Long time in-patient y/n was looking forward to her upcoming discharge date from the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That is, until she became acquainted with an unlikely familiar face, Eddie Munson.
Author’s Note
This is a fix it fic following Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. In this fic, we’re going to forget the fact that the Duffer Brothers decided to delete Eddie from the series. :-) These events take place after the battle in the upside down. I’m also choosing to change the ending of season 4 by having the issue with the upside down resolved, therefore, Hawkins is not plagued by the massive earthquake that resulted in new portals being opened.
What To Expect
Slow burn, angst with a happy ending, fluff, smut in later chapters. ♡
Series Warnings
Mentions of mental health struggles, SMUT (in the later chapters, 18+ to read this story), angst with a happy ending, canon-typical violence.
Chapter 5
Order had been restored, and y/n couldn’t be happier. Her and Wayne were closer than ever, and she noticed a significant improvement in her overall mood since being granted the privilege to go for walks again. Everyday at varying times, she would meet with Wayne by the front desk, changing up the location of their strolls based on how she felt that day. The third floor was deemed the quiet floor. It was shared between the maternity ward and her unit, so if she felt like a more calming environment where she had an excuse not to talk, that would be her go to.
The second floor was usually more rambunctious, it was essentially just a bunch of rooms for patients in stable conditions usually there for a short stay. This floor saw a lot of traffic, and the overall atmosphere was very chipper as patients’ families and friends were permitted to visit. The second floor was also home to many older patients, who y/n loved conversing with. They were always so charming and friendly. This floor also had the most vending machines, and arguably the best snacks. She was a sucker for salty treats and never turned down the opportunity to get a bag of pretzels along the way.
Despite being overjoyed about her recent schedule change, she couldn’t help but notice just how quickly 30 minutes passed. Before her recreation time was cut short, she would sometimes be out and about for over an hour.
‘Be grateful.’ She kept reminding herself.
-
One morning, while doing laps around the 3rd floor with Wayne, an unfamiliar sound interrupted their conversation. Y/n was searching for the source of this repetitive jarring sound and realized it was a pager going off. Startled by the sudden shrill beeping, it took a second for Wayne to realize the sound was coming from his pocket.
“Oh, geez. I always forget I have this thing” he chuckled, grabbing it from his pocket and attempting to work the device. “They really don’t make navigation easy on it either… Um…” He pushed a few bottoms before he finally got it to stop beeping and paused to read the message.
He took a sharp breath in, before turning to y/n. “You’re gonna kill me...”
She was caught off guard by his sudden change in demeanor and reluctantly followed him as he started inching away from her, heading towards the elevator. She squinted her eyes at him as she waited for him to finish his sentence.
“We’re gonna have to cut today’s walk short.” Y/n could tell he was bracing himself for her reaction as he stared at her, scrunching his face in anticipation.
“What?? Why?? We’ve barely been out for 10 minutes!” She protested.
“I knoooow, I’m so sorry, there’s some kind of filing emergency going on, I-” He threw his arms up and rolled his eyes, aware of how dramatic this sounded.
“You’re kidding… Wayne that’s-“
“Y/n... Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I’m already mentally preparing for the mayhem waiting for me. The ladies working the ER reception scare me and I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t get there pronto.”
Y/n chuckled, the thought of a 6’3, burly man being afraid of a small group of short middle-aged women was ironic. She knew exactly what he meant though, those ladies were very intense in the face of adversities. Just as she was about to admit defeat and step into the elevator, she stopped in her tracks. An idea popped into her head.
“What if I kept walking and meet you back at the unit?” She suggested in a nonchalant tone.
“What? No, absolutely not, hop in.” he said, gesturing to the elevator.
“Why not? We’ve established the floors I’m allowed to be on and there’s been no reason to believe that there’s any prevalent danger. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I lose my job???” he exclaimed, giving her the side eye. “Losing a patient in the hospital isn’t exactly something I want to be known for around here. It’s not happening, now come on.” He walked onto the elevator and held the doors open by blocking the censors with one hand.
“Or…” y/n continued “I get my 30 minutes of allowed time to walk around and am back before anyone even notices!”
“Would you just get onto the elevator!!” Wayne’s anxiety was getting the best of him, she could tell. She wasn’t proud of this next move, but she knew how to get him to agree.
“Please Wayne… When have I ever given you a reason not to trust me.” Out came the puppy dog eyes and pout.
“Don’t. You. Dare.” He warned, knowing damn well she knew he had a soft spot for her guilt tripping tactics.
“20 more minutes. Just this once. I’ll be back before you know it. Please…” A last-ditch attempt that seemed to have worked. A few seconds later, Wayne sighed and removed his arm from the doorway of the elevator.
“If you’re not back in the time it takes to watch a Golden Girls episode…” He trailed off, interrupted by the doors closing in front of him.
Just before they shut, y/n yelped out “I won’t let you down!!”.
The second she lost sight of him, y/n didn’t waste a second shuffling away from the elevator. Wayne was putting a lot of trust in her, and she had no intentions of letting him down. Feeling a rush of excitement, she thought ‘Why not switch it up.’
She had been taking her walks mainly on the 3rd floor over the last few days, and with this sudden burst of energy, she felt prepared to handle the liveliness the 2nd floor had to offer. She high-tailed it down the stairwell, finally reaching the door with a big “2” painted on the wall and swung it open. She was met with slight disappointment when she arrived.
Crickets. You could hear a pin drop. It was a bit of an eerie feeling, seeing a normally active room so quiet, void of life. Why wasn’t anyone around? Of all her time spent at this hospital, she had never seen this floor be so quiet. She wandered around and happened upon a calendar. Monday.
Had she never been down here on a Monday morning? The lack of visitors made sense, most people were still at work or school at this time. ‘This is fine’ she started convincing herself. ‘When life gives you lemons…’
Free of judgmental stares or the possibility of bothering people, y/n took the current state of the floor as a sign to be her most authentic self. She let her body lead the way, and started swaying as she walked, alternating between skipping and running.
The only thing that could make this experience better was music. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to sway the staff into letting her bring her Walkman with her during her stay, so she was left with the memory of her music library to get her by. Her mind jukebox, as she often called it. Y/n was very passionate about music and could often be heard humming quietly to herself.
Today was no different, the lack of normal chatter from the visitors made for the perfect acoustics in the hallways, her voice reverberating against the empty hallway walls. As she walked past a room near the back of the unit, she heard a faint hoarse voice. “Black Sabbath?”
She quickly scanned the room trying to assess who this voice belonged to, only for her eyes to land on none other than Eddie Munson. He was laying in a bed looking a little beat up, Jell-o cup in hand with a shy look on his face.
It had been weeks since she had heard any news updates about him, and despite knowing he was being treated here, she was still surprised to find him no less than 5 feet away.
“Air Dance” she responded with a soft smile.
“That’s arguably their worst song” he replied with a little grin on his face. Her eyes grew wider, and she let out a scoff. Normally, y/n hated snobby self proclaimed music enthusiasts, but she could tell by the smile radiating from his face that this wasn’t the kind of comment intended to be rude or start an argument. It was rather an invitation to some playful banter.
“It happens to be my favorite song” she stated matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow as she took a few steps forward, now standing in the door frame of his room.
“I guess we can’t all have good taste” he said in a playfully challenging tone.
Before y/n could come up with a clever response, she was shooed away by one of the nurses entering the room, presumably to tend to Eddie. He was still hooked up to a few machines and had pretty noticeable injuries.
She slowly backed out of the room and into the hallway, her face flushed with color over this short but sweet interaction she had just had.
As she turned to start walking back to her unit, only a few minutes left to spare before she’d be late, she could have sworn seeing through her peripheral vision, that Eddie never took his eyes off her.
_
Chapter 6
Let me know what you think & if you’re interested in being on my tag list ♡
Summary: you and Eddie know you have to go back into the upside down to save Nancy, and so you spend one final night together before certain doom…
Warnings: it’s that good shit, that angsty smut goodness, oral (f receiving), penetrative sex (m+f), multiple orgasms, minors DNI, also season 4 spoilers
A/N: ahhh I was so so excited about this idea so I really hope everyone likes it!! it’s kinda long but I promise it’s worth it, I really like this one so I hope you do too! inspiration and title are taken from Save a Prayer by Duran Duran, like I’d highly recommend listening to this song whilst reading this if you can / want to bc the vibes are just immaculate!! I really hope you guys enjoy this <33
This is for people 18+ only. Minors do not read on. By clicking ‘keep reading’ you are hereby agreeing that you are 18 or older.
After escaping the upside down through the gate at Eddie’s trailer the whole gang had now reconvened at the Wheeler house. Thankfully Karen and Ted had taken Holly for some kind of weekend trip, meaning the house was empty and free to be used as your base for now.
You’d already sent the kids, aka. Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Erica, down to the basement to keep safe whilst the rest of you were in the kitchen discussing the ongoing plan.
“Our next move for now is for everyone to get some rest. We’ll go back in at dawn” Steve states firmly, his arms crossed over his chest tightly.
You and Robin both scoff incredulously.
“Dawn?! Are you being serious?” You exclaim at the same time Robin yells “we can’t just leave her there for that long!”
You were about to launch yourself at Steve, to yell in his face about how you need to go back now. Right now.
But you feel an arm slide around your waist, pulling you until your back hit someone’s chest. You feel the familiar warmth of your boyfriend Eddie as he holds you gently in place, his thumb stroking your stomach reassuringly where his arm was now wrapped around you.
Steve looks at you all. His voice may be firm but his composure certainly wasn’t. He was lightly shaking, from fear or from rage you weren’t quite sure. Perhaps it was both.
“Listen to me” he says through gritted teeth. “No one wants to go rushing in to Nancy back more than me, believe me.”
He pauses for a moment before continuing.
“But we’re all exhausted. We’re weak. We’d be no use to her right now. And we’d be no use to each other either. We need to rest, we need to recharge. Then we need to reload with whatever weapons and shit we can find. Then, then we go back for her” Steve finishes with a shaky breath.
You and Robin were both about to disagree when you hear Eddie’s voice cut from behind you.
“Steve’s right. Going in now whilst we're all this beat would just be a suicide mission. We need some rest, even if it is only for a few hours” you feel him shrug behind you.
You twist in his arm, his hand now resting on the small of your back as you look up at him incredulously.
“But-“ you’re about to start but Eddie gently cuts you off, looking at you in the eyes now as he speaks.
“Look, Nancy is smart. And she’s tough. She’ll know how to hide herself for a few hours, and if worse comes to worst, that girl can kick some serious ass when she needs to” he gives you a soft, reassuring smile.
Eddie moves the hand that wasn't on your stomach to cup your face his thumb stroking your cheek.
“She’ll be okay” he hums to you. “She’ll be okay” he looks over to Steve, trying to sound convincing.
But you can tell he’s trying to convince himself too just as much as the rest of you.
“Dawn is only a couple of hours away as it is, let’s just go get some sleep whilst we can. We’ll meet back in the kitchen at six, got it?” Steve finalises.
As much as you hated it you had to admit Steve was probably right. Your body was exhausted, aching, sore, and grimy from running through the upside down and beating the shit out of those demobats. Right now you felt so weak you weren’t even sure you’d make it up the stairs to the spare bedroom where you’d be spending the night.
Steve gives a final nod before turning on his heel and heading up the stairs for the night. Robin gives you a final sympathetic look before she too leaves the room.
Eddie kisses your temple gently and murmurs softly against your skin.
“Come on baby, let’s get some sleep.”
He gives your ass a light pat, but it’s more of soft, comfort gesture rather than anything crude or sexual.
You nod and sniff back the tears that were fighting to break through.
You and Eddie find your way to the spare room, right at the end of the hall, passing Steve who was spending the night in the Wheeler’s parents’ room, and Robin who was in Nancy’s room.
As soon as the door closes behind you, you shuck off Eddie’s leather jacket that he’d given to you when you were in the upside down. Steve still had the denim vest.
Eddie sighs tiredly and begins removing the mountain of decorative pillows that adorned the spare bed.
Whilst he’s busy your eyes scan over the room, eventually landing on a picture frame. The picture sat atop the desk that was positioned against the wall opposite the foot of the bed. It was a picture of the Wheeler family together. Karen, Ted, Holly, Mike, and Nancy.
Nancy.
You feel your body begin to tremble, a sob lodging in your throat. It feels as though your body might break apart from the fear and the terror that coursed through you. You wrap your arms around your body as you feebly try to hold yourself together.
It doesn’t take a second for Eddie to notice and come rushing to your aid. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you tight into his chest, as if he too was trying to keep you from breaking apart.
“Hey hey hey, shhh” he whispers, his breath tickling the top of your head.
You can feel him twist his head in the direction of the desk, glancing at the picture that had set you off.
“She’ll be okay. She’ll be okay” he tries to be reassuring, stroking your hair as he holds you, but you can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
What Eddie hadn’t realised is that it wasn’t the picture of Nancy that had set you off again. Not exactly.
Eddie didn’t realise that you’d shifted focus whilst staring at the frame, the picture itself going blurry. You were staring at the glass covering the picture. You were staring at the reflection.
The reflection of Eddie behind you.
You shake your head against Eddie’s chest.
“It’s not Nancy I’m worried about” you snivel, trying to contain the sob that was still sat in your throat.
Eddie pulls back slightly to look at you, but he keeps his arms securely locked around you. He raises a questioning eyebrow at you, but you keep your eyes trained on his chest, on the chain that’s looped around his neck. You knew if you looked into those big dark eyes of his you’d lose it completely.
“I mean it is, obviously, of course I’m worried about her” you stammer quickly. “But… I just…” a shuddering breath cuts off your speech as you squeeze your eyes shut and attempt once again to compose yourself.
“What? What is it baby?” Eddie asks gently.
You bite your quivering lip as you unfold your arms so that you can fist them into Eddie’s shirt. You ball your fists so tight into the fabric that it hurts. But you don’t care, you were so scared that letting go would somehow result in losing him.
You keep your eyes balled shut as you speak.
“I’m just so scared Eddie” you whisper. “We barely made it out last time as it was, and now we have to go back, and I just…” your voice cracks as a shudder racks through your body.
“I can’t… I can’t lose you” you sob.
“Hey shhh” Eddie tries to soothe you again, running his hands up and down your back.
But you can feel the tremble in his fingers as they move across your body and you know he’s close to breaking down himself. His hands eventually find their way to your face and cup your cheeks gently, the cold metal of his rings stinging your skin.
“Baby, look at me. Please” his voice is quiet.
You sniff again before opening your eyes to find those gorgeous brown ones staring back at you. His eyes almost looked black in the dark of the room. But above that you could see the glassy reflection of the tears that he was fighting to hold back himself.
Instead of actually saying anything Eddie just tilts his head until his lips find yours. His mouth latches onto yours softly, pressing gently. Yet despite the softness of his mouth there was an undercurrent of urgency in his lips, a feeling of desperation, of a need to just completely and wholly devour you. He presses his lips against yours a few more times before he slowly begins to open your mouth with his own, his tongue sliding against yours delicately. You feel another tear leak from your eye as you become overwhelmed by the moment.
Eddie’s one hand is flat against your back, pushing your body against his, his fingers digging into your skin. His other hand was cupping the back of your neck tightly, titling your head towards his. Your body was flush against his, the buckle of his belt and the chains on his jeans cutting roughly into your hip bones. His lips mould against yours, the kiss tasting of tears, both yours and his. The taste of him. It was all leaving you dizzy.
Eddie pulls his lips from yours, resting his forehead back against yours, his eyes staring at nothing. He takes a shaky breath before clearing his throat softly.
“You saw me standing by the wall corner of a main street…” Eddie sings softly, his voice barely more than a whisper, broken with barely contained tears.
Your eyebrows knit together in confusion but Eddie carries on nonetheless.
“And the lights are flashing on your window sill.”
You’d already immediately recognised the lyrics from the first line. Save a Prayer was one of your favourite songs, and Eddie knew that.
“Eddie, wha-“
“Shh” he whispers gently before carrying on his hushed singing.
“All alone ain't much fun, so you’re looking for the thrill” Eddie slowly begins to sway from side to side, the two of moving together as you stay enveloped in each other’s arms. “And you know just what it takes and where to go.”
As he reaches the chorus he lifts those beautiful brown eyes of his to meet yours.
“Don’t say a prayer for me now, save it ‘til the morning after. No, don’t say a prayer for me now, save it ’til the morning after...”
He keeps the two of you swaying lightly as he continues to hum through the rest of the song. As you focus on his voice, on the words, you feel yourself start to relax the slightest bit. Your hands unclench from his shirt and move to wrap around his neck, holding him as if the two of you were slow-dancing at prom instead of at the edge of the world. Most of the words are nothing more than a hum to your ears, only certain lines and lyrics sticking out to you.
“And you wanted to dance so asked you to dance but fear is in your soul, some people call it a one night stand, but we can call it paradise” Eddie places a quick kiss to the tip of your nose at this line and you sniff as another tears races down your cheek.
He hums the last few lyrics before he finally reaches the end of his small serenade.
“No don’t say a prayer for me now” he speaks the words soflty now, so quietly you wouldn’t have heard them if his face wasn’t this close to yours. “Save it for the morning after. For when we make it out. Together” his voice is raspy as holds back his own tears.
You open your mouth to speak but Eddie takes the opportunity to crash his lips back onto yours with a bruising urgency. This is kiss is more heated than before, vibrant and urgent, alive with need. He kisses you with every fibre of his being, savouring every taste, every feel of your delicate mouth. You could feel it in his lips; despite what he’d just said he was still kissing you like this really was your last night on Earth.
You both moan desperately into the kiss, your lips parting for the other. Eddie’s tongue slides against your own, moving with a fervour you’d never felt from him before. His hands move to your hips, pulling you impossibly close against his body again. Your mind is spinning, feeling drunk with the intensity of the kiss. Your senses become completely overwhelmed by everything Eddie. His touch, his smell, his taste, the sound of his soft groans against your mouth. Your mind was dizzy with trying to make a note of it all, just in case this was the last night you’d get to enjoy this, to enjoy him.
Eddie parts his lips from yours briefly as he pulls his dirty Hellfire shirt off his body. Eddie places a chaste kiss to your lips before he’s pulling off your ruined shirt too. Your shirt hadn’t even hit the floor before Eddie’s mouth was back on yours, his body moving to fit against yours. One of his hands cups the back of your neck again, not letting your lips leave his for even a second. His other hand swiftly undoes the back of your bra, letting it pop open. You keep kissing him as you shimmy your arms and let your bra fall to the floor. You push your bare chest up against his, moaning at the feeling of his skin against yours.
It was all so real. Eddie was here, in front of you, holding you in his arms, his lips moving with yours. It was grounding, steadying and comforting in the way it made you dizzy. It was all so beautifully contradictory to the chaos of the upside down where you’d been not an hour ago.
Eddie then gently guides your hips, walking you over to the bed until the back of your knees hit the edge. He looks down at you with such love and adoration swirling in those dark eyes of his you swear your heart is gonna burst. He lays you down on the bed gently, his hand cupping your head again as he slowly lowers you down onto the mattress. He’s quick to take his place hovering above you, his hips slotting between yours. He kisses your lips once again before he moves to kiss across your jaw, moving down your neck, to your collarbones. He takes his time, kissing as much of your skin as he possibly can whilst he gradually makes his way down your body. He gives each of your nipples a soft peck before kissing down the valley between your breasts, following the line down the centre of your stomach.
Your nails are raking down his back as he moves down your body. You were overwhelmed with the need to just be touching him, holding him, at all times; desperate to not let him go. He reaches the waistband of your jeans and kisses the bare skin just above. He then looks up at you again with those unfathomably gorgeous eyes. You keep your eyes on each other as he undoes your jeans, gently but swiftly removing them and your panties off your body.
Eddie hooks his arms behind your thighs, spreading you open before him. But his eyes still never leave yours as he begins an assault of kisses across your inner thighs. He kisses up your leg, right up to the apex of your thigh, his breath fanning over where you ached for him. It wasn't that he was teasing you, he simply wanted this moment to last, to remember every detail about your body, how it responds to his touch, how you sound, how you taste. You squirm lightly, your hips pushing upwards, begging for his touch, a whimper leaving your throat.
“Shhhh baby, I’ve got you” he whispers tenderly, his lips tickling the skin of your thigh.
He places one more kiss to each thigh before you finally feel his tongue swipe between your folds. Your head immediately falls back against the pillows, your back arching as Eddie starts to swirl his tongue around your clit. You gasp softly when he hums lightly, the vibrations moving through your sensitive bud.
Eddie eats you exactly the way he knows you like, with a soft swirling and sucking motion. Under any normal circumstances he would be switching techniques just to keep things interesting. But this wasn’t about interesting. This was about making you feel as good as he possibly could. He keeps the pressure reasonably light, only varying the speed. He knew you were a fan of those big, slow build orgasms rather than the quick ones that could come on a little too intensely for your liking sometimes.
Your hand fists in his hair as he slowly but surely works you towards a climax, licking and sucking your clit expertly. Your entire body is alight with pleasure, with the overwhelming sensation that you were alive. Your moans get higher and higher in pitch the closer you get to cumming. You struggle to lift your head back up but you wanted to look at him. You wanted to see him as he took you over the edge into the realm of pleasure. When your eyes meet his again you both moan softly.
Your chest rises and falls quickly, panting as your orgasm finally burns through your body. Your pussy tightens and clenches as Eddie softly works you through your high. He keeps his pressure light and slow again, enough to milk out your orgasm, but not enough to overwhelm you and make you too sensitive. It’s only when your thighs start to tremble beside his head, your body shuddering lightly, that he stops altogether. He kisses his way back your body again, but this time he doesn’t take his time. He moves his lips swiftly up your body until his mouth finds yours once again.
You grab his hair and practically smash his face against yours. This kiss is just as desperate and frantic as before, messy with urgency. Your teeth clash, your tongues colliding. You practically whimper when you taste yourself on his tongue, your fingers knotting even tighter into his hair. He groans deeply into the kiss, his fingers bruising your skin where they held so tightly onto your waist, keeping you against him.
He gives your hips a quick squeeze before releasing you. Eddie does his best to keep his lips attached to yours, even as his focus falters for a moment as he fiddles with the fastening to his own jeans. He quickly undoes the handcuffs that serve as his belt buckle and pushes his jeans down his legs, kicking them off to the side somewhere.
