Chapter 4 Sloane
Sloane
My motivations are purely selfish. I can recognize that, and I’m okay with it. Either Eden and I will bond and something will come of our time together, or I’ll just help a classmate get a little healthier. I’m really hoping the first scenario pans out.
“This is a very convoluted way of getting to know her, Sloane. You could just ask her out, save everyone some time.”
Becca is right, of course, but like I said before, Eden is different. I want to get to know her before asking her out. I get the feeling she doesn’t know how attractive and interesting she is. Plus, I kind of like it when she gets all flustered and blurts things out.
“Convoluted, but right, Becs.”
She licks the nacho dust off her fingers. “It’s just, I don’t see how making her do the one thing she clearly fucking hates is going to get her to fall madly in love with you and make sweet virginal love to you before college.”
Becca gets a throw pillow to the face. “It’s not about that. Sure, I’d love it if we were to go on a date. I think I’ve pined long enough, but there’s more to it than that.”
It’s not my place to tell Becca about Eden’s asthma and what happened in the UK. If she wanted people to know she’d have said something, probably three years ago when Porter started his campaign of irritation.
“Trust me, Becca, I know what I’m doing.”
I hope.
Now I need to come up with a plan that suits Eden and my schedule.
I may have overreached slightly. Not only do I have a ton of homework, but I have practice with the cheer squad nearly every day.
It doesn’t leave much time for the 5k training, but I’m determined to fit it in.
We could go for walks before school, or even on the weekends.
Oh shit, I’m also going to have to fit in art classes too. Looks like I’ll be getting less sleep this year, but that’s fine. If it means Eden and I get to spend more alone time together, it’s a fair trade-off.
“So when is your first date?”
“Not a date. Not yet anyway. I’m thinking we could walk to school together.”
Becca sits up, looking at me like I’ve just killed her dog. “You’re ditching me?”
“No. I’m trying to fit everything in.”
“Sloane. Our drive to school is sacred.”
She’s ridiculous. “Becca, you aren’t awake for our drive to school. We sit silently until you have a bucket of coffee inside you.”
“It’s still our thing,” she huffs, snatching back the chip bag and shoving her hand back inside.
“You’re pissy because it means you’ll have to drive yourself instead of napping in the passenger seat.”
“I resemble that remark.”
Laughing, I refocus on my planner. Eden will need to agree, and for that I need to speak to her. Tomorrow I’ll ask for her number.
“Girls, dinner is served.”
“Yes!” Becca claps. “I love your mom’s meatballs.”
She’s out of the room before I’ve even had time to turn around.
“How was school, honey?” Mom asks as soon as I sit down. Becca is already face deep in spaghetti. I’ve never met anyone who eats like her.
“Good.”
“Gee valked iv Edn.”
Both Mom and I stare at Becca, who looks like a hamster. She’s got sauce all around her face.
Mom chuckles. She’s used to Becca’s less than impeccable table manners. “Sorry, sweetie, could you repeat that?”
Becca swallows and licks her lips. “She walked with Eden.”
There was no need for the eye wiggle.
My face heats as Mum smiles and turns to me. “So, how did it go?”
“Good. I convinced her to train with me. I also convinced Mr. Porter to let Eden catch up on her studies in gym class next semester if she manages a five-kilometer run before Spring.”
“Wow, that’s impressive, baby.” Mom squeezes my upper arm affectionately. I’m not sure it’s normal for a parent to congratulate their kid on getting another student out of class, but hey, she’s team #Sloanden. Yes, I’ve shipped us.
“Sloane can talk anyone into anything, Mrs. B,” Becca says through a mouthful of bread.
“She gets that from me.” Mom grins, winking. “What’s your next step then? It’s a big ask, getting her to run that far in such a small amount of time.”
I sit taller. “I have every faith. I’m going to see if she’ll start walking to school with me.”
“Sloane, she lives on the other side of town,” Becca says, twirling an enormous amount of spaghetti around her fork.
“She does, but if I drive over, we can walk together from her place.”
Dropping her loaded fork, Becca pins me with another stare laced with betrayal. She’s so dramatic.
“You’re ditching me after school too?”
