The first time Edith Tozier officially meets Stanley Barber, it's her first day of school in the new town.

      It was a week since she moved in and was back at it with hiding away from the world in her room. Or the living room. But she didn't dare step foot outside the house.

      It's not like she hated people. She just...yeah, she hated people. Especially after the clown incident. Being around people just made her anxious and uncomfortable. She didn't understand how she was so comfortable with the Losers yet turned into a shell of a girl when in all of her classes.

      But she didn't need to make friends. Just get in and get out. Keep her head down and ignore everyone and everything. Mind her own business because lord knows that if someone tried to mess with her, they'd end up with quite a few broken bones.

      Edith just wished she could stay in the safety of her own home, with her two dads who loved her, her journal and her headphones. Just block the world and stay in her safe bubble with the ones who understood her.

      But no. School had to wriggle its way in her life and fuck everything up.

      Fantastic.

      "You got everything you need?" Her dad asked Edith once they parked in front of the school, the younger Tozier now fiddling with the strap of the backpack between her knees.

      "Mmhmm. Pretty sure." She mumbled, fidgeting some more until her dad placed his hand over hers.

      "Sweetie...it's gonna be okay. I know it's scary being in a new school in a new town, but it'll be okay. If you're feeling...anxious or upset, call me and I'll come racing over to pick you up." Her dad told her in reassurance, his eyes soft as Edith started to relax under his gaze and nodded.

      She probably would end up calling him. She could feel her anxiety flare up just at the thought of interacting with other students and teachers.

      But hell, it wasn't Edith's fault that she happened to be wired where she was more comfortable with a group of forty-one year olds than kids her own age.

      Why the fuck did she have to be so weird? Why couldn't she be normal?

      "I'll be fine." Edith insisted with a little smile despite how she truly felt, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on his cheek. She didn't need to worry her dad over her own stupid feelings.

      Her dad smiled, adjusting his thick lensed glasses before ruffling her curls as she giggled. "Alright, head on out there. Don't kick anyone's ass. But if you do, don't get caught." He winked and she smirked.

      If anyone allowed Edie to kick bullies' asses, it was her dad.

      He was so cool!

      "Aye aye, Captain!" She gave him a mock salute, giggling before getting out of the car and swinging her backpack over her shoulder. She looked toward the high school like it was Mount Everest, took a deep breath and walked forward.

      Edith trudged to the school, keeping her head down. Some curls were over her eyes, tickling her eyelashes but she didn't bother moving it. Get in, get out. She just needed to keep her head down and her mouth shut.

      God knows chaos only ensues once she opens her mouth.

      Not only was she a trashmouth like her father, but she could chew someone and spit them back out and leave them in tears from her sharp words.

      Someone should just sew her damn lips shut and maybe she could be normal then.

      Edith fiddled with the zipper of her black leather jacket with one hand, the other reaching into her ripped jean's pocket for her schedule. She was reading it quickly, occasionally looking up to see if she was going in the right direction before she heard a voice behind her. "You're new here, right?"

      The curly-haired girl stiffened, turning around quickly at the teenager boy and had to relax her fist-she didn't even realize she had curled her hand into a fist, subconsciously prepared to punch someone just three minutes in.

      "Uhhh...yeah. I am." Edith said simply, nodding stiffly before she continued walking.

      Unfortunately, the boy followed next to her like a puppy. "Welcome! What classes do you have, maybe I can show you around?" He offered but she didn't bother looking at him.

      "Are you always offering to help the newbies?" She retorted, now looking straight ahead and no longer at the ground but still not facing the boy.

      "It doesn't hurt to offer help. And besides, you are my new neighbor. I live a few houses away from yours." She faltered before finally looking at the boy.

      Sure enough, it was the boy she saw on her first day in Brownsville. Except he traded in his white shirt and yellow cardigan for a blue sweater. It was a nice color on him, but she wouldn't dare admit it.

      Edith nodded, her slender fingers fidgeting with her schedule. "Right. You're that kid who was dancing on the middle of the road like some dude on LSD with a death wish."

      The taller boy chuckled softly, holding a finger up. "It was weed, not LSD. I'm not that much of a stoner yet."

       She couldn't help but to snort. "'Yet'?" She repeated, her green eyes now holding amusement.

      The grin he was wearing somehow managed to grow larger. "Gotcha to smile!"

      Edith hadn't even realized she was smiling but tried to stop, crossing her arms over her chest. Will this boy just go away? She wasn't interested in friends!

      "I'm Stanley Barber, nice to meet you." He suddenly said, holding his hand out for her to shake.

      For a moment, she didn't move, just eyed his hand before hesitantly shaking it.

      It felt almost like she just made some pact with the devil.

      "Edith. Edith Tozier, people call me Edie. Aaaaand it's nice to meet you too, I guess."

      The curly-haired boy—Stanley—shook her hand enthusiastically before letting go. "Well, welcome to high school, where it is literally hell!"

      "That explains so much already." She responded casually, earning a laugh from the boy beside her.

      "What class do you have first? M-maybe I can walk you there." Stanley offered, almost hesitantly and she found herself giving in by showing him her schedule.

      He read her schedule quickly before grinning. "We have a few classes together, including the first one." He said excitedly.

      Okay. Just a few classes. Doesn't mean she has to be friends with him. Just...classmates. "Lead the way, Barber." Edith responded and he nodded, still smiling as he walked toward their first class together.

      She really didn't want to be friends. She didn't. But throughout first period, he did nothing but crack jokes about the subject and the teacher, sliding notes with random doodles of their teacher with a balloon sized head getting his leg eaten by a jellyfish.

      It took everything Edith had in her not to get in trouble by bursting out laughing. But she couldn't help the giggles and snorts that slipped her lips, covering her mouth with her hand as Stanley grinned each time he heard a laugh from her.

      What could she say? Laughter was the quickest way to her heart. And food. And coffee. All of those worked too.

      As the day went by, Stanley walked her to class, even the ones he didn't share with her. But when Edith sat alone in classes they didn't have together, she couldn't help but feel tired and bored. She was a shell again, her head down and blocking the rest of the world.

      Lunch couldn't come any slower, but it finally did, the short girl's stomach growling ravenously. She walked to the cafeteria with her own lunch-god forbid Eddie let her eat that horrid school lunch that had no nutritional value whatsoever-when she heard a voice call out her name.

      "Edie! Over here!" She spotted Stanley in one of the benches in the corner, alone. Maybe that's why he was so interested and invested in being her friend. Maybe he didn't have any either.

      Oh, what the hell!

      "Creaming your pants just at the sight of me, Barber?" Edith asked in amusement, sitting down in front of him on the bench with a playful smirk.

      He raised an eyebrow from her words, smirking back. "Look atcha! Never knew you had such a dirty mind!"

      "My dad's friends call him Trashmouth. They call me Trashmouth two point oh. It's literally our thing." She responded before pulling out her ham sandwich, taking a bite out of it.

      "I guess I'm gonna have to talk to you more to see how much of a Trashmouth you are." Stanley retorted, leaning his elbows as he grinned.

      And with that, they talked. They talked and laughed and told each other dirty jokes until they didn't even eat their lunch and it was over. Even then, they walked to class smiling and talking nonstop.

      Maybe Stanley would finally be Edith's first friend.

      Maybe.