"You remind of the babe!"
"What babe?"
"Babe with the power," Margot replied, poking my nose with her finger that had my ring on it. I grabbed it and pulled her close.
"What power?" I asked.
"Power of voodoo."
"Who do?"
"You do!"
"Do what?"
Margot laughed at me and pressed her forehead to mine.
"Remind me of the babe!"
I laughed and wrapped her in my arms. We leaned back on the mattress set up, our legs entangled with one another. I continued to watch David Bowie sing to puppets on the large screen, the van doors finally open. I would have stayed locked in the back with Margot all night if she would let me.
But Margot so badly wanted to see Labyrinth, going on and on about the different puppets she loved so much. I was confused by this Margot – she was being goofy and geeky; unlike the preppy girl I had built up in my head. I was enjoying it, though. She was surprising and interesting, and I knew I hadn't really gotten to who Margot actually was. I was just desperately trying to play it cool so my shine wouldn't wear off to her.
But something was eating at me.
"So, you called me Sir Tiebaut earlier," I commented. She continued looking ahead, lacing my fingers with hers and eating more popcorn. She rested her head on my shoulder, making my heart pound as she giggled at the puppets on screen.
"Of course, I did – he's Princess Margot's love interest," she replied simply. I started tracing her thigh. I furrowed my brows and took a deep breath.
"But didn't you say you've never read your dad's books?" I asked. She tensed in my arms, still not looking at me. I felt my stomach drop – I think I had hit a nerve.
"I guess I did say that," she said slowly. I watched her, trying to understand what was going on. I felt a light bulb go off.
"Oh my god," I gasped. She sat up, smiling weakly at me.
"Eddie—"
"Are you a secret nerd?" I asked, stupefied. Her face turned bright red. My jaw dropped as my grin grew. "Oh my god, you're a secret nerd!"
"Former is a better descriptor!" she insisted. I shook my head.
"As if – you're the one who's singing along with puppets!" I teased, pointing to the movie screen. She buried her face in her hands and I felt my heart drop. I nervously reached out to her, desperate to fix things to keep having the perfect date. "Hey, Go, I'm sorry, I shouldn't—"
"No, it's fine," she squeaked, still hiding behind her hands. I smiled, endeared by her sudden nervousness. I took her hands and peeled them off her face, gripping them tight. I smiled at her.
"You know, it's okay to be a nerd. Especially with me," I assured.
She groaned and fell back on the cushions I had set up earlier. I leaned on my side, propping myself up on my elbow. She glared up at the ceiling of the van and I reached out, setting my hand on the side of her face. I hooked my finger under her chin and pulled her face to me.
"I promise. Even if you had Weird Al Yankovic tattooed on you, you would still be the coolest person I've ever met, and the coolest person in Hawkins," I murmured. She flushed again and smiled shyly.
"You're just saying that," she replied. I shook my head.
"I told you. None of my lines would ever work on you," I insisted. Her smile grew.
---
How was Eddie managing to be this smooth?
He watched me, his kind eyes crinkling as he watched me. I studied his features, taking him in. Old Margot was fully in control tonight, unable to get her shit together and play it cool in front of the boy I thought was cute.
What was happening? Three days ago I was cool as a cucumber – nothing got to me. But Eddie Munson had me crumbling with his cheesy compliments and acts of chivalry. It was frustrating – annoying even.
He moved his hand from my chin to my cheek, stroking it gently. I looked up at him, trying to will New Margot back to play it cool and win the power back. Old Margot had different plans.
"I used to be really dorky before I moved here," I blurted out. He raised an eyebrow.
"I have a hard time believing that," he replied.
"No, Eddie – I really was," I insisted. I pulled my face from his hands and settled it into his chest, smiling when I felt his heart pounding. "Glasses, braces, frizzy hair and all."
"Oh, I doubt—"
"I had barely any friends and I was always bullied," I continued. We were quiet for a beat. He ran a finger down my arm, making my hair stand on edge.
"Okay. So, you were dorky," he said quietly. I nodded.
"I worked really, really hard to fix that," I explained. "So, that's why I didn't say anything about knowing anything about my dad's books."
"Is that why your room is so bare?" he asked abruptly. I furrowed my brows. I hadn't really thought about it – I guess I hadn't hung anything from my old room in my new one, keeping it sparse.
"Huh, maybe," I answered. He took my hair and started playing with it, making me shiver.
"So, you are secretly this mega-dork, with glasses and frizzy hair, who could rival me with her fantasy knowledge," Eddie teased. I sighed. Old Margot was going to ruin everything.
"I don't know if I could rival you," I replied, trying to play it cool. I was unsuccessful as he started tracing my back. We were quiet again. Maybe I shouldn't have come tonight. Old Margot was going to ruin this moment.
"Is...is that why you want to keep this quiet?" Eddie asked quietly, almost sad. I froze. I didn't know what to say. I sat up and looked at him in the eyes.
"I don't want you to think it's because of you, Eddie, or—"
"Hey, hey, take a breath, Go," Eddie said, assuring me. He smiled at me and pulled me back to him. "I know I'm not the poster boy for popularity."
"But, Eddie—"
"I get it, Go," he interrupted, still sweet and gentle, stroking my hair. I felt my heart drop. I hated how much New Margot cared about everything.
"Eddie, you don't," I insisted, sitting back up. I looked down at my hand, tracing the skull ring on it. "It has nothing to do with you. It's New Margot."
God damn it, Old Margot. Please stop talking.
"I see," he answered knowingly, his hand still in my hair and twirling it around one of his fingers. "So, New Margot is the one who worked on being popular. Old Margot is the mega-dork."
I nodded nervously. He smiled.
"So, what about just regular Margot?" he asked, taking my chin in his hands again and leaning close. I felt my heart skip and shrugged.
"She's in the in between," I answered. His smile grew and he kissed me softly. I melted, again, like the dork I really was. He pulled back and rolled on his back, still holding onto me.
"I can't believe Margot Patterson is a secret nerd who loves puppets," he teased, referencing the movie I loved so much. I snorted and rolled my eyes.
"Former nerd who loves puppets. And David Bowie," I corrected. He laughed and started playing with my hair again. My stomach flipped and I wanted to kick myself – he was so good at getting through New Margot's walls.
"Now I have to worry about your popular friends and David Bowie? You don't make winning your heart easy, Princess Margot," he quipped, brushing his lips against my ear and making my hair stand on edge.
"You can handle the quest, Sir Tiebaut," I replied, wrapping my leg around his. He swallowed hard and I grinned, happy to have gotten to him like he got to me. We sat quietly, each of us taking in the information I had shared.
"Chrissy – where are you going?"
I felt my stomach dropped when I heard my friend's voice. Were they close?
"I want to see who Eddie's here with – Margot will get a kick out of it," she answered Jason. I was frozen, terrified of what was about to happen. In a flash, Eddie maneuvered me out of his arms and got to the van doors, closing and locking them. He turned to me, smiling awkwardly. I swallowed hard and pointed at the doors.
"The windows!" I whispered-shouted. "What if she looks through them?"
He grinned wickedly and started to crawl to me.
"I've got an idea for that," he answered, hovering over me before kissing me hard and shielding me from the windows with his tall, lanky body. I melted, yet again, absolute putty under him.
Old Margot was winning.