Busy mum of 2 from the land of Oz. Grew up in the 80s and 90s Occasional writer when I get the chance. Sightly obsessed with Eddie Munson. Writing's can also be found on Wattpad and ao3.
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Summary:
The aftermath.
Warnings:
(18+) drugs, talk of overdose, pregnancy, angst, mention of CPS
Word Count: 3.5k
A/N:
So sorry for the late update! But I hope you enjoy this chapter <3
“Roz? I need you. Eddie OD’d. They took him. I don’t know if he…I don’t know if he’s okay. He didn’t look okay. I need you. I’m with the girls…we’re okay.” You whispered the next part - “Rhi saw.”
You didn’t go to the hospital right away. You weren’t sure if you were going to go at all. You called Wayne, sobbing into the phone - “He overdosed. Yeah. No, he’s…he’s alive. I thought he was dead, Wayne. We need you.”
Wayne was on the first flight to California. The girls were excited to see him, but Rhiannon hadn’t been the same since that night. You arranged a therapist for her, but she hadn’t been yet. It broke your heart that she had been traumatized so severely - you always swore you would protect her, all your kids. You had failed.
You had been having early contractions, too. An emergency visit to the doctor told you it was due to stress. You were terrified all of this would push you into early labor - you knew the emotions you’d been going through were bad for the baby, but it’s like it was never ending.
Ultimately, you decided not to go to the hospital at all. After you sat with it, after you knew he was going to be okay, you were angry. How could he do this? How could he do this to you, to the girls? To Rhiannon?
CPS was now involved, knocking on your door for random home visits and drug tests. They spoke to the girls, who talked of a great life with two loving parents and a dad who’s just sick a lot of the time. Rhiannon said nothing, just clung to Evie’s hand like a lifeline.
Whether you liked it or not, your life had changed. Eddie’s decisions had changed all of your lives in a big way. And all you could do was ride through it, hoping to make it to the other side intact and together.
When Eddie woke up in the hospital, he had a pounding headache. He felt like he was in the world’s worst hangover, like he woke up smack in the middle of the worst withdrawals of his life.
It was immediately obvious he was in a hospital, with the IV in his track marked arm and the gown on his body. He looked around, seeing the room empty except for Gareth, who sat on the couch, watching the TV.
“Gar…” Eddie started, needing to clear his throat. “Gareth?”
Gareth turned towards the bed. The look on his face was unreadable, but it wasn’t relief. “Eddie,” Gareth stated as he stood and walked to his bedside.
“What…what happened?”
Gareth pursed his lips, like he was figuring out whether to sugarcoat this or not. “You overdosed, man. On fentanyl and heroin.”
Eddie’s heart hammered in his chest. He looked down at his body, like he couldn’t believe he was still alive. “Oh, jesus.”
“Yeah,” Gareth agreed. Eddie could tell the severity of just how bad he had fucked up by the anger clearly written on Gareth’s face. And the absence of you.
“Where’s my family?” He asked, needing to know the answer to that question more than he needed to breathe. “Where are my girls?”
Gareth took a slow seat in the chair next to Eddie’s bed, and his heart sunk. “Look, man,” he started. He looked like he was arranging the words in his head before he spoke. “You…I mean shit, dude, you fucked up really bad.”
Eddie’s whole body felt cold. “What…what did I do?”
“You overdosed on the bathroom floor at home,” he said, “She had to find you like that.”
Eddie’s heart clenched in his chest. “Fuck,” he whispered, tears welling in his big brown eyes.
“And Rhiannon saw.”
That was the final hit for Eddie. His lips parted as the tears fell, and even through his anger, Gareth felt terrible for his best friend. He wanted to wrap him in a hug, but he still wanted to fucking strangle him himself.
“Jesus Christ,” Eddie whispered, his voice hoarse. “Is she…”
“She’s pretty fucked up about it to be honest with you, man,” he said, running a hand through his brown curls. “They all are.”
“And they haven’t come here,” Eddie said. It wasn’t a question.
Gareth met his eyes. “No.”
The brutal honest truth was that in that moment, Eddie wanted to die. He wished the overdose had actually taken him, had actually erased his miserable existence from this planet as a favor to his family and friends. Because he did not deserve to be here right now, and he did not want to be here right now. He knew his wife and kids probably never wanted to see him again. And how could he blame them?
Eddie sobbed. He felt as if he was seeing his life laid out in the harsh hospital lighting, everything ugly about it laid bare for him to face head on right now. Right fucking now, and he feels like he’s drowning in it.
Gareth finally sat on the bed next to him, wrapping an arm around his friend. “Ed…” His voice cracked, the sight of his lifelong best friend so utterly broken doing something horrible to his own chest. Eddie curled into Gareth’s embrace like a child, crying his eyes out like a man who knew he’d lost everything.
“Mama.”
“Yes?” You looked at your oldest with eyebrows raised, a hand on your 23 week baby bump. You had been put on bed rest, so Wayne was staying and Roz had practically moved herself in, too.
“Can me and Rhiannon go to the park?” She asked, a hopeful sparkle in her eye.
“Does Rhiannon want to go to the park?” You asked the true question, hoping with all your chest that the answer was yes.
Evie’s smile dropped. “Well, no, she didn’t say that. I just thought it might make her smile.”
You smiled tenderly at your daughter - always the carer, always empathetic and watching over her siblings. So mature for 10 years old. She’s had to grow up too fast. You failed her in that way. You failed your kids in a lot of ways.
“I know you want Rhi to feel better,” you told her, stroking her brown curls. “You can ask her if she wants to go, but don’t push her if she doesn’t. And take Auntie Roz with you if you go.”
Evie nodded, her smile back on her face. “Okay, mama.”
You watched her hop out of your bedroom, and then you were left alone in your depression pit of a bedroom once again. HGTV reruns played on the TV, your hand lazily rubbing your belly. At least you weren’t completely alone.
“You okay?” A voice asked from the doorway.
You turned and smiled at Roz, patting the bed for her to join you. She sat next to you, leaning back on your pillows together.
“Not really,” you admitted. “My husband OD’d and almost died, but I can’t bring myself to go see him. My daughter is traumatized for life and her sisters are desperate to help. I’m huge and sore and stuck in bed 24 hours a day. Things couldn’t be better.”
Roz smiled at you sadly before she laid her head on your shoulder. “Things will get better. I know that sounds like a stupid, pointless thing to say, but it’s true.”
You chewed the inside of your lip. “Do you think I should talk to him?”
Roz sighed. “I wish I could answer that for you, but I don’t think I can.”
“He’s my husband,” you said. “I love him more than life. The love I feel for him and our kids is more than I ever thought I could feel.”
“I think maybe you’re answering your own question,” Roz said.
“But he can’t keep hurting us like this.”
Roz looked at you with sympathy. It didn’t bug you as much when she did it. “He can’t.”
“He has to go to rehab again. Or something. But it didn’t help the first time obviously, so who knows.” You sighed, covering your face with your hands as tears threatened to fall. You’d done enough crying for the whole year at this point. “I just don’t know what to do. I want him to stop. I need him to stop.”
“I know, I know,” Roz whispered soothingly as she held you. She stroked your hair with one hand, the other wrapped around your body.
When you spoke next, your voice was weak and small. “I want my Eddie back.”
“I know,” she said again. “I want him back, too.”
Being in the hospital was lonely. Eddie didn’t get many visitors. He longed to see you, but he knew you weren’t coming. He had fucked up too many times, too severely.
When he heard his hospital room door open, he assumed it was a nurse for the millionth time. But at the familiar sound of a man clearing his throat, Eddie looked up, his face immediately lighting up.
“Wayne,” Eddie said. “I…I didn’t even know you were in town.”
Hearing your name out loud from his lips only made his heart ache even worse. “She called me to come help with the girls. Told me what happened.”
Eddie looked as ashamed as he felt. “Wayne-“
“Son, listen,” Wayne said, sitting next to his nephew on the hospital bed. “You’ve made a real mess, you know that?”
Eddie looked down at his hands. The marks covering his arms. “I know.”
“I just…” Wayne sighed wearily, like he was letting out years of frustration. “I don’t get it, Ed. You have - had - everything you could dream of. The career you always wanted, the girl you always loved, three beautiful children and another on the way. Great friends. Loving family.”
Eddie knew his words were true, and the guilt only gnawed at him deeper.
“I guess I just don’t understand,” Wayne continued. “How you could throw all that away just for some dope.”
“I don’t know, man,” Eddie said, squeezing his eyes shut as tears fell anyway. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Wayne softened. “You know there’s a way out, right? Like in those choose your own adventure games you used to play. There’s an ending where you get clean and have your family back and find happiness. And there’s an ending where you keep using, lose it all, and end up alone.”
Eddie knew his uncle’s harsh words were true. It was in his hands entirely. So how did he keep fucking it up so bad?
“I know,” he said. “I want the good ending. I want my family back. I want the band back. I want to make music and laugh with my friends and hug my kids and kiss my wife.” Eddie sounded utterly dejected when he spoke, like he had already given up.
“You can have that,” Wayne promised him. “You can quit. You can turn this shit around.”
Eddie shook his head. “You have no idea what it’s like,” he said, utter despair in his voice, his mouth dry. “The pull. It’s like it’s impossible to resist. I did the shit one time, one time, and I haven’t gone a minute without thinking of it since.”
He was breaking Wayne’s heart. “People do it, Ed. You could do it. You could put this behind you.” Wayne’s voice cracked, and it only fractured Eddie’s heart even more. He’s never heard Wayne cry before. “Do you know what it felt like to get that phone call?”
Eddie said nothing.
“It was like…” Wayne scoffed, rubbing the skin between his eyes. “You’re my boy. Hearing what you’d done to yourself, to your girls…it made me sick.”
Eddie covered his face with both hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“I know you are, Ed.” Wayne placed a hand on Eddie’s slender back. Too slender these days. “If you don’t think anyone believes in you, I do. I’ve seen what you can pull yourself out of. I’ve seen your strength. You’re a strong man. A good man. Please don’t let your family down.”
Eddie nodded. “I won’t. I won’t ever again.”
Wayne smiled softly at him. “You’ve got this baby boy to think of now, too, Ed.”
Butterflies took flight in his stomach as he thought of his unborn son. Four kids. He never saw himself as a father, but the day you told him you were pregnant everything shifted. He couldn’t imagine anything better. He was so lucky, and so stupid.
“I want to be a good father to him,” Eddie said. “To my girls.”
“You have been. And you will be again. Put all this behind you now. Let this be one child that never has to face seeing you this way.”
Eddie nodded. Wayne was right. He could do this, and he would do it. His kids needed him.
“I’m going to go back to rehab,” Eddie said. “A different rehab.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t know if I was serious about it last time,” he admitted. “But I am now. I almost fuckin’ died, Wayne.”
“I know,” he said, an arm around Eddie’s shoulders. “But you’re serious this time. And you’re gonna do it.”
Wayne was right.
He was going to do this.
Eddie sat on the side of his hospital bed, pulling his shoes on. He was already dressed back in a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, hair pulled back in a low ponytail. He was finally being discharged from the hospital, but there was no joy behind it. He didn’t even know where he was going. Gareth was supposed to come pick him up. He’d been looking at a few rehabs.
The sound of his door opening caught Eddie’s attention, his head turning in that direction. His breath caught in his chest when he saw you walking into the room, dressed in a pair of maternity jeans you bought when you were pregnant with Ivy, a sweater hugging your body and showing off the belly. Eddie barely resisted the urge to reach out and touch you.
“Baby,” he breathed instead. He didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to reach for you, for you to take him into your arms and hold him until he truly believed everything would be alright.
You slowly walked over and took a seat in the chair across from him. “Eddie…”
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” Eddie said, reaching forward and grasping your hands in his in a moment of vulnerability. “I am so…god, there’s not enough words I can say. I don’t know if I can ever make this right. But I want you to know I’m going to try to for the rest of my life. I love you. I love our girls. I love our son and want to be here to meet him. I want to be with you. I want to be with my family.”
You pulled from his grasp and wiped tears away with the back of your hand, trying your hardest to keep it together. “Eddie…this was…it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I had never felt like a bigger failure of a mother. I thought I was going to lose you for good and Rhiannon was going to witness her father dying.”
Eddie’s hands shook as he listened to you, the guilt eating him alive. “I am so sorry. I know that’s not enough. But I was a complete idiot. I want to get better. I want to be better for you and our family.”
“You can’t want to get clean for us,” you said, meeting his eyes determinedly. “You have to actually want it for yourself. As long as you’re trying to do this for us while still dreaming about getting high, texting your dealer and sneaking around, it’s never going to work.”
Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I…I know. I want it. I want to be better. Please, baby, I need you to believe me.” He grabbed your hands again, desperation shining in his doe eyes. “Please, I can’t…I can’t lose you or the kids. I couldn’t handle that. Please believe me. Please give me another chance.”
Tears were properly falling now, sniffling as you tried to get yourself together. You had promised yourself you wouldn’t cry in front of him today. You were done crying.
“I’m supposed to be on bed rest,” you said randomly, gesturing to the bump.
Eddie’s expression morphed into concern. “You need to get home then. Can I take you home?”
You thought. “Yeah.”
Eddie picked up his small bag. “Let me take you home.”
You followed Eddie out to the parking lot, to where your car was parked. He took the keys from you and unlocked it, getting into the driver’s seat as you carefully lowered yourself into the other side.
“You’re so stubborn,” he said, shaking his head with a smile.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to see you,” you admitted. “I wasn’t going to come.”
A beat of silence as Eddie pulled onto the road. “Why did you?”
“Because I love you?” you offer, although you don’t know the reason yourself. “Because I miss you? Worry about you? Couldn’t stand the thought of you sad and alone for another second.”
Eddie softens. He reached over and took your hand. When he pulled up into the large driveway, neither of you moved.
“I don’t think you should come in,” you said. The words stung Eddie, but he wasn’t exactly surprised. “I just don’t think it’s the right time. The girls…”
Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I get it. Um…tell them I love them and miss them?”
“Okay,” you agreed. You still didn’t move. Eddie gave you the time you needed, not pushing you to say or do more. “I love you, Eddie. If you’re serious about being done, and you go back to rehab and show us, maybe…maybe we can work on things.”
“You mean that?” he asks, desperate for the hope to hold onto but unable to blame you if you never wanted to see him again.
“Yes,” you said, and he could tell you were being genuine. He gave you the softest smile that you returned with a halfhearted one. Finally you moved for the door.
“Gareth can bring me to drop the car back off tomorrow,” he said. “If that’s okay.”
“It’s fine.” You looked at the front door of the large house, then back to Eddie. “Please take care of yourself.”
“I will,” he said, and it was a promise. You took it, held onto it.
Eddie watched you walk up the drive and to the front door, letting yourself inside. One of the girls ran and hugged you around the legs, which made you smile down at her. Eddie wanted to be there more than he’d ever wanted anything.
He drove to Gareth’s, feeling sad but with some hope deep inside. He pushed away that nagging feeling tugging at the edges of his mind, wouldn’t things be much better if we just got high about it?
He made it to Gareth’s successfully, without stopping for a drug-related detour or driving his life right off the rails again. It was a small victory, hopefully the first of many.
Gareth and Roz were inside, both greeting Eddie with a hug. The amount of forgiveness he was being shown was blowing his mind. It helped that he seemed open to genuine change, like he was really ready to put the drugs behind him. It’s what everyone wanted to believe.
Eddie made himself comfortable in Gareth’s guest bedroom that night, showering before changing into a pair of boxers and sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He rubbed his hand over his face as he climbed into the soft bed. It was comfortable, but he couldn’t be satisfied without you in bed with him.
He picked his cell phone up from the bedside table. He dialed the number with one press of a button, the most familiar and most used number in his phone. It rang a couple times before your sleepy voice answered.
“Eddie?”
“Hi, baby girl,” he said, voice low.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I just…wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.”
It was quiet over the line for a moment, nothing but the crackling of the connection. “I miss you too, Eds.”
“I want to come home to you so bad,” he admitted in the cover of the darkness. It was easier when he couldn’t see your face, couldn’t see the pain and betrayal written there.
“I know,” you said. “I want you to come home, too.”
“Can’t I?” he said, and he felt like a child begging for something he knew he couldn’t have.
“Eddie, it’s just…not yet,” you said. “I’m not ready. We’re not ready.”
Eddie nodded, even though you couldn’t see him. “I know. I know. I promise I understand.”
“But…” you started. “If we see you working hard, you know, it helps to build up that trust.”
“You will see that,” he promised you quickly. “I swear to you.”
“Then show me,” you said. “Please, Eddie. Show me.”
“I’ll show you,” he said. And he meant that with every fiber of his being. He was going to get better for you, and the kids, and Wayne, and his friends and band, and himself. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.
Summary: Things start to feel different between them during senior year, and when she sees something she wasn’t supposed to, she begins to question if Eddie’s hiding something or if she’s just imagining it.
𓆩❤︎𓆪
Eddie and Y/N’s relationship had always felt like magic in a world that rarely offered it.
It was late night van rides with the windows down and music up, whispered secrets shared under the bleachers, fingers tangled together during Hellfire meetings while everyone pretended not to notice. It was the kind of love that made everything else in Hawkins feel a little less small. A little less suffocating.
She used to feel like the center of his universe.
But lately… the stars had started to dim.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t explosive. It was subtle. A glance that didn’t last as long. A hug that felt distracted. Missed calls. Forgotten plans. A silence that grew in the space between their words, stretching further every time she asked if he was okay and he said, “I’m just tired.”
Tired. Of her? Of them?
She didn’t know. And it was slowly killing her.
~
The week before spring break, she caught him in the back hallway of the music room.
She was on her way to the library after dropping off a form in the front office, walking the long, echoing hallways near the old practice rooms when she turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks.
Eddie was there. Leaning against a locker. Smiling.
With someone else.
A girl she didn’t know. Long hair, denim skirt, boots that clacked against the tile. She was laughing, leaning in close, hand brushing his forearm. And Eddie… Eddie wasn’t pulling away.
He said something that made the girl tilt her head and giggle again.
Y/N ducked behind the corner before they saw her. Her heart dropped straight into her stomach. She waited until the sound of their voices faded down the hallway, then fled in the opposite direction, hands shaking, throat tight.
She didn’t remember what book she went to the library for.
~
She didn’t bring it up that night. Not when he climbed into her bedroom window like he always did. Not when he kissed her forehead like everything was fine. Not when he fell asleep beside her with his arm around her waist and his breathing steady and soft.
But she stared at the ceiling for hours.
And when he left before sunrise, brushing her cheek with his thumb and murmuring, “See you at lunch,” she just nodded.
~
“You need to breathe,” Robin said three days later.
They were sitting on the hood of Robin’s car outside the school. The sun was setting behind the trees, painting the sky in burnt orange and pink. Robin passed her a soda and squinted at her like she was trying to read her mind.
“I saw him,” Y/N said quietly, pulling her knees to her chest.
“Saw who?”
“Eddie. With some girl. I think she was flirting with him.”
Robin didn’t speak right away. She twisted the cap off her soda and took a slow sip. “Did he flirt back?”
“He smiled at her,” Y/N murmured. “And he didn’t move away when she touched him.”
Robin groaned. “Okay, first of all, you know Eddie. He doesn’t know when someone’s flirting unless they spell it out in blinking lights. Second, he probably thought she was just being friendly. You know how people get around him.”
“That’s the thing,” Y/N whispered. “He didn’t look uncomfortable. He looked… happy. Like she was someone he wanted to talk to.”
The silence between them stretched.
“You should talk to him,” Robin said finally.
“I’m scared to hear the answer.”
Robin sighed and leaned her head against Y/N’s shoulder. “Then make him say it.”
~
The next afternoon, after a brutal chemistry test and a skipped lunch, Y/N was walking past the side hallway that led to the old theater when she heard voices.
She wouldn’t have stopped. Would’ve kept walking. But one of them was Eddie.
And the other was Gareth.
She slowed her steps. Something in Eddie’s tone—it wasn’t loud, but it was tense. Stressed. She paused just beside the wall, heart pounding.
“I’m telling you, man, you’ve gotta make a decision,” Gareth was saying.
“It’s not that simple,” Eddie hissed. “You think I wanted this to happen?”
“She’s not stupid,” Gareth shot back. “You keep acting weird, she’s gonna figure it out.”
Y/N’s stomach twisted.
“She already suspects something,” Eddie muttered. “I can feel it. The way she looks at me…”
“Well, she’s not wrong, is she?”
That silence hit like a slap.
“I never meant to hurt her,” Eddie said quietly. “But maybe it’s already too late.”
Y/N backed away slowly, blinking against the hot sting in her eyes. She turned and walked away before she heard anything else.
~
That night, she didn’t go to Hellfire. She didn’t answer when Dustin called. She didn’t respond to Eddie’s text:
you ok?
She wasn’t.
She sat in her room with the lights off, knees to her chest, the quiet of her house pressing in on her like a weight.
Was he really seeing someone else? Was he falling out of love with her?
Had she already been replaced and just didn’t realize it?
~
Friday came with grey skies and a storm warning. Lunch period was buzzing with talk about the party at Jenny Baker’s place. Half the school was going. Even Gareth had invited her. “Eddie said he’s coming,” he added, almost too casually.
Y/N forced a smile and nodded.
She had to see for herself.
~
That night, the house was packed. Music pulsed from the speakers, cheap beer spilled across the kitchen floor, and the smell of smoke clung to the air.
Y/N moved through the crowd, eyes scanning.
She found him on the back porch. Gareth was there. So was Jeff. And her.
The girl from the hallway.
She was standing too close again, laughing at something Eddie said. He smiled politely but didn’t look at her the way Y/N feared he might.
Still… it was enough.
Y/N turned away before they could see her. Her breath hitched in her throat.
“Y/N?”
She jumped, spinning around. Eddie stood a few feet away, brow furrowed, beer in hand. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, voice sharp.
He blinked, caught off guard. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Guess you were too busy,” she muttered, brushing past him.
“Wait, what’s going on?”
“You tell me,” she snapped. “Because lately you’ve been distant. Weird. I saw you with her.”
“With who—?”
“The girl from the music hallway. I saw you with her. I heard you and Gareth talking.”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “You were listening to us?”
“You’re hiding something,” she said, tears threatening to fall. “And I’m not stupid.”
“It’s not what you think—”
“Then what is it, Eddie?” she asked, voice breaking. “Because I don’t even know if you want to be with me anymore.”
He stepped forward, panic in his eyes. “I do. I swear I do. Just please let me explain.”
She stared at him, heart pounding, jaw clenched.
And then she shook her head. “I can’t do this.”
She turned and walked toward the door.
“Y/N,” Eddie called after her, desperate. “Wait”
She didn’t stop.
And behind her, his voice cracked like something shattering.
𓆩❤︎𓆪
Definitely give me feedback. I'm new to writing. Also, I might write a part two I'm not sure yet but I more than likely will
You and Loki really aren't that close... or are you?
Wordcount: 847
Pairing: Loki x f!reader
Warnings: Loki has ulterior motives, Loki cuddles, Bucky and Sam just want to sleep :(
A/N: Really don't know where this came from, but should we explore the aftermath in a part 2? | divider credit: anitalenia
“So this is cozy…” You speak up, after all of you are settled into the bunk beds and the big light is already off. “I had no idea missions could have such a school trip vibe,” You muse.
“Doll, this is the only time we get to sleep before it's all hands on deck,” Bucky says softly from the bottom bunk. You lean over the edge to investigate if he's actually trying to sleep. You squint your eyes and make out that his eyes are closed.
“Sam?” You whisper in the direction of the other top bunk, even though his back is turned to you.
“Oh, hell no, I know your mind is on that hyperactive shit right now but don't drag me into it.” He moans, exhaustion clear in his voice.
You huff and lay back. Usually you had better luck persuading Bucky and Sam into conversation but you guessed that with the way the mission was going, it made sense they'd want to get some rest in.
And Sam had a point. Lack of sleep made you hyperactive which did you no favors in a situation such as this. You won't fall asleep anytime soon. Not that the bunks offer comfortable sleep in the first place.
Then there was Loki. In the bottom bunk beneath Sam, somehow still full of energy to read, with a soft glow conjured around his book to light up the words. Suppose gods don't need to sleep. Lucky bastards.
But you and Loki don't really get along. So there's little hope of starting a pleasant conversation there.
You stare at the ceiling as the room fills with the sound of Bucky's and Sam's snoring, which has probably been your least favorite part of this long mission with them. What makes it even worse is that you dropped your earphones somewhere, lost forever god knows where, so you truly have nothing to fight the violent snoring with.
“You could borrow one of my books,” Loki speaks in a hushed whisper.
You stay quiet. Whenever he has offered something previously, it was with a motive. And he's been pissing you off with his quips about your moves during the mission. He’s a pain. A good looking, divine, drool over his looks in secret pain, but a pain nonetheless. The fact that he is attractive doesn't make up for the fact that he loves to get on your nerves.
“Come now, darling, I know you aren't asleep. Your breathing isn't deep enough,” He sighs.
“What are you bothering me for?” You huff.
“Well you tried to strike a conversation with everyone but me, I'm a little wounded,” You can hear the mirth in his words. Probably because he succeeded in baiting you into a conversation.
You snort. “You expect me to believe you care about that? Or anything?”
He ignores your question. “I could help you sleep. With my magic.” He offers, seemingly set on proving you wrong, because he's annoying like that.
You roll your eyes.
“It's a genuine offer, darling, just come down here,”
You fidget with your fingers. You don't want to accept his help but you get clumsy and reckless when you haven't had rest. You curse yourself as you start climbing the ladder of the bunk.
In no time you stand awkwardly in front of his bunk. You shift your feet nervously.
“What now?” You mutter.
“Sit down.” He says as he closes his book and it disappears in a green glow.
You follow his instructions and sit on his bed, facing away from him. But then he's pulling you to lay down with him.
“What-”
Your protest is cut short as his hand splays over your stomach and you feel a wave of warmth wash over your whole body in pulses, relaxing both your muscles and mind.
“Oh,” You say in surprise, unable to muster up anything more.
“Oh,” He copies you, amused. “Oh, indeed,” He chuckles as he pulls you even closer and drapes the duvet over the both of you.
You don't have time to process whatever just happened because your body is now in such a bliss that the only thing you can really do is accept the situation as your eyes flutter closed.
Before you drift into slumber you think you hear Loki whisper a soft “Sleep well, darling.”
–
When you come to wake, it's to the sight of Bucky and Sam trying to stifle their laughter as they stare at you, wrapped in Loki's arms.
“It's not what it looks like!” You argue immediately, in your morning voice, causing them to give each other a knowing look and laugh out loud.
“Sure, doll,” Bucky grins, making it obvious they don't believe you, before they start walking out the room.
“We leave in five!” Sam calls.
You groan and feel Loki shift.
“And what is it, if not exactly what it looks like?” Loki's deep morning voice sounds from behind you as he pulls you closer.
“Shut up, Odinson,” You mutter.
He laughs and there's a pang in your heart. Oh, you're screwed.
I’m so excited for the final joint chapter of Wildflower! Please be sure to let me know if you want to be on Eddie’s list, Steve’s, or both! I truly hope this doesn’t suck. Thank you @punkrockmlchael , @lesservillain , and @the-witty-pen-name for your help!! I love all of you!
Being pregnant changed everything.
For one, the guys were so far up your ass now you could hardly breathe. Someone was at your apartment constantly - usually Steve - like you couldn’t take care of yourself anymore. You’d think they’d forgotten you’d already been through this once.
Before you knew it it was time for your ultrasound. Steve insisted on taking you, Asher at your mom’s.
“Do you think they’ll tell us anything?” he asked nervously, fingers tapping at the steering wheel.
“About the father?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
He didn’t say anything else. He could tell you were irritated with him, and he didn’t want to push it. He drove you to the office, parking the car close to the door so you didn’t have to walk far.
You walked in without him, and he trailed after you once he got out of the car. You checked in at the front desk and sat down to wait.
“Are you nervous?” he asked quietly.
You didn’t really know the answer to that question. Were you? Maybe a little. You were certainly nervous to know who the father was, but this appointment might not even tell you that. You shrugged in response.
He looked dejected. You felt bad - you knew he was just excited at the potential of being a father. “I don’t know, Steve. I’m a little nervous. I just want to know.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I…I understand.”
The nurse called you back, and Steve followed. “Are you dad?” she asked with a smile.
“Maybe,” you answered, which made Steve blush and the nurse stop talking real fast.
The appointment went on as usual, checking your vitals and weight, then the ultrasound machine came in. You were nervous - would this tell you anything? Were you ready to find out if the baby was Steve’s or Eddie’s?
The nurse squirted the gel on your stomach and began moving it across your abdomen, the picture appearing on the screen. You saw that little blob appear - and it was like all your worries went out the window. That was your baby. You pictured Asher with the tiny bundle in his arms, playing with a little brother or sister.
Steve looked at the screen with awe. He had seen Asher’s ultrasounds, but this was different. He was acutely aware that this could be his child - the thought was so exciting. He wanted that more than anything.
“Is there a way to tell, uh…when the baby was conceived?” you asked, feeling awkward.
The nurse looked at you with something like pity. “Not for sure. It’s not exact.”
That was pretty much what you’d been expecting to hear, but it was still disappointing. You could tell Steve was disappointed, too.
You left the appointment with a strip of ultrasound photos, a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and a card with your next appointment. There was an awkward silence as the two of you sat in the car.
“…Are you okay?” you finally asked Steve as he started the engine of his BMW, pulling out of the parking lot.
“I’m fine,” he said. “…Are you?”
“I mean…it would have been nice to know.”
“Yeah,” Steve agreed immediately. “It would have.”
Another awkward silence settled over the car. You watched the scenery as you drove past.
Steve thought about having a family with you, a real one. You, him, Asher, and the new baby. He let himself picture the baby with his hazel eyes, your lips and his nose and a head full of brown hair. Signing the birth certificate as the father - the last name Harrington on the document.
He imagined Eddie’s face when the baby turned out to be his. Then maybe he’d finally back off. Not out of Asher’s life, but as out of yours as he possibly could be.
But what if the baby was Eddie’s? He could feel the ache in his chest already at the thought of you having another one of Eddie’s babies, now with Eddie here wanting to be involved and, let’s face it, wanting you back. He couldn’t handle that. He pushed the possibility from his mind.
“You know I’m going to love this baby either way, right?” Steve spoke up, looking at you with his big sad eyes. “Even if it’s not mine. I love Asher like he’s my own, so if this baby is Eddie’s again…I’ll love them just as much.”
You smiled sadly at him. His words did make you feel better. “I know. I know you will.”
Steve dropped you off at home. Asher would be spending the night with your mom and Dustin, and you were relieved to have the time to yourself, to think about things.
Steve watched you walk into your apartment, desperately wanting to go after you, to be with you. To kiss you again. But he gave you your space - it was what you needed.
Halloween rolled around, and it felt like chaos. You got Asher into his ninja turtle costume - Leonardo - with great effort. Your back and feet were killing you after a long day at the diner, and you were grateful you didn’t have to leave the house tonight.
Eddie had asked to take Asher trick or treating, which you gladly said yes to. He’d never gotten to take him and you did not feel up to it. Steve was coming over to watch some horror movies he was bringing from Family Video, and you were attempting to paint your belly like a pumpkin.
It was a lot harder to do by yourself, but you had missed out on this with Asher’s pregnancy and you weren’t going to miss it this time, even though the bump was still small. You painted the cool orange paint over your stomach, and you were attempting the black parts when there was a knock at the door.
You went to the door, wearing your leggings and a sports bra, leaving your belly and the wet paint exposed. Eddie’s eyes widened at the sight, then a grin spread across his lips.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asked.
“Attempting to paint a pumpkin on the belly,” you said, looking down at yourself. “It’s not going great.”
“Need some help?” Eddie offered. “We’ve got a little time before me and Ash meet up with the guys.”
“Really? You want to help?” You raised your eyebrows at him. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, of course,” he said. “I missed out on this stuff last time.” He walked past you into the apartment, and you closed the door behind him.
“Daddy!” Asher cheered, jumping up from where he’d been watching TV. He ran into Eddie’s arms, and he laughed as he lifted his son in the air.
“Hey, buddy! Look at you!” Asher showed off his swords. “Woah! So cool!”
Asher went back to the TV as you and Eddie headed for the paints spread out on the kitchen table. He picked up the orange paint and repainted the mess you’d made of your belly, the strokes much more even and pumpkin-like.
“You sure this is how you want to spend the first part of your night?” you teased with a raised eyebrow, watching Eddie work with his tongue poking out between his lips.
“Of course,” he said again. “Like I said, I didn’t get to do any of this with Ash. And this one might be mine, too, so…” he winked up at you, and you rolled your eyes.
He moved onto the black paint next, painting a face on the pumpkin. When he was done, it looked perfect.
“I didn’t know you could paint,” you said, looking down at the art on your body. He’d done an amazing job.
“Just something I picked up in my free time on the road,” he smiled gently, eyes still on the bump, like he was lost in thought.
“What’s up?” you asked him, head tilted to the side. “Something’s on your mind.”
He shook his head. “I just…I’m just thinking about stuff.”
“Like the new baby?”
“Yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I just…I hope it’s mine, you know? It would be a second chance. To do things right.”
You looked at him sadly, reaching forward to take his hand. “I know, Eddie.”
He looked over at Asher with a wistful smile. “He’s a cool kid.”
“He’s the most important thing to me. He made me a mom,” you said, smiling at Asher playing with his toys.
“Well, actually I made you a mom,” Eddie said, a goofy grin on his face.
You laughed - “I guess that’s true.”
Eddie smiled at you, then, as if he were snapping out of his reverie, looked down at his watch. “Shit. We need to get going.”
You turned - “Ash, you ready?”
You didn’t have to tell him twice, as he came galloping to meet you both. He had his plastic pumpkin in his hands, pretend swords strapped to his back.
Eddie picked him up and sat him on his hip. It made you smile how natural he looked with his son. “We’ll be back by 9:30. Tell mom bye!”
“Bye bye!” Asher said, excitedly bouncing in Eddie’s arms. You walked them both to the door and watched them leave, shutting it softly behind him. The room felt immediately lonely in Asher’s absence.
You didn’t have to wait long before there was another knock at your door and Steve let himself in. He had three movies in his hands, holding them up as he dropped his jacket over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
“I got us A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Evil Dead,” he said. His eyes dropped to your stomach - “Did you do all that yourself?”
You looked down at the artistry on your skin. “I started it, but it wasn’t looking too good. Eddie did it for me when he came to pick up Ash.”
Steve was struck with a pang of jealousy. He had wanted to help you with this. That could be his baby in there. Just because Eddie wasn’t around the first time shouldn’t mean he gets to take over this time. “It looks cute.”
You smiled. “Thanks. I wanted to do something special. The bump isn’t even that big yet, but…”
“I think it’s adorable,” Steve said, giving you a reassuring smile. “Very festive.”
You put together all the snacks you’d prepared for the two of you while Steve picked a movie and put it in the VCR.
“Fuckers didn’t rewind,” he muttered to himself as he hit the rewind button. “Now I get to watch the whole movie backwards first. Awesome.”
You laughed as you placed the various bowls of snacks and candy on the coffee table. You had decided to do something actually fun for Halloween, since Eddie was taking Asher and you didn’t want to mope around the apartment alone.
But you weren’t sure you were going to get that. Steve looked distracted, lost in thought. When you’d question him about it he brushed you off, insisting he was fine.
He started to warm up about halfway through the first movie. He scooted closer to you, both sharing a blanket in the cool living room. Your bowl of popcorn rested on the baby bump like your own personal table.
“You really like these movies?” Steve asked, wincing as Leatherface killed his next victim.
“Of course,” you said, popping a piece of popcorn into your mouth. “If I want to relax after a long day…”
“You find this relaxing??”
You laughed at him - “You get used to it.”
At some point, you dozed off leaning against Steve’s shoulder. The knocking at the door startled you both.
“Do you want me to get it?” Steve asked.
“No, I’m sure it’s just Eddie and Asher. You can go turn his white noise on?”
“Sure,” Steve said, leaving the room just as you opened the front door.
Eddie smiled at you with Asher asleep on his shoulder. He looked so cute, so peaceful.
“How’d he do?” you whispered as the two of you transferred Asher into your arms. He barely stirred, continuing to sleep on your shoulder now.
“He was great. We had a lot of fun.” Eddie leaned forward and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Asher’s head. “Thanks for letting me take him.”
“Of course,” you said. “Look, I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
“Oh yeah, sure. I know you had plans.” Eddie’s eyes scanned behind you, like he was looking for Steve and signs of what you’d been doing. “He’s here?”
“Steve?” you furrowed your eyebrows. “Yeah. He’s getting Asher’s room ready. What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, like he was clearing it. “Nothing. I’ll see you later - goodnight, buddy,” he whispered the last part, even though the boy wasn’t awake to hear it.
You closed the door as you took Asher to bed. He stayed mostly asleep as you changed him out of his costume and into some pajamas, and Steve tucked him in when you laid him in bed. He was so peaceful. Worn out.
Steve followed you back into the living room. You rubbed your tired eyes. “I don’t know if I can do another movie,” you admitted.
“That’s okay,” Steve said. “Do you want me to go? Or I can stay?”
“You can stay the night if you want,” you offered. “But I’m probably gonna go to bed now. Sorry, I’m not as much fun these days.”
Steve smiled gently. “Hey, I get it. I’ll head home.” He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll see you.”
You had barely seen Steve go when you went into your own room. You cleaned the pain and makeup off your skin, the most effort you had as you passed out in bed right after.
You dreamed of both Steve and Eddie - your heart had never been good at choosing.
You hated going to the grocery store. Especially now with a toddler on top of being pregnant and exhausted. But you had to do what you had to do.
You pushed Asher in the cart through the store, gathering the things you needed. He reached for the candy when you got to the checkout counter. “Candy!”
“Okay, one candy,” you conceded with little fight, moving to the rack to pick out a chocolate bar for the toddler. But just as you began to reach for it, a magazine on the rack caught your attention, making your stomach sink.
Corroded Coffin Frontman Eddie Munson’s Secret Baby?
Below the headline were photos of Eddie with Asher on halloween. Holding hands as they went from house to house, Eddie holding Asher with the baby’s arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Eddie laughing with the guys as he held his son.
This could not be happening.
How had paparazzi made it to Hawkins? It’s not like people local to Hawkins didn’t already know Eddie was Asher’s father. But someone absolutely could have snapped the pics to make some money.
You felt sick as you paid for your groceries, grabbing one of the magazines. You hurried from the store, getting Asher into his seat and heading back home. You plucked the phone from the receiver as soon as you got Asher settled.
It rang a few times before a sleepy “Hello?” came from the other end.
“Have you seen what’s in the tabloids?”
Eddie groaned. “What this time?”
You picked up the magazine. “Corroded Coffin Frontman Eddie Munson was spotted Halloween night with a child sources say is his son-“
“Shit,” Eddie hissed. You could hear as he sat up in bed, practically see the blankets pooling at his shirtless waist, lithe tattooed body with his disheveled hair hanging down his shoulders-
“Fuck,” Eddie said. “I have like 50 voicemails from the label. Can I, uh, call you back?”
