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runningupthatvecna · 9 months ago

Text

get the peach(es)

bestfriend!eddie munson x reader

it's the day after chrissy got vecna'd and you and the gang decide to check up on eddie at rick's. he's still in so much distress that you can't help but selflessly stay with your best friend (who you've been harboring a crush on for quite some time) and keep him company. 6k words, not proofread.

cw: the good old friends to lovers trope, eddie is an anxious bean who just needs to be held (by you, ideally), mutual (and not so secret at all) pining, i wrote this with fem!reader in mind (she/her pronouns) but can also be read as gn i guess, fluff, hurt/comfort (for eddie), pet names, mentions of chrissy's death, there shall be kisses and a lot of softness. nothing too explicit but minors are still advised to LEAVE

a/n: totally not self indulgent, that scene of him being so terrified in 4x02 ripped me to shreds so this is my fix-it attempt, trying to still my need to hold him and scratch his head. disclaimer: this piece of writing is based on the ending of that episode, meaning all credits for the setting go to the respective writers. sources to the header images here, here and here. lovely divider by saradika. ok thank you so much for reading byeeee love y'all <3

–––––

The overwhelming need to befriend the satanic metalhead found you at that party at the Wheeler house. You had almost said no to Nancy when she invited you, knowing damn well how the night would end. Steve passed out with a girl on his lap, Robin silently pining after Vickie from some corner of the room while clinging onto the red plastic cup in her hand, Jonathan getting higher than a kite with his old school mates, the younger kids asking you every five minutes if you could give them a ride since you usually were the one staying sober.

Additionally this time, there would be Eddie Munson. This familiar stranger Dustin, Mike and Lucas had met and somehow befriended over the last months, due to them joining his DnD club. "He might come off as a bit intimidating ... but I promise he's super chill and easy going!", Mike had tried to convince his sister, poking the tip of her shoulder repeatedly with a bunch of pleases during lunch break in the editing room of the school's newspaper. Until she rolled her eyes theatrically and agreed to let the ambiguous stranger, which the whole town collectively perceived as not really fitting in (and who you both certainly knew under the not so chill reputation he carried around), attend the celebratory events at Casa Wheeler. Occasion: Karen, Ted and their youngest leaving the house for more than one day, off on vacation.

You'd always kinda stayed out of his ways, used to observe his antics back at school with a silent laugh and this .. intrigue poking at your guts. To you he always stood out, and if anyone asked you'd be hesitant to admit it, but his willingness to go against the flow and not conform to the acceptable standards set by society was honestly impressive. And besides, surely this whole mysterious drug dealer rockstar image must just be a fassade and deep down he's just a dork, right?

His eyes follow you through the living room, an echo of your name crossing his mind repeatedly after having pulled Dustin into a corner for a brief interrogation. He finds it endearing how quickly and almost bashfully you look away every time your curious gaze meets his. As you redirect your focus to the conversation you're becoming engaged in, there's a soft smile creeping onto your lips. Little did he know it would soon start to haunt him in his dreams at night.

"Anything specific you're looking for?"

God, his voice. The close proximity invites your nose to inhale a mix of fresh cigarette smoke, bergamot and sandalwood, allowing you to sense what can only be him standing behind you as you skim through the cabinets of the Wheeler kitchen. You turn your head for your eyes to confirm your assumption and what they find is the deepest brown of round baby cow eyes they've ever met, up so much closer now. The paring of his gaze and plush smile somehow manages to dissolve every little prejudice you've been involuntarily harboring about him. Eddie Munson, the town's freak. Prime reason for the existence of the satanic panic. Drugs. And then you realise that you should probably do the polite thing and give him an answer. "Yeah uh, I was just trying to find the peach syrup", holding his gaze with a small lopsided smile, lost in its warmth which you wouldn't have dared to expect from it, before facing away from him again. He snorts a little, "peach syrup?", pauses to bring a thumb to his upper lip, lightly scratching the skin above as if to wipe something away, before he removes it again and the dimples appear around the corners of his mouth, "that is oddly specific." His response spreads a smile over your face, and the next thing he says widens it, "looks like you have taste though."

You move one step to the side, about to investigate the insides of the next cabinet, the kitchen itself almost empty of people with only three others chatting away in the corner across the island. He follows, undoubtedly trying to stay close, and the heat from the fire he just ignited somewhere inside of you rises to your cheeks. "Thanks, I really like peaches. Especially in my drinks. It adds a little ... kick to my sobriety", you explain, Eddie now quirks an amused eyebrow paired with a lopsided smile at you, and as you get to the last cabinet it dawns on you (and also Eddie) that this household severely lacks peach syrup. An atrocity. Thanks Ted.

After he helped you rummage through the entirety of the kitchen without success but under a lot of small talk, the metalhead vanishes from the function for an hour or so. At least that's what your brain concludes when your vision fails to spot him among the people who are in attendance. Maybe he's selling out of Nancy's bedroom. Maybe he's puking up his insides in the bathroom because he had too much of that weird beer he's been downing all night. Maybe he's banging some random girl in the bathroom upstairs. Or summoning a demon. Or both. At the same time. You once again try focusing your attention back to the conversation you are involved in. Munson already feels so dear to you that the lack of his presence is starting to form an ache in your heart. It's tugging on those strings with how much you already want him near you. Yeah. You're gonna be in trouble with this one.

