RUMORS•eddie munson

4

Ziggy wore her hair up every single day. Eddie thought about that sometimes. Everything about her was always so pristine and proper that she literally wouldn't even let her hair down, sit back, and relax. He sat at his desk, leaning over his arms and looking at Ziggy sitting two seats over from him. Her head was tilted down to look closely at the test she had just finished in search of any mistakes she may have made. Eddie's eyes scanned over her appearance; a short skirt with black tights and thick socks that lead up to the plain ,white, long sleeved shirt she had tucked in. Her long braid laid delicately over her shoulder and hung at her collarbone, but it seemed as though nothing could sleek down her bangs that brushed against her brow bone. He knew that he was meant to be focused on his first big test after studying for weeks, but he had something else on his mind.
Ziggy stood from her seat and placed her finished test on the teachers desk and waited for him to run it through the scantron. Mr Miller valued education, but he was also a generally decent man. He simply gave Ziggy a thumbs up, letting her know that she had a passing grade. When a short boy with glasses handed his paper in and Miller sent him and tight lipped frown, he knew that he would need to make it up with extra credit. Ziggy had made it back to her seat, sitting softly as to not disturb the students still testing. She pulled a book out from beneath her desk and set it in front of her before turning to look at Eddie, only to find him already looking at her. His widened eyes made Ziggy furrow her brows. 'He must be nervous' she thought. She nodded her head softly and sent him an encouraging thumbs up. Eddie eyed her as her braid fell to her back. He swallowed thickly and met her eyes. Ziggy looked at the clock with a panicked expression and sent Eddie a wide eyed glare, tapping her watch to warn him of how quickly the time was dwindling. Eddie looked at the clock before hurriedly turning to the next page in his packet. By the time the bell sounded, Eddie had filled in the last bubble. The rest of the class, having finished already, shot from their seats and hurried out the door. Ziggy trailed behind them, swinging around the doorway and planting her feet at the hallway entrance. Mr Miller did a small double take as Eddie stood in front of him. On normal test days, Eddie would place his test on the desk and turn around, plopping down in his seat without missing a beat. He never cared to wait for his test score because he knew it wasn't good and didn't feel like dealing with the complete and utter weight of stupidity and failure for the rest of his day. When Mr Miller sent him a small smile with an exaggerated thumbs up, failure is far from what he felt.
Eddie loudly clapped his hands aggressively and turned on his heel, snatching his belongings from off the ground and bolting out the door. He pivoted to the right as soon as he spotted Ziggy standing there waiting for him, snatching her by the waist and pulling her into his body with a spin. Ziggy flinched at his abrupt appearance but gripped his jacket tightly with one hand when he picked her up and spun her, making her left shoe fall off of her foot and tumble a few feet away awkwardly.
"I passed! He gave m- oh shit." Eddie awkwardly set her down with a smile and scrambled to pluck her shoe off of the ground as she stood on one foot, refusing to dirty her white socks. She smiled down at him as he dramatically kneeled before her, holding her shoe with both hands and a bright smile.
"M'lady." He mused. Ziggy placed her hand on his shoulder and quickly slipped her foot in the shoe, nearly falling over when he shot up to his feet again.
"Congratulations! I told you everything would be fine." She smiled brightly as he pulled her smaller hand from his shoulder and pulled her softly by the wrist, bringing her close enough to swing his arm over her shoulders and guide her down the hall.
"My attempt would have been for nought without the help of you, my dear Cinderella." He squeezed her shoulder, lightly shaking her from side to side. Ziggy looked up at him with a grin. His smile hadn't faltered once.
"No way, this was all your doing." He looked down at her with an expectant smirk. Ziggy's eyes squinted up at him, making his smirk grow.
"What?" She spat, not looking where she was going. Eddie looked forward with a dreamy sigh, quickly pulling Ziggy to the side before she could run into someone before continuing down the hall.
"Well, I think it's time for a celebration." Ziggy hugged her book tighter to her chest with a chuckle.
"Yeah! Yeah, you should." She trailed off.
"Oh I'm definitely celebrating tonight!" Ziggy's eyes shifted towards him through her lashes, confused at where this was going. Eddie swung his head down to look her directly in the eyes again.
"Are you asking for my permission? Because I really don't care what you do outside of-"
"I'm asking for your participation." Eddie finally stopped walking, pulling her with him to the side of the hall. It was only then that Ziggy realized that he had walked her to her locker. He let his hand fall from her shoulder, barely dragging it down her back as he dropped it.
"Come watch us play." He smiled nervously as he leaned his back against the locker next to hers. Ziggy tilted her head in apprehension.
"It's a Friday." She reminded him. "I spend every night, Sunday through Thursday with you. Now you want Friday night, too?" She softly teased.
"I'm working my way towards the whole week."
"I need to study."
"It's Thanksgiving break. We don't have school for another week and a half."
"I work."
"No, you work Saturday and Sunday mornings." Ziggy slowly turned to him, resting a hand on her hip. Eddie sighed, pushing off the locker and taking a step closer to her.
"I don't know." She mumbled.
"Come on! I deserve a little treat! I've been a good boy-"
"Yes, you've been a very well behaved mutt, but-"
"So, throw me a bone." He put his hands on her shoulders, bending down to look at her. Ziggy looked down at the ground to avoid his gaze. Eddie's smile faded slightly.
"Do you not wanna hang out with me? Or are you worried my band sucks or something?" Ziggy raised her head in alarm.
"No no no! It's not that! it's just..." she trailed off, struggling to find the words. Her gaze wandered to her passing classmates, some giving her odd looks. Eddie squeezed her shoulders two times fast, pulling her attention back to him. He gave her a small reassuring smile.
"You play at some bar, right?" Eddie shrugged, nodding his head with a smile, not seeing the big idea. Ziggy choked on her words for a moment.
"I just don't know if that's, like, for me." She whispered, making Eddie lean in closer with narrowed eyes.
"What, like, not your style?" Ziggy swallowed, nodding her head with a shift of her feet. Eddie chuckled.
"That's fine. No one cares." He reassured.
"Am I even allowed to be there?"
"Sure! You're with the band." Ziggy's cheeks heated up at the thought. She still looked unsure.
"Look, if you really Don't wanna go-"
"No! I'll go." Eddie released his grip on her, stepping back with a smile.
"You'll go?" Ziggy inhaled sharply with a nod. Eddie smiled widely, nodding his head once with a clap of his hands as he looked her up and down.