Before you could say anything the line went dead. You cursed as you slammed the phone back down onto the receiver.
You had wanted to keep Asher away from this. You didn’t want his face plastered all over the whole country, the whole world. With everything, it had been so easy to forget who Eddie was now - famous. Really famous.
You knew you had no right to be mad at Eddie, but you were anyway. You were furious, and you had to take it out on someone. You looked at Asher, playing with his toys on the living room floor - and realized his life was about to change.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Eddie muttered as he paced his room, the ringing phone held to his ear. When his agent answered, there was no relief.
“Eddie, what the fuck?” he said in lieu of a greeting, his voice angry. Eddie had a headache already.
“Look, I can explain-“
“Is that kid yours?”
“Just let me-“
“Is. That. Kid. Yours?”
Eddie ran his hand over his face. “Yes, but I swear-“
His agent let out a laugh that sounded more fed up than joyful. “Just typical, Munson. Do you know how much of a disaster this is for us right now? The phone has been ringing off the hook for you all day. Why have you never mentioned this?”
His head was pounding. “I haven’t known myself for very long.”
A sigh. “Well, congratulations, I guess.”
“There might also be another one?” he added on, wincing as he said it.
“Another…what?” Another disbelieving huff. “Eddie, what the fuck are you getting into over there?”
“Long story,” he mumbled.
“But this one is yours? In the media?”
“Yes.”
“We’re going to need to make a statement,” he said. “We’re going to have to spin this and say you’ve been trying to keep him out of the spotlight.”
“That’s the truth.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll leave out the part where you’re just now finding out the kid exists at all.” He scoffs. “I can’t believe you, Munson. You’ve been more trouble than anyone I’ve ever worked with. Better be glad you sell records.”
The call ended abruptly, Eddie letting the phone dangle from his fingers as he buried his face in his hands and thought. This was bad, but it wasn’t the worst thing to happen. The fans were bound to find out about Asher eventually, with the way cameras followed their every move. This was okay. He could handle this.
It wasn’t the end of the world.
The end of the world came the next day.
Eddie woke up again to his phone ringing off the hook, a million missed calls from the label and from you. This time he jumped up in a panic, preparing to snatch the phone when there was a loud banging at his door.
Panic struck him. What if someone had happened? He threw the front door open to see you, looking absolutely furious. “Eddie.”
“What…?” he asked, utterly terrified of what your best words would be.
You didn’t say any. You slapped a magazine against his chest instead, pushing roughly past his shoulder and into the house, phone still ringing. Eddie reluctantly looked down at the magazine in his hand - and felt like he would be sick on the spot.
“So, another baby?” You said from behind him, hands on your hips. “You sure do get around, huh?”
Eddie couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A woman he didn’t particularly recognize, holding a small brown haired baby. The words below her picture - “Another woman steps forward with a baby claimed to belong to Corroded Coffin’s Eddie Munson.”
His hands shook as he numbly walked back into the house, collapsing onto the couch. You were about to say something, but the phone began ringing for the millionth time. He picked it up this time. “Hello?”
“Another one?”
Eddie could hear his heart beating through his ears. “I don’t know anything about-“
“Did you sleep with this girl? Linda?”
Eddie gaped down at the magazine, examining the girl’s picture. “I…I don’t know.”
You snorted.
“You don’t know. He doesn’t know.” His manager laughed humorlessly over the line. “God damnit, Munson.”
Eddie was trembling. He really couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen this woman in his life. It was possible. He’d woken up plenty of times on the road unable to remember who, if anyone, he brought to bed.
The way he’d drown his emotions in alcohol, until every girl throwing themselves at him looked like you. Your name tattooed on his body as he slept with these other women, poor substitutions for the real thing. The thing he’d given up, and now probably ruined for good.
“The girl wants money,” his manager continued. “So the next step is a DNA test. You better pray, boy, this isn’t looking good for you.”
The phone call ended abruptly. Eddie lowered the phone from his ear, not looking to forward to facing you, either.
“Did you sleep with her?” you asked him, and the hurt in your eyes broke him more than anything.
“I don’t know,” he said again, feeling like the biggest dumbass in the world. All these things he’d done, these stupid mistakes he’d made, ruining the one thing he’d wanted more than anything. Even if he hadn’t always seen that.
You shook your head. “Eddie, if that woman’s baby turns out to be yours, that’s it. I don’t want anything with you, I don’t want to be your friend. I’ll finish this bullshit in court and co-parent with you as much as I have to. But I’m done with you.”
Eddie’s heart kept breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. Even if he had slept with this woman, he didn’t care about her. He wanted you. He would do anything to have you.
He was about to say something else when you left the trailer with the door slamming behind you. He was left alone with nothing but his thoughts, his heart having followed you out the door.
You hadn’t even realized you’d started crying until you were knocking on Steve’s apartment door, tears streaming down your face that you wipe away as you wait for him to open the door.
When he did, his expression immediately changed from confused to concerned. “What are you doing here?” he asked, pulling you inside. “Are you okay? Is Ash okay?” His eyes darted down to your stomach. “The baby?”
“We’re okay,” you sniffled. “Have you seen the tabloids today?”
“No?” His eyes widened. “What do they say?”
“Some other girl has come out and said she had Eddie’s baby. And he can’t even remember if he slept with her or not.” You scoffed as the tears began to fall again.
“Jesus,” Steve said. He pulled you into a hug. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”
You shrugged, crying as your head lay on his chest. “I don’t know. I figured he probably slept with other girls on the road, but I didn’t want to know. I don’t want him to have a baby with some random girl.”
Steve wished you didn’t care what Eddie got up to, but he knew you did. He knew a part of you still loved Eddie, and there was nothing he could do about that.
When you looked up at him, it was with red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. He still thought you were so beautiful like this. So beautiful, that as you stared into each other’s eyes, feeling your hearts beating against one another’s chest, all he could think about was kissing you again. So much so that he leaned in, so so slowly, until he was pressing his lips against yours.
He was surprised when you kissed him back, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. His arms slid around your waist as you kissed deeply, picking up in intensity quickly. When you pulled back slightly he instinctively chased after your lips, pressing two quick pecks to them as you pulled away.
“I love you,” Steve said, and then he opened his eyes and he saw the look on your face - the horror, guilt, and panic.
“I should go,” you said, pulling away and out of his reach, even as his hand reached out towards you.
“Please don’t,” Steve said. “Please just talk to me.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry, Steve,” you said, and he watched you leave, heart breaking as the door shut behind you.
You were nearly hyperventilating as you reached your car. Your thoughts were spinning so fast you couldn’t keep up, you thought you were going to be sick. It was like a ride you really did not want to be on. You hated how much you liked the kiss with Steve. You hated how much you still loved Eddie.
Why were you always fucked?
Chapters: Masterlist (Go here to see list of chapters, plotline and general warnings.)
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Non-Traditional Omegaverse, Slow burn, Modern!AU, Mechanic!Eddie
⚠️18+: fluff, angst, angst, angst, some little smut at the beginning, and indications of it at the end, Eddie having a severe sweet tooth
wc: 11.7k
A/N: so soon? who would of thought? thank you @andvys for proofreading my bby ❤️ also, i hurt my own feelings writing this chapter.
Anyways, Enjoy! ❤️ And don't forget to always support me by hitting the reblog button or leave a comment!
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CHAPTER 23
You were gripping the pillow below your head tightly, biting your bottom lip with a pleasured smile as you groaned into your throat.
Your back arched as the sun beams entered from the windows, the clock signaling 10:39 AM, and you had awakened just a few minutes ago. This was your new favorite way of waking up, and you didn’t think you could let go of it that easily. Your mind was filled with the drowsiness of just waking up, mixing with the lust and the overstimulation from yesterday as well.
You gasped when you felt yourself clench tightly around large fingers, your orgasm exploding from you as your clit was sucked on, and the movements never stopped. You trembled as your back arched and arched, and you were helped to ride the orgasm out, slowly, until you weren’t clenching any longer and your back hit the mattress beneath you once more.
You were breathing heavily, a dopey relaxed smile on your lips, your eyes closed, and you whimpered a bit through it all as the fingers were pulled out from you. You looked down, and then, crawling up towards you and popping his head out from the blanket, Eddie appeared with a smirk on his face, your juices all over his mouth and chin.
“God, I love having breakfast first thing in the morning.” He joked and you snorted, your hands flying to your face in shame while you laughed. You heard his chuckle as he moved over you, giving a kiss to your stomach before he got the blanket and sheets off the both of you so he could get up. You dropped your hands to finally look at him as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You’re insatiable.”
“Oh come on. As if you don’t fucking like it, Peach.” You couldn’t help the giggle that fell from your lips as you also got up from the bed, grabbing onto Eddie’s tank top, putting it on over you, and then you grabbed your panties and gym shorts. He was pulling some new boxers on himself as well as some sweatpants, pushing his hair away from his face, and now, you would go to the bathroom to clean yourself and then, you would have breakfast.
The new dynamic. A domestic one. The one you two have been having for two weeks now. You stayed, he stayed, and you had breakfast, then lunch, then spend the day, maybe a fuck in there or not, and then you two would leave. This new arrangement just made the two of you spend more and more time with one another and you couldn’t be happier. He now stays on weekdays too, not the weekends only anymore.
You two got up and got ready for work, maybe even have a coffee together before either you headed out from his house before Gareth popped up, because Jeff already knew, or him leaving your apartment first before you left yourself to your office. Well, sometimes not even just coffee… You woke Eddie up the other day with a blowjob, or sometimes the two of you would just simply find each other as soon as the alarms set off. You have been in an amazing mood for the past weeks, and you had Eddie to thank for that.
Today, he woke you up with kisses on your chest, then your stomach, and when you could fully grasp the situation, he started eating you out. You were amazed that this man was so starved for you in that way, to the point of wanting to do it to you just because. He told you he loved it, and by the hard ons he got each time he ate you out, you could be sure of that.
You walked to the door of the bedroom, ready to head to the bathroom, but you felt your ass being slapped as you passed by Eddie, who you glared at. He shrugged with a grin and he continued to rummage his drawers for pants. Your heart beat loudly in your chest as you left the room and headed to finally clean yourself down there because, even if you were kinky like that with Eddie, you are not that kinky to be walking around with your juices and his saliva between your legs.
Your stomach never let those butterflies die. You could feel them still as wild as the day they first hatched from their cocoon. You wondered if at any point you would be able to tell him about your feelings. Should you at this point? Maybe not. You bit the side of your thumb nail nervously. The signs were there, right? You could see them and feel them, but what if it was all in your head? Why were you not confident with this? It was so unlike you.
You always went head first with your feelings, you were honest, and you would also be more cautious with this. Before, you would have left the person you started having feelings for after confronting them about it and they rejected you. Now, you couldn’t even confront Eddie with them, therefore, you didn’t know if he would reject you or not. But the thought of him possibly doing so… frightened you.
It was the first time you felt like this. More than Henry. Or maybe because you never truly went through it like this before. Henry, you both knew it was more than just a fling. It was years of pent up tension and feelings, fucking idiotic to say it now, but it was. Then Billy, he confronted you first with his feelings, so he was the one with the fear of rejection, even if you were barely coming to terms with your own feelings at that time.
But with Eddie, you were doubtful and you didn’t know why exactly. Maybe it was because you knew how… well, how much of a manwhore Eddie was before. When you two didn’t speak with one another, you would know about how many girls he fucked in a single weekend against your own accord. It was because Robin was always shocked. She told you that Eddie once fucked five girls in a single weekend.
That memory made your belly turn uncomfortably. That was the reason you were skeptical about it all. It was hard to believe that out of fucking five girls in a single weekend, he would settle to just fuck you. Just you. But then it also begs the question if you were indeed special to him, or maybe, you were the only one who let him hit it raw.
Now that the aftermath, the bliss of finally becoming exclusive with him passed, you could see a little clearer. He could be just doing this because he goes raw and you knew it feels ten times better for a dick. You couldn’t help your brain from being mean to you. Sometimes you wished you could just shut it off, but it always happened. It would turn on at a random time of the day, with Eddie or not, and it would start fucking up your mind.
You sighed as you cleaned yourself, putting the panties and then the gym shorts on. You looked into the mirror and you saw the hickey on your collarbone, making you roll your eyes but deep inside you felt owned. You felt like he was marking you because he wanted that little bruise to sneak out in front of someone, maybe when you leaned down and your shirt would fall a bit, open up, and for it to show.
Or maybe he was too horny and he didn’t notice he did it.
See? The fucking brain being mean to you once again. You washed your hands as well as your face, trying to center yourself back to earth. You opened the mirror cabinet and got your hand lotion out, the vial in there almost empty now, and the curiosity picked up again. What was that? The liquid was sort of purple, and you had never seen anything like that. His name was on it, so it was prescribed.
Were you in a position to ask him about it? There was another word under his name though… You grabbed the little vial, but it only had the letters ‘SUPP.’. Supplement maybe? Probably some vitamin he had to inject himself with?
You wondered why he never spoke of any illness before with you. You couldn’t help but wonder if Steve knew, or if anyone else did. You didn’t dare to ask the others in case they did not know, and you would just throw Eddie under the bus if you asked. If he didn’t talk to you about it, it’s either too personal, or something he wanted to ignore… yet your curiosity was eating you away.
You put the vial back, and picked up the lotion to put a bit on your palms and then smear them, putting the tube back and closing the cabinet. One of the few things that made you believe you had a chance, was the fact that Eddie had let you leave a few things of your own around his house.
The lotion in the cabinet was one, then there were some scrunchies in the drawer of the night table on the right, the side you always slept in. Then he would always keep diet coke in his fridge knowing you drink that religiously, and then you had your toothbrush. You knew almost no one went to the bathroom upstairs, Eddie had told you so. There was no issue with you leaving some of your stuff around his house, as well as he left his.
You still had one of his hair creams for his curls in your shower, then you also had his toothbrush there, and when asked, you always told them it was Jeff’s. You still didn’t know how you were handling that lie so well. You didn’t know for how long it would stay that way though, so that’s why you were starting to put pressure on confessing your feelings to Eddie.
If Robin were to find out you had been lying to her for months, you knew she wouldn’t forgive you. She would be so mad. But, sooner or later you would have to tell her the truth, more so if you take the leap and confess. Robin needed to know the person behind either your happiness or your heartbreak. You hoped it was happiness, but you couldn’t be sure and that was slowly eating your confidence away.
You brushed your teeth later on, brushing your hair with the brush that Eddie had there for himself. You couldn’t believe you felt giddy by the fact his hairs were mixed with yours in this stupid brush. You had to get a hold of yourself. You are literally fucking this man, and you were acting like a schoolgirl being giddy over the fact her crush said ‘hello’ to her. You shook your head, wiping your hands away with the hand towel, before walking out of the bathroom.
Eddie walked out from the room now, his hair on a low ponytail, and he gave you a smile, nodding towards the stairs to signal you to go have breakfast. You squinted your eyes at him, an eyebrow of his rising in question.
“Didn’t you have breakfast already?” You asked and he chuckled, beginning to walk forward, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I ain’t full yet.” You smiled, biting your bottom lip and you immediately slapped his ass this time. He jumped at the slap, his head turning to look at you with a squint. You raised your hands in feigned innocence.
“You had a mosquito.” He rolled his eyes, smiling as he walked down the stairs, you following right behind him like a puppy.
“Yeah, sure. You are obsessed with my ass, and you know it.” He commented as he walked to the kitchen. You followed and turned to the fridge instantly, opening it as if you owned the house and Eddie did not mind a bit. He never did. Another thing that made you think that you were extra special to him. You hummed as you looked at the contents inside the fridge.
“Look who’s talking.” You spoke and you grabbed some juice, looking at what else you two could eat for today. Eddie was in fact obsessed with your ass, or at least the position. He loved the ass up only position, and you weren’t complaining, you loved it too. He felt deep and he hit your g-spot perfectly each fucking time.
“I never denied that.” You heard him chuckle as two glasses clinked when he put them on the counter. You hummed as you also grabbed some frozen eggos from his freezer.
“Who the fuck buys Eggos nowadays?”
“They’re delicious and quick to make if you’re in a hurry, or simply don’t want to cook… like now.” He grinned as he took the box of frozen waffles and walked back to his toaster. You scrunched your nose once more and you slowly put the juice back, turning your head to peek over your shoulder to see if Eddie was still turned around. You licked the corner of your lip and reached out for a can of coke. He always nagged at you about drinking coke at so early in the morning, but you couldn’t help it. Your throat was dry and you didn’t want coffee like this.
You closed the fridge, walking towards the stool and sitting down, looking at Eddie’s back as he whistled. You heard the click of the toaster and you took the opportunity to open your can, the ‘psst, clack’ sound louder than the click. Your face turned into a wince as you saw Eddie straighten up, slowly turning around with a murderous look on his eyes.
“You sneaky shit.” You smiled innocently and slowly took a sip of your coke with a loud slurp. He sighed, rolling his eyes at you, going towards the fridge to grab the syrups and a can of coke himself.
“Ha!” You exclaimed and he glared at you, closing the fridge with his elbow, putting the bottles of chocolate and strawberry syrup on the table. He opened his own can and took a long sip, before he let out a sigh of relief.
“You are a bad influence. I never drank coke in the fucking morning, and you come along and do this to me… I should cut you off, start anew, return to my good healthy ways–” You rolled your eyes at him, shaking your head.
“You have a cigarette at 8 AM sometimes. That is actually worse.”
“Digestive. And also, not doing that anymore since you started being a bad and horrible influence.” You raised your eyebrows at him and nodded, taking a sip of your can as you turned away from him.
“Fine. I’ll leave after having an Eggo, and you won’t see me again, Munson. Return to your old ways, to your morning cigarette. Cannot believe you prefer that over a blow–” You squealed and giggled when strong arms engulfed you from behind, almost throwing you off your stool. He blew a raspberry on your neck, tickling you, making the butterflies in your belly dance and fly.
“You know I don’t mean it, Peach, come on~” He cooed and you pretended to think and act offended.
“Oh, I don’t know… Calling me a bad influence, that hurt.” You snorted a bit at your silliness, his arms hugging you over your shoulders, pulling you flush against his chest. He rolled his eyes, blowing another raspberry against your neck, making you giggle and wiggle under his arms. He was smiling against you, and you wondered what he was thinking right now. What was he feeling?
“Don’t be a wuss.”
“I should leave–” At your words he gave you a soft bite on the shoulder, making you squeal with a giggle, your legs kicking a bit from the shiver that he sent through your body.
“Nuh uh.” He went silent after that, but his embrace didn’t leave you. You flushed all over, fearing he would feel the erratic beating of your heart in your chest, under his arms. You got nervous, yet you were happy, but you didn’t know why he went silent.
“You good, Munson?”
“You got anything to do… today? Tomorrow?” It was a sunday tomorrow. You blinked a few times before shaking your head as you grabbed onto his forearms gently.
“No… I wasn’t… Didn’t plan anything at all. The group didn’t talk either on the group chat, so…” You softly spoke and you felt him nod against the crook of your neck. You licked your lips as you anticipated his question. You hoped he would ask what you thought he was going to ask. You could feel him hesitate, and you just didn’t know whether to talk or not, your heart crumbling the more he doubted, the more he considered it–
“Would you like to stay for another night?”
The whole weekend. You two would have spent the whole weekend together and– You felt giddy. You felt so happy. You felt like you could reach and touch the sky, pass your hand through a cloud and be able to feel it. Your heart clenched with joy, your belly turned as your butterflies fluttered all around, but you had to appear normal. You had to appear as if you weren’t falling more and more for Eddie Munson.
“I think someone is getting a little obsessed with me–” Another raspberry being blown on your skin, his head shaking a bit to cause even more tickles on you thanks to his stubble, laughter escaping your lips as you almost get thrown off your stool. “Okay! Okay– Okay, I’ll stay…”
“Yeah?” He whispered into your neck, and you closed your eyes, feeling his breath hitting your skin. You felt as if you two were all alone in the world right now. The idea of being with him, in his house, for three days, caused you to feel so wanted. So needed. And you hoped that was the case.
“Yeah…” You softly whispered, no jokes this time. You should try to be more direct with your true feelings, stop the little bantering to pretend to be friends and nothing more. You wanted to make him nervous, just like he made you feel. With or without realizing it, you didn’t know. You heard what sounded like a sigh of relief coming from his nose, and then he pressed a soft kiss on your neck before the Eggos flew out of the toaster, signaling they were ready. You two jumped at the sound, to then giggle a bit as Eddie separated from you.
You didn’t notice how badly your heart was racing. You put a hand over your chest to try to calm your breathing, your panting almost as you watched his back, working on getting the waffles out of the toaster. You saw him wince and shake his hand whenever he burnt himself trying to get the damn thing out and on the plate, making you giggle.
You bit your bottom lip as you took deep breaths in to calm yourself down. You put your hand down from your chest when you saw him turn and put the plate of waffles in the middle. He walked around the kitchen island counter and sat on the stool next to you. Not in front of you like he did before. You hummed in approval as you reached over for a waffle and then the chocolate syrup.
“What are we thinking for lunch?” He asked as he grabbed a waffle and the strawberry syrup for himself. You were pouring some chocolate on yours, then putting it down, Eddie instantly grabbing it to pour chocolate over the strawberry on his waffle. You winced at the sweetness of it, but you got used to him having an extreme sweet tooth.
“Uhm… I was thinking of a creampie.” He choked on the bite of his waffle, giving you a warning look as he tried to push the food down his throat, his fist over his mouth as he coughed. You giggled and patted his back a few times. He let a breath out of his lips once he could swallow and he turned to look at you with a glare.
“Trying to kill me here woman?” You raised your eyebrows at him, taking a bite out of your own waffle and shrugging.
“So you had a special breakfast, and I can’t have a special lunch? This is pure injustice.” He chuckled, shaking his head at you, but his hand squeezed your thigh, making your entire body set aflame.
“Keep being a menace, and you’ll get no creampies at all.” You whined at his threat, but you both knew it was all a joke. Before, it would have been actual flirting, an actual proposition of what you wanted later on to happen, but now, it was just a joke.
“You’re no fun.” You giggled as you kept eating, both of you talking about anything at all and you couldn’t believe just how easy it was. How smooth it all felt with him. You didn’t know you could be this comfortable with someone again. With Billy you didn’t feel a hundred percent relaxed because of many aspects you didn’t quite enjoyed of him. Like his friends, his suspicious attitude around yours, his little anger outbursts… You felt comfortable with Henry, but it wasn’t even like this.
You couldn’t describe it, maybe it was because of your history with Eddie. You had hated him and he had hated you. You two started from scratch, you became friends, even best friends, and there was always this sense of comfort. It was like the sun coming out after the heavy storm and the hurricane. You take that sun for granted when you have it all the time, but you learnt to bask in its warmth when it appeared for the first time after having tornados all the time with Eddie.
It was natural. It was magnetizing. You couldn’t quite comprehend how he managed to sneak under your skin the way he did, but you weren’t complaining. The fear of rejection was still there, but you could worry about it later. You could worry about it on monday. For now, you wanted to enjoy this full weekend with him. To be in his arms, to kiss him, to do stuff together.
After washing the dishes, you somehow found the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies in his cupboards and fridge. Eddie put on music from his TV as he watched you cook in his kitchen. You heard him shuffle beside you, watching your every move, asking what you were doing. You giggled as you explained the steps to him, and you could hear him salivating next to you.
You were pouring the chocolate chips and you saw him point at the bowl, making you look at him with an eyebrow raised and then you gave an ‘Ah’ sound of realization, and without him telling you, you started pouring more chips inside.
You didn’t notice how he turned his head to look at you at the action. You minded yourself with mixing it all together with the spatula, your tongue peeking out of your lips as you grunted from how thick the batter now was. He chuckled, trying to grab the bowl and the spatula from you, but you pouted, moving away from him.
“I can do it. I am an independent woman.” You stated as you kept mixing and he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. He waited for you, but eventually you mixed it all together. He could have done it in a minute but you took three to make sure everything was nicely put together. You hummed as you walked towards the fridge, putting the bowl inside for the batter to cool down and solidify a bit.
“What’s that for?”
“Hmm?”
“Putting the batter in the fridge, why?” He asked, actually curious as you washed your hands and then the counter with a rag.
“So that it’s easier to put on the tray in small pieces and the batter isn’t as sticky.” You explained and he hummed, checking his phone. You didn't feel that worry of him talking to other girls anymore. You didn't have to wonder if he was planning something else or if he was checking someone else's profile.
“No signs of the group. Nancy and Robin must be together. Steve and Jonathan too. Argyle and Eden…”
“Oh, yeah, probably a couple's night.” You didn’t process your words until you said them. You stopped for a second as you felt a cold sweat invading your entire body and Eddie stayed silent.
Shit. You and Eddie. You two are alone as well, and before, if the circumstances would have just stayed as ‘friends only’, you wouldn’t be as embarrassed and scared as you were now. You two are also, kind of, almost, in a couple’s night. You two are having sex, having the meals of the day, spending time together, talking, laughing, and then just sleeping while holding one another.
How the fuck were you supposed to save this one? You thought about it but, if you were going to be brave, you should let these kinds of things sink in. You had to do these little hints and comments for him to maybe, probably, realize your feelings for him. So you stayed silent and resumed your cleaning as if what you had just said still hadn’t processed in your brain. You heard Eddie clear his throat before he looked down at his phone while his other hand scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah. I guess.” You then felt his presence leave your side and your heart plummeted. You watched him go to the toilet and you had to hold yourself against the counter, looking down at the sink with worry.
He looked troubled. Fuck, he looked troubled by the word ‘Couple’. He might have been a little scared, that’s all, it didn’t mean yet that he didn’t want you that way. It– But fuck, he clearly didn’t like the sound of that, did he? He immediately ripped himself away from you and left your side, probably uncomfortable now.
You fucked up the entire day, hadn't you? Was this going to be awkward now? Was he going to come up with an excuse and make you leave? You felt your bottom lip quivering slightly and you closed your eyes, taking a deep breath in and shaking your head. No. You had to snap out. You knew that it could be a yes or a no, and for now, there wasn’t a complete answer.
You dried your hands on the kitchen cloth that was hanging from the oven and licked your lips. You turned to look at the door of the bathroom and you took a deep breath in, walking towards the couch, but you spotted something underneath the TV, right in the crevice of the rack that held all the games for the console. It looked like a photo album. You turned your head to look at the bathroom door again and then back at the album.
You walked towards it, grabbing it from there and then looked at the cover. It was plain green. You sat down on the couch again as you opened it, looking at the very first picture. You tilted your head as you saw a woman, smiling. Hair wild like Eddie’s, but her eyes were blue. She looked beautiful in that white sundress, and thanks to the wind blowing to the side, you saw the pregnant belly being hugged by the dress.
“My mom.”
You jumped in your place as you turned your head to look up at Eddie. He was tilting his head, looking down at you and then at the album. You stuttered a bit and moved to close it.
“I’m– I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop, it was– It just caught my attention, it was in between all the game cases and–”
“It’s okay Peach.” He rounded the couch and sat down, his legs spread. His couch was very wide and it had depth. It was almost the size of a single bed mattress. He patted the space between his legs and you felt your heart burst in your chest as you moved, sitting down there, and you knew this was not in a sexual manner. He was not giving you the green light for anything like that. His hands came to wrap around your waist, while his chin rested on your right shoulder. You were nervous by the intimate position. You cleared your throat a bit before talking again.
“Can I…?”
“Mhm.” You felt your belly turn at the acceptance, at the way he was letting you walk inside his world a little bit more. You opened the page again, looking down at his mom, pregnant with him.
“She was beautiful.” He smiled, nodding against you.
“Now you know where I got my good looks.” You rolled your eyes a bit, but a smile spread on your lips. You turned the pages and it was more pictures of her, then, the picture of a man. Your smile fell as you remembered Eddie’s past, the man in the picture making venom rise in your throat.
“Your father.” You didn’t even try to hide the anger behind your tone. He had hurt Eddie and his mother for years, and the bastard dared to take a picture, smiling, next to Eddie’s mother who wasn’t. He nodded again, and you felt his jaw clench a bit against you.
“I keep that picture just because my mom is in there. It’s the only picture I have of my father.” You nodded in understanding, not wanting to even give the advice that he can simply cut his father out of the picture because if he kept it that way, it was for something. You turned the page again, and now, you saw Eddie’s mom, holding a baby in a hospital bed. Eddie. Your heart warmed at the sight, your fingers slowly brushing over the picture.
“It’s you.” You softly spoke and he let out a breath, and you could even hear the smile from it.
“Yeah. That’s little me.”
“Who took these pictures?” You asked and he moved to grip the corner of the page, turning it, only for you to see a much younger Wayne, looking down at baby Eddie. You felt your eyes building up with tears, the lump forming in your throat, and you tried to swallow it down, nodding slowly. “Mmm… Makes sense.”
“The only pictures I have of my childhood were always taken by my mom and Wayne.” You took a deep breath in to hold back from crying, turning the pages slowly as you inspected them. You laughed when there was a picture of Eddie at three years old falling off his first bicycle. The moment was captured perfectly, and then a picture of him crying into the camera holding his knee.
He laughed with you, pointing at certain pictures and explaining the backstory from them, and you didn’t notice how time was passing between the two of you. He let you in. He let you dig into his past a little further, and in a very intimate manner. You both finally reached Eddie at his eleven years old. His head was shaved completely, his smile gone.
“What happened here?” He remained silent for a few seconds, and you felt his Adam's apple bob in his throat.
“My mother died.” You closed your eyes, feeling your gut clench in pain, not even beginning to understand or comprehend the loss of a mother. You didn’t even want to think about that of your own mom. “My father didn’t like me growing my hair out… so he made me get a buzz cut every six months.”
You clenched your jaw and you saw how the pictures were time skipping a lot. Not many pictures of Eddie in his eleven to thirteen years old. He lived with his father at that time, and he explained that he didn’t let Wayne visit much, nor he let Eddie visit Wayne back in Hawkins.
Then, a picture of Eddie giving a big smile, his hair a little more grown, and you could see it was Christmas, assuming it from the small tree filled with lights at the corner of the trailer. You saw what Eddie had on his lap, the very same electric guitar he had in the corner of this room. You raised your head and turned to look at it. It was as if it were brand new, but it was actually from thirteen years ago.
“Wayne had saved up. This was three months after I came to live with him after my father got locked up. He had saved up all the money from the presents he didn’t get to buy me in those three years I lived with my father.” You couldn’t help but tear up again, now realizing just how important Wayne is in Eddie’s life. And he was sick. You turned to look at him, not even helping yourself as you gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
You knew he was hurting while showing you this, and you wanted him to know that you knew. You wanted him to know that you two could stop at any minute that he wanted. That you two could just close the photo album and move on. Instead, he smiled as he opened his eyes to look at you and then back down at the album.
You followed, moving on and on with the pictures, until they stopped for a while when Eddie hit sixteen. Not a single one from that age. You didn’t dare to ask, but then you moved on to seventeen, and Eddie was completely different. He looked masculine, older than what he was supposed to be. His hair reached his shoulders, and you wondered how it could be. You were about to ask, but he kept moving on with the pages. You realized that he didn’t want to talk about these ages, so you let your curiosity die down. You then saw a picture of him, Gareth, Jeff and another guy, posing with their instruments at what looked like a bar.
“Corroded Coffin?” You asked and he whistled, smiling at you.
“Good memory. Yes.” You couldn’t help the proud smile on your face, and then you kept moving the pictures until– You snorted, loudly, to then start cracking up. Eddie only grunted at what you were looking at, wanting to rip the album away from you.
“Okay– Okay, what the hell is this!?” You moved the album away as you kept looking at the picture. A very punk ass Eddie Munson, arms crossed towards the camera, next to a very grumpy Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley flipping the middle finger… the three of them in comical blue sailor outfits.
“I needed money, and– I didn’t know I had to wear a sailor’s outfit, okay? The pay was good and I didn’t even let the interviewer finish his explanation that I took the job at that ice cream shop.” You could hear him sigh as you kept giggling, your feet kicking a bit with giddiness. “I met Steve and Robin there.”
“Really?” You asked, with an eyebrow raised. “I thought you all went to the same school?”
“Just because we went to the same school, doesn’t mean we were all friends while we attended.” He explained and you nodded in understanding, looking down at the picture again. You kept moving, and you saw Eddie sitting at a big table, a game board in the middle of it, and then there was Gareth, Jeff, that other guy from his band, and some younger teens. You pointed at a particular one, wearing a funky looking cap.
“That’s… Dustin, right? I know Mike and Will because of Nance and Johnny…” He nodded, smiling again.
“My old club. Mike and Will are cool, but well… Dustin is kind of like a little brother.” You hummed with a smile at the endearment. You kept moving and finally you reached graduation. A picture of him, Robin and Nancy with diplomas in hand. Eddie was 20 at this time, while Nance and Robs were 18. Steve had already graduated, but he was still in the picture in his casual outfit.
That was the last picture. You closed the album and you didn’t notice the twinge of sadness that invaded you. You had friends in school, but the only one that stayed had been Camila… You had no childhood friends, nor school friends… You had no friends from your past that decided to stay by your side.
“Hey…” You snapped out, turning your head to look at him. His head was no longer on your shoulder, but looking at you. “You have us, you know that.”
How did he know? You blinked at him, trying to wipe your tears away, make them go back into your eye sockets, because it was stupid to cry about something like that. You nodded slowly, clearing your throat.
“I know.” You smiled at him and he huffed with a small little grin on his lips, and he leaned to place a kiss on yours. You took a deep breath in through your nose at the caring gesture, your hand moving to the back of his head to hold onto him. Your neck was straining a bit but you didn’t really care.
He pulled away after a few seconds and you licked your lips, your eyes connecting to his. The silence was trying to make the two of you speak to each other, but the timer on your phone decided to interrupt, cutting the both of you off and snap from the trance you were put in. You sighed as you grabbed it from the coffee table.
“Time to put those bad boys into the oven.” You said and he nodded, eagerly getting up from the couch, pulling you up with him with a squeal from your throat.
“Fuck yes, cookies.” You couldn’t help at the eagerness in his voice, how he moved you towards the kitchen once more to start preparing the cookies. You couldn’t help but marvel at how he looked, how he smiled with excitement and salivated while making little balls out of the dough and putting them on the pan. How he frowned whenever you caught him eating raw dough out of the bowl and you slapped it away.
You were completely whipped.
As you two waited for the cookies to be done, you had busied yourselves in playing games, and you even helped Eddie with some finances for his car shop. When you pulled out your laptop to check your work emails, which you did even on a saturday, he stayed next to you, asking about your job.
No one took the time to learn what you did. No one seemed interested in knowing what you did outside of a bedroom. But Eddie did. Eddie has. You cannot overlook something like that, even if to many it might seem simple, something that should be a given. He made amused noises whenever you showed articles that were made out of your own campaigns, amazed that you have helped a few models rise in status thanks to that.
“So, you are basically rich.” He suddenly spat out and you snorted, shrugging. The smell of freshly baked cookies now filled the entire living room.
“I am not there yet, but if I wanted to rent a house, I could.” His eyebrows raised in surprise at you, only to then squint as he poked your side, making you squeal.
“Now, what is the fucking excuse of getting a new car?” You rolled your eyes at his question, holding back the snort in your throat as you closed your laptop on the coffee table.
“Emotional value.” You replied and in all honesty, it didn’t. You had bought a second hand car back when you lived with your mom in order to escape that city. Yet maybe it did hold some emotional value, knowing you used that car to start anew. To meet new friends. To have the job you’ve always wanted. To meet Eddie. This car led you to meet Eddie.
“Okay, if it holds too much emotional value, then just keep it in a garage and buy a new one.” You giggled and shrugged, biting your bottom lip as you thought. That car did lead you to Eddie… but, you could get a car Eddie picked himself for you.
“Will you help me pick the best car for me?” You turned to Eddie and his eyes lit up as he showed you a full on toothed grin, excitement all over his features.
“Absolutely! Of course I’m not making you buy a race car, but I think that a nice BMW would look good on you. Or maybe a japanese car… those are nice.” His eyes were looking forward in thought as he kept mumbling options, and your gaze was still stuck on his entire profile. If he only looked at you, he would see how you were staring, how your eyes were shining with unspoken words of affection, of care.
The timer went off on your phone, and Eddie instantly jumped from the couch and you gasped, following right after as if running after a child. You saw him instantly grab a kitchen towel and open the oven to then take the tray out. The cookies looked soft in the middle and crunchy around the edges. The chocolate looked like it melted correctly and after Eddie closed the oven’s door and turned the heat off, your eyes widened when you saw him immediately about to grab a cookie from the tray, just as you had predicted.
“They are fucking hot Edward! You need to wait!” You pushed him to the side using your hip and you grabbed the kitchen towel from his hands to lay it over the cookies to keep the moisture. He was glaring at you, a soft pout on his bottom lip.
“No they’re not. I can easily eat one–”
“You are not burning your taste buds. Not today. Sit down.” You glared back at him and you heard a huff coming from his part, and he walked back to the couch, plopping down with his arms crossed over his chest like a little kid. You had to hold your giggles in as you looked at his slumped form. He really had a sweet tooth.
You walked towards him, standing in front of his figure and you poked the top of his head.
“Are you mad?”
“Don’t talk to me.” He was acting, you knew it, but it was still funny and adorable seeing him like this. You hummed as you crossed your own arms over your chest, acting as if you were in thought.
“Well… then I guess I will just take the tray home, since you are not going to talk to me–” You were immediately grabbed and thrown forward, prompting you to straddle his lap, a giggle escaping your lips as he softly bit your neck before pulling away. His arms wrapped around you as he pouted with puppy dog eyes.
“I just don’t want to wait.”
“Well, but we have to, or else you’ll burn your taste buds and guess what, you won’t taste anything sweet for days.” He huffed at your words but a playful smile was still displayed on his lips. You wondered if he acted this childish before. You wondered if he was this goofy with someone else before. Did Steve even experience this side?
“Fine… But I guess I’ll have to find something else to keep me preoccupied.” His eyes scanned your lips, to then land on your shoulder. Your body immediately lit up, your hips coming in contact with his, making you clench around absolutely nothing. His eyes returned to look into yours, the playfulness gone, replaced by lust and dilated pupils.
“Mmm… and what could that be?” You spoke softly. He hummed in thought, moving forward to place a kiss on your lips first, to then move down to your jaw. Your eyes closed as you held onto his biceps, your hips slowly starting to roll against his as if you were put in automatic.
“I think that I would like to see you bouncing a little. Can you do that, Peach?” You moaned at the prospect of riding him, your core already becoming wet the more you rubbed yourself on him, the more he went down with his kisses. You felt him pull the strap of the tank top you were wearing, his tank top, down your shoulder, his lips finding your exposed skin there.