You moan and grind your hips against his bulge, the thin fabric of his boxers doing nothing to stop you feeling how hard he was. He groans deep within his chest as your pussy grinds against him. He kisses you again just before he pulls his boxers off, finally freeing his aching and leaking cock. Eddie moves his arm to rest next your head, leaning on his elbow so his hand could cup your face.
His face overs just above yours, your breathes mixing, your eyes completely mesmerised by the other's. Both your eyes are glassy, those barely held back tears dancing on the surface. You both stare at each others face’s intently, as if you were each mapping the picture into your brains, hoping this image would be seared in there forever.
You’re so lost in the moment, so lost in the dark pits of his eyes, that you almost miss Eddie’s lips moving softly. He speaks so quietly you can’t actually hear the words, but you understand them nonetheless. It’s almost as if you feel them rather than hear them: “I love you.”
At the same moment you feel Eddie’s tip push gently into your entrance. A tiny squeak lodges in your throat as Eddie pushes inside you slowly. Your hands tense around his shoulders as you feel the beautiful burn of him stretching you out. Eddie’s forehead drops to rest against your own, his pants fanning over your face as he gives you a second to adjust to him.
After a moment you nudge your nose against his, pushing your lips to his again, signalling for him to move. He kisses you back feverishly as he begins to move his hips in long, slow thrusts, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back deep inside you.
Your moans get lost in his mouth as he gradually picks up his speed, setting a steady, but intense, rhythm. He focuses on pushing as deep inside you as he can with each thrust rather than focusing on speed. He was aiming to hit that sweet spot inside you with each snap of his hips. His face stays right above yours, his eyes staying on your face, your lips occasionally connecting in the odd sloppy kiss between your breathy moans.
You arch your back, pushing your tits against against his chest, the need to be impossibly close to him taking over you again. Your nails rake down his back, pushing his body flush against yours. Your legs move to lock around his ass, pushing him deeper inside you, causing both of you to moan softly.
“Fuck” Eddie murmurs under his breath, his face screwing with pleasure as you squeeze him against you.
Eddie’s body shudders above you, his forehead pushing against yours. He kisses your nose sweetly before he tucks his head into your neck, kissing all over your skin. The hand that rested on your hip slowly travels back up your body, sending shivers through you as his fingers dance across your skin. His hand wraps around your arm, pulling it off his body. You whimper at the loss of contact, still so desperate to be clinging onto him. But Eddie just smiles softly and kisses the inside of your elbow. His hand slides up your arm, gently pushing it up and above you as he does so. When his hand reaches yours he laces his fingers with your own. The cold of his chain bracelet stings your wrist. You can feel the slight tremble in his fingers again as he pushes your entwined hands down into the mattress.
You twist your head towards where your hands were entwined, your forehead brushing against them. Eddie moans against your throat as he takes advantage of the new position, kissing the side of your neck he now had access to. Eddie’s other hand moves away from your face, stroking down your body until it lands on your hip, palming the top of your thigh. You gasp, your body lurching into his touch, when you feel the pad of his thumb connect with your clit, rubbing it in small circles.
Your moans pitch in tone as you feel your body warm with pleasure again, your lower belly tightening with a knot of euphoria. Eddie hears your whines and makes his way back up your neck until his lips are tickling your ear.
“Are you close?” He pants in a hushed whisper.
You twist your head back to face him and nod, your noses brushing as you do so. He kisses your lips desperately again, your moans mingling just as your tongues did.
“Good” he sighs into your mouth. “I want you to cum with me. Cum with me, baby. Please cum with me” his voice cracks with pleasure as he begs you.
You nod silently again, your forehead rubbing against his.
“Cum with me” he repeats with a whimper as his thrusts start to lose their steady pace.
Your eyes meet his again, lidded heavy with pleasure. One last look into the depths of his eyes finally has you tipping over the edge once again.
“Oh, Eddie” you moan faintly, your voice barely audible as you feel the pleasure burn through your body.
You mouth a silent “oh fuck” as your body convulses, your hand squeezing Eddie’s, your cunt clenching around his cock as you feel it twitch inside you. Eddie grunts loudly, his hand squeezing yours just as hard, as he releases inside you. His hips still, pushing into you as deep as he could as he shudders above you.
“Fuck, fuck, oh fuck I love you” he murmurs into your mouth as he fucks you shakily through both your highs.
Your other hand goes to cup the back of his head again, pulling his face close to yours.
“I love you” you whisper against his cheek through heavy breathes.
He groans at your words and sloppily catches your lips with his again. Both of you are trembling, your lips quivering even as you desperately try to keep kissing each other.
After staying like that for a moment Eddie moves to place a quick kiss to your cheek before he slowly pulls out of you. You whimper at the loss of contact, your nails digging into his flesh so tight you were almost certainly going to pierce it.
“Shhh it’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll only be a minute” he hums quietly, his thumb stroking your cheek.
He stands up and pads over to the en-suite bathroom, picking his boxers back up on the way. As promised, not a minute later he comes back with two towels, both wetted with warm water. He’s pulled his boxers back on and you can tell he’s given himself a quick wipe down, the grime and dirt from the upside down now faded from his face.
Eddie sits on the edge of the bed next to you. He takes one of the towels and begins to gently wipe you down, cleaning your inner thighs and ruined pussy where they’d been stained by both yours and his cum. You hear him gently humming under his breath, the tune to Save a Prayer vibrating quietly through the air again.
Once he’s cleaned the remnants of your climaxes he takes the other clean towel and begins to help wipe down any grime from the upside down that still stained your skin. He wipes your neck, your arms, shoulders, anywhere that was directly exposed during your visit to the other realm. He cleans your face gently, giving you a quick boop on the nose once he’s finished. You scrunch your nose at him and he mimics the gesture in return.
Eddie gets up to toss the towels onto the bathroom floor. On his way back to you he finds your underwear and throws them back to you. Normally he’d also give you his shirt to sleep in but alas his Hellfire shirt was still wet and filthy from the upside down. So, for tonight, you would just have to go without. Not that you were really complaining; you were planning to hold this boy so close to you once he got back into bed you wouldn’t need the warmth of a shirt anyway.
You pull on your panties, feeling a little cleaner than before, and then wiggle your way under the covers. The entire time you keep your eyes fixed on Eddie, still fearing that if you took your eyes off him for even a second he might somehow disappear. You were grateful for the fact he was still humming Duran Duran under his breath too. It was just another thing for you to focus on, giving you comfort in his presence. Eddie hums to himself as he gathers the rest of yours and his clothes, putting them in various places across the room so they could dry a bit overnight.
Before long Eddie is padding his way back to the bed and crawling in beside you. He’s barely atop the mattress for a second before you jump him again, throwing your arms around his neck and crashing his swollen lips to yours. Despite your best efforts to calm yourself you feel tears sting your eyes as your lips move with his.
Eddie’s hands move to cup your face again, his thumbs stroking away your tears.
“Shhh” he whispers gently.
He smiles at you tenderly, a tear cascading down his own cheek.
“Don’t say a prayer for me now…” he sings quietly, trailing off at the end, his eyebrow quirking at you with a kind of playful sadness.
You can’t help but give him the tiniest of smiles in return as you finish the line for him.
“Save it for the morning after” you whisper, your voice cracking with tears.
“Mhmm” he hums softly, kissing you again.
“We’ll be okay, sweetheart” he looks at you fervently, his eyes flashing with strained determination.
You can feel the tremble in his arms as they hold you, the waiver in his voice, and know he’s lying. He’s just as unsure and terrified as you are. But you simply smile at him sadly and rest your forehead against his once again.
Perhaps the two of you wouldn’t make it out the other side. But for right now it didn’t matter. He was here, in your arms, holding you so tight it almost hurt.
Tonight you had eternity in each other’s arms.
Masterlist
A/N: I’m both horny and in emotional turmoil after this asdhfkflld I hope you guys liked it!! <3 also happy stranger things vol.2 day, I’ll see you all on the other side...
Adventure Is Out There - Eddie Munson X Female (Future) Reader
Title: Adventure Is Out There
Eddie Munson X Female (Future) Reader
Additional Characters: Dustin, Lucas, Mike, El (Mentioned), Reader's parents/family (Mentioned), random mean teen, and singers and songwriters (Mentioned)
| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
WC: 3,078
Warnings: Mention of social anxiety, Covid mentioned, wearing masks mentioned, depression hinted towards, alternate dimension, Reader cries, awkwardness, nervousness, anxiety, and a mean teen.
You didn't think this would happen. You didn't think this could even happen. To you at least. You thought this was the real world. No magic, no witches or wizards. Just you and the real world; just trying to make ends meet during Covid.
You had a job at the local coffee shop as a barista, and on the weekends you volunteered at the nearby roller skating rink. You like both of your jobs. You could make a great caramel macchiato and you were amazing at skating. You had recently graduated from high school, almost all A's and even went to prom with your friends.
You thought this was your life, and how it would continue.
You didn't think this would happen.
You didn't think that other dimensions were real… at all.
Though, part of you had hoped and wished that there was a thing such as magic. To have your world not be so mundane. To think that you had found a portal to another dimension on your way home from work… unbelievable.
But, there you stood, in front of this dark, deep hole; that looked like it led to nowhere. You weren't crazy. You weren't going down that hole. This wasn't Alice In Wonderland or anything like that. This was real life. If you went down there, you'd probably fall into the sewers or maybe just a very deep sinkhole.
Clutching your bag's strap, you stared down into the hole. This was crazy. Who knew what was down there? It was pitch black and looked as if there was no bottom. Maybe there wasn't. You could fall forever and then suddenly hit water. Or something.
You looked around, letting out an anxious breath before looking back at the hole. It was weird, you felt a subtle breeze coming from it. As if there was air coming up from somewhere below.
"I'm not going," You said aloud.
You look at the ground, feeling a little creeped out. Then you look back up into the sky, the moon shining brightly above.
"I'm not doing it." You spoke up to the moon, as if he could hear you.
You looked back to the hole, biting your lip. "I shouldn't."
You took a step forward.
Your mind was racing. Your mind was telling you to think about this. But your heart was telling you to jump. Adventure awaits used to be a quote you lived by, but after recent events, that all changed.
There was nothing else you could do. The only thing left was to jump. You could walk away, ignoring the strange; yet compelling hole. You could go home to your boring house and eat your leftover meatloaf your mom made. You could change, sleep, and wake up; doing it all over again. Merge back into your normal. You take a deep breath and then let it out slowly.
Taking one more look into the hole, you felt the urge to scream. You wanted to run. Yet, you still had the courage. You stepped forward, moving closer to the hole.
"This is stupid!" You yelled at yourself. You knew this was dumb, but you couldn't stop.
"This is soooo dumb." You mumbled, but you couldn't stop moving closer to the edge.
It was like you were hypnotized. Like you were in some trance and your body didn't have control of itself. You took another step forward, closing in on the hole.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." You whispered to yourself before jumping in the hole.
🕱🕱🕱
You felt cold. It was like being underwater in the ocean, except you could breathe. You opened your eyes, seeing a bright light coming towards you. You blinked a few times to get used to the brightness.
You looked around, seeing that you were surrounded in a world that was unlike any you had ever seen. Everything was dark and gross, unlike the bright light up ahead. You got up off the ground, cringing as you brushed off your jeans. This place had a terrible smell and what looked like spores were in the air. Good thing you were wearing your mask.
You looked up, seeing the hole you fell into was way too high to try and get back out. So you decided the best idea was to go towards the light. You walked forward, picking up the pace, but you still felt uneasy. What was going on in this world? Why did you end up here? Why did you have to jump in that hole?
You looked around, searching for another person. There didn't seem to be anyone around, yet you felt like someone was watching from the darkness of this different world.
You reached the light, eyes widening as you saw a wall. There was a rip in the wall, where the light was coming from. Hesitantly, you reached forward, pushing your hand through. The ripe opened and weird sticky webs stuck to your hand making you wince.
But you had to get out.
You pulled your hand out, looking at the webbing. "Ew…" You spoke in disgust, scratching at your skin.
You looked up, looking at the wall, the rip in it expanding. You could hear faint noises. People. You couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was all in whispers.
"Hello?" you called out, reaching back towards the rip in the wall.
You heard nothing back. You hated spiderwebs. Yet, these things didn't look like them exactly. You sighed, closed your eyes, and counted to five, before you pushed through.
You stumbled out and into the bright light. Catching your breath, you opened your eyes. You were in these woods. The trees were large, their branches reaching out, creating a canopy over your head. The grass was green, and it seemed as if there was a stream running right next to you. There was moss covering the ground, and the flowers that grew here were beautiful.
But... Where were you?
🕱🕱🕱
You decided to follow the stream. Knowing it'll either lead to a lake or something. You couldn't hear people anymore. Only the sound of birds chirping and the soft breeze through the trees.
You followed the stream until you heard talking. Voices. You sped up, pushing past bushes and moving past trees. In the clearing, was a school. You stopped. None of this looked familiar.
You decided to ask for help. As you walked towards the school, you tried to get as many of the stupid webs out of your hair and off of your arms. You noticed off the bat what all the people were wearing. Blast from that past, your grandfather called it. Big curly hair, neon colors, and denim jackets. This looked like it was straight from the 80s.
You looked around to see if any of these high schoolers could help you, finding a girl, with her hair in a ponytail. She wore a pink blouse, and a skirt that was knee length. She also had a brown suede jacket that she carried on her shoulder. You took a deep breath. Somehow, this seemed harder than bursting through a wall of gross webs. Darn, social anxiety. You walked over, gaining her attention.
"Excuse me, miss?" You asked, stopping in front of the young woman.
The teen looked up, her face looking puzzled as she stared at you. You feel so awkward.
"What?" She asked, blowing a pink bubblegum bubble.
"I was wondering if you could tell me where I am?" You asked again.
She rolled her eyes. "This is the high school." She spoke confusedly.
You nodded. "I know. I mean, where am I town wise?" You asked, tilting your head.
The girl just stared at you weirdly before answering. "Hawkins, Indiana... Duh."
You were about to ask her again but she just scoffed and walked off. You bit your lip, subconsciously playing with your hair as you thought.
"Hawkins..?" You muttered to yourself.
You've never heard of a town named Hawkins. But then again... You did just go down into a hole and into a weird dark creepy area to get here.
You sighed, looking around. You felt out of place. You weren't wearing the same thing everyone else was. You probably even looked like a mess with webs in your hair still. You felt so... Weird.
🕱🕱🕱
Dustin walked out with Lucas and Mike, automatically spying on the girl who looked lost.
"Hey, she looks lost... Doesn't she?" Dustin asked his friends who looked at the girl as well.
Lucas shrugged. "Maybe a new student?"
Dustin shook his head in thought. "Maybe, we should help her."
Mike rolled his eyes, "She'll be fine. Let's just go to class."
Dustin ignored Mike, quickly walking over to the lost young woman.
"Hey, are you lost?" He asked, walking over to her.
She turned to him, a confused expression on her face. "Yes. I am." She said, looking around. "I don't recognize this school. Or this town."
Dustin was about to reply when he saw the young woman pull out a weird flat device. Tapping at it.
"And I can't seem to get any signals."
Dustin furrowed his eyebrows. He's never seen anything like that. Mike and Lucas also watched, eyeing the device in her hand.
"Um... What is that?" Dustin asked, taking a step forward.
The girl looked at him, startled. "What?"
Dustin swallowed, holding his hands out to show he was harmless. "What's that in your hands?"
The woman looked at the device and went back to Dustin. "My phone."
Dustin's eyebrows shot up, "Huh?"
Mike sputtered a laugh, "That's not a phone."
The woman furrowed her own eyebrows, "Um, yeah. It is..."
It was silent for a moment.
"What year is it?" She finally asked quietly.
Dustin raised an eyebrow, "Oh, um... It's '86'."
The woman cleared her throat. "1986?"
Dustin nodded, "Yeah..?"
The woman shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no. I'm in the past..."
Dustin blinked, "Dude?"
"What?" Lucas asked, Mike following.
"What do you mean?" Dustin asked and the young woman ran a hand through her slightly messed up hair.
"I don't know! I was just minding my own business, heading home from work, and found this weird hole. Decided to jump into it cause why the hecky-doo not!? And then I was in this dark gross place and found this rip in the wall and went through and got weird webs on me. Then I was suddenly in a forest and found this school. And now, I am finding out that this is the year 1986 and I am so gonna get in trouble when I get home."
Dustin's eyes widened, "Was this dark place cold and gave you the feeling that someone was watching you, and had weird growing fleshy things?"
You turned to the young teen, nodding, "Yes! It did."
Dustin looked at his friends, "Guys, do you think she came from the Upside Down?"
Both Mike and Lucas shook their heads. "What?"
Dustin looked back at the girl. "What year is it for you?"
"2022." You told him, looking around.
Dustin looked at his friends again. "Guys, we should explain to her."
Mike and Lucas nodded, though hesitantly.
Dustin turned back to you, "I'm Dustin, what's your name?"
"Y/N L/N."
🕱🕱🕱
"So... What you're telling me is that there is another dimension called the "Upside Down" and that was where I was? And that for years now this towns has had weird creatures terrorize it and people had died and stuff like that? And! That you have a friend named El that has supernatural powers?" You asked, leaning on the picnic table bench.
Dustin, Lucas, and Mike nodded. "Yep."
"I must be dreaming…” You mumbled before speaking again. “But, how would that dimension get to my time?"
Dustin shrugged, "I have no clue."
"How can I get back?" You asked, crossing your arms.
Dustin looked at his friends for help. They both looked defeated. "I don't know."
You sighed, biting your lip. You raised a hand to your mouth, fidgeting with your hair. "Oh my God, I'm getting fired. What if I can't get back? My family... Oh, goodness." You began to cry.
Dustin immediately stood up, rushing to you. He awkwardly rubbed your back, trying to comfort you.
"It'll be okay," He whispered to you.
You sniffled, just closing your eyes as Lucas and Mike watched awkwardly.
You wiped away some of your tears with the back of your hands. You felt so embarrassed.
After a few minutes, you managed to pull yourself together. "Thanks guys. For helping me out." You smiled weakly.
You then widened your eyes, "Oh, I haven't asked your names."
Lucas gave a wave, "I'm Lucas."
"And I'm Mike." The teen with the black hair spoke.
You let out a sigh and tried to calm down. Pulling out your Strawberry sanitizer you poured a bit in your hands, cleaning them.
"What's that?" Lucas asked and you looked up.
"This is my sanitizer. It’s scented strawberry."
"Oooh, could I try some?" Dustin asked from beside you and you nodded, pouring a bit in his hands.
Dustin followed what you had previously done before cupping his hands to his face and breathing in fiercely. His eyes lit up, "Wow! That smells good!"
Lucas laughed, "What's it like?"
Dustin inhaled again. "It smells sweet and fruity."
Mike chuckled and both he and Lucas stuck out their hands.
"So, the future has scented sanitizer? What even is it?" Lucas asked.
"It cleans your hands. Gets rid of 99.99% of germs."
Lucas shook his head. "Well, it does smell nice. Are there other scents?"
You nodded your head, "There are so many! There is coconut, watermelon, sugar cookies, and even ones that smell like a summer's breeze."
"Wow, oh, what's the future like? Are there flying cars?" Dustin asked and you laughed.
"No, not really."
"What other things do you have?" Mike asked.
"Well, we have flat screen TVs, phones, hoverboards that don't really hover, they are like skateboards but only two wheels. We also have robots that can do surgery, and Google. I don't want to spoil too much. You'll all get there someday."
The three boys looked at you in awe.
"We also have virtual reality. Which is this headset you put on over your eyes and you feel like you're in another world."
"Wow, that sounds cool." Mike spoke, but Dustin quickly interrupted.
"What's music like?"
You nodded, "We have such singers as Billie Eilish and Harry Styles. Don't get me started on him, he's a dreamboat. But, Duran Duran, Blondie, Tears For Fears, and some other 80s bands are still touring."
Dustin nodded, "Okay, but is future music good?"
You looked off in thought before answering, "I personally like 80s music more but... Oh, wait. I could show you!"
"You can show us!?" Dustin asked and you nodded, grabbing your iPod from your bag.
"This is an iPod. Where you can call people, text; which is like sending a letter but faster, and searching the internet. But I mostly use it for games and music." You spoke as the three teens watched in awe.
You then went to your downloaded music, pressing the 80s and clicking on "Footloose."
The song began to play and nodded your head to the tune. The teens smiled and looked at the device in awe.
"Wow, that's amazing!"
You nodded, pausing the song.
"Do you want to hear some from the future?" The teens nodded.
"I'll do one song per decade, I don't want to ruin all the fun."
You then put on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana from the 90s, "Umbrella" by Rihanna, "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran, "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish, and "As It Was" by Harry Styles.
You turned off the music, looking at the teen expectedly. "So? Which did you like best?"
"I liked the umbrella one." Dustin spoke.
"I liked the Nirvana one. They sound cool." Mike spoke and Lucas nodded.
"I also liked the Ed Sheeran guy, but the 80s are the best."
You smiled, "Alright, I'll play more from the 80s!"
You then played "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", softly as you talked with the teens about the future and your life in it.
"You losers are not bothering her too much, eh?" A voice called out and the four of you looked up, seeing a guy around your age with long curly hair, mullet style, wearing a denim and leather jacket.
Definitely punk rock vibes.
And… He was kind of cute.
Mike and Lucas flinched, but Dustin waved. "Hey, Eddie."
The guy crossed his arms, "Hey, so who is this lovely lady?" He asked, looking back at you.
You stared at the man in shock. "Uh... I uh..."
Dustin stepped forward, "She's Y/N."
Eddie's eyebrows went up, "A friend of yours?"
"Just recently. Yes." Lucas spoke.
"You new around here?" This... Eddie asked and you shrugged.
You looked back to the boys and they subtly shook their heads. You awkwardly looked back to Eddie, smiling nervously.
"I'm new in town. Who might you be?"
The guy walked over and brought out his hand, you placed your hand in his expectating a good shake but were caught by surprise when Eddie leaned down and pressed a kiss on the back of your hand.
"My name is Eddie, but you can call me Eddie." He spoke as he smirked.
