The Incomparable Edie Wells

“I can't believe it,” Maggie mumbles into her fruit salad dejectedly the next day, her hair threatening to immerse itself in her food.

“Can't believe what?” Parker asks through a mouthful of hamburger. He may be a nerd, but he's still a guy... and thanks to Rhett and my dad, I know all too well how guys eat. I wrinkle my nose as pieces fly out of his mouth.

Maggie slams her hand down on the table so hard that I shrink back a little. “Edie is freaking number twenty on the List, and we're still sitting at the loser table!”

Besides a few envious – and slightly offended, which they have a right to be – looks from the occupants of nearby tables – computer nerds, band geeks, and those science people that always smell oddly sterile – she gets no response. I swallow a laugh and put on a somewhat straight face.

“Like I haven't been harassed by other people today,” I mutter, hiding my face in my hands.

The first day back at school was... Well, for lack of a better description, it was like the day I cut my hair so short at the beginning of freshman year that half the population thought I was a guy. I walked down that hallway just before first period and no one knew what to make of me – no idea how to talk, to stand, to act around me. Like I'm some kind of alien.

It really, really sucks.

I mean, sure, all these freshmen bombarded me this morning in the girl's bathroom (an upperclassman's bathroom, nonetheless, so I have no idea how they got there) and asked me what kind of perfume I wore to get Levi to like me. And, okay, I did see the threatening notes a select popular slid into my locker for bumping her out of the Top 20. And, yeah, I avoided Anna Smith at all costs.

What was the point again?

“Hey, Edie,” a distinctly feline voice purrs behind me, sending chills down my back. “Why don't you come sit with us?”

I swallow hard and glance up at Anna. Her hair's pulled back into a sharp ponytail at the base of her neck with a ribbon dangling through the stark black strands, and she's got this smile on her face that kinda reminds me of predatory cats on those Animal Planet programs that Rhett secretly likes to watch. Like these lions that have it set in their minds that they want that zebra, or whatever, and they'll do whatever it takes to sink their teeth into its neck. I shudder at the thought.

I glance over at Maggie, who's staring at Anna with wide, surprised eyes. “Sure!” she squeaks, something totally unlike her, “That'd be awesome!”

Anna just looks at her like she's a bug that someone else stepped on. “I was, um, talking to Edie,” she says sweetly, sounding like she wasn't trying to offend Maggie even though I know for a fact that she is.

My jaw drops slightly, but I don't say anything. It's as if my body's frozen, and all I can do is watch as my best friend scrambles for her words.

“I – um – I know – oh, I – I just – I meant -” Maggie's face turns pale before turning a stunning shade of red, all within a span of, like, three seconds.

Anna just ignores her, like she's not even there, struggling for words that will impress her. I have a nagging feeling that maybe nothing will.

“So? How 'bout it, Edie?” Anna purrs, examining her perfect fingernails.

I swallow hard and try not to look anywhere in the direction of my friends. “I – um – sure?”

I'm about to get up and move tables, under the piercing glare of Parker's emerald eyes, when another voice stops me. I know the voice well, and I can feel my heart speed up just from that noise alone.

“Sorry, Anna, but Edie and I already planned on getting coffee at lunch today,” Levi says smoothly, coming up behind me and effortlessly wrapping an arm around my waist. His touch leave a warm feeling in my chest, a happy feeling – I can't help the smile that spreads across my face.

Anna rolls her eyes. Her ponytail twitches. “Aw, how cute,” she muses, though I can see her heavily-mascaraed eyes narrow just slightly. “My bad, bro.”

I could almost cut the tension with a knife, it's so think. I know Anna doesn't like me – why else would she be so hostile towards me? – so the fact that Levi had shown any interest at all was major news to the whole school – and is probably the reason for my current rank. No, not probably. It is.

“No problem, sis.” Levi's tone is more mocking than malicious. “Not your fault I've already made plans with my girlfriend.”

There's a pause, and I can almost hear everyone's jaws fall – including mine.

“Girlfriend?” everyone at the table – Maggie, Parker, Anna, myself, and a few of Anna's clones – repeats, some with malice and some with, well, just shock.

“What the hell?” Parker hisses, pushing himself out of his chair and facing Levi. The look on his face is one that I rarely see in Parker – pure, unadulterated hatred. It's all I can do to stare at him in awe for a few seconds.

“When did that happen?” Maggie squeals, a smile spreading across her face despite the fact that Anna – who had just humiliated her – was related to Levi.

“Girlfriend?” I repeat stupidly, not having heard anyone but Levi say anything.