“Yeah… Yeah, I can…” You could feel the bulge underneath your hips, his lips moving towards your neck now, his hands splayed on your back as he held you against him. Your heart was lighting up in flames as your nerves turned your belly in such a good way that you couldn’t help but smile and close your eyes as he sucked on your pulse point.
This was a new normal. You hoped this was his new normal. That he considered this ‘right’. That he considered that this was happiness, just like you did. Just like you believed this was meant to be. Like you believed that this is what you two should have been since the very beginning.
“Peach–”
And the front door was suddenly opened with force.
You froze at the same time Eddie did. Your heart stopped, your body immediately turned cold as your eyes snapped wide with plates. You didn’t dare to look to the side. You didn’t dare to see who was at the door, because you were so scared.
You felt how Eddie slowly pulled the strap back on your shoulder, a small growl vibrating in his throat but it was almost too small to detect. You couldn’t help but wish that whoever was at the front door, was someone who wouldn’t react as wrongly as you thought they would… but that was just a wish. Because there was only one person in your whole friend group who had a spare key for Eddie’s house… and that wasn’t you.
Eddie pulled away from your neck, slowly turning his head to the right while you turned yours to the left and– Your heart got caught in your throat. It felt as if two atoms had suddenly collided with each other and your entire existence got wiped in just a millisecond. You felt your breathing turn heavy as you looked at the front door, and Eddie’s arms were not leaving your body, and that helped you not falling backwards because–
Not only was Steve Harrington standing there, his eyes wide in shock, but also Robin Buckley.
Each of your best friends was just standing at the open door, the soft breeze from outside entering the home and your world felt numb suddenly, your ears were ringing and you could feel the dread slowly sinking in your bones. Eddie was frowning towards the door, his eyes also wide, and you four didn’t talk for a few seconds, until Steve finally broke the silence.
“Seriously…?” Your best friend then stuttered for a few seconds, a look of disappointment crossing her features.
“Are you– Are you cheating on Jeff? With his best friend? Why–” And you were frowning at Robin with pity, with sadness, realizing your friend was still not fully grasping the situation, but Steve… Steve’s face fell, replaced by one of anger. A look that made shivers run down your spine.
“Robin… I don’t think Jeff was ever a part of this.” The air around was tense, and you gulped when Robin turned her head to look at Steve.
“What–?” She then looked back towards you and Eddie, and you could see how her face slowly transformed as she put the puzzle together in her head. You could feel your heart beating wildly in your chest as the anxiety started eating you away, as you looked at how your best friend’s face was slowly turning into one of sadness, of anger. “I’ll wait for you in the car, Steve.”
She turned and walked out of the open door, and you heard the metal steps clink and you couldn’t let her walk away. You ripped yourself from Eddie, quickly getting up and rushing towards the door, pushing past Steve. Eddie was about to follow right behind you, but Steve closed the door, making Eddie stop in his tracks.
“You and I are going to fucking talk, Munson.”
But you were oblivious to it. You only cared about your best friend, not even caring that you were without a bra, with very little clothing on, and it wasn’t that hot out. You were barefoot, wincing when you hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs, and you rounded the corner to finally catch Robin, getting hold of her arm.
“Robs–”
“Don’t call me that!” She snapped as she turned around, ripping her arm away from your grasp. Her eyes were wide, burning with incoming tears as she frowned with disappointment. You felt your own sobs threatening to come out, but your throat was dry. You shook your head slowly, your hands coming up towards her.
“I’m so sorry–”
“For what!? For what exactly!? For lying to me!? For not telling me that you have been fucking Eddie since–” Her eyes widened as she did the math and you could only wince as she let out a fake scoff. “Oh, that’s fucking rich. That’s so fucking rich–”
“Robin, I swear, I didn’t mean to hide it from you but–”
“But what!? I am your best friend! I never hid anything from you! Ever! No matter if it was something embarrassing or something that would not work out for me in the end, I never hid it from you!” You were breathing heavily as you listened to her, and you nodded in complete agreement, no fights coming from your part. “Fuck, I came here with Steve as fast as we could, because we saw Jeff kissing a girl at the diner we were at, and I thought he was cheating on you! We came to interrogate Eddie and probably beat his ass if he knew and he helped Jeff lead you on!”
Your heart could only break at that, knowing how much your best friend cared for you, and how Steve was fully willing to bust one of Eddie’s eyes sockets in for your honor. The lump in your throat grew and grew, but somehow, you managed to swallow it down each time.
“I’m so sorry– I know, I know, but I– I haven’t lied except for the name– I swear, I told you everything–”
“But the name!!! The name, the person you were with, the most crucial part of everything you told me was a lie!” You could hear the pain in her voice. You could hear it so clearly and it only made your heart clenched tightly. You nodded again, and you were now desperate, feeling as if you were losing Robin right in front of your eyes.
“I know, I know, but… Robin, we– I wanted to tell you and I was going to come clean soon–”
“It shouldn’t have gotten to that point. I shouldn’t have gotten to the point of you saying ‘I was going to tell you sooner or later’... Because you should have told me the truth from the very beginning.”
You knew she was right… You knew it but… but–
“You don’t understand…” Her eyes squinted at you, a glare clearly hiding behind her pupils.
“What?”
“We didn’t start off like you and Nancy. Like Steve and Jonathan. Even like fucking Argyle and Eden. There were no feelings at all involved at the very beginning, and like I have told you, it was supposed to be one time.” Her eyes turned murderous as she stepped towards you, pointing up at Eddie’s house.
“It doesn’t fucking matter!”
“IT DOES!” Your voice was high, angry, sad, desperate, filled with fear. Robin just stood there staring at you, and you continued talking after you gulped. “It does because– Because we didn’t want anything to be awkward in the group because of the two of us. We– We didn’t want drama, problems, or for you guys to try to put us together like a couple when it wasn’t that idea.”
“But we wouldn’t–”
“You would have!” You finally accused and Robin took a step back, frowning your way. “You would have seen it as… as if we were supposed to be a couple when it wasn’t that… And it was going to be easier to call everything off and act as if nothing ever happened if you guys didn’t know about it.”
“But it wasn’t called off–” And you nodded at her words, feeling the tears slowly invade your eyes as you looked down.
“No. It didn’t… It started with us just… fooling around. And then…”
Suddenly Robin’s face softened, a look of surprise and realization invading her features as she looked up at Eddie’s house and then back at you.
“Holy shit… you like Eddie.” You felt your heart turn into itself at finally hearing those words out, not having them be disguised for someone else. You gave her a slow nod, looking down towards the floor. You played with your fingers as you felt the gravel underneath your feet, your toes moving nervously.
“It didn’t start off like you and Nancy… But I– I developed feelings… It wasn’t in my plans, and much less with Eddie but– I…” You tried to hold your tears back, knowing this was not the time to cry, but to make your point come across, and probably save your friendship. “I ended up liking him… and whenever I decided to confess… I was going to tell you the truth.”
“Why not before…? Why?” And you slowly looked up at her, and you blinked away tears as you shrugged a bit.
“You live with Steve, Robs…”
“That doesn’t–”
“Robin… don’t lie to me.” And Robin closed her mouth. Even if you were her best friend, Steve was her soul mate. You knew Robin would not have kept her mouth closed, even if she tried. It was just in Robin’s nature, and you loved her even with that little flaw. But you knew how to work around that one thing, so sometimes you kept things to yourself until they finally concluded or finished, knowing she would blurt it out to Steve unconsciously at one point or the other.
“I guess… Eddie did the same.” You nodded at that, though, you wondered if there was more to why Eddie never told Steve. Sure, Steve might have told Robin as well about you two… but by Steve’s angry face, you couldn’t help but think there might be more to it.
“I know I did wrong… Trust me, I know… But what was I supposed to do? Tell you guys and for you all to take sides if it fell apart? For you guys to go back to how the group was more than a year ago? Where you had to divide yourselves in the week to spend time with me as well as spend time with Eddie?” Robin only looked at you, her mouth closing as her jaw clenched in thought. Silence invaded the two of you and you rubbed your left arm thanks to a breeze brushing over you.
“You are a fucking idiot.”
“I know…”
“An absolute moron.”
“I know…”
It took a few moments of silence, and the air around you felt calm yet traitorous. You didn’t know what to expect from this, but you hoped that Robin understood you. That Robin could forgive you for lying like this to her. You heard her sigh, and then a step being taken towards you, making you look at her.
“You’ll do my projects for a month.” She declared and you let a small smile spread on your lips, shaking your head at her.
“I kind of do that already…” At your words, Robin smiled, finally moving forward to hug you, and you could finally let the breath you were holding in out. Your arms wrapped around her, finally letting yourself feel the compassion you needed, the understanding, and the relief that she knows the entire truth.
After a few seconds, Robin pulled away, but kept herself close to you, a smile spreading on her lips as she jumped a bit up and down in her place.
“So this means, you are exclusive with Eddie and– and you are going to confess soon–” Your eyes widened and immediately shook your head at her, making her stop in her tracks, her face falling.
“No– Not yet… I just… I need more courage, more signs…” Robin raised her eyebrow your way and looked at you as if you were the dumbest person in the entire planet.
“Seriously… You had told me everything he did, the fucking promise! I– Oh god… Oh fuck, I know about Eddie’s dick– Oh, fuck no–”
“Robin, focus.”
“Okay, sorry. The point is, Eddie clearly likes you! He– Oh my god, he had also stopped with the thirst traps but–” Her eyes lit up with glee as she grabbed your hands and whispered close to you. “Ohhhhh, I have intel on that!”
“What?”
“Well, Steve told me about Eddie going exclusive with someone…” Your eyes widened at that, and it had just occurred to you… Eddie had lied to Steve too. He lied about having met the friend of a client, and it hadn’t struck you that he might have still been lying about it… And Robin knew all of it…
“Go on, for fucks sake Robin!” You were now excited and insistent, excitement rushing all over your entire body. Robin nodded, whispering a bit more now.
“Eddie has been telling Steve about this girl that just drives him… wild. Steve told me that Eddie became exclusive and–” She frowned and straightened up, thinking about something as she scrunched up her nose. “Now, I might be the dumb one, because how the fuck did I not put two and two together? Eddie got exclusive, the same moment you did… Wow, Steve and I are idiots.”
“Well spotted.” You giggled and she rolled her eyes at you, another cheeky smile on her lips.
“Anyways, from what Steve said, Eddie seems… pretty hooked with this girl.” Your heart burst at the seams at that, the rapid beating almost not letting you breath as you felt a gleam of light engulf you with happiness and joy and everything that was good. If what Robin said was true, if Steve actually confessed that, it means Eddie might have said it like that.
“Shit… Robs… Should I–”
“I don’t think right now… But maybe, let’s see if he talks about it first…” She winked at you, and you nodded, now feeling more hopeful than ever. You had a chance, and you couldn’t hold yourself back from feeling happy. Your body shivered as another gush of wind blew against you. “You should go back inside… Did you just arrive at Eddie’s?”
“No, I spent the night.” You replied, holding back a smile as she held onto your arm, walking the two of you around the corner and back to the stairs.
“Oh? So are you going back home soon? I want more details than ever now–” You turned your head with a cheeky smile and Robin’s mouth fell open, scoffing. “Spending a second night? The whole weekend together? Oh yeah, no chances at all of something else, my ass.”
You giggled at that and hugged Robin tightly against you. You were so lucky to have someone like her in your life. You didn’t know what would have happened if Robin hadn't forgiven you before. You would have probably spiraled and gone crazy or something because you really cannot imagine your life now without Robin.
You two walked up the stairs and you bit your lip, hearing some mumbling dying down as you opened the door. Your smile fell when you saw Eddie looking away from the door with what looked like… a lost gaze. Thoughtful… and then Steve turned around with a small glare. Your heart got caught in your throat as you realized, this conversation hadn’t gone as well as yours did with Robin.
Steve looked at Eddie one last time before he walked your way, Robin looking at him with a worried look on her face as her confusion was etched into her eyebrows as much as yours were.
“Let’s go Robin.” Without giving you a glance, Steve walked out and you were standing there, wondering what you had done to receive such a cold shoulder. Was he angry at you too? You two were friends as well but Robin was your best friend, not him… so why?
“I–” Robin looked back and forth between you, Steve and Eddie who was still looking away from all of you. She gave you a worried look which you only could shrug at as you felt knots start forming in the pit of your stomach.
“Go…” Robin gulped and nodded, walking after Steve and giving you a last look before closing the door behind her, leaving Eddie and you by yourselves once again in his house… only, it wasn’t like before.
You felt cold. It didn’t feel as warm as it was a few minutes ago, nor the air around you felt relaxed, unbothered. It now felt tense, heavy and something that just made your heart beat with anxiety. You took a step inside, feeling your throat drying up because Eddie was still not looking your way and his face was not the same and you didn’t know why.
“Um… I am supposing Steve didn’t react… nicely?” You tried, and Eddie’s eyebrow flinched a bit, but gave you a small nod, not giving you another word as he walked towards the kitchen. Your body felt like shaking because you started to feel unwelcome thanks to his new body language. “Did something else–”
“He just talked to me about things I didn’t think about before.”
That was a punch to your gut, to your head, to your throat, to your heart. That phrase was enough to throw any confidence you had, big or small, down a garbage disposal. You stood there, feeling as if you were about to crumble onto the ground because of how pained you felt. This was it. Steve made him see that he didn’t want a relationship at all. Steve made him realize that this was turning into something more and Eddie clearly was backing up from it.
Or maybe Steve told him about how– how you talked about Jeff to Robin… oh no… You could feel nausea bubbling up inside of your stomach, and you just felt like crying. You wanted to go home and cry. You wanted to leave because Eddie has his back your way and he was not going back from what he just said.
The intention was obvious.
“I… I should… Should I go then?”
Please. He has to stop you. He has to say no. He has to not let you go… but Eddie remained silent. He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no, and silence for you means ‘yes’. You licked your lips, swallowing the big lump in your throat as you felt your eyes burning with incoming tears, but you weren’t going to lose more of your dignity. You weren’t going to crumble or beg for him, because– because it’s done.
“Alright… I will um– go get my things and just– get a cab or something…” You didn’t even want to wait for his reaction, but as you walked off, you gave a glance, only to see him in the same position, which only made your heart shatter even more, pain engulfing your chest as you walked up the stairs.
You had to keep calm. You have to keep a straight face and then when you finally arrive home, you can cry as much as you want. For now, keep the poker face on. Keep it to simply appear normal, appear nonchalant, appear as if your feelings were small and innocent and that they were going to go away soon enough. But what a lie.
You took deep breaths as you walked into his room, going towards your drawer to get your scrunchies out, already feeling like sobbing as you felt that you were ripping yourself from his world. You didn’t want to. You didn’t want to leave this bubble, this little nest you built, this little relationship you grew to–
Fuck you were such an idiot. You were so stupid. Your hands covered your face as you tried to calm your nerves down, holding your breaths in now. It was done. He gave you the answer you wanted and you didn’t even have to confess to him. He was told that this was heading to a more serious situation than just friends with benefits, and he got scared. He didn’t want it. That was fine.
That was fine.
But it wasn’t. You licked your lips as you walked towards the chair and grabbed your shirt and pants, throwing them on the bed. You didn’t want to part from his tank top, but– But you had to take all of your belongings with you. You could return his later on, some other time, some other week. Fuck, you also had to come up with excuses to not see him. You had to now pretend you were not in the mood because of something else.
At least Robin now knew, and she could help you pivot around your friend group to not see Eddie… You wanted to cry. You really wanted to cry. You lost the guy you liked and also your best friend. You lost a best friend and all because of one horny night. The regret started building up in your chest but you cannot delve in it right now. You had to leave, because Eddie wanted you gone–
You gasped the moment you grabbed the hem of the tank top, ready to take it off, before two strong arms grabbed you by the shoulders and turned you around. Eddie’s eyes were gazing into yours, wild, his breathing heavy, and he just looked like he didn’t know what to say… until his eyes turned into a glare, a possessive gaze you saw every once in a while.
“You ain’t going anywhere, Peach.” You blinked a few times at his words, his arms coming to wrap around your waist and then hold the back of your neck. He embraced you close to him as he breathed puffs of air through his nose. You could see his nostrils flaring as you stood in his arms, completely confused, happy but– but you didn’t understand.
“But– But downstairs you said Steve made you realize–”
“Fuck Steve.” His lips came crashing down into yours, a surprised moan leaving you as he started dropping the both of you onto his bed, your arms wrapping around his shoulders for support. He laid the two of you down, your legs hanging from the edge as he kneeled over you, his lips leaving yours for a second. “I don’t care that he is mad.”
You were staring up at him, and you noticed there was still a certain conflict. Something had happened between him and Steve, and it had left Eddie a bit shaken up. He clearly does not want to speak to you about it… but Eddie does not want you to leave. He ran up the stairs to stop you from wiping yourself away from his apartment.
“Eddie–” His lips came towards your cheek, then your jaw, then your neck. Your heart started pumping up blood again, making it rush up into your head, feeling a little lightheaded at it.
“Stay. You said you’ll stay…” He whispered and you wondered how he meant it. Did he mean tonight? Forever? With him? But even if those were all different questions, you had the same answer for all of them.
“Yeah…”
And then, another dynamic changed.
He didn’t go all in. He softly kissed you, caressed you, touched you, prepared you. He fingered you while kissing your skin, your lips, over and over again, swallowing your moans down and then, he hugged you while he entered you. He embraced you and it felt– It felt like making love. It felt as if Eddie was making sure that you knew he cared for you, and even if it was your own delusion, you believed it. You believed Eddie’s feelings were there.
He held you close afterwards, and you wanted to ask. You wanted to ask him what happened between him and Steve. You wanted to know what Steve had made him realize when you were talking to Robin. Whatever that was, Eddie didn’t care. Eddie didn’t even give it a second glance.
You couldn’t help but smile into his chest as you traced his tattoos with your fingernails. He huffed at it, and you knew he was lost in his mind. You knew he was there yet he wasn’t. You assumed that in time, he would open up with you just a bit more, but what you did know was that Eddie didn’t want you far away from him. So, you settled for returning him back to earth with you, letting him know you ain’t going anywhere.
“You know… The cookies must be cold by now–”
“Oh, fuck, yeah!” And he didn’t even bother getting dressed, running out of the bed like a complete gremlin, and rushing outside with his ass out. Your eyes were wide as you sat on the bed, and you smiled, your heart warm at the events of today, despite knowing that things would start getting complicated from here on out, more tense, but you at least know that they’re headed forward. To a future.
And you hoped that you shared that future with Eddie.
God, you’re really fucked… aren’t you?
end of chapter 23
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Omg, could you please do a Loki story where Jotuns are basically space penguins, so now Loki has a crush on you and is frantically and meticulously looking for the perfect pebble to give you while Thor just watches and laughs.
The Pebble and the Frost Giant
Pairing: Loki x female reader (y/n)
Summary: Loki is trying to deny his feelings for you so he doesn't ruin your friendship but when he passes an area filled with pebbles and small rocks, he's unable to resist the urge to bring one back for you and tell you he loves you.
A/N: OMG! This is the cutest ask ever, I literally had to write it the second I got it. Most of the time it takes a week or so for me to get an idea from an ask but this one was pretty instant. Thank you so much for sending this, I really hope you like it! 💚
Also, I absolutely love the movie The Pebble and the Penguin! If anyone hasn't seen it, you should! 🐧
"Come on brother," Thor pats Loki on the knee and the younger prince looks up from his book in annoyance.
"I'm not going," Loki resumes reading as if Thor isn't there.
The older Asgardian sighs, "We've got at least an hour until the jet takes off. Let's go down by the water."
"I'm perfectly fine here," he licks his finger before flipping the page. Thor grins and pulls the book from his brother's grasp. "Give it back you oaf!"
"Just twenty minutes," Thor holds the book over his head.
"This trick worked much better when we were children and you towered over me," the younger prince easily reaches up to grip the book.
Before Loki can pull it free from his brother's grasp, Thor yanks it back and tosses it to the ground at their feet. "This is uncalled for," Loki bends to pick up the book but suddenly falls back, landing hard on the jet floor with a grunt.
"Is there a problem?" Thor asks with a smirk.
"No," Loki looks down at Mjolnir as it rests on top of his book. He stands, flicking his hand to produce a second book from his pocket dimension in a haze of green smoke. "I'll just read this-"
Thor chuckles as he pulls the book free from Loki a second time.
"Seriously?" The God of Mischief asks with a defeated sigh.
"Twenty minutes on the beach and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night," Thor offers.
"For the rest of the week," Loki counters.
"Fine," the God of Thunder agrees and Loki's second book vanishes as the two brothers step out of the jet.
Thor and Loki walk down by the water in silence, the older Asgardian's eyes drift up towards the clouds floating by while Loki scans the beach in boredom. He looks down to check his watch when he's suddenly distracted by a small pile of tide polished stones ahead of him. Without thinking, he leaves his brother's side and begins walking towards them.
"Where are you going?" Thor asks but Loki doesn't answer. He's too focused on the scattered rocks in front of him.
He kneels down, picking up a stone from the top of the pile, looking at it closely then tossing it to the side. "No," Loki mumbles to himself as he picks up a second then a third rock. "No," he shakes his head as he examines each for a few seconds.
"Loki," Thor comes closer, standing over his younger brother as he discards a handful of stones. Without a word, Loki gets up and moves to a nearby pile. "Okay seriously, what are you doing?"
"None of these are good," Loki answers, dusting his sand covered hands on his pants.
"They're rocks," Thor chuckles, amused by his brother's sudden obsession.
"Yes but there has to be one here that's good enough," Loki says. "Not just good, no, it needs to be perfect," he adds in a quieter tone.
"You're not making any sense," he follows the younger prince to yet another pile. "Perfect for what?"
"For who," Loki responds vaguely.
Thor thinks as he follows his brother along the beach, trying figure out who Loki is referring to. To say he has few friends in an understatement, there's really only one person who even comes to mind. "Do you mean Y/N?" Thor asks.
Loki nods, his attention stolen away by an almost perfect stone. Almost isn't good enough though, he thinks as he tosses it towards the water in frustration.
"Why do you need to find one for N/N?" Thor asks as Loki sits on the sand and picks up a handful of rocks, throwing each away one at a time. "Does she collect rocks? I've heard some Midgardians do that. I wonder if that's more interesting than collecting stamps like Jane does?"
Loki doesn't answer this time, too lost in what he's doing, what he needs to do. I have to find it, he thinks. I don't have time for Thor and his ridiculous line of questions. It doesn't matter if he understands why, Norns I don't even understand why but that doesn't matter now. All that matters is finding Y/N the perfect stone. It can't be too big or too small, the size of her palm should work. It can't be broken, no cracked edges or holes, that won't do either. It needs to be perfect because- his frantic thoughts are cut off by his brother shouting.
"Norns! I know what you're doing," he stands over his brother who shifts to stay out of his shadow.
"I doubt that," Loki says without looking up from the stones in his hand. Because I don't know what I'm doing, he thinks.
"You're in love with Y/N," the older god announces when Loki gets up again to continue down the beach.
"Don't be absurd," Loki denies the truth he hides from everyone including you as he kneels down and begins the process of picking up each stone in the new pile one at a time.
"You are!" Thor laughs excitedly. This is a Jotun thing."
"What Jotun thing?" Loki looks up at his brother.
"I know this! I read about it when we were younger," Thor says then sighs as he thinks. "I can't remember the technical term for it but when Jotun men are in love, they bring their potential partner a stone as like a proposal."
"What?" Loki asks as he sits in the sand and looks up at his brother. He had never heard of this tradition before now but he also knows very little about his Jotun heritage. When he was a child, frost giants scared him terribly so he never studied them. Now that he knows the truth, he is almost too afraid to learn what horrid tales about them were accurate and which were only made up stories.
"Penguins on Midgard do it too," Thor continues excitedly as he remembers what he read centuries ago. "Ahh! Pebbling, that's what they call it. Your pebbling, you can't help it is like an instinct Jotun's have."
"That's ridiculous Thor. I'm not pebbling, or whatever you want to call it, because I'm not in love with-" Loki tries to argue with his brother but the words die as he finally finds it. The perfect stone for the most perfect woman on Midgard, Loki thinks as he turns it over in his hand. Norns help me, my brother is right and I'm not sure I'll be able to hide my feelings for her any longer.
Loki opens your office door after knocking and you get up from your desk as soon as he steps inside. "Hi," you greet him happily, meeting him in the middle of the room. "Welcome back."
"Thank you," he smiles when you wrap your arms around him. "I'm glad to be back," Loki says but what he really means is that he's glad to be back with you.
You rest your head on his chest and his hands settle on your back, holding you tightly to him. You could stay in his arms forever and sometimes you think Loki might let you. He doesn't let go first, he never does.
"You know you spoil me with these hugs," you tell him and he chuckles. "You're going to make me think I'm special cause I'm the only person that gets them."
He rubs your back lightly with one hand, "You are special."
You blush and slowly drop your arms, taking a step away from him. You don't want to let go but if he keeps talking like that, you're afraid you'll do something stupid like kiss him.
Loki's heart pounds in his chest when he catches a glimpse of your blush despite your best efforts to hide it. "I have something for you," he says, clearing his throat.
"You do? You didn't have to do that," you tell him as a smile spreads across your face. You can't help but feel excited by the idea that Loki thought of you while he was away. He never brought anything back for you before.
"It's nothing big," he says with a shrug, "It's actually probably stupid." This was a bad idea, he thinks. How could I possibly think she would accept a silly rock and suddenly be mine? I never should have listened to my idiot brother. Loki puts his hand in his coat pocket, running his thumb over the flat edge anxiously.
"I'm sure it's not stupid," you tell him, putting your hand on his arm. "What is it?"
He sighs and you can tell he's nervous which you find both adorable and interesting. You've never seen him act so unsure of himself and it really makes you want to hug him again.
He pulls a palm sized flat stone out of his pocket. It's perfectly circular and a pale gray with a hint of a blue when it catches the light. "I found it on the beach while we were waiting for the jet," he tries to steady his hand when you take it. He knows it's just a simple rock but the Jotun part of him is truly desperate for you to accept it, to accept him.
You smile and take it from him, bringing it close so you can study the smooth stone, "Loki it's so pretty."
"Really?" he asks in disbelief.
"Yeah," you nod quickly, your eyes still on the gift as you walk over to the window and turn it on the light. "Oh, look! it sparkles in the sun," you giggle.
He breaths a sigh of relief and walks over to you. "You like it?"
"I love it," you reach up and kiss the god's cheek lightly without thinking. "I'm sorry," you apologize quickly but when you look up at Loki you're completely surprised by his reaction.
His cheeks redden and he smiles. "It's quite alright," he tells you, his eyes never leaving yours.
You giggle, suddenly feeling even more nervous than you would have if Loki had seemed uncomfortable with the kiss and take a step away from him. Turning your back to him, you move to your desk but you can feel him following you, "I'm gonna keep it right here so I can see it when I miss you." You place the stone in between a photo of your friends and a mug your nephew made you.
"You miss me?" he asks.
"Yeah... when you're away on missions," you suddenly worry this conversation is going to lead to you accidentally telling your friend you love him if you don't figure out how to keep your mouth shut.
"I miss you when I'm gone too," Loki moves a bit closer to you until he's right behind you.
You turn to face him again, "Really?" You can't help but not believe him. For months you've been hoping he might care for you the way you care for him but its been so difficult to get past all of his walls.
He nods, "Always Y/N. The second the jet takes off, I start counting down the minutes until I can see you again."
Now it's your turn to blush deeply when he reaches out to take your hand. When you feel his fingers intertwine with yours, you suddenly get enough to courage to open up a bit more. "I try to plan my meetings around when I know you'll be back," you tell him. "This way I'm free to see you as soon as your home."
He chuckles and cups your cheek, "I would storm in here even if you were in a meeting with Fury just for one of your hugs."
You giggle knowing he's not lying.
"Y/N," he says, "Since we're being honest, I need to tell you one more thing." You bite your lip but the way he smiles relaxes you instantly. "I want to be more than just your friend, I want to take you on a date." I want you to be mine because I love you, he almost adds but he doesn't want to scare you away.
You're unable to form any words at first, looking up at Loki nodding which causes him to laugh a little nervously. "I'm not sure if that's a yes," he says.
"Yes!" you finally find your words but then they flow a little too freely. "I love y-" you stop and correct yourself hoping he won't notice your slip. "I would love to go out with you."
He strokes your cheek gently, moving closer to you as he puts his other hand on your lower back. "That's not what you were going to say," he smirks, the confident Loki you know returning swiftly.
You shake your head and bite your lip, suddenly losing your nerve.
"Fine, I'll go first," his lips are inches from yours. "I am hopelessly in love with you darling."
As soon as the words leave Loki's lips, you press your lips to his, closing your eyes and gripping the fabric on the back of his jacket. He kisses you back and when you finally break the kiss and chuckles, kissing your nose lightly. "Go on, say it," he smiles, holding you close.
You giggle, "I love you too, Loki."
A few weeks later, you walk with Natasha and Wanda through Central Park on the way back from lunch. You nod as you listen to Wanda complain about Tony, agreeing with her when you accidentally kick a rock on the path in front of you. You stop to take a look at it and smile.
"What are you doing?" Nat asks as you bend down for a closer look.
"I don't know, I just thought this one looked cool," you tell them.
"The rock?" Wanda asks.
"Yeah," you pick it up and turn it over in your hand. It's not very large but the rough stone is heart shaped and such a deep gray it's almost black. "I think Loki might like it."
"You two are so weird," Nat laughs.
You smile and put it in your pocket, "That's why we're such a cute couple."
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girl you have that really angsty Eddie fic where he gets hooked on things he shouldn't and it ruins his relationship with reader - please please please write some more Eddie angst, BEGGING
pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader [modern day au]
word count: 5k
summary: a weekend gateway to with your old high school friends? sounds like a dream! only it’s not really as it’s been three years since you last saw them. three years since you left hawkins without so much as a goodbye, and certain people tend to hold grudges.
content warnings: heavily unedited (sorry): angsty angst, mature themes & adult language, mentions & descriptions of underage alcohol consumption / substance abuse, anxiety / panic attacks, emotional hurt / no comfort, unrequited (sorta) love, some mutual pining, love triangle?, eddie is a bit of an asshole, also touches on topics of: divorce, death, grief — pls let me know if i missed any!
Parking your car at the desired destination, you glance out the half-opened window and note how the weather is far from ideal for the planned activities.
It’s cold. Cold enough to make anyone's atoms shiver. Dark grey clouds cover every inch of the sky above, hiding the beautiful autumn sun. The air is brisk. It’s harsh against your skin as you eventually get out of the red Jeep and the unwelcoming breeze that follows makes you wish that you had packed warmer clothes for this weekend.
Jesus, you think, as if this trip wasn’t going to be hard enough.
When your feet hit the gravel below, you exhale, wondering whether it’s too late to change your mind about agreeing to come. Since the weather was seemingly against you, what’s to say the universe wasn’t going to continue ruining this weekend? But before you get a chance to decide what your next move is going to be, the door of the lake house swings open and Nancy runs out, arms spread wide as she squeals with excitement.
“I can’t believe you actually came!”
The hug she gives you is strong, almost full force. It takes you a second to register that one second she was running out of the house, and the next, her arms are wrapped tightly around you as if no time has passed between now and when you last saw her. Therefore, it takes you a second to hug her back, but when you do, a small smile circles your lips. Familiarity. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all.
“Of course I came,” you say as she draws back, “You know me, Nance, always down for a good time.”
Nancy laughs. “Oh, I remember.”
Then her smile falters just as fast as it appears and you know exactly which memory crosses her mind because your own thoughts wander back to that moment too, along with the people involved.
“Sorry, my joke was in poor taste. If you can even call that a joke.” You admit with a lighthearted huff.
“No, no.” Nancy shakes her head, but even with the years that have passed since you last saw each other in person, you know the look in her eye is one of concern.
You think to try and ease at least some of her worry since she did go through all the trouble to organise this weekend for your high school group to get together and the last thing you’d want is for her to second-guess ever inviting you.
“I- uh… I actually don’t really drink anymore.”
Her facial expression shifts to one of surprise, though she doesn’t say anything which would demonstrate that. Instead, she smiles again.
“Good for you,” the tone of her voice conveys pride and you’re grateful.
“Thanks, Nance.”
One day you’ll tell her about the road that led you to sobriety, but today’s not that day.
Today is about reintroducing yourself to the friends that have helped you get through four hellish years that were called ‘high school’. The people that were there for you through the good and the ugly; which got real fucking ugly sometimes. The group that most often than not was your literal lifeline.
Nancy, your best friend. Robin, your sidekick. Jonathan, your unlicensed therapist. Steve, your partner in crime. And Eddie…
You haven’t seen any of them since graduation.
Three years of virtually no contact.
Sure, it made you wonder why you were even invited to this weekend getaway in the first place, but Nancy was always like a sister so you knew her motives were definitely not malicious.
“Let me help you with your bags,” the brunette girl offers and before you get a chance to decline, say you’ve got them on your own since you really didn’t bring much with you, she’s at the boot of your car.
While Nancy fills you in on the plans she’s made for everyone, the various activities she’s organised for the days ahead, the two of you gather your belongings before making your way towards the big house.
Apparently everyone is already here.
Nancy, Jonathan, and someone called Argyle (a new addition to the group, undoubtedly a breath of fresh air following your departure), got here last night. Steve, Robin, and Eddie arrived this morning.
“But the boys went to the shop to get all the groceries we need for this weekend, so right now it’s just me and Robin.” Nancy explains, fingers wrapping around the door handle. It’s her way of saying not to be nervous, he wasn’t here right now, and with that your shoulders relax in relief.
The inside of the house is even more impressive than its exterior. High ceilings, all wooden floors, and decor that undoubtedly cost more than anything you own or could actually afford. In the living area, there’s paintings on the walls that depict the home during construction, then in its full glory, as it stands now. Various knick-knacks fill the shelving, and the bookcase at the back of the room is filled top to bottom with stories you’ve never even heard of.
You allow yourself to continue into the kitchen, which looks like a piece out of Architectural Digest. Modern touches to the original design, upgraded appliances that look like they’ve never been used. There’s a large dining table in the back of the space, already set for dinner. The windows behind it offer a perfect view of the lake and as you look at the water; peace. For a split-second, you let yourself really think that coming wasn’t a bad idea after all.
“Jesus, Nance, how the hell did you find this place?” You ask in awe once the girl stands beside you.
“Argyle has this aunt who’s an avid Airbnb user. Honestly, when he first showed me the pictures, I thought he was out of it, like he usually is, but here we are...”
You don’t get to tell her how beautiful you think it is ‘cause there’s a high-pitch screech that startles you, and within seconds, someone’s arms wrap around your frame, swaying you from side to side.
“When Wheeler told me you agreed to come, I swear I thought she was bluffing!”
Robin drops her arms, allowing you to turn in your spot and face her. The grin on her face is wide, complimenting her new haircut, which is about the only thing that’s changed in her physical appearance over the last three years.
She playfully smacks your arm. You do the same to her. It’s reminiscent of a handshake, an acknowledgment that despite the years of only sending and receiving generic birthday texts, you guys were still as close as ever.
“Long time no see, Buckley. Loving the new look.” You point to her long bleached locks.
“Yeah? I was going for that badass lesbian vibe. What Daenerys should’ve been.”
You chuckle. “Well, I’d say mission accomplished.”
“Thanks,” Robin smirks then takes the duffle out of your grasp and turns to Nancy, asking to lead the way to the room that’s been assigned to you.
Up the stairs and down the long hallway, the girls point to the shared bathroom, but Nancy says your room actually has an en-suite. Then she outlines which door leads to whose bedroom — Eddie’s is first up the stairs and you wonder whose choice it was to deliberately keep you two away — before stopping at the last door and pushing it open to reveal your safe space for this weekend.
First thought that crosses your mind is how this one bedroom is bigger than your entire apartment. The bed alone would probably not fit in your current home. Second thought is how you have the same view as in the kitchen, only higher up, and you thank Nancy for assigning you this room for that reason alone.
“It’s no big deal,” she replies with a shrug, “You had the longest trip out here, only fair you get the best room, so you can properly rewind.”
“As the organiser, you should have the nicest room,” you counter, but Nance just waves her hand, dismissing what was going to be an offer to swap.
She proceeds to place the bag she was holding at the foot of the bed.
“Get settled in and we’ll start on food once the guys return.”
“You should have enough time to shower, if you want,” Robin chimes in, also dropping the duffel she carried up for you, “Knowing the four of them, they’re still trying to locate the gluten free sticker on the pasta Nance asked for.”
“Rob,” Nancy snorts.
The blonde shrugs. “You know it’s true! Those idiots can’t fucking read.”
They leave you shortly after, telling you to take your time to clean up and change into something more comfortable.
When the door shuts with a soft thud, you exhale a breath you didn’t even realise you were holding. It’s all okay, it’s all okay, it’s all okay, you repeat to yourself silently, and although you feel a little calmer than when you first arrived, there is still tension in your neck. There’s only one reason for that. One that isn’t here right now, but is bound to arrive at any point in the next hour.
‘arrived safe & sound. still feeling a little nauseous about this whole thing, but I’m taking your advice.. keep positive.’ - The text to your mom sends with a whooshing sound as you throw your phone on the large bed.
You glance around the room again, taking in the decor as a distraction to the anxiety bubbling in your chest. The furnishings are similar to the rest of the house, classy with a modern twist. Peaceful colours that perfectly compliment the wooden fixtures, and the birds chirping melodically outside the open window only add to the serenity. It’s really one of the nicest places you’ve ever stayed in and you take a mental note to send Nancy a bouquet of flowers when you get home, as a thank you.
When you step under the shower, you’re even more grateful.
Back in your own apartment, you’re not guaranteed warm water, having to often make a choice between rinsing off the hectic day or cleaning the dishes so there’s something to eat off. It’s the life you chose, so you really can’t complain, but standing here in silence as the hot droplets wash over your skin, you think maybe you chose wrong. Then you think how fucking selfish that is of you since there’s a clear list of reasons why, aside from the comfort of a scolding shower, the choices you made three years ago where far from good.
Leaving without saying goodbye to everyone, for one. No explanations, no notes.
Only Nancy knew of your plan. After all, she was the one that talked you into leaving.
The final nail in the coffin — so to speak — was her opinion on the literal shitshow that the final months of your high school career had become. And when she sat you down, the afternoon before graduation, she made it clear how she was worried about you and perhaps it was for the best to get away from Hawkins. Leave everything and everyone behind, allowing yourself time to heal and get your head straight.
You had only planned to be gone that one summer. But things never go to plan, especially for you.
Three months turned into four, then six, and before you knew it, a year had passed since your departure. Some of the group had tried to reach out at various points during that time, but you didn’t engage — only replied to Nancy the odd time, and texted Robin the mentioned before birthday wishes.
The one person you really wished checked in on you, was the only person that didn’t. Not like you could blame him. You broke his fucking heart.
It wasn’t entirely a secret that Eddie Munson had a big fat crush on you.
