The Perks of being a Wallflower (Part 2)
TW: None really.
During school hours Eddie didn’t pay much attention to her, even after having played a game of dnd with them the following Thursday after their first meeting. She supposed it was due to the next day being Friday and then the weekend. On Friday night, Eddie played the Hideout with his band Corroded Coffin and of course Alice went, made herself up to the nines, her father working away driving long haul trucks while her mother worked night shift at the diner in downtown Hawkins. They trusted her implicitly because she was such a quiet placid girl, spending a lot of her time reading, drawing and listening to music in her room.
Though she was underage,19, she had a trick up her sleeve through that of a fake ID. She had picked it up specifically so she could go and see Eddie play the guitar. He was absolutely breathtaking on stage, the lights flaring up behind him, his fingers gliding effortlessly over the fretboard of his guitar as he wailed out music not unlike Metallica. She had studied his patches, pin badges and kept up to date with the magazines he read so she could listen to the same music he did. She actually found herself enjoying it despite the fact she only listened to it to feel closer to him. It was sad when she really thought about it, what she craved was the attention of Eddie, she wanted those brown eyes to bore into her soul, to save her from her somewhat mundane existence.
Hiding in the back of the bar, set up on a stool in the corner she had a clear view of him on stage, giving it his all. He always did, got up there every Friday night and let his frustration, his pain, his joy and his passion flow through his hands, to the tips of his fingers into the ears of the patrons frequenting the bar. It wasn’t an ideal crowd for his type of music but they threw a few covers in there of more popular kind of music to get the crowd going close to closing time. As they finished their set for the evening she stood up, slipping silently through the main door and made her way to her car which she parked in the shade and shadow of a large oak tree that lay at the end of the parking lot.
From the safety of her car, smoked black eyes watching in her rear view mirror as Corroded Coffin loaded their gear into the back of Eddies van, he was laughing a joking with the guys, sparking up a joint from his breast pocket to wind down. She longed to be there with him in the stillness of the night, her mind wandered into fantasy…
Walking slowly across the parking lot, the gravel crunching under his reebok hi tops as he made his way over to her. His breath billowing out against the moonlight in the cool night air mingled with the smoke of his joint. Lips parted, looking soft and supple, she longed to pull him into her arms, kiss him deeply standing on her tiptoes, arms locked around his neck, his hands on the small of her back. His darkened eyes staring into hers as he pressed his forehead against hers, lips ghosting across her cheek before he pulled her tight to his chest.
God she wanted it so bad she could taste it, taste him, that sweet mix of mint, cigarette and beer. Opening her eyes she found she was alone in the parking lot, the night had come to its end and she made her way back to her lonely trailer to eat leftovers and watch bad tv.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Noooooo!!” Eddie half screamed, half laughed “critical hit! I cannot believe it, Vecna has been defeated! A few seconds before Dustin had rolled the D20, watching it roll in slow motion across the table, bouncing and turning before finally landing with the 20 glaring Eddie in the face.
They all screamed with delight, Mike, Dustin, Gareth and Alice, jumping up and down hugging each other and in those moments she had never felt more alive, the joy that coursed through her veins was better than anything she dared to dream of. Her green eyes were glittering with tears, threatening to spill down over her cheeks that ached dully from smiling so much for so long. Was this true happiness at last?
They filtered out of the game room, each making their way home, raving about the game, going their separate ways. Mike and Dustin hopped into Mrs Wheelers wood panelled ford, waving a hearty goodbye to Alice, she returned it with genuine fondness in her heart for the boys. Eddie pushed through the doors of the school, trotting his way down the steps before taking a cigarette out of the pack, placing it between his rosey lips and lighting it up.
