Margot was panicked, pacing around her room.
"We'll be down in a second!" she called, her voice going up an octave. I took her shoulders and pulled her to me.
"Go, take a breath," I ordered. She was pale and anxious, taking shallow breaths. I wrapped a hand around her neck and stroked her cheek, trying to calm her. "This is no big deal."
"They aren't supposed to be here!" she said quietly, her voice shaking. I pulled her face close to mine.
"Go, we sneak around all day. This is no big deal," I assured.
I was lying. This was a huge deal. We hadn't practiced in front of people who weren't supposed to know except for her parents, which was useless, because they could obviously sense something between us (despite Margot insisting that she had successfully pulled the wool over their eyes – she hadn't). I had no idea what we were going to do in front of her friends.
I followed her out the door and nudged her back so she would smile. She got to the top of the stairs and looked over the landing, grinning down.
"Hey, you two! I thought tonight was a rerun?" Margot asked, her voice cheerful and kind. I was confused what they were talking about.
"It is, but we miss you! We thought we could just come study with you and Eddie!" Chrissy answered, leaning into Jason. Chrissy looked at me, forcing a larger smile. "Hi, Eddie!"
"Hi, Chrissy," I croaked. I followed Margot down the stairs and tried to calm my racing mind. Jason smiled at Margot and eyed me coolly. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and decided to train my eyes down on my feet.
"You guys know that this project isn't really for group sessions," Margot teased. She was bright and bubbly now, New Margot taking control. Jason shrugged.
"Maybe we can just hang out for a bit and then we can leave so you can work on the project – we just miss you, Mar-got," he said. I hated that stupid nickname.
"Oh, you guys are so sweet. You don't mind, do you, Eddie?" Margot asked, turning to me. Her eyes got wide, and I tried to understand what she was telling me. I shrugged.
"No, not at all!" I replied. Her eyes flashed and I suddenly realized that I hadn't understood her code. She turned back to them, smiling brightly, and then looked at her dad who was still watching us.
"Dad, do you mind?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Not at all – your mom and I are leaving right now to meet with my agent," he answered. He looked at me and smiled. "Keep everyone in line, Mr. Munson."
I smiled and nodded as Mr. Patterson walked off from us. Margot clapped her hands together, awkward again.
"Let's hang out for a bit! You guys go to the living room, and I'll get some snacks!" she said, gesturing to the living room. Jason and Chrissy started towards the living room, their shoes still on. I didn't know who to follow for a moment but then remembered we were sneaking around. I sat in the loveseat across from the couch and set my hands on my lap awkwardly.
"So, Eddie," Jason started, settling in next to Chrissy and wrapping an arm around her. "How is the project going? We never see Mar-got anymore because of it."
He was joking, trying to connect, but I knew there was a kernel of concern in his question. I had taken up a majority of Margot's time and attention over the last couple of days – she made a joke one time about how her friends would wonder where she went.
"It's good, man – Margot's an awesome partner. She's been super helpful in getting it organized," I answered, scratching my head awkwardly.
"She's super smart. You were lucky to be partnered with her," Chrissy interjected. Jason nodded, agreeing with his new girlfriend.
"Definitely," I said, nodding along.
"Eddie, can you come help me bring things in?" Margot called. I shot up, ready to race to the kitchen.
"Mar-got, we can help," Jason said, confused.
"No – you and Chrissy keep being cute and snuggly!" she squeaked. I grimaced and went to the kitchen, breathing a sigh of relief when I got there, shielded from the popular kids' gaze. She looked at me, her eyes widening.
"What part of my code did you not understand?" she whispered. I grinned at how panicky she got.
"Princess, I can't read minds," I teased, keeping my voice low. She sighed and covered her face.
"You were supposed to say you had band practice or something so you needed to study now so they would leave!" she explained. I grinned at the realization that she didn't want me to leave, she wanted me there instead of them. I walked over to her, getting close to her face and making her flush. "Eddie, they're right out there!"
I winked and got even closer before reaching around her to grab the snacks. I kept my lips close to hers and shrugged.
"What are you talking about? Just helping you with the snacks," I whispered, delighting in how red she turned. I was about to step away when she grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to her to kiss me.
"You can't do that to me, you make me all fluttery," she whispered, her voice stuttering. I felt my heart skip and she was suddenly too shiny again with her admission. I grinned and kissed her quickly before going back out to the living room. I smiled awkwardly at them and set the chips and dip on the coffee table. Jason was still watching me carefully as Chrissy chattered on about something to him.
"Eddie, what books did you guys pick?" Jason asked, rubbing Chrissy's arm.
"Sense and Sensibility, Midsummer's Night Dream, and The Hobbit," Margot answered for me as she walked back in. She gave them a glass of juice and smiled at them as she sat by them. It took everything in me not to set an arm around her and mirror Jason and Chrissy's position. She pivoted away from me, her knees pointed to mine.
"The Hobbit? That's that weird, nerd book, right?" Chrissy asked, turning her head to the side. Jason snorted and winked, pointing at me.