He wouldn’t call it love at first sight, but it was pretty damn close — as you later found out from Robin. Later. Too late. She then went on to say, when the rocker first laid eyes on you, standing at Nancy’s locker and laughing at something she’d said moments prior, Eddie’s heart skipped a beat. Then two. The metalhead thought you were perhaps the most gorgeous girl to ever walk down the halls of Hawkins High, although he never said it out loud.
(Not to you anyway.)
Things changed however, when you started dating Billy Hargrove.
That boy was a bad influence for sure, even more than Eddie’s wild antics, but at that point in your life, you saw the world through rose-coloured glasses and turned a blind eye to Billy’s shitty behaviour.
Your first drink was provided to you by the scruffy blonde.
The first time you blacked out was after his funeral.
Earth shattering, his sudden death. Having lost the first love you’ve ever had, you didn’t know what to do with yourself. You didn’t know how to cope. By the time your senior year came around, and Eddie’s third attempt at graduation, your life only continued to spiral out of control.
Your parents announced their divorce. It was apparently no one’s fault — irreconcilable differences — but their break up meant the house you’d grown up in was being put up for sale and you suddenly had to choose who you wanted to live with.
Being an only child never brought with it any pressures, until now. Your father was moving cross country. Relocating with his job, who no longer needed him at their Indianapolis location, preferred he run the new branch in Las Vegas. Your mother was also venturing outside Hawkins, just not as far. She apparently found this cute place in Fort Wayne and was already in talks with a local school there for a part-time teaching position.
The Wheelers took you in following a conversation between Karen and your mom about how you shouldn’t be finishing your high school education someplace new, so this solved one problem.
But being away from your support system unfortunately made you feel increasingly isolated. Your parents had this “open door” policy that you didn’t realise you needed until it was no longer readily available. Phone calls and texts just weren’t the same.
This time in your life proved how difficult it was to pretend you were genuinely happy.
Eddie was the first to notice the subtle change in your attitude. He’d often ask what was bothering you, but you’d always tell him nothing, so he eventually learned to stop and simply tried to distract you with his usual antics.
You hated him for it. You hated how he just knew how you were feeling. How he could sense those deep and inner thoughts you were trying to hide. And you hated now he would try to make you feel better when all you really wanted was for the sad feelings to swallow you whole.
Without proper supervision, your after school activities also shifted into ones that would fill the emptiness you were constantly feeling. You were always quite outgoing, always the first one to say yes when someone mentioned a party, but the months between December and April unlocked a new version of you. One not many people in your friend group were particularly a fan of, though all too afraid of saying something.
It all came crashing down the night of Chrissy Cunningham’s farewell party. A few days before graduation, she invited the entire senior year to her parents’ lavish home for a get together that her dickhead boyfriend called: Project X 2.0.
You asked Steve to come with you — much to Eddie’s dismay.
In the end, Carver got his wish. The party was indeed memorable for all the wrong reasons and the endless list of mistakes you made that night, in your inebriated state, was precisely why you left Hawkins in a hurry.
Las Vegas turned out to not be so bad.
There were a few bumps in the road upon your first arrival. A few too many drunken nights, drunken fights, and drunken one night stands. But once your dad acknowledged your reckless behaviour was becoming a serious problem, things got a little easier. Therapy helped.
A year and a half later, there was only one thing that made you want to reach for a drink to flush the hard work down the drain: Eddie Munson and how you treated him at that party, what you put him through that night.
In retrospect, you should’ve been the one to reach out to him. At least a call to say I’m sorry for the things I did and said. No time just felt like the right time and then, when Chrissy posted a picture of herself sitting happily in Eddie’s lap, it seemed a little too late.
Did it hurt to see him move on from the crush he had on you? Yes.
Again, you couldn’t blame him for doing so.
-
“How was your shower?” Nancy asks when you come back downstairs.
She’s sitting on one of the sofas, a cotton blanket covering her legs. Robin is next to her, fingers working the keyboard of her phone, and looks up following Nancy’s question.
“No offence, but you look a lot better than when you first arrived.”
The comment earns Buckley a good nudge to the rib cage by the brunette beside her.
“Ow! Jesus Christ, Nance—”
“We talked about this,” Nancy interrupts, narrowing her eyes at the girl.
“It was a simple observation,” Robin defends, “I’m sure she’s fucking nervous to be here, rightfully so—”
“Robin!”
“It’s okay,” you chime in and the girls simultaneously turn to look at you once again. “Buckley’s right. I am nervous.”
Both their expressions simultaneously turn to one of sympathy. You plaster on the best smile you can muster before making yourself comfortable in an armchair by the open window, feeling their gaze follow your every move. You want to tell them to stop, tell them that the nerves will pass so it’s no big deal, but they’d see right through you. The topic of you, Eddie, and that horrendous high school party will haunt this group like a ghost, lingering in the background even if it’s addressed — which you’re going to have to do very soon. That’s why you came.
“He asks about you all the time,” Nancy says after a long pause, “What’s she doing? Is she working, studying?”
“Is she seeing anyone?” Robin adds.
“Is she happy…”
The ache in your chest increases with every spoken word, fueled by the guilt you carried every single day for the last three years. Somehow knowing now that Eddie asked about you was worse than thinking he’s moved on because, selfishly, if he was happy, then it wasn’t all bad. If he was happy, then the harsh truths you drunkenly sputtered in his direction weren’t a cruel thing to do, they weren’t as vile as you remembered them to be. If he was happy, then what you did after wasn’t a complete betrayal.
“I-I never meant to hurt him,” you finally whisper, forcing down the tears that threaten to break. “I never meant to hurt any of you.”
The girls both offer you a smile.
“We know,” Nancy reassures, “That’s why we thought it’d be a good idea to invite you this weekend. What happened three years ago is so minor in terms of the rest of our lives, it’s time we all move past it.”
Nancy, the peacemaker.
“Plus I’m planning a trip to Vegas for my birthday and I need your help with organising,” Robin chips in, her smile shifting into a grin. “You wouldn’t have answered my call, but now there’s no escape.”
Robin, the girl that can always get you to laugh.
The chuckle that escapes your lips is genuine. For a split second, your nerves are eased and you’re transported back to the basement of your childhood home where the three of you spent hours planning your futures while flicking through trashy magazines in accompaniment to old hits blaring through the docking station your dad’s iPod was connected to.
Back then, turning twenty-one seemed like a distant dream.
So you proceed to reassure the blonde you are going to get her name on the list of some of the best clubs Vegas has and she squeals, jumping up to squeeze you with excitement, and telling you how Vickie, her girlfriend, was going to lose her shit over this, then she disappears into the kitchen, presumably to call Vickie with the news.
“You just made her day,” Nancy says, smiling kindly.
“I’m glad I could do at least that,” you reply, then add, “I’m happy to be here. Thank you for thinking of me, Nance.”
Whatever Nancy is about to say next is interrupted by the sound of tires on gravel. The engine is shut shortly after your head snaps in the direction of the entryway, a large gulp forming in the back of your throat.
The next few minutes pass at an agonisingly slow pace. You think you hear Nancy call out your name, but your focus is on the door alone, waiting for it to open, waiting for him to come inside. You’re anticipating his reaction to seeing you after all this time, wondering if he’d even acknowledge your presence or skip straight to the kitchen with the acquired groceries.
From a recent post on Instagram, you know what he looks like. Really good, if anybody asked. You were careful not to like it despite your finger hovering over the image for a few seconds too long. Then you were careful not to like any other picture as you scrolled through his profile until you reached the very end: a post of the two of you at a Halloween party your junior year, the night you finally talked him into creating an account.
Thanks to the light stalking, you also know him and Chrissy broke up a few weeks ago. He seemingly deleted any trace of the preppy blonde from his profile, she did the same with him, and you couldn’t deny the stinge of satisfaction that cursed through your veins upon that revelation.
When the doorknob rattles, you hop on your feet.
There’s no going back now. You prepared yourself for this moment ever since you accepted Nancy’s invitation. Time to face the music.
Jonathan walks in first. He greets Nancy with a kiss before offloading the twelve-pack of beers onto the floor and turning his attention to you. His smile is big and you’re feeling a little less nervous when he pulls you into a silent hug. When he pulls back, he pats you on the shoulder, then picks up the box he’s after placing on the floor and walks in the direction of the kitchen.
The guy that introduces himself as Argyle is next. Heavy lidded, he’s holding an open bag of Doritos and jokes about how he’d also give you a hug but he doesn’t trust himself with the orange residue on his fingers.
“White t-shirts are the devil, man,” he draws out the last syllable and flops onto the couch next to Nancy, offering her a corn triangle. When she politely declines, he just shrugs and throws it in the air, only to not catch it with his mouth, the piece falling onto the wooden floor.
With your gaze now focused on the chip, a single step away from you, Nancy scolds Argyle to not do that again. In the midst of this small ordeal, you don’t hear your name being said. Only when a white Nike sneaker appears in your field of vision, stepping on the Dorito and smashing it to pieces, you look up at the person addressing you.
Steve’s expression is full of emotion, but he doesn’t move from the spot he’s found himself in. He doesn’t attempt to hug you or reach out for you like the others did, only staring into your eyes as if he was mesmerised by the fact you were actually here.
“Shit– I mean…”
“Yeah…”
That’s all that you can say right now because it’s not yet the time to address what also went down between the two of you at the infamous party. Steve seems to be on the same page as you, opting instead to finally take that step forward and hesitantly wrap his strong arms around your frame.
The hug is awkward at first, but when you nuzzle your head into the crook of his neck as if no time has passed, exhaling softly when your hands make home on his back, the boy relaxes and his grip on you tightens ever so slightly. He whispers, “I missed you, sweetheart.”, into your ear and you instantly return the sentiment because it’s true, you missed him terribly. More than you cared to admit to yourself before this very moment.
For a few seconds, you forget where you are. Inhaling the scent of Steve’s aftershave and revelling in the way his arms perfectly folded around you, making you feel safe. For a few seconds, you feel at peace. For a few simple seconds, you forget about the person you’re still to see. The person that most likely wouldn’t be as open to seeing you again, especially now that you were in Steve’s arms.
The door shuts with a tame bang, a distinctive sound of runners tapping against the wooden floor, Nancy says your name as Robin calls out for Steve, you think you hear Argyle murmuring “Ohhh shit, dude”, then someone clears their throat and you finally open your eyes, which seemingly have closed moments prior.
Your throat dries.
There, leaning against the archway with his hands hidden in the pockets of his dark denim jeans is the boy who was once your friend, if not more.
Unlike Steve, Eddie stares at you with a blank look in his eyes, devoid of any real emotion. The emptiness behind the mahogany sends a shiver down your spine and you’re suddenly hyper aware of the position he has once again found you in.
Freeing yourself from Steve’s grasp, you hold your arms close to your chest for protection. He places a hand on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, before motioning for Argyle to follow him out of the room, where Nancy and the rest of the group just disappeared — leaving you alone with Eddie.
Neither of you says anything for what feels like an eternity.
You’re afraid to blink, just in case he disappears during the brief second your eyes close. Truthfully, he has every right to do so. Rush upstairs and slam his bedroom door shut as you remain right where he left you, forever haunted by the choices you made three years ago.
No, no.
There’s a reason you came and that’s to say you’re sorry.
Before you get a chance to break the silence, Eddie scoffs under his breath, dipping his head while running a hand through his brown locks. His hand remains at the back of his neck when he looks up at you again, a stupid smirk now plastered across his face.
“So, you and Harrington seem close as ever.”
Not the first words you expected to come out of his mouth, but given the situation he’s just encountered, they’re not surprising.
You nervously clear your throat, hugging yourself tighter.
“Uhm… No, we were just—”
“I don’t care,” he interrupts, his words cold yet the tone of his voice deceives him just a little. Also, if he actually didn’t care, then why make a sly comment in the first place?
But you don’t get to point that out, firstly ‘cause you’re still building up the courage to speak, and secondly because he’s quicker to continue with making his opinion known.
“Obviously you’ve always done whatever the fuck you wanted. Whoever you wanted.”
Ouch.
“Eddie, I-I…” you sigh quietly, “We were just hugging. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
Eddie scoffs. “Cute.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t be condescending.” You shake your head. “I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“‘Cause I missed all of you, plus Nancy invited me and I-I wanted to take this trip to apologise. Explain myself.”
Eddie rolls his eyes.
“Well as far as I’m concerned, you can keep your apology,” he states sternly, standing up straight and taking a step in your direction. “Clearly the rest of them are right back to licking your ass, just like they did in high school. Entertaining your shitty behaviour, but I’m not interested.”
His words hurt. It feels like tiny nails are being hammered into your heart and you’re helpless to stop it.
“I don’t care for you and I don’t want to be around you. Since we’re stuck here, just refrain from jumping on Harrington at every chance you get. It’s fucking desperate behaviour.”
Tears burn down your cheeks slowly. They blur your vision and make you look like a giant fucking fool, even bigger than you already are. Eddie doesn’t owe you anything, you know that. Yet here you stand, silently crying over his animosity.
Nancy's words ring in your ears, “he asks about you, he asks if you’re happy.”. What a load of bullshit. He clearly doesn’t give a shit.
“I’ll make sure to stay out of your way then,” is all you manage to blurt out, wiping the wet droplets with the back of your hand.
Pushing past him, making a point to shove his shoulder with a little force, you hurry upstairs and into the confines of your bedroom. You make sure not to let the door shut with a bang, steering away from the dramatics Eddie undoubtedly wanted to provoke. Yes, he hurt your feelings, but you sure as hell weren’t going to let him ruin this weeknd for you and the rest of your mutual friends.
His reaction didn’t surprise you. In fact, you expected it.
That doesn’t mean it’s any easier to digest.
Taking a few minutes to collect yourself, you check your phone and begin to open unseen notifications from various social media sites in an attempt to think about anything else than Eddie’s words.
“Deseperate fucking behaviour,” he’s said that to you before. The deja-vu hits harder than anticipated, making the nausea you thought you surpassed earlier spring right back up, stronger.
Yup. As you regain control of your breathing, you think for sure that coming here was definitely a mistake.
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CW: reader angst/ Gareth angst / just alot of angst / fluff / heated first kiss / heartbreakish
(I’m so sorry I changed the warnings last minute- in order for this to go into 4 parts smoothly, I needed to break it up the right way- but I promise it’ll be worth it!! (Hopefully)
Summary: junior year has finally come to an end, you spent the remainder of year healing your heartbreak from Gareth, but befriended Robin and now it’s time for Steve’s end of the school year party. You normally wouldn’t go but you’re trying to be more open to things. That’s when Eddie spots you and regrets not offering you a ride home that rough Valentine’s Day.
(Trying to kind of follow the timeline where Eddie is in 2nd attempt to graduate but Gareth has already graduated now)
*continuation from THIS*
June 2nd, 1985—the last day of your junior year. Nearly four months had passed since Gareth crushed your heart and Claire betrayed your friendship.
Most nights and weekends since Valentine’s Day had been spent drowning in self-pity, staying up too late, and overthinking everything.
That fateful afternoon, as soon as you got home from school, you called your mom. You were so upset that she could barely understand a word you were saying, so she decided to leave work early and come home.
After spending hours consoling you, she made a trip to Claire’s house on your behalf to collect anything you might have left behind from past sleepovers. You begged her not to mention anything to Claire’s parents- you didn’t want to make things worse. She kept her word, making up a lie about you being grounded for three weeks due to your grades. Funny enough, neither Mom nor Dad had ever grounded you. But Claire’s parents didn’t question it.
Your mom even let you skip school the next day, and even Friday too, giving you a four-day weekend to grieve your broken heart in peace.
But that was old news— at least that’s what you keep telling yourself— today was the last day of junior year, and you were determined to make this summer different..to actually enjoy yourself and get out of your shell.
Over the past couple of months, you had grown close to Robin Buckley after being paired together in chemistry class for a lab. You quickly realized she was one of the most genuine people you’d ever met, unapologetically herself, and you wished you had met her sooner.
Through Robin, you were introduced to Steve—formerly known as King Steve, though she swore he had changed since graduation.
Honestly? He had. Steve was welcoming, respectful, and always had you and Robin laughing until you couldn’t breathe.
Speaking of Steve, he was famous for throwing the most elaborate start-of-summer pool parties, always open-invite. You had never gone before- Claire never wanted to, and Gareth never seemed to either. So why would you?
But this year was different. You were friends with Robin now, and she had made it her personal mission to get you to that party.
As soon as you and Robin got back to your house, having been dismissed two periods early on the last day of school, she immediately launched into her sales pitch.
“You’ve never been to one before,” she started, already ticking off reasons on her fingers. “You said yourself that neither Gareth nor Claire ever went, so you won’t have to worry about running into them. And—” she grinned, “I’m begging you to go so I’m not alone when Steve gets sucked into the keg competition. There! Three solid reasons why you have to come with me.” She crossed her arms, looking smugly satisfied.
You took a moment to think. She wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t logic holding you back—it was nerves. You had never been very social, and the idea of striking up conversations from nothing made your stomach twist. You always worried people were secretly making fun of how you looked, how you talked, how you were.
With an exaggerated sigh, you flopped backward onto your bed. “Alright, I’ll go.” You knew she wouldn’t drop it until you gave in.
Before Robin could start celebrating, you cut her off. “But!!! You have to help me pick an outfit, you can’t leave my side the whole night, and if either of us wants to go home early, no questions asked—we leave.”
Robin nodded so fast you thought her head might fly off. “YES. One hundred times yes! I promise you, this is going to be so much fun.”
You really hoped she would be right.
That following Saturday, with only two hours until the party started, you needed every minute to prepare. As promised, Robin helped you pick out the best outfit possible given your limited options. You settled on a floral-print mesh skirt that fell just below your knees, the slit along the side revealing a glimpse of your knee and upper thigh. Wanting to stay true to your style, you paired it with your homemade cropped Led Zeppelin shirt and your well-worn Doc Marten combat boots.
After finishing your usual makeup routine..your eyeliner wings turning out a bit thicker than intended.. you stepped out of the bathroom and headed to your bedroom to check if Robin was ready.
As soon as you opened the door, Robin turned and nearly flipped out. “Holy shit, y/n, you clean up nicely! Damn- for once, I wish Gareth actually went to these parties so he could see what he missed out on.”
You couldn’t help but blush. “Thanks, Rob..but I really don’t care how Gareth sees me anymore. I just want to have a good time, and experience Steve’s legendary parties.”
Robin shrugged. “Good. I’m glad you’re over him. But trust me, you’re gonna turn some heads tonight. Hell, I nearly got whiplash with how fast I turned to look at you.”
You waved her off. “Alright, alright, are we ready to head out before I change my mind?”
Before you could second guess yourself, Robin grabbed your arm and tugged you towards the door. “Yes! We’ve made it this far, I am not letting you back out now!”
“Wait, Rob! I forgot my party favors!” You ran back to your room and to your nightstand, grabbing an old Altoids tin that held four pre-rolls—your best bet at making any new friends tonight without feeling like a complete idiot—before meeting Robin in the car.
The drive to Steve’s wasn’t long, but it didn’t stop your stomach from doing nervous flips as Robin parked along the already packed street. Both sides were lined with cars, making sure we knew just how big these parties got.
It was funny how the party was labeled as a “pool party”, but as you stepped through the backyard gate, you noticed only a handful of people were actually in the water.
Linking arms, you and Robin made your way towards the house, only to be stopped at the sliding door that led to the kitchen by Steve.
His eyebrows were raised, his smile a little too forced as he blocked the doorway with his arm. “Oh, hey guys! Isn’t it so nice out tonight? I figured we could, you know, get some fresh air for a bit, maybe just spend the entirety of the night out here!”
You and Robin exchanged a look before she shoved at Steve’s arm. “We just got here- can we at least get a drink first? What’s going on? You look like you’re hiding something… or someone?”
Steve dropped his secretive act pretty fast. “Okay, look, I may have forgotten to mention that I usually throw these parties on the Friday after school ends. But my parents decided to take a later flight this time, so instead of leaving Friday morning, they didn’t leave until this morning. So, for once, I had to push the party to Saturday…” He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up at us.
Robin, never one to hold back, deadpanned, “Are we supposed to care about that?”
“I was getting to the point! Just trying to explain,” Steve huffed. “Alright, well- the Hellfire Club never comes to these things because they always have some big D&D campaign on Fridays. I didn’t even think about it until Dustin called me this morning asking when I was picking him up to attend his first big highschool party.”
You shot Robin a look, silently asking to take over. “For the love of God, Steve, please just get to the—”
Before you could finish, Eddie Munson smacked Steve’s shoulder, knocking his arm down from where it was blocking the doorway. “King Steve, thanks for having us tonight, but I’d really prefer not to be stuck in this kitchen the entire party.” Steve rolled his eyes, only Eddie would never allow him to forget his King Steve days.
His eyes flicked from Steve’s face to yours, and for a split second, he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.
“Ladies…” he murmured before slipping past Steve and disappearing into the backyard.
Robin and Steve exchanged a glance before Robin nudged you. “Okay, what was that about?”
You shrugged. “No idea. I’ve never even spoken to him before. I just know he was Gareth’s best friend and part of that club.” Glancing over your shoulder, you spotted Eddie filling his cup at the keg.
Robin, clearly done with Steve’s crappy explanations, jumped straight to the point. “Alright, so here’s my theory- if Eddie is here, that means Gareth is too. And if he’s here, then I assume his evil girlfriend, Morgan, is as well. And if she’s here, that probably means the shittiest friend to exist, Claire, is too?”
Steve raised his eyebrows and forced a casual smile. “Yeeaah… that would be correct.”
You knew you were over Gareth, but you also hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to notice him anymore at school. And Claire? You hadn’t spoken to her since everything happened. You figured you’d just continue ignoring them tonight, too.
Before you could even say it, Robin beat you to it- like she had read your mind. “Well, good thing y/n isn’t gonna let those idiots ruin her night ever again. I’ve got her, Steve, but we appreciate the heads up.”
Steve nodded, then, with a dramatic bow, finally stepped aside, allowing you both to enter the house.
———————————————————————————
The second you and Robin step into the kitchen, almost like you had been jinxed- your eyes land on Gareth and Morgan tangled up in a corner, lips locked, completely oblivious to the rest of the party. You weren’t trying to look for them- but it’s hard to miss when they’re right there. You felt like you swallowed a brick and it just hit your stomach. You knew you wouldn’t be able to avoid this forever, just didn’t think it’d be so soon.
Robin, ever perceptive, clocks the shift in your demeanor immediately. She doesn’t say anything, just nudges a red cup into your hand, the contents being some kind of spiked punch that smells more like sugar than alcohol. Without hesitating, you take a sip, pretending the sudden tension in your shoulders isn’t there. She doesn’t buy it, of course.
“Backyard?” she asks, already knowing the answer.
You nod, and she takes your hand, tugging us away from the scene before you can torture yourself further. The cool night air is a relief stepping onto the lawn, too early in the summer for any humidity. The backyard was buzzing with groups of people laughing, drinking, and swaying to whatever song is thumping from the speakers. You exhale, taking a seat on one of the only empty benches available while Robin goes to find Steve. You decide now is as good a time as any to dig out your party favors.
Pulling out one of the joints, you tuck it between your lips as you pat at the nonexistent pockets of your skirt. Only then remembering you meant to finally use a purse due to the lack of pockets but with the rush out the door, you forgot it. Leaving you without a lighter. You start contemplating whether to go find Robin or just swallow your pride and head back inside to find one.
Before you can decide, a flicker of movement catches your eye.
Across the lawn, Eddie Munson is watching you.
He’s been watching you all night, though never noticing until now. He shifts from foot to foot, running a hand through his curls before shoving both hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. His hesitation is almost endearing… almost.. if you didn’t just catch him staring. You didn’t know much about Eddie, other than the fact that he’s friends with Gareth, which means he probably knows everything. The notebook situation, the way things ended, all of it.
What you don’t know is that Eddie saw you walking home that awful Valentine’s Day. That he wanted to pull over and offer you a ride home but didn’t, afraid you’d think he was a creep since you guys have never spoken before. That he’s been struggling with the weight of knowing Gareth’s side of the story (also having to endure Morgan and Claire’s side as well) while watching you navigate the fallout alone.
What you do know is that he’s walking towards you now, pulling a lighter from his pocket.
“Need a light?” His voice is smoother than you would’ve expected after being caught staring, laced with something unreadable.
You hesitate. Not because you don’t want the help, but because suddenly, you’re unexplainably nervous.
Still, you nod, leaning in as he flicks the lighter to life. The flame dances between you both, illuminating his face just enough for you to catch the curiosity in his dark eyes.
“Thanks,” you mumble, inhaling deeply as the joint comes to life.
Eddie just smirks, stuffing the lighter back into his pocket.
“Anytime.”
And for some reason, you believe him.
An hour passes before you realize Robin never came back with Steve. Not that you’ve been sitting around waiting for once- you’ve been deep in conversation with Eddie, going back and forth about music, laughing at how impressed he was with your rolling technique when you gifted him one of your joints. He even gave you a crash course on how D&D works, and when you showed genuine interest, he invited you to come observe a session one day.
That’s when it hit you- your comfort person isn’t by your side anymore. And by associating with Eddie, you’re indirectly associating with Gareth.
You shift uncomfortably on the bench, looking around the backyard. Eddie notices immediately. He figures now is the best time to come clean about what he knows.
He hesitates before barely grazing his fingers over your thigh, then pulls back just as quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, y/n, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Look, I know what went down between you and Gareth, and with your friend betraying you in the same situation. I saw you walking home from school that day. …I really wanted to offer you a ride but decided against it. I was sure I’d freak you out or something… I regret that now. I think about it a lot.”
You freeze, unsure how to respond, or if you even want to. Why would Gareth’s friend want to help me in any way? Don’t guys talk about this stuff and make fun of the poor girl?
Eddie seems to catch the way you’re silently hoping he’ll keep talking.
“I didn’t even really know who you were until Gareth mistakenly brought your notebook to my place,” he admits. “But that day I saw you in the parking lot… I felt torn. Gareth’s one of my best friends, but the way he handled that whole ‘crush’ thing? It was wrong, in my opinion.”
“Oh.” It’s all you can manage, but for some reason, your cheeks heat up. There’s something reassuring about hearing that Eddie didn’t just blindly take Gareth’s side. He barely knows you, and he still thinks it was messed up.
Eddie starts fiddling with the rings on his fingers. “y/n, I think you’re really cool, and you’re absolutely breathtaking. Honestly, I’m kinda glad you forgot your lighter tonight, because I’ve been wanting to talk to you since that day. It just finally gave me an excuse. I’d love to hang out more, just talk, get to know you—for you. But I get it if you’re still not over Gareth. Unrequited love isn’t exactly fun.”
Before you can respond, you spot Robin weaving through the crowd toward you, her face full of worry.
You quickly turn back to Eddie. “I’m over Gareth. It was a stupid crush, and honestly, it helped me weed out a bad friend in the process. The situation hurt, I won’t lie. But I’m just trying to enjoy this summer and get through senior year without any issues.”
Eddie follows your gaze and notices Robin approaching, suddenly feeling a little nervous- expecting some kind of backlash for talking to you, the girl his best friend screwed over.
“I should probably take off soon,” he says, standing. “But I’d really like to see you again. I’m hoping this is my last summer in Hawkins, I just need to pass my senior year this time around, so I’m also hoping to enjoy it.” He flashes you a small, almost hopeful smile. “See you, y/n.”
“Bye, Eddie.”
You barely get a second to process the conversation before Robin collapses onto the bench beside you, breathless.
“I am so sorry, y/n! I promised I wouldn’t leave your side, but Steve decided to try reclaiming his title and did a keg stand against Billy. The moron lasted ten seconds before he lost his grip and fell straight on his ass. I had to make sure he didn’t break his butt or something, is that even a thing? I don’t know!—and then I see Eddie talking to you! I can’t believe I wasn’t here to stop it! If you wanna leave, just say the wor—”
You clap a hand over her mouth.
“Rob, it’s fine. I promise. Eddie was actually nice. Let me borrow his lighter.” You hesitate before adding, “He said he wants to hang out again soon…”
You drop your hand, giving her a chance to react.
She blinks at you. “Wait… seriously?! Wow, I kinda love that? The asshole’s best friend realizing you’re the real catch? I bet Gareth will flip when he finds out.”
You shake your head. “I doubt it. Not that I want him to freak out, either..I don’t care what he thinks about me anymore. And it’s nothing serious. This was literally the first conversation I’ve ever had with the guy. But… he seemed sincere. And really cool.”
Robin grins and pulls you into a hug. “Okay, well, then I’m glad I had to abandon you for a bit. But on that note, let’s check on Steve and maybe call it a night?”
You nod, suddenly very happy you agreed to come tonight.
Since you had been so happily distracted by Eddie at the party, you never had a second thought about the ‘friends’ who hurt you and possibly running into them again, but meanwhile- Gareth was across the lawn watching as his best friend made you laugh.
Gareth never thought twice about turning you down that day.
It wasn’t that he wanted to hurt you.. he just never saw you that way. You were his sister’s best friend, someone who had always been there- at the house, at the arcade, even school. So when he found out about your crush on him, he only knew of one way to respond,
“I don’t feel the same way, I never could.”
It had been the truth. He didn’t see you that way.
But the part that still sat heavy in his chest- the part that made it worse- was that he really thought he wanted Morgan. Your old best friend, apparently. The one that he found out later turned on you the second she had the chance. And to find out his own sister, Claire, who you were glued to the hip to at one point, was in on it.
At the time, Gareth hadn’t thought much about it. He never meant for it to be personal. He was finally given some attention from a pretty girl. A girl who would give him the time of day at school, and snuck into his bedroom that fateful night. He never thought about it. Never thought about how it must have felt when she was whispering rumors about you last summer-about you losing your virginity, about things that weren’t even true, about things meant to humiliate you.
And he never thought about how much worse it was when his sister, the person you trusted most at the time, wanted to befriend her again.
Gareth still remembered the way you looked at him that day.. the last day you ever really looked at him at all.
The single tear running down your cheek, your body almost vibrating trying to contain the hurt. At the time, he convinced himself it wasn’t his problem. That it wasn’t his fight, he just wanted to let you down somewhat easily and be with his new girlfriend without somehow leading you on.
But now, he sits here at Steve’s place for the first time, being dragged along to talk to people he didn’t even know -with Morgan, and only wanting to make out with her just because he could.
But as Morgan tells Gareth that her and Claire are going to jump in the pool, he’d find this as an opportunity to meet up with his actual friends. While searching for either Jeff, Grant, or Eddie, that’s when he spots you from across the yard.
You looked different now. Not in a way he could explain, it's only been a few months since he last saw you really.. but in a way that made something coil tight in his chest. Maybe it was the way the string lights caught in your hair, or the way you swayed in your seat to the music as you took another slow drag from the joint in your hand- like nothing in the world could hurt you. Like he had never hurt you.
But Gareth knew better.
He knew what he had done.
And then there was Eddie.
Gareth clenched his jaw as he watched Eddie lean in closer, like he actually wanted to hear whatever you were saying. Like he wasn’t just being polite because you were sharing your pot, cause he had his own supply anyway- but like he was actually interested. And worse than that? You looked happy. Really happy.
Gareth had never seen you talk to Eddie before tonight, but now? Now you were sitting together, knees nearly touching, and Eddie was looking at you like you had just hung the damn moon placed each star in the night sky individually.
The same way you used to look at him, when he looks back at the time before he was aware of your crush on him.
A bitter taste settled at the back of his throat, something twisting in his gut. He should be happy. Should be relieved that you weren’t still wasting your time on him, not after everything that happened.
But all he felt was regret.
Not because he wished he had liked you back then. Not because he wanted to take back what he said.
But because he missed having someone actually pine over him. He honestly didn’t believe Morgan really liked him in that way. Like it was all for show to her.
And now?
Now, you were laughing at something Eddie said, tapping your fingers against the bench you were sitting on, completely unaware of Gareth observing from afar. Watching you take any interest you ever had in him, and place it on Eddie.
And maybe that was the worst part.
Not that you had moved on.
Was it that you had moved on with his best friend? Maybe he was overthinking it-
But if he was right in his assumption, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it. He had no right.
With summer break officially starting, and your last year of high school approaching, your parents decided it was time for you to get a part-time job. You didn’t mind really, the extra cash would be nice, and you were hoping it meant you could finally convince them to help you buy a used car.
Luckily, Steve and Robin had your back. After some begging on their part, their boss agreed to hire you at Family Video with them.
The Monday after the party marked your first official day. Robin had made sure to stress to their boss that she and Steve absolutely needed to work the same shift as you to train you properly. You weren’t sure how he didn’t catch onto the fact that it was pretty much just an excuse to hang out after maybe 2 hours of actual training.
After throwing on your shoes and checking your makeup and hair one last time, you headed out the door to meet them. Since you were all scheduled for the same shift, Steve had the honor of being both you and Robin’s designated chauffeur.
Sliding into the back seat of his car, you were immediately greeted by Robin handing you an iced coffee.
“Wow, I could get used to this,” you smirked, taking a sip.
Robin rolled her eyes. “As much as I love you, don’t get used to it. We only managed to convince the big boss man to schedule us all together through Friday. I think he’s onto us and knows this job is way too easy to need two people training at once.”
You and Steve both chuckled.
“Well then, I’ll enjoy it while I can.”
———————————————————————————
Robin was right- by Thursday, there was really nothing left for them to teach you. You were catching on quickly, and during the week the store remained practically empty except for a few parents coming in for returns. Most of the time, you guys just goofed around during the slow periods, taking your sweet time putting the VHS tapes back on their designated shelves. But the lull in work only made you think about Saturday, when Eddie didn’t ask for your number-and you didn’t have his. You knew you could probably get it from Steve (who’d then ask Dustin), but you didn’t want to push things or be the one pursuing the boy this time.
It was like you’d manifested it: just as you returned to organizing the movies, the door chimed, signaling a new customer’s arrival. You didn’t look up immediately, knowing that Steve was manning the front until you heard him greet them.
“Oh hey, Munson-are you finally going to pay your late charges?”
You couldn’t help but glance over, and you caught Eddie’s chuckle. “Actually, I am! I really want to rent the new ‘Friday the 13th’—I think it’s called ‘A New Beginning’ or something and I know you won’t rent it out to me unless I pay the stupid four bucks.”
“Sure thing,” Steve said, turning toward you as he noticed your gaze. “Y/n just started with us and hasn’t had the chance to handle removing paid late charges yet.”
Eddie almost looked like he was blushing as he added, “What a coincidence- though not to sound lame, but I was actually going to bribe Stevie here to give me your number since I stupidly forgot to ask last weekend.”
You felt so shy all of a sudden, and before you could respond, Robin walked over from the break room, having overheard everything. “Yeah, sorry Munson, but Steve wouldn’t have been much help anyway, as he can barely remember his own phone number.”
Steve scoffed, almost offended, “Yeah, whatever.. I forgot one time.”
After they showed you how to remove the paid late charges and rang up Eddie’s new rental, he finally gathered the courage to ask, “So, I’d still love your number.. but more than that, would you want to come to the Hideout on Tuesday night and check out my band? During the summer, we actually get more than ten drunks tolerating our music.” He stuttered as he glanced over at Robin, who crossed her arms over her chest. “I mean, you all could definitely come out that night.”
Robin nodded, but before she could speak on your behalf, you blurted out, “Yeah, I’d love to! Um, also, if you still want it..” you quickly scribbled your number on his receipt, “..This is my house number. Feel free to call me whenever.”
He smiled softly. “Perfect. I’ll talk to you soon then, y/n.” Then he saluted Robin and Steve. “And you guys- see you both Tuesday?” he called out as he backed out of the store.
You couldn’t help the way you blushed and tried to act nonchalant over the whole ordeal- but Robin knew it was eating you alive needing to freak out for a moment, she laughed, “y/n why don’t you go take your fifteen minute break, yeah?”
You nodded, and as you quickly made your way to the break room- they could still hear you squealing in excitement from the front of the store.
That following night, the house phone started ringing, you didn’t think any of it as you continued flipping through the latest Rolling Stone magazine- until you heard your mom call up the stairs, “y/n! Phone call!”
You ran down the stairs, snatching the phone from her hand, you hoped for it to be a certain someone so you took a second to compose yourself trying to act nonchalant, as you put the phone to your ear- “Hello?”
A familiar voice filled the silence, “Hey, y/n, it’s Eddie. I hope it’s alright that I’m calling kind of late; I didn’t realize the time until right now..” he began as he watched his kitchen wall clock strike 9pm, you could swear he sounded a bit nervous. “I was wondering, uh- if you’d like to check out the record store this Saturday?” His tone was almost nonchalant, yet it still made your heart skip.
Saturday unfolded in a blur of vinyls, cassette tapes, and easy laughter. You both wandered through cramped aisles at the record store, trading opinions on obscure bands and new finds until the afternoon melted away. By Sunday, Eddie had invited you over to his trailer, where the soft crackle of a spinning record from yesterday's haul, the backdrop for a quiet afternoon. You two settled into a comfortable rhythm, passing a joint back and forth, the smoke filling the room as you talked about everything and nothing. You had more in common than you realized, even after your first encounter.
In one impulsive action after taking a longer drag, Eddie, with a mischievous look in his eye, took your face into his large hands, turning you to face him. Slowly he moved his face closer to yours, taking his thumb to your chin and dragging it down to barely part your lips- blowing majority of the smoke from his mouth- directly into yours. The act almost startled you, and for a moment, the world slowed down and it felt like just the two of you existed. Then, as the smoke cleared, your eyes met his, and he leaned in. His unexpected, playful gesture gave way to our first kiss.
His lips felt soft, just like you imagined. As you moved in to deepen the kiss, he continued to gently cup your face, holding you still, wanting to make this last. The lingering taste of weed, subtle yet potent, tasted just as you thought Eddie would..
He pulled you into his lap, allowing you to straddle him- the action causing you to gasp with your head back, which Eddie took this opportunity to place soft kisses to your neck back up to your lips. You could feel how hard he was becoming underneath you, and it made you both nervous and excited. You’ve never really done anything with a guy, other than during a sixth grade birthday party and were dared to let Andy Jones cop a feel of your boobs.
You wanted to keep going, but Eddie could feel you almost pulling away.
Eddie pauses and holds the wrist of the hand you had begun weaving into his hair, “Hey..” he murmured, his voice low and reassuring, “It’s okay to stop, we don’t have to move any further.”
You look down in between your bodies, making note of the effect you’ve had on him in his jeans, “I can’t help it,” he admits softly, “But truly, you don’t have to worry about that. I just couldn’t go another day without kissing you- I don’t want to push you to a point of being uncomfortable.”
You continue looking down but close your eyes, “Thank you.. it’s not that I don’t want to- I’ve just never done.. that.. or anything really for that matter.”
Eddie nods, “I’m just happy to be in your presence.”
You respond by placing a soft peck to his lips, “I think I like you a lot, Eddie.”