“Woooooah! What a game huh? I can’t believe you little bastards finally took down Vecna, I was sure Butthead (Dustin) and Beavis (Mike) would tuck tail and run but woooooohooo! They surprised me!” He was absorbed in it, mind replaying the events as he jumped around the parking lot, puffing occasionally on the cigarette that hung limply between his lips. “But yeah, what a night! We’ll see ya next week Al.” She smiled softly, lifting her palm in a casual wave as he turned on his heel and began walking to his van, leaving her sitting at the bottom of the steps, books on her knees, sleeves of her oversized jumper pulled up around her hands which rested under her chin as she stared after him with sad eyes.
He turned suddenly and marched back to her. “ you know what I’m really sorry, can I give you a lift anywhere? Home maybe? I cannot in good conscience leave a lady stranded on her own in the dark”. He did his best English accent and extended a bow to her which made her giggle.
“Um, well now that you mention it, I kind of forgot my dad was working away again tonight and mom is only 2 hours into her shift at the diner…” she tied the gravel at the bottom of the step awkwardly “I’d hate to be a bother.”
“Tis no trouble at all m’lady, please allow me to escort you to your carriage.” He half turned, offering her the crook of his elbow, waiting patiently for her to take it. Her hands where shaking. This would be the very first time she was close to him, close enough to smell his cologne, the scent of his skin, to feel his skin. . She was trembling oh god I hope he can’t feel that.
“Jeez Alice, you cold?” He slipped his jacket from his shoulders placing it around her before she could protest. He was truly wonderful. Before the last few weeks she had be lustful for him, obsessive to the point of frenzy but now she saw a different side to him, the interior of his heart, how kind and gentle he could be, thoughtful and caring to friends and generally softer than she expected. Her feelings towards him had bloomed into what she did not expect, had not anticipated in her wildest dreams. She was in love with him. Properly in love and she finally felt at ease.
The drive back to his was filled with laughter, discussing everything they could think of. They had so much in common after all. Part of her felt guilty and another part was glad because she felt more alive than ever before, like she discovered herself through Eddie. They were actually kindred spirits at the heart of it. She could listen to him talk passionately about music for hours, divulging little secrets and dreams. She couldn’t help but smile at him as he talked.
“Alice, you are doing a lot of smiling over there sweets, are you high from second hand smoke?” She rolled her eyes. “No, well at least I don’t think I am, am I?” They both burst into fits of giggles, enjoying one and others company, she didn’t want the night to end, she wanted this moment to last for an eternity.
“Well if you’re not set on having those leftovers you told me about you’re more than welcome to hang at mine? I’ve got some bitchin horror movies I rented from Family Video we could watch, and maybe you could try getting actually high, ya know, if you want to”.
“Hmmm, let’s see…” she turned in her seat to face the windshield, “ah you know Eddie, I don’t know you that well, what if you’re a serial killer?”
“Yes, you’re quite right, my Club is a cover up for my sacrificial murders for our Lord and saviour Beelzebub.” His face was straight, side eyeing her as she tried her best not to laugh. He broke into a smile, playfully smacking her knee with the back of his hand.
“ I guess I could take the chance Munson, it is Munson right? Not Manson?” She giggled again. He whipped his head to her pulling Charles Mansons infamous police mugshot, his eyes crazed and one eyebrow slightly raised. “We’re not in wonderland anymore, Alice!” as he slung the steering wheel, turning them into Forest Hills Trailer park. Little did Eddie know that this was inadvertently bringing her home also, she lived on the other side of the park, tucked into the corner and as he never paid her any attention before now he never knew she had lived here this whole time. He may have noticed her Dads beat up truck trundling over the dirt road or maybe her moms decaying buick when she returned from her shifts at the diner but connecting the dots was an entirely different story.
Stepping out into the cool evening air, he seemed almost embarrassed of his living situation. He invited her inside and dove to clear up some of the beer cans, TV dinners and laundry strewn about the living area, making some quip about the maid. She smiled, not being phased in the slightest, though her mom kept their trailer pristine her father hand a tendency to “leave things at his ass” too.
“So, this is it huh?” her eyes admiring all the cups along the walls, the decor of two men living side by side. “ the lair of Eddie the Banished.” She mused, ghosting her finger tips over the counter top. “Ah yes unfortunately so, I mean technically it’s my uncles place but he’s been so kind as to allow me to dwell in his humble abode.”