And then he stumbles into the room from the direction of the front door, an event you're totally unable (and unwilling) to miss. He doesn't look like he just puked, nor sold a whole lot of the stash since you notice it still bulging out the left ass pocket of his black jeans. Instead, as he pushes past the small groups of people socialising – and towards you – while you notice a red net of round fruits dangling from his right hand, and you start to think that his disheveled hair and that rosy tint on his cheeks might actually not be from shagging either. He meets your gaze again as he approaches you with a grin and your heart dares to swell at his attentive gesture (you think you might as well pass away on the spot).

"Have some, peach."

It's not syrup, but you'll take them anyway. And with your next drink, you swallow down not only that peachy sweetness on your tongue, but also whatever this tingly feeling in your chest is.

"Chchhrhch.."

Pause.

"Hey, uh– chrhchhr.."

Silence in your bedroom, the only thing illuminating the space is the moonlight softly falling through the window.

"Chrch– a-are you there?"

You stirr awake from dozing off in your bed, trying to piece together the information your senses are giving you.

Eyes gone dry, you have to blink a few times. Figure out which year it is and so on.

Confusion lies between the static crackle for a moment. That nap after your shift at the diner was necessary. God, you need to fucking quit.

"No I'm sure she'll pick right up, just– hey pleeease b-be awake, goddamn it!–"

Is it already past midnight?

You don't know and you can't tell, the clock on your nightstand still broken. What you do know though is that the familiar voice belongs to your friend Dustin and it's desperately trying to get ahold of you.

They must have found him.

"Dustin? I copy, where are you? What's going on?", you finally grab the device from the nightstand, fully awake and aware of your surroundings now.

You need to know. If he's okay.

There's that all too familiar instant tingle in your chest again, an ache that made itself familiar to you for the first time when he was introduced to you at the one and only Wheeler party several months ago. The dungeon master of Hawkins High's Hellfire club, the lead guitarist of Corroded Coffin and a super chill and easy going guy, to put it in Mike Wheeler's words.

What you didn't expect back then was your heart starting to develop that feeling, that tingle you'd always get to feel when you were in his presence, or like now, when his name is threatening to spill from your friend's lips on the other side of the connection at any moment.

"Aha! See? I told you she'd respond in no time."

You can practically feel Dustin's shit eating grin through the frequency, basking in being correct over Steve Harrington once again. It never gets old between these two.

"Oh my god", Steve's muffled voice is what you can make out vaguely from the off, he's probably palming his face.

"Dustin!", your voice disappears into the device, and your impatience grows with every passing second, hoping he gets the hint.

There's the sound of a door falling shut, leaves rustling under shoes, he must be outside now.

"Alright, okay yeah, so we found him at Rick's and he's really upset and he's been asking for you. I know it's late but can you meet us out here? And maybe, uh, stay with him?"

It's not even worth questioning. You're already wearing shoes. Your biggest hoodie in tow, you stumble into your kitchen with the intention to raid your own snack drawer. Pulling out Eddie's favourite, which you of course had stocked up on ever since hanging out with him at your place had become more of a weekly routine for the both of you.

Ten minutes, you told him. You'd be there in ten.

The drive feels like forever. The longest ten minutes of your life, you think.

You know the route like the back of your hand, having driven along the gravelly road leading from the last intersection before Hawkins' border to the outer world, to the serene woods surrounding Lover's Lake countless times. Eddie would take you here ever so often, for picnics, an occasional smoke after picking up a new delivery from Rick's, cloud or star gazing, listening to Metallica and Tears for Fears on Wayne's old walkman.

The gravel crunches underneath your white reeboks as they land on the ground. You close the door to your car as quietly as possible after you've taken out the bag and your hoodie.

Dustin and Steve are stood outside the boathouse, waving like madmen in the darkness once you come into their periphery.

The younger boy hugs you tightly.

"So glad you could make it", he gets out, the relief palpable through his voice as well as the grip he holds you in for a brief moment.

You look at them both after Steve presses you against him cordially, and breathe out through your nose, making your nostrils flare.

Dustin cracks open the case to you as he starts to ramble about the state in which they found your best friend, "well first he attacked Steve with a broken bottle, we had to put in great effort to convince him that we'd be on his side, and we came to the conclusion that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, basically."

What you want right now goes without saying. Everyone here knows how close you and Eddie are. As friends, of course. No one would think anything different.

Without wasting another second, the boys lead you inside where Max and Robin are knelt on the wooden floor. Heads turning towards the entrance of the room where you're now standing.

The sight of what's offered to your eyes, sitting opposite of them, breaks your heart.

You can see that he's slightly shivering, eyes glassy in the dim lit room. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips though once his brain grasps your presence, and he can't help anymore but let the water fall once his eyes lock with yours.