You blushed, smiling softly. "Nice to meet you, Eddie." You mumbled.
"So, tell me, babe... Do you always smell like strawberries?" He asked and your eyes widened.
"Um, not all the time."
He nodded, "You like strawberries?" He asked and you nodded.
"I do."
Eddie grinned. "Then I'll keep you."
Dustin rolled his eyes, somewhat glaring at Eddie.
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.
i can’t carry it for you, but i can carry you (an eddie munson fix-it fic)
Pairing: Eddie Munson/Fem!Reader; Eddie Munson/You
Summary: Eddie tries to sacrifice himself and be the hero, but you’re not letting him go that easily.
Or
What if there was one more person on Eddie and Dustin’s team when they went into the Upside Down? What if they were able to get to him in time?
Rating: M(ature)
Warnings: Adult language, some descriptions of blood and violence. *** Some spoilers for the Season 4 Finale if you haven’t seen it.
A/N: Eddie Munson is the new loml. Seriously giggling and kicking my feet just thinking of him. I’m already thinking of writing a smutty ch 2 and another kas fic. anyway, hope you enjoy! <3
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.
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thank you for reading! | my masterlist
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summary: the morning after the unforeseen, you wake up from the smell of nicotine and his rich scent of ardor; along with the burning questions of what's next, the trepidation of the truth, and whether joseph loves you or not
warnings: mentions of sex, smoking, swearing, slight angst, fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers, not proofread, quick and shitty writing
a/n: a lot of you guys sent in requests for the smoking thing and i'm in love! i have a prequel for this one so pls sit tight mwah (the shotgunning is still here dw its just briefly mentioned i'm sorry)
In the sheets he calls his sacred oasis, you awake with the kiss of his cold silk against your bare skin. The dream stops like a pause, only what comes next is the sun filtering through the thin epidermis of your eyelids. You sigh deeply, opening your heavy eyelids, eyes straining from its exsiccation.
And what greets you next is the smell of nicotine from across the room.
“Christ. You’re so fucking beautiful.”
You glance around you, a quick reminiscence from last night — the clothes strewn across the floor, the dead cigarette from the ashtray beside you, an empty bottle of fernet branca, and the lingering smell of dior and sex buoyant with the summer air. You sit up, frowning quizzically at the sight of you in your undergarments when you can vaguely remember it being ripped and thrown aside somewhere in the corner of his affluent room. Then you see him:
As if the beam of sunlight guides you to let your eyes rest on the intrepid man, Joseph stands by the balcony, the sun in front of him makes his back look like a silhouette. He’s shirtless with sweatpants hung low on his waist, elbows perched on the rail. Smoke leaves his mouth, eyes trained across the city, eyelashes straight and bold against his cheeks when he blinks. You feel your heart palpitate at the sight of your best friend, like it always does, except this time the reason’s different.
“I don’t know. I guess we don’t always have to be lonely, right?”
Swallowing thickly, you push the sheets off you, letting your bare feet rest on the carpeted floor. You pick up a random shirt from the ground — his, you think, and wear it shamelessly. You pat off the dust it collected, watching as specks fall to the ground. But despite the hushed actions, Joseph senses your conscious presence. He turns his head around, chin almost on his shoulder to look at you.
Startled, you look up at him, fingers fiddling with the ends of his shirt, before he softly says, “hey, love”
You walk over to him, your arms and legs aching, shivering when your feet touch the cold cement of his balcony. And you mimic his position, only without the cigarette as you stare across the endless edifices. You feel him look at you, imperceptible in his glazed stare. He blinks when you clear your throat, urging yourself to look at him.
And fuck, even in the early morning with the sun beginning to rise behind the city, he’s unfathomably pretty. Brown eyes that rectify his emotions, so wide with knowledge; perusal in his requisite to know the truth, especially when it comes to you. The way his pupils dilate when he sees you is fooling, a trick you refuse to partake in.
“Hey,” you murmur. The indigo sky mixes with the blithe colors of orange and yellow, a gaussian blur in your vision as your sight focuses on him and him only. Joseph’s eyes trail across the shirt you’re wearing, trying to hide the smile that threatens to come out, so he hides it behind his cigarette that he plucks back in his mouth. “You’re up early,”
He lets the smoke exit his mouth in a quick whiff. “Could say the same for you,” he rasps, ducking his face as a curl falls to his forehead. “You went out like a light last night. Thought you wouldn’t be up ‘till twelve,” Joseph chuckles. “Did…did I wake you?”
You shake your head, a sudden feeling of shyness has your eyes tracing the golden curve of his thin chain, brazen against his collarbones and opalescent skin. You remember the way it felt between your fingers — how he’d dotingly stared at you as before he pushed himself in. “No. Just woke up by myself.”
“Ah,” he looks down on his fingers. You wonder where all the confidence had gone. Perhaps alcohol was the only thing that unveils such ribald gallantry. Which explains the way he held you like something he’s lost, talked to you in Rabelaisian ways, touched you the way a lover would in the dark. Kissed you like he’s loved you forever.
Joseph looks embarrassed, ashamed of what he’s done. And you feel a sudden pit in your stomach as you think that maybe he’d regretted it. Regretted those words.
“So, um,” your index picks on the skin beside your thumbnail. “I guess now’s the right time to talk about it.”
There’s a huge intake of breath, as if he’s been preparing for this moment to come even in the earliest of mornings. Joseph takes another hit, before he forces himself to look at you once more. “Yeah. You’re right.”
You tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “Listen, Jo. I- I was drunk. And so were you. And—” you want to tell him. That the words you said last night weren’t true. But they were; in every consonant and every vowel of the drunken words, they were true in its yearning revelation. But you’re a coward to rejection. “And I-...”
A flash of hurt strikes through his glassy eyes. “You didn’t mean it?”
“No!” your eyebrows furrow, hand raised into a debate to hold his arm or cross it around yours. You chose the latter.
“All these years. I’ve looked and looked for people to love and it turns out, that person was right in front of me this whole time.”
“Then what?” he turns his body to face you, a streak of withering patience across the lines above his eyebrows as he furrows them. “You were just drunk?”
“Well, I was,” you try to humor. “But I want you to know that…”
In that ephemeral cowardice, your heart decides to divulge in the treacherous escapade of truth; you’re tired of lying, sick of hurting yourself, especially now that you’ve both done something stupid and you’ve got the opportunity to make things better or worse. Because you long to melt into his touch. His arms that are so comforting in dark times where you’ve lost all light, his love that he gives and gives when you feel forsaken.
“I meant everything I said,” you whisper, watching the way his chest raises for more than a second like you’d caught him off guard — which you did. Joseph’s cigarette hangs loosely between his fingers, almost falling onto the ground as he stares at you in dubiety. “I meant it all, Jo.”
He whispers your name, and it feels like everything just stopped. The smoke frozen in the air, the rushing cars stopping in a motion blur, time stuck between the fast minute hand. And the only thing that moves are your heartbeats; entwined and synchronized.
“Yeah?” you nod. Joseph huffs through his nose, and with fingers never letting go of his cigarette, the other comes up to shakily cup your face. His calloused skin against your soft cheeks, an odd combination that has you sink into his doting touch. “I love you,”
You blink, the bottom of his palm grazing your lips slightly. “What?”
“I love you,” he repeats. “I’ve always loved you. Since you beat up that kid for breaking my glasses when I was ten. I love you for believing in me whenever I doubted myself. I love you even when you cry on cheesy movies. Or when you give me your mushrooms because you hate them.
“I’ve always been afraid to tell you because you were my best friend,” Joseph’s thumb rubs the skin adjacent to your eye. “I didn't want to lose the most important person in my life. Everytime I try to imagine even a day without you, it’s daunting. And I thought — I’d rather you only be my friend and stay than lose you. And to hear that you meant it—”
“I’m kind of upset that I said it while I was drunk,” you chuckle. “I mean, if I’d been sober, I would have been embarrassed. Or I would have cried.”
Him being him, he makes a bawdy joke. “You still cried last night.”
Your fingers scratching his back, head thrown back with tears down your temple as he spreads kisses—sobered kisses—across your neck and shoulder. And he keeps whispering i love you like a mantra, like a promise, as he goes deeper.
“Oh! Jo! Don’t stop! Keep going,” he moans in a jest, eyes closing, head dipped back slightly as a hand comes up to clasp his chest. “Fuck!”
You had a nightmare. A repetitive nightmare. That you told him you loved him once and you ended up in some void all alone and loveless, watching as he walked through a door, shooting you a menacing glare before he walked away with the pieces of your heart puncturing his hand. But now you’re laughing with him, from his mockery and his absurdity, and he’d been the one to tell you he loves you.
So maybe in that unfinished nightmare, he opens the door back to that void with your heart glued to pieces, his own love being its glue as he gives it back to you; all fixed and built, made back into its form so he’s got something to love.
“Shut up, you whore,” you slap his chest, laughing. “My legs hurt. What’d you do? bend it around like I’m some gymnast? Are you Vecna, or something?”
“Nah, darling,” his thumb comes across your bottom lip, urging your mouth to part. And as Joseph takes a drag, cheeks sucking in before he removes it. He leans close, lips pursed and hovering over yours but never meeting as he blows it into your mouth — the white smoke evading your mouth like the chain to your hearts. “‘m just a lover.”
Tobacco on your tongue, you chuckle breathlessly, breath fanning his morning glow. “That’s such a gross line.”
"What, honey, it's true," he defends, taking another hit, cheekbones deep as he sucks.
You shake your head with a small laugh. "I hate to admit it, because I don't like that you smoke, but it's like...really hot," you murmur.
And again, for his love of a good show, he leans close to pour out all the silk smoke into your titillating mouth. And despite your demurral, you gladly accept his unhealthy offer. Joseph's face reddens at your compliment, gives a quick kiss to your nose before he closes the distance.
Letting his lips fall upon yours as he takes it with an open mouth, you moan quietly against him, head ducking up to rest your hands on his chest. His flesh is hot, the blood pumping through his veins lets his skin burn with vehemence. Joseph’s arms wrap around your waist, pressing his lips deeper that there’s minimal breathing space for the two of you.
Your hands touch his chain, to the slope between his shoulder and neck, to the mop of tangled curls on his head that you card through with your fingers. Joseph breaks away, nudging his nose with yours in an altruistic kiss.
“I love you,” you whisper to him, the apocalyptic world long forgotten now that he’s got his arms around you as some sort of yearned comfort. And when he says it back, right when the sun has risen up above to add a golden glow to his eyes, you know nothing’s better than feeling his lips on yours — his smoke eluding your mouth — even as the world falls apart.
summary: eddie "the freak" munson walks the quiet, nerdy girl home
pairing(s): eddie munson x quiet!shy!reader
warnings: cursing, mention of jason(?), reader is self conscious, (eddie is so soft in this I can't)
notes: this is completely a cliché "opposites attract" type story and I don't care, I absolutely LOVE this so much. Also, this is more of an intro to a fic? It's a bit slow right now but I definitely plan to make more parts of this story!
part i | part ii | part iii | part iv (coming soon 👀)
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The sounds of lecturing filled the room as you wrote down notes in your notebook. Your eyes looked up and back down as you listened attentively. You could feel eyes on you as you tried to pay attention to the lesson. For a second, you turned your head to the right and caught a glimpse of eddie munson staring at you. A large smile filled his face as he noticed your stare, quickly causing you to turn your eyes back down to your paper and hold a hand up to your right temple, trying to shield your face from him. As you were writing, you lost grip of your pencil and had dropped it on the floor, coincidently at the feet of eddie. You mentally cursed yourself out before turning to try and grab the pencil. Before you could grab it, eddie had already picked it up and handed it to you. Your eyes shot up at him for just a second before returning to the ground and grabbing a hold of the pencil.
"Thank you." You whispered, your eyes still locked on the ground. "No problem." He responds, a wide grin on his face. You lock eyes with him for a moment before turning back in your seat and facing your teacher once again.
About an hour passes and the dismissal bell rings and quickly, kids are grabbing their stuff and rushing out the door. You sat at your desk, gathering your books and notebooks and putting them into your backpack before leaving. "Hey." Eddie spoke, standing at the edge of your desk. You looked up at him as you shoved your textbook into your bag before zipping it up. "Hello." You said dryly, trying to give him a small smile and not seem embarrassed, even though you were growing more embarrassed by the second. "Can I uh—" He began, looking down as he knocked his rings against the wood of your desk softly. "Can I maybe walk you home?" He asked, trying not to seem nervous or disrespectful to you.
You blink a couple times while looking at him, wondering if he meant to say those words or you heard him incorrectly. You had always passed looks back and forth to Eddie during class and maybe you had been paired together for a project once or twice, but you had never really had a close conversation before.
"Don't you drive home?" You asked him.
"Well yes—" He paused as he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to figure out how to word this without sounding strange. "But I know that you live close by, and I just thought that maybe we could uh... walk and talk?" He chuckles as he puts his palms on the surface of the desk and leans over slightly above you. "Um—" you chuckle nervously while looking down. "I mean, sure, if you want to." You stumbled over your words, mentally scolding yourself for sounding so nervous for no reason.
"I do want to." He smiled and you returned the look towards him. "Okay." You whispered, almost inaudiblely. "Your majesty." He said dramatically as he bowed and held his hand out to you. You laughed at his gesture and took his hand as he helped you stand up from your desk. The skin on his palm was course and his large metal rings were cold against your own skin. He politely let go of your hand as you stood up and the both of you had walked out of the classroom.
He kept his eyes on you as you walked together, he was talking constantly about random things and people around him. You couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm about certain things, there was so much more to Eddie Munson than you knew.
As you two walked out of the school, you noticed Jason and the rest of his basketball crew talking around his car. He had noticed you too, and confusion spread across his face as he noticed Eddie "the freak" Munson walking next to you, and you laughing next to him. He wanted to walk up to you and make a scene, but he decided against it.
Eddie noticed your eyes and looked up to see Jason himself. He hummed to himself as you continued to walk down the street on the side walk, and eventually out of sight of Jason. "People just love to stare at things much cooler than them." Eddie joked, referring to Jason. You laughed and looked down for a moment. "Well, I don't think he was looking in admiration." You responded. "I mean, he's not exactly 'nice'." You used your fingers to create quotations. He looks over at you with dramatic confusion on his face. "Jason has given you shit too?" He asks, very interested in this conversation. "Well, I tutored him in sophomore year before he met Chrissy, and he was... not a fun person to deal with." You shook your head as you looked down. "Damn, I guess he's just always been that way, huh?" He says, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the ground.
You two continued to walk in silence for a moment before you had arrived in front of your home. "This is it." You spoke softly. "Well, it has been a pleasure talking to you, m'lady." He smiles widely and holds his hands behind his back as you step onto your porch. "Thank you." You responded with a smile to him. "Of course." He added, gleaming as he stared at you. "Maybe I could, walk you home again tomorrow?" He asked, trying not to push you. "Of course, if you'd want to." You held your hands in front of your chest, nervously picking at your fingertips. "Then I will see you tomorrow." He grinned, bringing his arms up to cross in front of his chest. "Okay." You replied, now smiling widely without even realizing it.
"Have a good rest of your day, my lady." He said, as he bowed dramaticly as he did before. You laughed and brought a hand up to cover your mouth. "You too, Eddie." At this point, you didn't really care how red your face was, you were beaming at how sweet he was, it was the opposite of what you had expected. You give him one last smile before turning to open your door. He holds his hand up, as a way of saying goodbye before turning around and begining to walk on the side walk, back to where his van was. You peered at him before closing your door, your lips pressed together in a tight smile across your face.
summary: Eddie's known you his whole life. He's your best friend. In truth, he wants to be your boyfriend - he wants to call you his without it being a joke and to kiss you when you're sober. But everyone loves you and wants you: he doesn't like a gold rush.
tags: Eddie x gn!reader (everyone can read!!!), childbood best friends to lovers, slow burn, pining!Eddie, 18+ reader (impli. in twenties), smidge off canon, fluff, minor angst, happy ending, oneshot
There's smudges of buttercream frosting by the corners of your lips.
But you're too busy to notice the mess on your face when you're racing Robin to the end of the block, both of you stumbling around like a couple of drunkards, hysterical giggles filling the air after having spun around in circles twenty times. It takes a full thirty seconds before you shove her away and begin to make a run for the end of the block, your sprint only further fuelled by the excited screaming from the kids.
It's your birthday.
You'd insisted - no, pleaded, really - to everyone that there's no need for a celebration. Eddie still remembers the sour expression your face twisted into when Joyce gently suggested throwing you a birthday party to celebrate, and the way you'd then firmly assured her and Hopper that it was enough that they'd even remembered that it was your birthday in a week.
"It's seriously nothing, Joyce." you'd emphasized, setting down your fork with a shy smile. The older woman only huffed at that, wholly unconvinced.
"Your birthday is not nothing, (Y/n), it's a special day that only occurs once a year. We should celebrate! And don't worry, we can organize it all here." Joyce had firmly insisted, casting a sideway glance to Hopper for support. He simply nodded in silence from next to her, right leg idly bouncing up and down as he took another sip of his beer.
Noticing that your hesitant expression wasn't fading, Eddie made it a point to knock his knees with yours to grab your attention, soothing your anxieties by squeezing your hands under the table.
"Come on, sunshine. When's the last time you had a proper birthday in Hawkins since you started university? Besides, we could invite all the kids and our mutual friends... everyone under one roof for the day?"
With all of them gazing at you intently - Hopper raising his eyebrows in a "come on, just say yes" manner, an eager glint in Joyce's warm eyes, and a reassuring grin on Eddie's lips - you had relented, sighing deeply but the shadow of a smile on your face giving your true feelings away.
"Alright. Yeah, Joyce, that'd be great."
In the present, Eddie's quiet thoughts are disrupted by Steve sitting down next to him on the wooden bench, a half empty beer bottle in his hands.
"I've never seen Joyce work so hard on a birthday party before. Not even for Jonathan's - though don't tell him I said that." Steve jokes, chuckling lowly under his breath. Eddie has to agree with his friend that the woman has gone above and beyond.
Hopper and Jonathan are by the barbeque grill, cooking and wiping away sweat away from their foreheads, Nancy and Joyce are sitting by the outdoor swings nursing lemonades in their hands, and the kids (alongside you and Robin) are engaging in silly games by the street - rogue soccer balls, baseball bats and bicycles littered on the lawn.
The backyard of the Wheeler's house is spilling with birthday decorations, from brightly colored balloons wrapped around every piece of furniture to string lights and banners sprawled across the fences, growing from the sides as if they're vines. There are bean bags on the lawn next to picnic tables filled with a wide assortment of food and drinks, a handheld radio the centrepiece blasting a top 40 hit.
Flicking away a stray balloon knocking into his side - of golden color, with the words "happy birthday!" scribbled on it in sharpie - Eddie nods along to Steve's comments absentmindedly.
"Yeah, she really did go all out."
Steve chuckles.
"I even overheard from the conversation happening by the grill that Joyce's even going to bring out an outdoor projector to screen a movie later. I don't even know how she managed to set all that up last minute."
Eddie's trying to be polite and stay tuned into the conversation, but his gaze continues to drift to you, consciously or not. You're standing hunched over, hands on bruised knees with harsh pants coming out of your mouth from the intense sprint you just took off on, as Max and El make fun of how wild your hair looks now. You scowl playfully and threaten to chase them next, to which they say something back that Eddie can't hear (knowing them and based on the look of fake shock on your face, he guesses it's a sassy retort) before you set them off running in full speeds, giggling.
"You could just go over and join them instead of staring." Steve jokes, noticing that the metalhead's attentions are elsewhere. Eddie smiles an embarrassed grin at that, his fingers clenching ever so slightly around the gift and letter sitting on his lap, to which Steve's brown eyes fall onto next. "Oh, the gift pile is over there, here, let me help-"
Steve leans over to take the neatly wrapped box and manila envelope to match from Eddie's grasp, to which the taller boy only flinches and instinctively bring the items closer to his chest.
"No, it's fine! I uh, I want to be holding onto these for the party." he quickly rambles out, ignoring the way Steve's face scrunches up in confusion.
"You sure?"
"Yep! Positive. 100% positive, actually."
Steve narrows his eyes at Eddie, a million questions on the tip of his tongue, but he doesn't get to ask any of them before Hopper is calling him over for help. Eddie lets out a small sigh of relief when he's alone again, incredibly happy to not be subject to interrogation as to why he's so protective of the gift and the letter on his lap.
Truth be told, it's the letter that Eddie's most attached to.
He's spent the entirety of last week perfecting it, writing and rewriting certain paragraphs in odd times through the day whilst mulling over the countless moments encompassing his friendship with you, and it's the piece of paper containing his deepest confession.
He loves you.
More than a best friend should.
Despite being light as a feather, the envelope feels heavy as bricks in his hands in the present moment, the soft papery texture burning his skin as he toys with its flimsy edges, tips of his fingers running up and down the square corners. Though Eddie later (reluctantly) abandons the gift and the letter by the bench to join in on a few games between you and the kids, and to later help Joyce bring out the large birthday cake from the kitchen, his mind remains fixated on that singular piece of paper for the whole party.
Your features aglow with the red and orange embers of the flames from the birthday candles, your lashes flutter shut before your lips puck together to blow, the entire room erupting into applause and appreciative shouts when you finish. You're glowing, Eddie thinks, beaming with happiness and awe as you turn around to give Joyce a fierce embrace and Hopper a cool fist bump.
Eddie makes it a point to carry the gift and the letter with him, hidden out of sight and behind his back, as you tear open each gift during spoonfuls of red velvet cake. Once you've gone down the line opening everyone's gifts, all eyes zero in on Eddie, who sheepishly smiles and lifts up the items in his hands.
"Don't worry, I have your gift and letter here."
"Never doubted you, Eds." you affirm, holding your hands out. Eddie freezes at that, stuttering his response.
"B-but you can't open it here. You have to open it, uh, when you're alone."
The room's split in between confusion (the kids not understanding what Eddie could've possibly gotten you that would require you to have to open it in private) and a collective, amused understanding amongst the adults (smirks on Joyce and Hopper's faces, quiet whispers between Nancy and Jonathan, playful nudges between Robin and Steve).
But you seem none the wiser, a low hum and curious smile quirking up the edges of your lips.
