Deviating from the Norm (A "Freaks and Geeks" Fanfic)

Chapter 13 - Words of Weir-sdom

I pulled over on the side of the road right in front of Lindsay's house. After the midnight movie (which none of us liked. It was just too weird, no matter what language it was in), we made plans for me to drop the fender off in the early afternoon.

Mr. Weir greeted me at the door and helped me carry the piece of exterior shell into the garage.

"Say, you'll thank everyone for me, right? This'll look... nice." He was trying to sound pleasant, but I could hear disappointment faltering in his voice as he compared the cream-colored fender to the rest of his light-blue Buick.

"No, it won't," I laughed and he looked at me oddly for a second before cracking a smile and laugh of his own.

I told him we could paint it to match, or at least Daniel said we could, once we got the exact paint color of the rest of the car.

Though it was apparent that they had their apprehensions about the company their daughter kept, Lindsay's parents were very nice and welcoming people overall. Mrs. Weir kept asking if there was anything she could get me and Mr. Weir seemed extremely interested to know if I was looking for a part time job at his store. Her little brother, Sam, mainly kept to himself, but I would catch him studying me every now and then, as if he was trying to determine if I was going to freak out or something. I hung around the house for a while, getting my first real good look at it without waves of teenagers everywhere, before deciding to say my goodbyes and get on with my day.

Linds followed me out to my car and, upon spotting my camera equipment in the back seat, asked me where I was going.

"Oh, uh, nowhere in particular," I answered nervously, realizing what she had seen.

She looked a little disillusioned. "So you're not going to take some pictures or something? Kim says you have a really good eye."

My eyes widened. "She when? I mean, what did she say that? No- that-" Tongue-tied. I was irrevocably tongue-tied in surprise.

She began to laugh. "Whoa, calm down. It's not like she exposed you for being a superhero or something."

It wasn't the photography secret being out that I was really concerned with, but about what else Kim could have shared with her best friend.

"She, um, yeah. What else did she say about... anything?"

"I dunno," Lindsay smiled, "maybe we can talk about it on the way to nowhere in particular. Just hold on, I need to tell my parents I'm heading out with you and I'll be back later."

I sighed, inattentively clicking my tongue seconds later as I realized I had just been duped to some degree.

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"So, really, where are we going?"

I scratched my head as I pulled back onto the street while Lindsay buckled her seat belt. "I was gonna go to Belle Isle and spend a few hours there just taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. That cool with you?"

"Totally," she breathed, sounding pleased. "I've been boxed up at home for most of the week and going out anywhere sounds good. Last night was my first taste of freedom but, yeah, my parents don't know about that. Today my dad finally un-grounded me."

Our destination was about an hour away and on the way there we talked about nearly everything under the sun, switching subjects so fast it made my head spin sometimes. She felt bad about what she had said the day after the accident, but she was truly worried for some of us... she just could have thought of a more eloquent way to put it out there. Toward the end of our trip, just as we crossed MacArthur Bridge, she finally divulged what else Kim had shared with her. As it turned out, it really wasn't much. Lindsay pretty much heard the whole story about the day I dropped by to hand back IDs (what happened with Kim's parents, her stay at my house, the pot... hell, even Gracie) and, aside from the accompanied trip to the ER, there was no mention of the second event, the day of the regional finals. That was an immense relief to me.