The Fast Times

She likes to be called Cy. Like the letter C. She hated the jokes that people made of her name; Nightmare On Elm Street jokes. But, she loves her name because she's named after her mom. So, when Nancy shook Pete's hand formally, she said, "Call me Cy; C-Y."

"Cy?" Pete hummed, "Why?"

She giggled before answering; "My friends call me Cy because it's faster than Nancy. And," she began with a roll of her eyes as their hands dropped, "I hate those stupid Nightmare on Elm Street jokes. Do you know how many times I hear "No running in the halls, Nancy! Where's your pass?" a day?"

Pete couldn't help but to chuckle, "Oh, I see. I didn't even think of that."

Nancy smiled at him, "That's because you've never seen that movie or you are a sweetheart."

Pete couldn't help but to blush. He cleared his throat, "Uh, you can just call me Pete...or Wentz. Everyone calls me Wentz."

Nancy gave a nod, "Wentz is a cool last name, by the way."

Pete didn't have anything to say.

"Where's your date?" Nancy asked after a moment of awkward silence.

Pete cleared his throat again, "Oh uh, I uh, came alone."

"Me too," she breathed, feeling less of a loser for attending a school dance by herself. "I'm the third wheel, actually."

"All my friends think school dances are lame."

Nancy nodded in agreement, "They are. I just came to get out of the house. Do you wanna dance?"

Pete blushed again, "I-if you want?"

Nancy tweaked her lips, "Well, I'm not really good on my feet. Can I ask you, what would you be doing if you weren't here right now?"

Pete began to reminisce on how he usually spent Friday nights. He'd be babysitting his little brother and sister; they'd eat a pizza while their parents went out on their own. They'd watch a Disney movie; since Halloween was coming up, it'd be Hocus Pocus or the Nightmare Before Christmas. If he was with his friends, they'd be getting high or drinking or piling together in one of their basements to play terrible music. All of these things shifted in Pete's head and all he could say was, "Um, watching movies, I guess."

Not a total lie; it didn't make him sound too pathetic.

Nancy's eyes lit up a bit in the dim lighting of the gymnasium, "Me too. They're showing Return of the Living Dead downtown. You wanna get out of here and go? I mean, if you want."

Pete nodded all too eagerly, "Yeah, sure. But, I need to change."

Nancy smiled, "Ditto."

The pair exited the gym; the eyes of her friends and their peers in total confusion. Chip crushed his paper cup in his hand, spilling punch all over his pants. He growled under his breath and grabbed napkins to clean his jeans.

"Do you have a car?" Nancy asked Pete once they reached the parking lot.

"Yeah, I do. You want a ride?"

Nancy smiled, "Yes, please."

Pete was a little disillusioned with the fact the prettiest girl in school was sitting in shitty little Honda. She was giving him directions to her house and she invited him to the movies. This was surreal; he pinched himself several times.

Nancy was happy with the fact she had asked Pete to a movie. He was a boy she was starting to notice, by the simple fact that he was a very talented soccer player and didn't cause a splash in the halls or in class. Yes, she had heard he was a class clown, but she hadn't seen it for herself. She thought he was pretty cute, he was a sweet kid that was so obvious with his crush. Nancy wasn't going to take advantage, she was just looking for something new--someone new to figure her life out.

They pulled up in front of Nancy's grandmother's house; Pete was surprised by the fact that she lived 8 blocks from his house, heading north. Upon hearing this, Nancy said, "Hey, I'll take this dress off, you can go home, change and then come pick me up in 20? That way I can check on my Gram and won't keep you."

Pete didn't like the idea of not waiting for her, but agreed, "Okay, Cy."

Nancy grinned, "20 minutes?"

"20 minutes."

She climbed out, waved and hurried up the pathway, leading to the wide open porch with a swing just in front of the large front window. Pete waited for Nancy to go inside before driving off. Again, he pinched himself.

Arriving home, he practically skipped up the stairs. He could smell dinner and cinnamon rolls. He could hear his father leading his little brother's Eagle Scout troop out of the basement. He ignored all that and went up to his room, pulling off his dress shirt and slacks, cursing, "Ugh, what was I thinking?"

He thought: Nancy Moore talked to you though, man! She told you to call her Cy! And! She invited you to see one of your favorite zombie sequels! Thank yourself for going out to that stupid dance.

Pete pulled on a fading Guns & Roses t-shirt and black baggy jeans. He slipped his sneakers back on, made sure he had his hoodie, wallet and keys before jogging back downstairs. He entered the kitchen where his mother and little sister Hilary were baking together; "Mom, could you spot me $5?"

