tattoos – he's one of my kind," my dad responded. I flushed and grimaced at him, suddenly realizing the issue.
Not only did Old Margot like Eddie, but New Margot did, too.
My dad patted my shoulder before going back to his room. I sighed and went back up to my room, my head spinning at everything. I glanced at the clock – I had another hour before Eddie would come back. Should I cancel? I didn't want to, but maybe I should.
Then I glanced at my hand, noticing his ring. I grinned at the memory of him noticing it and how gentle he was with my hand. How gentle he was with me in general, always checking in and making me feel special.
I had always managed to play it cool with the popular boys that used to terrify Old Margot. Nothing that they said or did ever intimidated me, because they were always interacting with New Margot. She was Teflon and nothing got under her skin. But then there was Eddie.
He got under both Old Margot and New Margot's skin – he was unpredictable to New Margot, which made Old Margot nervous. It didn't help that he was handsome, and that he looked at me like he could see right through me and said things that made my heart skip.
I shook my head. Fuck it - tonight, I was going to be Old Margot.
Well, Old Margot in New Margot's shell.
I quickly went to my mirror and redid my makeup, redoing lashes and vamping my eyeshadow up. I slicked a peachy lip gloss on and tossed my hair, taming the frizz on my curls. I turned to my closet and tried to determine if I should change or not. I smoothed my skirt, remembering how it felt when he traced my legs and feeling the same goosebumps from earlier. I smiled and decided to keep my plaid skirt, but changed into a tighter, black sweater.
I spritzed my perfume on, remembering Eddie's compliments on it. I glanced in the mirror and smiled, hoping Eddie would like how I looked.
"Margie! Your friend is here!" my mom called. My stomach flipped and I grinned, determined to have a great time tonight.
I bounded to the stairs, stopping at the top to look at Eddie. He was talking to my mom, his arms clasped behind his back. He was in a tight, black t-shirt – he obviously had the same thought as me. He made my mom laugh and he beamed at her, proud of himself. Old Margot was doing summersaults inside of me, and I started down the stairs.
"Margie – where have you been hiding this one?" my mom asked, making me blush. Eddie finally noticed me, and his eyes widened and softened into his usual gaze.
"Mom, this is Eddie, Eddie, this is my mom," I teased. She smiled at me and sighed.
"Well, you two have fun – Margie, don't worry about waking us up when you're back," my mom ordered before shooing us out the door. I rolled my eyes when we got outside, trying not to get nervous as the door closed behind us. I looked up at Eddie, grinning as he looked down at me. He put his arm out for me to take and I linked my arm with his as we walked to his van.
"So, princess," Eddie started, making me grin. "I know you said you don't really read your dad's books, but if you didn't already know, the rose is the sigil of the Andúnë house."
"Eddie, what do you think my middle name is?" I asked, smiling up at him. He paused, twisting his face together.
"Well...that takes the fun out of what I was going to do next," he replied. I furrowed my brows as we got to his van. He opened the door and pulled his hand out from behind his back. Old Margot and New Margot's heart skipped.
"Thank you, Eddie," I said, taking the pink rose out of his hand. He flushed and scratched the back of his head, getting bumbly again.
"I know you want to keep things quiet, uh, I just, uh, I just think that, uh, well – I just think that a g-girl like you deserves f-flowers on t-the first date," he explained. My heart softened and I leaned close to him, New Margot taking charge.
"This is a first date?" I asked, getting close to his face. He turned bright red, sputtering and backtracking.
"No, sorry, no, I shouldn't have—"
I cut him off by rocking up on my toes and kissing him, catching him off guard. I pulled back and he had a goofy, giddy grin on his face.
"I'm excited for our first date," I assured him, Old Margot just as excited as he was. He nodded and helped me into his van. Before he could close the door, my mom opened the front door.
"Margie! I forgot to tell you – your friend Chrissy called earlier. She wanted me to tell you that Jason asked her to the drive-in tonight. Be safe!"
I felt my stomach drop as my mom closed the door behind her.
---
Margot looked like she had been punched in the stomach and she had lost all of her air. I sighed, looking down at my feet. The date I had been so excited for all afternoon would be cancelled because of Margot's wish to keep this quiet.
"We can just go back and hang out in your room or something if you want, Go," I conceded, not wanting to look at her. This was stupid. I should have known better. This was never going to work. It was quiet for a beat.
"No – I told you, I'm excited for our first date," Margot repeated. I looked up, my stupid grin back. She was smiling nervously at me.
"Are you sure? We don't have to—"
"Come on, Sir Tiebaut," Margot ordered, smiling as she closed the door behind her.
