he hands me his lighter and as i reach out to grab it, i notice that my entire body is trembling. could be from the cold, or because im nervous...
"are you okay?" he asks me, obviously picking up on my shaking as well. "you're like.."
"shaking yeah i know." i laugh nervously.
"are you cold or something? do you need a jacket?" he eyes my outfit, a t-shirt and shorts. in forty degree weather.
i question whether or not i should accept, i don't know this guy. but he seems genuine and i am really cold so i might as well. i nod my head yes and he shrugs off his top coat.
"thanks" i mutter, putting it on. "i didn't really think i was gonna be outside much today."
"you probably still should have brought a coat." he laughs.
"yeah" i chuckle. he's moved closer to me, so i can really see his features. dark circles, slight acne, dimples, smudged makeup, chapped lips. wow. he looks like me. you can tell he's been out all morning by his stiff, pale hands. "what are you doing out by this bridge?"
"i could ask you the same thing," he tilts his head at me. "are you homeless?"
i roll my eyes, acting annoyed. a sort of a defense i've built up over the years. this makes him scoot further away from me. great, i hurt his feelings. i sigh quietly and grab a joint, lighting it. i inhale deeply and turn to face him, blowing the smoke all over him.
"what the fuck?" he laughs, picking up on the fact that i indeed do not hate him.
"do you want a hit?" i ask, holding up the joint. he grimaces at me.
"not particularly."
damn, so now he thinks im trying to drug him? he just saw me smoke it.
"alright." i shrug. "what are you doing hanging out here? you never answered me."
"didn't really feel like going to school. chem test. and you?" he leans back against the wall and crosses his legs. so he plans to stay.
"same here. so you're what? a senior?" i question, surely if he was in my grade i would have noticed him.
"nope, junior." he turns to face me, swallowing dramatically. "you're not a freshie are you? i don't wanna encourage bad habits young."
i roll my eyes yet again, so now he's poking fun at my height. who does this man think he is?
"junior." i say before taking another hit. there's a moment of silence as he anticipates another blow to his face. "im kinda shocked that i haven't noticed you yet."
"ouch."
i immediately feel a little guilty.
"that's not how i meant it." i defend.
"you're fine. it's not like i've noticed you either." he says sarcastically.
great, now i feel like a bitch. this kid has obviously been meaning to spark a conversation with me and here i am using him for his lighter and telling him i never even noticed him. how kind of me. i sigh and rub my face. a gust of wind blows out my joint and causes me to shiver again.
"do you wanna go somewhere warmer?" he smirks at me.
is he-
"what are you insinuating?" i eye him suspiciously.
"th- that's not what i meant!" his face flushes bright red.
"oh okay." i laugh. "where did you have in mind?"
"well we could go back to my house, my parents are gone at work. but i don't mean for-"
"sex. yeah i get it buddy." i laugh again. he laughs back shakily.
"i don't think i ever got your name?" he says as we stand up. he reaches out to help me up.
"tate," i smile warmly at him. he's quite adorable, i must admit. "and yours?"
"rodrick," he beams at me. "rodrick heffley."
°°°
on the way to his house, we make conversation about random shit; school, our families, the weather, our very noticeable height difference. i've known rodrick for probably twenty minutes and i already feel attached to him. he's the kind of person that you could meet anywhere and still have a playful conversation with. his oversized coat has now become a kind of security blanket, keeping me warm and hiding my insecurities. it's still fairly early so im surprised that both of his parents are gone. mine don't leave the house until around noon, so i can never circle back if im skipping.
"here we are." he announces, pointing to a large two story house.
"you live here?" i ask loudly.
"uhm yeah." he looks at me. did my appearance not scream IM POOR loud enough for him?
"it's very..." i shoot him a quizzical look. "big?"
"yeah it was passed down to us." he looks embarrassed. "im not a stuck up rich kid, i promise."
"alright." i giggle.
he leads me in through his front door, headed towards the basement.
"promise you're not a serial killer?"
"you caught on early." he deadpans. "do you want a snack before i chop you up?"
i nod my head, a huge dumb smile on my face, and he brings me to his kitchen. we raid the fridge for snacks and head down to his basement. when we get to his room, im surprised. although its a complete mess, with his mattress on the floor, it doesn't smell nearly as bad as any other guy's room that i've been in. a good sign.
"sorry, it's kinda messy." he says, plopping down in a beat up lazy boy. i laugh to myself.
"don't worry, my room is practically the same." i sit criss cross on the floor looking up at him. this seems to stir something in him, causing him to blush like at the bridge and look away.
"i think you're the first girl to react like that" he says, still looking away.
"really?" i chuckle. "how many girls do you bring down here?"
he seems to be surprised by my question and raises his eyebrows at me.
"well im in a band, so quite a lot of girls come to see us practice." he shrugs nonchalantly.
"you're so full of shit, heffley" i tease. "what's your band called?"
"loaded diaper." he grins widely at me.
"nice." i roll my eyes. "what do you play?"
"the drums." he responds, confidently. "do you play anything?"
"i used to play french horn in the school band." i admit, causing him to burst out laughing. i pretend to be hurt. "what's wrong with the french horn?"
"n-nothing, i just didn't take you for a french horn type of girl." he says, still laughing.
"oh fuck off." i smile. "so are you going to play me something?"
"the neighbors will know im home if i do that. but you could come to one of our practices." he suggests.
"already asking to hang out again, wow." i joke, opening up a bag of skittles.
"oh come on tate, you know you want to." he smirks, his dimples popping out.
we continue to talk and hang out all day. something about him is so interesting that i don't really want to leave. he's witty and sweet and kind of adorable when he gets embarrassed. i can definitely see myself getting attached to him. we're lost in conversation, not paying attention to the time when we hear the front door open. i jump up.
"is that your parents?" i ask, concerned.
"no, it's only three. it's my younger brother." he rolls his eyes. "he won't come down here, but if he hears you he'll definitely snitch."
"i've gotta get home anyway, i need to delete the message on the home phone from the school saying i've missed too many days." i grab my backpack.
"alright, well do you wanna do this again sometime?" he asks hopefully.
"yes, definitely." i smile at him. "oh wait." i grab a sharpie off the floor and reach for his arm.
"what are you doing?" he looks at me confused.
"my number." i answer, scribbling the numbers on his hand.
"you could have just put it in my phone." he laughs.
"yeah but that's no fun." i respond, heading up the stairs to the back exit.
"you're really something else, aren't you tate!" he calls after me as i slip out the back door. i shoot him one last smile before i close the door.
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A/N wow look at me posting the second chapter when i said i would. im trying to update this consistently lmao. as of right now the only people reading this are my friends so hi guys 😏😏 let me know what u think and vote + add please hehehe im working on chapter three soon so that'll be up hopefully by tomorrow. thanks for reading!