“No,” I begin softly. “If Eden doesn’t want to walk back with me, you can drive me to her house and I can pick up my car. We’ll still hang out.”
“I still say it would be easier if you just asked her on a date,” Becca mumbles.
“It’s not just about that,” I say, a little defensively.
Becca rolls her eyes.
Mom senses the rising tension. “Make sure you’re not stretching yourself too thin, honey.”
“I won’t, I promise.” Hopefully that’s a promise I can keep. “And Becs, we will still be together for cheer, and nearly all of our classes.”
With a sigh, she nods. “I know, I’m just being a little extra. My period is due and I’m feeling sensitive.”
Ugh, I feel her pain.
“Want to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine and eat ice cream?”
“I love you.” She grins, stuffing a meatball in her mouth.
“I’ll make popcorn,” Mom says. “But only if you eat all your dinner.”
It’s a running joke. Nothing stops Becca from finishing her plate, and mine usually.
Eden is by her locker when I finally find her. It’s lunchtime, and I have roughly ten minutes before I have to get to the football field. We’re doing a run through of our routine for the opening match on Friday. I’m buzzed for it.
“Eden.”
She turns to me, looking surprised. Damn, she’s cute.
“Um, hey, Sloane.” She looks up and down the corridor like she’s expecting me to suddenly realize I’ve made a mistake and it wasn’t her I wanted to talk to.
“So, I have a schedule worked out. I wondered if you’d like to go over it after school?”
“Not a nightmare then,” she mutters to herself, stuffing a book in her bag. She has stickers covering the inside of her locker. I spot the Arcane one immediately. I will be bringing that up at a later date, for sure. “Sure, where do you wanna meet?”
“Do you like burgers?”
“If they’re veggie,” she says.
Eden’s a vegetarian? How didn’t I know that? “They sell veggie burgers.”
She surveys my face for a moment before answering, “Sure. Meet here?”
I nod. She’s not a woman of many words, but I hope to change that as we get to know each other.
Smiling, I wave like a dork before retreating.
My heart is doing a little hop skip as I walk away, adding some sway to my hips.
I’ve no idea if she’s watching, but on the off chance she is, I want to give her something to think about.
The squad is already on the field warming up.
We’ve practiced the routine relentlessly in the gym, now we just have to get it right out here.
The good thing about run-throughs is we attract a fair amount of people to the bleachers.
Some are bored and have nothing better to do.
Some, like Harvey, want to perv, and others are a little in awe.
They’re usually the kids who want to be on the squad but never had the courage to try out.
Whatever their reason, it’s good for us.
It’s not quite the atmosphere of the game, but it gets us pumped.
“We fucking rocked it,” Becca cries after the third run through with no errors. The squad high-fives and hugs.
Clapping loudly, I draw their attention. “That was awesome! I couldn’t be happier. We’re ready.”
Daniella, one of my flyers, high-fives me. “Best team ever, S!”
Smiling widely, I go around each of the team members and either high-five or fist bump them. We are a solid squad, the best Holcroft has seen in decades.
Turning to grab my bag, I’m surprised to see Eden leaning against the bleachers, watching. She catches my eye and gives a two-fingered wave. It shouldn’t affect me like it does. But tell that to the warm feeling in my abdomen.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I smile back. I’m just about to head over when Trent and Mikey, the squad’s base pair, haul me up on their shoulders.
“Put me down.” I laugh. They continue to chant the school’s motto, carrying me back to the gym. My eyes shift back to Eden, who is still watching, but her expression looks tight. After a beat, she sighs and leaves.
When my feet finally touch the ground again, she’s nowhere to be seen. It doesn’t matter though because I’ll see her later, and I’ll hopefully get her number.
The afternoon’s classes drag by. Algebra is the fucking worst. Becca spends the entire time doodling on her book and I gaze out of the window. I’ll be lucky if I get a C at the end of the year.
“Ready to meet the lovely Eden?” Becca whispers in my ear, five minutes before the end of class.
“It’s just a quick meet-up to go over the schedule.”
“Uh-huh. So do you want me to wait for you then?”