Levi just looks down at me and smiles, a genuine smile – my heart melts, again. His grip on my waist tightens, and I can just barely see a pinkish tint cover his cheeks, like he's shy about it. I have the urge to hug him back and go 'awww!'.

“Yeah...” he mumbles, his face getting another shade pinker. “Not really how I planned on asking you, but... Edie, will you be my girlfriend?”

-[-]-

“I absolutely hate you,” Maggie laughs, shoving Parker's elbow and therefore making him lose whatever game the two of them are playing.

I chuckle and look back down at my math homework – which I've spent an hour trying to do, and I'm only on the first problem.

Find the area of a circle that is cut from a sphere three inches from the center...

I groan and toss the book to the other end of the couch, hoping that Parker's dog will come and eat it, like he did Park's history final project last year. He actually brought in photographic proof that his dog had ripped the thing apart in a matter of minutes. I blame Parker for building the pyramid out of dog biscuits.

“I absolutely hate homework,” I mutter under my breath.

Maggie just shakes her head, laughing, as the words GAME OVER flash across the screen. She glances at the clock and pulls herself up, flattening her skirt down and inspecting it for wrinkles. “Alright, as fun as it is to kick Parker's ass at Mario Kart, my mom will flip if I don't get home for dinner.” She rolls her eyes as she picks up her books and purse. “Something about not wanting to loose touch with me, or something. If she'd learn how to cook anything but boxed macaroni and cheese, I'd eat at home more often.”

I giggle. “Later, Mags!”

“See ya, Maggie,” Parker says, concentrating more on his game console than anything.

I hear Maggie's heels stomping up the stairs, and suddenly I'm aware of the fact that I'm alone, with Parker, in his basement.

It's never bothered me before – why should it now? It might have something to do with the fact that I'm someone's girlfriend now. Levi. The fact made my heart beat faster, and my hands get all sweaty, and I think about the fact that someone had finally said that they really liked me the way that I liked them. It felt nice, I guess... to be wanted.

“How's the homework coming?” Parker asks, finally turning the television back on to normal channels.

I shrug, folding my arms over my chest. “Okay, I guess, it's just -”

Only, I get distracted my what's on the screen.

“Hercules? I love that movie!”

Parker glances at the screen in amusement before looking back at me. “Isn't that a Disney movie?”

I nod, hopping off the couch and dancing along with the song. “You're way off base, I won't say it! Get off my case, I won't say it!”

Parker stands up and catches me in the middle of a twirl, and I put my arms around his neck to steady myself.

My eyes widen at how close we are – Parker's face is a lot closer than I expect. His expression mirrors my own as his arms remain frozen, unmoving, on my hips.

“At least, out loud, I won't say I'm in... Love.” I finish softly, my voice barely above a whisper.

We just stand there, neither of us daring to make a move, for what seems like hours. I can faintly hear the movie playing in the background, but all I can pay attention to is the expression of surprise and something else I don't recognize on Parker's face, and the way his hands seem to fit perfectly on my hips, and the fact that his lips are just a few inches away...

My eyes widen. I can't think about that – I'm someone's girlfriend now. Someone who's not Parker. Parker's my best friend, for crying out loud! I can't think about him like that when I'm dating one of the most popular boys in school! Why would I think about Park like that anyway?

I mean, besides the fact that he's been there for me ever since we were awkward little kids in middle school. He's my best friend, because he always seems to know what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, what to do to make me feel even better. And standing here, staring up into those emerald eyes...

… I can only wonder what he's thinking.

“Edie,” he breathes, his eyes flicking form my eyes, to my lips, and back again. “There's something you need to know...”

Still in a trance, I ask, “What is it?”

He leans down, ever so slowly. His lips are coming closer to mine, and all I can think is Holy crap, I'm about to kiss Parker, my best friend, even though I already have a boyfriend, but I don't care.

I don't care.

And then, as if the universe really does hate me, Parker's dog, Chewy, bounds down the stairs and flings himself at me, excited to see me for the first time in, oh, three days.

I exhale as the golden retriever knocks the wind out of me, pinning me to the ground. His nose nudges my hand, trying to get me to pet him. Once I recover from the shock, I just laugh it off and lightly push the dog off of me.

“Chewy! Stop! Get off!” I laugh, since all I'd managed to do was get him to start licking my face.

“Chew,” Parker orders sternly.

The dog's ears pin to his head and he gets off, allowing me to stand up. “Sorry about that,” Parker mumbles, his cheeks turning pink.

I shake my head. “It's fine.” I brush my hair out of my eyes, suddenly feeling the serious mood settle back down. “Um, what were you going to say? Something I needed to know?”

He looks up from his feet. “Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it.”