summary: over the course of your friendship, eddie never noticed that you didn’t swear. he took it upon himself to find a way to change that. it was pure chance that you were also screaming his name in the process. [4.7k+ words]
a/n: oh. my. goodness.this is the first full-blown fic that i’ve written in a while and my first ever published smut. this is probably my favorite thing i’ve ever written & the longest. as always, i hope you enjoy and I encourage you to interact with this. i’d really appreciate it. *also, i know hellraiser comes out in 1987… just pretend it didn’t for my sake <3
part 2
“Ouch! Motherlover!” You exclaimed out of the blue, breaking the silence in the room. You shook your left hand vigorously, hoping to alleviate the pain that struck your pointer finger.
After examining the injury, you gazed up at Eddie sitting on his throne. He had a look on his face that you couldn’t quite decipher. He looked slightly concerned, hearing you cry out in pain had startled him but on the other hand, it seemed as if he could burst out laughing at any second.
“Papercut.” You explained, holding up your finger so that he could see.
A smirk appeared on his face, “I figured. Looks gnarly.” Eddie’s tone was laced with sarcasm.
The two of you were currently in the drama room at Hawkins High School. Hellfire had just been slaughtered by the Cult of Vecna and was in need of a new campaign. Everyone in the club was itching to prove to not only themselves but Eddie that they were capable of outsmarting him and beating his new labyrinth of a campaign.
You weren’t Dungeon Master but, you were his best friend and a big help when it came to brainstorming. Eddie often found that whenever the two of you were riffing off of the top of each other's heads, he came up with the best ideas. So, it wasn’t unusual that you’d stay late after school to help him.
“What?” His sarcastic response didn’t go unnoticed by you.
“Nothing.” He shrugged, still smirking. Eddie peaked at you from behind his hair to see that you weren’t buying it.
You poked his arm in the same spot where his bat tattoo was permanently etched into his skin, “C’mon. What?”
If Eddie knew you half as well as he thought he did, he should’ve guessed that you would probe, “It’s just-” He paused and chuckled to himself, “Motherlover? Really Y/N.”
“What? I always say that!”
“Yeah, exactly. You always say “motherlover” He air quoted, “I mean, what’s wrong with just saying motherfucker and moving on?”
“Nothing’s wrong with swearing. It’s just not my thing.” You shrugged as you continued to scribble away in your notebook.
Even when the two of you were harebrained freshmen, ripe for the picking, Eddie can’t recall hearing you curse. He just assumed that it was because your innocence was still lively & intact.
But as time went on and your age increased, you would stay out past your curfew, unbeknownst to your parents. Or you would indulge in smoking with Eddie at his trailer. So, it wasn’t like you were some goodie-two-shoes who got on her knees every Sunday to pray and repent for her sins.
Eddie reached across the table and closed the book you were writing in. Then, he proceeded to gently snatch it away from you and slide it across the empty table. The two of you watched as it slid off the edge and smacked the floor.
“I was using that.” It would be a lie if you said you were surprised that he’d do something like that but, that’s just who Eddie is. A man that goes to great lengths to get your undivided attention.
“I call bullshit,” Eddie began, adjusting his position in his throne so that one of his legs was thrown haphazardly across the wooden arm, “Out of all of the crazy, ridiculous, rash stunts that we’ve pulled over the course of our friendship… you draw the line at swearing?”
“I mean, Henderson curses more than you and he’s like… twelve.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s fourteen,” You corrected.
“Don’t try and change the subject, princess.” Eddie deadpanned, not breaking eye contact.
Your mind flashed away from your current conversation to a dream that you had maybe three nights ago.
Eddie’s face was burrowed between your thighs, licking up your cunt before stopping at your clit and swirling his tongue, the way that drove you crazy.
Despite everything, despite your legs wrapped around his shoulders, despite his hair covering the top half of his face, he never broke eye contact with you. Not even for a second.
“You like that, princess?” He asked you before continuing to lap at your pussy.
You were instantly transported back to where you sat. In a room with Eddie. Not in his trailer sprawled out on his bed, “What have I told you about calling me Princess?” You pointed an accusatory finger at him.
He swatted it away as quickly as you lifted it, “How ‘bout this. I’ll stop when you tell me to shut the fuck up.”
You protested, “No, I’m not doing that!”
“How about shut the hell up. That’s better, right?” Eddie continued, refusing to let up.
Despite his best efforts, you still stood your ground, “Gosh, no, Eddie!”
“Alright,” He paused. You could tell by how his eyebrows were furrowed and how he mindlessly twirled his rings that he was thinking and hadn’t given up yet.
“Telling me to stick it where the sun shines?” He proposed, “It’s a step in the right direction, huh?” Eddie smiled.
At this, you didn’t even try and protest. You just shook your head and rose from your chair, walking to the end of the table and retrieving the notebook that Eddie had so kindly flung across the room.
Returning to your seat, you opened the page you’d been working on and finished your thoughts.
A few seconds passed before Eddie realized that you were intentionally ignoring him. He scoffed, “Jesus H Christ. You’re hopeless, princess.”
You swallowed, trying so hard not to go back to the deep crevices of your mind that thought of Eddie that way. He’s your best friend. Get yourself together. You told yourself.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll get there one day.”
He used this nickname so often that it could’ve doubled as your name. But today, you couldn’t stand to have him call you anything other than Y/N. You had to change the subject or else you’d be clenching your thighs the entire drive home.
“Hey!” You whacked his hand closest to you.
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe we could’ve had the new beast for this month's campaign if you weren’t such an asshole?” Another whack, this time on his kneecap.
“One day.” He reiterated before scribbling something on a scratch sheet of paper, completely ignorant to the pool of desire he caused to form in your underwear just by simply calling you a name.
˚ · •. ° .
The entire room erupted in whoops and hollers as Frank Cotton’s dismembered body panned into the frame. Jeff stood on the edge of his loveseat while Gareth clapped at the television screen. Eddie on the other hand remained silent, focusing on the movie.
Occasionally, members of Hellfire gathered at Jeff’s house to watch a horror movie. Today, it was decided that you’d be watching Hellraiser.
This was a very different pick from your run-of-the-mill Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th. Hellraiser breached a new level of gore and Eddie was forced to step in as dungeon master and forbid the younger members of Hellfire to participate in this particular flick.
“I don’t want to be responsible for replacing your bedsheets.” He’d said when talking to Dustin, which resulted in Eddie being told off with some expletives.
Although he didn’t tell you, Eddie considered asking if you wanted to sit this one out. He remembers how nervous you looked when people started getting slaughtered left and right by Jason Voorhees. From how Gareth described it, Hellraiser made all the other movies you’d watched seem like a walk in the park.
Now, you sat next to him, squirming slightly in your seat on Jeff’s couch. Eddie turned his head to glance at you, expecting to see you looking away from the carnage on screen but, he was mistaken.
You didn’t peel away from the bloodshed. Not even for a second. He should’ve known that you’d do this. Be stubborn and stare the violence down, even if all you wanted to do was shield your eyes.
Eddie thought of a way to add fuel to the fire.
He wrapped his arm around your shoulder. As expected, you didn’t even bat an eyelash. This was something that Eddie did so often during these movies that it became second nature.
He gave you a few seconds to adjust to his arm before he inched in closer to your ear and whispered, “Are you creeped out?” Despite his devious intentions, it was a genuine question.
If Eddie got even a sense that this was starting to get too much for you, he would’ve whisked you out of there.
“Uh-uh.” You shook your head, still keeping your eyes glued to the screen.
Eddie pressed on, “Are you sure? I can tell them to turn it off… princess.” He added at the last second.
You could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
Suddenly, you became hyperaware of everything. The way Eddie’s arm was draped across your shoulder, the weight of his chest as it pressed against you, his thigh glued to yours, his breath fanning across your neck as he spoke… everything.
If this movie wasn’t going to be the death of you, he sure was.
Despite everything your body was urging you to do, you didn’t give in. You just kept a neutral look on your face and paid him no attention.
“Oh, don’t be that way,” He urged, “You’re not gonna tell me to fuck off, princess?” There was an edge to his voice.
It was no surprise that you felt wetness begin to pool in your underwear for the second time this week. Lord. If only he was aware of the things he did to me, maybe he wouldn’t do them at all.
“C’mon, Y/N. Just say one bad word, for me?” He begged. When he said this, the typical playfulness in his voice was gone, nowhere to be found.
You tore your eyes from the television, but when you looked at Eddie’s face only to see that signature Cheshire cat grin upon his face, you knew you fell for it.
All Eddie wanted was for you to give in. It wasn’t the thing he’d longed for you to do the most but, it was still something. A step in the right direction, he’d said earlier this week.
He was itching to say it again now. Instead, he opted for, “Progress, Princess. I’ll crack you soon enough.”
Just like that, Eddie turned his attention back to the movie. He left his arm draped around you but other than that, there was no indication that he’d ever interacted with you.
You gaped at him for a moment. How could he just-? Why would he-? Is he just gonna do something like that, right here, right now, and pretend like he doesn’t know the effect he has on me? You thought.
“Y/N!” A voice ripped you from your thoughts.
Gareth looked on edge, “Are you even watching? This movie cost like $15 to rent at Family Video. The least you could do is pretend you’re interested.” He scolded.
You wanted to scream. You wanted to stand on Jeff’s coffee table and yell what Eddie just did, how he riled you up only to leave you high and dry.
But what good would that do? Admitting that your best friend made you wet just by whispering in your ear?
It would just result in teasing from Jeff and Gareth– maybe even Eddie himself. You could hear him now, “Sweetheart, if I make you that hot and bothered all you have to do is use your words like a big girl, ‘kay?”
You bit your tongue, opting for the rational option. To keep watching the movie and pretending as if nothing had happened.
˚ · • . ° .
Three days later, you found yourself experiencing merciless teasing at the hands of Eddie Munson again. Well– not exactly. At least not yet but, you could feel it coming.
Even with your inhibitions low, even with a blunt laced through your fingers… you just knew.
You were currently sitting in Eddie’s bed, sharing a blunt and talking about nothing in particular while he tuned his guitar. Right now, your eyes were closed, listening to him pluck away.
You felt his bed even out and you opened your eyes and propped yourself up on your elbows, trying to see where the man was going.
He grabbed a pick that was on his desk. Your head fell back against his pillow when you realized he wasn’t going far.
As the bed dipped down, you heard a bang against the wall followed by, “Shit!” Eddie cursed.
This time, you sat all the way up, seeing Eddie grab his elbow, “I hit my funny bone.” He explained, taking another second to breathe before extending his arm in your direction, signaling for you to pass the joint.
“I think that’s enough guitar for me today.” He joked, before taking a long, deep, inhale to let the smoke enter his lungs before exhaling it all out.
“You should take a page outta my book and try not to curse.” You said, resting your head against the wall for support.
Eddie looked at you, taking another drag, “And why would I do that when it’s just so…” He searched for the right word, “Fun? Liberating?” He couldn’t decide.
“How about neither?” You challenged.
You had no idea why you started to antagonize your best friend. Maybe you just wanted to get the teasing out of the way since it’s been a little while since the last time he tried to get you to swear.
Or, maybe you were hoping it lead to somewhere else.
“You think you’re better than me, huh?” Eddie smirked, “You’ve got some superiority kink or something.”
You decided to throw him a bone, “I do have the urge to curse sometimes.”
“Oh yeah? And when is that?” He asked, interest piqued.
“When I get hurt. Like the other day in the drama room. I don’t think you realize how close I was to actually saying it.”
You extended your arm and pried the blunt from Eddie’s lips, “And stop hogging this.”
“So, you don’t wanna swear like a sailor any other time?” He inquired, not even phased that you stole his joint away from him.
Eddie decided that you could keep that one since it was almost gone anyway. He reached for his tin “lunchbox” and grabbed another pre-rolled blunt. He’d probably pinch himself later, knowing that it was supposed to be for a customer but, right now, he didn’t care.
“Not even when you’re touching yourself?” Eddie asked so nonchalantly as he fumbled with his lighter. He said it as casually as you’d ask about the weather or if someone was enjoying their meal.
If you knew he would have dropped a bombshell like that, you never would have brought it up in the first place.
“W-what?” You managed to sputter out, “Why would you even ask me something like that?”
He sighed, “Don’t tell me I struck a nerve, princess?” There he goes. With that nickname again.
Oh, you struck a nerve, alright.
“We never talk about stuff like this is all.” Your brain didn’t even know what to make out of this interaction.
“There’s no time like the present, sweetheart,” Eddie replied, staring you down, “So, what’s the answer?”
You thought about the different ways to reply. You could continue to hold out, refusing to entertain Eddie’s ideas. Or you could give in and end this cycle of desire and damp panties.
Eddie obviously got tired of waiting for you to respond and decided to throw another question into the mix, “What about when someone else touches you?”
And just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, they did.
“No.” You answered definitively.
I don’t want someone else. I want you. You thought but didn’t dare say.
“Hmm.” Eddie nodded his head at this newfound information and you let out a breath you didn’t even know you’d been holding in.
Thank God the 3rd degree was finally ove-
“So when Harrington went to town,” He started, “You weren’t itching to say anything?”
You had a brief (and I mean brief) romantic history with Steve Harrington.
During your junior year, the two of you went on one date together to the drive-in movie theater just outside of Hawkins. It was a nice experience but, you found yourself longing to be watching a different movie with Hellfire– well, Eddie.
You mentioned hanging out with Steve to Eddie once. You were shocked that he remembered it but what shocked you even more was that he assumed Steve “went to town.”
“Considering we never even got that far, no.” You admitted, thankful to put that rumor to rest, whether he’d conjured it up in his head or heard it roaming the halls.
But of course, knowing Eddie, he just had to be thorough. He asked again, just to clarify, “So Harrington never…?”
“Nope.”
Eddie took a beat, mentally taking notes. Good.
Another question popped into his mind and with him already on his second blunt of the night, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Has anyone ever?”
“No.”
He hummed, then took another slow drag of his blunt, making you wait in anticipation for what he was going to say next, “If it makes you feel any better, no guy at school knows anything worth a damn.”
You couldn’t hold back the scoff that passed your lips. “Right. And you do?” If Eddie could tease you, you could tease him right back.
Eddie had taken home his fair share of people after shows at The Hideout, mostly people just itching to say they’ve slept with someone in a band. He was surprised that hearing you doubt his abilities in bed stung him so much.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” He stopped, then added under his breath, “I bet I could have you screaming.”
You heard him, heard what he said… what he was alluding to. Your breath caught in your throat and you forced yourself to swallow it down. Get ahold of yourself. He’s only teasing.
Eddie didn’t intend for you to hear what he said but, would it be such a bad thing that you did?
He can’t recall the last time he looked at you as strictly his best friend. The two of you crossed borders that a typical duo wouldn’t: sleeping in each other’s beds, holding hands when a movie got a bit too scary, Eddie kissing your forehead before he left your house.
And that was just the surface level. God only knows how much the two of you had practically seeped into each other’s skin after your years of friendship.
With everything going on right now, Eddie’s inhibitions lowered, the feeling of his cock tightening in his jeans at the prospect of you two finally crossing that godforsaken line… he couldn’t stop himself.
“C’mon, princess. Don’t try and act all high and mighty now like you haven’t thought of me that way.” He started, fully expecting you to smack him on the side of the head but, you didn’t.
Eddie kept going, “Like you haven’t thought about me with my head between those pretty thighs.”
“I haven’t.” You gulped, your hand traveled up your arm and stopped at your elbow.
After knowing each other for years, it was obvious that you’d pick up on one another’s habits. Certain words that you’d coin, your favorite items of clothing… when you were lying.
The number of times you’d call your parents from Eddie’s house, claiming that the two of you were studying when in actuality you weren’t. He noticed the way you scratched your elbow while lying through your teeth.
Just like you were right now.