My smile grew as I realized she had referenced Princess Andúnë's love interest throughout the Crown and The Shadow series – a human knight who often fought for her valor. I scampered around Shelob and stopped when I realized something.
Did Margot actually make a Crown and The Shadow reference? I thought she didn't read the books.
I climbed into the van, starting it up as I watched her. She leaned back in the seat, stretching the legs I was obsessed with and turning to me. She flashed me a heart stopper smile and tossed her hair over her shoulder. I felt my face heat.
I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. A week ago, I didn't even know if Margot Patterson knew I existed. Now, she was in my van, watching me after I knew what her lips tasted like and how she smelled when she buried her face in my chest.
I grinned at her and started towards the drive-in, keeping the music low.
"So, uh, just so you know, um, the only, um, movie that was playing tonight, uh, is Labyrinth," I warned, internally wincing. "I know that y-you're not into that k-kind of stuff—"
"I love Labyrinth!" she exclaimed, beaming at me. I grinned but furrowed my brows.
"You do?"
"Yeah – I listened to 'Magic Dance' for, like, a month after I saw it for the first time," she explained, looking forward and crossing her legs.
I was excited but confused. Who was this Margot?
She set her hand on her knee and I felt my heart skip – she was still wearing my ring. She started twisting it around her hand nervously, spinning it over and over again. I could tell she was anxious about Chrissy and Jason potentially being at the theater tonight. I decided to be Eddie the Brave and reached out to her, taking her hand in mine. I could feel her look at me as I took her hand in my clammy hand, but knew that if I looked at her, I would get dizzy.
We got to the theater, and I pulled up to one of the screens, point the back of the van to the movie. I turned to Margot, grinning at her, her hand still in mine.
"I hope this isn't too dorky," I said, pulling her to the back of the van. She followed me and made a little gasp when she saw the set up.
I had dragged my own mattress out of the trailer earlier that day and stolen the giant comforters from Wayne's room since they were actually clean. I had also pulled all of the cushions off the couch, setting them up to prop us up during the movie. I sat on my knees on the mattress, holding her hand as she was balancing herself in getting over. She plopped on the mattress next to me, grinning wildly as I looked down at her.
"This is not dorky at all, Eddie," she assured, putting a hand on my chest. I felt my heart pick up and nodded at her. I stared at her lips – she had a pretty gloss on today. I leaned close, almost stopping, but then decided to be brave and closed the distance. She leaned further into me, and I kissed her harder, trying to calm my beating heart. We pulled away from one another and smiled.
"Do you want any snacks?" I asked, my voice cracking. She grinned.
"Whatever you want," she replied. I nodded and kissed her one more time.
"Don't leave – I'll be right back," I ordered as I opened the back van doors and trotted over to the concessions stand.
I stood in line, willing it to move faster as the other people in line ordered. I tapped my foot, anxious to get back to Margot.
"Hey, Eddie!"
My eyes widened and I froze. I turned slowly to see Chrissy and Jason walking up to me. I smiled nervously.
"H-hey, guys!" I replied. They were hand and hand – Margot would have been excited to see this. Jason smiled at me.
"Hey, man – I want to apologize for Andy last night. And for the shit that I said – you know when you drink you can get into that bullshit macho mindset," Jason explained. I nodded.
"No harm, no foul. I understand," I replied, wanting to end the conversation. I turned to the front, wanting to end the conversation.
"Are you here on a date?" Chrissy asked.
"Yeah!" I answered before I could stop myself. I wanted to kick myself as hard as I could.
"Oh, with who?" Chrissy exclaimed. I turned to her; my face white.
"You wouldn't know her – I met her at the Hideout," I lied.
She nodded and Jason pulled her closer to him, kissing her forehead. I was relieved when it was my turn to order. I quickly asked for popcorn, bottlecaps, and two sodas. The worker finally gave me my order and I said goodbye to the popular people I had interacted with and practically sprinted back to Shelob.
Once I got to the van, I felt at ease again. Margot was sitting on the mattress, her legs stretched out in front of her, glancing around. She grinned at me when she noticed me and leaned forward to help me with our snacks. She set them beside her and offered her hand, pulling me in with her. I closed the van doors behind me, and she furrowed her brows, confused.
"We've got to play secret agent for a bit – some folks here aren't meant to see you," I explained.
"Oh, no, Eddie – I don't want you to—"
I cut her off like she liked to cut me off. I kissed her hard, laying her back on the mattress and balancing myself over her. I continued to kiss her, tracing her thighs with my hands. I pulled back, smiling. She was flustered, bright red and out of breath. I kissed her one more time, softly, before she spoke.
"I guess we have some time before the movie starts," she croaked. I nodded and pressed myself to her again, kissing her as much as I could, unconcerned when David Bowie appeared on the large screen.