Gareth x f!Reader / Gareth!best friends older brother
Warnings: hurt/no comfort - angst / mention of sex but doesn’t involve reader / unrequited love / oblivious boys / betrayal / reader is a virgin
A/n: I’ve never written something so detailed before; only used to the little dabbles so please be kind :) Reader and best friend are juniors in highschool, and Gareth is a senior.
Thank you @keeryhours, @the-witty-pen-name, and @punkrockmlchael for giving me the confidence boost to continue writing this and even post it! Also tagging some of my other besties: @the-unforgivenn @doomsdaybby @fizzing-imagines
Do I wanna know?
(If this feelin’ flows both ways?)
(Sad to see you go, was sorta hopin’ that’d you stay.)
Have you ever had a crush that’s lasted too long and takes up every crevice of your brain? You know, the kind where you’re almost sure you’re in love with them, they can do no wrong, in your eyes they’re the most beautiful specimen to exist, and you can never tell them how you feel- because the thought of being rejected by this person is just all too much?
Oh and that person just so happens to be your best friend’s brother?
Claire was probably the best friend a girl could ask for, I’ve known her since freshman year and we’ve become practically conjoined at the hip. It wasn’t always just her and I, but last summer one of our close friends at the time, Morgan, decided to show her true colors. Thankfully, Claire stuck around with me.
The only problem was the stupidest school girl crush I had on her older brother.
Gareth. Even knowing him for as long as I did, being invited to stay over for family dinners, sleepovers-only ever at Claire’s, seeing him in the halls at school, sneaking glances at him during lunch - he’d make any kind of appearance in my life and my cheeks would turn bright red, heart would start racing, and butterflies in my stomach would appear.
And where the start of the end begins, I realized just as mom is pulling the car into the driveway that I had left the one notebook that would give my crush away in a second if anyone opened it, at his house after leaving from studying with his sister tonight. I needed to call Claire as soon as I got inside to ensure she found it first and brought it to school tomorrow;
“Come on, come on, come on,” I couldn’t help but whisper to myself as the ringing kept repeating on the other line.
“Emerson’s residence.. You’ve got five seconds, state your business or I'll hang up.” Of course the one time Gareth beats Claire to the phone is when I call.
“Oh hi! Uh yeah- sorry um it’s y/n. Is Claire arou-“
Gareth scoffs, “Jeez, you two are seriously inseparable huh? Didn’t you just leave our house? I was just about to make a call to Eddie so I’m sure whatever girl talk can wait till tomorrow.” He chuckles his stupid cute chuckle he does whenever he picks on me, and even though it should irritate me- it only makes me more nervous to talk to him.
“Very funny, but I really need to talk to Claire, just super duper quick. I’ll be 30 seconds, promise. Please Gareth?” Normally I would immediately surrender to him- just to be able to please him in any way, but this would be the one time I had to hold my ground.
“I’m just messin’ with you y/n, I’ll grab her- but it wouldn’t hurt to still make it quick, yeah?” The way he says my name always makes my stomach flip.
“Yeah of course, thanks Gare!”
“Mhmmmm…” I can almost hear how he’s smirking over the phone. How does he sound so dreamy all the time to me? I’m actually going insane.
All I hear on the other line is Gareth shuffling the phone around and him yelling “Claaaaiiiree! Phone!!”
“Could you scream any louder? I’m right here! I’m going to use the upstairs phone-Gareth please don’t hang up before I get up there.”
“10….9….8…7….6….5….4….3….2…-“
Another phone clicks on the line. “Hello?”
I couldn’t help but try and get straight to the point,“Hey, I really need you to-“
Claire cuts me off, “Oh hey y/n! Don’t say another word yet! Gareth you can hang up now!!!”
“You act like I want to hear whatever gossip you both talk about.” And with that, Gareth makes sure to loudly put the phone down into the receiver.
“My god, he’s the worst!! Sorry y/n, what’s up?”
“Claire- I left my very important notebook on your bench by the front door.. I must have forgotten it after I set it down while putting my shoes on.”
“Ah, this important notebook wouldn’t happen to be the one with my brother's name written a million times over and over with hearts everywhere, right?”
“Okay that’s a bit dramatic, it’s just a few doodles…. But yes… that would be the one… Can you PLEASE grab it before anyone else finds it? And bring it to school tomorrow for me?”
“What, you afraid my mom is gonna find out you have a crush on Gareth?”
“No Claire, not your mom! Please take one second to think about the situation here.” I don’t think I’ve ever smacked myself harder in the forehead before right now.
“Hahaha, yeah, yeah I know- sorry, it’s just this crush has been going on for so long. I wish you’d just tell him.”
“Claire, there’s no way-“
“Okay okay, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll make sure I grab it before he does. But knowing Gareth, even if he sees it lying there, I doubt he would be dying to know what’s inside a random notebook.”
“You might be right, but thank you anyway!! See you tomorrow, you’re the best!! PLEASE DON’T FORGET!”
“I know I am! And I WON’T!!” Click.
However, in the other room, Gareth is getting ready to leave the house- and jokes on you, with how Gareth’s brain works, as he’s walking out the door to meet up at Eddie’s place, he clocks the notebook immediately. And grabs it. Without barely glancing at it, he assumes it’s Eddie’s Hellfire journal he was borrowing and keeps forgetting to return to him.
He tucks it under his arm and heads out the door.
Meanwhile, once he arrives, he knocks once on the trailer door and, Eddie barely lets Gareth into the trailer before he’s immediately looking at his hands holding nothing. “Wow, I can’t believe you forgot the Hellfire notebook again!! I have a feeling you’re doing this on purpose now. Are you holding it for ransom, is that it? You do realize that is the most valuable thing I own, and you have it already, right?”
Gareth was waiting for this, his evil little smirk as he pulled the notebook from the inside of his jacket. “I will admit, I almost did. But I saw it just as I was leaving the house and made sure I snagged it this time.”
Eddie snatches it out of his hand so quick Gareth swore he got a paper cut the size of the notebook itself.
As Eddie slumps onto his bed about to toss the notebook aside for later, he flips to the front with a confused look on his face. “You idiot, you did forget it! Did you even double check before grabbing this? This isn’t the Hellfire plans!” He starts flipping through the pages, “Nope, definitely not dungeons and dragons, just a whole lot of math equations that I can’t even understand.”
Eddie flips to the last page, “Oh look at what we have here.. whoever owns this notebook sure is obsessed with someone with the initials ‘GE’, I wonder who that could possibly be.” He chuckles out almost a mocking laugh as he tosses the journal to Gareth.
Gareth’s eyes were so wide he swore they could fall out of his head.
“Soooo whose is it?” Eddie asks as he nudges Gareth’s arm.
“It’s gotta be y/n’s.”
“Who’s y/n?”
“She’s uh- she’s Claire’s best friend. Only other person who’s been to our house recently. She must have forgotten it when she was there last.”
“Aw, someone has a big old crush on the Garebear! Is she hot? Ya gonna go for it?” Eddie asks, winking at him.
“No way dude, y/n is just my little sister's friend. A year below us, she’s cute but not who I’d go for.” Gareth admits, as he’s glancing over the continued doodles of hearts with his initials in the middle.
“Well, what are you going to do?” Eddie asks, as he begins rolling a joint.
Gareth runs his hands over his face, “Nothing? What is there to do? I’m going to smoke this joint-“ snagging it out of Eddie’s hands, “And put this back where I found it when I get home.” He shrugs.
“Poor kid, nothing more painful than unrequited love..” Eddie half jokes, taking back the joint.
“I’m not gonna act like I know, so she can continue living out her fantasy, I suppose.”
Later that evening, Gareth returns home to find his sister at the front door frantically searching for something, and runs into the living room to continue her search. He realizes quickly that she’s most likely looking for your notebook to return to you, so he quietly places it on the side of the bench closest to the wall, as if it fell there.
He kicks off his shoes and heads to the kitchen as he hears her run back over to the front area, “Oh thank god, she would’ve killed me if I didn’t find it.” He hears Claire loudly whisper to herself.
He thinks to himself, “No need for Claire to know that I’m now aware of y/n’s crush on me either.”
Oblivious to knowing what had occurred from the time I asked Claire to find my notebook, and from when Gareth sneaks it back into the house- The following day at school, I can’t help but quickly retrieve my stupid notebook from Claire’s bag before she can even turn around from her locker to greet me;
“Oh please be my guest,” jokes Claire
“Hey now, this is my property after all. Thanks by the way, again.” Grabbing her into a big hug,
Claire, fighting to breath in my grasp, wiggles out of the hug, “Okay, okay, I got the point!”
As we start our walk down the hall, giggling together, headed to first period;
Unbeknownst to me, Gareth notices Clair and I at the end of the hall, blissfully unaware he unintentionally invaded my privacy. It’s not like he wants to break my heart or anything, he can’t help who he’s attracted to. You’re almost like another sister he has to deal with.
If you knew that- you’d crumble.
He only can only decide to him self, that he could just be nicer to you, treat me like a sister but just a bit better than he treats Claire, that is. Maybe then I could get the hint without him having to break the bad news directly.
———————————————————————————
A few months pass, it’s the week of Valentine’s Day. The school always gives the option to pay a dollar or two to send a valentine to someone on anyone’s behalf. It could be anonymous or signed, and the options were either a carnation or an orange soda, a ‘Crush’ orange soda to be exact. The assistant principal always thought that was so clever.
As Claire and I walk past the fundraiser Valentine’s Day table, I nudge her, “Are you gonna send any out?”
She shakes her head, “I don’t think so, I don’t really have anyone I’m crushing on right now.”
“What about Jason? Jason Carver? You’ve been drooling over him since our Freshman year.” Poking her side and laughing.
She swats at my hand, “Stop it! Also, keep your voice down, loudmouth!” She can’t help but laugh, “I admit I used to like him, but he’s always been with Chrissy. I’ll never compare. Plus, I don’t think they’ll ever split up either, at least not while we’re in school.”
“Okay that’s fair. I don’t think I'll be sending any either.” Shrugging,
“You could send one to you know who.” Arriving at her locker, about to split up for your next classes.
“No way- I don’t want him to know, especially since there’s no way he likes me back.” I can’t help but clutch my books too close to myself and start to turn down a hall,
“I mean you could do it anonymously, he’d never know it was you. It’s nothing super serious. You’d get the satisfaction of knowing it was you making him smile from a small gesture, and who knows? He’s been way nicer to you lately than me, and I’m his sister!”
All I can do is shake my head towards her and mouth “You’re crazy!” As I make my way towards the next class.
———————————————————————————
After school, I headed back to my own house for once. I really needed to actually study and get caught up on homework. However, I can’t help but think about what Claire said. What harm could come of sending him an anonymous valentines? I’d also be helping a good cause towards the school, donating to the fundraiser!
But more than that, I do recall Gareth being way nicer than he normally is towards me. Asking how I’ve been, if I needed help with homework. Actually complimenting the cookies I had baked and would bring over to share, instead of him just taking a handful to his room.
Even asking if Claire and I wanted to tag along to the gas station for any snacks. And when Claire declined, he’d still check with me in case I still wanted to go.
I would never have the courage to ride alone with him, so I always ended up shaking my head no, feeling my face get hot in the process.
That solidified my decision, nothing too lovey dovey- I’ll just donate two bucks and send him one of the orange sodas anonymously. He’d probably prefer that over some flower anyway.
———————————————————————————
The following morning I arrived at school a bit earlier than I normally would prefer to. Having to beg mom to drive me on the way to her job was not the easiest task; but I had to beat the crowd that tumbles in 5 minutes before the bell rings- knowing Nancy Wheeler would be setting up the Valentine's Day table already, and this would prevent anyone knowing I’d be sending anyone a valentine.
About 30 minutes later, Claire looked baffled to see me at my locker before she even made it to hers. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want her to know I had ended up sending Gareth one either. Maybe it was so she couldn’t rub it in my face that it was a good idea- if it ended up a good idea that is.
I couldn’t allow her ego get too big.
She just stood there, almost analyzing me. I already knew what she was gonna ask, I made sure to come up with an explanation even before arriving to school this morning.
“Oh yeah, my mom had to be at the office an hour earlier today, so she offered to drop me off this morning and give me a break from the bus.” Shrugging, like it was normal not to call her with any last minute changes in my day. Even early in the morning before school.
“Right… right… couldn’t be because you wanted to sneakily send a certain someone a certain something? But, only- I’m not sure why I wouldn’t be able to know?”
Claire almost looked actually upset at me for whatever reason.
“I mean, I was just nervous. I didn’t want anyone to see. Just incase- I don’t know- what if when he gets it, he’s curious who sent it. You know Morgan seems to have it out for me since our fight this past July. She’d go to tell him even before he got the soda! Then I end up looking like a fool!” Taking a deep breath, trying to collect myself.
She sighs, “I get that part, I do. But I figured I could’ve been there with you? Hype you up to do it in case you started to chicken out? I could’ve been the look out or something even.. but I wasn’t considered, though I gave you the idea..” She begins to step away from my locker,
“Wait- Claire, I didn’t realize this would upset you so much. I truly didn’t-“
“Forget it, I know it sounds stupid, it’s just an anonymous valentine. See ya later.” Halfway down the hall she turns around for a second, “By the way, Morgan isn’t that cruel.. I doubt she even remembers anything about you and your crush on him.”
Left alone, book in hand, locker still wide open, and the first bell rings. I can’t help but wonder how I could be the bad guy right now? I would’ve told her after the fact, I just can’t have him find out and not return those feelings. I’m not ready to accept that there will never be anything between us. And for her to defend Morgan after everything she pulled this summer? I couldn’t understand it.
To keep things short, Morgan felt it was only necessary to spread a rumor about me during the last day of sophomore year. Said rumor? That I lost my virginity to some rando at her birthday party the previous week in her bathroom.
I didn’t find out until the first week of July, a month later. It all started to click into place on why no one was responding to my messages or invites to my own birthday party that was coming up.
If it wasn’t clear, said rumor did not happen.
———————————————————————————
The rest of the day was full of nerves and what felt like Claire giving me the cold shoulder. I just decided to let her act however she wants, I was already regretting ever sending the stupid thing anyway. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day and I had no idea when they were even planning on handing them out.
Looking back to the morning; I couldn’t deny the butterflies that were forming at the thought of him being handed the drink, and the note tied to it reading:
‘To: Gareth :)
From: Your Secret Admirer
Hope you enjoy!’
I should’ve just left the ‘from’ section blank- guess I had gained some courage at the time. How lame too, “hope you enjoy!” Good lord.
By the time the last bell rang, I realized Claire hadn’t asked me if I was going to be tagging along to her house after school or not. She’d normally ask by lunch time, but I’ve been so caught up in the ifs and buts of tomorrow I’m not even sure if we talked during lunch.
I was able to spot her packing up her bag by her locker, and approached her, “Hey, did you ask me about coming over today? My mind has been going a million miles a second- I think I missed it, sorry.”
I can’t help but notice that she doesn’t even turn to face me, barely glances over. “No, I didn’t.”
I have to look around, almost searching for some kind of context clue I’m just not grasping. “Okay…. Soo, did you wanna get together? You can either come to mine, or I’ll come by yours?”
She sighs, shoulders falling. “Uhm, look- it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that, Morgan asked me if she could come over tonight so I could help her with the history project due next week.”
“Oh, alright. Totally fine. I thought maybe you were still mad at me from earlier. I don’t love the idea of you hanging out with her, but I guess for school there’s no choice, right?”
“Nah, not mad. But yeah- anyway, I gotta get going. I’ll call you later?” She begins to make her way towards the corridors to head home.
“Yup, talk to you-“
She was already gone before I could finish speaking.
———————————————————————————
Later that night, I had already finished my homework, ate dinner with the family, even did my chores that weren’t asked of mom til tomorrow. Showered and in bed by 10pm, and no call from Claire.
I didn’t want to overthink it, maybe she got caught up helping Morgan and also trying to finish her own work. Hopefully tomorrow we’re back to normal. It was unlike us to have any bad blood.
Trying not to dwell on the possible issue between Claire and I, I just wanted to sleep and forget about my problems for atleast 7 hours.
However, 2am rolls around and all I could do was toss and turns. I couldn’t figure out if it was because I was too excited or too nervous for school later. I ended up picking out an outfit for the morning. Deciding on a more put together outfit than I’d normally be seen in at school. Instead of my regular leggings, slip-on vans, and hoodies- I decided to go with my ripped at the knees black jeans, high top black platform vans (yeah yeah, vans still- but I had to actually work to get these on!) along with a red long sleeve henley top so I could unbutton it a bit lower than I normally would be comfortable doing.
I guess it stemmed from just wanting to be noticed for once. Gareth would be the ultimate goal, however, any glance towards my way by any boy would be reassuring that I wasn’t just, well me-boring.
At some point I finally passed out, just to be rudely awaken by my alarm clock. Since I was going out of my comfort zone for school with my clothes, I kept my makeup simple and my normal routine. The black winged liner, mascara, a touch of concealer. Lastly, always straightening the ever living shit out of my hair. Nothing left to do now, but face the day ahead.
Making my way downstairs to grab my things to make it to the bus stop in time, I was greeted by mom pouring a cup of coffee. I could tell she noticed the effort put into my appearance by the way she took a second glance at me by the fridge.
She made her way over to me to wrap me in a hug and kiss my cheek, “Happy Valentine’s Day, daughter of mine! Wow, don’t you look nice today.” Ending it with the need to run her hands through my hair,
I playfully moved away and swatted at her hands, “Hey now, you’re gonna mess up all my hard work. But thanks mom, I dunno, just figured it being the day of love, I’d make myself more presentable.”
I went over to the back door to start typing up the laces of my shoes, before making my way back to the fridge and grabbing a Red Bull. Starting over to the door to leave, I turned to wave goodbye to her, “Alright, I better go before I miss the bus. Love you mom, I’ll make sure to call your office to let you know when I make it home later.”
But before you could open the door fully, you watched as mom started grabbing her coat and purse, “Wait y/n, why don’t you let me take you? So you don’t risk your hair getting messed up, it might start snowing this morning.”
Stopping in my tracks, “Oh that’d be really nice actually. Um, I just need to call Claire and let her know I won’t be on the bus.”
You headed toward the landline on the wall, while you watched her head out to start warming up the car.
I dialed her number by heart, praying Gareth didn’t pick up this time again.. finally someone picks up on the other end and is already laughing,
“Hahah.. hello?”
“Hey Claire, I just wanted to-“
I continued to hear more laughter from the background,
“Oh y/n, sorry for not calling last night. Morgan actually slept over since it got so late- I should also mention, so you’re not caught off guard.. I’m really sorry…” Giggling continues in the background, even catch Gareth and Morgan talking. I did not like the sound of that one bit.
“Can you please spit it out?” All of a sudden felt nauseous, like my body knew it was going to be bad before I even did.
She cleared her voice, “Gareth and Morgan- I think they like each other.. last night, I woke up around 1am and Morgan wasn’t asleep next to me. I figured she was using the bathroom, but.. I heard her in the next room over.. in Gareth’s room.. I can’t say for sure, but..” In the background I could hear Gareth calling over to Claire, “Hey, Eddie is on his way, get off the phone! Or you don’t get a ride anymore!” Followed by Morgan’s evil laugh.
“Sorry y/n, I gotta go.”
Tears were forming fast, but I kept trying to blink them away and not ruin my make up so early in the day.
“Oh-“ Was all that I could manage to squeak out before the line went dead.
I felt frozen, my heart dropped into my stomach. My legs felt numb. Like they could give out if I even attempted to move. Ears felt red hot. All I can hear inside my head is just screaming, “She doesn’t even like him! She’s using him, just t-to hurt me!”
Mom walking back into the house broke the trance I seemed to have fallen in, “Are you ready to go, honey?” She called over from the front door.
Placing the phone back on the wall, “Yeah I’m ready, let’s just go, please.”
As I walked towards her, I made sure she dodge her face and any eye contact. Not to give away how I was feeling.
“Y/n, honey, are you alright? Did you talk to Claire?” She sounded concerned on how my mood shifted within minutes.
“Yup. Spoke to her. I’m fine.” Out the door we went, leaving her unable to push the subject anymore.
———————————————————————————
Entering the building went differently than I initially thought it would waking up this morning. All I could do as I entered the school was look down at my shoes while walking towards my locker, the only thing going through my mind was hearing Morgan and Gareth giggling together on the phone. And what could have possibly transpired in his room last night..
From my locker, I could see Claire and Morgan walking down the hall headed towards my way but stopping at their lockers instead. It was always too loud in the mornings but nothing would’ve stopped me from being able to overhear Claire telling Morgan;
“I’m so glad we’re friends again, and now you’re dating my brother! I wish I hadn’t cut you off when you and y/n had that stupid fight. But it’s going to be so awesome having you over all the time now. Did you guys really… you know?” Followed by a fit of laughter from the both of them.
I couldn’t bear to keep listening. All I wanted to do now was to find Nancy and take back the valentine order.
I kept my eyes peeled in the hallways, but there was no sign of her yet, so in between third and fourth, I made my way to the front office area. Sure enough, there she was- taking last minute orders.
“Nancy! Hey Nancy!” I was practically out of breath trying to make it over before another line formed,
“Woah y/n- you good? Haha, what’s up? Only one more period to order anymore valentines!” Sounding cheerful as always.
I just barely slammed my hands onto the table, “I really need to take back my order. You can keep my money, I just don’t want mine to be received anymore, please.” I was definitely coming off more desperate than originally planned. Even with it being anonymous, Claire knew I had sent it and with how she’s acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if she also told Morgan.
Nancy’s face fell, and looked like she was about to tell me my dog died, and I don’t even have a dog. “I’m sorry y/n, all orders have been organized and scheduled to be handed out during the lunch periods. They’re locked up in the front office until then, I would- if I could..”
I felt my face fall, fighting back another round of tears, “No, of course. I understand. Thanks anyway.” Immediately turning around to find the nearest bathroom and calm down.
There’s nothing else I could do at this point, so I just continued to go through class leading up to my lunch period dreading every minute that passed.
Once that bell rang, I booked it over to my locker. Normally I would wait and meet up with Claire to find a table together, but as soon as I saw her coming towards my locker, I couldn’t help but immediately slam it closed and head towards the cafeteria alone.
I didn’t want to be around anyone, so I located the always vacant table in the corner, and hid away. Hoping to not even notice when Gareth would receive the can of soda. But I had the pleasure of catching the three of them head towards the table Hellfire always meets up at. I felt myself staring, and cringing at Morgan and Gareth walking hand in hand, with Claire beside her. Claire caught my stare, and gave an unconvincing sad shrug.
I looked down at my packed lunch, trying to get my appetite back.
10 minutes later, an angelic ringing was heard throughout the cafeteria. One of the younger students, part of the student council, was dressed up as Cupid and started skipping around tables. I watched as he’d make his way to a student with a few flowers in hand before making his way back to the box full of goodies to pass out.
Before I could look away, there he went again, two carnations in one hand, and an orange ‘crush’ soda in the other. Headed towards the table my supposed best friend was at, sitting with her brother and new best friend. I could hear the rest of hellfire was going nuts at the fact that someone at their table was sent a valentine for once.
Gareth was handed the drink, and I couldn’t help but almost start to smile as he seemed so giddy to receive anything. But as he glanced at the note, your cheeks became almost inflamed, watching as he tossed the note onto his empty lunch tray. Garbage. To make matters worse, you looked to his side to find Morgan and Claire watching him, giggling and whispering together while he opened the soda and took a sip.
And like she was trying to get a rise out me, Morgan looked right at my face and gave me the most “told you so” pout.
Before I could even digest that, Morgan was handed the carnations, and when she read the note attached, I was gifted with the site of her thanking Gareth with a-semi inappropriate for school- kiss.
I still couldn’t stop from wishing that was me instead of her with him.
I couldn’t continue to watch this pan out any longer. I spent the rest of the lunch hour in one of the girls bathroom stalls.
———————————————————————————
I had no choice but to suffer through the rest of my day. And before I knew it, the final release bell rang.
I felt like a zombie, as if my heart was legitimately stomped on. It was one thing to know Gareth didn’t feel the same about me, but seeing him not care about who sent him a valentine because he had the girl he actually liked next to him, killed me inside.
Also, knowing my ”best friend” didn’t seem to care how it hurt me. Like she was so happy to have set them up together. The betrayal of her friendship almost hurt me more.
I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
Making my way to the lockers, I quickly began shoving everything into my backpack. All I wanted to do was get home and crawl into bed.
Finally lugging my backpack over my shoulder, I double check I have everything I need incase I can talk my mom into letting me skip tomorrow, the rest of the week, maybe even school year.
But then in the corner of my eye, I spot Gareth, and he looks like he’s making his way over to me. I look back at my locker so quickly to prevent making any eye contact.
You smell his cologne before he even begins speaking, “Hey y/n, can we talk for a minute?”
His low soft voice still managed to give me goosebumps.
“S-sure, what’s up?” My voice came out softer and shakier than I’d like.
He ran his hands through his thick hair, “I received a valentine at lunch, and have been told it came from you. Is that true?”
The question was like a punch to my gut. Fuck. They really told him. I let out a sigh, “Uh, yes it’s true. It was stupid of me-“
He holds his hand up towards my face, wanting to prevent me from saying anything else, “Look, I’m flattered. But I’ve never seen you more than Claire’s friend, another sister even at times.”
Instead of a punch, it now felt like a knife was being twisted into my side. A sister. I’m such a fool for mistaking any kindness he gave me as some sort of interest towards me.
He continues on, “I don’t feel the same way, I never could.”
Zero hesitation. No softness to his voice, just the blunt truth. Only confirming that I was stupid enough to ever crush on him.
Before I can even attempt to form a coherent response, he lets out a sigh, close to a laugh in a way, and adds salt to the wound-
“Also, I saw your notebook..”
My blood runs cold, and there goes any feeling in my legs again.
He continues on, “The one with my initials in all the doodles of hearts?” Like he had to clarify, as if my lack of reaction wasn’t helpful enough. He shakes his head, almost seeming amused by this. But not in the kind Gareth way I had come to know before, and love.
I watched as he clenched his fists, like he was trying to convince himself to get it over with..
“I wasn’t going to say anything, nor did I even want to- but then I found out you sent me the valentine. I figured I should just make it clear before you got..” He clears his throat like this has been a chore to him, “Ya know, delusional over a crush.”
I feel my throat almost tighten, I couldn’t get a word out even if I wanted to. My vision becoming comletely blurred by the tears building up. ‘Delusional’, I’m just some big joke, a naive kid to him who needed to be set straight before I could embarrass myself any further. One single tear runs down my face.
I started to open my mouth to say something- anything. Like I could try and save myself from any more pain. But there are no words..
I watch Gareth almost cringe towards me, and finish me off with, “Sorry.”
With a pat of his palm on my shoulder, he turns away and heads towards the doors. His arm around Morgan’s waist. I don’t even have Claire to help me get through something like this anymore. Some innocent valentines it ended up being. Almost makes me think this was her plan all along.
And now, I'm left standing here, feeling exposed. Like somehow my whole world was just some game to those I thought I was closest with.
I started walking home, skipping the bus this afternoon, deciding not to endure anymore humiliation.
As I make my way through the parking lot of the school, I don’t even notice he’s there- but Eddie can’t help but notice me. I had hoped to refrain from anymore of the public eye. He followed my steps with his eyes while finishing his cigarette, leaning against his van.
I felt somewhat better being off the school’s property where it had all crumbled around me.
Meanwhile, once he can barely spot you any longer, Eddie can only feel remorseful towards you- aware of everything that’s played out.. flicking the butt of cigarette on the cement, he lets out a soft chuckle to himself,
“I hate to have been right. Nothing‘s more painful than unrequited love..poor girl. Gareth was wrong though, she is hot.” As he climbs into the drivers side of the van, he’s stuck with the decision of getting involved or not.
Peeling out of the parking lot, deciding against offering you a ride home.
(hey soooo this was gonna be a fluffy ending but i changed it to hurt/no comfort cause i realized i wanted to base this off my own teenage crush (was my older brothers bff tho and i didn’t wanna give Eddie a sister, and Gareth reminds me of my brothers bff 🫣) yeah so if you couldn’t tell, my crush never returned those feelings, actually dated my best friend which she knew of my crush too HAHHAHA isn’t that funny) if you want a difference version where he does return the feelings oorrr a part 2 with Eddie changing his mind…LMK!! Ty @strangergraphics for the dividers 🖤
Chapters: Masterlist (Go here to see list of chapters, plotline and general warnings.)
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Non-Traditional Omegaverse, Slow burn, Modern!AU, Mechanic!Eddie
⚠️18+: some angst, some fluff, smut, breeding kink, unprotected, fingering, feralness, rough, smacking, dom eddie
wc: 13.1k
A/N: sorry it took so long, this was barely proofread and @andvys read this and thought it was good enough to post LMAO
Anyways, Enjoy! ❤️ And don't forget to always support me by hitting the reblog button or leave a comment!
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CHAPTER 22
You were playing with your fingers, trying to not let your nerves eat you alive before you could even voice your concerns to your best friend.
Robin was just talking your ear off as she drank the coffee in the nice tea house you two liked going every once in a while because there was a little strawberry pastry you loved since the moment you first tasted it. No one could recreate it, and you craved it every other week. This time, you hadn’t. You used it as an excuse to get Robin out and have a private talk with her.
A girl to girl talk. You needed help. You needed some insight and since Robin is the one who knew the most about your ‘relationship’ with ‘Jeff’, she was your best bet. She knew almost everything. How good you felt, how amazing the sex was with him, and today you decided it was the time to tell her how everything changed. You needed your best friend.
“And so, Steve almost threw the frying pan over my head because– how was I supposed to know that I shouldn’t have used the metal bristles of the sponge on it to clean the burnt grease?” She shook her head and then took a sip of her coffee. You smiled nervously and mimicked her, trying to appear normal, nonchalant, but Robin may be oblivious to many things, but never to your body language. “You haven’t touched the pastry.”
“Huh?”
“You love that pastry. What’s wrong?” You looked down at your small plate and– fuck, you didn’t take a single bite. Your stomach was in knots so you haven’t been able to grab it even. Realizing your feelings for Eddie had taken a toll on you, to the point of sometimes being a little clumsy when you were around him. You felt your cheeks burn, and afraid of him noticing your nervousness, you always turned away from him when you felt as if you were sweating.
Your appetite had also changed. Sometimes you binged food, sometimes you became nervous when you knew he would come over or you would go to his house, the anxiety knotting your stomach and forbidding any food to stay down. But you also loved being with him. Those nerves, that anxiety, that noise in your ears went away each time you saw him. It didn’t feel like just sex anymore, or maybe you were a little delusional… but that’s why Robin was here.
“Um… I– I need help with something.” You began and she sat up a little straighter, putting her coffee down.
“Oh? Okay, I’ll do my best.” She gave a reassuring smile and you took a deep breath, not really knowing where to begin. You had to be careful with your words, even if it hurt you hiding it from Robin.
“I… I want to become exclusive with… Jeff.” You stared at Robin, waiting for her reaction. Her mouth was slightly open in surprise, and she remained silent for a second. Your heart was racing wildly as you waited and when you didn’t receive any response you opened your mouth to talk to her again, only for her to squeal loudly, alarming many of the guests, turning their heads around towards the two of you. You winced and motioned for Robin to lower it down, embarrassed. “Shut up Robin!”
“It’s just– this is huge!!! When– Why!? Oh my god, you like him… You realized you like him!” She excitedly talked, giving that fact away and you licked your lips, slowly nodding at her and then looking down at your lap. “How!? When did you realize!? Give me details, come on, you always give me details!”
A small smile started appearing on your lips as the memories flashed– the difference from when you first started hooking up to now.
“The dynamic changed… We started kissing hello and goodbye… We talk more after sex, and sometimes we kiss and– and then nothing. Sometimes he doesn’t kiss me with the hope of getting laid after, or to get us riled up…” Robin listened, a smile plastered on her lips as she listened to you, her feet kicking slightly at your giddiness.
“And? Anything else?” You giggled and bit your lip, looking up at her.
“He… He made a deal with me… I don’t know how serious it was, but he sounded serious… He promised that when we turn 30, if we are single, and we still want kids… He would– He would have a baby with me.”
Robin’s jaw dropped to the table, her hands coming to cover it as her eyes went wide. You gave her a smile, your hands coming to cool your cheeks that felt heated up. You couldn’t help the warm feeling inside of you as Robin was stunned in front of you. After a few seconds, her hands dropped, smiling once again at you.
“Oh, that is fucking sweet! I bet he was serious about it! I didn't know Jeff could be this romantic.” You nodded slowly only for your smile to slowly drop, your hands coming to rest on your lap. At your reaction, Robin frowned, tilting her head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
“I– I don’t know if he wants exclusivity…”
“After telling you that!? You are being an idiot if you think he doesn't after THAT.” She retorted but you sighed, your head falling backwards to then return to look at her.
“Then why hasn’t he asked?”
“Uh, maybe cause he doesn’t know YOU want exclusivity? Have you thought about that?” She replied and you knew it was logical, but at the same time your self consciousness ate away at you like a piranha.
“Well it’s just… I don’t know if E– Jeff fucks other people, you know? I don’t know what he does on the days we don’t see each other…” You answered and Robin sighed, rolling her eyes at you.
“I can absolutely bet that he doesn’t fuck anyone else.”
“And how are you so sure?” You asked, raising your eyebrows incredulously and she smirked, picking up the cup before taking it to her lips.
“Well, haven’t seen any story from Jeff showing himself in the mirror anymore. Have you?” And you blinked a few times, frowning. Oh, Jeff also did the things Eddie did… when he was single.
Your heart almost jumped out of your chest at the realization. Jeff was in a relationship, that’s why he stopped, and Eddie– Eddie hasn’t posted any thirst trap or picture on the mirror like he did before… he sends those directly to you, to entice you, to lure you in. It worked every single time, but your pictures also worked on him. There was one time you took a picture with your legs spread open in front of a mirror, showing off your thong at him, and he hadn’t replied. In just a few minutes, your doorbell was ringing insistently.
“Oh… fuck, Robs, you think I have a chance?” You looked up at her with eyes full of hope and she smiled at you, putting her cup back down.
“You bet your fucking ass you do. If everything you have told me is still happening, and the deal was absolutely serious… he likes you. He definitely likes you.” You bit your lip as you smiled through it, feeling the butterflies dancing around your stomach, happiness just blooming from inside out as Robin giggled at you.
“Should I just ask him? Would that… prompt me to confess? Oh, I don’t know if I’m ready to confess Robs… How did you do it with Nance?” You asked and Robin winced, making you frown.
“We confessed headfirst.”
“What!?” Your eyes widened and she laughed, shaking her head.
“We confessed after our first kiss… We knew we liked each other even before we startEd hooking up… But we wanted to see how we connected before jumping into something official.” She explained and her experience was way different than yours. Eddie and you started because of physical attraction, not because of emotional attachment at all. Your nerves slowly came back as you didn’t know how to tackle this topic with him.
“Fuck… Fuck, then… How do I not give myself away so easily? I don’t– I don’t want to tell him I like him yet… I just want the exclusivity to see if he wants it too… To make sure I am not delusional and stuff.” You explained and she nodded, humming in thought. A cheeky smile broke on her lips as she looked at you.
“Can I ask something intimate?” You tilted your head, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Sure…?”
“You use protection? Never unwrapped?” Your eyes widened at her question but you nodded. She then pulled a big wide smirk as she leaned on the table to whisper to you. “Never ever?”
“No…”
“I may have an idea then…”
You waited outside Eddie’s front door, a bottle of wine in your hand as you tried to stabilize your butterflies, even if a little bit.
You couldn’t come up with some other plan, so you had to follow Robin’s yes or yes. It was good, but you were incredibly nervous. What if he didn’t want to? Or worse, what if you found out the one thing you didn’t want to know? What if–
The door opened, and Eddie was already smiling as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing only his black sweatpants, scruff on his chin and jaw, a fresh shave, his hair tied in a bun over his head with some strands falling down on the side of his face. Eddie now always looked good… way too good and your knees buckled more than they ever did before.
“Well, that was quick, Princess.” You rolled your eyes at his comment, already walking in, pushing by him. The smell of pizza filled your nostrils, your stomach doing a turn as you realized he had ordered dinner. New dynamic. Eating dinner together.
“You better not have ordered pineapple pizza.”
“Of course I did, I know it’s your favorite.” You heard the door closing and you turned around to snap at him, only for his arm to wrap around your waist, quickly, not even giving you a chance to react that he was pulling you close to him, his lips instantly clashing with yours. You couldn’t help the small smile that appeared in between the kiss, your hormones jumping all over the place and you had to calm down your racing heart somehow.
He pulled away slowly, the smack of lips echoing throughout the little foyer. His lips had a playful grin on them, his other hand coming to grab the wine from your hands, looking at the label of it.
“Hmm… White wine. You feeling like drinking sweet today, Peach?” You rolled your eyes at his teasing. He chuckled as he pulled away from you, his hand remaining on the small of your back as he pushed you into the house and towards the kitchen. He let go of you and opened a drawer. You spotted the pizza box on the island counter and you immediately opened it, a smirk appearing on your face.
“Half pepperoni and half anchovies. Aww, you remembered my tastes.” He chuckled at you, popping the wine bottle, and you looked at his back as it flexed from the strength of that action. You bit your bottom lip and shook your head to snap you out of your thoughts.
“Of course I did. Hard to miss when you are quite literally the only person I know who likes anchovies in her pizza.” He poured two glasses of wine and put the bottle on the counter. He turned around with the drinks and handed one glass to you. You saw him reach his glass towards you and your breath hitched, clinking your glass against his. He smiled and took a sip of the wine, and you saw his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, making you shift in your place.
You snapped out of your thoughts as you sat down on the stool, taking a sip of your own wine. You already weren’t feeling any hunger thanks to your stupid nerves. Thanks to the butterflies and the anxiety that were eating you away, consuming you. You had to focus, you had to pretend that everything was normal. That having dinner with him was normal. And having wine…
Yes, you could do that.
“So, is Gareth still suspicious?” You asked as you reached for a piece of pizza. He sat down on your side, taking a slice for himself with a sigh.
“Yeah. He won’t get off my ass. He is always pestering me and he doesn’t buy that you are pretending to fuck Jeff because of some other guy.” He spat those words with a certain… anger behind them. Some venom. Or maybe you were imagining it. You hummed at that, knowing that Gareth was a little noisier than before.
“I mean, you can tell him, it’s not like he–”
“Oh no. No. Gareth’s tongue goes loose whenever he drinks, and if he does that when our group is mixed with my work group, you can bet he will tell. Actually, he would call the fucking news and make a header for it.” You giggled at his words, nodding in understanding.
“Alright, not telling Gareth. Just keep ignoring him and denying it. He will get bored eventually… right?” Eddie then looked at you as if you were stupid, his eyebrows raised with a very serious face.
“You really believe that, huh.”
“Okay, point made.” You both kept eating, chatting away about each other’s days. Just like friends. Just like best friends. But this was different, wasn’t it? You weren’t just that. You weren’t just two friends fooling around anymore, were you? You have been seeing each other for months now, it would be stupid to be considered just friends… but maybe– maybe that was just you.
