The Fast Times

After dropping Nancy off, you couldn't wipe the smile off of Pete's face. He floated on a cloud; he never felt this way about a girl who paid him any attention before. It was dizzying, and Pete didn't know what to make of it.

Maybe this whole crush thing has reached a new level, he thought, maybe I want to be with her, really. Maybe I want to kiss her.

That wasn't a maybe. Pete longed to kiss her. Off in bed that night, he thought about kissing Nancy in his dreams. He dreamt about holding her hand and spending the rest of his life in a zombie apocalypse with her.

That was the movie filling his head, then.

He slept for a few hours and woke up just as the sun rose, sending a light blue hue across the Chicago sky. He wondered if Nancy had trouble sleeping; he wondered what she ate for breakfast and what kind of pajamas she wore. He wondered what her kissed felt like, how warm her hugs were and how her fingers would fit between the spaces in between his.

He got up, brushed his teeth, took his anti-depressants and returned to bed, thinking of something clever to say when he would see Cy later.


It was mid-afternoon when Nancy's home phone rang; she knew it was one of her many girl friends. Alma was eating her lunch that Nancy had made and didn't pay much attention to her granddaughter's phone call.

Nancy pressed the receiver to her ear, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Cy!" It was her aunt, Darla.

"Auntie D? What's up?"

Alma's ears perked up, a sour feeling rolling over her stomach.

"Norman and I are coming to visit you," Darla informed, "we'll be in tomorrow, it's very important. Where's Alma?"

"Uh..." Knowing the strained relationship between her aunt Darla and her Gram, Nancy made an excuse, "Gram's napping, Auntie D, but I'll tell her you and Uncle Norman are coming."

"Don't forget, honey, it's important."

"Yeah, I know."

"How is she, Cy-Cy? Is she still sick? Is her memory getting worse?"

Nancy knew where this was going. She knew telling the truth would make Alma and Darla both upset, so she opted to keep the one she loves more happy.

"Gram is great. She's sleeping pretty well and she's taking her meds."

Nancy could see Alma giving her a thumbs up, causing a giggle to surface from the both of them.

Darla heard and didn't believe her; "Tell me the truth, Cy-Cy."

Nancy replied, "I'm telling the truth. Gram is great, Auntie D."

"I'll see when I get there. How are you?"

"I'm good," Nancy said flatly.

"Are you sure?" Darla pushed.

"Yes," Nancy muttered. "I'm okay. I'm...going on a date tonight with this guy I met at school."

Darla cooed excitedly, "Ooh! What's his name?"

"Pete," Nancy told her, "his name is Pete Wentz and he's a sweetheart."


Pete was downtown having pizza with his friends; Nick, Andy and Chris. They were joking around, eating slices and waiting for Pete to indulge in his night at a school dance. He had yet to "brag" about going to a late night movie with the girl of his dreams.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, nudging Pete's ribs.

Pete pushing his half eaten pepperoni pizza away from him, "Nothing."

"Hey," Chris began, "what happened last night? I called and your mom said you went out with a girl."

Andy and Nick oohed in unison, much to Pete's dismay. He rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a date or nothin'," he sipped his can of pop, "we just went to see Return of the Living Dead."

"Who was it?" Andy asked eagerly, "Was it that sick goth girl, Frieda Wayan?"

Pete shook his head, "Nah--"

"Trisha Freeman?" Chris joined in.

"Lisa Gore?" Nick added, sure it was the "hottest goth girl in all of Illinois".

"Nah," Pete said firmly, eyes wondering over the window he sat next to, "it was--"

He paused as he saw Nancy walking down the block with one of her friends. Pete knew who she was, but couldn't recall her name. He lost his nerve to say when he saw Nancy; arms linked with her red headed friend's.

Nancy caught Pete's eye as she passed, pausing. She and Pete locked eyes and she waved; she turned to her friend, Rosemary, "Gimme a sec, I have to talk to him."

"Who?" Rosemary asked excitedly; but a frown emerged once she saw a slack jawed Pete Wentz. "Oh God, that fag--"

Nancy scoffed, "He's not a fag."

"Yes he is," Rosemary laughed, "what're you doing talking to him anyway?"

"He's a nice guy," Nancy pulled away from Rosemary and went inside the pizzeria.

Rosemary had sucked her teeth, "disowned" Nancy and walked off, muttering about her reputation and being cold.

Pete's friends were all a little surprised when Nancy had waved. They shut their accusing mouths when she came inside and over to their table. Pete swallowed, hoping he'd have guts to talk to her in front of his friends.

"Hey Pete," Nancy greeted, "thought that was you."

"Hey Cy," Pete smiled. "What're you doing here?"

He caught her looking outside, but her eyes quickly returned to his gaze, "Oh, well I was going with Rosemary to some new shoe store but it looks like she bailed on me."

"You can eat with us if you want," he offered.

Nancy smiled, "Cool."

Pete nudged Nick, who quickly slipped out the booth and let Nancy sit beside Pete; "That wasn't necessary," she said to Nick.

Nick shook his head, "It's cool. I'm Nick by the way."

"Nancy, but please call me Cy."

The boys all stared at her in wonder. You wouldn't believe they've ever seen a girl before.

Nick grabbed a chair from an unoccupied table and sat in the front of the booth table. Pete cleared his throat as his friends stared, "Uh, Cy, these are my friends, Chris and Andy, and of course Nick."

"Nice to meet you guys," Nancy waved her fingers at them. "Please, I prefer if you just call me Cy."

"We have the same gym together," Andy said, "you're the girl who climbed the rope and got rope burn coming down."

Nancy blushed, "Yeah, that was me. I was trying to prove a point, but it didn't really work out."

"What kind of point?" Chris asked.

"That we wouldn't be able to climb that thing, but I was sorely mistaken."

The guys chuckled; Pete was just watching her, his heart beating rapidly. His friends could see his infatuation, and soon knew it was time to leave the couple alone. So, Chris made an excuse, "Oh, man, dude, we have to go practice for the party next Friday!"

Nick and Andy took the hint, "Oh yeah!" They said in unison, climbing out of their seats.

Nancy blinked, "Oh. You're in a band?"

"Yeah," Chris said, slipping on his coat, "Pete's not in it, so he won't be joining us."

Pete squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment at the obvious notion that they were leaving them alone on purpose. Nancy picked up on it and just smiled; "Well, it was nice meeting you guys."

"Sure," Nick said, "you're invited to the party next Friday. It's at Chris'; Pete'll give you the address. See ya, dude, see ya Cy!"

The guys rushed out of the pizzeria in a hurry; Nancy had blinked again and then looked at Pete; "They're nice."

Pete's entire face was burning red, "They're weird."

"Who isn't?" She smiled at him. "Don't be so embarrassed, Wentz."

Pete exhaled, "I can't help it."

Nancy stood, "You wanna go get some ice cream or something? Gelato, maybe?"

Pete slipped out the booth with her, "Yeah."

"Your face is red," she giggled, "I believe you need something to cool you off."

Again, he began to burn, "Thanks...thanks, Cy."