“Mosquito bite?” He asked, pointing out your nervous tick, “Or did you hit your funny bone too?” He smirked.
“E-Eddie,” You stuttered, “Trying to seduce me isn’t gonna get me to say a bad word.” You chuckled nervously.
“Really?” He said, unconvinced, “When have you, Y/N Y/L/N, ever backed down from a challenge?”
Suddenly, you realized how close in proximity the two of you were. For the second time in the past week, you could feel his body heat radiating from his chest.
“Y/N…” He continued in a sing-song tone, “Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were staring at my hands while I played my guitar.”
“Were you thinking about these fingers fucking your pussy?” Eddie held up his ring-clad fingers and whispered in your ear.
“God, Eddie,” You exhaled, “Are you really taking this that far?”
This was your final attempt. It was the last time you were going to resist what your body was screaming at you to do… Let Eddie take you right here, right now, on his bed.
“Tell me to stop, Princess. Tell me to let it go and I will. Promise.” He extended his pinky finger.
You didn’t take it.
“So, is that a yes?” Eddie asked, scanning your body for any indication that you didn’t want this. That was the last thing he wanted to do, make you uncomfortable.
But with the way your chest heaved up and your thighs were pressed together, he knew.
“Mhm.” You nodded.
Eddie tutted, “Uh-uh, Sweetheart. Use your words.”
This was it. You knew once you uttered these words, your friendship with Eddie would be changed forever. It would breach uncharted territory. The thought of that should have terrified you but, it didn’t. You longed for this.
And right now, wanting his calloused fingers inside of you trumped any hesitation that could’ve formed.
“Yes.”
Smirking, Eddie moved from his seated position and climbed to the edge of the bed. He pulled your ankles with enough force so that you were lying down.
Crawling back up, Eddie hovered over you, his hair falling in your face while his hands started to unbutton your jeans, “You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this, Y/N/N.”
Eddie took his sweet time. He slowly tugged down your zipper and began to peel your pants off of your body. Your hips bucked up so that he could get them past your ass and down to your ankles. He gave them a final pull before they fell onto the floor.
He returned to his position above you. Eddie maintained intense eye contact with you before cupping your clothed pussy.
“You’re so warm, Sweetheart. I bet you’re wet too, hmm?” He used his pointer finger to push your panties to the side, lightly grazing your clit in the process.
He was right. Arousal practically dripped from your pussy and right onto his bedsheets, “Fuck,” He sighed, “Is this all for me?”
“Y-yeah. All for you, Eds.” Your voice was breathy as you tried not to moan in anticipation.
He hummed approvingly before taking his hand away, letting your underwear fall right back into place.
Suddenly, his attention fell onto your neck. Eddie left a trail of kisses starting at your collar bone and kissed up to your earlobe, “Take them off for me, Princess.” He demanded.
You didn’t waste any time, using both hands to slide out of your panties. Before you could toss them aside, Eddie grabbed them from you and shoved them into his pocket, “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’ll give them back later.”
You felt his fingers brush the inside of your thigh, inches away from where you wanted him the most. You waited a few more seconds, trying to gauge his next move.
When his fingers kept dancing in between your thighs, you whined, “Eddie, if you’re not going to do anything-” Oh.
You felt as 3 of Eddie’s fingers slipped into your pussy. You could feel the ice-cold rings that littered his fingers brush against your inner thigh as he continued working, curling his fingers.
Eddie began to pump his fingers in and out of you, feeling your chest rise and fall. Lewd sounds and whimpers slipped past your lips when he brought his thumb to your clit and began to flick the bundle of nerves.
His cock strained against his jeans hearing you whine from underneath him, “Cat got your tongue, Princess? Don’t worry, I’ll have you screaming pretty soon.” He smirked.
Eddie increased his pace, which had your moans getting louder and louder each time his thumb circled your bud. Your eyes were snapped shut and your knuckles were white because of how hard you were gripping his bedsheets.
You felt heat begin to rise in the pit of your stomach, “I’m so close, Eds. Keep going.” You begged him.
His fingers didn’t let up as he began to slowly inch down the length of your body. Eddie used his free hand to spread your legs wider before positioning himself between them.
“You’re close, angel? Do you want to cum?” He asked.
“Mhm.” You moaned, arching your back.
“Say it.” You could feel Eddie’s breath fan across your clit.
Even in the heat of the moment, with Eddie’s fingers so furiously pounding your cunt to death, he still didn’t give up.
“Eddie. Please, just, please.” You groaned.
His fingers began to slow down. The coil that was building in your stomach began to fade away as he started to remove his fingers from your pussy.
“What are you doing?” You whimpered at the loss of contact and peered down at where Eddie was perched.
“Say it and I’ll keep going.”
Jesus. Is he really going to pull something like this? Right now out of all moments?!
Eddie could see the cogs churning in your head. He decided to make things even harder for you by placing a ginger kiss right on your clit, causing you to moan.
He’s officially won.
“Fuck! Just…” You stuttered, “Just fucking let me finish, please!” You pleaded, finally giving in after almost 2 weeks of being stubborn.
“Good girl.” He praised before hiking both of your legs up in the air and throwing them behind his shoulders.
He wasted no time, getting immediately back to work by showing your clit the most love and attention. Eddie licked a stripe up your cunt causing you to gasp.
You could feel waves of heat build-up again, followed by the coil threatening to snap as he continued to lap at your pussy.
Eddie glanced up and saw the way you were clutching his sheets for dear life. He peeled your left hand away and guided it to the back of his head. You then added your right hand into his locks without assistance, “Shit! Eddie, I’m almost there.”
You felt your orgasm approach as you began to clench around nothing and grind onto his face. The hands that were intertwined in his hair tugged on it, causing his face to angle slightly upward towards you.
As flashes of light began to cloud your vision, signaling to yourself that you finally reached your high and came all over Eddie’s sheets, you felt the bed begin to shake.
Shit, was my orgasm that powerful? You thought, highly confused.
You felt Eddie’s movements come to a stop. His head was still laid between your thighs, your fingers were still laced through his mane, pulling on it.
Holy. Shit.
You were frozen in your spot when you realized what was really happening. It wasn’t your orgasm that was so intense that caused the bed to shake, it was Eddie. Humping it. It really shouldn’t have gotten you as riled up as it did.
“Fuck, Princess. You’ve got me going feral.” He grunted, continuing to pound his mattress into oblivion.
You didn’t remove your hands from his hair as he continued to fuck his mattress. You watched, dumbfounded, and highly turned on because of this.
For almost two weeks, Eddie had been teasing you nonstop. Constantly doing things to intentionally get you turned on. You decided that it was your turn to add fuel to the fire, “Good boy.”
“Jesus. Fuck. God, I wish this mattress was you right now.” His head fell on your thigh and kissed it.
“Shit!” He swore once more, before letting out a grunt, letting you know that he had finished.
The aggressive movements came to an abrupt stop and he stood up and climbed fully into bed. He brushed away the hair that was matted to your forehead with sweat.
“That was….” Eddie sighed, flopping his head next to yours.
“Fun? Liberating?” You quoted him from earlier that night.
He scoffed, “It was, wasn’t it?”
“Fuck yeah.” You said, loud and proudly.
A grin slowly appeared on Eddie’s face. You swore, without even being provoked, “That’s my girl.” He kissed the top of your forehead.
summary You ask your best friend Eddie to give you your first kiss. Eddie's not really in the habit of saying no to you. [4k]
warnings fem!reader, fluff, first kiss, eddie being totally sweet on his best friend, wrist kisses, sharing a bed, eddie reads to you, you hurt your arm and eddie is overprotective/doting etc, unspoken mutual pining, requested here
𓆩❤︎𓆪
"This is way heavier than you implied," you say, words followed by a startled, pained gasp as you lose your grip on the amp and it almost pops your wrist from the socket trying to keep it up.
"Shit," he says.
Eddie quickly shoves the bigger amp he'd been carrying into the back of the van and makes to help you, his fingers pushing into your stomach as he lugs it up into his arms.
"I'm sorry," he says, and for once you think his apology might be genuine. "I forget how heavy they feel at the end of the night."
Your arms ache. You definitely pulled something you didn't mean to, a sharp pinching pain climbing from your wrist to the crook of your elbow. "Eddie, I think I hurt myself."
He shoves the last amp into the van and doesn't bother closing the door, turning back to you with a concerned grimace. "Yeah? Your wrist?"
He holds his hand out and you extend your arm, wincing. He's tentative, taking your wrist in one hand while the other grasps your upper arm loosely.
"What's it feel like?"
"Like I twisted my ankle, but in my wrist."
He laughs under his breath at your explanation, sweat-damp hair falling into his eyes as he looks you over. "The word you're looking for is 'sprained,'" he informs you jovially.
There's no physical evidence of any injury, not that either of you had expected that, and he has no real reason to be touching you. His thumb smooths over the flat of your wrist.
"How bad is it? Amputation?" you ask, suddenly all drama. You put on a tearful frown and pinch your eyebrows together.
Eddie – who's used to this, who encourages this – nods gravely. "You'll likely never use it again."
"Good heavens, doc. Is there really nothing you can do?" you implore, leaning away from him with your uninjured hand thrown to your forehead.
"Nothing… unless you're willing to undergo the most invasive, painful, gruesome operation any one girl has ever undergone."
"Anything."
"Close your eyes."
You close them, always willing to play these fanciful make-believe's with him. He's charming, it's funny, but you can't say you expect the hot press of his lips against your pulse. If it had been a smacking, playful thing with too much spit you would have laughed about it, but it hadn't been. It's gentle. It's sweet.
He pulls away. You open your eyes to find him lingering, staring at your wrist. A split-second.
"Fixed, right?" he asks smugly.
You take your arm back and curl it towards your chest, twinging with pain. "Definitely. Good as new."
Eddie slams the back doors shut and stretches with a groan, cool night air kissing the shining sliver of abdomen that emerges. He's always sweaty after a gig. You know you should find it gross.
You should.
"Alright, get in the van, sweet thing. It's way past your bedtime."
You laugh and climb into the passenger side, skirt riding up and tights featuring a brand new ladder thanks to some idiot who'd almost broken your leg. You point it out to Eddie as he starts the engine, "Did you see this? S'my last good pair of tights."
He tugs at the ladder and you squeal, pulling your thigh up and over the other so he can't reach it.
"There, they're punk now. Do it on purpose and you're cool," he says sagely.
"Are you staying?" he asks, the question so familiar it doesn't need a proper end.
"Thanks for that."
There's lost minutes of a comfortable silence. You watch the roads change as you draw nearer and nearer to home.
"If you shower first."
He sighs like this is very tortuous of you to ask but agrees. "Yeah, whatever. Always get what you want," he mutters, taking a rough turn that has you gripping your seat. "My bad."
"Learn to drive!" you demand, laughing.
"You learn to drive! Then you wouldn't need a ride every night!"
"Baby," you say earnestly. "Rides to your shows."
He looks at you out of the corner of his eye. You turn to him, perplexed by his uncharacteristic silence. Usually he has something quick to say, an uppity comeback, too witty for his own good and twice as fast.
"What? Wait, don't tell me, you're having a total epiphany right now on why I'm the best friend you've ever had." You nod to yourself, leaning back in your seat with your chin held high. "It's easy. I'm extremely dedicated, I'm sharp as a whip. I'm funny, I'm confident-"
"Humble."
"I'm humble. And obviously very pretty."
He hums to himself. "I kind of hate when you joke about stuff like that."
You blink and drop your chin. "What?" you ask. Weaker than you mean to, your chest feels that heavy weight of an unexpected argument, but Eddie doesn't look angry.
"Because- 'cos I know you don't mean it." He draws his eyes from the road, a familiar stretch of black top leading into Forest Hills, and gives you a well-meaning grimace.
"Sorry, I-"
He clears his throat. "No, don't be. I guess I wished you actually believed that shit. Do you know how many people would come to all of my shows? Listen to the same ten songs, drink the same shitty beer and then help me pack up at the end of the night?" He sounds back to normal. Punchy, a hair's width from incensed. "Nobody but you."
"I'm your best friend," you say firmly. "Of course I'm gonna do all that."
"Right." He laughs and scrapes a hand through his dishevelled hair.
You pull into the parking spot and climb out of the van. You slip like you always do, giggling to yourself as Eddie comes around to roll his eyes at you and shut the door.
"We'll leave it for tonight," he says after he's retrieved Sweetheart, his prized guitar, traipsing up the steps to the front door. "Don't want you straining your poor wrist any further."
You kind of agree. "Or you could do it all by yourself and I'll watch."
"Maybe tomorrow. Are you hungry?"
You ignore his question and waltz straight into his bedroom, throwing yourself down on his rumpled sheets with a harrumph. He puts Sweetheart back into her rightful place and presses a kiss to his fingers. You can't help thinking of the kiss he'd given you, bringing your wrist to your chest where he can't see. It feels the same as it had before, but different. It still aches.
Eddie throws himself down next to you and climbs up over your back, a hand on your shoulder. "Is it still hurting?"
You squeeze it. "Not really."
"Let me see? If it's swollen I could get you some ice. Or, like, a bag of frozen peas. Not that I think we'd have anything that green in the freezer," he corrects himself.
"I don't think they have to be peas to work."
"What if that's where you're wrong? What if we totally need the power of the peas?"
You turn on your back so he can see your wrist. Hovering above you, all his smells and sounds are amplified. The gentle hum as he looks over your arm. The smell of sweat under deodorant, cigarette smoke and something funkier. Then, mixed in with everything, cedar.
When his kind attention on your wrist becomes too much you wrinkle your nose and make a big show of moving away from him. "God, you stink."
"You're fucking horrible," he says, putting your arm down carefully. "I'm gonna shower. Find your pajamas."
"Did you wash them?" you ask as he climbs off of the bed.
"Nope."
You grumble about dirty clothes and search for the pajamas you'd left here last time. Eddie disappears into the cramped bathroom and you can hear every sound he makes, the clipping of bottle caps, even his footsteps moving from the cabinet under the sink and into the shower.
Water sloughs heavily against the glass partition and you try not to listen, try not to think about him and what he's doing and where his hands are.
When he comes in he's in a towel and nothing else. You squeak and pull his covers up past your eyes. "Christ, Eds."
"What? It's my room. I forgot to take clothes in with me."
"You're sullying my eyes."
"Like you've never seen it before."
You scowl. "I've never seen you naked."
"Can you come out? You're being ridiculous."
You hear him go into the bathroom and let the sheets fall from your face, blinking at the sudden brightness. Yellow lamp light bounces of the poster-covered walls, shiny as egg yolk.
He's left the bathroom door open. You peer out into the hallway and then stop yourself, feeling guilty. You don't actually want to see him naked. You're curious.
"Fine," he says as he trudges back in, plaid pants low on his hips. He shrugs into a t-shirt and it sticks to his damp torso, leaving his dark happy trail on show for the second time tonight. "You've never seen me naked. It's not like you've never seen any guy naked."
You feel a tepid mixture of embarrassment and defensiveness. "Who says I've seen a guy naked?"
His eyes are owlishly large, dark lashes not far from kissing his eyebrows as they pinch together. "What?"
You don't repeat yourself.
"You fucked Jerry Mandoza."
"Did not," you say, startled.
"I gave you condoms."
You resist the urge to glare at him. "And you can have them back, if you like. They've been in my nightstand for a year."
"I thought you liked him."
"I did. I just wasn't… ready."
He holds his hands up in surrender. "That's fine, babe. Swear. But, you never told me. Why didn't you tell me?"
He sits heavily at the end of the bed and takes the towel from around his neck, scrubbing ruthlessly at his wet curls.
"That's exactly why your hair gets so frizzy," you chide lightly, climbing on knees to his side. You ease the towel from his hands and are much kinder than he'd been, drying the skin before his hairline and behind his ears and then moving onto his pretty curls.
"He didn't do anything creepy, did he?" Eddie asks. He smells like toothpaste.
