Jawbreakers and Glasses

Tire Swing

Yelling. That's all you could hear. The name calling, the bad mouthing, bringing up the past and voices raising. They were at it again and you couldn't take it anymore. Your parents fought more often than a healthy family should. You tried to focus on your homework or on the internet, or simply on the book you were reading until something loud had to divert your attention. You needed to get away, you needed to think, you just needed to breathe. And with that on your mind, you got your worn out (f/c) jacket, put the hoodie on and dashed out of the front door, your parents not even noticing this escape.

As you walked along the cul-de-sac, you wandered to a small run down park and found a tire swing hanging from the branch. Deciding that would be a place to calm down, you took refuge underneath mother nature's wooden pillars. Once you perched on the rubbery wheel, thunder cracked and rain poured, but you were to jumbled to even react to the sudden change of weather. Your mind began to cultivate the possibilities of the future of your family. Would there be a possible divorce? Will there be conflict on which school you will have to attend? And the schedule of who had you during the weekdays and the weekends, or maybe during breaks and during school hours.

Rain poured on you, drenching you through your layers of clothing as you sat in the oddly calming rain. Your mind was like a yarn a kitten had been playing with, slowly becoming undone and now confused on what to do and where to look. "Bunny." you heard. Gasping, your head shot up from its bowed position and looked in front of you until you saw a tall boy standing infront of you. Looking up, you saw the all too familiar cold eyes and black beanie. "Why the hell are you sitting in the rain for, especially on that dingy tire?" he asked as he stood under his umbrella. He looked slightly damped. Maybe he was surprised from the sudden rain as well.

"Oh, it's none of your concerns. Please don't mind me." you replied in a soft tone and looked away. You didn't want to bother him about your problems.

"I'll worry if I want to. And especially if my pet is sitting in the rain, literally asking to get sick." Edd replied as he leaned on the tree trunk. "So start talking." he demanded.

You sighed as you looked down at your worn down converse, scuffed with dirt and time. "Well," you began as you let out a breath of inner tension. "my parents are fighting more frequently than ever. Usually it would be about every month, but it just slowly decreased to every few weeks, every weekend, and almost everyday. I just- I dont know. I feel so jumbled up." you said and buried your face into your hands. There was a moment of silence, the rain beating on you and the ground. Maybe he had left? Did your story bore him? Was it too typical? Suddenly you felt the rain stop beating on your person, and you looked up to see that Edd had protected you from the rain. "Ever heard of getting earbuds? They work wonders." he mumbled. "Now come on. I dont want you getting sick and I have a feeling that our teacher is going to give us some pop quiz." He said as he held out a hand.

At first you were hesitant, but reluctantly put your small hands in his and he grasped it. Tiny shivers of pleasure wracked your body. You never knew his hands were so warm compared to the state you were in. "Jesus you're freezing." He grumbled as he pulled you closer. "I'm walking you home. And you better eat some soup and take some cold meds. I don't want to be the only one with a brain dealing with my mindless friends." He said as he dragged you along. You looked up at him and blushed. His facial features were strong, but at the same time, boyish and had room to develop graciously. He walked like a leader, yet at the same time, was somewhat of a follower. You blushed, but smiled at the thought that he took the time to listen to your problems and walk you home.

When you arrived at your front door, you walked on the step and turned around. "Thank you Edd." you said with a soft smile.

"I didnt do a god damn thing other than walk you home." he said, however you shook your head.

"No, thank you for listening to me. I know it may sound weird, but a lot of people tend to push me aside, or even not notice me at all. It- It feels nice to know that someone listened to my words." you blushed at the structure of your words. It almost sounded like you were confessing. Edd had the slightest of pink dusted on his pale face and he looked away. "Y-Yeah well...for you I'd let it slide." he mumbled. He then dug through his pockets and pulled out a pen and a paper and quickly wrote down something hand slipped it in your hand, along with something else that felt....stringy? You looked down at your palm to see a white wire earbuds that almost looked fresh out the box. "They're clean don''t worry about it." He assured you. "Im not like Ed that has ten years of gravy, earwax and sugar from cereal jammed in his god damn ear."

You smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Edd. I-I'll see you in school." you said softly and turned the doorknob to walk into your house. "Hey!" Edd called. Turning around, you saw him in the distance, almost close to his house. "Don't let whatever happens get to you alright!" he said, before walking away. You smiled and shook your head as you walked in. Gently closing the door, you leaned your dampened back against it and looked down at your palm. Curiosity struck you of what could be on the paper, so you decided to unfold it. The pink blush that had dusted your cheeks were now rosey. There, written in shockingly neat handwriting, was Edd's phone number. Reality hit you as you put the puzzle pieces together. The bad boy at your school....just gave you his number...and his earbuds. Your heart raced as memories of his hand being wrapped around your small one flashed in your mind and gently held that hand to your heart. (E/c) widened as you realized the conclusion; you had the biggest crush on the baddest boy in Peach Creak High.

Edd POV:

After telling her not to worry from the distance, I watched as her small frame entered the house and closed the door. I sighed as I walked back to my own living quarters and took off my shoes before walking up the carpeted stairs and floors. As I changed out of my usual wear into my pajamas, which consisted of baggy sweat pants and a thin white shirt, I flopped on the bed with my hands on the back of my head, supported by my pillow. I smiled as I looked at my hand that held hers. I never knew that hands could be this tiny for a girl of this age with everything healthy about her. But I also felt bad. She was sitting there alone in the rain and no one seemed to mind. I mean, yeah there are barely walkers that walk by here...god. Im actually glad that I had to walk home.

I snapped back into reality when I realized what I was doing. I was thinking about a girl. And not just any girl, (Y/n). She was nothing like i have seen before; too innocent for the world, yet it was refreshing to see that. I smiled and chuckled as I stared at the ceiling. "(Y/n) (L/n), what have you done to me?" I asked before closing my eyes and drifting off into sleep.