The pain that is swimming in those two deep warm brown oceans hits you like a dagger to the chest. Over the months of being friends with him you'd seen him various different states, none of them comparable to this.

"Peach", his shaky voice announces your arrival and the sound of your nickname spilling from his lips cracks through your bones. The bag that's slung around your shoulder drops onto the wood with a dull thud.

Wobbly legs carry him towards you with a gentle shove past Robin and Max. You're once again reminded of your best friend's sheer physical strength as he wraps his arms around you, instantly burying his face into the crook of your neck.

One arm of your own sneaks around his torso, pressing him against you as tightly as your own strength allows you, while your other hand comes up to bury itself underneath the mane and to end up scratching soothingly over the scalp above the nape of his neck.

Eddie lets out a muffled sob, sniffling into the collar of the sweatshirt you threw on in a haste. He doesn't really want anyone to see him like this, certainly not Steve Harrington, so he clutches onto you so tightly that he thinks you might just feel his heavy heart beating anxiously against your chest.

And you do. How could you not with the amount of world he means to you? Like an automatism your other hand rubs slow circles over his back. Comforting him in the best way you could. Not a conscious decision you make.

"Okay so, m'not meaning to ruin the party, in fact I'd love to stay for another round of doom talk, but I really should get home soon, guys", Robin scratches the back of her head after she gets up from her huddled position next to the wooden crate Eddie had been sitting on. Max joins in and agrees, mumbling something about having to move her mom from being passed out on the couch again into her bed.

"Yeah me too, actually. My dad's gonna be fucking pissed. We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?", Steve's voice echoes through the room and you can tell he's already shoved Dustin back outside, itching to drive the kid home.

As Eddie processes having to stay in hiding, added the possibility of everyone leaving without him, his grip on you tightens even more.

"It's okay, Eds", you speak softly, head slightly tilted so your cheek rests on the dark frizzy mop you could call his hair. The skin on his neck and scalp so warm underneath your fingertips as you keep scratching it, emphasizing your presence, "I'll stay."

A soft muffled whimper is what you get as a response, and the way he lets you see him in this state melts your insides to a puddle.

You just need him to be okay.

They wave their goodbyes behind your back, accompanied by mumbles of "see you in the morning", and you can't even bring yourself to turn your head around, fully focused on making the young man in your arms less terrified of the world. A world he was sure was now going to come for him with all its force – in deep conviction of him being responsible for Chrissy's misfortunate end.

The door falls shut and Eddie muffles a quiet thank you into the fabric of your sweatshirt. The skin on your neck is damp with his tears, wet eyelashes tickling every time he blinks.

"It's okay, Eds", you softly keep repeating your words to him while continuously rubbing over the denim of his signature Dio vest in a slow motion, when he feels the urgency to claim the truth into the collar of your sweater about what has happened, "I– I didn't do it, I swear."

As if you would need any convincing.

"Oh no of course you didn't, I know that", you're looking for a way to ease the distress this entire situation is causing him, his quivering voice adding to your desire to soothe him to inner peace, "can I make a suggestion?"

Eddie nods with another sniffle against your collarbone, the round wet tip of his nose brushing against the column of your throat lightly. To his ears, your voice sounds like silk right about now.

"How about we head over to the main house and get ourselves a little more comfortable? Since we're gonna be here for a little longer? My god you probably haven't slept or eaten at all, have you?"

You can feel him nod his head again with a hum this time, and you start to think that the tears might not just be pouring because he just witnessed someone suffer a gruesome death right in front of him, but also due to physical exhaustion.

It makes your heart ache even more, that tingle still present, even more so now. It hurts to see your best friend hurt.

He just needs to be okay. And in that heart of yours there's that little spark of hope that leads you to believe you could be the one helping him with that.

You'd really want that. Be all his to find comfort in, to hold close, to kiss stupid

Stop.

A sigh escapes your lungs at the thought. That tingle, that longing, it's selfish. It familiarly pools in your belly and slowly drips downwards. You push your brain aside. This is about soothing your best friend now.

"C'mon then", you utter softly, encouraging him with your hand to lift his head from where it leans against your shoulder.

For your heart it's almost too much to look at, the hurt still swimming in the glassy big brown irises, his waterline red and puffy. The soft smile returning to his lips causes the wet apples of his cheeks to push up slightly, reflecting the dim light coming from the one torch Robin left you, placed on one of the crates.

He really hadn't been able to close an eye for a single second since he he'd gotten up for school the day prior.

You smile back at him almost bashfully as you slowly create space between your bodies.

Eddie is grateful that it's you who grabs his ringed hand next.

He squeezes yours, hoping to get the message of this meaning something to him across.

And he closely trails behind you as you lead the way.

The house feels empty, like no one's really been here in months. You'd never been inside. The few times you'd accompanied Eddie grabbing stash you'd stayed in his van, waiting. But as far as you now can make out in the darkness, there's a couch with knitted blankets, a little TV with a whole stack of VHS almost rising as high as the screen itself, spilled and spluttered empty cans and papers and wrappings littered all around. Maybe this is why he never let you come inside with him. Keeping you out of this definitely not sterile mess. Along with keeping you out of the business.