You laugh as you wring excess water from his hair as carefully as you can. "No. He was actually really sweet. Said all the right things. He was a gentleman," you drawl dropping the towel back to his shoulders.
"But?"
You sit back and smile at him. "I don't know. He leaned in for a kiss and I just… I got so nervous about it. He closed his eyes and I didn't think, I turned my cheek. He didn't call me for another date. Can't say I blame him."
You're not sure why you never told Eddie that story before. He tilts his head to one side and squints. "Why were you nervous? He was in marching band."
You snort. "It wasn't about him. I guess I was worried my first kiss would be awful."
He rubs the back of his neck with his towel. "First kiss, huh?" he asks.
"Right."
He pulls the towel away, holds it in his lap. You notice his rings are missing, likely still in the bathroom. "I mean, I think you did the right thing. If you weren't ready it can't hurt to wait. And first kisses, they can really suck. Mine, with fucking- fucking Darren Harmon, that sucked. He spit in my mouth so much I think I tasted his dinner from the night before."
You laugh in shock and disgust. "That's gross."
"Tell me about it."
"Why did he spit?"
Eddie brings his legs up onto the bed and his tone is gentle. "Well, when you kiss someone, there's like-" He raises his hands and drops them, lost for the right words. "You know, tongue."
"Is it weird?"
"Sure. Of course it is. But it's really fucking fun, too. Or it can be, if the spit is kept to a minimum." He purses his lips, eyebrows raised. "Actually, spit can be kinda nice if you like the person you're kissing. It's hard to explain."
You spread your legs to fall into a W-shape, hands braced on your knees. "Sorry, I'm not trying to harass you for details."
"You're my best friend. I'll tell you anything you want."
You smile at your legs.
Eddie reaches over to put his hand atop yours. He's leaning toward you, hair falling in his face as he catches your eye. "It's fine. Keep your first kiss for someone you actually like, babe. You'll like it better."
He squeezes your fingers and leaves the room. You can hear him filling a glass of water and turning off all the lights he's left on.
"Did you want anything else?" he asks, offering the glass.
"No, I'm just gonna brush my teeth really quick."
"Take your time."
You take a little bit more than you need to, staring at yourself in the bathroom mirror until your heart is pounding, thoughts coming a thousand a second. Lately, Eddie's touches – his hand around your wrist, his thigh over your thigh, even the thud of his rubber toed converse tapping yours – have become individual events in time. Even when you can't remember the conversation, you can remember his skin on yours. You look at photos from gigs and instead of thinking, Oh, that's the night we made fun of Gareth's new haircut, a truly momentous occasion, you think, That's the night Eddie tugged me by the belt loop. That's when he brushed an eyelash off of my cheek. That's when he leaned in so close I thought he was gonna kiss me.
Even now, the conversation about kisses is fading though you desperately want to remember what he'd said. The sound of his voice slips away. The heat of his fingers curled around yours remains.
You wash your hands twice and don't feel any better.
As if destiny or some higher power feels the need to taunt you, you slide into bed with an amicable handful of inches between your thigh and Eddie's and he totally ignores the gap, sidling up to you with a smile.
"You'll like this," he says, spreading the paperback in his hands open on your thigh. "'A pockmark of matter that can dissolve any light that threatens to eradicate, to nullify, to quantify. An indelible darkness, spreading from one universe to the other, the pristine pages of a tome sullied by a piercing fountain of ink,'" he reads to you, his voice smooth and unhurried. "Guess what she's talking about?"
"Dark matter?"
"What? Keep your astronomy to yourself, dork. She's talking about the Puppet's heart. How sick is that?"
You grin. It is pretty sick.
Eddie's smile grows with yours, though his lips part when he notices something on your face. "You have-" He brings his thumb to your mouth and brushes it roughly, tugging the soft pillow of your upper lip up.
You turn your face. "Jeez. Keep your hands to yourself, Munson."
"Sorry," he says, not sounding very sorry.
"You wanna read some more of your book to me?" you ask. "My eyes are tired."
You lay down flat with one of his pillows smushed under your head and Eddie reads, sitting with his back to the headboard. "'You turn the page and find the ink has eaten into the next page, and the next. The damage is expansive, Dolly says, lifting her chin. But not limitless. Eventually, a page will turn. Eventually, the page beneath remains plain.'"
"I thought Dolly and the Puppet loved each other," you murmur, watching his finger slide up the back of the book.
He gives you a knowing smile. "They did."
"Not anymore?"
"I don't know. He's not the same anymore. He really is evil," Eddie says. "'The Puppet becomes a man of flesh and bone before her, nothing like she had remembered and yet the same. His voice, slick as oil, becomes a malfeasance of sound where before it had been her most treasured melody. And if the tome were sullied to begin with? The Puppet asks. If the darkness subsisted where I only lay my hand?"
"They speak in riddles," you complain.
Eddie shushes you. "'Don't act as though you didn't bring about this war, Dolly says, her voice harsh as tree bark. The Puppet draws ever closer, his wicked grin softened. A puppet once more. I did it for you, he says.'"
You gasp so loudly it makes your throat burn. "He did not!" you whisper-shout.
Eddie chuckles, hand dropping to your shoulder. "He didn't."
"Keep reading!"
"'Dolly refuses to acknowledge his pleading tenor. You did not, she shouts. You created this conflict to become what you wanted to become.
"'Someone you could love. The Puppet places a frozen hand over her cheek. She hits at his chest with the brunt of her palms, hands growing limp as he murmurs. Someone you could kiss.'"
You miss the rest of his reading, eyes slamming shut as if you'd been stuck. You catch small parts. An attempted reunion, a sword tipped in biting silver from the coldest recess of the moon. A short fight, a retreat.
"Are you sleeping?" Eddie whispers.
You swallow. "Almost," you whisper back.
Eddie tosses the paperback onto his desk and pulls the covers over your shoulders and curls toward you. "You should get some rest, sweetheart. It's been a long day."
You nod and turn to him, refusing to open your eyes. "Goodnight," you say, rubbing your cheek against the brushed cotton of his pillowcase.
"Goodnight."
Long minutes of silence. You can feel his warmth beside you like a heating pad under the sheets. You know his hand lies an inch away, if that, his fingers lax. You could stroke the length of his pinky with yours.
As if he knows, as if he can read your mind, a fingertip reaches out to tap yours. "Are you okay?" he asks.
You open one tired eye and lift your face enough to open the other. He looks beautiful. Hair half-dried and flat to his cheek. You reach out to push it from his face slowly. If you were any braver you'd tuck it behind his ear, scratch his scalp lightly with your nails.
"Is it your arm?" he asks.
You drop your hand. "'M just thinking."
"I can't help with that," he jokes, turning his gaze to the ceiling.
You laugh under your breath but even to yourself it sounds odd.
"Do you think you'd ever kiss me?" you utter eventually.
He doesn't answer for a while. Your heart races fast enough that it's all you can hear, like the wind rushing in your ears.
"Is that what you want?"
"I want my first kiss to be a good one."
"And you think it would be, with me?"
"You said to keep it for someone I actually like."
He takes your wrist into a kind hand. Calluses slide over your skin. "I meant someone you have the hots for, babe."
Dangerous territory. Wary to admit anything else, you try to take his rejection with grace. "It's okay if you don't want to. Was just… wondering," you murmur.
He strokes your wrist. "I'll kiss you if you want me to."
"No, I-" You laugh, all nerves and too much blood. "I don't want a pity kiss, Eddie."
"Who said anything about pity?" he says, voice quiet as yours had been and harbouring much less panic.
He pulls your arm like he's encouraging you toward him and you hiss. His grip slackens. "Sorry, I should've-"
"It aches, that's all," you say.
Understanding lightens his eyes. Honey melting into a woody brown. "Shit," he mutters, lowering his head. "I'm sorry." He presses his lips to your wrist in a small kiss. "If it's hurting you should've said."
The words come out hot.
"It…" you drift off as he gives you another kiss. Another.
Close-lipped, Eddie dots pecks down your arm until he reaches the crook of your elbow. He slows and stays. You take the initiative and drop your hand into his hair, stroking behind his ear like you wanted to, like you've wanted to for a while, and shiver as the tip of his nose ghosts against sensitive skin.
He draws away, pulls up, his face much closer than you can remember it ever having been before. You try to breathe normally but the look on his face prompts breathlessness, his eyes steady, bordering impassive. His lips hint a soft bemusement.
He raises his chin. "This okay?"
"This," you repeat, fingers curling into his hair.
Eddie moves in, bringing a hand to your face to guide you to one side. His lips bump into yours and you let your eyes close, overwhelmed by this new feeling. There's a tenderness to how he holds you still, worse when he pulls you in, his kiss hot and soft as water.
He slides his fingertips under your sleeve, palm hot to the breadth of your upper arm. His grip tightens incrementally and you try not to pull his hair in response, your knee hitting his thighs as your body seeks him out.
His lips part against yours and you both suck in a breath before he's kissing again. You try your best to follow his lead, though quickly find yourself a laughing mess as he wraps his arm around your shoulder to pull you close.
"What's funny?" he asks.
You honestly don't know. It's a giddy feeling to be this close, more so when he smiles back and tries to start up another round of sweet kisses, his lips pressing to yours insistently. He caresses the length of your back until you sigh, your open mouth an invitation that he sinks into.
You scrunch the hem of his shirt in your hand when he sucks on your top lip, nonplussed.
Eddie pulls away. Your eyes open in tandem.
You're noticeably out of breath and he isn't unaffected, his chest rising and falling almost as quickly as yours. "So," he says, inhale a struggle though he tries to hide it, "how was that? A good one?"
"I don't know. I don't have anything to compare it to."
"No?" he asks, already leaning in for another.
You weave your hand into his hair and he rubs his hand down your arm until your aching wrist throbs under his fingertips, callused by metal strings and somehow impossibly soft.
"I'm sorry about your arm," he murmurs.
You hope your hum against his lips conveys your forgiveness.
When you've been kissed to the point of dizziness you break it to hide in the space under his chin, breathing in his new smells, his skin, his hair. The remnants of soap; a sharp citrus, mandora awash in something heady.
He pushes his arm under your chest and wraps you up. You hug him back, languid in his hold as he starts to rub your back. Broad, sweeping lines. Your shirt pulls up and he smooths it back down.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," you joke lightly, quickly chased by a big yawn.
"If you're tired, you can sleep," he assures you.
"It was a good kiss."
"Tell me all about it in the morning, okay? Sleep, pretty girl."
You're feeling more and more tired with each passing second. Fatigue hangs heavy and his wandering hands make it worse.
"'Nother kiss in the morning?" you ask, burrowing your face into his shoulder.
He takes a little while to answer, turning his lips down into your temple. "Y'always get what you want, don't you?"
With Eddie? Just about.
𓆩❤︎𓆪
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Summary: To escape the likes of Jason Carver, the reader has to play a little game of pretend with Eddie Munson himself.
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Warning: sexual tension, swearing, some kissing, fake relationship
Type: Oneshot
Word Count: 4,647 words
It had been one hell of a day and it was only lunchtime. During first period, Jason Carver had gone to extreme lengths to pass a note across the room to Y/n L/n. It read something along the lines of ‘meet me by the lockers after class.”
In response to reading the note, Y/n turned her head to look over her shoulder. She immediately spotted were the basketball jock was seated near the back of the class. He sent her a sly smile and a wink.
“Are you excited for prom?” Robin asked, bumping your hip as you made your way to the cafeteria.
“Oh yes! I got the perfect dress a couple of weeks ago!” You smiled brightly. You were nearly bouncing over how passionate you were for the annual end of the year celebration.
“Did Eddie even ask you yet?” Nancy questioned as she held open the door so you and Robin could walk into the loud lunchroom. Hawkins was rowdy as ever as prom was just around the corner. Everyone was ready for school to end and summer to begin.
“Yeah, ummm…he hasn’t.” You hesitated as the girls looked back at you with shock.
“What?” Nancy shouted.
“He is such a dingus!” Robin shook her head, turning and walking towards your normal table with determination. Nancy started to follow.
“Wait! Wait, please!” You pleaded, reaching out for Nancy’s arm holding her back. “He hasn’t asked me yet but I’m sure he will. Prom is only next week. There's still time.”
“Okay but if he doesn’t ask you soon you can’t get upset if I whack him on his big head.” Robin wrapped her arm around you as you two walked step by step towards the table with the rest of the gang.
“Robin!” Dustin called out. “Please come tell Jeff that he is wrong and three musketeers is the best candy!”
You laughed as you quickly gave Eddie a peck of his cheek and sat in the empty chair to his left. He was in an intense conversation with Gareth over his campaign for Hellfire.
BOOP!
A string of balloons lifted up to the ceiling while two football players stood on top of the table holding out a sign saying “PROM?”
“Yes!” The cheerleader cried out as she jumped into her date’s arms. The filled room roared in applause and praise.
“Oh come on!” Eddie gagged.
“What Munson?” Mike joked. “Disgusted by prom?”
“Quite literally actually.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, his face still scrunched up in disgust at the prom goers basking in their cheers.
“Is prom not metal enough for you Eddie?” Nancy challenged.
“Prom is stupid.” Eddie laughed. Nancy and Robin watched as your shoulders dropped in defeat, slowly losing the hope of ever going to prom with Eddie. The rest of the gang gave each other a shared glance, knowing how much you wanted to go to the dance with your boyfriend.
“Prom is just forced conformity, that’s what’s killing the kids. I’m just ready to run like hell out of here. I’d lose my mind dancing with people who call me a freak for enjoying a fantasy game.”
“Well everyone deserves to enjoy prom at least once.”
“Yeah, well not me Sinclair.” Eddie shrugged off, taking a bite of his food.
You pushed back your chair, gathered all your books for your next class and exited the room. You left your friends behind as they all collectively threw their belongings at the metal head.
“Jesus Christ! What the hell?” Eddie shouted.
“You’re such a dumbass Munson!”
*****
It was the night of prom and you were home in your pjs. Eddie never got around to asking you, which hurt your feelings. You sort of gave Eddie the cold shoulder since his little confession at lunch last week and he hasn’t yet figured out why. You still laughed as your friends harassed him everyday, throwing things at his head or calling him names. You loved Eddie but damn, he could be an idiot sometimes. You understood why Eddie didn’t care for prom but that didn’t mean that you didn’t want to show off your hot boyfriend to everyone at Hawkins. You longed for the night to get all dolled up in your pretty dress you knew Eddie would love and dance the night away with him, saying goodbye to Hawkins High forever.
You laid in bed, turning the page in the book you were barely paying attention to when you heard a loud knock on your door. You looked out of your window to see Nancy and Robin waving at you from below.
You rushed downstairs and opened the door to them. They were each holding their dresses in their arms as Nancy pushed past you into your home.
“What are you two doing here? You should be on your way to the dance right now?”
“Yeah, and you should be getting your butt back up to your room to get that amazing dress on and come with us!” Nancy exclaimed, trying to push you back towards the stairs.
“What? Wait!” You laughed. “What about Ed-”
“Ah! No! Nope! Nope!” Robin covered your mouth snickering. “We are not saying that dingus’ name. We are going to prom, just us girls and we are going to have fun. Okay?”
You looked between your two wonderful friends and let out a chuckle, “Okay!”
“Okay! Now hurry up, get dressed! We’re going to prom!”
You laughed and ran upstairs to get changed.
*****
By the time the three of you made it to Hawkins, the dance was already in commence. Quickly making your way to the middle of the gymnasium floor to catch up on all the missed moments of fun. Losing track of the time, you made your way off the dancefloor, getting a drink from the refreshments table and headed to sit on the extended bleachers for a break.
Soon the ambiance of the atmosphere slowed down, the lights dimming down as the dj merged the upbeat song into “Time After Time” by Cyndi Laupner. You sadly took a sip from your beverage looking away from the couples swaying to the beginning song. You wished Eddie was here.