But it was moments like these where he laughed while keeping contact with you. Like playing with your fingers, or squeezing your thigh as you talked, wiping away some sauce that stuck to the corner of your lip. Those soft touches that weren’t there before, and you reciprocated it. Putting the strand of his hair behind his ear before he ate it with the pizza. Jokingly pretend you were going to wipe your mouth on his shoulder as he flinched away. Wiping crumbs away from his beard whenever he ate.
It’s those little touches that normal friends do not do. You don’t do those with Robin, nor with Jonathan, or with anybody else. You’ve never seen Eddie wipe Nancy’s mouth the way he does with you, or grab Steve’s hand out of nowhere. Friends do not touch the way you two do, putting the sex aside. These little gestures were the things that made you feel hope that, maybe, Eddie felt the same way you did.
“So, is the training taking a toll?” Eddie asked as you both cleaned the kitchen, putting the leftovers in the fridge with Tupperware and throwing the cardboard box away. You took a sip of your drink, trying to gain more liquid courage with each passing minute.
“Kind of. Liana is ruthless, but I am learning a lot… I will do okay once she goes on leave.” He gave a smile your way, leaning down to peck your lips softly, and you just wanted to melt in your place. A small gesture that told you he was proud.
“You’ll do great, Peach. You know that.” He turned to start washing the dishes and you were biting your lip as you took a longer sip as he gave his back to you. You could do this. If he doesn’t take the bait, then it was worth the shot, wasn’t it? You calmed your breath before it went out of control, not wanting to make it sound ragged. You didn’t want to stutter.
“Can I… ask you a question, Eds?” You tried keeping a friendly tone, a tone that would not give you away. You saw his hair bounce a bit as he nodded.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Did you… Well, it was part of the deal–” You stuttered. Shit. “Did you get tested…?”
You felt sweat all over your fingertips as you finished your phrase. You were staring at his back, hoping that he would realize. Hoping that he wouldn’t brush it off. Hoping that he wouldn’t dismiss it or pretend to be dumb at your question. That hope was crushed when he responded quickly, his tone normal, not even phased.
“Yeah. I’m clean. I actually received the results like two weeks ago.” He responded and you felt a little stupid… You had checked yourself a month later you two started fucking, knowing you wouldn’t have sex with anyone else but Eddie. No one could make you feel the way Eddie made you feel. Physically and emotionally.
Yet, your ego, your pride, your heart only crumbled to the floor. You also realized he didn’t even have the faintest idea of what you were asking, or why you were asking it. He just dismissed it. And what if in those two weeks, he had sex with someone else apart from you? That cleanliness he talked about might not even mean anything by now.
You had to answer him. You had to act normal once again, and you wondered if you would be able to keep the appearance even later on, knowing what would happen once he went to his room with you. You gulped, took a deep breath, downed the last bit of your wine, and walked towards him, placing the glass next to him for him to wash next.
“Yeah, me too, all clean…” You weren’t even going to continue this topic. You wanted to have a moment to yourself to calm down. The plan didn’t work because maybe he didn’t even see you or wanted you in that way. In a way that would have made you special, different from the rest. “I’ll uh… I’ll wait for you upstairs.”
You kept the appearance, kissing his bicep as he grabbed your glass to wash it next. You walked towards the couch where you left your bag, hurrying up the stairs in order to prepare yourself for the night. You had to stop your heart and your stomach from turning or it will show later on. He would notice, you know it very well. He had figured you out many times before, and he could do it again.
That irked you slightly. He was supposed to read people like the back of his hand, didn’t he? How could he not have noticed your intentions? But maybe he did, he just played dumb. You dropped the bag onto his bed, letting a sigh escape your lips as you tried to calm yourself down. To shove the slight embarrassment away, very far away. It was fine. He probably was fucking other chicks and he didn’t want to risk it.
That only made your mood plummet to the floor. You shouldn’t have thought of that. You shouldn’t have. There was no way you could pretend you were going to be okay with this thought running wild through your brain. Fuck. You fucked the night up. You completely fucked it up and it was all done by you and you only. Eddie wasn’t to blame for how you were feeling right now.
You felt the very well known lump in your throat, threatening to get bigger. You swallowed it down as you filled your lungs with air, trying to steady yourself before Eddie came up the stairs. You wouldn’t be able to explain yourself, and he would know if you were lying or not. He always did. You shouldn’t have asked that. You really shouldn’t have. You should have come up with some other plan, or maybe even getting the balls to ask him straight up to be exclusive.
But you didn’t want to drive him away. You didn’t want him to get scared of the situation, of how intimate it would become, much more than what it was right now. You shook your head, needing to clear it. You took off your sneakers, to then pull your thin sweater away from you, throwing it into the bag. You were left with your black spaghetti strapped tank top, no bra underneath, knowing where it would end up at the end of the night, and you unbutton your jeans, pulling the zipper down.
You debated into going to Eddie’s drawer and getting some sweatpants. You didn’t know if you were going to be able to pretend you were okay. Maybe you could tell him you had a stomach ache because of the wine and you doubt he would kick you out… He wouldn’t. He definitely wouldn’t. But your body didn’t know if–
Suddenly, two arms wrapped around you, making you gasp due to the scare. Your heart raced with the adrenaline of it, completely shocked by the fact you hadn’t heard him coming up the stairs at all. His wooden cologne, bitter, yet sweet, filled your nostrils and your lungs. His left hand slid over your stomach, pulling you flushed against his body, while the other caressed over your chest. He leaned over your shoulder, his breath hitting your ear, sending shivers down your spine.
“Why did you ask that, Peach?” His voice was low, rough, almost a whisper but not quite and it made your knees tremble slightly.
“I– It was part of the deal and I just remembered it, that’s all…” You lied. Fuck, why did you lie? Why did your nerves get the best of you again? He was right here, having chased after you and you just lied. He tsked at you, his right hand moving from your chest towards your neck, his digits wrapping around it, not yet putting any pressure.
“Now, you know you shouldn’t lie to me.” It felt like a threat, a warning for you to tell the truth. You felt his grip tightening around your neck, and you heard his breathing coming out in shudders through his nose. His body felt hotter than before, or maybe it was the situation and your nerves heightening your senses. Your hands came to grab onto his forearms, trying to center yourself.
“I– I just… I just wanted to ask…” Your head was suddenly pulled back as his hand gripped you from your chin, his digits pressing onto your cheeks. His head slowly rose up, his eyes staring down at yours. You trembled underneath his grip, his left hand moving inside the elastic of your panties, taking advantage you had popped your pants open. You shivered as you felt his fingertips run over your clit, a little whimper getting caught in your throat.
“I’ll give you one more chance, or I will fuck the truth out of you.” You felt a rush of heat in your fluttering pussy at the threat, at the promise. His eyes were sharp, strong, feral, pupils completely dilated and it felt as if he were going to eat you alive. His fingers pressed against your clit, a little harsher and your back arched a little at the sensation. “Or maybe, I will just not let you cum tonight. Edge you over and over again–”
“No–! No… okay, okay–” You closed your eyes as you tried to gather up the courage you lost before. You had to be brave. You had to. “I… fuck…”
“Come on. Ask me.” It almost sounded as if he knew what you wanted to ask. What you needed to ask. What you wanted to know. What you… needed to know in order to feel pride. In order to feel special.
“Since you got tested… have you been with anybody else?”
He held you against him, and you felt the entire world go a little silent at the question. Him included. You were afraid of opening your eyes, the butterflies in your belly threatening to make you puke. You fought the fear, slowly cracking your eyelids open, only to see him staring at you… his eyes wild. You felt a vibration against your back but maybe it was your plain imagination.
His hips pressed against your ass, a little gasp escaping your lips at the suddenness and you could feel the hard bulge against you. He was really fucking hard. Your mouth instantly salivated, your eyes burning with need and desire as you awaited his answer.
“I have not.” Relief washed over you. For weeks he had been yours and yours only. That was a good sign for you, something that calmed your nerves and settled your anxiety down. You couldn’t relax though, as his grip on your neck made you stand straighter, a little hiss escaping your lips. “You?”
You locked eyes with him and both of you were breathing heavily, but Eddie felt like he was panting, like an animal. You knew that your answer would let the two of you cross another line together. Another boundary. Another stage that is not normal for friends to do. You gulped as your heart exploded in your chest, telling you to get what you wanted, what you craved.
“I have not.”
You didn’t have time to process anything that was happening that you were suddenly pushed forward, roughly, onto the bed. You groaned in surprise, looking over your shoulder to see Eddie towering over you, his chest on full display, moving up and down with ragged breaths and if you had enough imagination, you could see steam coming out of those nostrils.
His hands instantly moved to grip your hips, turning you around, and making you squeal slightly at the manhandling. He grabbed the edges of your pants and almost ripped them off from your body. You were surprised by how quickly he was going. He was acting desperate and you were so amazed by it. Your eyes widened as you crawled back on the bed, your hands pressed against the mattress, still staring at him. He was moving on top of you, kneeling and caging you underneath him, between his knees.
“Now, let me see if I got this right, darling.” His hand shot up to grip your chin again, making you keep looking at him as he leaned closer, his nose almost touching yours. “Are you telling me you want me to fuck you raw?”
“I– I never said–” His grip tightened and you whimpered a bit at the pressure, a glare coming your way as he groaned at you.
“I am not playing games right now. So tell me what you want before I lose my fucking patience, Peach.”
You realized then that you were not in a situation to play around. You should not lie to him. You should not avoid this talk or your needs. You knew Eddie wanted it now. You knew Eddie desperately wanted it the same way you did. Your eyes turned half-lidded at that fact, the proof right in front of you. Another line. Another stupid line.
“I… I want to feel you cum inside of me, Eddie.”
You saw him tremble slightly at your words, his mouth open just a bit as he let shaky breaths out. He was just staring at you as if shocked. Suddenly, you felt as if the room grew hotter, more suffocating, his features darkened as his lips came closer to yours, brushing against them. Your arms trembled from keeping yourself up and because of his actions.
“You have no idea what you just did.”
Before you could ask what he meant by that, his lips clashed against yours, his tongue instantly invading your mouth, not giving you a second to process anything of what was going on. You tried to keep up with his movements, but he was ravishing you as if he had gone celibate for months, and this was just a kiss.
Your body was on fire, his free hand gliding towards one of the straps of your tank top, pulling it down your shoulder to then free one of your breasts, almost ripping the fabric off your body. His palm engulfed it, grabbing onto it roughly and you were already losing your mind to his touches the more he touched, the more he rubbed, the more he kissed you.
It was intense, more intense than any of your other times together. He felt animalistic, never having seen him like this before. You were loving it. The fact he was coming apart thanks to the prospect of doing it without a condom for the first time with you, knowing that he hadn’t done this before, or at least in these couple of months he had been with you, with anybody else. You were sure of it and you didn’t know why.
He pinched your left nipple, making you moan into the kiss, the saliva gathering in your mouth from how intense it was, from how his tongue was being shoved down your throat almost. He pulled onto your perked bud, a whimper now leaving you as he pulled away from the kiss. He growled as he gave you a push on the shoulder, making you lose your balance on your trembling arms, your back falling onto the mattress.
Your eyes went towards the bulge in the sweatpants and you gulped the saliva that gathered, wanting to have him inside of you once and for all. It was slowly dawning on you that he was going to fuck you without a condom for the first time, feeling him cum inside of you and you weren’t sure how you were going to be normal after it. You weren’t sure if you were going to become addicted or not. You were more inclined that you were going to.
He huffed a breath as he moved backwards, getting up from the bed, at the foot of it. His hands instantly grabbed onto the hem of his sweatpants and his boxers, discarding them in one single shove, kicking them away from him. You squirmed in the bed, your legs pressed together to cause some friction on your clit, rubbing them together as you looked at him. Your face was contorted in pleasure and now with neediness, his desperation transferring to you now.
His eyes were fixed on your covered cunt, only for his fingers to hook on the elastic of your panties and pull those away from you. He threw them towards his night table, and you knew he was gonna keep those to himself. You didn’t care anymore about the pairs you have lost. Knowing Eddie was keeping them like trophies filled you with pride. Again, you felt special because of it. You felt like you were making a difference.
Your legs were pressed together once again, and he growled at the action, his hands coming to grip your knees and roughly spread them open. You gasped at the suddenness, your head looking down at him, whimpering when you saw how he was looking at your glistening cunt. His jaw was clenched and you could see veins popping on his inked chest and his neck.
Fuck, you needed him inside of you, right now.
“Eddie…”
“Shit–” You heard him curse through his teeth as he clenched his eyes as if fighting something, and you moved your hips towards him, urging him to do something. His eyes opened again, glaring down at you, pupils dilated in sizes you’ve never seen before. You were breathing heavily, the need to have him going to levels you’ve never felt before and you didn’t know why. It also felt hot, as if forty heaters were in the room right now.
His knees pressed onto the bed again, and you were seeing him debating, making you frown a bit, not knowing why he looked pained, or as if he didn’t know what to do. Your eyes drifted towards his cock, seeing it twitch, bob up and down as he kept looking at your center. You could feel your juices slipping down and probably onto the bed as you waited for him to do something, just anything.
You moved your hips again, swaying them upwards only for his hands to grip your sides tightly, pushing you down onto the bed with a growl. Your eyes widened when you saw his face. He looked as if he had– No. You were delusional from the heat of the moment. He couldn’t have bared his teeth that way at you. It was just your mind playing tricks on you, that was all.
“Eddie– Please, do something–” You begged, your throat closed up and he clenched his eyes again and you felt him tremble on top of you, huffing a pained breath.
“I know– I just want to bury myself inside of you and you–”
“Do it!” You almost cried, your cunt clenching over nothing and he opened his eyes to look down at you. It wouldn’t be the first time you would go without foreplay, so you didn’t understand why he was so worried. You were always wet for him, always ready. There was never a time where you had a painful experience taking him without foreplay.
He shook his head at you, his left hand shooting to wrap around your neck and you felt his rings digging into your skin. Your hands flew to grab onto his wrist as you felt blood rush to your head. Again, that glare, that look that told you that if you dared defy him, you would get punished.
“Don’t order me. Not tonight.” It took you by surprise but you weren’t new to Eddie’s dominance, yet this felt a little different, a little more threatening. You only nodded as you felt his right hand go over your breast, giving your nipple a twist before he kept moving downwards. You were writhing underneath him, the touch sending shocks all over your body.
Your mouth opened into an ‘o’ shape as you felt his fingers press against your needy clit, your pussy fluttering already with want. You could already hear the squelching of your juices as his fingers glided over your slit, coating them in your juices. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you felt two fingers moving inside of you, finally having some pleasure being given to you.
You wanted to talk, you wanted to beg like you always did, but you felt like you would order him if you did. Something felt off but it was good. It felt as if Eddie was dominating you in every way, in body and soul. You couldn’t describe it, but it was as if whatever he did to you, you were going to take, and you would feel elated to do so. You felt as if there was nothing Eddie could do wrong tonight, nor things that would hurt you.
His pace was bruising, but you moaned loudly, your belly twisting with pleasure from it as he curled his fingers inside of you, rubbing against that spongy part you loved. His grip on your neck didn’t relent, pinning you down as your back arched at his movements, only for his fingers to press tighter on your pulse points, warning you to stop moving.
The noises of your juices echoing with your moans and your panting as he moved at a quick pace, up and down, twisting, it was just driving you insane. You gasped when you felt him scissor you inside, over and over, prepping you for a cock you knew too well by now. A cock your body knows and takes as if it were part of it as well and it was just slotting back where it belonged.
“Eddie–” You moaned his name and he let go of your neck, a choked breath coming inside your lungs as your foggy brain cleared up once again. You blinked as you stared up at him, his eyes still fixed on your face, the strands of his hair falling down. His fingers rested inside of you, curled, as his palm came in contact with your clit. Your hands gripped the sheets underneath you to brace yourself, knowing what was coming next. A move Eddie loved to do on you, knowing how much you came undone underneath him because of it.
He started moving up and down with rapid motions, the squelching now nastier, louder, juicier than before and you felt yourself cry his name, head falling back as your eyes closed. You felt heat all over your body, crashes of electricity just travelling all over your nerves as you were ravished by him. You knew this was different from all the other times because of how intensely he was looking at your face. The way it contorted. The way you reacted. The way your body moved. The way your lips moved when calling his name.
“You honestly– You don’t know what you got yourself into, sweetheart.” You couldn’t even process his words, your brain and your comprehension completely squashed by him just finger fucking you. Your belly turned over and over again, Eddie always knowing how to get you there in minutes. You were amazed by it each time.
Your body trembled as you felt that fire start to ignite in your belly, your pussy fluttering around his fingers as he kept the brutal movement. Your clit was being abused by his palm and your eyes were filled with tears of pleasure as your moans grew louder, almost whimpering the closer you got to your climax.
“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie–” You chanted his name, signaling him you were close, and he loved it. He had confessed in the heat of the moment how he loved to hear you call his name when he was pleasuring you. Yet, you didn’t do it on purpose. You just wanted to call the name of the man who was giving you such pleasure that you didn’t know where your mind was. He growled, his free hand coming to rest on your breast, squeezing tightly as he kept the pace of his fingers.
“Yeah– Come on, cum on my fingers. I’ll give you what you want if you do it.” That was all the encouragement you needed. Your hands flew to grab his forearm as he pressed you down onto the mattress when you started trembling, almost flailing your limbs when you felt your cunt clench all around him, tightly, and your belly just exploded as your vision blurred.
You screamed his name, choked it, and he groaned at the image before him. You were in heaven in this very moment and he didn’t know it. He rode the orgasm out of you, waiting for you to stop clenching around him to slow his movements. You were panting underneath him, aftershocks rushing in your body, a little spasm here and there.
“Good girl… Always a good fucking girl for me, aren’t you, Peach?” You sighed at his words, trying to catch your breath. He slowly pulled out of you, your wetness all over his hand, his fingers. You saw it glistening when he brought it up to his lips, giving a lick from the bed of his palm to the tip of his middle finger. Then his eyes landed on yours, and he leaned over, his coated fingers coming to rest on your lips.
You slowly opened your mouth and he immediately pushed his middle and ring fingers inside. You gurgled around the digits, tasting yourself as your tongue swirled around them. You whimpered against him, his fingers thrusting slowly in and out of your mouth, and you felt the slickness of your climax just coming out of you as you clenched around nothing.
Your eyes locked with his, and his nose was flaring as he inspected you, only to then rip his fingers out of your mouth. You gasped a bit at the loss of it, his other hand finally leaving your chest, letting you writhe underneath him like you have been wanting to. You felt like a sex doll, and you were actually loving it. You enjoyed this, a little too much.
“Eds–” You begged one last time, and a small squeal escaped you when he caged your left leg between his knees, pulling your right leg over his left shoulder, manhandling you to position you where he wanted and where he needed. Your cunt was now wide open for his access, and you gasped when you felt the tip of his cock running over your slit.
“I can’t believe you are letting me fucking do this.” With that comment, he pushed in and you could only bite the pillow underneath the side of your face as you felt him going in. You are assuming this was not gonna go slow at any point. By how quick he was pushing himself in, you knew this was going to be rough, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.
You made yourself snap out from the pleasure and you turned your head to have a look at him. His left arm was wrapped around your thigh as he watched how he went inside of you, without protection, for the first time ever. You saw how his features were contorted, in extreme pleasure, just as much as yours were. He was already breathing heavily, and you wondered if he would have been like this if it were someone else.
Would he–
You suddenly whimpered loudly, being thrust upwards as he slammed himself inside of your heat in one single thrust. You were surprised at the rush of it, at how quickly he wanted to be inside, how desperately he needed you. He groaned as he rolled his head over his shoulders, his eyes closed in ecstasy as you tried to adjust to him. He felt so hot inside of you, and you adored it.
“You feel amazing… So amazing like this…” He moaned your name as his eyes locked with your face, your upper body contorted upwards to be able to look at him properly. His hips started moving back and forth, setting a slow pace as he experienced this new feeling. As he felt you against him for the first time ever.
“It– It feels so good, fuck–” Your eyes closed as you felt every ridge, every vein, and maybe you were exaggerating but it did feel different. It did feel so different than when he wore a condom. You don’t think you could go back to using them after this… and much less if he does cum inside of you.
His head was thrown back as he sighed in pleasure, the digits around your thigh tightening, leaving marks on your skin as his belly started burning in need. Your face fell to the side, your eyes closed as he felt deep, almost in your throat as he thrusted and rutted all the way in and almost all the way out. He was feeling you all over, and you already were choking on how full you felt.
You gripped the pillow with your left hand as the other one held onto the sheets to your right. You were a little contorted, but you didn’t care. You could hear his puffs, his heavy breathing, and a growl that came out of his throat every now and then. He was feeling good, you knew he was. But you weren’t even aware of how much you were affecting him. You didn’t know what you had done to him.
His head fell to look down at you, his free hand coming to grip your thigh as well, and suddenly, out of nowhere, he started ramming into you. Your eyes widened as the slapping of skin and the squelching of your juices invaded all of your senses and you couldn’t even get a proper moan out. You were choking at each thrust, feeling him in your throat over and over again as you bounced back and forth on the bed.
You could feel drool leaving the corner of your lips and running down your cheek and towards the pillow below you as you turned your head to look at him. You felt tears building in your eyes as he kept his pace. You noticed the veins in his arms popping up, his fingers branding themselves on your skin and you couldn’t even feel the pain if there was any. Your entire body was reacting to him in ways it hadn’t before.
“I’m going to fucking ruin you, Peach.” And you wanted him to. You believed he would be able to. Eddie didn’t know you were already ruined inside and out for him. He had ruined you for anybody else. You knew no one could compare to Eddie, and no one ever had in the past, not even Henry. You only nodded dumbly as his name kept falling out of your lips at each thrust, your cervix being punched over and over again.
He was grunting your name as he kept that bruising pace, brutal, and it should be painful but it’s not. Not to you. Never to you. You were losing sense of where you were, or what you were doing the more he brought you to a hazy state of pleasure. You were becoming cock drunk, way too cock drunk. The only other time you felt like this was your first time with him, and maybe this was sort of like a first time too. Maybe that was the reason.
“Please–”
“You feel good, don’t you?” He asked through gritted teeth, and his hips slowed down again, probably for him to catch his breath, keeping a swaying of going in and out as if grinding. You nodded only for then to receive a bite on your thigh, rather harshly, making you arch your back with a gasp. “Answer me.”
“Good– So good, Eddie–” Content with your answer, he kissed the place he bit on your thigh, to then lick it as he kept the movements of his hips. You could feel your belly beginning to turn once again, heating up at each thrust. You looked at him and he didn’t even look tired, yet he was almost sweating, his breathing jagged as he slowly started picking up the pace again.
His nails were scratching your skin, and you knew you would have to take care of that thigh in particular thanks to his fingers and his bite, but at least you would have a reminder of what went down tonight. How he was marking you without care, and even if you had to be extra careful with your friends later on so they wouldn’t see, you loved when he did so. You loved being marked with hickies, with kisses, with scratches and bites from him. You just had to avoid wearing a skirt or dresses until those marks would go away now.
He was just staring at where he was going in and out of you, and you were oblivious to how gone his pupils were. How his nostrils flared and how the veins of his neck were popping out, how his belly was already burning at the prospect of what you had let him do to you. You were oblivious to it all.
Suddenly you gasped as he pulled out completely from you, dropping your leg from his shoulder and throwing it to your left, joining your other one. You stared at him in awe and then you directed your eyes at his cock, and your mouth salivated with the need to have it in your mouth, looking more delicious than it ever has.
“Turn around.” His order was imperative, no room for jokes or to play around. You couldn’t be a brat tonight. You trembled as you fully laid on your stomach, waiting for his next instructions as your pussy fluttered with need. “Fours.”
You planted your hands on the bed as well as your knees and raised yourself up only for his hand to rest on your upper back, surprising you. Suddenly you felt being pushed down again and you frowned at what he wanted until–
“Ed–”
“Keep your ass up.” You don’t remember doing this position with him. You barely did any doggy, most of the time just letting Eddie guide you through the positions unless you were feeling like dominating the situation for the night.
But the prospect of doing that position filled you with glee, knowing you would be able to feel him just as deeply as you did before. You let him move you, your chest coming in contact with the mattress again as your hands gripped the pillow underneath your head. You felt his knee nudging in between your legs so you would spread them apart. You slowly did and you arched your back even more, trying to show off your ass to him.
The room felt even hotter. More suffocating.
You managed to look at him over your shoulder and Eddie was just staring at your position with almost wide and gone eyes. His body trembled and his hands twitched at his sides. You frowned, wondering what was happening to him, only for his hands to come slamming on your ass. The smacking sound made you gasp and he fondled your cheeks, spreading them so your pussy would also spread for him.
“Look at you. You have no idea what this is doing for me. You seriously don’t have the slightest fucking clue.” You whimpered at his words only for a slap to land on your right cheek, a whine escaping your lips as you jerked forward. “Ruined. I hope I fucking ruined you.”
You frowned slightly at the aggressiveness of his voice, almost as if he were actually angry when he said that. You were about to look at him again only for his hands to grab your ass again and he guided his cock towards your slit once more, pushing inside of you in one sharp and brutal thrust. You gasped as your nails dug into the pillow, your eyes wide in surprise.
He didn’t even wait, his thrusts becoming manic, feral, his hands gripping your ass cheeks as he pulled you to him at each movement he did. You were moaning into the pillow, feeling your g-spot being hit on sharply at each thrust, and fuck, fuck, it felt so good. It felt so fucking good. He felt so perfect like this. He was moaning over you, groans leaving him thanks to the strength he was putting in.
You were not coherent. You didn’t know if you had talked or if you were just moaning or if you were at least making sounds. You just felt the tip of his cock deeper than ever, so your right hand left your pillow, guiding it towards your belly, wanting to see if you could– Your eyes widened as you cried his name against the pillow and his head snapped to look at you, frowning slightly.
“You– You are so deep, holy fuck– Oh, god–” You were panting at each moan, at each word, and your hand went back to grip the pillow as he kept his pace. He moved his left hand, mimicking your movement to put his palm on your belly and press. His movements halted, his eyes widening as he rested deep inside of you, making you whimper into the soft cotton.
He could feel himself. He could feel the tip of his cock resting inside of you and you were– You were enjoying it. He could feel how deep he was inside of you and this– This was making every fiber in his body ignite. He rutted his hips, feeling his tip moving inside of you with his hand and– Shit, shit, shit.
He straightened up, his hands coming to grab your waist, bruisingly, and start to ram into you, leaving you as a blubbering mess as your belly coiled into itself. Your tears and saliva were falling onto the pillow underneath your head as you felt him invade every single one of your senses. Your spongy spot was being hit without any mercy, making it almost painful from how sensitive it was.
You didn’t know how long Eddie had in him, but you were sure you could feel him faltering a few times, but you didn’t know if it was because he was tired or if he was close. You wanted to climax again, knowing how much Eddie loved it when you did it around his cock. You drove your hand between your legs, ready to touch your clit, only for a hand to come and slap your right ass cheek in a bruising manner that made you cry out, looking at him over your shoulder. He was glaring down at you, puffs of air leaving his nostrils.
“Don’t you fucking dare touch yourself. You will cum when I tell you to.” You were stunned at his commands, but you couldn’t do anything but comply. You didn’t know if you would be able to comply, so you closed your eyes and tried to drive your mind away from how exquisite you were feeling, but it was almost impossible.
“Eddie– Eds, fuck, baby, please– Please, let me–” You begged as you whimpered into the pillow, feeling the burning sensation grow and grow, your cunt fluttering around him in warning. His pace was turning vicious as he slowed down a bit in order to change positions. He stopped his movements as he pushed your bottom part down, your back thanking you as you touched the mattress with your belly now. Your back was becoming sore and you hadn’t noticed from how good you were feeling.
You were breathing heavily, heaving almost, as you felt a soft kiss on your right shoulder. His hands were now on the mattress, at each side of your rib cage. You could hear his breathing, ragged, trembling, almost sounding as if taking breaths in was painful to him. You needed to cum. You needed to and it seemed as if Eddie was close as well when his hips started to slowly move again. He spoke through his teeth, a groan joining his voice.
“I’m close. I’m so close, darling–” You now understood that he wanted you to cum at the same time that he did. You could do that for him. You could. You wanted to make him feel so good, engrave yourself into his memory… ruin him for everybody else. Let him know, no one could make him feel the way you do. You nodded as your lower back screamed in pain when you arched your ass upwards just a bit so he had better access.
He growled as he raised himself up, his chest no longer pressed against your back, holding himself up with his hands and arms as he picked up the pace of his thrusts. You moaned into the pillow as the burning in your belly returned even worse than before. You whimpered in need as you closed your eyes to try to drift your mind away from it. Your heart was bursting as well, and your bpm was probably off the roof, to the point of being hospitalized but you knew it had to do with more than just what was happening physically.
You fluttered around him as your climax was rapidly approaching you, but so was his. His thrusts then turned rough, slow, and deep. Pulling almost all the way out slowly, only to quickly slam himself back in, jerking you upwards and knocking breaths out of you. You wanted to look at him but you suddenly felt his left hand come to wrap around your neck from the front, his fingers gripping your chin as he made you pull your head back, your eyes now facing the headboard. His body came back down, his right hand gripping the pillow as well, right next to your hand as he breathed into your ear.
“You ready?” You nodded desperately, closing your eyes as his thrusts were now short yet fast, your moans being gurgled as he made you keep your head up and to your side, his lips coming to rest in between the crook of your neck and shoulder, grunting and groaning into it. Your name was whispered into your skin as you felt your g-spot almost vibrating from the thrusts he was giving to you.
You felt his teeth run over your skin and you moaned as you could feel yourself clenching, not being able to hold on for much longer, but you needed Eddie’s approval. You had to hold on for a few more seconds but you were burning. It was already painful trying to hold your climax back, tears running down your face as he kept ramming himself into you.
“Please– Please–” You begged, you implored, you needed to cum. He was growling now, his breathing suddenly jagged as his hips faltered slightly and you knew. It was here–
“Cum. Cum now–” And instantly, you clenched around him, your vision turning blurry and white from your tears and the ecstasy mixing together. Your belly just shrinking into itself as you came around his cock and then–
You gasped, the breath leaving your lungs when you felt the warmth invading you inside. You felt him snap his hips in with a new shot of his cum inside. Then another. Then another. You were milking him as you still came around his cock, and he was growling, his lips no longer against your skin, but they felt muffled. You couldn’t turn your head, you didn’t know if you even could thanks to his grip.
His hips stilled deep inside of you, pelvis against your ass and you just felt so full now, the feeling of him cumming inside of you being a complete out-of-body experience you were not sure you could go back from. You were both breathing heavily, a mess of drool, tears, sweat, and your juices, you didn’t even know what else mixed in. You were in heaven, a gone smile appearing on your lips as you choked some breaths in.
It seemed he noticed he was still holding your head up by your neck and chin and he slowly let go of you, placing his hand right next to your head as he raised himself up just a bit to be able to look down at you. He was trembling on top of you, a groan escaping him when you clenched from the aftershock of your orgasm.
“Shit… Shit– Peach, fuck… are you okay?” Your eyes were closed as he looked at your profile and you had a satisfied smile on your lips, giving him a slow nod. His body was burning you almost, and you wondered if he had a fever but you can check that tomorrow.
“That… That was the best sex I’ve ever had…” You admitted in your gone state, and maybe you will be embarrassed by it tomorrow, but it could wait. For now, you were enjoying this little moment, this little bubble of aftermath. He chuckled a bit on top of you, leaning down to place a kiss on your shoulder.
“You bet your ass it was mine too. Never came inside someone before.” You opened your tired eyes at that, turning your head to look at him, surprised. He was looking down at you with his soft eyes, no longer the feral look in them.
“You… never have?”
“Let’s say I never had the trust to do it with anybody before.” He admitted and you felt your heart flutter slightly. You were special. You definitely were. And you couldn’t even think of anything else right now. You wanted to kiss him, you wanted to tell him that he was special too. That he could remain special, but he cut the moment off as he slowly pulled out of you, both of you groaning at the loss and letting a sigh leave when he was gone.
You turned around on the bed when he kneeled back and stood from the bed, his legs wobbling a bit, making you giggle. You felt sweaty, sticky, burning all over yet sated.
“I need to shower…” You said as you groaned at the idea of not sleeping right away after this. He chuckled as he stretched, probably feeling the soreness in himself as well.
“Joining you on that one.” You slowly sat up with a groan, feeling all of your limbs hurting but you weren’t going to complain, because the reason why they were sore was the best reason of it all.
“Hell no, you love cold water, even in winter.” He rolled his eyes at you, and then you– You gasped, crossing your legs over each other, putting pressure a bit as you flushed all over in embarrassment. “Um… Eddie?”
He tilted his head at you, confused at your posture, a little bit of worry crossing his features, “You alright? What is it?”
“Can you… get me paper? Toilet paper…?” He blinked once as he processed your request. You gulped as you squinted at him, trying to get him to move because you were going to make a mess. “Eddie–”
You saw how his eyes started scanning your legs, as if it was clicking what was happening right now in his head. You shivered at the intensity of his scanning, at how his eyes started to slowly lose that softness. His arms came to cross over his chest as he stared at where your center was pressed closed.
“Open your legs.” Your eyes widened at his request and you gave a nervous chuckle, shaking your head.
“No, it will just make a mess out of the sheets and–” And he leaned over, coming closer as he kneeled on the bed again, tapping on your right knee with a glare in his eyes. You trembled at the sight, your heart picking the pace it had a few minutes ago.
“I’m not asking, Peach. Open your fucking legs.” He wasn’t joking around. His pupils, blacked out completely, were staring into you in a daring manner. You took a shaky breath in as you felt your body start to burn once more, the situation just making your arousal return to you and you didn’t even know how it could be possible.
You whimpered a bit as you uncrossed your legs, the embarrassment of being so bare for him washing over you as you slowly spread yourself for him. He was kneeling in front of you, his eyes falling to your cunt.
“Holy fucking shit…” He cursed as you clenched when you tried to hold in the cum that was slipping out of you. His cum. His spent. He was flowing out of you and you could see the vein in his neck start to pop out once again.
“Eddie, it’s making a mess–” You saw him fix the bun in his head, and your eyes drifted south, eyes widening when you saw him get hard once again. You gulped in anticipation as your pussy fluttered at the sight, the soreness now in the past. His hands came to rest on your knees as his eyes came to look into yours.
“We’re gonna have a long night. Think you can handle that, Peach?”
And the only thing you could do was nod.
Your eyes fluttered open, having had the rest of your life just now.
Yet, your body was screaming. You had gone at it with Eddie one more time yesterday, just as intense as the first one. It seemed like a great idea then, but right now your body was calling you stupid in every single language of soreness. You whimpered as you tried to adjust yourself on the bed, looking up at his ceiling.
His arm was wrapped around your waist, his breathing slow as the thin sheet covered the both of you. You had taken a shower before going to sleep, and he had offered himself to help you when you told him you had to clean yourself inside. You declined, with a slap over his head, knowing how that might end up and you knew your body would hate you for it… even if you wanted it. The prospect of Eddie fingering his cum into you–
You groaned at the thought. What had Eddie Munson turned you into? Who the hell were you? You turned your head to the side to see him sleeping, and then, something else caught your eye. Your pillow… it was ripped. Right next to your head. You hadn’t noticed yesterday night, way too cock drunk and then too tired. Did you grip it too tight? No, you couldn’t have. Did he grip it? He probably did many times…
You couldn’t ponder on it that much when you saw Eddie’s eyes slowly open, adjusting to the orange hue of the room thanks to his blinds. He whined as he closed them again, and you knew he was feeling the soreness. You gave a small chuckle, now noticing how dry your throat felt.
“I think we overdid it yesterday night, Munson.” Your voice was hoarse, overused, almost but not quite painful. He chuckled a bit, all rough and groggily. He sounded so good like this, you thought.
“Yeah, no shit. It was your fault.” You rolled your eyes at him and he cracked one eye open, a smile on his face. “Morning.”
“Morning…” You looked at the pillow and then back at him with a frown. “What happened?”
You saw him doubt for a second, lifting himself up a bit on his elbow to look down at it. He gulped and it seemed as if he was debating in telling you something or not. He ended up chuckling a bit, shrugging a little.
“Probably gripped it too tight. I honestly don’t know.” You hummed at his response, and it was a possibility. The two of you were feral last night, not yourselves, not even for a second. Your heart thumped in your chest as you knew there was another instance to be talked about.
“Are you superman or something?” You joked and he shook his head at you, leaning closer to you, his upper half coming to cover your body as his left hand rubbed circles on your hip. The other coming to cradle you over your head. You looked up into his eyes as he leaned to greet you with a soft kiss, the contrast of yesterday’s roughness too big to miss. You kissed him back as your right hand came to rest on the back of his head, your stomach fluttering with butterflies.
He pulled away after a few seconds, inspecting your face as he then looked down at your body. He winced a bit as his nose scrunched, making you frown in confusion.
“I kind of went overboard with… the hickies and bites yesterday.” You knew he was talking about your thighs. He had been biting them all night. Then the digits on your waist, your hips, the slaps on your ass. He made sure to mark himself last night on you. You groaned, flicking his forehead with your fingers. “Hey–”
“Idiot.” Nerves invaded you as you pondered how to get to this topic with him. How to not give yourself away. How to not be heartbroken if the answer is no. You were snapped out of your thoughts when you felt him nudge your nose with his to catch your attention.
“Where did you go, Peach?” His question made you freeze, feeling almost nauseous as you looked into his eyes. He didn’t have a clue on how he made you feel. He didn’t even know what he did to you. How he fucked you up, how he ruined you, how he stitched himself into your heart without him meaning to.
“I…” You looked away as you bit your bottom lip with nervousness, playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. It had to be now. “I… I just need you to be honest with me.”
He tilted his head in question, “with what, exactly?”
“Um… I–” Fuck, you needed to breathe. “I need you to be honest if… If you sleep with other people…” You weren’t even looking at him, not wanting to see his reaction. How his eyes were staring into you as if you were talking nonsense.
“What–”
“I just want to… play it safe… Even if you sleep with others using protection, I– I don’t… want to risk it.” Were you clear? Did he get where you were going with this? It was dirty play, dancing around the question and disguising it as worry of getting an illness. Of catching something from him and his other endeavors.
Your chin was grabbed by his left hand, making you turn to face him, and your breathing hitched when you saw those intense eyes from yesterday come back. His breaths were coming out in puffs through his nostrils, as if containing certain anger.
“And you would be honest too?” You gulped, and you nodded slowly. As if you could sleep with someone else but him right now. As if you could even imagine someone who can compare to how you felt with Eddie. His jaw clenched a little as he stared down at you, “So, if either of us fucks someone else, we’re back to condoms.”