In the middle of the living room, you let go of his hand and shuffle one step away from him. He's inside now. Safe. Job done. Doesn't need physical contact. You shouldn't, he's your friend. You feel like something between you would break if you'd go there.

Eddie thinks otherwise, regarding close proximity at least. He promptly follows you into what you believe to be the kitchen where you hope you might find a tea bag or two. He comes up behind you and encases you in his arms as you rummage through the cabinets (feels familiar, hm?), not at all ready to say goodbye to the warmth of your body pressed against his own just yet.

You giggle at the silliness of him putting weight on you just to make it harder for you to reach into the cabinets. It's endearing. And very Eddie.

Twenty minutes later and there's two mugs – cleaned to your best ability – with steaming hot liquid on the sixties wooden coffee table. Next to them a plate filled with the almost equally hot insides of a ravioli in tomato sauce can. Thank Rick for a still functioning microwave.

You drape the knitted blankets over both you and Eddie as you settle into the cushions. The only light existent coming from two lit candles on said coffee table. It wouldn't be too wise setting up the torch you think.

The side of Eddie's face glows in the orange yellow, his wide brown bambi eyes dried after the first grand storm, and there's this tug on the corner of his pink plush lips again. He exchanged his leather jacket for the freshly washed hoodie for comfort and a small part of you hopes he doesn't spill his dinner onto any of it.

You lean back into the backrest of the worn out couch and watch as he eats, a domestic thing you've done a thousand times already, yet you still find comfort in knowing that he's nourishing himself.

Or well, in this case, inhaling the raviolis.

"Thank you Peach", he moves to put the empty plate back on the coffee table and it makes the spoon chink and glide along the edge, "I really needed this."

His voice is a little hoarse, probably from the emotions of the hours behind him. Maybe he has indeed calmed down a little. His hand moves down to your thigh, squeezing.

You give him the most empathetic smile you can bring yourself to display, painfully aware of the blaze that is transpiring through your leggings and seeping into your bones, "it's no big deal, really. I mean it is– uh, being there for you, is."

And he can't bring himself to look up at you. Instead, he stares at the empty plate on that coffee table in front of him.

"And to me as well. It really helps that you're here."

He doesn't bother moving the calloused warmth of his hand from the soft warmth of your thigh. It lights your entire nervous system on fire. In a good way.

And that's when you begin to wonder if everything that has just happened and is still happening right now changes anything.

"I'm so glad it does", is all you're able to get out.

Eddie decides that it's time to lean into your side and wrap his arms around your torso once again, drop his head back to its favourite place with a soft content little hum.

He just needs physical comfort. Of course. Just that. Nothing more, nothing else.

The words are redundant but your mouth articulates them anyway, "try to get some sleep, yeah?"

His back already lifts and falls evenly. You place your hand on the back of his head that rests in the crook of your neck again, scratching through the curls lightly, searching to help him shut off even deeper.

–––––

The candles have gone out by the time your eyelids slowly open. It takes you a moment to recall the location you fell asleep in, and you hope that the nightly darkness the whole room is now filled with hasn't invited any stranger to take advantage of your unconsciousness.

There's a warm hand holding your face, the pad of a thumb tracing over the apple of your cheek softly. It makes its way from the bridge of your nose to the outer corner of your eye, and back. And forth. And back. And forth.

You must have moved to lie down on your back in your sleep, with Eddie's weight still on your body, legs entangled. It's not the first time you've slept like this, there had been movie nights that had ended similarly.

His hand caressing your cheek though, yeah that is new. There's something unspoken in the air this time around. Your stomach is doing flip flops when you realise that he is propped up on his elbow, just .. looking at you. With eyes that don't require light to hint at whatever it is he is trying to say, or maybe not trying at all.

"Eds, what are you doing?", you ask almost in a whisper followed by a lopsided smile, expecting an unserious answer, because he always tends to make a joke whenever he tries to avoid conversing about emotions regarding his heart.

His thumb stops its acrobatics on your cheek, comes to a halt.

"I'm–", he takes a deep breath before he continues, "I'm just so grateful it's you that's here right now."

Your hand comes up to cup his. Brush over his rough knuckles with a thumb of your own. Enjoying the warmth that is seeping from his palm into your skin.

"Yeah, I figured you were gonna be a little opposed to spending the night with Harrington", you laugh, an attempt to turn your nerves into humour.

Eddie snorts a little, "yeah right, it's almost like you know me", he grins and pushes himself even closer to your face than he already is. It doesn't necessarily help in extinguishing the fire that's consuming you whole at this point.

"It's almost like we're best friends and I know what you think of him because every time Dustin or literally anyone else mentions his name around you, you're not necessarily secretive about it."

"Hey, my own worldview is not my fault, it's just– ... he just kinda seems like a douche of the highest order."

"He's quite alright, Eds. Try giving him a chance, I think he'd look great as Coffin's tambourinist."

He snorts again and you feel his breath on the column of your neck next when he dips his head down, nose pressing against the soft skin, his small giggle being swallowed by the collar of your sweatshirt.