Looking down, you caught sight of the familiar scuffed up white high top Reeboks that stop ahead of you.
“Sorry I’m late sweetheart.” You looked up to see Eddie. He had his curly hair pulled back into a low bun at the nape of his neck. His usual Hellfire Club shirt was swapped out for a white button down. You were surprised to see he owned a pair of pants without rips or tears.
“Can I please have the honor of a dance, my lady?” Eddie bowed his head down, extending his hand out to you. You smiled as you accepted his offer.
He led you to the center of the gym, turning around and placing his hands on your waist. You raised your hands to place them around his neck. Eddie pulled you in close, rocking back and forth to the beat.
flashbacks, warm nights almost left behind
“I didn’t think you would ever come. How did you know I was here?” You whispered.
“Henderson told me. For a kid, he has wicked arm strength, little shit.” You laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, letting out a little whine in pain.
sometimes you picture me, i’m walking too far ahead
“I’m sorry.” Eddie apologized, brushing back a strand of your hair. “I should have asked you to prom properly. I’m a terrible boyfriend. I mean look at you, you’re the most metal I’ve ever seen.” Eddie shook his head, pulling back to take in your dark black lace dress.
secrets stolen from deep inside, the drum beats out of time
“You’re not a terrible boyfriend, Eds. I mean look at us, look at you! We’re dancing at prom!” You smiled softly at him.
if you’re lost you can look and you will find me
“I feel like I’m losing my mind dancing with the prettiest girl in all of Hawkins High.” Eddie mumbled, looking down at you with love.
if you fall, i will catch you, i will be waiting
“I’m so proud of you baby. You didn’t run away this time. It’s finally your year. Never change Munson.”
Eddie pulled you in, closing the distance and placing his lips on yours.
Summary: You and Eddie raise a baby… however, you’re not a couple and the baby isn’t real.
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader [WC: 7k ]
Warnings: takes place at the beginning of season 2, language, maybe part 2? I’m so nervous to post this.
Quick Links: Masterlist
"And this," Mr. Allen walked up and down each row with the most serious face. Everyone else, all the students, were plagued with potential trauma at the preface of the assignment; "this is your only priority for the next week—including this weekend and the next."
You felt a cool breeze waft as he walked past your desk, continuing on foward as Steve Harrington audibly protested his instruction. The supposed "King of Hawkins High" wasn't impressed with having to take care of a child… well, a plastic one at that.
"Mr. Allen," he began from his spot in the second row from the door. All you could see was the brown poof of hair that he had become notable for. "I don't see why we can't just start this on Monday. We've got plans… there's a football game tonight!"
There were a few agreeing hums, mostly from the said football players in the room, but it wasn't as though they would be taking part in the assignment when they were on the field. Their partners would be left alone to deal with an unpredictable toy while they tossed pigskin for three hours for fun.
"And besides," Steve continued as Mr. Allen walked back to the front of the room, setting the baby down on his desk and grabbing two plastic bowls he had scavenged from home, "Halloween is next weekend! I bet we all already have plans…"
Steve turned around in his seat and looked around the room. He saw his peers watching him carefully, some in support and others in vague concern that he would get them in further conflict by having the task take up the whole month instead of a week and a half. He glanced over you hoping that being Nancy's childhood friend would spur a call within you to support him but alas, you would not give him the satisfaction.
In the back of the room, Steve's eyes landed squarely on one sole person. He chewed on his lip before turning around.
"Hell, I bet even Munson's got plans. You know we're all busy when he's actually doing something."
At that same moment, Eddie Munson had been sitting with his legs extended through the empty chair in front of him and his arms crossed against his chest. Even if he didn't want to be there in the slightest, Steve Harrington going on a tangent in the middle of senior health class at intrigued him. And when his name slipped past the hair's lips, Eddie's face contorted. Eyes narrow and slightly offended. The new kid, Billy Hargove, laughed as he twirled his pencil. He had been there for two weeks and had swept Eddie’s weed supply clean in a matter of days.
Eddie actually didn't have plans other than Hellfire on Friday, but he couldn't say that out loud. In fact, he didn't say anything. He had an inkling someone would call him to deal at whatever party everyone was going to, but unless it happened, he was staying in and getting stoned himself.
Everyone's head turned toward him and he forgot the real reason he didn't skip that hour. They were all judgemental. He was an oddity to them. You even glanced over your own, three rows in front of him and to the right.
When he caught your gaze, you were the only one to look at him like a real human being, a person, not a freak. Just simple curiosity because everyone else had. You gave him a tiny, empathetic smile before turning back around and he found himself staring at the back of your head after it happened. It made his heart skip a beat.
"Mr. Harrington," Mr. Allen placed one of the bowls he was holding onto Steve's desk, "Nothing's changing. I've conducted this role-play for ten years and it is not changing because you, or anyone else in this class, has plans that don't fit the lifestyle of what it means to be a parent."
He pointed to the bowl before placing the other on a girl named Lisa's desk, "Steve, you pick the boys and Lisa here will pick the girls," he turned his attention back to the room as Steve ran a frustrated hand through his hair. A couple of the girls around you groaned, whispering to one another that the system was rigged because they knew they could no longer pick their partners.
"No picking partners. I'm letting the magic bowls choose them for me. No debating, no arguing. I don't care if you think your partner is bad or not, you will complete this task together. Who knows," he laughed at the looks of the students, "maybe you'll find a new friend through all of this."
“Go ahead, Steve,” he ordered, leaning against his desk with ankles crossed and an amused smile playing at his elderly lips. Glasses perched near the end of his nose, Steve huffed at him and tucked his hand away into the bowl and ruffled the slips of paper.
And like luck, Steve Harrington pulled his own name first. Eddie smiled in satisfaction at that–knowing that there was a chance Steve would most certainly be paired with someone he didn't want after he called him out in class. He hoped Billy would have the same fate too. Hell, everyone who looked at him like he was a fucking Martian from planet Mars.
The irony that Hargrove listened to the same music, smoked the same dope, and drove his car just as recklessly but remained at the top of the food chain at Hawkins High hadn’t escaped Eddie. Girls liked Billy; he played basketball, gave them cheeky smiles, and certainly did not play a fantasy game for fun. He was the antithesis of Eddie’s existence–but a bully and raging asshole too. Billy Hargrove was a piece of shit and it had taken Eddie two days in class to figure that out.
“And Steve will be paired with…” Mr. Allen waited for Lisa to mimic Steve’s draw and she unfolded the paper.
Lisa drew Tammy Thompson's name which could have been worse for Steve. It took 3 minutes for Steve to pull Billy Hargrove's name who was then paired with Kennedy Walker, the school's future valedictorian. The look on the poor girl’s face was sadly hilarious. Hargrove winked at her and she turned such a shade of red that she looked like a balloon. But before Eddie could ponder what an interesting pair that made, Steve sighed and pulled another name from the bowl.
Steve crinckled the thin strip of paper in his hand before tossing it onto his desk, "Munson," he looked at Mr. Allen who nodded as he did with each name.
"And the lucky partner?" Mr. Allen had to have been joking except there wasn't an ounce of teasing in his words. Lisa picked the name out of the bucket and unfolded it with her candy red nails. Then, she laughed. Her eyes crinkled at the side from what you could see as she sat in the first seat beside the door. She looked over her shoulder, directly at you in her line of sight and smiled like a wicked wench.
"Y/n L/n." Shit.
A few of the girls giggled, a couple of the guys whistled which had bristled the compass within you south. You didn't care that you had been paired with Eddie because of what people thought of him–the primary reason they were all bemused with the pairing–but rather at the possibility that he couldn't give two-shits about the assignment. It may have only been October but you had already caught him before two different classes being chastised by teachers for not doing his work. If he kept it up, they said, he wouldn’t graduate with his class.
"Off the hook, ladies," one of the girls on the cheer squad laughed, "Y/n's got him."
Lunch could not have arrived fast enough.
You rushed to the front of the line, grabbed your tray, and made a straight shot for the table you had taken an unassigned assigned seat at. Nancy wasn't there when you arrived so you just picked at your food, rolling the grapes in the small section they had been dumped into and watched the entrance like a hawk. Your leg bounced under the table with a tinge of nervousness, but the aggravation of failure was starting to eat you alive and it had only been an hour since Mr. Allen screwed over your grade. Slowly, the lunch room came to life and Nancy held her calculus book in one hand and purple lunch bag in the other.
Even she had a sour look on her face. Lips pursed and brow furrowed, her hand tightly clenched around the bag as the small gold promise ring from Steve shined in the harsh lighting of the room.
"You'll never believe who Mike gave my number to," Nancy huffed as she sat down; her lunch bag filled scarcely with a peanut butter and jelly and a bag of cheetos. She had four sticks of cut up celery that you gagged at, not understanding how she could enjoy the stringy vegetable for fun.
"You'll never believe who I was partnered with for Allen's baby project," You stopped pushing around your food and she looked at you with heeded interest, her eyebrows drawn together and her wide eyes concerned.
"You first," you pointed a finger at her as she shifted in her seat. The others at the table started to sit down and engage in their own conversations–you had totally forgotten about watching the doorway to the lunchroom. "Keith?"
"From the arcade! The one who always," she scrambled her hands in front of her in frustration before letting out a groan, "he's always got his dirty fingers on the buttons and offers the kids soda way past a normal time."
There was not a day that went by where you did not think that Nancy Wheeler lived with the silver spoon, nay, stick, up her ass.
"All because of someone who broke Dustin's record of Dig Dug. Who does that!?" Nancy unzipped her bag and sure enough, a PB and J with a bag of cheetos as a side with sticks of celery tucked in a plastic baggie.
"Maybe he's just playing matchmaker…" You stabbed a grape and popped into your mouth with a smile. "Steve was being an annoying shit in class today, so maybe, just maybe, you should be searching for someone else."
"When isn't he like that?" She laughed, "He's Steve Harrington for God's sake."
"Well, I think he's to blame for the luck I had in class today."
"Luck? You were just on the verge of complaining," she glanced quizzically at you, looking over your shoulder when a paper ball went flying in the direction of the table. "left," she said and you tilted to the left as the wad went flying past both your heads and ended up by the science club's table. It was a daily occurance. "So, who's your partner?"
"Eddie Munson."
Nancy stopped trying to open the bag of cheetos. "What?"
"Be glad you're not a senior yet, Nance… this project is going to be the death of me, I swear," your head found a home in your hands as you pushed the tray away from you.
"I'm going to fail it! There is no way I can get an A without a capable partner and then what? Will I have to repeat senior year because I failed health? HEALTH?" You exclaimed.
"You won't fail," she conceeded. Placing the snack onto the table, she reached out and patted the side of your arm. "If it really gets bad you can always ask Steve."
"He's partnered with Tammy Thompson. There is no way he'd help me with what Allen said about these babies."
"What did he say? Where is the doll anyway?"
"Eddie's got it. Maybe I'll never see it again if I'm lucky," you removed your hands from the table and folded them in your lap as you told her the assignment requirments and what Mr. Allen had said to expect about the baby. As you talked, she picked at her food and the fruit off your tray as some of the girls from newspaper filled the seats around you.
"At least it doesn't actually, you know, pee or anything."
"But the sensor doesn't know that it isn't real. I don't even know how he got dolls so advanced… I had a flour baby when I was a kid and this is as close to a real baby as possible except it doesn't blink."
"Creepy," she mumbled before picking the bag back up.
"Very," you agreed and took a second to glance around the room. Some of the partners were already facing their first challenges. A few were trying to quell the crying, a couple sat together planning their week out so they could work together and have equal time, but when you looked at the table that normally held Hellfire, Eddie wasn't there.
"They all laughed when my name was called," Nancy's head quirked back up at you, "I don't care that he's my partner; that's not why I'm complaining, but this isn't going to be an easy week."
That was the truth—you didn’t care that Eddie was your partner because as a person, Eddie was not as bad as everyone labeled him to be. He was actually, in an admission that you’d take to your grave instead of tell Nancy, fairly handsome and interested the hell out of you. It was the work ethic and motivation that concerned you.
"People are just mean, Y/n," you nodded in agreement, "you just need to focus on the assignment and if you're lucky, like you always are," she peered into your soul with that jealousy, "everything will go swimmingly."
Nancy Wheeler knew she spoke too soon when the doors to the lunchroom flug open with flair. She jumped and turned around in her seat when she saw your soul escape from your eyes.
"Hey! Mama!"
Jesus Fucking Christ.
He was holding the doll by its back leg, letting it dangle from his hand as if it were that black, metal lunchbox you convinced yourself had drugs tucked away in it. Eddie was looking directly at your table as though he had been searching for you for hours.
“Did he just—“ Nancy cut herself off as she watched him make his way toward the table. A group of preps flipped him off on the way and he gladly returned the bird with glee.
“He just called me ‘mama.’”
You put an arm defensively covering your face, shielding your eyes away from him as the Hellfire table furthered his amusement by cackling at him. Nancy whipped her head back around to you and felt the embarrassment roll off.
“It’s only a week,” she reminded you, “only about a week.”
Eddie’s feet landed at the end of the table and the girls at the end went silent. He was standing there, holding the doll by its hind leg, and quirked his head to the side. His eyes were entertained at the way you had blocked yourself away from him. The call of ‘mama’ making your skin crawl and elating him from far away. He could push a few buttons without feeling bad about it.
“You embarrassed of me, L/n?” He feigned hurt, “what’s our kid gonna think when he learns his parents don’t get along?”
“It’s a doll, Munson,” your hand that had been blocking your face hit the table hard. “It has no memories and will certainly, never, ever, grow up.”
“If Allen heard you say that he’d give us an F,” he walked around the table and took a seat beside you, legs spread as they caged you in from the side and he plopped the baby on the table with a thud. It’s head face down on the table as its poorly drawn on strands of hair faced the ceiling. He was wearing double denim. A jacket filled with pins and patches, a chain hung from one loop of his pants to another and the red flannel he wore underneath it was left open to reveal a t-shirt for a band you had never heard of—holes littered the neckline that sat beneath a silver chain.
Across from you, Nancy sat rigid as she watched the way Eddie’s eyes watched you. A small smile playing on his face as one of his hands found themselves in his lap and the other elbow perched on the table beside the doll.
“We should probably talk about this, huh?” He asked, surprising you by actually wanting to talk about the assignment. You turned your head and looked at him, eyes bemused by his willingness to do so. Eddie recognized that, scoffing and reaching inside of his jean jacket to grab a pack of cigarettes before tapping one out. He slipped them back in and stuck the one he plucked from the pack between his lips.
“You know,” he glanced at you, then Nancy, then back at you, “when a teacher tells us we have to work together, I don’t expect to do all the talking.” He lit the cigarette with a puff and the girls at the end of the table began to complain. No one was allowed to smoke in the cafeteria—only the teachers lounge and well, that was reserved for teachers.
“How do I know you actually want to talk about this?” You countered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn in an assignment before.”
“You been takin’ notice of me, L/n?” He smiled wide, grabbing the cig with two fingers and tapping it onto the floor. “If you wanted to talk to me you could just do it, ya know? Don’t need to stare at me.”
“Wheeler,” he looked at Nancy who drew her brows together, the tight contortion of her face judging him without words. “You know your friend has been watching me? Should I put an add in the paper for a bodyguard to protect me from my stalker?” Nancy didn’t reply because she had never held a conversation with Eddie before. She didn’t understand his humor, let alone the levity of his words as he blew smoke in her face and sat next to her best friend like a suave Casanova.
“Eddie,” you sighed, letting your gaze drift around the cafeteria and caught a few interested stares along with way. One teacher, Ms. Kirch–the freshman biology teacher with a hard-on for students willing to press her buttons—was walking around the perimeter on the other side. If she saw Eddie smoking, they’d both make a scene.
“I know you think school’s a joke but I’m not failing this just because you don’t want to do it.”