“I… yes… correct…” Your voice was small, knowing what this implied, and you hoped that Eddie wasn’t scared of it. You hoped that Eddie wouldn’t run away from this, but– Maybe he just will say okay, and it ends as that… and then it would just be a matter of time until he came to you and tell you that you had to use condoms again… and you would know that you weren’t that special at all. Not even by letting him do this.
Yet–
“Then I guess we ain’t fucking anybody else, Peach.”
Your heart bursted in your chest as you stared up at him. You wondered if he knew what this meant. You couldn’t believe it– You felt so happy. You felt like you'd just won the lottery with this. Yet, you wanted to hear him say it, so you played your little game. Your little act of friends, a little smirk appearing on your lips.
“Oh, we talking exclusive, Munson?” You weren’t expecting his grip to tighten a bit on your chin, your smile dropping as he stared into your eyes and your stomach just flipped on its own.
“You bet your ass I am.” His voice was strong, determined, but also shocked, as if he himself were surprised by his own words. You have him. He was yours, and he will be yours only until… until– It didn’t matter, but for now, Eddie Munson was just for you. You nodded slowly, your hand coming to rest on his left bicep, your fingers caressing the skin softly.
“Alright… just you and I.” Finally a small smirk broke on his lips, and you could finally breathe. The soreness of yesterday now a memory as you tried to conceal the happiness you felt inside of you. Just Eddie and you… You couldn’t wait to tell Robin– You blinked and looked at the clock on the bedside table, feeling a little dejected now.
“What’s wrong?” He asked and you licked your lips, turning to look at him again.
“It’s already 11 AM.” By this time, you were long gone as well as he was when he went to your house. You had a little breakfast, a kiss goodbye and that’s it. The mention of Robin in your head just simply made you return to the real world, to leave the little bubble you created with him in his room.
You watched him debate a little with himself, as if he were measuring his words right. He looked at the clock for a few seconds and then slowly turned back to you. You could feel his heart against your chest, but you didn’t know if it was beating fast, or it was your own just overlapping the thrumming of it.
“You could stay…” He slowly talked and your world stopped for a second and he cleared his throat a bit, “I mean, if you have nothing else to do today, then…”
You wanted to smile so wide right now, but you had to hold yourself back. You had to keep your giddiness down. Your butterflies were in full bloom as you saw him become a little flush and that shimmer of hope ignited again as you stared at him. There was a chance, wasn’t there?
“You just want to fuck me again.” At your words, he laughed, shaking his head at you, frowning a bit.
“I know you are way too sore for that, sweetheart.” Your eyes widened and you swatted at his bicep as if offended.
“I am not, maybe you’re just trying to disguise you're the one who is sore as fuck by blaming me.” He raised an eyebrow at you, a playful smirk coming to his lips as he slowly started to climb on top of you and your smile completely fell from your face.
“Wanna test that theory?” His knee came to rest between your legs and he pressed forward, and instead of a pleasured moan, a whimper came out of your lips. The overstimulation had made you way too sensitive, your clit was probably puffy, and your cervix was bruised. Yet, you felt the rush of arousal come over you again. “That’s what I thought.”
You whined and you pouted up at him but then it dawned on you a bit…
“So, what should we do then?” You asked, a little shy. The only thing you two did when alone was eat, fuck, talk a bit, sleep and that was it. If he wasn’t going to fuck you… what were the two of you gonna do all day? You saw how his eyebrows frowned a bit, and you noticed he was having those same thoughts running through his head. After a few seconds, he shrugged a bit, acting nonchalant.
“We have lunch, then, I beat you in Mario Kart again, and maybe we can watch something.” Your mouth fell open at that, acting offended and challenged as you stuck up your nose at him.
“I must tell you, I have been practicing in Mario Kart, and I am pretty sure I can beat you.” His eyebrow raised at you, and you felt those butterflies all over your body now. They were no longer resting in your belly. They had flown all over your limbs, your arteries, your veins, your head, your heart… you were just filled with them as he smirked your way.
“Let’s make a few bets then… How does that sound, Peach?”
And you agreed. You stayed. When you two got up from the bed, you could barely stand straight, making the both of you laugh like crazy while you tried not to fall down the stairs. It ended up with Eddie carrying you all the way down, princess-style, joking that he was Mario right now, saving the princess.
It felt domestic as you watched him cook for you. He complained about some pains as well, so he gave you a muscle relaxer to see if that eases your pain as he took one for himself too. You spent it playing games, betting stupid stuff to one another only for you to lose every game. You owed Eddie two pizzas, one blowjob, and three creampies.
And in between those moments, you kissed him, he kissed you, with no other intention but to just place lips over other lips. No other movement done, just kissing. No rubbing, no ulterior motives. Your heart soared towards the sky, and if he was doing it just to keep fucking someone raw or not, for now, it was fine to not have that knowledge. For now. It might soon explode inside of you, but you were happy today. A small win, yet huge.
At 8 PM, you were ready to leave, and when you two were at his front door, he had pulled you into a deep kiss, wrapping his arms around you, making you flush against his body as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. He pulled away a few seconds later and you had to take the leap now. It was your turn. You had to make sure this was not a one time thing.
“I… This was nice… spending the day together…” You softly said and he nodded slowly, a small smile breaking on his lips.
“Mmm… Maybe we can see each other during the week?” And that would be new. That would be another development and–
“Stay over and leave for work the next day?” You asked and you two stared at each other for a few seconds before he slowly nodded again. Your heart burst with stars as you saw how he agreed with you and you couldn’t be any happier. You couldn’t wait to go home and just scream into your pillow and call Robin excitedly to tell her about it. About how… you are basically not that single anymore.
“Yeah…” His smile turned into a sly smirk as he leaned over to press a kiss to the pulse point of your neck, making you sigh. “Maybe even have a quickie so we can start the day all freshened up… Bet I would get my work done in an hour.”
You giggled at his words and that made your stomach tumble over again. Another dynamic that changed… Three dynamics to be exact changed today. You two were exclusive… You two were going to spend nights and days together… You two will now have morning sex which is something you’ve never done because… hookups are not together for that long the next day.
But this meant you two would. This meant that he wanted to spend time with you, intimately and out of that. Just like you have been wanting.
“Oh, I bet you would.” You joked with him and he gave a small kiss to your lips to then finally let you leave.
When you reached your apartment, you immediately started jumping in excitement only to wince in pain and hold your hip from how sore you felt. You laughed and squealed into your fists and you wondered if Eddie did something like what you did just now in happiness. You wondered where Eddie’s thoughts were all day with you. You wondered if he felt the same way you did. If his heart raced when he looked at you. If he had butterflies whenever he kissed you. If he felt warm whenever he hugged you…
You will wonder for a little longer… for now, you could be happy.
Because Eddie Munson was yours to have… Only yours.
And you were his.
end of chapter 22
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summary Hurt and betrayed, she finds herself growing closer to Ross, a familiar face with a kind heart. But Eddie isn’t happy about that. Fueled by jealousy and anger, he spirals.
warnings nsfw, 18+ only, toxic relationship, emotional manipulation, jealousy, verbal abuse, implied sexual content, public humiliation, physical altercation, yelling/arguing, crying, anxiety, stalking (implied), breaking and entering (implied), Y/N
You drop your books onto an empty table with a dull thud, exhaling as you take in the blessed quiet of the library. This time of day, most students were either in class or too distracted elsewhere to bother studying, leaving you with a rare pocket of peace. Perfect. You had a free period, and you planned to use it to make some progress on your history paper.
Flipping through your notes, you scan the assignment instructions—only to realize you’re missing one crucial book for your sources. With a sigh, you push your chair back and weave through the maze of shelves, heading toward the back corner where you last saw a copy.
Sure enough, the book is right where it should be. The only problem? It’s perched on the very top shelf, far out of reach.
You stretch onto your toes, fingertips just brushing the spine. No luck. You glance around—no step stool in sight. With a determined huff, you start prepping yourself to scale the shelf, already mapping out where to place your feet—
An arm suddenly reaches past you, plucking the book from the shelf with ease.
You spin around, startled, only to be met with Ross’s smirking face as he holds the book out to you.
“Oh,” you blink, catching your breath. “Uh—thanks.”
He shrugs, still holding the book as if waiting for something. Eventually, you take it from his hand, clutching it to your chest as you turn back toward your table. But Ross doesn’t leave. Instead, he follows.
“I didn’t take you for a history type of girl,” he muses. “You know, with all this war stuff and—”
“Why? Because I’m all about getting my nails done and going shopping?” you say, keeping your tone serious, arms crossed as you level him with a stare.
Ross’s face goes bright red, his confidence crumbling in an instant. “No! No, absolutely not! I didn’t mean it like that, I was just—”
You let the silence hang for a second longer, watching him scramble, before cracking a grin. “Relax, Ross. I was messing with you.”
He exhales sharply, pressing a hand to his chest like you just gave him a heart attack. “Jesus. You got me.” After a second, he starts chuckling too, shaking his head. “Not funny.”
“Very funny.” You smirk, setting your book down on the table. “Anyway, I’m writing a history paper for my sixth-period class. That’s why I’ve got all these books.”
“You need some help?” Ross asks, nodding toward your stack of books. “I mean, you’re pretty smart, and you probably know what you’re doing, but I kinda like history myself. Could rant about a thing or two.”
You glance up at him, surprised but amused. “You? A history buff?”
“What can I say? I have layers.”
“You know what? That would actually be great.” You push your bag off the chair beside you and gesture for him to sit.
Ross wastes no time dropping into the seat, shrugging off his letterman jacket and slinging it over the chair. As he digs into his backpack, you turn back to your notes, only to pause when he pulls out a brown paper bag and starts unpacking his lunch.
“You eaten yet?” he asks, glancing at you as he unwraps a sandwich.
Your stomach twists slightly at the question. You can’t exactly say yes—not after what happened with Eddie at lunch. You had barely touched your food, still reeling from the way he walked away like it was nothing. Like you were nothing.
You swallow hard, forcing a casual tone. “Uh, yeah.”
Ross doesn’t look convinced. He pauses for a moment, then silently pulls out a second sandwich and slides it across the table toward you.
You hesitate. It looks really good, and truthfully, your appetite has started creeping back. But you don’t want to take his food, especially if he packed it for himself.
“Ross, I—”
“Just take it,” he interrupts, not even looking up as he pops open a bag of chips. “I don’t like eating alone anyway.”
The simple statement makes your chest tighten unexpectedly. After a beat, you sigh, giving in and picking up the sandwich.
“…Thanks.”
Ross grins, and you can’t help but return it. As you take a bite of the sandwich, he stands up, fishing some loose change from his pocket.
“I’m gonna grab you a Coke. Any favorite?”
You shake your head, still chewing.
“Alright, mystery flavor it is,” he teases, stepping backward toward the library doors. “I’ve got cookies in the bag—help yourself.”
He’s still mid-sentence when bam—he collides with someone just as he’s pushing through the door.
Dustin hits the ground with a surprised yelp.
“Oh, shit! My bad, man!” Ross immediately bends down, grabbing Dustin’s arms and hauling him up with ease. “You alright?”
Dustin blinks up at him, wide-eyed, nodding quickly like he’s afraid Ross might change his mind and body-slam him instead.
Ross gives him a pat on the arm, nods once, and heads off toward the lunchroom like nothing happened.
Dustin, still stunned that a jock not only didn’t cuss him out but actually helped him up, brushes himself off. His confusion quickly morphs into curiosity as he glances through the library window.
And then he freezes.
Ross just came out of there. And you’re in there. Alone. With him.
Shit.
Eddie is not going to like this.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
“See you tomorrow, Ed!” Jeff called out, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he headed for the door. The rest of the Hellfire Club filed out behind him, their post-campaign chatter fading into the hallway.
With the session officially dismissed, only Dustin and Eddie remained. Dustin had technically volunteered to help clean up, but really, he was using the time to grovel.
“I swear, once it started coming out, I couldn’t stop! And you know Steve—he’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to his sister—”
Eddie let out a low chuckle, tossing a stray D20 into the dice bag. “Henderson, breathe. You’re gonna give yourself a damn aneurysm.”
Dustin sucked in a sharp breath and forced himself to exhale. “Okay. Okay. But I just— I really didn’t mean to rat you out, man. It just happened.”
Eddie waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, I get it. And I forgive you.”
Dustin blinked. “You do?”
“Of course, you little weasel.” Eddie smirked, nudging Dustin’s shoulder. “You are the future face of this club once I get the hell out of here. Besides… me and Y/N are done.”
“Whew, I’m so glad you said that,” Dustin blurted out, bending down to scoop up a few stray dice from the floor.
Eddie, mid-step, suddenly froze.
His grip tightened around the throne chair he was carrying, knuckles whitening. Slowly, he set it down with an audible thunk before turning toward Dustin, eyebrows pinching together.
“…What do you mean by that?”
Dustin stiffened. His big mouth was really gonna get him killed one of these days. Maybe he should invest in some duct tape. Heavy-duty. Industrial strength.
“N-nothing,” he said, voice cracking slightly as Eddie took a slow, deliberate step forward.
Eddie crossed his arms, expression unreadable. “Henderson,” he drawled, tilting his head. “You sure there’s nothing you wanna share with the class?”
“No…” Dustin tried, voice weak, but the way Eddie’s eyes darkened made his resolve crumble almost instantly.
“Henderson,” Eddie warned, his tone low and edged with suspicion.
Dustin groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Fine! But promise you won’t lose your shit, alright?”
Eddie didn’t respond—just crossed his arms and gave Dustin a look that made it very clear he was waiting.
Dustin swallowed hard. “Look… it might be nothing—probably is!—but I saw Y/N and Ross hanging out together at the library.”
“Who the hell is Ross?” Eddie scoffed, brows knitting together.
Dustin blinked at him. “You know—big basketball dude that’s been after Y/N since sophomore year?”
Eddie’s expression shifted. Oh. That Ross.
The guy who was always lurking, always tossing compliments Y/N’s way like he was entitled to her attention. Eddie had caught him staring at her more times than he could count, eyes lingering a little too long, his interest just subtle enough to not get called out for it.
And now Y/N was hanging out with him? After Eddie specifically made it clear he couldn’t stand the guy?
She was doing this on purpose.
A sharp, hot coil of jealousy twisted in Eddie’s gut, crawling up his spine like a live wire. His jaw clenched so hard it ached.
“Close up when you’re done,” he snapped, slamming the room keys onto the table with a clatter.
“Eddie! Eddie, wait—where are you going? Shit!” Dustin fumbled to grab his things, scrambling after him.
“Forgot my drumsticks…” Gareth mumbled as he stepped into the theater room—only to be nearly knocked off balance as Eddie shoved past him without a word.
Gareth turned, watching Eddie storm off with a deep frown. “Jesus, what’s up with him?”
“No time to explain—just go after him! He’s about to do something really stupid!” Dustin said in a panic, snatching Gareth’s drumsticks off a nearby chair and shoving them into his chest before practically dragging him out the door.
With a quick turn of the key, Dustin locked up the room behind them, then bolted after Eddie, Gareth right on his heels.
They didn’t have to guess where he was headed.
Straight toward the gym.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
“Alright, ladies, take five!” Chrissy called out, clapping her hands.
As the cheerleaders broke formation, Chrissy let out a squeal when Jason snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Looked like the basketball team was on a break, too.
You reached into your bag, pulling out your water bottle just as a familiar figure approached—Ross, looking just a little too shy for a guy who spent most of his time dominating the court.
“Hey,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Hi,” you replied, taking a sip of your water. His cheeks were already turning red, and you had a feeling it wasn’t just from practice.
“You, uh… you looked great! I-I mean, the dance is coming along great!” He corrected himself quickly, clearing his throat.
You couldn’t help but smirk. “Why, thank you.”
Ross scoffed, shaking his head. “Wow, not even gonna compliment me back?”
Feigning an exaggerated eye roll, you sighed dramatically. “Fine, I guess you were alright out there, tossing balls into baskets or whatever.”
His laughter was warm, and the way his eyes lit up made it clear he was enjoying this exchange just as much as you were.
“It’s not as easy as it looks, you know,” Ross said, crossing his arms with a smirk. “I’d like to see you try shooting from the free-throw line.”
You raised a brow, matching his energy. “Maybe I will. Give me a ball.”
Ross chuckled but didn’t hesitate to grab one from the basket, spinning it in his hands before passing it to you. As you stepped onto the court, he stood beside you, arms resting on his hips.
“Alright, hot shot. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Careful, Ross,” you teased, bouncing the ball a few times. “I might just take your spot on the team.”
He laughed. “Ohhh-kay. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
With that, you took a deep breath, lined up your shot, and let the ball sail through the air. For a second, you thought it was going to miss—but then, swish! It dropped straight through the hoop.
Your eyes widened in shock before excitement took over. “Holy shit!”
Ross threw his hands up. “No way! First try?”
A small crowd that had gathered on the sidelines started cheering, and before you could even think, you jumped into Ross’s arms. He caught you with ease, spinning you around in celebration.
“Alright, maybe I should be worried about my spot,” he joked, grinning as he set you back down.
You laughed breathlessly, your heart still racing—maybe from the shot, maybe from the way Ross was looking at you.
You wrapped your arms around Ross’s neck as he held you tightly, his warmth momentarily making you forget everything else.
“I hope you’re not too bummed,” you teased, a playful grin tugging at your lips.
Ross just looked at you, his brown eyes filled with something softer. “Wouldn’t have picked a better replacement than you.”
You both smiled, caught in the moment, and for a brief second, the weight of the past few days lifted. The fight with Steve. The blowout with Eddie. The confusion swirling inside you. It all faded into the background—until the gym doors slammed open, shattering your peace like a gunshot.
The echo of the impact made everyone’s heads turn. Your stomach twisted into knots the second your eyes landed on Eddie.
Ross immediately let go of you, but he didn’t move away. Instead, he took a step forward, standing beside you like a silent wall of defense. His posture was relaxed, but the tension rolling off him said otherwise.
Your gaze flickered to Dustin, who stood frozen in the doorway, looking guilty as hell. He caught your eyes and winced, a silent apology written all over his face.
“Eddie, let’s go, man.” Gareth’s voice was tight with unease. He grabbed Eddie’s arm, but Eddie yanked it away without looking at him.
Eddie’s attention was locked on you, his dark eyes filled with something unreadable—rage, hurt, jealousy? Maybe all three. He stepped closer, ignoring Gareth’s plea and Ross’s warning stare.
“That was fast,” he sneered, his voice dripping with venom. “Didn’t even give it a full day before throwing yourself at the next guy that gives you a little attention.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always desperate for it, weren’t you?”
The air in the gym turned suffocating. Eyes darted between you, Ross, and Eddie, waiting for the next explosion.
Eddie leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a mocking whisper. “That’s why you’re making yourself so available for this prick, right?”
Ross’s fists clenched at his sides. Your heart pounded.
This wasn’t just a scene anymore. This was a fight waiting to happen.
“Eddie, not now,” you said through clenched teeth, your voice low, warning.
But Eddie just tilted his head, a cruel smirk curling at the edges of his lips. He was enjoying this—watching you squirm, pushing you into a corner.
“Why not?” he taunted. “Embarrassed? Afraid I’ll tell Ross all about our little secret meetings? How you’d cry and beg for me to fuck the shit out of you?”
A sharp breath caught in your throat. Your entire body stiffened.
The weight of Ross’s stare burned into the side of your face, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. Shame curled in your chest, spreading like wildfire. Your cheeks felt hot, your eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Ross exhaled sharply, his voice steady but edged with warning. “Hey, man. Whatever you had with Y/N in the past—that’s none of my business.”
Eddie let out a low, humorless chuckle. Then he stepped closer, closing the distance between you three, eyes locked on Ross like a predator sizing up his competition.
“Not the past, my guy,” Eddie said. He tilted his head, watching the way Ross tensed. “Literally this week.”
“Regardless,” Ross continued, his voice firm, unwavering, “it’s over. You can be mad all you want, but what you’re not gonna do is stand here and call her a—”
“A slut?” Eddie cut in, his voice cold. “Because that’s what she is. And that’s what she’s always gonna be.”
Before you could even react, Ross lunged. His hands twisted into Eddie’s shirt, yanking him forward until they were chest to chest.
“I’m warning you,” Ross ground out, his jaw clenched so tight it looked like it might shatter. “You leave her the hell alone, or we’re seriously gonna have a problem.”
Eddie didn’t flinch. He just smirked, a sick amusement flashing in his eyes as he wrenched himself free and shoved Ross back, hard.
By now, Jason had stormed over, grabbing Ross before he could retaliate, while Gareth struggled to hold Eddie in place.
“Hit me,” Eddie taunted, his voice low and lethal. “Go ahead. See what happens.”
Your breath hitched, the overwhelming weight of everything crashing down on you at once. You barely registered Chrissy’s gentle touch on your arm, barely heard her soft, reassuring voice as she led you out of the gym, away from the chaos.
“I hate him! I fucking hate him!” The words tore from your throat, raw and shaking.
“I know, honey. I know.” Chrissy’s voice was soft, soothing, as she wrapped her arms around you, holding you tight like she could physically keep you from falling apart.
The gym doors creaked open, and you stiffened. Heavy footsteps approached, stopping just a few feet away.
Ross.
Even without looking, you could feel his presence, the concern radiating off of him. He hesitated before stepping closer. “Where’s Eddie?” Chrissy asked.
“Asshole left through the back door.”
Chrissy muttered something under her breath before pulling back to cup your face gently. “I’m gonna go cancel practice, okay? You get on home and relax.”
You nodded, hurriedly wiping at your damp cheeks, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to look at Ross. The embarrassment, the shame—it was all too fresh, too raw.
Chrissy gave your hand one last reassuring squeeze before disappearing back into the gym, leaving just the two of you.
A heavy silence settled between you. Then, finally, Ross spoke, his voice softer than you expected.
“You okay?”
You swallowed hard, but the lump in your throat remained.
You weren’t. But you didn’t know how to say that.
“You don’t have to pretend like you care.” Your voice wavered, but you forced yourself to sound firm, to push him away before he could do it first.
Ross’s brows knit together in confusion. “What? I’m not pretending.”
“Oh, come on!” Your frustration boiled over, mixing with the lingering humiliation Eddie had left behind. “You’re really gonna stand there and act like you don’t feel disgusted after what he said? After he told you what I’ve done?” Your voice cracked, but you pushed through. “I’m all used up!”
“Stop talking like that about yourself!” Ross’s voice was sharp, but his eyes—God, his eyes—were filled with something else entirely. Not pity. Not judgment. Just… care.
You turned away, swallowing hard. “Just leave me alone, Ross.”
You barely took a step before he caught your wrist, pulling you toward him. Before you could protest, his arms wrapped around you, solid and warm. The dam inside you broke.
You buried your face in his chest, fists clenching his hoodie as the sobs wracked through you. His hand moved to the back of your head, fingers threading through your hair, soothing, anchoring.
“I don’t care what that freak said,” Ross murmured, his voice firm but gentle. “You’re not disgusting, alright? You’re perfect to me.”
Your breath hitched, but the warmth of his words seeped into the cracks Eddie had left.
You stayed there, pressed against him, letting the world fade away until your breathing evened out. Until the weight on your chest wasn’t so suffocating.
Then, without a word, Ross led you to his car and drove you home.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
The landline wouldn’t stop ringing. Over and over, the shrill sound pierced through the silence of your room, each ring grating on your already raw nerves. You tried to ignore it, but after what felt like an eternity, frustration won out.
You snatched up the receiver. “Stop calling, asshole! I want nothing to do with you anymore, do you hear me? Nothing!”
A beat of silence. Then, his voice—low, pleading.
“Baby—”
You slammed the phone down before he could say another word. Your heart pounded in your chest, anger and something dangerously close to heartbreak intertwining.
A few seconds later, it rang again. You didn’t hesitate this time, yanking the plug from the wall with a sharp tug.
Steve passed by your room just as you threw the cord aside. You met his gaze, silently daring him to say something, anything. To yell at you, to scold you, to tell you that Eddie wasn’t worth your tears. But he just looked away, his expression unreadable, and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him, painfully quiet.
You exhaled shakily, your body sagging as you slid down to the floor, pressing your back against the bed. Your hands covered your face as the weight of it all came crashing down.
You missed how things used to be. Before Eddie turned into a complete asshole. Before your brother started acting like you didn’t exist. Before everything fell apart.
But it was too late now.
Desperate for any kind of relief, you ran a hot bath and sank into the water, letting the steam curl around you. The heat burned at first, but you welcomed it, hoping it would somehow melt away the ache in your chest. You weren’t sure how long you sat there, staring at the ceiling, lost in the storm of your own thoughts.
Then—a sound.
A rustle just outside the bathroom door.
Your breath hitched. The water stilled around you.
You sat up, heart pounding, listening.
Someone was there.
“Steve?”
Silence.
The moment the name left your lips, you cursed yourself. Steve left for work, dumbass. There was no way it was him.
Your pulse quickened as you listened, straining to hear past the faint dripping of water from your bath. The house was quiet—too quiet.
Slowly, you stepped out of the tub, wrapping a towel around your damp body. Your skin was still warm from the bath, but a chill ran down your spine as you cracked the bathroom door open an inch. The hallway was cloaked in darkness. How long had you been soaking in the water? It had been daylight when you got in, but now the house felt… different.
Swallowing hard, you stepped out, bare feet making no sound against the floor as you tiptoed forward. You peeked into each darkened room, holding your breath with every glance.
Living room—empty. Kitchen—nothing. Steve’s room—just as he left it.
That only left your room.
Your fingers tightened around the towel as you slipped inside Steve’s room, grabbing a mini statue from his dresser—a solid, weighted thing, cold in your grip. If someone was in your house, you weren’t going down without a fight.
You moved cautiously toward your bedroom door, pressing your back to the wall before slowly pushing it open. Your heart pounded as your eyes scanned the space. At first, you didn’t see anything. But then—
A shadow. Crouched by the window.
Adrenaline surged through you. You gritted your teeth, raised the statue, and prepared to swing—
“Woah, woah, woah! I’m not an intruder!”
The figure’s hands shot up in surrender. The voice—familiar, frantic.
Your breath caught. You knew that voice.
With shaking hands, you flicked on the light.
There, huddled by your window like a goddamn criminal, was Eddie.
summary Keeping things secret with Eddie was supposed to make things easier—not blow everything up in your face. But after Dustin lets it slip to Steve, you're left dealing with your brother's fury, Eddie’s indifference, and the sinking feeling that maybe hiding wasn’t just about Steve after all.
Moans and ragged breaths filled the thick air of Eddie’s van, mixing with the faint creak of the suspension as you moved atop him. The vehicle rocked gently with every roll of your hips, windows fogged from the heat of your frantic rendezvous.
This wasn’t the plan. Eddie had only offered to drive you home, but neither of you made it that far. A block away from your house, he had to pull over, hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly. Stress relief, he called it. And who were you to say no when you needed it just as badly?
His jeans were shoved down to his ankles, your shirt bunched above your chest as he latched onto one of your breasts, sucking harshly while his hands molded your hips to his lap, guiding your movements. You whimpered as he flicked his tongue over your nipple, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips when you clenched around him in response.
But despite the fire burning low in your stomach, your mind was elsewhere—on Dustin, on the way he caught you two in the hallway earlier, on the way Eddie spent all afternoon trying to talk the kid down before he could go running to your brother.
Your rhythm faltered. Your heart pounded for an entirely different reason. What if Dustin ratted you out?
Eddie noticed the shift immediately. His grip tightened, stilling your movements as he pulled back to meet your gaze. “You’re overthinking it again.” His voice was husky, but laced with something softer—understanding.
You exhaled sharply, fingers curling around his shoulders. “Can you blame me?”
He tilted his head, brushing a strand of hair from your face. “Henderson isn’t gonna open his mouth. Not unless he wants to lead the campaign against Vecna next week.”
You tried to smile, but the worry still gnawed at you. Eddie’s thumbs traced slow, soothing circles into your skin before he sighed and reached for the hem of your shirt, tugging it back down over your chest.
“Worst case scenario?” He leaned back against the seat, his hands settling comfortably on your thighs. “Henderson squeals, Steve loses his shit, and what? He locks you in your room to keep you away from me?” He chuckled, dark eyes twinkling.
“He might just do that! He’s overbearing and annoying—doesn’t think I can take care of myself.” You huffed, running a hand through your messy hair.
Eddie’s lips curled into a smirk. “I think you handle yourself pretty well…” His voice dipped suggestively.
You rolled your eyes, shoving his shoulder with a playful scoff. “Pervert.”
He chuckled, but the amusement faded when he noticed the lingering tension in your posture.
“I’m sorry…” you murmured, voice softer now. “I didn’t mean to kill the mood.”
Eddie exhaled, shaking his head as he gently patted your back. “It’s alright, sweetheart.” He shifted, hands settling on your hips before carefully lifting you off him. “I gotta get home and get ready for work anyway.”
You nodded, tugging your shirt back into place as he pulled up his jeans. As you reached for your bag, Eddie glanced over, watching you with a raised brow. “Hey, you sure you don’t want me to just drop you off in front of your house?”
You slung the strap over your shoulder, shaking your head. “I’ll be okay walking. Call me when you’re done with your shift?”
His smirk softened into something almost sweet. “Of course.”
Eddie leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to your cheek before reaching for the door handle. The van creaked as he hopped out, then turned back to offer you his hand. You took it, letting him help you down before stepping onto the sidewalk.
He stayed there for a moment, hands in his pockets, watching as you started down the street toward your house. You glanced over your shoulder, offering a small wave, and he returned it with a lazy salute before climbing back into the driver’s seat.
The engine rumbled to life, headlights cutting through the dim street as he drove off in the opposite direction.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
You slip quietly through the front door, moving swiftly toward the stairs. Maybe—just maybe—you can make it to your room unnoticed.
You’re on the third step when his voice cuts through the silence.
“Y/N? That you?”
You freeze, shoulders tensing before letting out a quiet sigh. So much for sneaking in.
Dropping your bag by the stairs, you turn just enough to call over your shoulder. “Nope. Just a robber here to steal all your furniture.”
Steve emerges from the kitchen, a mug in one hand, his other braced against the wall as he leans casually, watching you. His expression is unreadable, but the silence stretching between you is heavy.
You stare at each other, neither of you speaking for a long moment.
Finally, he takes a slow sip of whatever’s in his mug, then asks, “Where you been?”
You roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “China.”
His jaw tightens. He sets the mug down on the side table with a little more force than necessary. “Answer the damn question and quit being a smartass.”
You scoff, shaking your head. “Jesus, I was with Chrissy.”
“Bullshit.” His voice sharpens, accusation clear in his tone. “Tell me the truth.”
Your heart kicks up a notch, but you keep your expression neutral. “I already did.”
Steve doesn’t buy it.
You turn on your heel and start up the stairs, but he’s right behind you.
“You really wanna do this right now, Steve?” you mutter, gripping the railing a little tighter.
“Oh, I’m not the one doing this,” he fires back. “You are.”
“You’re crazy!”
“Am I?” Steve’s voice is low, dangerous, as he grabs ahold of your wrist.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Let me go!”
His eyes burn with frustration, his jaw clenched so tight you swear you hear his teeth grind. “I know you’re seeing Eddie.”
Your entire body goes still. So much for keeping it a secret.
Your voice comes out small, barely above a whisper. “Dustin told you.”
“You’re damn right he told me!” Steve barks. “Told me all about how Munson had his hand all over your ass in the hallway like it was no big deal!”
Your stomach twists. Damn it, Dustin.
You rip your wrist from Steve’s grasp, heart pounding. His anger is radiating off him in waves. His voice, sharp and booming, sends a shiver down your spine.
“Steve…” You take a slow breath, trying to steady yourself. “Just calm down.”
His eyes flash with something almost protective, but it’s buried under the fury. “My baby sister is being taken advantage of by Eddie the freak Munson, and you want me to fucking calm down?”
“It’s not like that!” you snap, frustration bubbling over. “Eddie doesn’t pressure me to do anything I don’t want to. He respects me!”
Steve’s eyes darken. “Did you sleep with him?”
Your breath catches in your throat.
You don’t answer.
But your silence says everything.
Steve exhales sharply, turning away from you, hands gripping his hips as he stares at the floor. His chest rises and falls with heavy, uneven breaths, and when he finally turns back, his expression is set—resolved.
“Whatever you both have going on,” he says, voice cold, final, “it’s done. I don’t want you seeing him anymore.”
“What? No!”
“If I so much as catch him near you, I swear to God—”
“Why do you keep doing this to me?” Your voice cracks as you shove him, hard enough to make him stumble a step back. “You want to control every aspect of my life, and I’m sick of it! I’m sick of you!”
Steve takes the hit, but his expression doesn’t waver. If anything, it only hardens. “Hate me all you want, but Eddie is not a good person, Y/N. You think you know him, but you don’t, okay?” He shakes his head, voice heavy with something that sounds almost like desperation. “I’m not gonna tell you again. It’s over.”
Your chest heaves, anger twisting inside you like a storm, and before you can stop yourself, the words come spilling out.
“You want to talk about being a good person? What about Nancy, huh?”
The second her name leaves your lips, something shifts. Steve’s entire body goes rigid, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“That’s different,” he mutters, but there’s no confidence behind it.
You let out a bitter laugh. “Is it?” Your voice drips with venom, with years of pent-up frustration. “She dumped your ass and got with Jonathan not a second later, and here you are, still chasing after her like a damn dog.”
Steve’s throat bobs, but he doesn’t say a word.
“She never loved you, Steve,” you continue, and you can feel the anger morphing into something cruel, something ugly. “And she never will. So get over your little fantasy of having a family because you're always going to be a second choice—to Nancy, and to Mom and Dad!"
Silence.
Steve doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink.
And for the first time tonight, you wish you could take it back.
Because the look on his face—the way his lips part slightly, the way his eyes dim, like you just knocked the wind out of him—makes your chest ache.
You hurt him.
Steve sniffles, barely holding himself together. When he speaks, his voice is quieter now—tired, defeated.
“You wanna be with Eddie? Go ahead.” His gaze flickers to you, but there’s no more fire in it. Just exhaustion. Just hurt. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do anymore.” He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “But I’m telling you right now… when he hurts you—don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The words sting, but it’s the way he says them that really gets to you. It’s not anger anymore. It’s not even frustration.
It’s resignation.
“Steve…” Your voice is small, hesitant, guilt creeping in at the edges.
But he doesn’t respond.
He just turns, walking away with slow, heavy steps, like the fight has completely drained out of him.
And then, without another word, he disappears into his room, shutting the door behind him.
Shutting you out.
And for the first time tonight, you don’t feel victorious.
You just feel… alone.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
The Hideout was alive with the usual late-night chaos—motorcycles lined the parking lot, their chrome glinting under the dim streetlights. Bikers leaned against their bikes, cigarette smoke curling into the air as their girls perched on the seats behind them, laughing at some crude joke. A few drunk men stumbled out the bar doors, voices slurred, arms draped over each other like war buddies barely making it home.
You weaved through the crowd, the scent of beer, leather, and smoke thick in the air. The steady thrum of a bass guitar vibrated through the floorboards, the band already deep into their set. It wasn’t your usual scene, but getting in was easy—Eddie had made sure of that, giving you a voucher that granted you smooth entry past the bouncer.
Sliding up to the bar, you spotted Jeff behind the counter, drying a glass with a rag that had probably seen better days. His eyes widened when he saw you, and without hesitation, he leaned over the counter, pulling you into a half-hug.
“Hey, Y/N,” he greeted with a grin. “Didn’t think I’d see you on this side of town. What’s the occasion?”
You returned the smile, though something nagged at the back of your mind. “I was looking for Eddie. Is he on his break yet?”
Jeff’s grin faltered. He frowned, setting the glass down with a dull thunk. “Eddie? He’s not supposed to be in today. Doesn’t work Tuesdays or Thursdays.”
Now you’re confused. “Wait… what? He told me he was working tonight.”
Jeff’s brows knit together, shaking his head. “Not unless Beverly dragged him in against his will—which, trust me, I would’ve heard about.” He leaned on the bar, studying your face as confusion flickered into something else. Something colder. “Sorry.”
You swallowed, trying to push down the sting creeping up your spine. Jeff must’ve noticed the shift in your expression because he flashed you a reassuring smile. “How ‘bout a root beer? On me.”
You hesitated, but ultimately sighed, shaking off the thoughts creeping into your head. No use jumping to conclusions, right? “I guess one wouldn’t hurt.”
Jeff nodded, grabbing a bottle and popping the cap off with ease before sliding it across the counter. You took a sip, letting the fizzy sweetness distract you.
For a while, lost in conversation with Jeff as he poured drinks and joked with customers, you almost forgot that Eddie had lied to you.
Almost.
⭒ ⭒ ⭒
“Sorry about yesterday, babe. I know I said I’d call, but the place got so busy, and Bev needed everyone’s hands on deck,” Eddie says between bites of his sandwich, speaking casually, like it was just another day.
“I bet.”
Your tone is flat, but if Eddie notices, he doesn’t say anything right away.
The two of you had met up for lunch at your usual spot—a worn-down bench tucked just inside the tree line by the woods, far enough from school that no one would bother you.
You’d been turning this over in your head all night—whether to call Eddie out for lying to you twice now, or to just let it go. After all, it wasn’t like you were in an actual relationship. No labels, no promises. That was the deal, wasn’t it?
Eddie watches you carefully, his chewing slowing as he picks up on the shift in your demeanor. “You okay?”
You stare at your food, stabbing at it with your fork, the plastic scraping against the cheap to-go container. You don’t look at him.
“I’m fine.”
It’s a lie, and you both know it.
But for now, you’re not sure which of you is better at pretending.
Eddie lets out a heavy sigh, dropping his sandwich onto the crumpled wrapper beside him. “Okay… what did I do this time?”
“Nothing.”
He raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.”
“Well, it is,” you snap, tossing your plastic fork onto your food container with a little more force than necessary. “So can you just drop it?”
Eddie scoffs, running a hand through his hair. His patience is starting to wear thin now, the easy going demeanor slipping. “What’s with the attitude?” His voice sharpens, irritation creeping in. “I said I was busy at work—sorry I couldn’t set aside a few minutes to give you all the attention you so desperately need.”
Ouch.
“And I’m sorry that you’re full of shit,” you snap, abruptly standing up. The bench scrapes against the dirt as you shove your food container into your bag with jerky, frustrated movements. “I lost my appetite.”
Eddie watches you, his expression shifting from irritation to something unreadable. “Where are you going?”
“With someone who’ll actually give me attention,” you shoot back, slinging your bag over your shoulder. “Since I so desperately need it, remember?”
His jaw clenches. “Oh, come on—”
But you don’t give him the chance to finish. You flick him off without so much as a glance, turning on your heel and storming back toward the school.
You don’t make it far.
Before you can take more than a few steps, Eddie is suddenly in front of you, having shot up from the bench faster than you expected. He blocks your path, his boots planted firmly in the dirt, dark eyes locked onto yours.
“Seriously, what did I do?” Eddie demands, frustration laced in his voice.
“You lied to me!”
His brows furrow, confusion flickering across his face. “What are you talking about?”
