LOUD AND CLEAR, a Steddie fanfic by emmy_award
chapters 1 and 2 up now part of @steddiebingo round 3
rated E / AU / modern AU / rockstar!eddie / teacher!steve / slow burn / missed chances / light angst prompts -- "should I stay?" / phone / modern AU
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He woke, fuzzy, muggy, a stale taste in his mouth, to a dark room and a loud, distant pounding.
“Fuck,” Steve mumbled, lurching out of bed.
He stumbled through the dark apartment, the pounding getting louder as he got closer to the front door. “Yeah, yeah,” he yelled, “I’m coming—” He yanked open the door, chilly air flooded in, and an angry pair of eyes met his.
“Sorry,” Steve said, trying for a sheepish grin. “I sort of fell asleep—”
“Nice,” the guy bit out. He had piles of dark, frizzy hair and these huge, arresting eyes. “I thought I had the wrong address or something. My cab already left.”
“Well.” Steve looked at him, wondering how on earth to fix something he hadn’t broken. “You wanna come in?”
The guy shot him a glare. “Sure, why not?”
Steve stepped aside, let him pass, and smacked the lightswitch, bringing the apartment to life. The light showed him that the guy was tall, easily over six foot in his fuck-off boots, and he was dressed like he’d tripped and fallen out of a rock show, all denim and chains and torn fabric. His leather jacket had a screaming skull painted on the back of it, and Steve blinked a few times. Who in the fuck was this guy?
“Sorry, um.” Steve cleared his throat, scuffed a hand through his hair. A part of him still felt dead asleep, like he was dreaming. “Remind me your name?”
“Eddie,” the guy said, dropping a beaten duffel bag on the floor, followed by a large, flat, hard-shelled case. An instrument? His glare hadn’t softened — his gaze raked up and down Steve’s body, like he was sizing him for a punch. “Buckley said she had a roommate, but I was expecting another girl.”
Steve raised his eyebrows. Sure, maybe he wasn’t at his best, standing here in his pajama shorts and a shirt that had seen better days, but he didn’t deserve this. “I’m not a girl.”
Eddie snorted. “Yeah, no shit.”