I bite my lip. “Um…no, you can go. I’ll walk or—”
“Ask sexy Eden to drive you home while you watch her be all dark and mysterious?”
“She’s neither of those things.” A little mysterious, I suppose.
Becca giggles. “She’s both of those, and you are a pile of mush around her.”
Saved by the bell.
Clearing away my books, I hoist my backpack over my shoulder and take a calming breath. Becca smacks me on the ass and gives me a wink.
Eden is exactly where I found her at lunch, although this time she’s leaning against her locker with one foot resting on the metal. Her hair drapes in front of her face, obscuring her features. I wonder if she does it on purpose to keep the world out.
“Ready,” I ask, far too cheerfully.
Kicking off the locker, she grabs her backpack and nods. “Yeah, um…I have my car.”
“Good, because I don’t. Becca drove me.”
“Right, so…”
“Let’s go.” Ugh, it feels weird and stilted and I don’t know how to change it. I’m the cheer captain, for fuck’s sake. I know how to communicate. Except with Eden, it seems.
Eden has a beat-up truck. The paint job is rusting, but it’s in pretty good shape. She looks at me and then back at her truck.
“Sorry, um, it’s old.”
Ah, she thinks I’m judging her. “It’s nice. I like it.”
She cocks her eyebrow. “Sure. Okay, where are we going?”
I tell her about my favorite burger place, which is close to my house. It’s relatively new, which is why it offers veggie and vegan options. Every other place in town is solely cow-based.
Eden looks around the restaurant with trepidation. I feel like I’m messing this up, but I don’t know how.
“All the food is good here,” I say, hoping to encourage some sort of conversation.
She looks at the menu. “I’ll just have the plain veggie burger,” she replies quietly.
We place the order and sit silently again.
“So, shall we go over my plan?”
After a gulp of water, she nods and finally looks at me. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”
“Nope. Especially not after securing your release next semester.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Shut the fuck up. Porter agreed?”
Her voice is several octaves higher than its natural gravelly tone. I laugh because she’s too cute. “He did. I think he was in shock.”
“That’s fair.” She grins. “So let me get this straight. If I manage to do this bloody 5k run, I get out of gym for the whole of next semester.”
“Yup. You’ll have passed gym, and will have time to catch up on any other homework during the class.”
“Well, shit, that’s awesome.”
Now it feels more natural. Eden cursing and using her British slang means she’s back to herself again.
I lean forward. “But you actually have to do the run first.”
The joy on her face recedes at an alarming rate, making me laugh out loud. “Bollocks.”
The server places our food on the table and leaves.
Eden stabs her fries in sauce before nibbling on them.
I’m transfixed on her mouth. How she’s not realized I’ve got a massive crush on her is almost laughable.
The closer I am to her physically the more blatant I am, and not on purpose. It’s completely involuntary.
“Go on then,” she suddenly says, jerking me from my reverie. “Explain the torture you’ve devised.”
“God, you’re as dramatic as Becca. Relax.”
“I’ll say the same to you when you’re learning to paint,” she shoots with a playful smirk.
“And I’ll listen.”
We spend a few seconds staring at each other, and I get butterflies. Eden breaks contact first, slipping her gaze back to her food.
Clearing my throat, I rattle off my plan. “It’s really just a lot of walking to begin with.”
“Won’t it kinda be out of your way, coming over in the morning?”
“It’s no big deal. I think it’s the best way to maximize our time.”
“You want to start tomorrow?”
I was going to suggest Monday, but I’m more than happy to start early. “Sure.”
She looks at me again with inquisitive eyes. “I don’t know how you’ve got me agreeing to this, Sloane. Really, I don’t.”
The smile blooms on my face before I can get my features under control. “I’m gifted that way.”
“Or a witch,” she says, narrowing her eyes.
Sniggering, I wipe my face to give my hands something to do. “Call it witchcraft, or natural talent, either way you’re doing it. I should probably get your number. In case of emergencies or changes in the schedule.”
That was smooth, right?
Eden pulls her cell out and hands it over. Her wallpaper is a paint splash of rainbow colors. Opening her contacts, I add my info and press save.
“I’ll message myself.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I have Eden’s number. Holy shit.