“I went to The Hideout yesterday,” you spit out, heart pounding. “And you weren’t even on the damn schedule!”
Eddie’s expression darkens. “You’re coming to my work now?” His tone turns defensive, almost accusatory. “What, you don’t trust me?”
“Listen, you asshole—I only went because I needed to talk to you!” The words come out sharp, your voice shaking with more than just rage. “I got into a huge fight with Steve, and now he’s not speaking to me, and—” Your breath hitches, throat tightening as the emotions catch up to you all at once.
“And you lied to me!”
“Shit… he found out about us?” Eddie mutters, running a hand through his hair.
You stare at him in disbelief. “Of course he did! What did you think was gonna happen? I knew I should’ve been the one to talk to Dustin…”
Eddie lets out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. “Whoa, hold on—you're not seriously blaming me for that little shit running his mouth, are you?”
“I’m not saying that,” you huff, crossing your arms.
“You might as well have,” he snaps, voice dripping with irritation. Without another word, he turns on his heel and stalks back toward the bench, his boots kicking up dust as he goes.
“Why are you mad?” you demand, throwing your arms out. “I’m the one who should be pissed! My own brother shut me out because we have to sneak around just to see each other!”
Eddie doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he yanks on his leather jacket, his movements stiff, tense. Then, without looking at you, he mutters, “Well, if it’s that much of a hassle to you, then maybe we should just stop seeing each other.”
You blink, the words hitting harder than you expect. Then you scoff, shaking your head in disbelief. “Seriously?”
Eddie doesn’t say another word.
He just brushes past you, the scent of leather and cigarette smoke lingering in the space between you as he strides away. Leaves crunch under his boots, the only sound breaking the heavy silence.
You stand there, frozen, staring at his back until he disappears into the trees.
By the time the lunch bell rings, you realize you haven’t moved.
(18+), smut, unprotected p in v, Eddie has a breeding kink, pregnancy, detailed depictions of drug use/abuse, childhood trauma, description of an overdose
Word Count: 3.2k
A/N:
This is a heavy one y’all. I hope you enjoy the chapter <3
Things went downhill fast.
It started with a pill snuck here or there, just when the cravings got especially bad. That was easier to hide. No one suspected anything, it just gave him a slight high, enough to get through his days. Rehab was boring, after all. He missed you. He missed his girls.
At least he had his guitar. He wrote songs all day, songs about heroin that sounded more like love songs than anything else. God, how he missed it.
But the past week, things had escalated. Jake was sneaking him heroin, and Eddie was shooting up in his en suite bathroom again.
When Eddie graduated from his rehab program, he had been back on drugs for weeks. He had no idea how no one noticed, but he wasn’t complaining or pushing the subject.
He felt like the biggest loser in the world, and he had no idea how he was supposed to face you and the band now.
You and the guys, who had been so proud of him. The girls, who were eagerly awaiting their dad’s return. That was the worst part - the knowledge that he had let his girls down. He couldn’t live with it, and it only pushed him towards the drugs even more.
He figured he could hide it a little longer - maybe he could go home and keep using, as long as he was careful. He could keep sneaking away to get high in the bathroom, acting as normal as possible when around you and the girls or the band. He could do this - he could go home and live his life and have the drugs, too.
Right?
Eddie looked at himself in the mirror. He didn’t look as good as he had at the last visit, that was certain. He had lost weight again, the dark circles under his eyes had come back. Fuck, you would know there was something up for sure.
He wore a dress shirt and slacks, his hair combed and facial hair neatly trimmed. It was his rehab graduation ceremony, a day he should have been proud of. Instead, he felt like a fraud.
Eddie slipped into his bathroom, attempting to calm himself before the ceremony began. He couldn’t exactly shoot up before going out there and seeing you all, but he could have a little something to take the edge off, right? He popped open his mini “first aid kit” and took 2 Oxys, placing them right on his tongue. There.
It didn’t take too long for the pills to kick in. By the time he was ready to go, he was feeling pretty damn good, blissed out and relaxed. A couple nurses, including Jake, escorted him down the hall towards the room where the ceremony would be held. He wondered if they had any idea how fucked up he was right now. Well, Jake might have had a pretty good idea.
In the room his eyes went to you first, smiling and giving him a small wave. You wore a dress that accentuated your growing bump, now 22 weeks. You’d had the appointment to find out what you were having a couple of weeks ago, but had the results in an envelope for you and Eddie to experience together.
Evie, Rhiannon, and Ivy stood next to you, each in matching red dresses. They looked nervous, clutching each other’s hands. Roz stood on the other side of the girls, followed by Gareth, Jeff, and Grant. They all looked so proud of him, it made him sick.
He went through the graduation ceremony, pretending like he wasn’t currently high and hadn’t been for the past 6 weeks. He couldn’t even meet your eyes. Afterwards you wanted to take pictures, where he faked his smile and pretended he wasn’t the absolute scum of the earth.
Eddie was happy to be home. The girls were all over him, wanting him to play, but he covered up the fact he was too high by saying he was just tired. You believed him - “Come on girls, give Daddy a break.”
“Daddy, are you better?” Rhiannon asked. “You’re not sick anymore?”
Eddie felt sick. “I’m better, baby girl. Not sick anymore.”
After he’d been home for a few hours, you couldn’t take the anticipation anymore. You brought out a white box from the fridge, setting it on the counter. “Are we ready to find out if we’re getting a little brother or sister?”
“Yes!” The girls yelled in unison, skipping into the kitchen and jumping up and down with excitement as they waited. You opened the box, revealing a white cake. Eddie joined you, looking over it to see if there was a glimpse of what lay inside.
“How do we know?” Rhiannon asked, standing on her tippy toes to peer at the cake.
“If it’s blue inside it’s a boy,” you explained with a smile. “And if it’s pink, it’s a girl.”
“I want a girl!” Evie said, which made you laugh.
“You don’t have enough sisters?” You teased your oldest.
“Boys are gross,” she said, making a face. “I like having sisters.”
“I want a brother!” Rhiannon said. “Daddy’s outnumbered.”
Eddie laughed at that - it was woefully true. “I’m okay with it. I love my girls. Could be fun to have a boy, though.”
“What about you, Ivy?” You asked your 3 year old. “Do you want a little brother or a little sister?” You knew this was big for her, she wouldn’t be the baby anymore. She’d never gone through the new sibling thing before, unlike her older sisters. Evie was a pro at this point.
Ivy thought for a moment. “Sister,” she answered finally, a tiny shy grin on her face.
“Eddie?”
“A boy,” he answered. “But I’m happy with another girl, too.”
“Okay, is everyone ready?” You asked, grabbing a large knife from the block and holding it over the cake. Eddie placed his hand on the handle next to yours.
“Yes!” The chorus came from all three girls again.
You and Eddie cut into the cake, the anticipation buzzing in your stomach. You cut the slice and pulled it out - revealing blue filling. You, Eddie, and Rhiannon cheered, Evie letting out a groan.
“It’s a baby brother!” You announced, tears falling from your eyes. Eddie pulled you into a tight hug and you buried your face in his chest as he rubbed your back.
“Wow,” Eddie whispered, only loud enough for you to hear. “A son.”
That night Eddie climbed into bed with you, wrapping his arms around you. He kissed all along your back and shoulders, his hands roaming under your top.
“Baby,” he moaned against your skin, leaving sloppy kisses as he went. “I haven’t had sex in 8 weeks. I’m desperate for you.”
You could feel just how desperate he was pressed up against your ass, his cock painfully hard and throbbing. You wanted to help him, and you needed it, too. You turned over so you were facing him, reaching a hand between your bodies and stroking him over his boxers. He crashed his lips into yours, kissing you deeply.
“Do you want to be on top?” He asked you breathlessly as he pulled away. “I don’t know if you’re uncomfortable on your back yet, we can do it however-“
“I’ll be on top,” you answered him, straddling his lap as he laid flat on his back. His hands moved to your hips, rocking you against his erection. You had on one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts, Eddie in only his boxers. He lifted your shirt up and off as you stood up on your knees, pulling his boxers down. Eddie hooked his fingers in your shorts and panties, pulling them down as much as he could before you had to help out. He put a hand on your belly to help keep your balance as you got them off.
You could feel his hard cock pressing insistently against your entrance, Eddie reached between you to line himself up properly. You slowly sunk down on his cock, both of you moaning as you took him inch by inch.
“Fuck, Eds,” you moaned, slowly starting to rock your hips on top of him. “It’s been so long. You feel so good.”
“Yeah, too fuckin’ long,” Eddie said gruffly, thrusting his hips up into you. “Feel so good, baby, you’re so tight and hot, gonna make me fill you up.”
You whined, bouncing a little faster on him. You could feel the tip of his cock pressed against your bundle of nerves deep inside, and when he began rubbing circles on your clit, you were even more lost in the pleasure. Your head was thrown back, body on full display for Eddie’s eyes as you rode him. He was in heaven.
“Fuck, yeah, so good baby, keep riding me like that. You’re taking my cock so good. Shit, if you weren’t already pregnant I’d put another baby in you.”
You laughed breathlessly at that. “I think we’ve got enough of those.”
“I can never knock you up enough times,” Eddie grunted, his hands roaming over your body. “Love filling you up with my cum. I love seeing you pregnant with my babies.”
“Yeah?” You moved faster. Eddie was falling apart beneath you, it had been so long since he’d gotten to fuck you, he wasn’t lasting long. You also weren’t aware that he was pretty damn high. “Wanna cum inside and fill me up, Eds?”
“God yes,” Eddie groaned. “I want you, baby. Need you to cum on this cock first, though.”
You whined, your orgasm close. Eddie kept up his movements on your clit - “Fuck, wish I could taste you-“ until you were seeing stars, pussy throbbing around his dick, moaning his name over and over again as you came. “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!”
Eddie gripped your waist tightly in his hands as he fucked up into you hard a few times, until he was throwing his head back and groaning while he came inside of you. You raked your nails down his tattooed chest, driving him crazy.
You collapsed on the bed next to him and he wrapped his arms around you, burying his face in your neck. “I love you so fuckin’ much, baby.”
“I love you too, Eddie.” You smiled to yourself - Eddie was home. Your family was together. Things were going to be okay.
Rhiannon had her big dance recital that weekend.
You got the other girls all dolled up, dressed in matching dresses. Eddie wore a suit, his curls smoothed and pulled back in a ponytail. He couldn’t help but notice the perfect roundness of your belly now beneath your red dress. He placed a hand on it, and you turned to him and smiled.
“How’s Ozzy?” He asked, rubbing the bump over the soft material of your dress.
“First of all, his name is not going to be Ozzy-“
“Hey, I still have 18 weeks to change your mind.” It was hard to disagree with him when he was giving you that gorgeous smile, the all encompassing one that spread across his whole face. It was moments like these that it struck you, you loved this man.
“And second,” you continued, “he’s laying directly on my bladder, so maybe ask your son if he could be a little more considerate.”
Eddie dropped to his knees in front of you. “Ozzy-“
“Not his name.”
“-I need you to be good for your mama, okay?” He rubbed your stomach, and your son moved beneath his hand, like he was acknowledging his father speaking to him. Eddie’s face lit up with another grin. “Stop giving her trouble, young man. She works hard, growing you into a fully-formed human.”
You giggled as Eddie stood back up. Somehow, the baby had moved out of his uncomfortable position.
“Mommy!” A frustrated voice came from the doorway. Rhiannon stood there, halfway stuck in her costume. “I need help.”
“Oh!” You hurried over to her, ushering her back into her room. You untangled her from her costume and got it on her properly, smoothing the skirt of her tutu. Next, you tied up her ballet flats. “There we go.”
“I’m ready to go!” She yelled, jumping around in circles and spinning her pirouettes. Eddie peered in the door, leaning against it and smiling at you both.
“Let’s hit the road, girls,” he said, twirling his car keys around his finger. “We’ve got a show to get to.”
Rhiannon danced her heart out. She had a real talent for ballet, and you could definitely see her sticking with it and becoming a real ballerina. She took it seriously, as she didn’t do much.
Eddie teared up as he watched her. He felt so proud. These were the things he’d been missing to get high instead. It hit him then, hard. You reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze and a small smile that he returned. He placed one hand on your belly and the other around Ivy on his lap. Evie leaned against his shoulder on his left.
He felt content.
Eddie was fine with just the pills for a while, but eventually they stopped doing it for him. He needed more. He wanted to shoot up again, his veins itched for it.
He really had intended to be a better man. He wanted to be. But he just wasn’t.
He was texting his dealer before he could think better of it. He couldn’t shake that sinking feeling of guilt in his stomach that had been there since the first time he dialed Jake’s number.
The next thing he knew, he was sitting in his dealer’s living room.
“I got this new shit,” Jeremy said as he weighed and divided his product into small baggies. Eddie watched closely, his body itching for the high.
“Yeah?” Eddie was bouncing his leg, his hands restlessly playing together. “It’s good?”
“Like nothing you’ve ever experienced, man,” Jeremy laughed. “How much you want?”
There was something about the fact that Jeremy didn’t even have to ask if he wanted some that made Eddie feel like an even bigger loser. “The usual.”
When Eddie left, the drugs in his pocket begging to be taken, he debated getting rid of them. He debated going through the withdrawals again, maybe going to a different rehab and doing it for real this time. But he made a different decision.
He drove home, the guilt eating him alive. He longed to get home and inject the drugs into his veins, to stop thinking, to stop feeling. He was relieved when he got home and the house was dark. It was past the girls’ bedtime and you’d been so tired from the pregnancy lately that you’d been going to bed at the same time.
Eddie snuck into the house quietly, slipping into the large bathroom attached to your bedroom. He sat on the floor, pulling out his kit and the drugs he’d gotten. He measured the same dose he always took - it had been a while, so he knew it would hit hard. He heated up the drugs in the spoon, placing the cotton in it then collected the shot in his syringe. He tied the tourniquet around his upper arm, finding his vein. It was getting harder to do, but he eventually found it, injecting the needle into his arm. He untied the tourniquet and pushed off, the euphoria washing over him in a wave.
He felt incredible. His limbs gave out, arms flopping down at his sides. He let the feeling take him, not a care in his mind - until it suddenly felt harder to breathe, and his eyes started to close. He fought it as panic rose in his chest, attempting to crawl to the door with the last bit of fight left in his body before he lost consciousness.
You weren’t surprised when you woke up for the 50th time that night having to pee. This was your life every time you were pregnant - interrupted sleep and a million trips to the bathroom. Eddie still wasn’t in bed, but it wasn’t that late yet.
You rubbed your eyes as you held your stomach, sleepily waddling to the en suite bathroom. The light was already on, which was strange. You opened the door slowly. “Ed?”
The sight before you had you screaming, nearly getting sick on the spot. Eddie was passed out on the floor, his skin pale, needle and supplies on the floor next to him. He looked dead. Tears immediately started falling and you panicked for only a moment before you turned and ran for your purse, grabbing your phone and the Narcan nasal spray you started carrying on you the first time you caught Eddie with hard drugs.
“Mommy?”
Your heart sunk as you heard Rhiannon’s terrified voice from the doorway. You turned to see your 6 year old, her wide eyes locked on her father’s lifeless body. “Is he dead?” Her voice came out as a squeak, and your heart broke.
“Rhi, go get your sisters and stay in Evie’s room, okay?” You told her, trying to calm your voice. “I’ll come get you.”
Rhiannon didn’t move. “Is he dead?” She asked again.
You clenched your eyes shut, big fat tears falling down your cheeks. Because you didn’t know how to answer her question. “Go get your sisters and stay in Evie’s room!”
Finally she moved, turning and sprinting down the hall. You dialed 911 as you ran into the bathroom, pulling the cap off the Narcan and spraying it in his nose.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“I think- My husband is overdosing.” Your voice shook, but you tried to keep it as steady as possible.
“What’s the address?”
You told her quickly, touching Eddie’s cold face, wondering if you’d ever see his smile again.
“An ambulance is on the way. Name and age?”
“Edward Munson, 37.”
“Do you know what he’s taken?”
“I…” You looked around, but you weren’t exactly knowledgeable about what you were looking at. “Heroin, probably. I gave him a dose of Narcan about a minute ago.”
“Is he breathing?”
You took a shuddering breath. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like it.”
“Heartbeat?”
You placed two of your fingers on his neck. Your own heart stopped in your chest as you didn’t feel anything at first, but finally - a faint, slow thumping. “Yes, it’s soft and slow, but yes.”
There was a knocking at the front door before you heard it open. “In here!” You called, and a crew of paramedics hurried in and surrounded Eddie. You watched in horror as they quickly strapped him to a stretcher, the way they moved telling you that this was not good and filling you with the fear you may never see your husband again.
As they urgently took him away, some of the paramedics spoke to you, but all you could hear was the rushing in your own ears. Finally someone got through to you - “Do you want to follow us?”
“I…my girls…”
The paramedic nodded in understanding. “You figure out what you need to. Just come into the emergency department and they’ll bring you to him.”
You watched the body of your husband disappear, wondering if you’d ever see him alive again.
Eddie Munson x Henderson! female reader, Steve Harrington x reader
Main Masterlist
Series Masterlist
Eddie Munson Masterlist
Steve Harrington Masterlist
Summary:
You have mediation with Eddie, then get some big news afterwards.
Warnings:
Custody arguments, court, pregnancy
Word Count: 2.5k
A/N:
I’m sorry this chapter took forever to get out! Hoping to be faster with the next one 🙏🏻
“Ms. Henderson,” the mediator steepled his hands over his chest as he sat back in his leather chair. “You are not willing to agree to 50/50 custody, correct?”
You shifted uncomfortably in your chair. Your eyes darted to Eddie sitting across from you, hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. “No,” you answered.
He looked at Eddie, who adjusted his suit cuffs as he gave you a look. He went to speak, but his lawyer spoke for him. “My client is not willing to take less.”
“Neither of you are willing to budge at all?” The mediator asked, like why are you even here?
Why were you here? That was Eddie’s stupid fault. Just looking at him pissed you off. You’d been hoping he would at least come to his senses by the time mediation came around, but unfortunately that did not happen.
You and Eddie looked at one another. You both shook your heads, set in your decisions. The mediator held his hands up- “Well, if we can’t come to an agreement here, the next step would be court intervention.”
You shook your head, bringing your hand up to cover your eyes as tears began to well. This could not be happening. Eddie’s lawyer began packing up, and you could feel your ex’s eyes on you.
Eddie wanted to say something, to reach out and touch you and comfort you, but his lawyer was pushing him from the room and, at the end of the day, he was the reason for your stress and pain, anyway. As usual, he thought to himself.
He hated himself for this. Sure he wanted the time with his son, but he was putting you through hell. He hadn’t even realized until he’d seen you today, but it was evident it was having an effect on you. You looked sick.
You felt sick. You had finally made that doctor’s appointment your mom and Steve had been hounding you about, which is where you’d be heading next. You straightened your blouse and skirt and stood, trying to compose yourself before walking out of the room.
Eddie caught your attention in the hall as you left. He could see your eyes bloodshot from crying, the dark circles around them. He felt like shit. But he also felt like this was his right - his son - and he didn’t want to back down. But goddamn, he never liked seeing you hurt.
“This is so stupid, you know that?” You hissed at him in the hallway as you reached him. “You have the band. You travel. You go on tour for months at a time. And you want 50/50?”
“He can stay with you when I’m on tour, okay?” Eddie said, trying to get you to see his side. “Or with Wayne some nights. He can even come visit me when he’s older. I just want to have as much time with my son as I can when I’m home.”
You understood where he was coming from, but you couldn’t have Asher taken from you half the time. You couldn’t stand the thought. “It’s just too much, Ed. I don’t mind some visitation, but 50/50 - it’s just too much. You can’t take him from me half the time.”
Eddie let out a short, humorless laugh. “I am not trying to take him from you! Jesus, that’s what I’m trying to say.”
“But you are,” you said, tears once again starting to fall. “If you do this, you are.”
Before Eddie could say anything else you turned and left, heels clicking as you walked out of the courthouse. You were meeting Steve outside to take you to your appointment, and you knew he’d want to hear how the mediation has gone.
It had been pointless, just as you suspected.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” Steve asked as he pulled up outside the doctor's office. You eyed the door, dreading going inside.
“No, it’s okay.” You began unbuckling your seatbelt, grabbing your bag from the floor. “Just take Ash and go play, I should be done in an hour.”
Steve nodded, but his expression was etched with concern. “Okay. We’ll be back then. Just…I’m here for you, you know that?”
“I know.” You smiled at him gently, but your body was buzzing with anxiety. Steve had had a point about your lack of a period. It still hadn’t come. You were very late, and you never were.
Well. Once.
You climbed out of the car with your bag, giving Steve one last smile. You opened the back door and leaned in to give Asher a kiss on the cheek. “Bye, buddy. Be good for Steve. I love you.”
“Love you!” He said back, reaching for you as you pulled away.
You carefully shut the door as you moved back, waving one last time as they pulled off. You took a deep breath, then turned and walked into the office.
Steve drove down the road to the nearby park. He unbuckled Asher from his seat and let him down, the toddler running to the playground equipment as fast as his tiny legs would carry him. Steve chased after him, running out of breath a lot faster than he used to.
Asher climbed and played on the slides, Steve pushed him on the swing, and they played a game of catch with the big rubber ball you brought from home.
When they got hungry, Steve bought a couple snacks from the vending machine. Asher pointed to the candy bar as it fell, laughing hard.
“What, you like the vending machine?” Steve laughed. He put in another dollar and punched in the number for a bag of chips. Asher watched with rapt attention as the snack was dispensed and fell down into the bottom. He squealed with delight, watching as Steve grabbed the bag.
They ate lunch together on the grass, enjoying the cool weather. It was nearly Halloween, and there was a chill in the air. Steve wondered what you had planned for the holiday, since you hadn’t brought it up with everything else going on.
“Alright, big man,” Steve said once they were done eating, “Let’s run out all your energy before we go pick up Mommy.”
Steve chased him around, the little boy laughing his head off as Steve pretended to be unable to catch him. As he ran back to the main part of the playground, he tripped over the step, falling forward onto his face on the mulch. He immediately started crying and Steve panicked, rushing to his side.
He lifted him up, examining his face for injuries. He had a big scrape on his left cheek, but otherwise looked fine. He was wailing, and it broke Steve’s heart.
“Hey, Ash, it’s okay,” Steve cooed softly, picking him up as he headed back for the car. “You’re okay, buddy. Just a little scrape. You’re such a big boy.”
He sat Asher up in the passenger seat as he reached into the glove compartment for the first aid kit you insisted he keep. Now, he was grateful for your helicopter parenting. He sprayed some of the disinfectant on Asher’s cheek, which made him cry more and made Steve feel like shit. He then covered it with a Thomas band aid, which Asher loved.
He got Ash back in his car seat before getting back in the front. It had been about an hour, so it was time to pick you up. His mind raced as he drove, wondering what it would mean if you were pregnant. It could be his - he could be a dad. A real dad. But it also could be Eddie’s. As much as he hated it, he remembered that night you spent with Eddie when he got to town. Yeah there was some time between instances, but it was close enough it would be hard to tell.
As much as he had tried to help you avoid this - besides the accidentally cumming inside, that was on him - he was kind of excited by the idea of you carrying his child. He knew you would look so beautiful, glowing, just like you were when you were pregnant with Asher. But if it was his baby…he doesn’t think there’s a version of you that could be any more beautiful than that.
But it wasn’t ideal. He didn’t want to have to spend 8-9 months wondering if the child belonged to him or Eddie. He knew he’d get attached to the possibility. And if he did that, only for the baby to be born and be Eddie’s - it would break his heart.
Steve’s mind was still reeling when he pulled up outside the office again. You were leaning against the entrance, jacket pulled tight. As you got closer to the car, Steve could see that it looked like you had been crying.
“What did they say?” Steve asked as soon as you were in the car. He couldn’t wait another second. He needed to know.
You looked into the backseat. Asher had fallen asleep in his car seat, and he looked angelic like that. His little cherub face, chubby cheeks and pouty lips. You loved him more than anything.
Finally, you turned back to Steve. You let out a big breath. “You were right.”
Steve’s heart stuttered in his chest. “I was right?”
You nodded. “Yeah. I…I’m pregnant.”
Steve let out a breathless chuckle at the words. He couldn’t believe it. You really were pregnant. You were really pregnant and it might be his. “Do you know…who…”
You squeezed your eyes shut, tears falling, and Steve felt terrible for asking the question. “No. I don’t know.”
It was silent for a minute. Finally Steve spoke up - “Do they know when we’ll be able to know?”
You sniffled. “They said we might know more when we do the ultrasound and see exactly how many weeks I am. But since the…instances were only two-ish weeks apart, we might not be able to tell until they’re born and we can do a DNA test.”
Steve took in the news. He didn’t like it. He wanted this baby to be his, and he wanted to know now. “Do you feel like you know who’s it is?”
“No, Steve. I have no fucking idea. It could be either of yours.” You covered your face with your hands. “Fuck. This is all a disaster.”
Steve began driving back to your house, the ride tense and awkward. He wanted to say something. He wanted to be happy. He’d always wanted to be a dad. He had considered himself one with Asher, but Eddie coming back into your lives only showed how easily that could be taken away.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said finally. “I’m here for you no matter what. I love you and that baby no matter what.”
His words did make you feel a little bit better. You knew they were true. But what if this baby was Eddie’s? Clearly he’d want to be involved. This would only make things more complicated.
Steve parked outside of your apartment building. “Want me to come in with you?”
You smiled softly at him. “You don’t have to. I’m just going to lay Asher down and probably take a nap myself. A lot to process today.”
Steve nodded in understanding. “Well, call me if you need me.”
As you laid in your bed, your mind raced with thoughts of this baby and the potential fathers. If it was Steve’s, things might be easier. He would be happy. He would be a great father, wouldn’t treat Asher any differently than his own child. Maybe you could even try a relationship.
But if it was Eddie’s? What would that mean? Surely he would try to fight you for this child, too. You couldn’t stand the thought of having this baby and immediately having to hand them over half the time.
You were actually terrified.
The next day as you were feeding Asher breakfast, the phone rang. You left him in his high chair to go grab the phone from the wall.
“Hello?”
“Uh, hey. It’s me.”
You bit the inside of your cheek, an anxious habit. “Hi, Eddie. What do you want?”
“I…I was just wondering if I could take Asher tomorrow. I want to bring him to the studio and let him meet the guys.”
You thought for a moment. You could be petty and say no, but then you really would be what he was accusing you of. “Okay. That’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Eddie.” You felt like rolling your eyes. “Just let me know when you’re picking him up.”
“Around 10 in the morning.”
“Okay.” You played with the phone cord, wondering if you should just go ahead and tell him about the pregnancy. “Hey, Eddie?”
“Yeah?”
A pause. Might as well just say it. “I’m pregnant.”
Silence.
Finally, “Is…is it mine?”
You squeezed your eyes shut as you could feel the tears coming on. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know.”
“…No.”
Eddie’s mind was spinning now. He could be having another child. A chance to do it right from the beginning this time. But what if it wasn’t his? What if it was Steve’s? The thought made him sick to his stomach.
“When will we know?”
“Maybe at the ultrasound. Maybe not until it’s born.” You let out a long sigh. “This is such a mess, Ed.”
Eddie felt bad for you. But he was also stressing, wanting the baby to be his but terrified it wasn’t. Also a little scared of the idea of having two kids, but he would rather that than you have a baby with Steve.
“I know,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie to you, it is a mess. But you’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”
You nodded, sniffling as you wiped the tears away. “I know. Either way, this baby has a dad who loves them.”
“That is true,” Eddie said. “I just hope it’s mine.”
You laughed a little. “Yeah, both of you do. Someone’s getting their heart broken one way or the other.”
You genuinely felt bad. And you felt like a huge idiot for having unprotected sex with two different guys so close together. Now you had to explain this to your mom.
Surely that could only go well.
As you ended the call and went back to help Ash with his breakfast, you thought about how his life was going to change. A new little brother or sister. It was hard for you to imagine your baby boy as a big brother. You didn’t even know how you were going to explain this to him. How would he understand? Would he adjust okay? Or would he hate having to share your attention?
That was your main fear, how Asher would take this. He was the most important thing in the world to you, and you wanted him to be happy. You knew he would get used to it, but you already felt so guilty.
Summary: You ask Loki if he still stabs people when he's bored but the prince of Asgard is more curious about why you want to know.
Warnings: idk... vague mention of a terrible date and overly protective Loki (who doesn't love that? Lol)
A/N: Came up with this idea pretty randomly so hopefully it's good lol enjoy! 💚
"Loki, do you still stab people when you're bored?" you ask as you walk into the common room, interrupting a game of chess the two brothers are playing.
The younger prince stares up at you in confused silence, his attention shifting to his brother when Thor clears his throat.
"I'm sorry Y/N," Thor says politely. "Fury made it abundantly clear to my brother that stabbing people who irritate him is not something that will be tolerated while he is on probation."
"Oh... right," you mumble and look down at your shoes. "We'll never mind then," you turn to leave.
"Why do you ask?" Loki finally speaks when you've taken a few steps away from them.
"No reason," you respond quickly turning to face him.
"Y/N," Loki says in a slightly stern tone.
"My date tonight was awful. He was so handsy," you explain, crossing your arms over your chest.
"Handsy?" Thor repeats the unfamiliar term with a raised eyebrow. Loki looks at you and you can tell he's just as confused as his older brother.
You sigh and make a grabbing motion with both hands towards the princes.
"No stabbing!" Thor shouts at his younger brother as he gets up, knocking over the few remaining chess pieces.
Loki gets up quickly, his favorite dagger appearing in his hand with a green flourish. "You were with the new tech from Stark's team," the God of Mischief states, no hint of a question in his voice. You nod as he walks angrily past you into the hallway.
"I am simply going to talk to him," Loki insists, his pace not slowing.
"With your dagger," Thor rolls his eyes when he catches up.
Loki smirks, "Yes."
I hope you liked this!! Please like, share and comment if you did 💚💚 Please let me know if you want to be added to my taglist!
A:N: thank you for all the kind words about the last 2 chapters! Hope you all enjoy this one too, getting some of reader’s pov 🤍
Chapter 3 warnings - 18+ minors dni: mild angst, drug mention, that’s about it!
Series masterlist
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Melvald’s is always quiet at this time in the morning.
You can’t bear being in the store any later, and certainly never on a weekend. Too many bodies crowding the aisles, rambunctious children throwing tantrums over candy their parents refuse to buy, or elderly customers taking their sweet time browsing the in the dairy section like the decision between whole milk and half and half was really all that difficult. It always set your nerves on edge, teeth grinding impatiently as you pushed your cart slowly behind some shuffling shopper.
But this morning the aisles are near empty. Not a soul to get in your way as you drop a packet of dried macaroni into the basket dangling from your arm. You run through the list in your head.
Pasta - check.
Cheese and bacon - done.
You swing by the bread aisle on your way to the checkout, stopping to peruse the selection of pastries at the end, still warm from the oven. A croissant makes its way into your basket, with a pain au chocolat for Robin too. The rich smell of buttery pastry and bitter dark chocolate makes your mouth water as you hurry to approach the cashier.
There’s only one checkout open. The one you usually avoid. It seems that Joyce isn’t working today, a sullen faced teenager scanning the items of the only other customer in the store at a sedate pace. You huff out an impatient sigh and do your best to keep your gaze straight ahead of you.
You’re not going to look.
You won’t look.
“One of these is broken.” The teenager says in a bored voice, pointing to the carton of eggs he’d been about to scan.
“Oh! Do you mind if I go grab some more?” The woman ahead of you asks.
The kid just shrugs.
“Excuse me, sorry, I won’t be a minute.” The woman says as she turns to face you. With the most polite smile you can muster you nod and step out of her way. For god sake, you’re going to be late.
Stepping aside for her to pass, your body turns just enough for the rack of magazines to flash in the corner of your eyes. Your stomach drops with the realisation that you've seen the very thing you’d been trying so hard to ignore.
His curls are the same as they always were. Wild and uncontrollable. It’s his face that seems to have changed so much. Gaunt and unnaturally pale. The bright flash of paparazzi lenses casts him in a harsh glow, a smattering of white highlighted under his nose.
One ringed hand is raised, an attempt to block the cameras view of his scowling face. The other hand clings to the waist of the pretty little thing walking beside him, her pupils blown and lips stretched into an almost manic smile. She’s an actress, you think, although you can’t recall any movie of hers that you’ve seen. You’d overheard some customers gossiping about her last week. Apparently she was going off the rails.
The headline screams at you in large white letters from underneath the photo.
Eddie Munson hits an all time low! Bandmates sick of out of control behaviour!
“Excuse me.”
The voice behind you makes you jump. Mumbling an apology you move out of the way of the woman, new carton of eggs in hand. As she finally finishes packing her bags and it’s your turn to empty your basket onto the counter, you do your best to focus on anything other than what you just saw.
The boy scanning your items is called Matt, at least according to his name tag.
“How’s your morning going?” You ask as brightly as you can manage.
Matt grunts in reply and shrugs his shoulders.
So much for pleasant small talk to distract you. You stand in silence, waiting for Matt to tell you your total. You shove the bills into his waiting hand and haul your tote bag up onto your shoulder.
“Do you want your receipt?” He asks in a monotonous tone.
But you’re already halfway to your door, cursing under your breath that even all these years later, Eddie Munson still has the power to ruin your day.
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By the time you get to the shop Robin has already arrived. You lock the door behind you, inhaling deeply, letting the familiar scent calm your nerves. The bitterness of freshly ground espresso beans, the comforting smell of smooth new pages mixed with those yellowed with age.
The newer items sold the best, kept the doors open and paid the rent, but you still had a soft spot for the second hand section towards the back of the store. Those worn covers and cracked spines, like scars on skin, but not a sign of mistreatment of pain, just a reminder of those who held them before, lovingly thumbing their way through the pages.
A delivery of preloved books always held more excitement for you. You loved spotting messages written on the inside covers, loved finding them dated from before you were born. So much history held in those pages, and they still had life yet, ready to be selected and adored by someone new.
You hear clattering from the kitchen out the back. By now Robin will be arranging the days offerings onto trays for the display case. Delicately piped biscuits, muffins bursting with ripe blueberries and cherries. There were pastries too of course, golden brown and shining from the egg wash. You still made your daily trip to Melvald’s. Robin insisted sweet treats tasted better if you hadn’t had to slave away over them yourself, although you were inclined to disagree. She was an excellent baker.
“Well hey there beautiful. You come here often?”
Robin leans in the doorway, flour dusted apron knotted around her waist. You scoff but smile, squeezing past her to dump your stuff in the tiny space that serves as both stock and break room.
You retrieve the paper bags from your tote, and Robin grins, making grabby hands at you until you hand over her breakfast.
“How’re you doing?” She asks through a mouthful of pastry.
“Fine.” You reply, pulling your croissant apart and popping a small piece in your mouth.
“Just fine?” Robin raises her brows at you questioningly.
“He was on the cover of Us Weekly again.”
Robin snorts derisively.
“What’s he done now?”
“God knows. I didn’t bother to read it.” You say with a shrug.
You’d learned the hard way not to flick through those glossy pages.
You stopped collecting any magazine that made mention of Corroded Coffin immediately after you and Eddie cut contact. But you still kept the habit of flicking through them in the store, some pathetic need on your part to know how he was doing. But it wasn’t good for you, to see just how fine Eddie was without you in his life.
It only got worse when it seemed that maybe he wasn’t so fine after all.
Every week there were new stories, brawls in bars and rumours of infighting within the band. Suggestions that he had a problem with “illicit substances.” You made yourself sick worrying about someone who was no longer your problem to worry about.
Steve and Robin had to stage an intervention of sorts. Since then you’d gone cold turkey, had avoided any mention of Eddie Munson for a little over a year.
“Well that’s good.” Robin says proudly. She pats your shoulder affectionately.
“Come on. I need to do the displays.”
“Yeah, just a sec. I’ve got to put some stuff in the fridge.” You reply, pulling the cheese and bacon from your bag.
“You going to Wayne’s tonight?” Robin says, nodding at your groceries.
“Well it is a Tuesday.” You shrug.
While his nephew may now just be a ghost in your past, Wayne Munson had remained a constant in your life. You loved him like he was your own family, and since your return to Hawkins, Tuesday nights had been reserved for him. You cooked dinner in his kitchen for the two of you, with enough leftover to keep him going for a few more days. It wasn’t like he needed you to do it, he was perfectly capable of looking after himself, and he had Liz now. But those weekday evenings held a special place in your heart. You loved curling up on the couch in his living room after dinner, sipping cheap wine while he nursed a whiskey, Ludo’s head resting on your lap. You’d laugh, and reminisce, and it felt so safe.
Even if the photos on his mantelpiece made you wince.
You hear a bang on the shop floor, followed by Robin spewing curses.
“Did you just hit your head again?” You call.
“Yes! Because someone isn’t out here to help me!” Robin shouts back. You stifle a giggle and close the fridge, already forgetting all about Us Weekly.
————————————💌———————————
The day had felt long, but pleasant.
A steady stream of customers kept you busy, having you searching your shelves for specific titles, while Robin kept her head down in the café, making endless lattes and espressos.
You lock the door with a small smile on your face. The money in the register was good today. There’d been a few months after you and Robin had taken over the store that it looked like the people of Hawkins might not adapt to the change in ownership. But your hard work was paying off, and things were looking positive. The sour start to your day seemed like an eternity ago, and you drive to Wayne’s place with the windows down and the radio up. Even the rain had stopped, a week of constant downpours giving way to sunshine.
Ludo greets you like always, barking his head off as you approach the front door. It’s unlocked, which thankfully saves you the job of digging around in your purse for the key. You have a hard enough time as it is wrestling your door open, trying to keep hold of your bags while nudging one very eager golden retriever back gently with your foot.
“Hey baby, just gimme a second.” You say, shushing his whines as you kick off your shoes. You’re so distracted you don’t notice the unfamiliar boots by the door.
You drop your bags to the floor, sinking down on your knees to let Ludo cover your face in kisses. You’re busy scratching behind his ears when a shocked looking Wayne appears at the end of the hall.
“Shit. I forgot you were comin’ kid.” He says.
“Hello to you too!” You laugh.
“It’s Tuesday. Don’t tell me you’re losing your marbles already old man?”
Wayne shakes his head, still not cracking a smile.
“No, it’s not that. I uh.. I’ve been a bit distracted. I meant to call you and explain.”
Your hand in Ludo’s fur freezes. He grumbles, nudging his cold nose into your palm insistently.
“Explain what?” You ask, feeling your stomach drop. You can’t remember the last time you saw Wayne look so serious. Something was wrong.
“Who was at the door?” A voice calls from the kitchen.
A voice you know all too well.
A voice you never thought you’d hear again.
Wayne grimaces, and the situation becomes all too clear.
Another figure appears beside him in the doorway. Long legs clad in ripped black denim, thin, bare arms that cross over his chest. Dark eyes glowering, a scowl on his lips.