Your favourite sound. Ever. Followed by the relieved moan Eddie lets out at the way your other hand is softly rubbing over his shoulder blade. The vibration against your neck makes you twitch as much as being pinned into the couch cushions by his body allows you.

It's soothing as much for you as it is for him.

When he lifts his head, the soft gaze he eyes you with is enough to let the goosebumps erupt. Even in the darkness of the room you can still make out those round buttons that could melt the entire north pole.

"Thank you, Peach, really. I'd be goin' mental right now and probably tryin' to counter that by smoking an equally mental amount of the stash I've been hiding here."

Your heart aches.

"I'm just glad I can be that kind of comfort to you, Eds. You don't have to go through whatever the fuck this is alone."

"I know I'm never gonna be alone as long as you are there."

You almost cry yourself now, his words making your hand travel from his own to his cheek, almost passing out from the way his eyes bore into your own once again.

Eddie isn't sure what it is that is making him feel lightheaded right now. The whole rollercoaster of events of the past hours. Or your words of affirmation. Or mayhaps it is your cute soft hand with that little ring on your thumb which is gently swiping over his damp skin.

That cute soft hand he'd been imagining countless times at night, silently yearning for your eyes to look at him differently, to finally see him in a different light the next time you'd hang out.

Probably a combination of just everything.

You reciprocate his soft half-lidded gaze, hand moving from his cheek to tuck some of his hair behind his left ear, revealing that delicate silver hoop earring you'd gifted to him for his birthday, after having talked your ear off about getting his ear pierced for literal months.

He'd insisted you join him for the appointment, "another metal moment for the books", as Eddie had called it, the need to have his hand held during the stab comically urgent in the way his voice sounded when he called you that day. And in the pace in which he picked you up.

"I'm here no matter what", you respond to his sentiment, that hand that brushed his hair away resting on the side of his neck while leaning the weight of your head into his palm that is still attached to your cheek.

Eddie's confidence reaches a new all time high with the admission of your unconditional support being stirred into the cocktail of hormones and emotions that's been circulating in his bloodstream for a generous amount of time now.

Because then he goes on by saying impossible things.

Impossible things with a slightly less platonic undertone.

"You're so fucking sweet, has anyone ever told you?"

You smile as you shake your head, heat rising to your cheeks once again and you're sure he won't be able to see just how flustered he's getting you (joke's on you he does).

You're also sure he's out of his mind for saying that. Now.

"A shame, honestly. You should scold your best friend for not telling you sooner. Tell him what a fucking idiot he is."

Eddie earns another giggle from you. Music to his ears. Better than Metallica. Okay maybe not but .. pretty fucking close.

"I'll let him know next time I see him", you say with a grin, playing along with pleasure, and you ask yourself why it is only now that you realise just how fucking close his face is to yours.

There is a moment of silence in which Eddie hesitates articulating whatever is seemingly bugging his mind.

"Do you, uh, still like him?"

If you lifted your head just a little your noses would be touching. A silly and utmost redundant question, and yet, Eddie dreads your answer. If the circumstances were different, less dystopian and tragic, you'd seriously wonder what would spark the doubt in your friendship in him, but considering that everyone else would be going to pour their judgement over him, you understand.

Every word exchanged between the two of you at this hour is soaked in mutual infatuation, something the idiots in both of you are slowly starting to fathom as well.

"Of course I do, he's everything to me."

As you say it, you can't help the grin which reappears reliably each time you finish verbalizing your thoughts. It's contagious, you notice.

"And do you think – just hypothetically of course", it's only then he breaks eye contact to clear his throat, "of course", you interrupt him still smiling and cocking an eyebrow at him, "d'ya think it would be okay for this best friend to, uh, maybe...", Eddie pauses, internally watching the ship containing his confidence set sail slowly and ultimately letting the irrational thoughts win for tonight, "would you let him..."

Eddie generally wasn't someone who lacked confidence. It showed in the way he boisterously wandered the halls of Hawkins High, the way his demeanor never changed, his mask never faltered no matter who was around. Except for you. You who he had always granted a look underneath the impulsive, extroverted surface.

"Eds", you try everything in your power to stay calm even though everything inside of you is screaming right now and you're certain you can feel your pulse in your earlobes.

"Would it be just insane of that best friend to kiss you right now?"

You want to squeal and kick your feet, pull him into your face, pinch your own forearm, pass away, leave the house and never return, and stay right where you are forever, buried underneath your favourite metalhead, the parts where your bodies are touching practically on fire, cosy and content.

Instead, the most fond smile spreads over your lips as you try to contain your internal overwhelm.

It's still dark, the only light source being the full moon outside. Eddie's so hopeful of your reciprocation and even more terrified of ruining his entire life at the same time, those deep doe eyes at this point pretty much resemble the shape of the space rock orbiting earth. Rejection from you, his pretty Peach and the Bonnie to his Clyde, would be unbearable.

"I think so," you almost whisper, the hand that's been rubbing over Eddie's back coming up to lightly trace one of his eyebrows with your index finger because you just can't seem to not touch him in some way, "but you should know that I love his insanity."

