Chapter Text
Rodrick loved his van. It served him well, it really did. It was perfect for storing his band’s instruments and equipment on the way to gigs. He found solace inside its walls whenever he skipped class and hid away in the parking lot. He’d even written a kick-ass song in the backseat outside of a gas station when he was avoiding being at home, even if he eventually forgot the first chorus.
But man, was Regina’s car amazing.
It was slick, it was polished, and most importantly, it was clean, something his own van rarely ever was. Rodrick relished in the open foot room of Regina’s passenger seat, pleasantly surprised to not be bumping into empty soda cans or take out containers. And it all felt expensive. Not that Rodrick particularly cared about that sort of thing, he liked to think of himself as a down-to-earth everyday punk who could care less about brands and labels, but sitting here in this car, Regina at his side, it just felt so rich.
He kinda liked it.
Regina, on the other hand, was not as thrilled to be riding here with him. He could tell by her white knuckles on the wheel, a small scowl forming on her glossed lips. He didn’t know what to say to make that scowl go away, but he wished he had the words to try.
Regina gave him a sharp glance from the corner of her eyes. “What are you staring at?”
“Oh,” Rodrick straightened in his seat, trying desperately to recover from the fact that yes, he was indeed staring at her. “Um, I’m just surprised that your hair isn’t going crazy.”
She blinked at him with unveiled annoyance.
“Cause of the wind, I mean.” Rodrick said awkwardly. “Uh, anyways, thanks for the ride.”
“You already said that.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, I appreciate it. I’ve never driven in a convertible before.”
“Wow,” she said in mock interest.
They lapsed into silence for a bit longer than Rodrick would have liked, but his brain blanked on things to say. What did girls like to talk about? Especially bougie, popular girls like Regina?
“So,” Rodrick attempted, but the moment the word left his mouth, Regina flicked on the radio, filling the space between them with the voice of Britney Spears. Rodrick wasn’t really a fan of her, too pop for him, but his eyes caught onto Regina’s thumb tapping the wheel to the beat. Maybe he’d have to give Britney Spears a listen sometime.
As they drove on, Rodrick noted the change in scenery. Suddenly, where there were suburbs and one story buildings, huge mansions appeared out of nowhere, surrounded by heavily manicured landscaping. The further they drove, the bigger the houses got, until finally, Regina pulled into a lavish driveway at the base of the fanciest house Rodrick had ever seen.
“You live here?” He spluttered out, awkwardly detangling his limbs from the seat.
“Uh huh.” She said, gracefully stepping out of the car and up towards the front door. She shot him a glare as he followed. “Don’t touch anything.”
He raised his hands in innocence as they stepped inside. His eyes slid up to the impossibly tall ceilings and the huge kitchen.
Regina tossed her keys down on the entry way table and strolled forwards, her heels clicking on the tile floor. Rodrick followed like a dog, gaping at the mansion that she casually lived in.
“Hi hon!” A blonde woman in a tracksuit called out from the living room as she followed an exercise tape on the TV screen. “I thought you’d be back sooner!”
Regina rolled her eyes. “I had to make a stop.”
Her mother turned around and made a strange cooing sound at the sight of Rodrick. “Oh, wow, you sure… like the color black.”
“He’s here to do a stupid school project with me,” Regina said without actually introducing Rodrick. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, Mom.”
“Do you kids want something to eat?” Her mom rounded the corner of the couch and stood behind the lavish kitchen island. “Something to drink maybe? I can whip up a few margaritas if you guys need some refreshments.” She winked, but Rodrick couldn’t tell exactly what it meant.
“No, Mom,” Regina scowled. “Just leave us alone so we can study and be done with it.”
“Okay, just let me know if there’s anything you might need.” Her mom grinned and gave another wink. Again, Rodrick had no clue what she was talking about.