"Ooh, mysterious. Alright then, Eds. I look forward to it."
Eddie's so damn tense on the drive back to your apartment that he's afraid he's going to go into cardiac arrest at any moment. Heart beating a million miles per minute, he can hear his blood pumping right by his ears as he rounds the corner to your house, throat running dry at the realization that you're holding his letter in your lap.
"C-can I come in?" he asks, breathlessly, slapping on a quick grin to mask his mix of fear and worry. "To see your reaction to my gift and stuff."
You roll your eyes playfully at that, unstrapping the seat belt from your shoulder.
"Duh. We've been friends since we were 7 years old."
He's been over to your apartment a million times before, but suddenly the dark hallways and oak stairs seem daunting. Each footstep echoes through the silence ominously, a mocking voice reminding him with each step up the stairs that you're one step closer to opening that damn letter.
Unaware of Eddie's anxieties, you're humming a light pop song when you usher him into the bedroom, closing the door half-hazardously behind you by kicking it shut with one leg before dramatically flailing onto your bed.
"Ah, home. Just me and my bed." you groan into the sheets, stretching your tired limbs out.
"And me." your best friend adds, pretending to be offended. Your face lifts up from the comforter in response, dopey grin on your cake and champagne filled-face.
"And you. Always you, Eddie."
You sit with your legs crossed across from him, Eddie's legs dangling off the mattress as you carefully inspect the letter in the light. Your fingers move to tear it open when he stops you quickly, placing a gentle hand on your wrist to stop you mid-movement.
"W-wait. Open the gift first."
You pause, amused, raising your eyebrows.
"Isn't it usual to open the letter first before the gift?"
"Well, yeah, maybe, but... trust me, it'll make more sense later."
You click your tongue against the roof of your mouth before letting the letter fall back down onto your lap.
"Alright... But seriously, this is only getting more and more mysterious."
You inspect the neatly wrapped box in your lap: the wrapping is rather imperfect, with odd scrunches at the sides and messy taping holding the wrapping together around the shape of the box. But the wrapping paper's pattern is too endearing (a cartoon shark holding an umbrella over its head) and so is the gold bow he's put on top, so you suppose it makes up for the slightly messy presentation.
"Sorry about the lame wrapping paper, it was like the only one left at the store." Eddie comments quietly, sheepish.
"Trust me, it's perfect." you assure him, winking.
Your fingers tear open the paper to see that inside is a beautiful, sleek, black polaroid camera. Taking the polaroid gently out of the box, you stare at it in shock, its weight pleasant on your hands as you twist it around to examine every feature. Underneath the box holding the polaroid, Eddie has even thrown in several pieces of film, tied together hastily with decorative string.
"Oh my god Eddie... this... this must've cost a fortune!" you ramble, looking up at him with awe. He shakes it off though, head twisting side to side in denial, signature smirk gracing his face.
"Nah. I had some money saved up from a few Corroded Coffin gigs and the internship I did a few months ago up in Idaho paid off. Besides..." he takes in a deep breath before smiling with a short exhale. "It's my best friend's birthday - I couldn't give you something small and lame."
You laugh at that, dropping the camera carefully onto your lap.
"Well, you could've gotten me a rock off the side of the street and I still would've loved it. I mean, this- this is too much." you fuss, not meeting his gaze.
"Hey. You deserve it. It's your birthday. And again, you're my best friend. Stop acting like I went into debt buying something nice for you." he jokes, poking you on the side right where you're ticklish. You squirm away from him, curses on the tip of your tongue, but you're not really mad at him.
You don't think you could ever really be mad at Eddie.
"Alright, fine. Thank you so, so, so much, Eds. You're the bestest friend ever." you mumble into his shoulder, arms wrapping around his neck.
He can feel your heartbeat reverberating through your top, your signature perfume wafting over him at this proximity, a comforting smell that he inhales slowly as he returns your embrace. It doesn't last long enough for Eddie before you pull away and set the camera to the side, hands now reaching out for the letter.
"Wait." he blurts out again, and this time, you playfully roll your eyes.
"Again, Eddie? I feel like you really don't want me to read this letter for some reason."
Your voice is playful, your expression clearly being one of fond amusement, but Eddie feels as if his chest is being squeezed by invisible ropes. God, if only you had any idea as that what you were about to read, he thinks.
"Just to give you background on the letter, that's all." Eddie assures you, shuffling closer. "So, remember how on your first day back from Boston we had that conversation in the cinema? About how you thought the plot of that romantic movie we ended up watching was super unrealistic?"
You two had meant to see the newest horror movie, but ended up running late to the cinema and the ticketmaster (a bored looking teenager with wild red hair and blue eyes) droned from behind the glass that all tickets for that film were sold for the day. You glanced over at Eddie, silently asking him what to do next, and Eddie had shrugged his shoulders and suggested just seeing another film.
The only film that had any available tickets - considering that it was past 9pm on a Friday night - was a romantic comedy starring two famous actors neither of you cared much about. But eager to catch up on all the time you two missed whilst you were studying in Boston and Eddie was attending community college in Hawkins, neither of you minded.
The screening room was nearly empty, allowing you and Eddie to sit by the front (far away from the few other people in attendance) and whisper throughout the duration of the whole film. Towards the end of the film, the female protagonist began to cry as her love interest stared to declare 100 things he loved about her, and you groaned audibly and rolled your eyes.
"God, I fucking hate how unrealistic these films are." you'd complained, sinking against your cinema seat. Eddie shot you an amused glance at that, popping a popcorn kernel into his mouth.
"Really, this is unrealistic for you? Not the non-existent sex scenes? Not the female characters always waking up with perfect hair and makeup? Not the protagonists always living in penthouses in New York on a barista's budget?" he'd teased, knocking shoulders with yours. You grunted, rolling your eyes.
"Well, all that's super unrealistic too, don't get me wrong. But come on, who the hell can name 100 things they love about someone?"
"What, you couldn't name 100 things you love about someone?" he had challenged, raising his eyebrows.
"Definitely not! Not even to like, my parents or best friends. Why, are you saying you can, Munson?" you retorted, crossing your arms. Eddie just leaned back and smirked.
"Oh, you have no idea. I definitely could. Like I could list 100 things I love about you right now."
He meant it sincerely, but you didn't seem to pick up on it - either because it was too dark in the cinema room to see how his eyes softened at the confession or because you'd become so desensitized to his honesty after a lifelong platonic friendship.
So you just snorted and raised your hands in mock defeat.
"Geez, alright then."
"I'm serious, I could!" he argued, poking you on the side to redirect your gaze towards him. You chuckled, shaking your head sideways at your best friend's antics.
"Yeah, okay. Save it for another day, okay? The old lady behind us keeps on glaring and I'm afraid she's gonna stab us if we keep on talking."
"The shitty rom com day? Yeah, of course I remember. Why?"
Eddie swallows nervously, tongue poking out to trace his bottom lip.
"I did it. I wrote down the 100 things I love about you onto that letter."
Your eyebrows raise and an impressed grin spreads on your lips.
"You actually did? Damn, I'm impressed, Munson."
"Yeah, well, considering I had basically our entire lives to draw upon, it wasn't that hard. One thing though: it's super, duper important that you read to the very end. Like, from number one to one hundred without stopping. No skipping ahead." Eddie hastily adds, fingers itching by his sides with anxiety.
You nod slowly, finally unclasping the front of the envelope as you begin to read.
-------------------------------------------
01. your eyes - they were the first thing I noticed about you when you first spoke to me.
Eddie was seven when he first met you.
He was sulking in the playground, a couple hundred feet away from all the other kids, busy kicking a small pebble back and forth with the cement wall in boredom. He desperately wanted the school day to be over. He wasn't as tall as the other kids yet, and all the boys his age already thought that he was too weird: obsessed with music and bugs instead of cars and girls.
Lunch periods sucked the most for Eddie - at the very least, during class, he could distract himself by nodding along to the teachers and burying his mind in whatever activity he had to finish. But when released from the confines of the classroom and people naturally split off into their groups, Eddie was almost always alone.
He didn't mind too much, he supposed. It was no different from at home, where his parents and him barely spoke - him in his room unless it was time to eat, silent dinners at night with his father's head in a newspaper and his mother nursing a cigarette.
Eddie was getting ready to kick the small pebble back to the wall, right leg bracing backwards, when he suddenly felt someone's warm hand on his shoulder.
"It's a lot more fun when you kick a ball back and forth, you know. And when you do it with someone, not a wall."
He recognized that voice.
Despite having moved into Hawkins less than two weeks ago, you already had a large circle of friends and several teachers wrapped around your fingers. Star student, extrovert, popular kid.
All things Eddie certainly were not, so as to render him starstruck that THE (Y/n) (L/n) would want to speak to him.
So his first reaction was to look around the playground, expecting to see another kid kicking a pebble back and forth and to whom your comment was actually directed to, but the courtyard was practically empty. You seemingly caught on to his confusion and giggled, stepping closer to him so as to shadow the sun behind your figure.
"Yes, I'm talking to you. My name is (Y/n), by the way."
The young boy was sure there wasn't a single person in his grade who didn't know who you were. And yet here you were, having separated from the larger group of kids to specifically seek Eddie out, introducing yourself with bruised knees and a wide smile. His eyes hesitantly lifted from the floor to meet your eyes - dancing with joy, irises twinkling with a glow akin to jewels, an alluring sense of warmth exuding from your simple gaze.
He was transfixed. His left hand was slow to rise but he eventually shook your hand, gripping your fingers tightly.
"Nice to meet you, (Y/n). I'm Eddie."
"Eddie." you strung his name out, as if testing how it sounded from your lips. "That's a cool name. Wanna play ball?"
You spun the soccer ball in your hands back and forth, wiggling your eyebrows.
"Sure."
And that was the start of his lifelong friendship with you.
-----------------------------------------
13: your sense of adventure - I'll never forget how the first time I got grounded by Wayne was because you wanted to sneak out to see the meteor showers.
"Did you hear that there's going to be a meteor shower tonight?"
You'd come barreling into his trailer, not even bothering to properly knock (and only sending a polite "hello" to Wayne who was sat on the couch watching TV), startling Eddie who was devouring one science fiction comic after another.
"A hello is usually how people start conversations." Eddie had grumbled back, folding the paper comic away, though his slight annoyance melted away quickly at your obvious excitement. It was spring break and you were two bored ten year old kids constrained to the mundane life in Hawkins.
"Hello, Eddie, you look great, hope you're well, blah blah blah." you mocked, putting on an overly formal accent as you eventually walked over to his bed and shooed for him to make space for you on the mattress. Scowling (though it wasn't genuine), he obliged, allowing you to sit next to him with your legs criss crossed. "But seriously. I read in the newspaper this morning that a once in a decade meteor shower is going to happen at 11pm tomorrow."
"And?" the boy questioned, flipping his head over to the side, staring at you with mild confusion. You looked positively offended at that, folding one of his spare sci fi comics in half to hit him across the shoulder.
"AND? And we gotta sneak out to see it for ourselves, Eddie!"
Eddie sighed, lips drawn tight as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, sounds kind of boring. Also, we technically have school tomorrow."
You pouted at that, crossing your arms in indignant disagreement.
"Aw, come on, Eds, PLEASE?"
"Why don't you go alone?"
You spluttered at his suggestion.
"ALONE? Eddie, this is a ONCE IN A DECADE occurence! Come on, as my best friend, please? I promise it'll be fun!"
Eddie suppressed another deep sigh - this was the paradox of his friendship with you.
You were this ball of energy, bright sunshine on a summery day, an extrovert who enjoyed parties, biking and spontaneous plans on a late Wednesday night. Eddie was more withdrawn, a sunflower blooming in the dark, someone who preferred to spend his free days reading comics or studying the genius of his favorite rock musicians with an open notebook and pen in hand.
Perhaps that was why you two worked together so well though. At least, that was Wayne's working theory, considering you two had been inseparable for three years at this point.
"Fine." he had grumbled and you leaped forward to hug him, crushing Eddie between your arms, making him wince.
"Sorry, sorry, I just got excited! Oh, we'll have to be super careful when sneaking out. You can bike alongside me whilst I skateboard, I know the perfect place to view the meteor shower: it's this little hill by Cornelia Park." you hurried out, swinging your backpack over your shoulder, your fingers thrumming alongside your skateboard.
"You're not sticking around?"
Eddie tried to hide the disappointment in his voice but it still laced his tone, eyebrows furrowing as he was expecting you to stick around for dinner at the least (which was routine whenever you came over).
"Can't, my cousins are visiting from out of state and my mom will kill me if I miss the family dinner. But tomorrow, I'll sneak out and be waiting for you outside your trailer at like 10:30, okay?" you said, sticking one of your pinkie fingers out at him. "Remember, Eds, you can never break a pinkie promise with me."
You warned with a serious voice, a joke that you'd been employing since last year when you'd used it to ensure Eddie would pay you back for ice cream. He rolled his eyes then and he was rolling his eyes now too, but he nonetheless wrapped his own finger around yours, sealing the deal.
"10:30 tomorrow, got you."
Eddie feigned going to bed awfully early the next day, telling a small white lie that he wasn't feeling well, and he waited dutifully until he heard the television flicker off and Wayne's breaths to even out from the other bedroom. Slowly creaking open his door, Eddie pocketed the keys sitting by the kitchen table after having quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a black jacket to fight off the autumn cold.
As you'd promised, you were waiting for him outside, skateboard tucked securely under your left arm, wide awake smile on your face as you excitedly waved him over.
"Alright, let me get my bike first, relax." he'd teased, unchaining his bicycle from a nearby tree as you excitedly jumped up and down on the balls of your feet.
"Come onnnnn, Eds! I don't want to miss the beginning."
"I don't think it's even possible to miss out the beginning of a natural occurrence." he'd countered, but your cheery disposition wasn't affected.
"Alright grumpy pants, let's get going."
He followed behind you carefully - night wind whipping through his hair, pale moonlight illuminating the cracks between oak trees and ink black roads - before you slowed down by the entrance to the park. You hopped off your skateboard and Eddie chose to walk alongside his bike whilst making small talk, with you insisting that the perfect spot to view the meteor shower was a large hill at the back of a private garden.
"Damn it, it's locked." you swore, placing one hand on the green metal gate before pulling it fiercely back and forth. A slow smirk arose on your face as you turned back at Eddie, a treacherous, mischievous glint in your eyes. "You know what this means."
"(Y/n), no."
"(Y/n), yes. We're climbing over the gate."
Before he could even stop you, you had thrown your skateboard overboard and started climbing the metal fence. To your credit, it wasn't a particularly difficult task - your left foot being dug between the gaps before you hoisted the rest of your body up and swung your legs over the top with ease.
"Just lock your bicycle to the side and we'll come back for it, promise." you promised from the other side, smiling at him through the gaps of the fence. Eddie ran a hand down his face, semi-regretting agreeing with you, before he relented and pointed an accusatory finger at you.
"Fine. But if we get arrested and go to jail, I'm totally blaming this on you."
"Guilty as charged, Munson."
He climbed over the fence after locking his bicycle by the side fence, though he had a bit more of a difficulty climbing it than you (with the fact that he was already taller than you by a few inches making it all the more embarrassing.) But he didn't have time to dwell on that, when the moment his shaky feet met the dirt floor, your left hand was gripping his wrist tightly and leading him further into the night.
"Come on, it's nearly 11." you cautioned, motioning to the fancy wristwatch your parents had gifted you for your tenth birthday.
The clearing you led Eddie to was beautiful - a small stream flowing underneath flower beds blooming with orange bellflowers, pink roses and white lilies, a cobblestone pathway leading up to a large hill separated by neatly trimmed hedges and plastic garden gnomes. He barely had a chance to appreciate every aspect of the small oasis before you were pushing him up the hill, flashing him a proud smile when you collapsed on top of the mound after a few minutes of climbing.
"Here we are!" you announced. "Perfect view of the night sky."
Eddie wordlessly sat next to you, knees closed together and drawn to his chest, catching his breath whilst staring up at the the empty night sky. After a few moments of silence, he frowned, and he was getting ready to ask you if you were sure that you'd read the paper correctly.
And that was when the first shooting star crossed the sky. A bright, brilliant flash of light which soared from one edge of the sky to another, it elicited a shocked gasp from you, your fingers curling around his upper arm excitedly.
"It's starting!"
After the first star, all the others followed in quick succession, decorating the inky black landscape with stunning bursts of white light. Eddie had to admit, it was an incredible sight to see, and at some point you'd snuck closer towards him and Eddie quickly looked down to shoot you a worried glance.
"You alright?" he questioned, noticing that you were shivering next to him.
"Just peachy! A bit cold, though, didn't have the time to grab my cardigan cause I had to climb out the window." you chuckled, rubbing your upper forearms with your hands. He was quick to discard his jacket at that, wrapping the fabric around your shoulders without a second thought.
"Are you sure, Eds?" you asked, frowning, though you were grateful for the rush of warmth. He nodded, disregarding the small chill running down his back at the sudden exposure to the cold.
"Positive. I rather I be cold than you."
"Thanks, Eds. You're the best."
"That's why I'm your best friend." he teased. You chuckled, shaking your head in agreement.
"I guess so."
And then when you'd grown weary and tired, resting your head on his shoulder as he instinctively wrapped an arm around your shoulder to make sure your head wouldn't slip off, Eddie felt a foreign sensation.
His vision was slightly hazy, rose hues glazing his irises, pleasant warmth filling his stomach as if he'd just eaten a delicious warm meal. It was a completely new feeling, your presence both simultaneously feeling like too much yet not enough, his breaths coming out at a slightly faster pace as he stared down at you.
Eddie didn't know what he was feeling, but somehow, having you rest your head against his shoulder in the dead of night... After having snuck out to climb over a fence into a private garden to watch a meteor shower with you, awoke something in him.
He didn't know what to call the feeling.
All he knew was that he liked it, and he liked being around you.
And that was enough of an answer for ten year old Eddie.
-------------------------------------
21: your laughter - I always like hearing you laugh. Some days, I even think it's better than Black Sabbath and Metallica.
A crush.
That was what it was, Eddie now realized, his teenage years finally giving him the language to explain what he was feeling for his best friend.
You were sitting with your legs swinging back and forth on the park bench, tongue lazily swirling around your ice cream, a celebratory treat for having gotten through - alongside Eddie - the dreadful three years of middle school.
Well, more dreadful for him than you, he supposed.
Even though in middle school Eddie had broken out of his shell much more (having discovered a love for fantasy novels, metal music and befriending a small group of boys who were also branded "nerds"), you and him were still separated by several stratospheres in the social pyramid.
You still shared a few classes with him, during which you always sat in front or behind him, for which he was always grateful. It was one of Eddie's greatest insecurities that sooner or later, you'd realize that you were too good to be with him and ditch for someone better. But you never did, even going so far as to defend him from snide comments from the other popular kids that you were "too good" to be hanging around someone like him.
Eddie often wondered if he was a burden to you: dragging you down as you swam, weighing you down as you soared higher and higher to the sun. You always laughed off such accusations, paired with a stern talking - akin to that of a disappointed parent - which emphasized how much you valued him.
Eddie still didn't really know why.
It was the summer before the start of high school, the realization which was sitting heavy in his lower stomach, mind swirling with a cacophony of anxious thoughts.
See, Eddie had spent the three years of middle school learning guitar, reading every fantasy novel he could get his hands on, and sticking by the same group of boys who had been branded as nerds from the beginning of sixth grade.
You'd spent those years becoming the captain of the swimming club, getting invited to countless parties and sleep overs, and growing up into your features.
Eddie always thought you were a nice looking person, sure. But as soon as puberty hit and his hormones began to kick in, he realized that you were growing up right in front of his eyes. Your shoulders became more defined, thighs more toned, you'd certainly grown several inches in height from that excited seven year old who'd first offered to play ball with him. Your facial features were balancing out, eyes slightly shifting in hue, lips more plump.
And fuck, you were gorgeous.
And Eddie hadn't been the only one to notice, considering how everyone either envied you or wanted to date you.
Eddie was wondering now what it must be like to grow up that beautiful as droplets of strawberry ice cream hung from the edges of your bottom lip, hair kissed with glittering sunlight streaming through the gaps of the willow tree you were sat under.
"You excited to start high school?" you'd asked him whilst wiggling your eyebrows, as if you were passing off a dirty joke that neither of you should be engaging in. Eddie blew through his lips, quickly taking a bite off of his own ice cream cone, throwing you a nonchalant shrug.
"Meh. Probably gonna be like middle school, but shittier and with more hormones."
You laughed at that, a carefree melody flowing from your throat as you threw your head back, yellow sunlight illuminating your features at the action. It was a proper laugh, a loud sound followed by echoes of giggles, eyes turning teary and stomach aching from the lack of oxygen.
It made butterflies flutter in Eddie's stomach, fingers itching to tap your nose and lips aching to kiss your cheeks, but he remained still, content to just sit back and watch you laugh at his dumb jokes.
"You're probably right. But god, it's such a big change, it's kind of scary." you had said, brushing a stray strand of hair away from your eyes. "I mean, high school! Four years in a completely new place! Then we'll be off to university, then we'll have jobs, then we'll probably have families-"
"Hey, hey, relax." Eddie had to calm you down as you were speaking so fast that you forgot to breathe in between each sentence, his left hand springing up to comfortingly pat against your clothed back. "You're overthinking it."
"Very me, isn't it?" you gave him a sheepish smile, kicking up your legs to cross them underneath your arms. Eddie just smiled in acknowledgement.
"Sure is, sunshine."
You stuck your tongue out at that, face scrunching up as if you'd tasted something bitter.
"When will you stop calling me that? We're not ten anymore, Eds." you commented, referring to the fact that Eddie had been calling you by the nickname 'sunshine' since both of you were ten. His justification? You were sunny, fun, and you always 'brightened his days' - "you're basically my sunshine" he'd confessed, hands wringed together, shy grin on his lips.
"Never, sorry not sorry."
"Well then what am I supposed to call you? Seems hardly fair that I get a nickname and you don't." you paused, humming as you began to seemingly brainstorm an appropriate name in your head. "Moonshine."
"Moonshine?" he mocked, giving you an incredulous look, to which you threw your hands up dramatically.
"I-I don't know! I was just thinking like, if I was going to be called sunshine and we're such opposites, you'd be called moonshine."