"That was your choice, right, Munson?" he asked.
---
I bristled at Jason's question. He was intentionally trying to make Eddie feel uncomfortable.
In spite of what it seemed like, Jason was a good friend – he and Chrissy had been so kind in welcoming me into their friend group when I moved here. He often treated me like a little sister, and never crossed boundaries with me. With that big brother role, though, he was overly protective of me. He wanted to make sure our friends were "good influences" and often pushed me when I was dating to date his friends. He only knew New Margot, so he struggled to understand why I never wanted to continue dating his friends.
Eddie was someone he didn't understand. Jason didn't know why people would like things that weren't basketball, drinking, or being popular. And that didn't make him a bad person – because he wasn't. He just wasn't used to anything outside of his comfort zone.
"It was actually my choice," I replied, my tone cold. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and smiled.
"Oh, well it looks like the call is coming from inside the house!" he teased, making Chrissy laugh. I smiled and shrugged.
"I've always wanted to read it – it's a classic for a reason," I quipped. I turned to Eddie, and he was beaming at me. I flushed and smiled back at him. I looked back at my friends and grinned, cocking my head to the side. "So, lovebirds – how are things?"
Chrissy giggled and her and Jason looked at each other, giddy. They were sweet, absolutely enamored with one another. I felt a pang of jealousy – I wanted to be like that with Eddie. I wanted to tuck myself into his arms and listen to his heartbeat as my friends told stories. I loved listening to his laugh through his chest and I suddenly had an ache to lean against it.
New Margot reigned us in. Take a fucking breath, you damn dork.
"It's good," Chrissy answered bashfully. Jason grinned and kissed her temple. He nodded in agreement. New Margot was back in charge.
"I'm glad you finally did something about it!" I teased. I turned to Eddie. "These two have been into each other since I first met them – I'm so excited to be their third wheel."
This made everyone laugh and Eddie's grin grew into the goofy one I loved. Eddie rubbed his forehead and I turned back to my friends, brushing my hair out of my face. Jason's grin faltered and his eyes zeroed in on my hand. I looked down and felt my stomach drop. He was glancing between Eddie and I, focused on our hands.
I tried to pretend like I hadn't noticed the fact that Jason had noticed the rings on our hands. I casually set my hand on the couch between my legs, out of his view. He looked at me in the eyes, trying to glean something. I smiled brightly, channeling New Margot.
"You guys are so cute," I complimented. He softened and smiled back at me before looking down at Chrissy.
"Thanks," he replied, kissing he on the forehead.
We continued chatting, Chrissy and Jason filling me in on gossip I had missed from our friend group. I laughed at the appropriate times, nodding and encouraging them as they talked. I was acutely aware of how little Eddie was talking. Once, when Chrissy and Jason were talking to each other, not looking at us, I turned to him. He was leaned back in the cushions, his legs spread apart and rubbing his face with his ringed hand. I couldn't stop staring as he blinked heavily, his gaze half-lidded. I felt my face heat when he glanced at me and winked. I turned back to my friends and try to will my blush away.
"Okay – I know Mar-got gets antsy when it comes to her homework, so we will get out of the way," Jason announced. I felt a wave of relief and smiled at him. I stood to lead them out. Eddie stayed seated, waving goodbye.
I walked them out to the door and turned as I opened it. I grinned as Chrissy pulled me in for a hug.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Mar-got," Jason said. I nodded and hugged him quickly. He continued to watch me for a beat, and I felt like my hand was being weighed down with an anvil as I hid it from him. He pursed his lips. "You're my best friend, you know that, right?"
I felt a flash of guilt but smiled through it, nodding at him.
"Back at you, Jace," I replied. He smiled and nodded before leaving. I waved goodbye and closed the door, sighing heavily.
I paced back to the living room and turned to him. He was still leaned back into the cushions, smiling at me. Before he could say anything, I crawled onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck and straddling my legs around his lap. He turned bright red, flustered by my actions. He snaked his hands around my waist and set them on the small of my back.
"You were an incredible actress, princess," he complimented. I smiled and pulled him closer.
"I'm sorry about that," I sighed. He shook his head and brushed my nose with his.
"If this is what happens after events like that, don't apologize," he whispered. I grinned and kissed him, molding into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around me tighter. I continued to kiss him as I felt all of the tension from earlier get released between us. He pulled back, his breathing heavy as he pressed his forehead to mine. "How long will your parents be gone?"
"Probably until late, they normally do a long dinner and drinks—"
Eddie shut me up by gripping onto me and flipping me onto my back in the loveseat, pressing into me and kissing me harder.
"Just wanted to make sure," he sighed, close to my lips. I set my hands on the side of his face and watched him. He smiled at me before kissing my nose.
"Thank you," I said awkwardly. "For playing along and sneaking around just then."
His smile softened and he nodded.
"Anything for you, princess," he whispered. I pulled him to my lips, resigned to the fact that we were going to spend the rest of the night like this, and we were not going to study like I had told my friends.