His mother, Dale Wentz, looked away from the hot cinnamon rolls, "$5 for what?" She questioned, licking frosting from her thumb,

"This girl and me are going to the movies and--"

"Ooh!" 12 year old Hilary cooed, "Pete has a date!"

Pete rolled his eyes as his mother too cooed at him; "Is it true, Pete? You've got a date?"

Pete shrugged, "She asked me, I don't know."

Dale grinned and went over towards the island counter, grabbing her purse, "Here's $10, make sure you treat her like a lady."

Pete shook his head, his long dreads gently pummeling his cheeks and neck, "I will, mom." He grabbed a cinnamon roll and took a large bite.

"Have a nice time," she called as he headed out.

Nancy, too was eating something sweet as she checked in on her elder grandmother, Alma. Nancy had a Now-Or-Later stuck to the roof of her mouth, swiping a few from the candy bag meant for Trick-R-Treaters that coming Saturday. She made sure Alma took her nightly medication, made sure the stove was off and that the TV was on for her. She covered Alma with an afghan she helped make, "Are you warm enough, Gram?"

Alma nodded, "I'm fine, Cy-Cy."

Nancy kissed the top of her head, and in return, Alma kissed her cheek. Nancy jogged up the few steps leading to the bedrooms, heading down the hall, into her own. She shimmied the dress off, revealing she had no bra on beneath it; she scolded herself for it; Is that why Wentz talked to me? -she thought.

She quickly brushed off the thought and dressed comfortably; a purple t-shirt and light denim jeans. She pulled her hair up, put her sneakers on; she put her coat on, grabbed her purse and headed back to the living room.

Alma smiled at her granddaughter, "You've got a date?"

Nancy frowned slightly, "Not exactly, Gram, we're just going to go see a zombie movie."

Alma grinned now, "That's a date. If he holds you during the scary parts, he's a keeper."

Nancy giggled, "Sure."

Alma's retort was interrupted by a knock at the door. She snickered, "Is that him?"

"Possibly," Nancy sang with a small smirk.

She went to the door, opening it and seeing a shy Pete Wentz there, "You didn't have to knock," she said.

Pete shrugged, "I didn't want to be rude."

"I want to meet him!" Alma called animatedly from the living room.

Nancy's cheeks burned, Pete just smiled; "Don't mind her," she said lowly.

"It's okay," Pete shrugged again.

Nancy invited Pete in and led him to the living room. Alma stood, slowly, and gazed at Pete. "Aren't you handsome," she laughed softly.

"Gram, this is Pete Wentz, we go to school together. Pete, this is my grandma Alma Durden."

Pete shook Alma's soft hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Same here. You treat my Cy-Cy well."

Nancy rolled her eyes, "Gram, we're just gonna see a movie! We just met."

Alma giggled at the way her granddaughter blushed and pouted, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Have fun. Become friends."

Nancy kissed Alma's cheek, "I'll be home before curfew. Don't stay up too late."

Alma waved them off, "Go, go. Have fun!"

Nancy took Pete's wrist and ushered him out the door. He was out first, then her; she locked the door, stuffed her keys into her purse and followed Pete to his car. Inside, the worn interior was warmer from the drive from the school. Nancy felt comfortable here; "Is this weird?"

"What?" Pete asked, genuinely confused.

"We met like a half hour ago and we're going to a movie."

"This isn't a date," Pete replied, hoping she wouldn't catch his hopeful tone that maybe, just maybe, it was a date.

But, she did. "No...I mean, we just met and all."

Pete nodded in agreement, "Exactly."

"Lets just go see the movie and talk about this awkward stuff later."

The two of them laughed and were silent the rest of the drive downtown.

Inside the near empty theatre, they sat in the middle row, popcorn, pop and candy in their laps; they shared a large bucket, separate pops and sticky candy that stuck to their teeth. The credits for older horror movies plays before the movie. They were quiet, occasionally making jokes; it was Pete who made the most jokes. Nancy laughed, not because it was overly hilarious, but because she found his laugh funny. Even so, his jokes were pretty cute and entertaining.

Throughout the movie, they managed to finish their candy, but not their popcorn or pop. Once it was over, they walked out, Pete with his drink and Nancy with the popcorn; they headed down the block to the parking garage.

"That was really fun," Nancy said. "You wanna come tomorrow?"

Pete smiled, "To see Bride of Frankenstein?"

"How about we see The Hills have Eyes?"

Pete chuckled, "You like being scared or somethin'?"

She gave a lame shrug, "Or somethin', I guess."

"Okay. But you buy the Jujubes."

"Deal."