"I'm pretty sure that's the name of that illegal alcohol too. You know, the spirit that's banned in the US for having an insanely high alcohol concentration?" he teased, before he nodding affirmatively. "You know what, now that I think about it, I kind of like it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We're opposites - sun and moon - and I sort of dig the thought of being named after a deadly alcohol brand."
"You're hardly fatal, Munson." you'd hit back, knocking your shoulders with his.
"Eh, Wayne seems to think I am whenever I cook."
You laughed again at that, and though this time it was shorter and lighter, it still did the job of lighting his veins on fire and causing a slight blush to paint over his cheeks.
Eddie was certain that he'd say and do anything - absolutely anything - to hear you laugh at his jokes.
------------------------------------------
36: your honesty - it might break a lot of hearts, but it's so refreshing.
"Everything alright?" you questioned Eddie from behind, frown on your wet lips as you peeked over his shoulder to stare at the retreating jocks.
You were both sophomores now, a full two years into high school, and Eddie had been proven correct in his prediction that he'd continue to be an outcast and a weirdo whilst you dominated the popularity pyramid.
The basketball team had taken particular glee at bugging Eddie at school - knocking into him in the hallways, purposefully ignoring him during group discussions, whispering words like "freak" and "loser" whenever they passed by him. That was, of course, so long as you weren't near him. They were on their best behavior around you: student body president, head of student volunteering, varsity swim captain.
After all, you were kind of one of them - you sat with the popular kids: the varsity athletes and cheerleaders and student government members. Eddie, on the other hand, sat in the back of the lunch room with the science club nerds, with whom they discovered a mutual love for D&D after being grouped together for a Chemistry project.
"Everything's fine, don't worry your pretty little head about it, okay?" Eddie had joked at you, winking. "We still on for Friday movie night?" he added, hopefully, slamming his locker door shut. His smile fell in the fraction of a second at the unexpected sight of your sorry expression.
"Yeah, about that... I can't tonight." you'd said awkardly, scratching your neck.
"What? Your parents got you doing household chores again?"
"Oh, no, no. My parents are out of town this week. It's... something else."
You were clearly hiding something: avoiding his gaze and dragging the soles of your shoes on the floor as you wordlessly trailed behind him in the hallways, making Eddie's curiosity worsen. After all, you two were best friends, you never hid anything from each other.
"What is it? Come on, don't leave me hanging, sunshine."
You were chewing on your bottom lip, hesitant smile sparking on your face when you looked up to finally meet his worried gaze.
"I have a date tonight."
Shit.
Eddie halted his footsteps in the hallway, eyes wide and unblinking as the words soaked in, heart beginning to crack and fill with dread at the announcement. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that you were well desired, he knew that you were gorgeous, he knew that it was only a matter of time before you'd had a proper date and a first kiss.
But he didn't think that day was going to be today.
And to add salt to injury, it had to be on a day where it was routine for you to come over to his place to watch a shitty VHS tape over popcorn and pizza. He loved Friday movie nights. It got him through late nights studying subjects he couldn't care less about, a distraction to hold on to as a cheerleader jeered at him or a jock roughly rustled into him by the parking lot.
"Oh. Uh, nice! Who asked you out?" Eddie had tried to come off as if he'd been unaffected, as if there wasn't now a sinking, clawing sensation in his stomach and his heart wasn't filling with black tar. His efforts to keep his face neutral and voice light paid off, as you visibly relaxed, slow grin quirking up the edges of your lips.
"Tyler."
"Tyler? As in, Tyler Peterson?" he'd spluttered in disbelief: Tyler was the complete opposite of Eddie. A muscular blonde and head of the basketball team, he was a senior with a large group of friends and a penthouse in the upper side of Hawkins. Rich, undeniably attractive and popular, the stinging pain of insecurity was beginning to prick at Eddie's skin as your grin only widened.
"Yeah, that's him. Not gonna lie, I'm surprised that he'd ask me out-"
"You can't go out on a date with him." the metalhead had quickly cut in, making you cock your head in confusion.
"Why... not?"
"Because!" Eddie shouted, his mind scrambling to find an excuse. Because in reality, it made sense that two of the most popular and attractive people in Hawkins High would go on a date. "He's a senior and you're a sophomore, yeah. It's creepy."
You stuck your tongue out at him.
"Ugh, moonshine, grow up. He's still 17 and I'm about to turn 16 in two weeks. It's not like we're breaking the law." you flicked him in the forehead, playful smirk on your lips before you continued to walk down the hallway, Eddie's footsteps quickly following behind you.
"Still! That's like, gross."
"Listen, I'm really sorry about cancelling our Friday movie night, I know you look forward to them as much as I do." you sighed, turning on your heel to stare up at him. "I'll make it up to you, okay? But I really like Tyler and I wanna give this a shot, Eddie. I mean, for fucks sake-"
You quickly looked around the vacant hallways before leaning over to whisper.
"I haven't even had a proper first kiss yet."
Eddie chose to ignore how the first thought in his mind was a sly comment - "we could kiss right now and get it out the way" - and he consciously chose instead to lower his defences, shoulders shrugging downwards at your strict tone and persistent gaze.After all, if Eddie knew anything about you, it was that you were stubborn and once you set your mind to something, he couldn't talk you out of it.
Besides, the logical voice in his mind now reprimanded him, he didn't own you. You weren't his. He'd had plenty of chances to make a move on you, to push you two over the line of friendship into love, a whole nine years in fact. And he'd never done anything. And it was selfish and unreasonable for him to want to keep you all to himself, away from other boys who also noticed your attractiveness.
You were akin to a siren, Eddie thought. Sweet voice, perfect features, alluring aura that enticed people towards you. Damn your attractiveness.
"Okay, fine. I'll leave the front door unlocked though in case you still wanna swing by afterwards."
"Aw, thanks, handsome." you'd teased, elbowing him on the side. The contact burned Eddie through his clothes, skin still tingling with hot jealousy, which he quickly distracted himself from by changing the subject to something irrelevant.
Eddie was left to sulk by himself by the sofa that night, and he was eternally grateful that Wayne was working out of state that weekend so as to not see the plight of his nephew moping around in the house alone. It undoubtedly would've resulted with Wayne grunting, placing his hands on his hips, cigarette loosely dangling from his lips as he'd ask: "where's (Y/n)?"
He didn't need any additional salt in the wound, Eddie thought.
Eddie had practically memorized every detail of Poltergeist at this point, the exact dialogue exchanged, when the jump scares occurred, when a character was going to be killed - but it was far less fun when you weren't sitting next to him, narrating out loud and giggling at his dumb jokes.
This sucked. It really, really sucked - especially since he knew that you were out probably holding hands with and leaning your head against that popular blonde, the complete antithesis to Eddie. Shifting uncomfortably on the couch, Eddie just wished that he could simply melt away, the stabbing feeling of jealousy never once leaving him.
Then he heard someone knock on the door. You had opened it and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over your chest as if you'd just been swinging by casually as planned.
"Hey." you'd offered, student president jacket draped over your shoulders, form fitting jeans hugging your thighs. "Can I come in?"
"Y-yeah." he'd muttered out, dazed, mind whirling with the million possibilities that could've led you to his trailer. After all, when he'd said you could still swing by after the date, he didn't think you would actually take the offer. Eddie figured you'd end up being driven home in Tyler's porsche or end up at the blonde's place instead, clothes discarded on his expensive penthouse bedroom floor.
"D-did you even go on the date?" Eddie spluttered, bewildered, shifting over to make space for you. Your expression soured at that, nose crinkling at the top, lips puckering.
"I did, but... it was a total bust. Turns out, we don't have much in common."
"Really?" It was impossible to hide the complete shock from his tone, in response to which you turned around and raised your eyebrows, challenging him.
"What?"
Eddie shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head sideways simultaneously.
"I don't know, I just figured... you're both popular, attractive and outgoing people. Would seem like it'd be a perfect match on paper."
"Eh. The conversation was stilted and awkward. Our sense of humor totally didn't match. And honestly?" you paused, giggling softly before continuning. "Everything he said and did annoyed me. Like somehow he was the amalgamation of every flaw and quirk I hate in a person."
"Yeah?" Eddie hid his smile of pride and relief behind his hands, as you snatched the popcorn bowl from his lap and popped a kernel into your mouth.
"Yeah. So I called the date off short."
"What'd you tell him?"
"The truth, duh. That he's a nice guy but we're a total mismatch. He tried to argue otherwise, grabbing my wrist and tugging me back to his car, but I just stared back and told him it was clear he was still in love with his ex anyways so he should probably just chase her."
"Huh." was all Eddie can offer in response as you flashed him another comforting grin and leaned back into the couch cushions, body loosening as your gaze fixated on the blue screen ahead.
Eddie stared down at his hands before back up to you, admiring how flickers of blue and red light passed over your face as another gruesome scene played, your jaw carved by the contrast of shadow and light dancing on your face.
It was a sight Eddie had seen a million times, but it never failed to make his heart race.
"Sorry that the date didn't work out." he whispered into the night, knees brushing up against yours.
He didn't mean it, at all.
You looked down at him with a lazy grin, shrugging your shoulders.
"Don't be, moonshine. Cause the date led me back here, didn't it? So it wasn't a total bust."
His heart fluttered at that, electricity tingling at his finger tips, as you then shuffled closer towards him to throw a blanket over both your laps. Your head on his shoulder, knees weighing against his lap as you leaned against him, all Eddie could do was nod in response.
"Definitely not."
Perhaps Eddie would be okay with you going on dates - so long as it meant more nights like this.
------------------------------------------------
58: your "i'm thinking hard" face. I don't think you realize you do it, but when you're really concentrating on something, your eyes glaze over and lighten and you pout your lips. I love that sight.
"What're you working on?"
You looked up upon hearing Eddie's muffled question, his lips preoccupied with a large muffin as you scowled and brushed away the spare crumbs from your desk. He had insisted on coming over and "helping you" study for the senior finals, which in Eddie's terminology really meant stealing snacks from your cupboard and trying to distract you as you worked.
"Senior prom planning." you'd responded, dropping your pencil onto the desk and rubbing your forehead with your fingers to soothe the stress. "It's taking fucking forever too. There's like, a million things to still work out before next Friday."
Right, the prom. Eddie remembered seeing all the obnoxiously colorful decorations around school advertising the event, alongside the countless cheesy promposals he'd been a witness to involuntarily.
Eddie didn't have an immediate response to that, so you returned your attention to the stack of papers, your face entering a trance like zone he recognized as concentration. It evened out your features perfectly and even your slightest reflexes - biting down on the edge of a wooden pencil or flicking the square corners of the pages with your delicate fingers - made you so attractive to him.
"Well, if you're planning it, I know it's gonna be fantastic." he had offered in consolation.
"You're not going?" you whipped your head back to stare at him, shocked, to which Eddie only shrugged his shoulders.
"Never been my scene. You have fun though, yeah?"
"But it's our final year!" you insisted.
"Your final year." he reminded you, his eyebrows crinkling in disgust. I have to repeat again."
You waved his comment off, abandoning your stack of papers and stationery by your desk before sitting next to him on your bed, fierce determined look on your face.
"Eddie, it's not just any dance this year. It's senior prom! One that I worked really hard on! And don't make an excuse and say that your other friends aren't going, literally everyone bought tickets - even the science geeks."
Damn, there went his excuse, thought Eddie. Your pleading gaze was heavy on his shoulders, teeth gnawing his bottom lips as he mulled over it, head turning fuzzy when you reached over and placed your hand on his lap.
"Come on, moonshine. Please? For me?"
He swore you had the ability to hypnotize people. It was the only logical explanation for when you fluttered your eyelashes and left delicate touches on his skin, Eddie's mind blanked and he wordlessly agreed to any of your suggestions. Prom and Eddie did not mix, at all, from the popular kids winning titles to the wearing of suits and cheesy slow dances, but when you were asking him....
"Come on.... I'll even save a dance for you." you had said quietly, voice dripping with undeniable affection.
"Fine." Eddie surrendered, accepting the pink paper ticket you dug out from your bag, your fingers brushing against his when he took the slip of paper from your grasp.
Then once Eddie got back to his trailer, he stared at the ticket for a few minutes in the dark, an odd stirring sensation settling in his stomach. He'd been your best friend for 11 years at this point. You were about to graduate. He was about to repeat senior year.
Next year would be the first year he wouldn't be spending every moment with you.
The panic that filled his throat was foreign, chest feeling as if an elephant was standing on top his body, prickly stabbing sensations in his lower abdomen. Staring at the pink slip of paper, Eddie turned the ticket over by the window, watching how the font of the words 'senior prom' flickered and changed under the pale moonlight.
Eddie had to tell you.
If there was any day to tell you that he loved you, that he wanted something more, it would have to be on prom night.
Letting out a shaky exhale, Eddie carefully tucked the ticket underneath a set of magazines on his desk, before forcing himself to drift off to sleep.
Prom came in a flash. Wayne had gone the extra mile of driving to the town next over to rent a proper suit for him, the velvet fabric and square shoulders fitting his figure nicely. But Eddie didn't recognize himself in this sort of attire - he was still pulling at stray hems and ruffling with the edges of the fabric in the mirror when he'd realize that he'd wasted twenty minutes just staring at himself.
"Shit."
His plan was to seek you out the moment he arrived, but the gymnasium was packed with people - a flurry of glittery fabrics and bright party lights, blue and purple balloons tied to the ivory white chairs and tables, fairy string lights intertwined with satin curtains. He'd bumped into his science club friends and before he knew it, he was practically pinned to be by their side, the sea of unfamiliar faces blocking you from view.
He caught the sight of you a full hour and a half into the dance, a brief glimpse of white velvet fabric as you easily walked through the crowd greeting people, before you disappeared from sight again. Eddie was already beginning to excuse himself from his friend group when static rang out from the stage, and the principal announced that it was time to read the results for the prom title crownings.
It was only when the party had completely died down - crushed coke cans and rumpled party banners on the floor, a slow forgettable song flowing from the speakers, half-eaten paper plates stacked on top of stained tablecloths - that he was able to approach you. You were mid-conversation with the principal, probably exchanging pleasantries as the balding man applauded your effort and all your service the past four years, before you turned and your bright eyes drooped in exhaustion.
They lightened up, however, when they landed on his figure, and you excitedly waved at him.
"There you are! Had a great time?" you questioned, excited to hear his response.
"Yeah! Shame we just uh, didn't get our dance." Eddie awkwardly added, hoping to mask his disappointment. The cleaning team had already begun to take the decorations down, the music club tidying up the DJ booth on the stage behind you.
"We can still have our dance, silly. Follow me."
You quietly led him out to the parking lot, which was now completely abandoned save for the few empty vehicles and black streetlights. Leading Eddie over to your car, you opened the front seat and dug out your Walkman from your bag. Checking which cassette was in, you grinned, pressing play and placing the player on the roof of your car.
"Come on, I don't bite." you'd joked, noticing how Eddie had seemingly tensed up as the music began to flow and you placed arm over his neck. He nodded, a weak smile on his face, before he carefully put his two hands on your waist, gently swaying to the romantic melodies of Ella Fitzgerald.
"You alright?" you asked, noticing that he wasn't making any eye contact with you, his brown orbs instead choosing to focus on how his feet shuffled on the pavement next to yours.
"Y-yeah." he breathed out, glancing up for a brief moment. "It's just-"
He paused. You looked ethereal. Even in the dull, harsh yellow light of the street lamps, you carried an almost golden glow, your facial features only seemingly complimented by the night sky. He swore he could count every individual star in the sky in your eyes, your French perfume washing over him in waves, clouding his senses like toxic smoke.
"We've been friends since we were 7." Eddie slowly started out as you laughed quietly, shaking your head in affirmation.
"Yeah. Nearly 11 years, crazy, huh?"
"Y-yeah. And I've been thinking, since this is our last year together in Hawkins before you go off to university, I should be... honest with you."
You frowned at that, your grin dropping for a fraction of a second before a curious smirk replaced it.
"You telling me you haven't been honest with me?"
"Not like that! But, I realized something. It's something I've been thinking about for, uh, a while, and maybe I should've said earlier but there never seemed to be a good time."
He was practically shaking with nerves, throat closing up, alarm bells ringing in his head. He could tell that you could sense his sudden anxiety, the way his breath stopped coming out in regular intervals and his shoulders tensed as if bracing for impact.
"What is it, Eddie?"
This was it. He took in a deep breath, looked you right in the eyes, and opened his mouth, "I love you" on the tip of his tongue-
"(Y/n)! You want any sides with your pizza?" another voice rang out from the car two spots down, from a blue BMW belonging to a student none other than Steve Harrington.
Fuck.
Eddie knew of Steve. They weren't friends, hardly acquaintances. But he knew that Steve was everything Eddie wasn't: popular, charming, star basketball player, adored by everyone, Hawkins royalty. Now that Eddie thought about it, he'd vaguely seen you and Steve talking in between classes and after basketball games - just catching up on random things, you'd insisted, just two close friends.
Now Eddie wasn't too sure how true that statement was.
"Just pizza is fine, thanks! But maybe some soda?" you shouted over, breaking away from Eddie for a moment, and he cursed himself for how he instantly missed your warm arms being wrapped around him. Steve flashed you a thumbs up from his driver's seat before driving into the night, leaving Eddie to stare at you with baited curiosity.
"You're... going off to Harrington's?"
"Yeah! His parents are out of town and he just got the sickest television - like the newest model - and a few VHS tapes rented out. He also helped out the most with the prom whilst I was planning it, so I offered to pay for pizza when he asked if I wanted to come over for movie night."
Red hot flashes of anger blinded Eddie's vision for a second, before it was replaced by crushing sadness - you were going over to Steve Harrington's. Alone. After prom. To watch a movie.
Something you two did all the time.
Eddie was trying his best to keep his face neutral, to prevent the devastating realization that he'd waited too long to confess his love to weigh down his smile. His efforts seemed to pay off, as the small smile on your face never faded, before you shook those thoughts off and stared up at Eddie innocently.
"Anyways, you wanted to... tell me something?"
Suddenly, Eddie hated the song that was playing in the background - Dream a Little Dream of Me - and his throat ran dry.
"Yeah. Just... once you leave, can I use your cafeteria card?"
Chuckling, you nodded, still completely blind to how devastated Eddie was internally.
"Sure, Eddie. Really, that was what you were so scared to ask me about?"
'No.' he responded automatically, internally.
"Yeah. I know, it's kinda dumb, but I just wasn't sure if the school president would be willing to bend the rules for me a bit." he teased, mock smile on his lips, elbowing you on the side. You shoved him off playfully.
"Please, I'd do anything for you, Eds. You're my best friend."
The words felt bitter on his tongue now, mouth filling with sour tones, but he nonetheless forced himself to smile at you warmly.
The moonlight was blinding him.
-----------------------------------------
66: your drunken ramblings. I swear, when you're drunk, you become a total clumsy, reckless mess. It's hilarious but also concerning, if I'm being honest. No wonder Robin is always playing the sober driver around you.
The first year without you was brutal, Eddie found.
He'd made a few new friends after your departure to Boston, boys who were equally obsessed with fictional universes and fantasy roleplaying as him - Jeff and Gareth, with whom he created the 'Hellfire Club' with - and he'd joined Corroded Coffin as a guitarist.
Anything to fill the void, now that you were no longer here.
On a good month, you'd be able to call him on a Sunday late at night to fill Eddie in on how you were adjusting to university life. He'd listen to you ramble about anything - your course, your new friends, how hectic and busy and off putting you found the bustling city - with a lovesick grin on his face, imagining in his mind how you'd scrunch up your face and toy with the telephone chord with your fingers during the conversation.
"You always let me talk too much on these catch up calls." you'd once teased, slightly embarrassed. "Feel free to tell me to shut up at any time."
"Never." Eddie had insisted, sitting up straight. He'd never get tired of listening to your sweet voice from half away across the country.
But there were many more months where neither of you could call - exam seasons, holidays spent apart, the fact that you lived by a university schedule and Eddie still went by a high school one. And though Eddie was beginning to adjust nicely to his new group of friends and was determined to graduate on his second try, nothing quite filled the gaping hole in his heart left by your absence.
So when you'd finally come back for summer break, Eddie basically refused to leave you alone. On the second week upon your return, you'd showed up at his trailer with an interesting proposition.
"You remember Amber? Head cheerleader our final year together?"
Eddie shook his head, biting down the truth which was that he had no idea who you were talking about.
"Well, I got an invitation to her engagement party and I can bring a plus one. Wanna... come with me?"
Had anyone else asked Eddie, he would've said no in a heartbeat. But he was starved of your presence, having missed you for a whole year, and how could he say no to you now when you were in front of him? Breathing, real, smiling so prettily, asking for him to spend a whole day with you?
"Sure."
Eddie semi-regretted it later on when you two actually drove up to the party later that night.
"I hate parties." Eddie groaned into his half-empty beer bottle, leaning against the balcony whilst Robin just shot him an amused grin, having been invited as a plus one to Steve.
"Then why'd you come?" she pressed, pink lips wrapping around an half empty wine bottle. The answer was simple, really - Eddie had come for you.
Otherwise, he truly couldn't care less about attending a fancy engagement party on the upper east side of Hawkins. Houses lined with white picket fences, expensive cars parked by marble driveways, huge penthouses with glazed windows and arched ceilings.
"You came for (L/n), right?" the brunette teased, licking her lower lips to catch the stray drops of alcohol dancing on her tongue.
"I guess so, yeah." he'd confessed, dropping his gaze to the floor.
"... When are you just gonna come out and say it?" Robin had then questioned, placing her hands on her hips, as if she was a parent scolding a child. "Seriously, Steve and I have placed bets since sophomore year and we're still sore losers at this point because neither of us have won our bets."
Eddie sighed, eyes flicking up to look into the large living room filled with sweaty bodies dancing to the loud house music, his eyes easily being able to scan the crowd to narrow in on your figure. You were twirling Steve around in a dramatic manner, almost making the boy bump into the table of food and topple over a stack of cupcakes, to which you quickly shouted out an apology and Steve began to laugh uncontrollably.
"It's not that simple, Buckley."
"Uh, it's very simple, Munson." she dragged out her sentence in a dramatic fashion, leaning against the balcony with one arm propped up as she looked him up and down. "You ask to go somewhere private. You say "I've loved you since we were 7." You two kiss and start to date."
