Chapter Text
Eddie Blake stared out the window, sighing for what must have been the hundredth time that day. He was sick to death of sitting around at school when he had big plans that afternoon that made the day feel much longer than it actually was. It felt as though the day would never end, and every time he remembered the money in his wallet, his excitement would return and further his impatience as he waited.
He was sixteen years old and he had been saving for a motorcycle since he was fourteen and Hollis Mason had let him come by his father's auto repair shop and he had fallen in love with one that they were considering fixing up during their spare time. The man had said that it would require a lot of work, but if it was still around and fixed up when Eddie was old enough, he could buy it. Though he and Hollis had never been close particularly close and the older boy had already graduated, he still stopped by the garage to see how the repairs were going, and it had been completed six months before. Eddie had only just managed to get the money together, and he was going after school to purchase his motorcycle.
His parents weren't exactly happy, his mother claiming that it was too dangerous and his father claiming that it was tacky, but they didn't care enough to try to stop him, and it was his money. He didn't care at all what they thought, just as long as he had his motorcycle. But the day continued to drag on and on, and when it was finally time to leave, he felt like it had been three days instead of one.
“We wanna see it when you get it,” said Edgar. The similar names had lead to he and Eddie getting mixed up over the years and thy had become friends at some point during that time.
“Yeah,” added Bill. “Want to go to to Richie's after I get done with practice?” Richie's was a diner in town, and Bill was a football player. He was a grade above them, and had been Eddie's friend since childhood when Eddie had had a brief stint as an athlete and Bill had played baseball with him. It was through him that Eddie had met Hollis and a few of his other older friends, and despite Bill being quite popular, he had remained close friends with Eddie and Edgar.
“Sure,” replied Eddie. “I'll meet you guys there, but I gotta go now, so I can buy the damn thing!” He shrugged on his leather jacket, already dressed the part right down to his boots.
~X~
“She's all yours,” said Mr. Mason. Hollis wasn't around to see the momentous occasion, but Eddie doubted that he would have cared anyway. “You know how to ride, right?”
“'Course I do,” he replied. “Might wanna go for a quick right around the neighborhood before I get out on the road, but I been gettin' ready for this since I decided I was gonna buy her.”
“Well, I've got a helmet for you too, free of charge,” the man said. “Figured you might not have thought of it on your own, and I don't want you being unsafe out there.”
Eddie dreaded having to wear something that would ruin his hair like that; despite everything, he was a bit vain and and actually fussed over his hair every morning, though he would never admit to it. But he would look so cool on the bike, riding it everywhere he went, that he figured having his hair a little messed up would be well worth it.
“Thanks for everything, Mr. Mason,” he said, taking the helmet that was offered to him.
“Don't mention it,” replied the man. “It was fun getting to figure out how to fix something like that up in my spare time, and it's nice to know that it's going to someone who'll get good use out of it.”
Eddie got himself ready, hopping onto the bike and securing the helmet, and then he started off down the road, exhilarated and powerful and free to go wherever he wanted. He still had some time to kill before he had to meet Bill and Edgar, so he circled the neighborhood a few times before going out onto the main roads, cruising past so many places that he had frequented, but now it was different because he wasn't walking and he never had to again unless he wanted to. He had never been more happy in his life.
Eventually, he pulled into the parking lot at Richie's, where Edgar was already waiting. His friend was almost as excited to see it as Eddie was to own it, and kept going on about how gorgeous it was. It was a sleek black, and Edgar was right; it was absolutely gorgeous.
“I can't believe you finally bought it,” he said at last.
“Me neither,” said Eddie, “but I did. An' now I've got it and I can ride it wherever the hell I want.”
At that moment, Bill arrived in his car, and when he parked, he got out and admired the motorcycle as well. After he was done looking, the three of them went inside and got a table, and that was when Eddie noticed her, taking an order at another table.
Sally Juspeczyk had been in the same class as Hollis, and she had been known for being one of the most beautiful girls in school. Eddie had had it bad for her, but he had known that she was way out of his league. She was older and wouldn't give a kid like him the time of day, and so he had only admired her from afar. He hadn't seen her since she had graduated, but now here she was, working as a waitress at Richie's. Immediately, he looked at his reflection in a napkin dispenser and tried to straighten his hair as much as possible.
Edgar notice this and looked over to where Eddie had been looking, and he laughed. “Hey Bill,” he said, “isn't that Sally over there? Sally J?” Her last name had always been very hard to pronounce.
Bill looked over and smiled. “Hey, what do you know? I didn't even know she still lived in town!” He was popular enough that they had actually known each other when she had gone to their high school.
Edgar snickered and said, “Well, it looks like Eddie is really happy to see her.” Eddie blushed, dropping his hands.
“Am not!” he protested. “I was just fixin' up. Ya know, after that helmet and all.” He looked down at the table, trying to avoid his gaze drifting towards Sally anymore, trying not to give away the fact that they were right. Of course, it was too obvious for him to conceal, and the other two laughed.
Eventually, Sally made her way over to their table, brightening when she saw Bill. “Bill! How have you been?” she asked. “Is the team doing good this year?”
“Great as always,” he replied with a charming smile that had turned many a girl's knees to jelly in the past. Eddie couldn't tell if it had that sort of effect on Sally or not. “What about you? I didn't know you had a job here.”
“I just got hired last week,” she said. “My parents keep complaining about how I just sit around the house and never do anything for them, so I went out and got a job. I don't think this is what they had in mind for me, but that's tough for them.” She grinned, and Eddie was overcome with the urge to grab her and kiss in front of the whole diner.
Fortunately, he managed to resist, though it took an unbelievable amount of willpower, and he was still thinking about it when Sally suddenly turned her attention to him. “What about you? Didn't you go to school with us?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I'm a grade below Bill. Eddie Blake.” He smirked at her, hoping that he had managed to fix his hair alright.
“And I'm Edgar Jacobi. I'm in the same grade as Eddie,” his friend added. He had a sly grin on his face, and Eddie hoped that he didn't say anything stupid.
But whether he was planning on it or not, he was interrupted by Sally asking what they wanted. All three of them had the same basic order, burgers and fries, and then she was off to put the order in. Eddie couldn't help but stare after her as she walked around the diner, doing her job, and he didn't even care that his friends poked fun at him for doing so. She was still just as gorgeous, and therefore still just as out of his league, as she had always been, and he had a feeling he would be coming back here a lot more often.