Your small giggle is being silenced by a soft and cautious kiss from Eddie Munson. Like he doesn't want to break you. Or he's afraid you'll snap out of a haze, slap him and leave if he starts kissing you like he really wants to.

And then it's you who goes for it, you feel at home, right where you belong, you don't think you've ever felt this good. The hand on his jaw tugs him closer softly, pressing your lips to his with a bit more urgency.

It gives him all the confirmation he could possibly need.

That tingle, it grows and fills up your chest and shoots through your entire being, goosebumps and all. Eddie moans and breathes against your lips, tongue dancing over the thin skin, asking for permission.

His ringed hand digs deeper and slowly moves to the nape of your neck, intending to hold you in place, afraid you could slip away from him if he didn't. This blossoming thing between you could slip away from him. If he didn't.

It's so soft, the way his lips touch yours, and before you know it they move to your cheek, to your jaw, down your neck before Eddie comes up again, smiling from ear to ear, to gently bump his nose against the tip of yours and his lips return home with a soft and deep hum escaping from his lungs into your mouth.

Relief floods his veins along with whatever it is you're doing to him. The ability to shut out the insanity of the past hours is what he so desperately wants to cling to for as long as you allow him, even if the dawn will remind him of the horrid reality he's involuntarily become subject to live through now.

"You're making things so much better, Peach, you're so sweet, so fucking cute, so fucking good for me, do you even know for how long I've been dreaming of this?"

Eddie greedily pulls your face into his again, not even giving you a chance to reply and not nearly getting enough of your affection it seems with how fervently his tongue searches for yours.

A gentle collision of skin.

The soft whimpers you let out only spur him on. You not backing away from him, staying with him, letting him be this close to you?

You, the only constant source of consolation Eddie's ever really had.

Life changing.

Soft touches follow soft touches, your thumb traces his jaw repeatedly.

"You don't–", kiss, "for how long–", kiss, "I've been dreaming–", kiss, "of you as well", you breathe against him and Eddie thinks he might be about to resort to sniffling into your collar again with the amount of relief he is experiencing.

You'd let him.

"Yeah?", he presses his nose into your cheek with his eyes closed, smiling from ear to ear, relaxing his entire body into yours as you let him slide inbetween your legs.

"Yeah, you know how much of a sucker I am for peaches", you grin, another peck to his cheek, his jaw, his neck, your hips slowly finding a rhythm against his own.

Eddie groans at your allusion with a wide grin on his face (and the feeling of your warmth against his dick), before pressing his lips against yours again lovingly, "me too baby, me too."

–––

taglist (thought you might be interested): @josephfakingquinn, @ghost-proofbaby, @analogkraken, @wroteclassicaly, @songforeddiemunson, @joejoequinnquinn, @somnambulic-thing, @trashmouth-richie, @eddddiemunson, @ceriseheaven, @userchai

comments, reblogs and other forms of affection towards the author are greatly appreciated thank youuuuu <3

#nora writes #get the peaches #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x you #this took me way too fucking long to finish holy shit #but it's here now #it's here !!!#finally lol #also sorry for the title it makes me cringe but i couldn't come up with anything else for the life of me #oh well i hope y'all enjoy this either way :)#thank u for reading <3

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theladybarnes · 1 year ago

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CRIMSON AND CLOVER: CHAPTER FIVE

"It’s time for your suffering to end.”

▸ summary: there’s still time left in the night for more surprise ▸ characters: nancy & mike wheeler, dustin henderson, steve harrington, & eddie munson ▸ word count: 11.8k ▸ warnings: angst, semi-fluff, minor character death, self loathing, ▸ series masterlist

“Why is she here again?”

You glanced away from the small clippings of possibly headers to look over at Fred Benson. Nancy’s new friend from the paper, and currently a small thorn in your side. For some reason, Fred did not like you, and while he was completely involved with Nancy’s small paper world, he did not seem to like her friends outside of it. Meaning you.

“She’s here because I offered to show her how things work here, Fred.” Nancy chimed in before you could respond back with a less friendly answer.

The pale boy raised a brow at you before shooting to follow after Nancy. He’s been trailing behind after her ever since you came into the news room for your free period. The two of them were currently discussing Jonathan, peaking your interest enough that you quietly followed after the two.

“So maybe I’m missing something, but why can’t Jonathan come down here for break?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

You moved to stand beside the slumped Fred as you smirked over at him. “I know that journalists are naturally inquisitive people, Freddie, but you seem to be very keen on knowing the deep details of Nancy’s love life.” you said, watching as his light eyes widened a bit. “Any particular reason for that?”

Nancy chuckled nervously before she reached over to pull you away from Fred’s side. Forcing you instead to walk in front of her. “Stand down, tiger.” she said to you before turning back to the boy. “As for you, because of a lot of reasons.”

“Curious.”

Her blue eyes narrowed at him briefly before glancing down at the work being down on the newest headline. You couldn’t help but stare down at the large font predicting a win for the game tonight. You were never one for sports, but considering Lucas was on the team, you couldn’t help but be a little hopeful there would be a win. At least for your friend.