She counted off of her fingers one by one as if crossing off a hypothetical list, before smiling at the metalhead. Eddie just scowled at that - god, none of his friends knew just how hard it was for him.
"It's not just... that. Like it's one thing that I've kept this a secret for over a decade now."
"Then what's stopping you?"
Eddie paused. He'd never confessed this to anyone before, he realized, staring up at his friend's curious face. He'd kept his insecure thoughts close to his chest, afraid of letting any of them see the light of day, afraid of the judgment he'd call upon himself upon being vulnerable.
But hell, what did he have to lose?
"I just don't know if... I'm good enough."
"What'd you mean?"
"Like... I've always been the outsider. The weirdo looking in. Sunshine's not like that. Popular, extroverted, outgoing, friendly - good at everything, loved by everyone. Even though we've been best friends for over a decade now, I've always felt as if... (Y/n)'s out of reach from me. I don't think I'd really be able to match up to someone like that."
Robin's smile faded into an expression of sympathy, which Eddie flashed her a grateful smile in response, her left hand then springing up to clasp onto his shoulder.
"Shit, Eddie... That's heavy. I had no idea."
Eddie wasn't quite sure if he appreciated or loathed the sorry smile on her face.
"Yeah, well, it's whatever. Just how things are, I guess."
Robin opened her mouth to object when you and Steve messily cut into the conversation, you practically tripping on your feet with how drunk you were, the sting of alcohol wafting off of you in waves.
"I've had seven shots of vodka." you proudly announced, steadying yourself against Eddie's shoulders by shakily grasping his body. He had to steady you upright as you toppled over on a step you didn't see, his sturdy arms hooking underneath your shaky arms. "Oops."
"Jokes on you, I've had eight." Steve countered, swaying from side to side, leaning on Robin who only rolled her eyes playfully and shoved him off.
"You alright?" Eddie whispered underneath Robin and Steve's loud bickering, brushing away stray strands of hair from your glazed over eyes. You nodded, humming lowly, before your bottom lip protruded in a pout.
"Mmhmm. I need more vodka though."
"Oh no you don't-" Eddie had to physically drag your body out of reach from the stacks of vodka bottles decorating the main table, your small frown quickly displaced by a mopey grin as you buried your drunken head into the pit of his arm. "I'm taking you home."
"I don't need to go home, I just need to sober up a bit!" you'd insisted, pushing away from Eddie, flailing your arms around. "Come on, the cake hasn't even been brought out yet, and I promised Amber I'd stick around till then."
"Fine." Eddie set his red solo cup down by the wooden railings, before decisively grabbing your left hand in his. "We're going for a walk to sober up then, okay?"
"Okay."
It was a chilly summer evening, green leaves and stray weeds crunching underneath his boots as you stumbled behind him, your warm hands a stark contrast from Eddie's cold ones. He could feel his metal rings shift against your skin as you swayed your linked arms together back and forth like a child, wide smile on your lips.
"Sobering up?" he'd teased, shooting you an amused grin in the dark, the empty streets illuminated only by the flickering yellow streetlights, the crescent moon hidden behind a fog of clouds.
"Hardly." you grumbled.
"Guess we need to walk a bit more."
Eventually, the two of you stumbled across an empty playground, and before Eddie could talk you out of it you'd decided to make a run towards the seesaw, forcing him to follow behind you closely.
"(Y/n)-"
"Sit, Eddie." you'd instructed, pushing down on his shoulders to force him down on one side. "Please, Eddie? Like the old times?"
Eddie smiled at that - it felt just like yesterday that Eddie was seven, red flushed face peeking underneath half-formed head of curls, clutching onto the seesaw in the school playground. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, he pretended to surrender into it, sitting down on to the wooden plank.
That somehow devolved into chasing you around the playground: pushing you down the slide, racing you to the top of the monkey bars, spinning you on the merry-go-round until you physically couldn't breathe anymore from how hard you were laughing. Eddie was no different, eyes tearing up as he fell onto the trampoline next to you, heavy breaths meeting the cold air as he tried to regain his breath.
"So much for a quick walk." he'd muttered, staring up at the few stars twinkling above.
"Did the job of sobering me up a bit though." you countered. "And plus, you can't tell me that playgrounds aren't real fucking fun. Even if we're adults."
"Not denying that, sunshine."
You turned over to stare at him, face a few inches from his, and there was a certain glint in your eyes that he couldn't quite read. Hint of a smile on your dry lips, your hands came up underneath your head to support it, fabric rustling as you adjusted your posture.
"It's crazy, isn't it? We're now at a age where our friends are getting fucking engaged."
"It's mental, yeah."
"... You ever think you'd want to get married? Like Amber?" you raised your eyebrows, voice half serious but half playful. His immediate answer - that he often thought about marriage with you - passed by his mind like a bullet train before he quickly replaced it with a safer answer.
"I'd like to think so, eventually, yeah. What about you?"
You hummed.
"Not sure. I'm a bit scared by the whole 'life commitment' aspect of it. I think the only person I've been able to tolerate my whole life has been like, you. Funny, huh?" you'd joked, sitting up right, as Eddie did the same.
His heart was pounding at a million beats per minute, your innocuous comment sparking electricity in his veins, but he had to remind himself instantly: you didn't mean anything by it.
"Yeah, funny."
Once returning to the party, Eddie found that the rest of the party participants had devolved into a game of truth or dare and spin the bottle. He'd participated in the latter, semi-half heartedly, at your insistence. All was fine until the beer bottle landed on you, and the person to your left announced that you had to kiss whoever you knew for the longest in the circle.
You'd done the unthinkable to Eddie, simply turning towards him, grabbing his face and giving him a fierce, wet kiss. It was the kind of kiss that had all the girls screaming in excitement and all the boys hollering with whistles, the kind that made Eddie break out in red flushes of embarrassment, mouth still tingling with the aftertaste of vodka and your honey chapstick when you pulled away.
"Didn't wanna lose, sorry Eds." you'd commented against his lips, flashing him a wink. He would've given you a joking comment in response, but his mouth was dry and his palms were sweaty, mind still catching up with what had just happened.
It was a joke. You were drunk.
But damn, Eddie wanted to have your lips on his again.
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83: you're an absolute whiz with the kids. Not just Henderson, the whole gang. Sometimes, I think they like you more than me - which I can't be offended by either. I like you more than me.
Second year without you in Hawkins.
Eddie was repeating senior year again.
God, it sucked. There were only so many late night calls and hastily written letters he could exchange with you before he went mad. He swore it had become a nightly ritual to stare at his house phone and to check his calendar each morning, counting down every day before any major holiday during which you might return to Hawkins.
You'd missed Christmas last year due to a research project and you'd similarily chose to spent Easter in Boston, leaving Eddie bored and a bit lonely. Sure, Eddie had gotten used to Hawkins High at this point. Hell, he'd started to revel in being the weirdo, the outcast, of purposefully pissing off the popular kids.
But it never got easy missing you.
It was a boring Tuesday morning. Eddie was thinking of anything in particular, eyes still laden with fatigue and his head still stuck in his semi-dreamlike state, when he'd stumbled over to his trailer door and swung it open.
But you were waiting for him on the other side, in a pair of blue jeans and a warm maroon university sweatshirt covering your figure, your arms outstretched for a hug.
"SURPRISE!"
He blinked at you silently like a deer in headlights, to which you chuckled nervously and lowered your arms slightly.
"Oh. Did I-"
Eddie didn't let you finish your sentence before he basically pummeled into you, wrapping his sturdy arms around your waist, squeezing you so tight that you couldn't breathe as he mumbled his next words against your neck.
"Holy shit, I missed you so much." his voice was wavering the slightest bit, tears lingering in the corner of his eyes which he rapidly blinked away before you could see them form properly.
"I missed you so much too, moonshine." you replied softly, voice tinged with adoration and fondness.
"H-how, or I guess, why are you here?"
"I got a day off earlier than I thought on my research project and I don't have any plans for the weekend so... figured I'd swing by Hawkins!"
"Swing by? You're not staying?" Eddie's smile fell by a fraction.
"I'm only here for a day before I'm flying back - I have to start preparing for midterms, plus I told one of my friends back in Boston that I'd help her move."
"Well." Eddie had teased, wrapping one arm around your shoulder, his other hand dangling the keys to his van. "Guess we gotta make the most of these 24 hours, huh?"
His first stop was to take you to the diner you were obsessed with, a small red and white colored establishment hidden behind the gas station that served the best french fries and milkshake you swore you'd ever tasted.
"God, I've missed this." you groaned, taking a light sip of the frothy dessert. "This is why I came back, actually." you joked, making him pout like a petulant child.
"You're mean."
"Eh. You like it."
His smile was automatic - he was just too happy to be in your company again, to see how your cheeks dimpled with a smile, to hear your lively voice right by his ears.
"I do."
The next stop was decided by you to be the arcade. Impatient at how slowly Eddie was walking, you grabbed his left hand to tug him along, making him chuckle at how excited you seemed to be over a couple of video games.
"(Y/n)?" a small, quiet voice rang out, stealing your attention away from Eddie and making you drop his hand.
"DUSTY!!!"
You eagerly waved over the curly haired boy whose face lit up in a wide grin at the sight of you, before he stumbled over and hugged you fiercely, awed expression marking his face.
"I thought you'd still in Boston!"
"I am! I'm just back for the day."
"Cool! Who's this?" Dustin had asked, pointing at Eddie, semi-frown etched on his face. Eddie had to suppress a scowl at that, as well as swallowing a harsh "get lost." He had no idea who this middle school kid was, but he already didn't like that (a) this kid had taken your attention away from Eddie and (b) now the boy was cutting into your one day back in Hawkins with Eddie.
"Oh right, this is Eddie, my best friend! Eddie, this is Dustin, one of the kids I used to babysit."
"Nice to meet you." Eddie had forced out, attempting to give the younger boy a reassuring grin. The faux smile didn't seem to work on Dustin, who only scrunched up his face in response, his sour expression melting away into a warm one the moment his eyes met back up with yours.
"Speaking of babysitting, I hope Steve's been treating you well." you teased, ruffling Dustin's hair. The younger boy sighed dramatically at that.
"I wish. In fact, Harrington's supposed to be 'watching me' here at the arcade - in reality, he's here to flirt with her."
You looked over to where he was pointing to see Steve leaning over the counter of the arcade, coy smirk on his face as he clearly tried to charm a pretty blonde girl.
"Tragic. I see his flirting skills haven't improved." you teased, making Dustin chuckle as well. "Hey, remember when you thought Steve and I were dating?" you looked back at Eddie, wiggling your eyebrows.
Eddie flushed red with embarrassment at that, whilst the younger boy's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"You two DATED?"
"No, Dusty, never. But this silly man over here-" you elbowed Eddie, and he shoved you off quickly with a small scowl on his face. "Thought that Steve and I were an item at one point. Senior year, in fact. As if Steve's not like the big brother I never had."
"You two do fight like siblings." Dustin added, and your smirk only widened. "Speaking of Steve, uh, since he's basically ditched me for the blonde - can I hang out with you for the rest of the day? Please?"
"Of course you can!" you exclaimed, nodding enthusiastically. "It's okay if Dustin joins us, right?" you'd asked Eddie, turning around to smile at him.
Eddie wanted to say no. The word was begging to be let out from his lips, sitting heavy on his tongue, but when you flashed him that hopeful glance and that damn kid gave him his puppy dog eyes (damn, Dustin was good at that), Eddie couldn't bear to be the bad guy and deny the invitation.
"Yeah, of course. Come on in, kid."
Eddie eventually loosened up to Dustin's presence over the night - the first hour or so he sulked in the background, feeling like a third wheel to your inside jokes and excited conversations with the boy, until you left to go to the bathroom. Eddie was leaning against the railings with Dustin sitting cross legged on the floor, before the boy picked his head up and pointed to Eddie's shirt.
"What's Hellfire?"
Eddie scoffed.
"You wouldn't get it, kid."
"Uh, I'm about to be a freshman next year, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Come on, I wanna know."
"It's like a... club I started. Where we play games."
"What kind of games? Like Defender and Tron?" the young boy's question was so genuine, expression so innocent and full of wonder, that Eddie couldn't help but laugh a bit and let his guard down.
"No, no. It's called Dungeons and Dragons, D&D for short. It's like a roleplaying game."
Dustin continued to stare at the metalhead, peeking upwards to silently urge him to go on, and within minutes, Eddie was telling the curly haired boy everything he had to know about D&D. To his surprise, Dustin's attention never once wavered, only interrupting Eddie to ask questions and to press him further for more information.
"Aw man, that sounds so cool! I wish I could play right now." Dustin stated, eyes wide with awe.
"Well, Hellfire Club is open to any Hawkins High student - once you're a freshman next year, you and your friends are all welcome to join."
"Really?"
"Yeah dude! More the merrier, right?"
"Oh, awesome!"
"Did I miss something?" you'd joked, wiping your hands on the knee pads of your jeans, eyes flickering between the two excitable boys. You'd clearly missed a bonding moment between them, it seemed, and it warmed your heart to see your best friend and Dustin get along so well in your absence.
"Eddie just told me about D&D and said I could join his club next year! Isn't that cool?" Dustin rambled, tugging at your sleeves. You chuckled, nodding.
"That's very cool, Dustin. Now come on, I'm pretty sure I'm still better than you at Centipede and I want to prove it."
Night settled into Hawkins quickly, dark black skies covering the streets as you ushered Dustin into the back of Eddie's van, refusing to let him cycle back home in the dark. Eddie had to stop at a gas station for a brief moment, and you stopped him from getting out, waving your wallet in your right hand.
"Stay. I'll cover gas."
"And can you pick up some beef jerky too? Please?" Dustin asked from the back, jostling up and down from his seat. You chuckled at his antics, unstrapping your seat belt.
"Sure, Dusty. I'll be right back, okay?"
Once you shut the door and your figure disappeared behind the bright lights of the gas station store, Dustin spoke up.
"How long have you been crushing on (Y/n)?"
"WHAT?" Eddie had spluttered out, choking on air as he coughed repeatedly to let air back into his lungs. Dustin just shook his head sideways at that, clicking his tongue against the roof his mouth.
"Come on, dude, it's obvious. How long have you been pining after my babysitter? A year?"
Silence.
"Three years?"
Silence.
"MORE THAN FIVE YEARS?" Dustin shouted out, surprised. Eddie bit his lower lip, before the admission fell out with a heavy sigh.
"More like twelve."
"TWELVE?"
Eddie quickly turned around from his seat up front, twisting his upper body to glare at the younger boy.
"Yeah, 12 years, anyways, that's not that important. How the hell did you know?"
The curly haired boy just shrugged, smiling smugly as if it was common knowledge and Eddie was the idiot for not figuring it out.
"You were glaring daggers into Steve's head when he accidentally touched hands with (Y/n) whilst they were talking. Oh, and you won't stop staring. And smiling. And subtledly flirting. And you have that lovesick grin on your face that Lucas gets for Max or Mike gets for El."
"I don't know who those people are." Eddie had countered.
"They're my friends - whatever, it's not important. The point is, Eddie, you look at my babysitter the same way my friends look at their girlfriends."
The heated conversation was cut off short by you reappearing by the driver's window, the metal door swinging open as you waved the beef jerky packet over your head before tossing it to Dustin in the back seat.
"Gas has been taken care of and here is your jerky, Dustin. Ready to go?" you asked cheerily, totally oblivious to the conversation you've just missed between the two boys. Innocent smiles on both their faces, both boys nodded silently, though Dustin flashed Eddie a sly smirk in the rearview mirror.
"Where to next?" Eddie teased once Dustin had been dropped off.
"My house, please. I need to pick up my backpack before I head off to the airport, gotta use the phone to call a taxi too."
"Let me drive you." Eddie offered immediately, swallowing down his tired yawns. You frowned at that, worried.
"Are you sure? It's a bit of a long drive, Eds, and it's already kinda late at night-"
"Nonsense, sunshine. I'm driving you and that's final."
In reality, Eddie was trying to stretch out as much of his time with you as he could. He knew he had an early start tomorrow and he was feeling rather tired, but he'd be damned if he was going to lose out on an extra hour next to you by letting you take a taxi instead.
"Alright then." you smiled, nodding.
His van pulled up to the airport too quickly for Eddie's liking, his immature first thought being that he wanted to lock his car doors to prevent you from getting out.
"Take care of him for me, would you?" you'd asked once Eddie had driven you to the airport, swinging your backpack over your shoulder, fiddling with the clasps. "Him and all his friends, if you end up meeting them all next year as freshmen... They're all lovely kids. They could all use someone as amazing as you looking out for them."
His heart melted at your admission and he nodded automatically, slow grin appearing on his chapped lips.
"Of course. They're in safe hands."
"Thanks, Eds."
You stepped forward to give him one last hug, your face squished against his upper chest, and Eddie took his time to commit the feeling of your arms around him to memory.
All the loud noise - the intercom announcing flight details, the distant chatter of conversations from strangers, the shuffling of luggage and dragging of feet on the floor - dissipated into the background, his senses overwhelmed with one and only one thing.
You.
And how much he loved you.
"See you soon?" Eddied added hopefully once you two parted. He'd beg you to come back for at least Christmas, but that was never a given and he didn't want to be standing in the way of your career. You smiled back at him gently, patting his hands reassuringly.
"See you soon, moonshine."
----------------------------------------
95: your bravery. I'll never forget how you handled finding out about the Upside Down. Whilst I wanted to run as far away from the monsters, you dived in headfirst. I was worried sick for you, you know. But I knew it was dumb of me to expect otherwise - you're the type of person willing to put your life on the line for your friends.
Eddie wished he'd seen you again in much better circumstances.
Not when he was repeating senior year for the third time and he was being hunted down by Jason Carver and the entire police department under suspicision for murder.
He immediately tensed when he heard footsteps and a crowd of voices ring out from the entrance of the lakehouse, his breath catching in his throat as he tried to remain as still as possible from his hiding spot. His mind was racing with an array of threats and worst case scenarios, his hands immediately reaching to the knife digging into his thigh.
"I'm telling you, Steve, things don't add up! Eddie would never kill someone."
He knew that voice. It was you. There was a rumbling amongst the group before the lakehouse fell back into the silence, save for soft padding of a single pair of feet against the wooden floor and the creaking of the front door.
"Eddie? You in here?"
Hesitant for a second but too eager to see you, he lifted his head slowly, dropping the knife back into his back pocket as he straightened up to meet you face to face. To his surprise, your face lacked any sign of judgment or disgust - instead, your eyes brightened with relief and you pulled him in to a bone crushing hug.
"Thank god you're okay! You are okay, right? You're not injured?" you frantically fired off one question after another, hands clutching his chin to lift his head up, eyes grazing over his entire figure scanning for any injuries. He smiled at that - the first genuine smile on his face in weeks - before gathering your hands up in his own and clasping them tight.
"I'm alright, sunshine. Don't worry. More importantly, why are you here?"
"Steve called."
"And?"
"Said you were in trouble. Suspcision for murder. I cancelled all my plans, lied about a family emergency and got here as fast as I could." you rambled, pausing for a moment to shoot him a look of shock. "By the way, did you know that the town is like connected to this hellish mirror universe called the Upside Down? And like there are these supernatural entities showing up threatening to break the very fabric of reality?"
"I don't know too much but based on what I saw with Chrissy, I'm... inclined to believe you more than not." Eddie responded, only to be cut off by Steve's voice from outside.
"YOU'RE STILL ALIVE, RIGHT? CAN WE COME IN NOW?"
You rolled your eyes at that.
"YES, STEVE, I'M ALIVE. They can all come in, right? I swear Steve and the kids can explain everything better than I can."
"Of course."
Eddie had a slightly easier time grasping everything than you - when you'd shot him an incredulous look he simply shrugged and smirked, insisting that it was akin to the many villains and monsters possible in D&D.
The day bled into night quickly and led to you, Nancy, Robin, Steve and Eddie standing by the edge of the lake whilst staring at a rickety wooden boat.
"I call shotgun." you yelled out, brustling past Eddie, only for him to grab your arm and yank you back.
"Uh, I don't think so. You're staying back."
"Says who?"
"Says me! Look, this is too dangerous, I'd rather you stick with the kids or at the very least just wait for us here."
The thought of you getting injured - his nightmares still haunted by what had happened to Chrissy in front of his eyes - made Eddie sick with dread and disgust, goosebumps rising against his skin.
"Tough shit, moonshine." you'd countered, undeterred. "I'm getting on that damn boat whether you want me to or not."
God, you were stubborn, Eddie cursed internally whilst running a hand down his face. He shot his friends standing behind you awkwardly a pleading look.
"Help me out here, guys, come on."
"... Hate to be that person, but if you're coming along then I don't see why (Y/n) can't." Robin added, shrugging her shoulders.
"Also, if this portal is underwater then it'd be good to have another great swimmer in the group." Steve chimed in, and you smirked at Eddie proudly.
"See? And I was varsity swimming captain all four years in high school. You're outnumbered, Eddie, now stop worrying so much."
Biting down his protests, Eddie gave in, though he made it a point to sit as close as he could to you should something go wrong.
And of course things went wrong - Steve got dragged in by an unseen force, you jumped in to the freezing waters right after him, so quick that Eddie hadn't even registered that you'd dived into the lake until the freezing cold waters splashed down onto his jeans.
Shit.
Black slime coating your fingers, grey ash dotting your eyebrows and crimson blood dripping from your coarse fingers, you were a terrifying sight to behold when Eddie saw you next. Clutching a carving knife strapped to your side, you were fearlessly cutting through the swarm of demon bats, saving Steve from potential death.
No, certain death, Eddie thought as you leaned down and helped Steve stand up on shaky legs. A twinge of jealousy stabbed at Eddie's chest at the sight of you shrugging off your jacket to wrap it around Steve's scarred torso, and Eddie couldn't help but think that Steve's hand lingered for too long on your back for it to just be friendly.
"Stop fuming at Steve, yeah? He did save our ass." Robin commented quietly from the side, smirking.
"Was not fuming at Harrington." was Eddie's weak response, to which Nancy and Robin only shot each other an amused glance. The girls ran to support Steve as Eddie walked right up to you, your eyes still on your muddied jeans as you wiped away the excess grime on the faded fabric.
