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nothing particularly interesting had been happening that day. sidney was at home sick, so tatum was sat on her own eating (not the usual, but still not ‘particularly interesting’) at their typical spot by the fountain.
she was still there eating when she was approached by a guy she recognised as stu macher, a tall boy she knew from her english class.
after taking a moment to make sure he was walking towards her (there was no way she was risking the embarrassment of trying to talk to him only to find out he actually walking towards someone else entirely), she tentatively raised a hand to wave at him.
in her mind, she made a quick list of everything she knew about him:
- he was pretty fucking annoying in class
- he was obsessed with the same weird horror films randy liked
- she’d once seen him cutting into some dead animal at the side of a road & she’d had nightmares about it for a week
- his girlfriend had been cheating on him with fucking football star steve orth for at least a month now, and everyone knew it (except stu, apparently?)
she quickly glanced over at the direction stu had come from, and spotted billy loomis (of-fucking-course) leaning against a tall lampost.
right, how could she forget?
6. he was almost certainly a fag
stu waves back, then slides onto the edge of the fountain next to her. tatum instinctively shuffles slightly further away, the memory of him slicing into a dying rabbit on the roadside still painfully fresh in her memory. she’s not sure if he noticed her standing there, he’s never brought it up. maybe it was just the sort of things boys did.
" hey. " he says.
" hey. "
" you’re tatum, right? "
" i am. you’re stu. "
" i am! anyway, you know casey, right? "
" well, not really personally. she’s in a class with sid, but i’ve never spoken to her. "
" right, okay. so you know how she’s a bitch that cheated on me and then dumped me? for no fucking reason? "
he leans forward as he talks, and tatum finds herself also moving backwards until she has to prop herself up on her elbows to stop herself from falling over.
this guy has some really strong social skills, huh? difficult to see why casey was so unhappy.
" right, " tatum says stiffly, " i didn’t actually know that, but, okay. "
and thankfully, he moves away again. inwardly, tatum breathes a sigh of relief.
" and so i have a proposition for you. "
she raises her eyebrows, and tilts her head to the side a little. the conversation keeps getting stranger, it seems.
" would you be my girlfriend? "
it takes a lot of effort for tatum to not spit out her lunch.
" excuse you? "
" no- no, listen- " stu says quickly, and he grabs tatum’s arm so forcefully that she flinches slightly (blood on the pavement, blood on his hands, blood on the knife).
" okay. you don’t have a boyfriend, right? "
" i don’t, but that doesn’t mean- "
" and i’m just saying, i think there’s a reason why! i mean, you hang around sidney a lot, like i know you guys are friends, but… you know? "
he’s let go of her arm now, and he shrugs slightly as he speaks, like it should be obvious what he’s implying. tatum stares at him blankly.
" what? are you saying sidney’s a bad influence, or something? ‘cause- "
" no, i mean, well, maybe you’re not that interested in having a boyfriend. "
well, shit.
" that’s none of your business. "
" i think if you let me finish what i’m saying- "
" no, i don’t think so. what was even your intention here? so what, i don’t like guys? you are not going to change that, so you can leave me alone now, thanks. "
so she begins to pack up her lunch; she doesn’t have the time or energy for bullshit like this today.
" no! i mean, " and here stu lowers his voice, whispering conspiratorially, " i think we could help each other. "
begrudgingly, tatum sits back down.
" help each other how? "
" casey dumped me, right? and that’s kind of gonna fuck up my reputation, you know, so if i have a new girlfriend, everyone’ll think i dumped her for a new girl. and boom, my reputation is saved, i’m still cool. "
tatum decides to refrain from telling him that everyone’s known casey was cheating on him for pretty much as long as anyone can remember.
" and you, if you have a boyfriend, then no-one’ll think you’re a dyke, ‘cause lesbos don’t have boyfriends. it’s a win-win. "
" right, " tatum says slowly.
without really thinking about it, she glances over stu’s shoulder to where billy is still stood, somewhat ominously, against a lamppost.
" what? " stu says, leaning into her line of view, suddenly defensive, " why are you looking at him? it’s not- it’s not like that. "
" jeez, i didn’t say it was… like that. " she takes a deep breath.
is she really going to say yes to this? it would be convenient, maybe, definitely — it solves a lot of problems going forward. it’s almost a comforting thought, knowing for sure that someone will be there. and they don’t even have to like each other, necessarily, so there’s no emotional risk. no more prying questions about when she’s gonna get a boyfriend. maybe it would be good for her.
but again she thinks of how she stood there, watching him take a knife to roadkill, some small animal, entirely innocent.
she tells herself it was probably already dead (she remembers seeing the light fade from its eyes, even from as far away as she was), or it was a mercy killing.
maybe he wants to be a vet, maybe it’s research. maybe it’s just how boys are. she doesn’t know, she spends most of her time avoiding them.
and maybe she craves security, more than she’d like to admit. maybe she wants an alibi, a cover story.
maybe she likes the way stu looks at her, a sort of pathetic mix between pitiful and eager, or maybe she just feels bad for him.
" i’ll be your girlfriend. " she says after a minute, and he grins.
" hell yeah, man! "
stu holds up his hand for a high-five, and tatum awkwardly complies.
then there’s an awkward moment where neither of them really knows what to do.
" right! " he says loudly, standing up " i’m gonna go now, but i’ll call you later, babe! "
" i don’t think you have my number? " tatum calls after him, but he’s already too far away to hear her (jesus, could he at least try to make it seem like he didn’t entirely hate being around her?)
so tatum goes back to eating her lunch.