“Who said I don’t want to do this?” He furrowed his brows, shaking his head at you as he put the cigarette back to his lips. The red burning as he breathed in.
“Oh I don’t know… you’re attendance record, report cards, all previous group projects that I’ve never seen you show up for.”
“Those are all Ms. O’Donnell’s,” he defended, pointing a finger at you, “She’s a bitch and has it out for me.”
“I just want to know for sure that if we do this together, I won’t be left to do all the work at the end.”
Eddie saw the honesty in your eyes as you admitted it. He never truly understood what it meant to be an academic because it felt superficial. The attachment to good grades and praise that he never got, so, naturally, he never comprehended. You were a good student—a good person, rather. When he heard your name called after his and the snickers that followed, Eddie was reminded of the fact that you didn’t treat him like a ‘freak’ but a person. And hell, there was a first time for everything when he wanted to try something new. Completing a project because his partner didn’t treat him like dirt? Eddie could at least try it out.
“Why do you think I’m here?” He tapped the cigarette and the ash fell to the floor again. “If I’m going to graduate, I’ve gotta get this done too.”
You nodded slowly in observation. Eddie did not appear to be lying. That blasé attitude he had walked in with gradually decreasing the more you talked. Glancing again at Ms. Kirch who was directly across the room from you beside the table of jocks, the details of the week would be limited to a few seconds before she came charging over and causing a scene. You turned to the small stack of one notebook and history textbook that laid next to your tray. Ripping a paper out of it, you stole the pencil from Nancy’s stack and wrote down your address on it.
“Here,” you handed it to him and he looked over it with a smirk, “that’s my address and phone number. Kirch is going to bite your head off in a minute and we don’t have time to go over all the details so if you’re free later, stop over after school and we can divide everything out.” He knew where you lived. Three doors down from Gareth—his friend and band mate and also, another one of Hawkins’ finest on their way to repeating their final year of school and he was only a sophomore.
“Your parents aren’t gonna beat my ass or anything when I get there? I know I have a bit of a…” he clicked his tongue, tipping his head to the side, “reputation.”
The shrug you gave did not ease his concerns right away. However, the comment that followed made him realize that actually attempting to complete this project with you was a good thing. Maybe luck was finally giving him a chance.
“Not everyone in this town thinks you’re a freak, Munson,” you gave him a small smile, pointing your own finger to one of the buttons on his jacket, “besides, my dad’s favorite band is WASP. I think he’d like someone to talk about it with—even if just for a second.”
He smiled and Nancy Wheeler was taken aback by the scene in front of her. Seven minutes ago, you were in distress with the idea that Eddie Munson was going to be the worst partner imaginable and the cause of failure in senior health class. Now, you were offering him kind smiles and an invitation to your home with so much as his own words being enough to convince you that he wouldn’t leave you high and dry with an unpredictable doll.
Eddie grabbed the doll by its leg again, ready to escape before Kirch made her way but you could already hear her footsteps coming barreling your direction.
“I’ll take it now and bring it over later,” he nodded, sticking the cigarette between his lips again and letting it dangle there, “we should probably give it name instead of referring it as an ‘it.’”
“Mr. Munson!” That shrill voice made him cringe.
“Think about it. We’ll talk about it later, yeah?” He rose his eyebrows at you as if asking you to agree. You nodded, giving a small ‘yeah’ in response before he shot out of the seat.
“Mr. Munson, smoke outside if you must! Do you not understand the rules of this school?”
Behind you as he stood, Eddie turned toward Ms. Kirch. He let out a puff of smoke between his lips as her hand batted the fumes away from her face. The doll hanging on its one limb and swinging left to right as Eddie taunted her.
“Ms. Kirch,” he swooned, a few amused giggles sound from the tables around you as your head tipped over your shoulder, Eddie’s eyes flashed to yours as he played into her hand. “If you wanted to compliment my ability to break those so-called rules, you could at least sound excited to say it.”
“You put that out right now or you’ll be spending after school in detention and it’s going straight onto your record!”
“On my record!?” He laid his free hand on his chest, slowly backing up from where he was standing. Eddie was going to bolt because the old woman wouldn’t run after him. “Ms. Kirch, you know how much I respect my record,” he shook his head dramatically, hair vibrating with the shake as the bud sizzled again. “But, I have plans tonight so…”
The cigarette fell to the floor from his lips, cooling against the white tile as she went to protest. Eddie’s shoe squished it, extinguishing it, and once his foot lifted from the flattened cig, he ran. Ms. Kirch walked no more than two feet as brief laughter erupted in the area—sure they all made fun of Eddie and ostracized him from normal high school life but hell, if he didn’t bring a bit of joy to them when he pissed off the old lady that watched them all like a hawk in their most free period. A chuckle slipped out of you and she turned to you with a glare.
“Do you find this funny, Ms. L/n?”
She smelt like stale flowers and her lipstick was pearled in some spaces on her lips. Kirch was haggard and growing older every day.
“No, ma’am,” you shook your head at her and turned back around. Nancy was sitting with wide eyes, scared of the woman who lingered for a moment behind you before running off to find a janitor to clean up.
“Shit,” Nancy muttered quietly.
“What?”
“He’s deranged, Y/n. Deranged.”
“It’s only about a week, right, Nance? Only about a week.”
And that week would be the most interesting week of your life.
Eddie came over as he said that afternoon after school. At your kitchen table before your parents got home from work, you both devised a plan on how to go about taking care of the doll—and as Eddie had asked, you tried to think of a name but that was harder than it proved to be. He said the first thing that popped into his head and that was unfortunately, Bilbo.
Bilbo. A doll named after Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit was the baby you had to take care of together.
It did not even matter that the doll was plastically formed with female anatomy because he said: “What’s in a name, anyway? It’s just a doll.”
So, Bilbo it was.
And Eddie offered to take it for the night because he had Hellfire on Friday’s when you had nothing, therefore you could swap in the morning and you’d go about the plan when the weekend arrived. The plan, however, was more than what you had originally believed needed to take place for the assignment. Nancy called you Thursday evening after Eddie had left to complain that Steve would be spending all of his free time helping Tammy with the doll and was blowing her off until Halloween—a whole week later. You hadn’t fully realized that what you and Eddie had planned to ensure that you’d both pass health this semester was essentially spending all of your time together [sans Tuesday when his band played at The Hideout and Friday when he had Hellfire].
You slept well Thursday with those thoughts lingering in the back of your mind. Nancy’s concerns were her concerns. She had confided in you that she and Steve were having issues anyway, so one more nail in the coffin did not appear to be as detrimental as she complained it was. If Steve and Nancy were on their final string, the end was imminent. When you woke on Friday, the first thing on your mind was how the night had gone for Eddie and if what Mr. Allen said was true about the babies, had he had an absolutely awful night being a ‘parent’ for the first time?
That question was answered rather quickly as you entered the hallway at seven-thirty.
“Mary! You can’t just leave me with the thing!”
“I am not taking it tonight!”
“It wants food and there’s no way to feed it!”
There were ‘couples’ fighting at every turn. As you passed Tammy Thompson’s locker, Steve looked like he wanted to pull his hair out.
“I can’t do it! I can’t do it!” He complained to her as he held the baby on his hip. It was a sight. Steve in his tight jeans and blue jacket, striped polo, to have a doll perched on his hip like it was real. Everyone was taking it seriously which made the entire situation feel less awkward and daunting.
You reached your own locker, twisting the combination while trying to snoop on Steve’s conversation five lockers down on your left.
“This thing never shuts up! I got no sleep last night and I don’t think I’ll even be able to go to the game tonight because I’m dragging ass!”
“Steve, come on…” Tammy trailed off because she had to sing the national anthem and could not bring the doll with her. But she should have—the doll could probably sing better than her.
“It’s not fair, Tammy!” Steve’s voice began to dwindle as he looked around and noticed people staring at him. He locked eyes with you over Tammy’s shoulder and sighed heavily.
Suddenly, the textbooks and folders in your locker became interesting—far more interesting than all the arguing going on in the hallway. Mr. Allen had made everything difficult intentionally. Splitting up groups so one person cared for the doll at a time before each group realized they couldn’t do it alone. The tactic was good, great even. The responsibilities of childcare and parenting obvious to those who had terrible nights and to those who hadn’t had realized it yet, the feelings were inbound.
As was Eddie. Charging down the hallway after barely hitting a gaggle of kids heading to the middle school in the parking lot and the doll, Bilbo, once again hanging from its hind leg as it swung. He called out your name so loud that even Steve had shut his mouth and stopped talking to Tammy. Eddie had one of those bad nights too. He strode right up to the side of your locker and had a crazed look on his face.
“What the fuck!?” He exclaimed, bags under his eyes. You couldn’t answer the question because you weren’t sure what had gone on.
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’!? This thing,” he held it up like a captured possum, “kept me up all night with its relentless screaming and I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off!”
“I don’t think you can turn it off,” you commented, grabbing your science book and folder as your bag hung from the hook. “That’s not the point of the project. The point is to learn how to care for it, not turn it off.”
“Well,” he laughed cynically, “we were given a devil child. Literally the spawn of goddamn satan because it doesn’t want to be cared for.”
“I thought we weren’t calling it ‘it’ anymore. Bilbo, remember?”
“Bilbo is too kind of name for this thing. It’s Lucifer… fucking… Sauron!”
“I can’t get on-board with Sauron,” you bit back a smile at his suffering, “But your duty is over now, right? Just leave Bilbo with me and we can meet up tomorrow and swap.”
“You’re not going to be able to do it alone,” he said it honestly, like he was terrified of the watermelon sized piece of plastic. You glanced around the hallway and saw all the partners having conversations similar, but all the same different, like the one you were having with Eddie. He was having an internal battle with himself—realizing that he actually had to do this and that when looking back on his own life, if this is what having a child was like, he could not imagine how his parents got through high school having him at sixteen. He had just turned eighteen and could barely keep it together and it was a doll named after a character from a children’s book.
“Do you not believe I can?” You questioned him yet he shook his head, taking note of the things in your locker instead of looking at you.
“That thing is a monster and if it’s not waking you up, it’s eating away all your free time. If it’s not eating away at your free time, it’s taking up all the time spent doing things that matter. It sucks the joy out of life without even taking a real breath.”
“Those are harsh words, Munson,” a sigh left your lips as you gripped your locker door. He was looking at the two Polaroids that were stuck on the door with tape. You and Nancy on the Fourth of July and then you with a group of little kids a few Halloween’s back dressed as character’s from Star Wars. You were hugging a curly haired Han Solo that had no teeth. “But maybe you just don’t have the parental touch that it needs.”
“What are you saying?” He narrowed his eyes, “That I’m neglecting Bilbo’s needs?”
“Maybe,” you shut your locker, “But either way, you have Hellfire and I agreed to take ‘em off your hands today so,” you grabbed Bilbo from him and perched him like Steve had perched his doll. Something stuck inside Eddie in that moment. It was a goddamn doll and he was sleep deprived, so he conflated his bubbling feelings of whatever the hell spurred inside of him to that. You looked cute holding the doll like that.
“We can talk about it tomorrow, alright? If anything needs to change, we have time to discuss it. Don’t get all worried.”
Eddie shook his head, running both of his hands through his hair and over his bangs before bringing them back down.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, mama.”
And then he walked away. You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into, but, certainly it couldn’t be as bad as he was making it because sometimes, people could be dramatic—and Eddie Munson was the dictionary definition of the word. Always had been, always would be, and maybe, he was playing with the truth.
For three hours it had gone swimmingly. Bilbo made no noise.
But the minute Mr. Grosso put the Spanish test on your desk, the doll wailed so loud it made a girl scream from the other side of the room and you missed the test because it cried for thirty minutes in the bathroom before you could calm it down.
You swore you could hear the popping of his muffler three miles away. The blinds on the living room window comically split into two by your fingers, you peered out in anticipation you had gone to sleep feeling. Not quite butterflies but a nervous, anxious energy that kept you tossing and turning through the night. Along with Bilbo—the baby had kept you tossing and turning to the point where you felt crazy.
When you got home, you realized that the doll had smelt like weed and cigarettes but the distinct smell of Eddie’s cologne tried to cover it up. He had sprayed that doll with so much liquid that it had become ingrained into its clothes and soft body. You ripped off the onesie it was wearing and dunked it in the laundry immediately. And again, for the first few hours you managed to get your homework done for the weekend without much interruption until your parents got home.
They were utterly amused with the project and kept repeating that it was good for “skill building and responsibility.” You rolled your eyes and told them what Eddie had said about his night, expecting the same for your own and sure enough, it was like walking through the pits of hell.
Bilbo’s journey, Frodo’s journey… neither of them had the same horror of the screaming baby doll sitting on your comforter at two in the morning. Hour after hour, all you wanted to do was cry because it wasn’t responding to any of the tactics you had used when you would babysit. No rocking, no shushing, no gentle strokes, and just as the others complained in the hall, you couldn’t change its diaper or feed it. The solutions to ease it’s complications were non-existent.
Eddie rung you at eleven thirty saying he’d be over ‘in a bit’ and you stood at the window in your living room while your dad watched TV and your mom cooked lunch. The doll laying quietly on the sofa beside him for the first time in a half hour.
“So,” your dad cleared his throat as the program changed at noon, “what’s Eddie Munson like as a partner? I know his uncle Wayne from the plant.”
“He’s fine thus far,” you muttered, not tearing your eyes away from the window.
“You know this doll smells like a skunk.”
“It’s weed, dad,” you said so casually his eyebrows rose, “and it’s Eddie’s, not mine. And no, I don’t smoke.”
“I wasn’t going to ask,” he laughed but he would have. Not that he cared in the slightest if you did, that was all mom. Mom cared about reputation and manners and whether or not you’d have yellow teeth by the time you’re fifty. “But is he treating you alright?”
“What do you mean?” You looked away from the window and back at him, “We’re not really a couple, you know. It’s just a project,”
“I know, I know,” he clarified, waving you off like you had taken the comment too seriously, “as a partner. Not making you feel uncomfortable or anything?”
He might know Wayne, but the label of ‘freak’ extended beyond school. Eddie Munson flew around town in his beat up van playing his metal music at the highest level, smoked and loitered outside of stores, and very frequently, jested with the people of Hawkins to amuse his merry band of oddities.
“Eddie’s a good guy, dad,” you lamented, “so what if he likes metal and plays D&D.”
“D&D?”
“Yeah,” you furrowed your brows at him, “what did you think he did? He literally named the doll after Bilbo Baggins.”
“I thought Hellfire was…”
“What the mothers at the grocery store say it is?” You scoffed and turned back to the window, Eddie’s van turning the corner at the end of the block. “It’s a D&D club. I told him he’d probably get along with you too so try not to accuse him of worshiping the Devil, ‘Kay? That’s like… the furthest thing from the truth.”
He just nodded as you defended Eddie, a little smile on his face because he knew you so well. You were a good kid, a smart kid, but oblivious sometimes. If Steve Harrington had been your partner and he inquired about Steve’s role as a partner, you would have rolled your eyes and ended the conversation there. Eddie pulled into the driveway and you grabbed the baby off the couch, marching to the door. Opening it wide, he hadn’t even exited the van before you were standing there. Split between the wooden door and the glass one, pumpkins littered the small deck and a wreath rested on the door behind your head.
You had a cute house. It was simple and friendly, something his trailer was not. Eddie saw you standing there with a flat face and Bilbo in your hands and he laughed in his car. You could see his elated face burst with laughter; it irritated you but you couldn’t help thinking the sight was special. How often he had been smiling and laughing in your presence and a little butterfly sprouted in the pit of your stomach.
Eddie tossed the keys between his palms as he lazily approached the door, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Looks like someone had a rough night,” he commented a few feet from you as you unlocked the glass door and propped it open. “Didn’t believe me when I said it was Satan?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you lied, putting on a face for him to prove you could handle the stress of taking care of a plastic doll. “Bilbo was a saint. Slept through the night.”