“Ugh, come on,” Regina grabbed Rodrick’s wrist and pulled him upstairs after her and Rodrick couldn’t stop thinking about how a sliver of his skin was being touched by Regina.
Regina quickly dropped his arm when they reached the top floor and guided him to the master bedroom, which apparently, was her room.
“We’re only studying up here because my mom would be a total perv if we worked downstairs,” Regina explained. “So don’t get any freaky ideas about what this is.”
“No yeah,” Rodrick shoved the memory of how soft Regina’s hand was on his wrist out of his mind. “Where do you want me to sit?”
“At the desk,” she exhaled sharply, sitting on the edge of her bed. Rodrick could feel her gaze on the back of his neck as he sat before her vanity mirror, unhooking his backpack from over his shoulder. It hit him all at once that he was in Regina’s room. How the hell did he even end up here?
Rodrick pulled out the assignment sheet and a pencil, realizing as well that this was the first time he’d actively engaged in doing homework. It had been a very strange day for him.
Regina glanced at her own paper, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. “So I guess we just make up some hypothesis and then make an experiment out of it?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Rodrick nodded. “I was thinking we could make a lightbulb out of a potato or something.”
“Is it easy?”
He shrugged. “I dunno, probably. Seemed easier than most of the other experiments on the list.”
“Fine, whatever. So what do we need for this experiment?”
Rodrick’s mouth cracked into a small grin. “Probably a potato.”
Regina gave him a flat look. “Wow, very funny. Why don’t you start writing down what we should say for our hypothesis so this can all be over?”
Rodrick gave a mock salute, which Regina returned with an irritated eye roll. He turned around and smirked into his paper, unaware of the mirror reflecting everything back to Regina.
…
God, this is so bizarre. Regina stole a glance up at Rodrick, floored at the sight of him at her vanity. Never in a million years would she have pictured this image, and yet, here he was, in her house.
In the quiet moment, as Rodrick’s pencil scratched against the paper, Regina took this time to look at the boy. He wasn’t awful to look at, that was just a fact. He was tall, which Regina always appreciated in guys, and he had good hair, even if it was windswept from the drive over to her house. And she supposed his eyes were nice. She was always a sucker for brown eyes.
Oh my god, Regina fought the urge to retch in her mouth. What am I thinking? I cannot believe I even teased the idea of liking Rodrick’s eyes.
Regina forced her gaze down at her assignment sheet, looking over the first question without actually reading the words.
It could have been worse, having Rodrick in her room. He could have turned out to be some sort of pervert or been way more obnoxious than he was. Thankfully, he was surprising chill. Surely she’d pegged him as the type of guy to freak out at the mere thought of a hot girl looking his way. Maybe he’s more pulled together than I thought. Regina mused for a moment. Not that I’m thinking about him.
“So the assignment sheet says we need a potato, lightbulb, two pennies, two gal… gal…” Rodrick’s brow creased at the paper.
“Galvanized,” Regina cut in for him.
“Yeah, two galvanized nails, and then some copper wire.” He looked up at her. “Do you have any of that stuff?”
“Uh, no.”
He frowned. “You don’t have a potato?”
“Did you not hear me say the word ‘no?’”
“Um, okay,” he scratched the back of his neck. “Then we’ll probably have to go shopping sometime soon.”
Great, Regina sighed to herself. Now we have to spend time in public together. Just perfect.
“I’m free tomorrow after school if you want to go,” Rodrick continued, looking at her with those damn brown eyes.
“Yeah, whatever,” Regina flicked her gaze away. “I’ll pick you up again.”
Rodrick smiled and unfortunately, Regina had to admit that he had a nice smile as well. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Regina said back, glancing pointedly at the paper set before him. “Did you come up with anything for the hypothesis?”
“Yeah,” Rodrick glanced down at his paper and Regina found her eyes traveling his form, just for scientific purposes of course.
He isn’t unattractive, Regina supposed, if you were into metalhead punks, which thankfully, Regina George was not.