Eddie strode over to the fridge and pulled it open, scanning the contents, “Care for a drink Alice?” he pulled two light beers from the fridge, making a mental note to pay back his uncle. Alcohol would be a brand new for her, since Eddie was doing it she shrugged, what was the worst that could happen from one beer? “Sure, sounds good.” Her fingers clasped around the top of the sweating bottle and raised it to her lips trying her first sip. It was bitter and tangy, bordering on unpleasant compared to soda but it would do.
“Come on, I’ll show you the heart of my nest.”
Eddie room was as she envisioned, messy, smelling of smoke, weed and his cologne not entirely unpleasant. Clothes, cans, flotsam and jetsam all over his mass of blue carpet. His guitar was pristine, hung from a rack above the mirror surrounded in posters and below this was his vinyl player, music was a huge part of Eddie’s life evidently.
Alice scanned her eyes around every crevice, every poster, picture and paraphernalia of him, memorising this moment, sure that at any moment she would wake up. Her eyes settled on the hand cuffs that hung from the wall, her fingertips traced the outline of the cuff, down the chain, it clinked together softly as she chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip.
“See something you like, sweetheart?” his voice breaking through her reverie, she pulled her hand back quickly as though it burnt. “S-sorry.” She turned away from them, walking to the bed to sit just at the end, the very corner. “No, no, it’s fine. I just didn’t peg pure sweet Alice to be such a freak is all!” He chuckled plonking himself next to her as the sounds of Metallica’s new album filled every corner of his room. His scent washed over her, making her close her eyes and swallow hard.
“I’m not sure what you “pegged” me as, you don’t know me at all Eddie Munson.” Her fingers toying with the label on her beer bottle between her knees, eyes downcast to it.
“What? Because I didn’t know you before you joined Hellfire? I’m a pretty good judge of character you know, get that from first impressions.”
Flopping back onto the bed with a contented sigh, his foot tapping a long to the beat of the music, his left hand patting out the rhythm on his thigh, rings glinting in the pale glow of the lamp light. She twisted to face him, her knee sliding up onto the bed, her right palm supporting her weight. Shakey breaths escaped her so she took another drink of her beer, polishing off the bottle, Eddie’s eyes where closed in contented bliss. Now was the time she thought, there might not be a better moment.
“Are you? Because I’ll bet you know next to nothing about me. I was a ghost in Hawkins before I walked into that club room.”
He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. Scanning her face to gauge her emotions but she was hard to read.
“The only time you spoke to me was when you were asking to borrow a pencil…” she smirked at him. “ I’ll assume you didn’t remember that was me, and cheer practice? Really?! Have you ever seen a cheerleader look like me?”
Eddie set his beer down on the bedside table, mulling over her words. “Sure, sure, I was glad that you weren’t a cheerleader, those guys are assholes. And the pencil thing… you saved my ass so many times with your kindness, did I ever ask anyone else?” He poked his finger into the side of her knee, pushing it playfully. “Besides, we’re getting to know each other now, right?”
“Yeah we are… I just don’t think you’ll want to know me when I tell you about myself to you.” Oh god the beer was churning in her stomach, she felt the effects of it because she had never touched a drop before tonight. He tilted his head to look at her, noticing for the first time the different colours of green and blue in her eyes, the way her cheeks flushed pinky red, even over the tip of her nose. She was still wearing his jacket, as big as it was on her frame, she looked cool.
“Eddie… I have to tell you something and I don’t want you to speak until I get this out. I’m going to face away because if I look at you, I won’t be able to say it, is that ok?” She wrung her hands together nervously, knuckles white and red. She could hear him gulp beside her, knowing that emotions, real emotions, made him feel uncomfortable and awkward. She stood up, placing herself near the door, no mirror to see his face nor he hers, she took a deep, shaking breathe to calm herself.
“Okay, sweets, I’m listening”
@alicefallsintotherabbithole