Eddie reached the door, holding onto the silver handle so you could let go.
“Yeah?” He questioned, “tell that to your face, sweetheart. You got no sleep and you look like you walked through Mordor.”
“Do you always reference Lord of the Rings or is it just to prove you read?” You squinted your eyes at him.
“One, I do read,” Eddie entered your house and stood across from you in the small doorway. The doll separating you, he looked down, you looked up. “And two, Bilbo likes it when I talk about familiar things,” He gave a wide, toothy smile before grabbing the doll out of your hands and moving into the entryway.
“You know, this kind of feels like how I’d imagine kids of divorce feel.”
“Like being pawned off by their parents every other day because rules told them to?” You shut the door behind you, pressing it closed with the thud. You pointed to his shoes and directed him to take them off to where a mat sat beside the wooden table with a mirror hanging above it.
“Mhm,” he hummed as he slipped them off. He was wearing matching socks. “Poor ‘lil Bilbo Munson-L/n… separated by the rules written on the back of Mr. Richard’s history test.”
You scoffed, walking past him and down the hallway as he struggled with his right shoe. In a matter of seconds, his socked feet patted against the wood flooring and caught up with you.
“My parents are home so don’t be weird or anything,” you muttered and he caught himself nodding at the direction instead of responding with the sarcastic remark because of the way you said it. ‘Don’t be weird or anything,’ as if he was not already labeled that way or saw himself as ‘weird.’ Yes, Eddie was unique and full of a million things you weren’t sure fit a narrative of ‘normal,’ but it didn’t mean he was weird. He was just Eddie.
You rounded a small archway that revealed a living room and an older man sitting on the couch watching the tv. His eyes left the screen and met Eddie’s—who was immediately more reserved than he had thought he’d be. He was nervous, suddenly. Standing in your home, with your father in one room and mother in another, with the task of caring for a baby together looming over his head like a cloud. It was ridiculous and confusing but all the same exciting and challenging for him.
“This is, um,” you glanced at Eddie to put him on the spot. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out at first. He was holding the baby like a real baby and moved it to extend his hand to your dad.
“Eddie. Eddie Munson. Thanks for letting us use your house,” he said as cool as he could. Your dad looked at his hand, taking not a second later to grip it strongly and shake it.
You noticed the way Eddie’s eyes lit up at being welcomed. His hesitancy dissipating as your dad asked him a question, yet all you could do was watch him. The feeling was odd. Watching Eddie interact with your father was like watching a significant other be terrified to meet the parents for the first time. It was terrifiying how quickly that idea not only came to your mind, but felt normal.
Conversations between the two of you before being assigned partners had been totaled at three.
And now Eddie Munson was talking to your dad about their shared connection to Wayne Munson in the middle of your living room.
And for some reason, the sight of it was something you wouldn’t be mad about becoming a normal occurrence.
“I hear you play D&D?” He asked Eddie who glanced at you, already looking at him, before nodding and turning back to your dad. He hadn’t expected you to have talked about him at all.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“You know,” Rising from the couch, “She babysits some kids that play it. They’re quite the rambunctious bunch but have nothing on that… what did you say its name was?” He asked you, but Eddie answered at the same time you did.
“Bilbo.”
He laughed, repeating the name as he turned toward another archway that led to the kitchen and tipped his head in that direction.
“We never had to do a project like that but I think it’ll do you both good.”
Your mom was standing in the kitchen making grilled cheeses and stirring tomato soup on the stove. She turned her head over her shoulder and gave Eddie a smile. He returned it as his eyes flicked all over the space. He took in the pictures on the wall, the types of plates your family used, the way the sink had a window overlooking the backyard and there was a dog outside on a leash laying on the brick patio. Eddie didn’t have this life. He walked to the patio door and looked out at the yard.
“You gotta pretty nice house here, L/n,” he mumbled as you came to stand beside him. His fingers digging into the plush body of Bilbo as a bit of his hardened shell began to tell him he was out of place.
“It’s nice, yeah,” you admitted, “but it’s a carbon copy of all the houses in this neighborhood.”
He hadn’t put two and two together and noticed the layout was similar to Gareth’s down the street.
“You con your parents to be nice to me too?” He glanced at you as if looking for a conspiracy. That somehow, nothing in his life was this easy. That there was a superficial reason talking to you came easy; that there was a mysterious reason your parents accepted him even if he wore a leather jacket and Motörhead t-shirt and a spattering of rings on his fingers. You weren’t necessarily friends in any way, but he felt comfortable. He looked into your eyes and felt secure because of what? Kindness? The noticeable attention of a girl finally making him soft?
“No,” you said honestly, “just told them a bit about who you were. That’s all. Are you going to stay?”
“Stay?”
“I just thought,” you felt your mouth go dry with his question. Perhaps you were being too forward or not thinking clearly because the sight of him being domestic with a doll had awakened a sleeping giant inside of you. His big, brown, cow-like eyes scanned over your face as you stuttered. “I just thought it’d be easier for both of us the longer we did it together.”
“Oh,” was the sound that escaped between his lips and you immediately began retracting you words. Your parents watched the two of you from the other side of the counter with knowing looks in their eyes.
“It’s fine!” You laughed nervously. “You don’t have to stay. I was just shooting the shit, you know? I’m not trying to keep you from your plans or anything… my mom makes a real mean gc and—“
“—I’ll stay.” Eddie cut in and you stopped rambling, letting the words fall from your lips as he nodded. “I want to stay.”
“O-Okay, um,” you looked into those brown eyes a second longer than you should have before peaking past him and to your parents who tried to appear occupied with cooking. “Eddie’s gonna stay for a bit, if that’s fine.”
“Yeah, hun,” your mom kept her back turned to you and stirred the pot. “He’s always welcome.”
Always welcome.
He had to have hit the lottery with this one. A good, pretty partner and a space to escape to that welcomed him without judgement? He was either in the first circle of Hell or ascending to peace yet his feet were planted on the ground—not a foot from your own.
Eddie spent the entire afternoon there. When the sun fell and the moon rose high, you yawned on the floor of your basement and he knew that it was far past a normal time to spend sitting around, laughing and trying to sooth the inexplainable outbursts of Bilbo. His face hurt from the stupid smile that he couldn’t wipe from his face once the two of you had figured out that the doll had sensors under its arms and swaddling helped stop the crying until another unexplained outburst required attention.
When he walked to his van with the doll swaddled in his arms like a real baby, he turned back as he opened the door and shot one last look to the house where you were still standing to bid him goodbye. Eddie didn’t want to leave. He felt his heart squeeze when you gave him a small wave, illuminated by the yellow lighting of the hallway behind you. Shit. He got into the van and sped off before pulling into Gareth’s driveway and pounded on the door.
You shut the front door and with a lock, your dad turned off the tv in the living room before walking into the hallway to meet you there. Both headed to bed, he put an arm around your shoulders and squeezed.
“We gonna talk about that or no?” He asked.
“About what?”
“That!” He laughed as you felt your face heat up. Rising on the Kelvin scale, you felt a spotlight shrink itself onto you. “You gotta little crush there, darlin’ and to be frank, I think he might too.”
“Dad!” You complained, jostling out of his grip and walking more quickly toward your bedroom. “I don’t like Eddie!”
“Yeah, sure you don’t,” he chuckled as you pushed opened your bedroom door and slammed it closed in embarrassment. “But really, you do.”
Eddie pounded on Gareth’s door for three minutes but no one was coming to the door. Desperate, he put his ear to the wood and heard the distinct thumping of drums echoing throughout the house and contemplated for a moment. He could keep knocking and draw the attention of the neighbors and get the cops called on him for suspicious behavior, or, he could go around to the back and knock on Gareth’s window in hopes that it was closer and louder.
He jumped off the stoop and made for the window. Inside, Gareth was head banging as he played Iron Maiden on his drums and had a literal lava lamp reflecting off the symbols. Eddie put his fist to the glass and waited for a break in the beats to thump. Gareth jumped, a scream emitting from his mouth as his sticks went flying across his room and Eddie waved a hand at him from the other side.
“What the fuck, man?” Gareth opened the window and nearly shivered at the cool, October air. “Why are you here? The cops after you?”
“I just spent eight hours in Y/n L/n’s basement taking care of a goddamn baby and eating her mother’s food.”
“Shit,” Gareth laughed, “that sounds like a fuckin’ dream if you ask me.”
“It’s a nightmare, Gareth. A fucking nightmare.”
“Why?” The floppy hair Gareth had been sporting fell into his eyes as they contorted in confusion. “She’s a nice girl. Her old man helps mine when the cars busted.”
“Of course he does!” Eddie pushed off the windowsill and put his hands above his head, breathing in deeply.
“What? He threaten you or something?”
“No, they were,” Eddie’s face scrunched as if it pained him to say the word, “perfect.”
“Then…” Gareth motioned with his hand for Eddie to continue.
“That’s it! They were perfect! She’s perfect, man!” Then, he let a slew of curses leave his mouth and disappear into the night sky. Gareth laughed, letting a long ‘ahhhhh’ direct itself toward the guitarist.
“Eddie Munson,” he leaned into the beside table by the window, “in love with the girl next door.”
“FUCK!” Eddie yelled with his hands in his hair.
And he still had a week left to take care of Bilbo with you.
Summary: eddie has a date, with someone who isn’t you. you’re less than thrilled about it
Warnings: best friends!-to-lovers!, ANGST, jealousy, cursing, mentions of vomiting, fluffy ending, eddie's a total sap
Word Count: 3.7k
A/N: here is the second part to my strange love fic, which you can find the first part linked below. i love writing for eddie and this little multi-part was fun and i want to continue to write for everyone’s favorite metalhead hehe. i hope you all enjoy :)- sava
part one
“I cannot believe that happened. I’m such a fucking idiot!” you exclaim as Nancy comes running down the stairs of her basement, arms full of junk food, magazines, and the movies Robin picked up from her shift at Family Video. Robin was by your side, rubbing your back and whispering soothing little phrases in an attempt to calm you down, while Mike just ran up to his room to try and call El, not wanting to hear or deal with any of your drama anymore.
You on the other hand, were an absolute mess. The world around your was spinning when you walked into the front door of the Wheeler’s house, prompting Robin to help you down the stairs. The pit of your stomach was a gurgling mess, the horrible thought of spewing your guts still on your mind. The tears now dry on your cheeks from all the crying in the car, but now mixing with new tears forming as your thoughts from the events that occurred less than an hour ago keep flooding back to your memory, trying to process and recount everything that happened. You weren’t shocked by your response to it all, because your greatest secret just escaped from your own personal fortress and out into the world.
Your best friend knew you liked him.
And he just stood there. Looking disgusted. Horrified.
The more you thought about it, the thicker the air became around you and the harder it became to breathe. Closing your eyes, you try to focus on your breathing and think of the place where you are most relaxed, a trick your school counselor taught you when you met weekly during your parents divorce.
The only problem? Your happy place was now compromised.
The place where you felt like no wrong could happen or all the bad things that Hawkins kept throwing your way couldn’t reach was down at the Forest Hills Trailer Park, listening along to a kick ass song that a sweetheart of a metalhead would strum on his guitar as a joint hung loosely on his lips, all while you nursed on a warm beer that you would normally hate. Your nights would usually go about like that, or watching a movie together all cuddled up on his living room sofa. The times you would spend with Eddie made the fucked up world around you feel small and insignificant, like it was just the two of you existing for the rest of eternity. You would give anything just to be near him with no worries in the world. Now, that just wasn’t in the cards anymore.
“Okay so,” you hear Nancy say, setting down the stuff on the table she brought out and clasping her hands together, causing you to snap back into your current reality. You look at all the food and entertainment in front of you, wanting so badly to just indulge yourself for the evening and believe for a second that it can all be okay and things will be just fine between you and Eddie. But you know in your heart that it’s only a distraction, and when you wake up tomorrow, the pain you’re feeling now will still be very present.
“You have your pick of…well anything tonight, Y/N. Movies, magazines, any junk you want. We can even order a pizza if you’re in the mood?” Nancy suggests, sitting next to you on the couch.
“Of course she’s not in the mood, Nance! She and Eddie just-“ Robin began to say, before earning a slap on the leg from across the couch.
“Robin! Don’t bring it up! This night is about having fun and definitely not talking about any guys or girls,” Nancy yells.
“Guys, I really don’t feel like-“
“Oh so we’re not going to talk about what happened with you and Steve?” Robin asks Nancy. You scrunch your face and look at Nancy, raising your eyebrows with the puzzled look smeared across your face.
“Wait, what’s going on with you and Steve?” you ask her. Now this was a conversation you were interested in having. If you were going to have a distraction at all tonight, you wanted it to be this conversation.
“I caught the two of them flirting at Family Video the other day,” Robin admits, causing your jaw to drop as you look between the two them. Nancy lets out a huff and reaches for the bag of Cheetos in front of the three of you.
“Oh yeah? Well did Robin tell you about her and Vicky?” Nancy says, her face sliding into a smirk as a loud gasp escapes Robin’s mouth. You bust into a fit of giggles as the two of them playfully argue over the two people they were trying to be romantic with, grabbing yourself a Hostess cake to sit back and watch the drama unfold.
The three of you continue to discuss different things, ranging from their crushes, to graduation rounding the corner, and even jokingly planning a trip to take to Indianapolis for a weekend, unsure if the other two girls really meant it. Smiling to yourself, you stuff some food into your face as the jokes and conversation carry on into the late hours of the night, glad that they were able to distract you from the horrible events of the night and wash away for the time being, just living in the moment. You were trying your best to create happy memories without Eddie in them, since that is what your current future was looking like.
The sound of footsteps stomping above you pull you from a blissful sleep. At some point in the night, the couch was converted into the pull out bed and the blow up mattress was put together. You weren’t sure what time the three of you wrapped your conversations and retreated to your dreams for the night, nor were you aware of what time it was currently, but part of you didn’t care all that much. Saturday’s were usually just carefree days for you anyway, catching up on homework or hanging out with Eddie.
Eddie.
The pang in your chest ignites as you recall the events of the night before, images flashing into your brain as you close your eyes and let out a deep breath. Eddie’s giddy smile as he told you about his date, Shirley draped over Eddie on his throne, Eddie’s horrified face when he found out you liked him. It hurt, it hurt more than anything you’ve felt before in your life. More than the stitches you got when you were 8, and even more than your parents divorce.
You’ve never been in a real relationship, just a few makeout sessions here and there, and Eddie was the first guy you’ve ever truly liked to the point where you thought maybe, just maybe, things would become more than the fantasy you pictured in your head. You saw yourself going on dates with Eddie, which wasn’t too different from your usual interactions and outings with him, it was just paired with more affection and…other stuff. You never thought it would be in the cards for you until you got close with him. But seeing him last night with another girl made those hopes and dreams vanish, cementing them into what they truly were: a fantasy.
Looking around, you notice Robin’s sleeping body still lying next to you on the pull out, while Nancy’s form is not in her blow up mattress she set beside the both of you on the floor. Carefully, you slide out beneath the covers and rise to your feet, walking towards the steps that led you out of the Wheeler’s basement and onto their ground floor.
The smell of pancakes, bacon, and eggs fill your senses as you open the door from the basement, looking around to see the family just now finishing up. Holly was sitting at the table with Mr. Wheeler as he read his newspaper, and Mrs. Wheeler was beginning to clean up the dishes everyone used. You flash Holly a smile when she looks to you and turn around quickly when you feel a tap on your shoulder.
“Hey,” Nancy says. You let out a sigh from the heart attack she nearly gave you and she leads you into the living room away from everyone, and away from the yummy food that was still left over.
“How are you feeling?” She asks, placing her hand on your shoulder for reassurance. Letting out another sigh, you shrug and look out into the distance, trying to collect your thoughts and truly describe just how you feel this morning.
