COME MY WAY • RODRICK HEFFLEY

thirty ninth chapter

the moment rodrick had planned to step out of his home, he was instantly halted by the presence of a surprising visitor he never expected to see standing by his doorway. giselle aoki stood outside with a shy grin plastered on her face, it was quite evident in her look that she was well aware rodrick did not expect to see her at his house.

yet here she was, standing timidly at his doorway not exactly knowing what to do. zara had given her a proper talk that really got giselle thinking about rodrick. she loved his company and he made her feel comfortable, sure she was a little confused about those small special moments they had, but maybe it wasn't the right time to touch on them.

"giselle?" the boy finally spoke up, breaking the short silence they were in.

rodrick was more than ready to find giselle and let her know how he was feeling and that he wasn't going to treat her the wrong way. he knew there had to be a reason for her absence, so the moment she appeared at his doorstep he was ready to let it all out.

"hi?" she replied, fiddling with her phone as if she were nervous.

"hey," rodrick let out, surprised at how breathless he sounded.

the two of them both glanced at one another, not quite knowing the right words to say. they hadn't seen each other in a week and this sudden interaction was much harder for them to comprehend.

rodrick scratched the back of his neck, desperately thinking of something to say when giselle beat him to it. "can i come in?" she asked, hoping that the sound of people talking would ease the awkward tension.

rodrick stepped aside almost instantly, motioning for her to enter inside. he was still puzzled at what she was doing at his house and at the most random hour of the day. it was almost sunset and soon enough the sky would be painted orange and red as the night begins to cave in.

giselle stepped forward, being enveloped by the warmth of the heffley home. it looked cozier without all the party decorations up and the presence of hormonal teenagers. she could see the family photos hung up on the walls clearer and the sound of the television blaring softly reminded her of her own home.

"uh giselle, what brings you here?" rodrick questioned, a confused look still plastered on his face.

the girl turned to him, taking notice of how messy his hair looked and the bags under his eyes. he looked pretty, she couldn't deny that. "i wanted to hang out?" she replied, her tone coming off like a question.

rodrick chuckled seeing the shy look on her face and how awkwardly giselle stood by the doorframe. he felt a little relieved he wasn't the only one confused by this interaction.

"rodrick, i have another ide-" the enthusiastic voice of susan heffley joined in as she appeared by the entryway. her eyes popped out at the sight of the girl standing by their front door and rodrick mentally prayed to the universe that she wouldn't say the wrong thing.

giselle bit onto her lip, feeling even more nervous than earlier. she'd never formally met rodrick's mother before nor did she ever prepare herself for this occasion.

"hello!" susan exclaimed, waving her hand enthusiastically. "so lovely to meet you! i'm susan, rodrick's mother." she grinned, putting her hand out.

giselle grinned, taking her hand politely and forcing her insides to talk. she couldn't leave a bad impression and the last thing she needed was for her anxiety to make her seem rude. "uh hi, i'm giselle."

"giselle! wow," susan emphasised. "that's a beautiful name, you're rodrick's friend right?" she asked, winking giddily.

rodrick felt himself choke on his own spit as he held onto giselle's arm gently. there was no way he was going to let his mom rat him out like this. "okay now! that's enough mother, we shall be in my room." he rushed, starting to pull them away from his embarrassing mother.

"rodrick please make good choices!"

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the boy felt himself let out a sigh of relief when the coast was clear of his mother. rodrick should've known susan would still be the same invasive person she'd always been, but he knew deep down he had a soft spot for her no matter how much his mother bothered him.

rodrick's room was a mess as usual and giselle had already sat herself comfortably on the carpeted floor. surprisingly, she wasn't at all fazed by the clutter, as she sat there still fiddling around with her phone.

rodrick grinned at her before taking a sit right by giselle's side, both of them giving the other a small smile. he missed her face and the way her  eyes lit up every time he looked into them, rodrick was surprised at how poetic he had even begun to sound.

"i made a playlist," she spoke up, breaking the silence as she unlocked her phone.

"oh yeah?" rodrick replied, settling himself comfortably next to her as they both leaned back on the bed's sides. "60s love songs?"

giselle shook her head no, as she opened up her spotify app. "actually, it's about the smiths."

rodrick's eyes lit up at the mention of one of his favorite bands. "the smiths." he emphasized, grinning at her.

she pulled at her earphones, plugging it in and placing one in her ear. "yup, i spent this afternoon making it." giselle smiled. "i know we haven't spoken for a bit and i'm sorry, i've just been thinking a lot and i shouldn't have left you in the dark—" she felt herself get cut off by the warmth of rodrick's palm on top of hers.

"it's okay," he interrupted, giving her a reassuring smile. "you had your reasons."

"why are you so..." she trailed off, looking into his eyes as she tried to think of the words to say. "understanding, i thought you'd  be mad at me.."

rodrick chuckled breaking their eye contact. "mad at you? what do you want me to do, gi?" he giggled.

giselle grinned to herself, handing rodrick the other earphone as she sighed. "i just want you to listen to this playlist with me."

his lips curved into the biggest smile and all rodrick could think of in that moment was how much those words meant to him. as if giselle knew what to say in the moment.

he took the earphone and placed it in his ear, as they both began to hear the familiar tunes of This Charming Man blast out.

the sun had started to descend, painting the sky into a beautiful flaming color from the view of rodrick's tiny bedroom window. the two teenagers finding comfort in the presence of the other....

"i could never get mad at you, gi."

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