"Hi again." you'd said nonchalantly. "Great weather we're having, huh?" you'd joked, wry smile on your dry lips.
Eddie couldn't believe you.
"You're impossible. And insane. Like actually, totally, insane." he'd responded, shaking his head sideways, awed and impressed.
Here you were - having just found out the truth about Hawkins and confronting a swarm of deadly supernatural creatures, covered in dirt, blood and ash - joking with him as if it was just another normal Wednesday. He didn't know whether to applaud you or scold you for your intense loyalty and bravery.
"You love it though." you stuck your tongue out at him, straightening up.
"I do." he'd said softly.
'And I love you.' was on the tip of his tongue.
But he swallowed it back, being grounded back to reality once Nancy called out to you two to catch up. Shaky feet almost slipping on dirtied grime and blood underneath, he figured there were much bigger things to worry about.
Much, much bigger things.
----------------------------------------
100: you.
Eddie used to think that that day was the most terrifying for him. Watching your body disappear under inky waters, running from demonic creatures, his fingers aching from repeatedly clenching around a metal baseball bat.
No, he's sure now that waiting for you to finish reading the letter is the most terrifying thing ever to have happened to him.
It's a painful and silent twenty minutes, during which he watches your lips quirk into fond smiles and silly frowns - he has to remind you repeatedly to continue reading, and to stop interrupting yourself to say something sentimental to him - all the whilst his heart beats so loud it drowns out the rain beginning to pour outside.
He figures you've finally reached the end when your expression suddenly twists into one of confusion, and you slowly look up at him through your lashes.
"Did you give up on the final point?" you joke, making Eddie frown.
"What'd you mean?"
"For number 100. You just wrote one word: 'you.' For all the other numbers, you wrote down more than that."
"Right." Eddie affirms, lacing his fingers together nonchalantly. He hopes the dim lighting in the room is masking his flushed cheeks, and that his voice is remaining as stable as he thinks it is in his head. "I told you I wrote a list of 100 things I love about you, right?"
"Yeah." you repeat back, still not grasping it.
God, he wonders, how could you be so bright yet so oblivious that he has to spell it out for you?
"All the other numbers combined, leading up to number 100. The thing I love the most about you is... that you're, uh, you." he slowly finishes.
Eddie's sentence hangs heavy in the air, atmosphere in the room suddenly sweltering hot and thick, your fingers slowly closing the envelope with your arms falling to your lap.
"... What are you saying?"
There was no going back.
"I love you."
There.
He'd said it.
Nearly 15 years of secret pining, of watching you date one guy after another whilst feigning disinterest, of being teased by all your mutual friends for his infatuation for you, of accepting your warm hugs and nightly cuddles as nothing but platonic...
All down to those three cursed words: i love you.
It's out in the open now, Eddie's stomach twisting with a tornado of emotions as he carefully tries to gauge your reaction. You're motionless, eyes wide and unblinking for a moment, your deft hands dropping the letter onto the bed.
"A-are... are you serious?" you squeak out.
Eddie suppresses a laugh at how shocked and in disbelief you seem to be.
"Well... yeah. Trust me, I wouldn't write 100 things I love about someone just for anyone."
You just nod at that, emotionless, eyes falling to your carpeted floor. He can't figure out what you're thinking, but it feels as if time is ticking by achingly slow and his lungs burn with anticipation with every beat of silence that passes in your bedroom.
It's killing Eddie, not knowing what you're thinking, and for a second he's worried that he's done for.
That he's destroyed your friendship, you're about to frown and tell him that you're sorry but you don't feel the same way. He opens his mouth to quickly begin to let out a string of apologies, preapred to swallow back all his words and beg for forgiveness, but he doesn't get to it.
He can't speak, he can't breathe, he can hardly process anything else other than the fact that your lips are now suddenly on his, your legs straddling his lap as you tackle him onto the mattress. Teeth clashing against teeth, it's desperate, his fingers gripping onto your waist tightly as your lips chase his.
He can taste the remnants of the buttercream frosting from your birthday cake, your lips pillowy and soft. He's kissed you once before, sure - that drunken kiss for the game of truth or dare - but nothing compares to this, the way his vision blinds in ivory white, finger tips buzzing with electricity, heart aflame with infatuation and lust at the way you growl and deepen the kiss.
"I love you too, Eddie." you reply afterwards, lips still swollen from the aftermath of the kiss.
"Really?"
It's his turn to be shocked, heart skipping at the amount of adoration and awe in your hoarse voice.
"Yeah. But w.... why didn't you say anything earlier?" you ask quietly, bewildered. Eddie laughs awkwardly at that, shrugging.
"That's the million dollar question, I guess. I don't know, I just... everyone loves you and wants you. You're so beautiful and talented and outgoing and I... I wasn't sure if you'd ever want to choose me." he mutters out hesitantly, scratching his neck, purposefully avoiding your gaze.
Eddie's a little embarrassed and ashamed to be admitting it now, knowing that you do indeed love him back, but it all melts away like ice in the summer heat when your fingers redirect his chin upwards to meet your gaze.
You're practically glowing with happiness, golden halo around your hairline.
"Always, Eddie. I'd always choose you."
a/n: ANOTHER slow burn Eddie fic down! If you're actually read this right now and you read to the end = thank you. After the overwhelming love y'all gave me for 'you made me hate this city', I knew I had to add another fic to this collection. And ofc, Taylor is my fave artist of all time so it seemed only fitting i honor her with a fic.
SIGH so this fic ALMOST wasn't published. Like i really genuinely didn't know if I would end up posting this. I was (and still am) afraid of putting it out there lmao bc of its length and the unusual writing (like the flashbacks and letter structure), but alas.
Lost and Found - Eddie Munson x Reader (Part 1) | Part 2
WC: 4.3K / navi / preview / request
Summary: Just your luck, you get dress coded on your first day at Hawkins High. You're already ridiculed for being the senior transfer, and now on top of that, the only shirt that covers you up in the lost and found belongs to the school freak.
Contents/Warnings: reader wears eddie's shirt, reader gets bullied, lots of teasing, slight innuendos/suggestive material
feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, tell me what you think!
You must have set a new school record: You’ve only been attending Hawkins High for three hours, and you’ve already been dress coded. Apparently your shirt is too low-cut, even though it barely dips below your collarbones, and you were ordered to look through the lost-and-found for a suitable cover-up.
It could be worse, you muse, as you sort through the box of slightly aromatic, ratty, dusty clothes, they could have put it on your school record. Though, as a senior transferring to the school for one last year, you don’t care what’s on your record. They could hate you, for all you care, as long as you graduate. It’s not like you’ll ever have to deal with them again.
Unfortunately, it looks like everything in the box before you is either three sizes too big, or three sizes too small. The beaded tank top that you pull out near the bottom is even worse than your shirt, and you guarantee it wouldn’t go over well with faculty. There’s a winter coat in the mix, but summer still clogs the air with sticky heat, and you refuse to cover yourself up with that. After sorting through the bin for almost five minutes, the only thing even remotely suitable for you is a baseball tee that looks like it’s homemade.
It’s a white shirt with black sleeves, and a ring around the neck. It’s certainly interesting. There’s a red devil on the front, horns protruding eerily from its head, and weapons frame its face, ready for battle. Then two multifaceted dice are poised below the text, numbers etched into their faces.
The bold black text over the picture reads ‘HELLFIRE CLUB,’ and it stinks of what you’re suspicious is weed. You’re not sure what the Hellfire Club is, you presume it’s an underground band of some sort, but you don’t have time to figure it out. There’s a red stain on the chest, what you presume (and pray) is spaghetti sauce, but it’s your best bet in the lost and found bin, so you slip it on and hope that they’ll let you go without any further incident.
Thankfully it’s lunchtime, so when you slip out of the office mostly unnoticed, the shirt resting rather comfortably over your frame, you make a beeline for the cafeteria. You get stares, odd murmurs thrown about you as you walk down the line, people from packed tables squinting oddly at your shirt. You can’t really blame them, either, because you’d squint at it too if you’d seen it on someone else. You’re already silently resigning yourself to being The New Kid when you sit down on the ground, the tables either full or sending you funny glances when you try to sit down with them.
The first thing you do is pull out a walkman and headphones. They slip comfortably over your ears, shielding you from the disheartening whispers thrown around about you. You’re absolutely certain that this is going to damage your reputation, on Day One no less, but what are you supposed to do? Your only option is this stupid shirt: damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
You bury yourself in your lunch, though it’s not appealing. Coleslaw oozes messily around your plate, and you try pushing your fries out of the way, but it’s too late. They’re soaked, and you’ve lost your appetite. You push the tray away from you, and it sits there sadly on the ground. You dig a book out from your backpack, letting your eyes skim over the words instead of the people around you.
--
“Eddie,” Dustin is out of breath when he sits down, too excited to inform his friend of the strange thing he’d managed to witness in the lunch line to think about breathing, “Eddie, the new kid’s wearing a Hellfire shirt!”
Eddie’s brows furrow, and he munches thoughtfully on a pretzel, “You’re out of your mind, Henderson.”
“No! No,” He shakes his head, “Honest! Look,” He points to you, the text over the devil on your shirt clear as day over your book, “I saw ‘em on my way back from class! They just walked in with it.” He lets out a breathy laugh, “Do you think it’s catching on? Like, you think there’s more than just us? Do you think there’s members all around the world?!”
“Dumbass,” Jeff swats at the back of Dustin’s head, “How could it be catching on, no one knows about it but us.”
“Maybe they-“ Dustin is eager to elaborate on his theory, prepared to make up some hair-brained theory as to how the transfer student could have heard about Hellfire outside of Hawkins, but Eddie’s eyes narrow as he stares at you, and he waves a hand at Dustin, effectively silencing the boy.
“There’s a stain there. On the left.” He recognizes the messy splotch, his face twisting in indignance, “That’s my shirt!”
“I thought you lost that one,” Mike frowns, his hair hanging over his face, “How’d she get it?”
“I dunno,” Eddie stands abruptly, tossing his bag of trail mix to the table and tugging his jacket determinedly around his shoulders, “But I’m gonna find out.”
--
In only ten minutes, you’re already getting used to the stares. They dishearten you every time, something inside of you sinking whenever someone points or peers at you. But apparently you’re just going to have to accept your spot in the school, your back forever pressed against the cafeteria wall as your tray rests on the floor. It’s only for one year, you reason, you can tough it out.
Loneliness seeps through the cold linoleum flooring, slightly sticky from god knows what, and raises goosebumps over your legs. You’re absolutely certain it would be more comfortable to sit out in the woods behind the school, and you’re only two seconds away from moving when a pair of shoes enters your vision, right in front of your crossed legs.
"Pray tell," The boy who crouches in front of you has dark eyes, his white sneakers creasing as he bounces on his thighs, "What are you doing in my shirt?"
You tug your headphones off of your ears as you stare up at him blankly, your eyes drifting over the pins adorning his jacket. You recognize a few bands, a curse word or two, but then he dips his head to meet your eyes, his question still in the air.
"Oh, I-" You flounder, tugging at the hem of the shirt nervously, "I'm really sorry. Is this yours? I didn't know."
"It's mine," He reaches up to flick the stain on the front, "That was from an unfortunate driving-while-eating incident."
You giggle at the thought, and his eyes snap back to yours, his grin ever-growing as you speak, "It was in the lost and found. They dress coded me," You recall exasperatedly, "It was the only thing I could find."
"Dress coded?" He cocks his head to the side, "Shit, what are you wearing underneath?"
The question has your eyes widening, your cheeks flaming, and your throat going dry. It’s not blatantly sexual, hell, you’re just wearing a low-cut top, but the boy in front of you is stunning, and the grin that he’s wearing is definitely suggestive.
“Um-” You start, raising the hem of his shirt slightly to reveal the pattern of your top, “It’s just-”
“I’m teasing,” He clarifies, pushing against your shoulder with one hand in a teasing gesture, “Don’t worry about it.” He plops down onto the floor in front of you, squinting distastefully at your soggy fries, “Normally I’d try to steal a few, but those look like they’d land me in the hospital.”
“I think I’ll have to start bringing lunch from home,” You sigh resignedly, “Unless the food here gets any better than this?”
“Not that I know of,” He shakes his head, brown frizzy curls bouncing around his face airily as he does so, “I bring my own food too.”
You hum in acknowledgement, only then realizing you don’t know his name.
“I’m Y/N, by the way,” You pipe up, holding out your hand for a shake. He stops perusing your discarded lunch and grins amusedly at you, the corners of his eyes crinkling at the expression.
“Eddie.” He offers, shaking your hand once, firmly, “You’re new, right?”
“Yeah,” You nod, glancing around at the few scattered pairs of eyes on you now that Eddie is sitting with you, “It’s a little harder than I thought it’d be.”
“That shirt probably isn't helping.” Eddie grimaces sympathetically, “We’re not exactly the kings of the school.
“We?” Your brows furrow in confusion.
“The Hellfire Club…?” He raises his eyebrows, tugging apart the chest of his jacket to reveal an identical shirt to yours, though sans-stain, “We sit over there.”
Your lips part slightly at the shock of seeing another shirt like the one you’re wearing, and you glance dazedly over to where he’s pointing. Five sets of eyes try appearing casual at your attention, two turning to each other and whispering as the other three bury themselves in a magazine one is holding.
“I didn’t realize it was a thing,” You admit, the corners of your lips curving up softly, “I figured it was, like, a band or something.”
“Well I’m in a band!” Eddie supplies eagerly, his face brightening. But he dims down after to appear more nonchalant, clearing his throat and schooling his face into a more neutral expression, “We’re a DnD party, though, Hellfire.”
“Oh, I’ve never played.” You admit sheepishly, “But it seems really cool!”
“Cool…?” Eddie quirks a brow at you, and the way that he’s staring at you has you questioning whether you’ve grown a third head, “DnD, like, Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Yeah,” You nod vehemently, “A lot of my friends back home played, but I never really got into it. It seemed really complicated.”
“It kind of is,” A smile grows over Eddie’s face, albeit a perplexed one, “But once you get the hang of it it’s fun. I.. I won’t lie, ‘cool’ is just about the last word I expected you to call our hobby.”
“I’ve sat in on a few sessions,” You recall, remembering the raucous shouts and heated battles that your friends got up to, “I usually just read fantasy novels, it was different watching one play out in real time.”
“Ooh, fantasy novels?” His face scrunches in good-natured disbelief, “You surprise me more and more every time you speak. Y’got any recommendations? I’m always looking for new inspiration for our campaigns.”
You suddenly remember the book in your lap, your pointer finger still lodged between the pages. You hastily hold it out to him, showcasing the cover, “This one’s good. The author’s from my old town,” You smile at the memory of her book signing, “It’s about a warrior prince who has to fight his way through hell, and he befriends a demon. She ends up helping him through,” You offer the book to Eddie with raised brows, “Anything you’d wanna borrow?”
“I don’t wanna steal it from you just yet,” He pokes carefully at your finger between the pages, “But let me know when you finish it, and I’ll be all over that.”
His tone is fascinating to you, an air of constant amusement around him that you’d never seen before. He seems to find interest in everything, and it feels amazing to be listened to by someone who cares so deeply about someone he’s never met before. You nod cheerily at him, some of the weight lifting from your chest at the knowledge that you’ve made a friend.
--
“Dude,” Dustin peers cautiously at you, his heart still racing from when you’d caught them staring only seconds before, “I think he’s smiling!”
“I can’t see,” Jeff huffs, a frown twisting over his face as he tries eyeing you two over Mike’s head, “You’re in the way, Wheeler.”
“Sor-ry,” Mike grumbles, ducking down, “She already caught us staring once, don’t push your luck.”
“Why is he still down there?” Dustin turns to his friends with an exaggerated furrow in his brows, “Do you think he’s coming back?”
“He’d better,” Gareth mumbles, flicking the tin lunchbox Eddie had left behind, “I’m not getting in trouble if a teacher finds this.”
“Oh, oh my god!” Dustin glances back over his shoulder one last time, seeing Eddie helping you to your feet, “They’re both coming over here!”
--
“So,” Eddie hums, lifting the edge of your lunch tray and letting it fall to the floor again with a smack, “There’s only, like, ten minutes of lunch left, but if I sit on this shitty floor for any longer,” He raps a knuckle against the linoleum, “I’m gonna be walking funny. Do you wanna come sit with me and my friends?”
This is it. This is your chance, your invitation into friendship. You try to appear casual, try pretending like your heart isn’t beating out of your chest at Eddie’s proposal, and you nod a little too eagerly.
“I’d love to,” You gush softly, “Thank you, Eddie.”
“Of course,” He laughs, the sound breathless and incredulous, “Just know, uh, this is kind of your last chance at having a reputation around here. It’s okay if you say no, I don’t wanna ruin your senior year of high school.”
“Why would you ruin it?” You tilt your head to the side and Eddie thinks you look rather akin to a confused puppy. It makes something stir in his chest, fondness creeping into his tone as he responds.
“Don’t you remember what I said earlier? We’re not very popular,” Eddie sighs lightly, trying to cover up the hint of insecurity that presents itself in his eyes, “We’re sort of the outcasts. I don’t want you to sign your popularity away before it can even get started.”
“I don’t want to be popular.” You decide right then and there, determination in the frown on your face, “Not if they make fun of you.”
You’re expecting a witty quip, already accustomed to the boy’s confident exterior. What surprises you, though, is the way that his mouth shuts, no words coming out of it as he gnaws thoughtfully on his lower lip. He studies you, his eyes boring into your own as his face hardens. You’re certain you’ve said something wrong, you’re worried that now you’ve messed things up, but then he smiles again, much softer this time. The expression is gentle, and shows off his shiny brown doe eyes, “You’re really something, aren’t you?”
“Hm?” You stare at him, equally entranced by his shift in character.
“You..” He starts, shaking his head bewilderedly, “A lot of the people here are raging assholes. Like, raging. But you’re.. You don’t seem like one.”
“I hope I’m not.” You huff out a laugh, “I don’t want to be a raging asshole.”
“Just another thing we have in common.” Eddie stands, breaking the stupor that had befallen you both and holding out his hand to help you off of the ground, “Now, we technically don’t have room at the table for you. But you can take my seat, I’ll stand for a bit.”
“No, no it’s okay!” You pull out of his grasp, eyes wide in fear of being a burden, “I can stand if I need to! I can take one for the team,” You assure him, bending over to pick up your tray and missing the way his eyes dart to your backside, “You just sat on the ground for me.
“Exactly,” He plucks the tray from your hands, dumping the cold, soggy food into a garbage can and leaving it with other used ones, “It’ll give me an opportunity to stretch my legs.” He swings one of his legs out to accentuate his point, the frayed strings of his jeans billowing in the rush of air against them.
“Only if you’re sure,” You let him lead you over to the table he’d pointed at earlier, his friends all watching you cautiously, “I really don’t want to put you out.”
“Nonsense.” He insists in that dramatic fashion of his, something you’re growing ever-fond of. His hands flit to your shoulders before you can even offer a polite wave to anyone sitting at the table, and he maneuvers you to plop down into his empty seat, “What’s mine is yours, Y/N.”
You’re sure he doesn’t mean it to be such an all-encompassing statement, but it makes your cheeks flare anyway. You direct your attention to his friends to stave off your bashfulness, not wanting him to see the way he gets to you after only knowing him for fifteen minutes.
One is smiling brightly at you, curls framing the boy’s face. Another two are sending cautious grins your way, seated opposite each other at the table. Then two others, decidedly older than the bunch, stare at you expressionless. The only thing they seem to have in common are their shirts, one of which you’re still wearing.
“Hello,” You offer lamely, waving sheepishly at them, “Uh, I’m Y/N, I’m new here.”
“And she likes DnD,” Eddie nearly cuts you off in his haste, “‘Thinks it’s ‘cool’.”
His statement draws a chuckle from his friends, and one of the younger-looking ones turns to you.
“I’m Dustin! I saw you earlier,” The curly-haired boy informs you, thankfully cheery in his greetings, “I couldn’t figure out why you were wearing a Hellfire shirt, so I told Eddie.”
“Oh,” You laugh awkwardly, glancing down at the stained shirt over your body, “I got dress-coded.”
“On your first day?” One of the older ones raises an eyebrow, “Tough luck. I’m, uh- Jeff, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” You nod thankfully at him, “Yeah,” You feel Eddie’s hands tighten around your shoulders and you tense slightly, “Teachers here are strict.”
“Tell me about it,” Eddie groans from above you, reaching over your shoulder to fasten his lunchbox shut and to grab a pretzel that he’d left behind, “I got caught smoking once and now I’m on some sort of watchlist.”
One of his friends, an older one on your left, snickers heartily at the story. Eddie apparently doesn’t appreciate it, though, because you watch him pelt the boy with a walnut in a matter of seconds.
You laugh incredulously as the boy flinches, and you’re almost worried that he’ll take offense to it. But you can’t tell, because Eddie leans over you, his hair tickling your face as he stares down at you amusedly. You glance up, return a guilty smile, Eddie motions to his bag of snack mix.
“Help yourself,” He offers, picking an almond out of the bag, “I did sort of throw away your lunch, I think it’s only fair you get some of mine.”
“I wasn’t gonna eat that anyways,” Your nose wrinkles at the mention of your soggy fries, “Don’t worry about it, Eddie.”
“Just take some,” He groans, jabbing a pretzel at your lips. It’s sloppy, because he can’t see what he’s doing, and he hits your chin. You giggle incredulously, squeak out a laugh, and take it from him. He pats your head as praise, “You’re too nice, you always decline shit from people.”
“How would you know?” You speak indignantly around your pretzel, “You barely know me!”
“And you’ve already tried weaseling your way out of favors twice,” He raises an eyebrow at you unimpressed, “Take some trail mix.”
You glance around at the others, traces of mirth on their faces. You realize that he must do this often, make a scene. You widen your eyes, plucking another pretzel from the bag, “Is he always this insistent with his snacks?”
“He never shares,” Dustin contradicts you, “‘Swear to god, I asked him for one M&M the other day: absolutely nothing.”
“You little shit,” Eddie’s hands leave your shoulders as he lunges for Dustin, locking the boy into place with an arm around the neck. You know it’s gentle, it’s not really hurting Dustin judging by the laughter spilling from the boy, and a soft smile creeps over your face. Eddie is clearly the heart of the group.
