"Valerie Wheeler, I really did not expect this from you. Starting a food fight? I'm disappointed." Mrs Peters sighs.

Eddie, Gareth and I had managed to get a detention for the food fight in the cafeteria, which was expected. I'm not really sure why Gareth was there, all he did was throw a carrot.

"Sorry to interject but technically it was me who started the food fight." Eddie corrects her with a smile.

"Just go sit down." she shakes her head and points towards the desks.

I sat down at a desk towards the back, Eddie sat next to me and Gareth sat on the other side of Eddie.

It was only us in the room which didn't make sense because there was at least 20 other students involved in the food fight, it seemed like favouritism that only Hellfire members were punished.

Gareth raised his hand, earning a sigh from Mrs Peters.

"Can I ask why I'm here?" Gareth tilts his head.

"Because you, along with these two delinquents, took part in a food fight. Absolutely immature behaviour."

"He threw one carrot." I tell her, trying to come across calmly but in reality I was trying to hold down a laugh.

"It wasn't even a big carrot, it was one of those small, soft ones. What are they called?" Eddie begins to look like he's deep in thought.

"Baby carrots. I threw a baby carrot." Gareth nods.

Mrs Peters looked tired of everything, she didn't have the strength to argue, she really just could not be bothered.

"A small, innocent baby carrot." I turn to Gareth with a frown, shaking my head in disapproval.

"Gareth, you're staying here whether you like it or not. And as for you, Valerie, I believe you're mixing in with the wrong crowd." Mrs Peters sits down at her desk, "Get some homework out."

I reached down into my backpack to grab my literature homework, all I had to do was annotate a few chapters of a book.

"Personally, I think it's inappropriate for a teacher to tell a student who they should or shouldn't be friends with." I say aloud as I mindlessly start highlighting parts of my book.

"My apologies, Valerie. I was simply trying to express my concerns." Mrs Peters apologises.

I watch as Eddie pulls an instrument out of his backpack, it was a recorder. I didn't know he played the recorder.

"Mrs Peters, my homework is to practice playing songs on my recorder, can I start playing it or is that not allowed?" Eddie asks.

"Fine, go ahead."

Eddie begins to play his recorder absolutely terribly, just completely off tune and shaky. I glanced at Gareth in horror, I saw he had his head on the desk and was silently laughing.

"Jesus, good thing you're practicing." I said, holding in my laughter.

I knew how good Eddie was with instruments, he was obviously playing it badly to annoy Mrs Peters, I went along with it.

He then started playing the highest note he could, and he started holding this note. It was the worst sound I'd ever heard, Gareth was practically crying with laughter at this point.

"All of you, just go home. I'm getting a god damn migraine." Mrs Peters sighs.

We all grabbed our stuff immediately and followed Eddie out of the room while he was still playing his recorder like he was the pied piper.

I think that was the shortest detention I'd ever had, what was that? Four minutes at most?

"Wheeler, I'm gonna head back to Gareth's place, you wanna come?" Eddie asks.

"Only if you stop playing that recorder."

...

Eddie, Gareth and I were all laying next to each other on Gareth's bedroom floor talking about the future and other random philosophical bullshit that we were too tired to give better answers for.

My arm was starting to go numb from a lack of movement so I stretched before letting it rest on the carpet again. I must've missed because my hand landed on something else.

Eddies thigh.

"Oh." he raises his eyebrows in surprise, smiling as he sees my hand's placement.

I move my hand back to the floor as soon as I realise.

"Sorry, I thought that was the floor." I laugh it off awkwardly.

"No need to apologise." he says under his breath, almost too quietly for me to hear but I still heard it.

We keep having moments like this where we're flirting but not really flirting, just pushing at the border between platonic and romantic. It's confusing, I never know whether he's actually trying to flirt with me or whether that's just his personality. It sucks.

It sucks because I think I like him. In a more than friends way.

I wasn't sure because I'd never really felt like that towards anyone before, and sure, I'd had little crushes like Chris Campbell but that was never serious. This feels serious.

"Hold on, I've gotta go feed my cats. I'll be back." Gareth quickly hops up and leaves the room.

And then it's just me and Eddie alone. Thanks, Gareth.

I sit up, and Eddie grabs my hand.

"Wait, stay." he looks up at me before sitting up himself, "I wanna say something."

"I wasn't going anywhere." I laugh quietly, he's always so clingy.

I've realised he hasn't let go of my hand, my eyes flick down to our intertwined hands and then back up to his eyes, something was different, not off, just different. He just seemed more vulnerable, like he wanted to be serious for the first time in his life.

"Um, fuck, I'm not great with words but I've been meaning to say this for a while so just... bear with me." he begins.

There was one thing I wanted him to say, but I knew he wasn't going to say it. That didn't stop me from hoping.

"I just wanted to say thank you- for giving me a chance and being my friend. I don't really make new friends like... ever, because no one wants to be friends with the freak, but you did for some reason, and I don't know- I've just been way happier since we met. So... thank you." he smiles softly.

He's never really opened up to me like this, it was extremely bittersweet. My heart swelled a little hearing that he felt that way because I felt the same, I'd been happier since meeting him, in fact I don't think I've ever been happier. It might sound dramatic but it's true.

"Eddie-" I was about to start talking but he cut me off.

"You have glitter on your cheek, come here." he laughed,

And then I was half laying, half sitting, the upper half of my body propped up by my elbow resting on the ground. I moved closer to him and he brushed his thumb against my cheek to get the glitter off, but he didn't move his thumb away. Instead his fingers rest just under my jaw as he stared up at me through half lidded eyes.

Oh.

My eyes flicked down to his, and I was met by a gentle smile but there was nervousness in his expression. For the first time, I knew he could feel the tension too. I watched his eyes move down to my lips, my body relaxed as I let myself shift a little closer to him, we were stuck in a comfortable silence.

The old Valerie would've made a move by now but I'd lost my confidence, or maybe I hadn't. One wrong move could ruin my friendship with Eddie, and I couldn't lose my only friend. Not now, not ever.

All I knew was that I wanted to kiss him. I really wanted to.

But I couldn't do anything in case I was interpreting the situation differently than he was. He had just been telling me what a great friend I am, it wasn't my move to make.

"Okay, I'm back guys." Gareth came strolling back into the room.

So nothing happened.

I pulled away from Eddie and laid back down next to him, facing Gareth this time as I processed everything.

If I looked at Eddie I'd be reminded that nothing happened. And maybe nothing will ever happen.

☆ ☆ ☆

thought i'd be nice and give u guys two updates in one day 💪

valerie finally admitting that she might like eddie 🤦🏻‍♀️ that "unfamiliar feeling" she had during the forest chapter was literally her getting butterflies bc of eddie she's so oblivious i can't

also ty for all the funny comments i do read them all btw 🙏🙏🙏🙏