“Not good,” you simply say, looking to Nancy with a tight lipped smile. “But last night really helped me not think about him in the moment, and I appreciate that. I had a lot of fun,” you tell her, pulling her in for a hug, which she quickly reciprocated. Her soft hands rub your back in a soothing manner, causing you to relax a bit more before pulling away to meet her eyes again.
“Do you want some breakfast? Then I can drive you and Robin home?” She asks. You nod and you both stand from the couch and make your way back into the kitchen, Nancy heading towards the basement door to inform Robin of the delicious food that awaits.
Part of you wanted to beg Nancy to stay here for the rest of the day given how close in proximity you lived to Eddie. You desperately wanted to stay at the Wheeler’s and watch the movies Robin picked up for the three of you that you never got around to last night due to your ongoing stream of consciousness conversation. Hell, you’d rather ask Nancy to take you to Skull Rock than back to the trailer park. Eddie didn’t have a job, so his weekends were spent practicing for his band or hanging out with you, and given the circumstances of last night, the latter wasn’t bound to happen this weekend. Or perhaps ever again. Regardless, he’d be at his trailer when you got back, and if what Shirley was saying last night was true, maybe he wouldn’t be alone.
And that would just be the cherry on top of your shit sundae.
Your mind and bodily reactions were moving at 1000 miles a minute as Nancy got closer and closer to the trailer park. Robin was dropped off first as she lived closest to Nancy, then the two of you began your journey back to your home. Your nerves that had been buried deep inside since last night were bubbling to the surface again, feeling exactly how you felt yesterday when you found out about his date, then accidentally confirming your feelings to Eddie. Pain in your chest, sweaty palms, light headed mind playing tricks on you.
You notice Nancy checking on you now and again, giving you positive reassurances to settle you down. She and Eddie were the ones who knew you the best, gathering the years of friendship to analyze your distressed tells and noticing even the most slight offness of your presence made both of them concerned. You sure had a way of picking the most observant people in your life.
Pulling into the trailer park, you feel the gravel beneath you shake you in your seat as Nancy carefully passes your neighbors. You rub your thighs up and down a few times, in an attempt to both stop the sweat from gathering on your palms and also to calm your nerves. Passing by Eddie’s trailer, you see his van parked right beside it, signaling that he was home, not that it was any kind of surprise. That didn’t stop your heart from skipping a beat then quickly picking up the pace.
Turning the corner, you both drive up to your trailer and see the familiar mop of brown messy curls sitting on your steps. His leg was bouncing as he bit his nails, something he really only did when he was extra nervous, as he didn’t want the bad shape of his nails to interfere with his guitar playing. Nancy looks to you and you let out a sigh, not wanting to go and have a conversation about how he doesn’t love you back and that the two of you can’t be friends any longer. All because you fucking hesitated like an idiot.
“Thanks for the ride, Nance,” you tell her. She pulls you into a hug and you let out a shaky breath, the nerves rising up more and more as you notice Eddie’s watching the two of you from her car, rising to his feet.
“You got this, okay? And if you need me, call me. I’ll be over in an instant,” she informs you, making you smile. The two of you break away from the hug and you gather your things in your hands as you open the car door. Stepping out, you thank Nancy again and shut the door, turning your attention towards Eddie, slowly walking closer.
“Hi,” you say. He continues to look at you, his face unreadable.
“You didn’t come home last night.”
“I slept over at Nance’s, we made the plans during school yesterday,” you respond, attitude dripping in your voice. “Besides, you were busy with Shirley last night anyway, so why does it matter to you?”
“I didn’t bring Shirley back here. I took her home after Hellfire,” he simply admits. You stand there for a minute looking at him, his face completely serious. Not something you saw from Eddie Munson very often, as his goofball and eccentric personality something you loved most. But you knew today was not the day for that kind of mood.
“Oh,” you let out quietly. You kick your feet in the gravel, the silence around you as thick as it was last night in the high school parking lot. You weren’t sure what to say to him. Just kidding, I don’t have a major crush on you that I think about nearly every second of every day, good times right? No, you know he knew you were serious. Those observant instincts of his could always kick in at the worst possible moments.
“Listen, Y/N, I wanted to talk about last night-“ Eddie began to say. He couldn’t even look at you as he spoke, and avoiding your nickname he had for you altogether? This isn’t something you wanted to deal with right now, trying to think of several scenarios that would allow for you to slip past him and into the sanctuary of your trailer, all so you could flop on your bed and let these emotions flow freely.
“Look, Eddie, I really don’t want to have this conversation with you right now. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle hearing this rejection, not now. Hell, maybe not ever. So I’m just gonna go inside, okay? I don’t need some big speech about how you only see me as a friend, and how you don’t think you can even be that anymore because I’ve ruined everything between us, so can you please go home and let me-“ you were rambling on and on, your breathing beginning to become uneven as the words kept spewing out of your mouth and you tried slipping past the metalhead and towards your front door.
“Jesus H. Christ, Y/N, can you please shut up and let me talk?!” He huffs out, grabbing onto your wrist to stop you. You stop in your tracks at his tone and turn towards him slowly, the sadness creeping up your spine and the tears pinching behind your eyes. Stay strong, Y/N. Do not cry in front of him, not again.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just…God, I’m nervous and I don’t know how I want to say what I’m about to say, even though I’ve been thinking about it all night,” he says. Now it was his turn to start rambling.
“Just spit it out, Eddie,” you tell him flatly, crossing your arms and waiting to brace for impact. Waiting for the bomb to drop and destroy everything in your path. Years of friendship to be destroyed in a matter of seconds.
“Right, yeah. Well, I-uh-I like you,” he blurts out.
What?
“That’s actually an understatement, sorry. I love you, Y/N. I’m in love with you,” he tells you, his eyes peering up and meeting yours. The genuine look on his face was tearing your heart to shreds. There was no way he was being serious right now, after how last night played out. You standing there in the parking lot looking like an idiot as Eddie looked scared out of his god damn mind.
“Bullshit,” you say, your words laced with venom.
“S'cues me?” He asks, his brows furrowing as you continue to hold your eye contact.
“I don’t have it in me to play games Eddie, so don’t bullshit me, I’m begging you,” you let out, sounding defeated. Part of you felt that he was only saying this because he felt sorry for how he humiliated you last night, only ‘reciprocating’ these feelings out of pure pity.
“I’m not bullshitting you, Y/N. These feelings are as real as the tatties on my body baby,” he tells you, flashing is chest tat quickly. You roll your eyes. He could never be serious for one single moment, could he?
“Give me a break. I saw how you looked at me last night, Eddie. You were…you were disgusted and horrified that someone like me could like you. It was all over your damn face!” You exclaim, walking back down the steps to be on the same level as he was.
“Sweetheart, I was in shock. I didn’t ever expect you to tell me those words…the words I’ve been waiting for years to tell you myself,” he says, walking closer to you. The two of you were mere inches away from each other as he takes your hands in his, trying his best to look up at you with his big, brown, doe eyes through his messy bangs. You felt a tear run down your face as he looked at you, feeling as if you needed to pinch yourself to see if you were still asleep and dreaming on Nancy’s pull out.
“W-why didn’t you tell me sooner, Eddie? Especially last night. I felt like a fool,” you ask, your voice trailing off as your sentence tapered into nothing. Keeping his grasp on one of your hands, he brings his other to cup your face and brush away the few tears that collected on your soft cheeks.
“Are you kidding? You’re one of the most gorgeous girls in all of Hawkins, and I’m the town freak. I never thought we’d be as close of friends as we are, let alone you wanting to be mine. I was scared out of my mind, and…I didn’t want anything to break up our friendship,” he tells you, making you giggle. “What’s so funny, sweetheart?”
“It’s just…those are some of the exact same reasons why I never told you any sooner. I didn’t want to lose you as a friend, and I thought…not having you in my life outweighed the hurt of walking around thinking you didn’t like me back,” you explain to him. You look up at him and brush his bangs out his face a bit, getting a better view of his precious eyes on you.
“Guess we’re a couple of idiots, aren’t we?” He asks, making you laugh. His laugh fills your ears which prompts you to wrap your arms around his torso, breathing in his usual smell of weed and musk. The classic Eddie smell you know and love finally filling your senses once again and soothing your nerves. Eddie pulls away ever so slightly to look at you again, his face inches from your own.
“I am so sorry about last night, sweetheart, and I am so sorry for making you feel bad and embarrassed because of how I reacted. Had I known about your feelings, that stupid date would’ve never happened. I just thought maybe moving on would help the feelings I had for you go away, but I started to realize that wasn’t the case when you started acting off during Hellfire. All I wanted to do was stop the game and come comfort you,” he explains to you. He brings his hand back up to cup your cheek and you melt into his touch.
“It’s okay, Eddie. As long as I can finally call you mine, right here and now, I think it’s something I’ll be able to forget about,” you tell him.
As if it was his answer, his lips were quick to move to yours, his smooth pink lips moving against yours, the taste of him almost heavenly…better than anything you could’ve imagined yourself in that head of yours. You wrap your arms around his neck and move deeper into the kiss, allowing his tongue to slip past your lips, your tongues massaging one another and swapping saliva like your lives depended on it.
Eddie Munson was yours, and you were his. Everything was coming together better than you could’ve imagined. Well, almost.
The two of you pull away from each other and you suck in some deep breaths, making Eddie laugh. You bite your quickly swelling lip and continue to hold him close to you. You feel your heart banging against your chest, except you knew it was for all the right reasons now. The safety of Eddies arms pull you in tight, feeling as if he could never ever let you go and had to stay like this forever.
“I’m going to spend the next however long making it up to you and showing you just how sorry I am for last night. I love you sweetheart, don’t ever get that twisted,” he tells you, placing a soft kiss on the tip of your nose.
“Well…if you say so. You got any ideas in mind for how you’ll make it up to me?” You pull away and ask, quirking a brow as you start walking towards your front door once more, pulling Eddie’s arm as you drag him along with you.
“Oh believe me, I can think of a few.”
i hope y’all enjoyed! comments, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated!
Summary: eddie has a date, with someone who isn’t you. you’re less than thrilled about it
Warnings: ANGST, jealousy, unrequited love, eddie being clueless, cursing, mentions of vomiting, me knowing nothing about D&D (i’m sorry but it deserves a warning), eventual best friends!-to-lovers!
Word Count: 4.6k
A/N: alright y’all this is the imagine i had talked about a few days ago and as someone who loves these kinds of fics, i’m quite proud of myself. also i apologize for my lack of knowledge about D&D, eddie would definitely be disappointed, but i had a friend read it over and he thinks it makes sense so we’re going with it! i hope you all enjoy :)- sava
part two
“Well hello everybody!” Eddie exclaims, scaring half the Hellfire lunch table with his presence. You hear groans and curses fill the table as Eddie laughs at the reactions he pulled from his friends. You just sit in the seat that’s located on the left of his, laughing at his usual antics, but curiosity begins to strike when you take a look at Eddie.
His face is bright and shiny, his smile stretching from ear to ear as he sits down with his lunch, pulling out some pretzels to munch on. You take in the other details about him, how his hair looks actually kept up and how he doesn’t reek of his usual pot smell, but of…cologne? You had no idea who it was that was sitting next to you, but it sure as hell wasn’t Eddie Munson.
“What’s got you so happy today, Eds?” You ask, nudging him with your elbow. He flashes you a big smile, pretzel bits showing along with his pearly whites. He looks adorable as ever.
“Well I’m glad you asked, sweetheart. I, Eddie Munson, have a date tonight,” he announces. Your heart does a summersault at the nickname, his nickname he always uses on you, before you fully process the second part of his statement, making your breathing stop for a moment. What the fuck?
You didn’t make this fact known, but you were crushing on Eddie…hard. The two of you have been close since your middle school days, having really connected with his band Corroded Coffin playing at the school talent show and approached them afterwards to share your appreciation. It’s been history ever since.
But it wasn’t until your freshman year of high school when you started crushing on Eddie. You had been having a hard time at home due to your parents divorce, and your father winning full custody meant you moved into the same trailer park Eddie and his Uncle Wayne lived in, the two of you growing closer than before now that you only lived a few doors down. You and Eddie would spend most of your nights together anyway, and one particular night your freshman year, you felt these butterflies flutter around in your stomach as your head rested against Eddie’s shoulder watching Sleepaway Camp, your and his favorite movie that you’d watch at least once a month together. Since that day you had kept your feelings hidden from him, not wanting to ruin things between you and your best friend. You thought the pain of not having him in your life at all outweighed the pain of being stuck in love with him, and that was a fight you’d be willing to battle.
“W-what? W-with who?” You ask, trying to cover up your slight stutter with a cough.
“Okay so you remember our latest show at the Hideout? Well with more and more people starting to show up as of recently, we’ve been getting some fans. And this girl, her name is Shirley, gave me her number and I thought ‘What the hell?’ and rang her up yesterday,” he explains to you and everyone at the table, the freshman not being able to help their curious little selves.
“That’s cool Eds,” you reply back, trying with all your willpower to remain neutral and shove the emotions you were actually feeling down deep inside.
“Yeah. We’re actually hanging out after Hellfire. She even said she might swing by, she’s been curious about the game a little. At least, that’s what she told me,” he tells you, causing you to drop your fork and look at him. He shoots you a weird expression at your reaction.
“Oops, sorry. But uh, I thought you weren’t allowing non-members into the meetings anymore?” You ask, your eyebrow raised.
“That’s true, but, as Dungeon Master, I’ll make an exception this one time. Who knows, maybe she could become an honorary member. She’s really cool, Y/N. You’d get along with her great,” he tells you as he clasps his hand on your shoulder.
“I seriously doubt it,” you mutter lowly, hoping your close proximity to Eddie didn’t allow him to hear. As if a saving grace occurred, the lunch bell rang and you jolted up from your seat, collecting your trash. You could see Eddie eyeing you from your peripheral. One thing there is about Eddie, he’s observant as hell. You’d usually applaud and commend it, but in cases where you were trying best to hide your feelings, you absolutely hated it. Sometimes you wondered how you were able to get away with him not knowing how you truly felt, but all the more relieved that he didn’t.
“Hey sweetheart? Is everything okay?” He asks you. You quickly turn to him with a slight smile and nod, before rushing towards the trash can that sat behind him.
“Yep, all good. Just gotta go tend to some newspaper stuff. I’ll see you at Hellfire!” Your words moving as fast as your legs as you bid the table goodbye until your meeting tonight, practically sprinting towards the newspaper room, where you’d spill your feelings to one Nancy Wheeler in your secluded gossip corner.
Nancy was one of the only people who knew about your crush on Eddie. The two of you have been super close since you started high school, and even more so with all the shit that’s happened with the Upside Down that started when the two of you were sophomores. Plus, with her brother now joining the Hellfire Club, she asked you to keep an eye on him, especially with everything that’s already happened in Hawkins, but you really didn’t blame her for that.
Stumbling down the hall with your backpack sliding off your shoulders, you open the doors to the newspaper room and see Nancy’s head pop up from her collaborating with Fred. You walk down the stairs calmly while giving her a pleading look, nodding your head towards the corner the two of you have your major discussions at. She gives you a small nod before returning to her conversation with Fred.
You unpack your bag and begin working a bit on the paper while you wait for Nancy. You were trying your best to remain calm, focussing on your breathing so you didn’t get worked up more than you were when you started talking with Nancy. Your mind had a habit of working against you, running a hundred miles a minute coming up with the absolute worst scenario of every situation you encountered. You didn’t need to be thinking doubtfully about your friendship with Eddie, but you physically couldn’t help it.
How could Eddie have a date with someone and not tell you sooner?