“Well hey,” One of the younger boys turns to you, his hair hanging around his face like a curtain, “If you’re keeping that shirt, you might as well use it. We actually need a sub for tomorrow night, if you want to play.”
“Oh,” You flounder at the request, everyone’s eyes flitting towards you, “Your DnD campaign? I don’t really know how to play.” You admit hesitantly, “I usually just watch.”
“That’s okay,” Eddie soothes you, letting go of Dustin to hover behind your chair again, patting your back, “We can take it slow. We don’t really need to get that much done tomorrow,” He promises, “I’ll help you out.”
“Are you sure? If it’s too much trouble, I can-” You stop dead in your tracks when Eddie raises a brow, nearly glaring at your attempt to brush off another kind gesture.
“... I mean, I’d love to.” You grin placatingly at him, a rush of warmth flooding through your chest at his approving nod.
“Perfect,” His words are punctuated by the ringing of the bell, signaling the end of lunch time, “What class do you have next?”
You dig your schedule out of your backpack as everyone stands, the paper already crumpled slightly, “Uh, O’Donnel?”
“Oh!” Eddie nods understandingly, “I’ve got her first. I’ll walk you, it’s over there.” He points lazily towards the left cafeteria door.
“Thank you,” You smile brightly at him and he returns it with a nod, taking your backpack from you before you could sling it over your shoulder. You look at him fondly, struck with incredulity at the kindness of a near-stranger, but he doesn’t let you prase him anymore, starting for the door.
“Bye,” You wave hurriedly at the few stragglers at your new table, all of them waving back just as kindly, “It was nice meeting you!”
“Nice meeting you, too.” One of them pipes up, a buffalo-print vest draped over his shoulders as his messy brown hair dips slightly into his forehead.
“See you tomorrow?” Dustin asks hopefully, gesturing towards your shirt.
“Yeah,” You nod brightly, “See you tomorrow!”
Eddie tugs you along as soon as you’re done talking, taking long steps across the floor you’d been unlucky enough to sit on for the majority of lunch. Even if it had only been for a few minutes, though, you’re happy to have sat with Eddie and his friends, because they made you feel welcome.
You voice this to him before you step through the doors of Ms/ O’Donnel’s class, lingering by the threshold, “Eddie?”
“Yeah?” He hums curiously, waiting to send you off to your next period.
“Thank you,” You sound like a broken record but you don’t care, filled with thankfulness for his kind gestures, “Really, I know I’ve said it a lot but I really mean it. If it weren’t for you I’d have sat on that stupid floor all period,” You remember the cold, unforgiving linoleum, “And- and now I get to learn how to play DnD!”
Your exuberance melts Eddie’s heart, not that he wants to admit it, and he feels his grin become permanent over his face. Anytime he looks at you, he’s certain it’ll be there.
“Don’t mention it,” He shuffles his feet, suddenly bashful under your shower of gratitude, “Seriously, I’m glad you’re not on the floor anymore.”
“Me too.” You giggle, taking a step back into the classroom as he starts walking towards his own class, “Oh, and Eddie?”
“Yeah?” He turns back to you with a raised brow.
“The shirt?” You tug it away from your chest and let it fall back again, “When should I give it back?”
“Tell you what,” A smirk crosses his face, sending a spark up your spine as he steps towards you again, “You come by my place tonight, and I’ll teach you the basics of DnD. You can bring that book, and maybe I’ll knock out a few chapters while you’re learning. Then maybe you can show me what’s under there,” Eddie quips, tugging at the shirt’s hem with narrowed eyes, “I’m dying to know what the faculty deemed inappropriate.”
His bold offer has your stomach twisting, and you feel your heart in your throat. Your prolonged silence seems to humble him, and uncertainty flashes through his eyes, “Unless of course, um, I was too forward, and you’re not interested, in which case I’ve probably totally misread this and ruined whatever was going on, and I’m so-”
“Eddie!” His rambling is ridiculously endearing to you, and you grip his hand before he can flee the scene, “I.. I’d like that.”
His shoulders slump in relief and you watch the tension drain from his figure, “Really? Shit, you had me scared there. What’s your address, sweetheart?”
Even though it’s sweeter and less bold than his statement only seconds before, the pet name has your legs weakening. You’re sure Eddie will catch you if you fall, though, he hasn’t known you for an hour and he’s already your savior.
“Here,” You grab a scrap of paper from the side pocket of your backpack, pulling a pencil out alongside it and scribbling your address down, “What time do you wanna meet?”
“I’ll pick you up at six,” Eddie promises, tucking the paper into the pocket of his jacket, “Does pizza sound good?”
“Pizza sounds perfect.” You grin, finally stepping into the classroom and absentmindedly searching for an empty seat, “See you then!”
Eddie stands in the hallway, watching wistfully as you pick out an empty seat in the back. Your book is on the desk in seconds, your nose buried intently in it as the class gets seated. The endearing behavior only warms the pit of Eddie’s stomach more, and he turns before he can ruin the situation by being caught staring. He tucks his head down, stalking bouncily off to his next class with a smile on his face, “See you then, Y/N.”
The idea is that reader has been in love with Eddie for years and when he dies they’re distraught. The gang helps them through all the stages of mourning. Months later they wake up feeling really good so they go to one of the gangs house where they all will be hanging out. They all are acting really off and try to make them leave and then Eddie walks. Reader thinks they’re hallucinating until Eddie starts talking to one the kids and then it dawns on them that their best friends and the person they love have been lying all this time knowing the suffering they’ve endured. An argument and a confession follows, where they try to explain they did It to protect them but reader isn’t having any of it. All they want to do is hug Eddie but they can’t even look at him. They leave on bad terms with everyone. I can’t think of an ending heheh :))
I’m so sorry that request is so long. Thank you so much hope you have a lush day :))
In the back of my mind, you died
a/n: ANON I LOOOOOVEEEEEE THIS IDEA SO MUCH!!! YOUR BRAIN IS SO SMART FOR THIS!!!! i'm sorry it took so long my life has been hectic rn😭i'm not sure if i'll be writing a part two to this?? the ending might be fixed/changed cause idk how i feel about it,,anyways i hope you enjoy it and credit to the gif owner! <3
read part two here!
Denial. That's all you've been doing is denying. Eddie didn't die, no. He's just decided to lay low until this whole "earthquake" shit and him being a murderer dies down. That's all he's doing you think to yourself, but that doesn't stop the nightmares of him dying in your arms. Every time you close your eyes you see the exact moment where the life leaves his eyes. You can't escape the horrible memory no matter what you do, you don't want to consider therapy cause how are you supposed to say that the love of your life died in the claws of bats from another dimension? Exactly, you can't.
You appreciate your friends, you do. You love them so much but you wish that they can leave you alone.
“I’m not broken, you know that right?”
Steve looks up from the magazine he's reading on your bed and smiles.
“I know that.”
“So why are you guys on babysitting duty with me?”
He sighs.
“Y/n, we're just worried. You've been ignoring the fact that Eddie-”
“Don't.” you cut him off.
“He's gone y/n. We're not rushing you to let him go, take all the time you need.” he stands up from his spot on the bed and crouches down to be eye level with you.
“But you're going to have to accept it sooner or later, and when you do we promise to all be here for you.”
Tears start to form and you throw your arms around him finally letting go of all the bottled-up emotions you have.
Anger. Pure anger is running through your veins when you see students gathered in front of Eddie's locker. Some are writing mean things, others are leaving sincere notes either way it pisses you off. Nobody in this school liked Eddie! It was always just you and hellfire who stuck up for him, so why the hell is everyone acting as if they care?!
“This is bullshit,” Gareth mumbles next to you.
You scoff. “Tell me about it. He's gone and suddenly the whole town loves him?”
“Like they weren't accusing him of murder weeks ago.”
If there was anyone you knew who was taking his death as hard as you, it was Gareth. Gareth knew Eddie his whole life, Eddie was practically his brother, and the fact that he doesn't even know what happened to him kills you.
“I fucking hate this town.” You whispered while shaking your head when the cheer team leaves a teddy bear in front of his locker.
Gareth chuckles, you take it as a sign of agreement.
“If I could I burn it to the fucking ground.”
You turn your head to look at him. His eyes are red and you're not sure if it's cause he's been crying, or because maybe rick gave him the hookup but you give him a soft smile. You've talked to Gareth before, and you consider him a friend. You glance down at the watch resting on your wrist and look back at Gareth.
“Do you wanna get out of here?”
“Hell yeah, let's go.”
You Gareth quickly exit the school and you both try to ignore the heartbreak you feel when you think of how happy Eddie would be knowing his best friends have someone to watch each other's backs.
Bargaining is something you find yourself frequently doing. You toss and turn through the night and look at your alarm clock. The bright red 1:00 taunting you. You let out a quiet tsk and decide enough is enough, quietly searching through your dresser you pick out the first pair of pants and grab the first shirt you see. You open your window making sure to leave it a crack open for you for whenever you sneak back in. You're not sure where you're going yet, your brain is not up to full speed with your body but soon you start recognizing that you're going to Eddie's trailer. Before you know it you're a good distance away from it but you stop in your tracks. Your heart is pounding and it's the first time you ask yourself what exactly are you doing here? We're planning on going to the upside down to find Eddie? Were you even looking for Eddie? Your thoughts are cut short when you see a familiar set of curls hidden under a hat exit the trailer quietly.
“Dustin?”
His body tenses and he turns around slowly to face you. He smiles at you nervously and waves as you take steps to get closer. You weren't supposed to be here, he hasn't even spoken a word to you and the guilt is already starting to eat him alive.
“Y/n! What are you uh, doing here?”
You cross your arms.
“I should ask you the same thing.”
Dustin stood frozen on the porch speechless, his eyes scanning your body trying to find any kind of clue as to why you're here. He wants to come clean and say it but he made a promise, and he was way too scared to break it. He narrows his eyes at you and something in his clicks when he sees the determined look on your face.
“Were you going back?”
“I-i think so? I don't know.”
Dustin mumbles out a Jesus Christ and stumbles over to you, dragging you away from the trailer.
“Are you insane?! What exactly were you gonna do?”
You stop walking, causing Dustin to look at you. His heart sinks when he sees tears falling down your cheeks as you stumble over your words.
“I just want him back Dustin.” you cry out.
Dustin wraps his arms around you and holds you as you cry, his brain is screaming for him to tell you. To just end all the pain you've been feeling but he made a promise. They all did.
He pulls away from you and gives you a sad smile.
“I miss him too, but y/n, you can't risk your life going back in there for something that's not even there.”
“We just left him there Dustin. His uncle never even got to see him.”
The both of you are crying now.
“And that's killing me, but there's nothing we can do.”
You look Dustin in the eyes and you have a strange feeling in your gut that he's hiding something but you're too exhausted to question him. You nod your head, wiping away the tears that fell down your face, and take a deep breath.
“Yeah. Yeah, you're right.”
“C'mon, let's go home. You can ride my bike, my leg is killing me.”
You hum knowing his leg is a bit more sensitive since the incident and agree to take him home.
“I'll walk home after I drop you off.”
“My mom thinks I'm at Lucas’.”
Silence is shared between the two of you as you slowly turn to look at Dustin.
“You mean the Lucas who's practically living at the hospital reading to Max?”
Dustin kicked a rock and mumbled out how it sounded better in his head. You shake your head and chuckle, throwing your leg around his bike and waiting till you felt his hands resting on your shoulders. While Dustin was getting on the bike you took a glance at the trailer that sat behind you two and you could be sworn you saw a figure that you knew all too well.
“You ready?” Dustin asked you. You looked at him then back at the trailer only to be met with nothing. You cleared your throat and nodded your head.
“Yeah, let's go.”
Everyone was worried about you the second Eddie was gone, but to their surprise, you were still up and moving. What they should have been worried about was the third month of his death. Depression hit you like a semi and you couldn't get out of bed to save your life. Everyone would stop by to drop off some food and water only to throw it out the next day when they saw it was untouched. They tried everything to get you out of bed but were unsuccessful every time.
It was midnight now, Nancy was sleeping on the couch in the living room as you rotted away in bed. They usually didn't spend the night but you haven't eaten in five days, to say your friends were worried about you was an understatement. You stared at the picture of you and Eddie laughing that rested on your nightstand when the familiar feeling of needing to use the restroom came back. For the first time in days, you slowly took the blanket off of you and began to sit up in bed. The room spun a little bit but now you were sitting up and looking at your bedroom door.
Go. You thought to yourself. Just go pee and then you can get back into bed. The thought of standing alone was enough to exhaust you, let alone use the restroom. You know you should get up, your bladder was starting to hurt from how long you haven't used the restroom but you couldn't move. You look down at your feet and see one of Eddie's shirts on the floor, it was his favorite, and now it's dirty. It's dirty, it's on the floor, and it was nearly forgotten about until now. The pain in your bladder was getting stronger but you didn't move, you stayed sat in bed looking at the shirt with tears streaming down your face.
Your thoughts are cut short when you feel a sudden pang of pain in your lower abdomen. You let out a gasp and quickly put pressure on it but it only makes things worse. I need to pee. Was the only thing running through your mind. You start to stand up but let out a small cry from how much it hurts.
“Y/n?” You heard Nancy call. You stayed quiet trying to steady your breathing. You take small steps toward your bedroom door, counting down how many you have left to go to the restroom when you fall to the ground. You hear Nancy start to run to you as you cry and clutch your side tightly.
“Jesus Christ, what happened?!” Nancy asks as she rushes over to you. You push her away determined to get yourself to the restroom. You know what she's thinking. You know she probably thinks you're insane at the fact that you could get a kidney infection trying to get to the restroom by yourself cause you're thinking the exact same thing. You curl into a fetal position on the floor, your breathing rapid as the pain gets worse with each passing minute. Nancy decides enough is enough and helps you up while whispering how you'll be okay. She helps you stand up and gently shushes you when you let out a whimper.
“It's okay, you're gonna be okay,” she whispers. She takes you toward the restroom and turns on the bath for you. She makes sure the water is warm before she looks at you, you have your shirt pulled over your legs as you sit on the toilet finally giving your bladder some ease.
“I uh, I'm running you a bath,” she says gently. “If you need help with anything, call me, okay?”
You nod your head and watch as she leaves the bathroom and closes the door, leaving it a little open.
You sigh and slowly get off the toilet, holding onto the wall for support as you flush it. You step into the bathtub with your shirt still on and sit in the warm water. Nancy knocks on the door and peeks her head in to check on you. You both make eye contact and you clear your throat.
“C-can you wash my hair?”
Nancy nods her head and rolls the sleeves of her pajama shirt up. She sits on the edge of the tub and gently strokes your hair as you rest your cheek on your knees.
“There's a cup in the cabinet. Eddie would bring the dog that lived next door and we’d give her a bath.
Nancy makes her way to the cabinet and grabs the small cup, filling it with water and counting down before she gently pours it onto your head. Comfortable silence is shared between you two before she drains the water and grabs a towel. She helps you stand, squeezing out as much water as she could from your shirt before you grab onto her hand.
“Thank you. F-for helping me.”
She gives you a sad smile and wraps the towel around your shoulders.
“I changed your sheets, and there are some clothes laid out for you.”
You hold onto her hand as she helps you out of the slippery tub and onto the cold tile floor. She leads you to her room, closing the door all the way so that you can change out of your wet clothes. You place the towel on the floor and toss the shirt on top of it knowing you'll take it out soon. You slip into the comfortable clothes and sit on the edge of your bed, your hands rubbing over the clean material of the new sheets Nancy changed for you.
Your eyes drift back to the picture that's on your nightstand and you swear that you can hear Eddie's voice in your head telling you to eat something. You hear three knocks on your bedroom door and you're guessing you told Nancy to come in cause now she's leaning up against your door and smiling at you.
“I know it's nearly one in the morning but are you hungry?”
You wanted to say no, you're too tired to eat anything and you just want to lay in bed and sleep until you feel better, but you don't. Instead, you slowly nod your head.
“I think there's still some pizza in the fridge from when Steve and Robin came over.”
Nancy gave you a genuine smile, happy that you finally decided to eat some food. She started to leave your room to reheat the pizza when she heard you call out for her.
“Thank you. Seriously, this whole…healing process hasn't been easy for me.” You clear your throat and send her a small smile. “So thank you, really. You've all helped me so much, I don't know what I would do without you guys."
Something in Nancy shifted, you could tell from the way her shoulders dropped and the small smile she gave you.
“Y/n?”
She wants to say it. She's seen you suffer enough and it's killing her not to tell you everything she knows. It's on the tip of her tongue, she's so close to saying it. You look at her with raised eyebrows.
“You never have to thank us. What are friends for?”
A few more months pass and little by little you start to feel okay, normal even. Is currently Friday, which is movie day at Steve's. It started as a way to get you out of the house but it's blossomed into something more now, you park the car in front of Steve's house and grab the snacks that are in the passenger seat of your car. You hum out a tune and gently kick at the door with your foot. Robin opens the door laughing but quickly stops when she sees it's you.
“Y/n! What are you doing here?”
“Haha, very funny.” you teased. “It’s movie day! Here grab the snacks so I can come in,” you say while dumping some snacks into her arms. She stumbles over words and her feet as you make your way into the house, you throw a hey to everyone and place the snacks onto Steve's counter.
“Geez, why is everyone quiet? Did you guys start the movie without me?” you chuckle out. You turn toward your friends who are sitting on the couch staring at you with wide eyes.
“Jesus, are you guys okay? It's like you've all seen a ghost or something.”
“Thanks for giving me my vest back Steve, I've been dying to see her again.”
Your body stiffens and your blood runs cold when you hear a voice that you've missed for far too long. Your eyes lock with Dustin and suddenly everything clicks. The night you found Dustin at Eddie’s trailer, the way everyone looked at you with guilty eyes, how everyone seemed like they were walking on eggshells when they were around you. They knew. They all knew.
“It's no problem man, I washed like three times- oh shit.”
This had to be a trick. You must've not been over his death yet and now your brain is making you hallucinate him. You slowly turn around to face him and tears instantly form in your eyes. Eddie feels himself freeze under your gaze, feeling like a criminal that's been caught. You shake your head and walk up to him, you raise your hand as if you're going to rest it on his shoulder but you freeze.
“You're not real.” You whisper while shaking your head. You let out a laugh like it's some kind of sick joke and turn toward your friends.
“Please tell me he's not real.”
The lack of answers confirmed it for you. You then turned toward Eddie with tears streaming down your face, but there was fire behind your eyes.
“How long have you been here?”
“Y/n, hear me out-”
“How long?!”
Eddie stays quiet and decides his shoes are much more interesting cause he can't bring his eyes to meet yours. You let out a scoff and look at your friends.
“Okay, since the fucking ghost doesn't want to talk I'll ask you guys. How long has he been back?”
“Ever since you caught me at his trailer,” Dustin spoke up.
You sniffled and nodded your head.
“So did you all know?”
Everyone on the couch nodded their head and Steve mumbled a quiet yeah.
“Was anyone going to tell me?”
“We wanted to,” Mike began.
“That's not what I asked. I asked if you were ever going to tell me.”
Everyone was silent once again and to be honest, you were getting fed up with it.
“you know what?” you chuckled out. “I think I'm done.”
“Done?” Nancy asked.
You grabbed your keys and started to walk toward the door.
“Yeah. With you guys.”
Everyone started to talk over each other and Eddie rushed to stand in front of the door, blocking you from leaving.
“Hey hot shot, just hear them out. Hear us out.” He begged.
For the first time in months, you look Eddie in the eyes, and it feels like you're back at the very beginning.
“Get out of my way Eddie, or else you'll wish you were dead.”
Defeated, he steps out of the way but chases you outside. The sun was no longer in the sky and the dam finally broke. Tears were streaming down your face and you felt arms wrap around you. You try your best to push him away but he's not letting you go.
“Get off of me!” you cry out.
“Sweetheart, please.”
“No! Do you know how fucking miserable I was Eddie?! Did you know that I considered going back to that hell hole to get you?!” you're pushing him now and you catch a glance of your former friends watching you from the window.
Eddie grabs your hands trying to stop you but you twist out of his grasp.
“For months people you love have suffered Eddie! This isn't even about me anymore! Does your uncle know you're back?! What about Gareth and the rest of the party?!”
Eddie shakes his head and tears are forming in his eyes.
“Really?! You're crying, Eddie?!”
“You weren't supposed to find out this way.”
“Then how? How the fuck was I supposed to find out Eddie? Were you going to come to my house with a bouquet of flowers? Were you gonna wait until I tried to go back to the upside-down again?”
Eddie stayed silent. He never really thought about how he was going to tell you, or how you would react. He knew that the more time dragged on the more difficult it would be, but he still had hope.
You saw a tear fall down Eddie's cheek and it took everything in you to not wipe it away. You've dreamt of this moment, you've even prayed for it but this isn't how it was supposed to happen. You were supposed to be happy he was alive, jump into his arms and finally kiss him as you've always wanted to do.
“You know,” you started as you walked to the driver's side of the car. “You may not be dead anymore Eddie,”
You start the car. “But you're dead to me.” you nod your head at everyone gathered by the window.
“They are too. I don't want to see any of you ever again.”
You drove off after that, you weren't sure where you were going, considering all your friends lied to you about something that big. Part of you wants to rationalize what they've done, and you can kinda understand why they did it but you would've never done that to them.
Your heart is pounding out of your chest as you walk up to the front door of the last person you should be seeing. You knock three times and wipe away the tears that are streaming down your face, you look like a mess right now you're sure of it but you don't care.
“Y/n?” Gareth asks with concern. “What's going on, why are you crying?”
“Eddie isn't dead.”
Gareth wants to laugh, but he can't. He won't. The way you look right now, the shakiness in your voice. He wants to think you're joking but what kind of sick person would make a joke about this? He steps to the side and opens the door wide for you, silently asking you to come in. You step inside his home and stuff your hands into your pockets, not bothering to wipe away your tears anymore.
“You've got a lot of explaining to do.”
You let out a humorless chuckle. “How much time do you have?”
Gareth let's out a sigh and hugs you, his hand rubbing your back gently as you cry into his shoulder.
"I've got all the time in the world right now."
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