Fred was quick to bring the focus back to his curiosity.

“You said there’s a lot of reasons he’s not coming. Such as?”

“Why are you being so nosy?” Nancy asked, frustration breaking through her exterior now. But the snap to her words didn’t seem to falter Fred in the slightest. It actually just made him appear more roused at continuing the conversation.

“Call it journalistic instinct.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s called being nosy.” you volleyed with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes, adjusting the large folder in his hands before his face quickly changed to an amusing smirk. “We can always talk about your life, Henderson. Wasn’t it just a while ago that you were dating Steve Harrington? From what I hear from the halls, he’s been going on dates with a couple of the girls from our grade.”

Your spine stiffened up at the mention of Steve. Not fully prepared for that subject to be thrown into the conversation. Nancy scoffed at Fred, shaking her head quickly at her friend as she gently placed her hand on your shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell him anything.” she said to you, eyes checking over your face as if you were back in her car ready to break down again. “Really, Fred’s just–”

“He’s curious.” you butt in, not wanting to give any satisfaction to the boy’s attempt to throw you off. Glancing at him, you make sure to give him a reassuring smile despite the fact that the mere mention of Steve had your chest aching. “We’re..not together anymore. Broke up before Christmas. Things are fine. I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Fred looked a little bit skeptical, eyes narrowed his pale eyes at you. Almost as if he were waiting for you to crack at any second. Nancy beside you was doing the same thing. Nervously watching over you until she decided enough was enough.

“Okay, well, there’s no story there or here, if that’s what you’re after.” she sighed, willingly taking on the main focus again. “Jonathan’s mom works, so he has to watch over his brother. On top of that, he’s not early decision like me, so he’s waiting on his acceptance letter, and he wants to be there when it comes..which I totally get!”

There was a certain higher pitch in her tone that clearly gave away some of the uncertainty in her words. And while you knew that being friends with both her and Jonathan meant being neutral in moments like this, especially considering she just took the heat off of your relationship, you couldn’t help but feel like you’d have to join in on meddling with Fred.

“Okay! Um, I don’t. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Crossing your arms over your chest, you gave your friend a winced look before your mouth finally blurted out a running question you had been thinking over the past week. “You are aware that a letter would be available to read when he gets back..right?”

Nancy looked over at you, a flicker of annoyance before she shook her head, trying to keep positive.

“Well, it’s always different. You know how it is to wait.”

“I also did things like go to school and leave the house. In this case, he’d have a whole week off school that he could use to go see his hot girlfriend and yet he’s at home playing the babysitter.” you scoffed. “Who is he, Steve?”

“You know, he’s your best friend.” she pointed out softly. But you simply shrugged your shoulders, unsure of Jonathan’s reasoning yourself. All he did when you called him about it the other night was say the same excuse as she said.

“He’s also a guy. We both know they’re dangerously questionable at times.”

She pursed her lips at that as Fred snapped his finger at you, nodding in agreement.

“So he’s supposedly the love of your life, right? The guy you plan on going to school with, and yet he’s so nervous about this acceptance letter, he doesn’t have time to visit the most desired girl in Hawkins?”

“Hey!” you chided, glaring at him. “What the hell?”

He rolled his eyes but held a hand up to you. “Fine, one of the two most desired girls in Hawkins.”

Nancy closed her eyes, shaking her head at the two of you as she tried to focus on her work again. You moved closer to her side, nudging her a bit. It wasn’t like this conversation would be easy, but it did make you wonder why neither one would take the time to visit each other when they could. It was something like this that slowly started to cement your feelings about long distance.

“I know Jonathan likes to take on a lot of work at home. But it is kinda unfair to you guys..”

“Not to mention as a part of the many sexually active teens in Hawkins, she’s denied the gratifications of having coitus with her supposed loving partner.”

Both you and Nancy let out a small gasp of disgust from Fred’s blunt words. Of all things that didn’t need to be pointed out in this conversation, it was Nancy’s sex life. Especially from Fred of all people. Beside you, Nancy held up her hand, holding back the full twist of disgust from her face.

“Okay, first of all, Fred, I’m going to try to forget that you said any of that. It’s..”

“None of your business.” you said simply. “Nance here doesn’t need to dive into her personal life for us, but is kind enough to open the floor up for conversation. So maybe keep it PG if you want to keep part of it.”

Fred again couldn’t help but give you another eye roll, probably done with your butting in. Nancy placed a thankful hand on your shoulder as she tried to bring reason back to the three of you. “You just don’t know Jonathan. He’s not like you. He’s caring and compassionate and loyal.”

She set down the tools, thinking hard for a moment until a small smile tugged on her lips.

“He’s so protective over the people that he loves. And he’ll never back down from what’s right, what's moral. No matter the pressure, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I love him.”

You were a little taken back to hear someone else speak so highly of your best friend. But Nancy’s genuine words got to you a bit and you found yourself slightly emotional over it. “That’s so sweet.” you cooed softly, nudging her arm lightly. “I love you guys.”