The two of you were best friends, he always told you when something great happens to him immediately after, and you do the same with him. Living just a few doors down, you had that luxury of always being near the person when you celebrate your wins, or comfort one another in your losses. So him keeping this from you until the next day? It definitely hurt, in more ways then one, and you didn’t quite understand it. Would you still be upset about it? Absolutely, so that bit didn’t matter much. You just wanted to know why. Why he’s choosing to date someone now, after being single for so long. Why he-
“Hey, I’m here. Sorry, I was working with Fred on the basketball story,” Nancy tells you, pulling you out of your zoned-out state.
“No worries,” you say, your voice residing somewhere distant. You feel a slight kick come from under the desk, prompting you to look down for a second, before bringing your eyes up to see Nancy, who shoots you a look of concern. Nancy too, was very observant, from what you’ve seen over your friendship the past three, nearly four, years. The people you surrounded yourself with the most were some of the most observant people in Hawkins, which was both a blessing and a curse. You sigh, turning slightly closer to her, ready to confess.
“Eddie has a date tonight,” you whisper softly. You watch her jaw open, as shocked as you were. At least, hoping in the same sense that you were, and not in a negative way. You never really knew about Nancy’s stance on Eddie, whether she liked him or not. The way you talk about him all the time you would think she’d be sick of it all, but never stopped you from spilling your secrets out to her.
“No way! With who?” She whisper-yells, scooting closer to you. You watch over her shoulder at Fred and some others looking your way, so you fake working on a spread, signaling Nancy to do the same.
“Some girl that came to their gig at the Hideout on Tuesday. I didn’t see it so it must’ve been when I went to the bathroom,” you continue to tell her while fake focusing on the piece of paper in front of you. Your entire demeanor suddenly became deflated, saying it aloud and hearing it from yourself. All becoming so real.
“That’s crazy. Are you okay, Y/N?”
“No, but what can I do about it? He and I aren’t dating, so I have no room to say who he can or can’t date,” you answer. You peak over at her and see her looking you dead in the eye, to which you couldn’t blame her. Even you didn’t believe what you were saying.
“Yeah, I know. He said she might stop by Hellfire, and, Nance, I have no idea how I’m supposed to get through the meeting tonight if she’s there,” you tell her. She reaches out and squeezes your hand and you give her a tight-lipped smile.
“Hey, if you think it’ll help, I can pick you up from Hellfire tonight and we can chill at my house for a sleepover. Junk food, distractions…I can even invite Robin and see if she’ll pick up some tapes after her shift at Family Video tonight,” Nancy suggests. You eyes widen in excitement and nod, truly needed a night where you don’t talk or think about Eddie. Just a night with your girls.
“That would honestly be the best, thank you Nance,” you tell her. She flashes a warm smile your way and scoots a bit away from you.
“Perfect. I’ll pick you and Mike up at 9 after I get Robin from her shift, if she’s free. It’ll be fun,” you tells you. You agree and continue working on your spread, excitement flowing through your body at the thought of a fun night ahead, even with the dread buried in the pit of your stomach at the thought seeing Eddie tonight at Hellfire with a woman at his side. A woman that wasn’t you.
Running down the halls and towards the room behind the theater, you look at your watch and try to pick up the pace. You had lost track of time in your efforts in avoiding Eddie by doodling some drawings in the sketchbook that you kept on you at all times, which in turn made you late to Hellfire, something you never did. But in your defense, you usually had Eddie giving you a ride to and from the meetings. Today was not like the rest. Walking through the threshold of the meeting room, you give yourself a few moments to catch your breath.
“Sorry I’m late, I-“ you began to say, but were interrupted by giggling coming from Eddie’s throne. You see a girl with strappy heels and a short, short dress leaning against it playing with Eddie’s brunette fringey curls. That must be Shirley.
“Oh good, you’re here. We almost started without you,” Dustin exclaims, his goofy smile appearing on his face.
“Yeah, I doubt it,” you tell him, throwing your bag in the seat closest to him and ruffling his hair, him protesting and swatting at you in return. You notice out of the corner of your eye Eddie giving you a confused look, then looking towards your usual seat, which remained empty. It was no secret that you had your own seat in Hellfire, right next to the Dungeon Master himself, but today, you knew it was best to keep your distance. Didn’t want to interfere with his date and all.
“Alright, now that everyone’s here,” Eddie pauses, giving you a look. You chose to just look at the table in front you to avoid eye contact. “Lets start.”
Dustin is the first to roll the dice, and everyone around watches as the campaign for the week begins. You try your best to pay attention to the game in front of you, but keep getting distracted by the amount of giggling coming from Eddie’s throne, due to himself and Shirley. They were acting like those couples you and Eddie would make fun of in the halls that were practically fucking in the halls of Hawkins High, and you’d always make fake sick sounds as you passed by them. Now that he’s acting those same people right in front of you and the rest of the club, you felt yourself growing sick, for real this time.
You stood to the side as you watched Shirley climb in Eddie’s lap, draping herself all over him and her lips ghosting over his ears as she whispers little things in his ears, and the reactions he gives to her words make you want to punch a wall. Not in anger, but in jealous. The green eyed monster had awoken inside you, and you felt yourself getting riled up at the thought of them continuing this act throughout the rest of the meeting. The worst part of it all? You knew this isn’t where the night ended for them, and you could only imagine what other kinds of plans they had up their sleeves.
“Y/N, you’re up,” Mike whispers to you, snapping you out of your small jealousy-induced trance. You take the dice from Gareth and shake the dice in your cold hands a few times, before tossing them on the table.
6.
You didn’t have enough health to pull any big moves. No luck to play the hero tonight. You sigh and slump your shoulders as the rest of the group lets out an annoyed groan. You were completely off your game for the night and you knew with how observant the club was, they could tell. But luckily for you, they didn’t press you about any issues you may be having.
“What’s your move, Lady Y/N?” Eddie asks you, his smug look making your skin crawl. Usually his dramatics during the game always wowed you and you’d join in, but it was hard to take in anything he was saying or doing with the leech that was attached to his hip.
“I…retreat,” you say, taking a step back from the table and Mike is quick to take the dice and roll for himself in order to save the campaign. You walk over to the seat you set your stuff in and take the sketchbook out you’d been busy with before the meeting and begin to draw.
“Do you know where the closest bathroom is, rockstar?” you hear Shirley ask. You mentally groan.
“Sure thing. Y/N, can you show her where it is?” Eddie asks, turning to you. You place your sketchbook back in your bag and stand from your chair. Flashing Eddie a fake smile, you nod and begin to walk towards the door, the sound of Shirley’s heels clicking behind you filling your ears.
The halls are quiet as you make your way to the bathroom around the corner.
“So you and Eddie, you’re best friends right?” Shirley asks you as you continue your journey to the bathroom.
“Yep, since middle school,” you answer.
“Oh that’s cool! I’m gonna be honest, I was a little worried when Eddie told me he had a girl best friend. I always think guy girl friendships are weird and don’t last. They usually always end up dating in the end or ending the friendship because one likes the other, and the other doesn’t feel the same way. At least, that’s how I see them,” she rambles. You slowly nod and point out the bathroom, her thanking you and doing a fake little run inside.
Pressing your back against the wall outside the bathroom, you can’t help but think on the words she said, the thoughts of you and Eddie ending your friendship lingering and seeping into every fiber of your body. It’s the exact reason you kept your feelings deep down and hidden, but would that work out in the end? Are you putting yourself through the pain and heartache for nothing?
The bathroom doors opens once more and she comes out.
“Thanks for waiting for me. I’m really excited to hangout with Eddie after your club ends,” she tells you.
“What exactly do you two have planned?” You ask, your curiosity getting the best of you. Part of you didn’t want to know, but your brain was screaming at you to find out.
“Nothing special. We’re gonna go back to his place and hangout, maybe smoke some. He also mentioned something about watching a movie…Sleepaway Camp? Have you heard of it?”
You froze.
Did she really just say that?
She stops and turns to you, giving you a look of concern. You felt the world around you starting to spin, the feelings from everything starting to come up.
“I-um, I’m sorry, but I-I’m not feeling too great right now. The theater’s in there, but I’m gonna go outside and get some air. C-Can you tell someone to bring my stuff out to me when everything ends?” You ask, your voice shaking as you lean against the wall for support. She gives you a nod and scurries inside the theater, leaving you to bolt out the doors of the school and towards the parking lot.
You bent over and held onto the railing by the stairs that spilled out into the parking lot, convincing yourself you needed to wretch. The feelings clouding your brain were mixed, swirling together in a nasty mixture that you weren’t sure how you’d describe to Nancy and Robin. The feels of hate and sadness blurring the lines and becoming one as you stood outside, wishing you had your jacket to protect your from the harmful feelings and the cool March temperature.
Sitting on the stairs with no luck on spewing your guts out, you let out a sigh and hug yourself in a pathetic attempt to warm up a bit. Your body grew cold rather easily, something that was always an issue, but the solution, or rather the two, were inside. You kept your jacket on you at all times, even despite the temperature being hot, because you never know when you might need it. In the event you forgot your jacket, Eddie would either lend you one of his, or just wrap himself around you, rubbing your arms with his big ring-clad hands to get you in a good place. You always welcomed that comfort. It felt nice being so close to him, even if he may not feel the same.
Your pity party is interrupted by a car pulling into the lot and parking right by the stairs. As the window rolls down, you see Robin pop her head out in a cheerful manner, but soon her features soften when she takes in your sour expression and sad body language.
“What happened?” Nancy asks from the driver seat. You rise to your feet with a sigh and walk over to the car, leaning inside through the window.
“More like what didn’t happen,” you respond, shaking your head and shrugging.
“Did that girl show up? Nancy filled me in on everything when she picked me up, so I have a ton of movie choices for tonight,” Robin rambles.
“Yeah she showed up. And they were being gross and lovey-dovey all night. Made me want to puke,” you explain. You feel Robin’s hand touch yours in an attempt to comfort you, to which you place your other hand on top of hers and give it a pat.
“And what prompted you to be out here instead of inside?” Nancy asks.
“Well first off-“ you begin, but hear laughter coming from behind you as the school doors open. You turn and see everyone laughing and walking together, the meeting drawing to an end for the week and you let out a soft sigh. Everyone goes in different directions, with Jeff, Gareth, and Dustin going off in one direction, Eddie and Shirley going towards their van, and Lucas and Mike coming towards you guys. Mike nor Lucas had your bag in their hands, which made you worried that you’d have to go all weekend without your supplies and homework.
“Wait, Y/N, where’s your stuff?” Robin asks. You shrug your shoulders and turn to the side, Eddie standing by Nancy’s car. You see his unreadable demeanor comes closer to you, his eyes fixed on yours as he holds out your bag to you. Taking it, you sling it over your shoulder and slide over as he kept walking closer to the window you once hung out of.
“Wheeler, you might if I borrow Y/N for a sec before you take off?” He asks. You watch Nancy nod and Eddie leads you over away from her car, out of ear shot of both Nancy and that crew, and Shirley, who’s waiting at Eddie’s van. You both just look at each other for a moment, you not really knowing what to say.
“Thanks for grabbing my-“
“What’d I do?” He asks you, his voice sounding neutral. You look towards the ground and swing back and forth on your feet for a moment, trying to think of a reasonable excuse for your behavior today.
“Nothing,” you reply, your eyes glued to the ground.
“You can’t even look at me, Y/N,” he says, looking down to try and catch your eyes. You let out a huff and look back up at him, trying to get this conversation over with, which was something you never wished with Eddie.
“There’s nothing wrong, okay? I promise,” you tell him. Now it was his turn to huff, added with a kick to the ground. You could see that you’re irritating him, and if you were him, you’d be irritated as well. But today was not your day, you just needed time away from him and try to bury the feelings you had towards him even further down. Take the weekend and recoup. Not to mention, his date was merely a hundred feet away and waiting for him to go back to your place and watch a movie together. Your guys’ movie.
“Y/N, please, I know you better than anyone. Can you please ju-“
“Eds! Are we going soon?” Shirley yelled from the van.
Ouch.
She just used your signature nickname for him.
What else did they plan on taking from you today?
“Soon sweetheart, I promise,” Eddie yelled back.
Double ouch.
Now he was using your signature nickname.
“You know what Eddie, just go, she’s waiting on you. Have fun watching Sleepaway Camp,” you tell him. Shit, why’d you just say that.
Your mind was starting to think before your mouth, the feelings that have been brewing the entire day bubbling to the surface and taking over the part of your brain that had rational thinking. That green-eyed monster was started to show her true colors. You turn on your heel and begin to take off towards Nancy’s car, when you feel Eddie grasp your wrist, stopping you.
“Wait, Y/N, how’d you know we were watching Sleepaway Camp? Did she tell you that?” He asks. You sigh and shift towards him.
“Yeah, we talked in the hall. But it’s not big deal Eddie, just go,” you say, not understanding why he was so determined to make things right between the two of you right now? Yeah, the two of you hated leaving things in a bad place, but you never pressed him about anything he was super upset about or just didn’t feel like talking about, and usually he was the same with you. Maybe today was not destined to be in the cards for you after all.
“You’re jealous,” he says matter-of-factly. You scoff and cross your arms, trying to add another layer of defense between you and your fragile heart that was about to break loose with all these feelings. You were starting to lose your resolve, and you weren’t sure how much longer you’d be able to hold yourself together.
“I am not jealous!”
“You are totally jealous! Jealous that I’m spending time with someone, a girl, who isn’t you. Don’t worry, Y/N, you aren’t being replaced, I’ll always make time for you,” he tells you, thinking he’s helped, when really, it only hurt more. Like he thought he’d have to pencil you into his life.
“It’s not that Eds-“ you begin to say, but his laugh cuts you off.
“Then what is it then? You mad you don’t have a ride? Or-or-or upset that we’re watching Sleepaway Camp?” he pesters you. You could feel yourself getting really worked up and uncomfortable, wanting to just jet off to Nancy’s car and ride far away from this conversation.
“Oh wait, do you like me or something Is that it? Do you have a big ol’ crush on me?” He asks mockingly, making you freeze. “Just tell me what’s wrong Y/N, please.”
You hesitate.
Fuck.
You. Fucking. Hesitate.
“N-no, I don’t have a crush on you,” you say, brushing it off with a weak laugh. You see Eddie himself freeze, looking at you with a deadpan expression. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Wait, Y/N…you have a crush on me?” he asks. That was definitely an understatement. You swallow down a breath that wasn’t able to escape, your body beginning to shake in fear.
You see the way his entire demeanor changed when he realized. The dramatics you so desperately loved stopped all together, replacing it with a scared look. Scared that it’s true and he had to let you down? Scared that he didn’t feel the same way? Scared it was you, of all people? That familiar feeling of wanting to throw your guts up began to boil in the pit of your stomach, your chest tightening as you continued to stare Eddie down like a dear caught in headlights, the silence booming throughout the parking lot. You couldn’t handle this, not tonight. You’ve already had the shittiest day possible, you need to escape before you lose your best friend forever.
You take off in the opposite direction, towards Nancy’s car as you hear Eddie calling after you. The tears were brimming your eyelids, desperate to fall and let every emotion you’ve been bottling up all day to come out in a flood. You open the car door and hop inside, practically shoving Mike in the middle.
“Drive Nance,” you say, shooting them a pleading look.
“Wait, Y/N, what happened?” Robin asks.
“Nancy, can you please drive away, now,” your voice raising as you plead. Nancy responds by changing the gear and stomping her foot on the gas pedal, making your escape out of the parking lot and away from Eddie Munson, who you can see still standing in the empty lot watching you leave. You let out a shaky breath as you turn and face out the window, hot tears rolling down your cheeks and sobs racking your body as you all make the journey to the Wheeler’s house.
i hope y’all enjoyed! comments, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated! :)
Is anyone else ever genuinely shocked when you find out you have an impact on someone’s life? A coworker can be like “I’ve missed seeing you” and I’m just like “???? you?? missed me????? My presence has an effect on your daily experience???? I affect things??? W h a t ? ? ?”
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