The girl laughed a bit, rolling her eyes at you but smiling at the comment before she glanced down at the work before. An even prouder smile tugged at her lips as she presented the newly designed headline for you two. “It’s perfect.”

Fred, who had grown quiet since Nancy humbled him down a bit, seemed to easily move on from things without any hesitance. His eyes scanned over the screen briefly. Brows knit together in disinterest.

“Eh, I’m still rooting for my alt.”

He proudly held up his alternative cover that displayed a more negative outcome of the game. It would seem that you weren’t the only one walking around school with a lack of school spirit. Before either one of you could critique the grim headline, the door to the editing room burst open.

“Nancy!” Mike yelled as he quickly stepped in, letting the door behind him bang against the wall before its hinges creaked loudly to close up. The whole room became quiet to the boy who had disrupted the peaceful atmosphere. He stood nervously for a second before his eyes slowly locked on to where his sister was.

“Nancy, hey!” he greeted, as if they had just run into each other in the hall. “Um, do you wanna join Hellfire tonight?”

Beside you Nancy let out an actual seething grunt as she glared over to her brother. You couldn’t help but actually chuckle a bit at the whole interaction.

“I’ll take care of this.” You said with a pat to the shoulder.

Stepping away from the desk with the hall pass, you grabbed onto Mike’s arm, taking him out of the class so that Nancy didn’t have the chance to drag him out herself. The boy grumbled a bit in your hold until you two were back into the quiet hallway.

“I don’t think Karen would approve of you coming into rooms without knocking.” You teased watching as Mike rolled his eyes.

“God forbid she ever does me a favor.” he sighed, adjusting the strap on his backpack. You gave him a sympathetic smile before ushering him towards the classes. Just when you were about to turn to go toward the bathrooms, he gripped at your arm.

“You’re someone!” He said smiling.

“Keen observation, Wheeler. Mind letting me go now?”

“Join us! Hellfire tonight.”

“Yeah, I’d rather be chased around by Russian security again than do that.” you scoffed.

Mike frowned at your past memory before waving his hand. Brushing the comment away.

“It’s only for tonight. Dustin and I need to replace a spot. You wouldn’t even have to work too hard. We can even help you quickly fill out a character sheet before school ends.”

You’re about to tell Mike where he can shove that sheet when his words suddenly stumped you. “Wait, did you say that the game is tonight?’ you asked slowly.

“Yeah, tonight in the theater. Why?”

Looking over at him with a glare, you crossed your arms as you approached Mike. Doing your best to keep down the frustration that easily came along with your friend’s brother. “Tonight is the basketball team’s championship game. So are you guys playing out the campaign after or?”

Mike still cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his neck. His dark eyes stayed cast down to the ground rather than meeting yours. Even without speaking yet, his guilty silence was almost enough of an answer.

“Hellfire’s game is tonight,” he said wearily. “It’s uh..at the same time as the game.”

“And what, Lucas is gonna miss out on the game?”

“..No.”

You can’t help but let out another scoff at Mike. While you knew there was a recent difference in interests amongst the boys, you didn’t expect for any of them to ignore an important event so easily.

“So you guys don’t care at all to go and support Lucas?” you asked, raising a brow at him. “Whatever happened to looking out for a party member? Shouldn’t you guys hold off until the game is over or just wait for you to come back from break?”

Mike let out a big sigh, trying to turn away from you now, but you quickly moved to stand in front of him again. Raising a brow at him until he gave you some sort of reasonable answer.

The boy paled even more, if possible, visibly gulping as he tried to think of what he could say that wouldn’t sound bad. But all he could do was shake his head. “Look, even when we tried, we’re not the only ones in this campaign. Besides, Eddie doesn’t care about things like basketball. He’s counting on us to finish the campaign before the break.”

“And just screw over a friend along the way.” you muttered, annoyed with your friend’s biased views towards other cliques of the school. Glancing down at your watch, you made note of the limited time you have left in your period and quickly turned on your heel towards your next target.

“Wait, so is that a no for Hellfire?!” Mike yelled from down the hall.

“Go to damn class!”

There were thankfully not too many wandering kids in the front of the school. It made for an easy way to find the boy you were looking for. With his stupid hat, stupid shirt, and stupid voice yacking into the public phone.

“Just move your date this one time, come on!” he whined into the receiver.

Instantly you froze behind him. Unable to move or stop yourself from eavesdropping into the conversation. Considering the fact that everyone he knew was in school right now, you knew exactly who he was talking to. Which is what made the subject of a date twist at your stomach.

There’s a beat of silence before he spoke into the phone again.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I have another older male friend.”

The pride in Dustin’s tone is almost something admirable if it wasn’t such an embarrassing statement to say out loud. You’re pretty sure Steve is most likely unamused by the comment without having to be a part of the call yourself.

“The one? Are you serious? Because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what you were complaining about last week.” There’s another pause that had Dustin scoffing. “And I’m supposed to believe it’s over? Actually, don’t answer that. Because if I get involved in your love life any more than I already have, my cousin will actually–”

“I’ll actually do what?” you piped up, watching as Dustin jumped in place from your sudden voice. He turned around, staring wide eyed at you before he adjusted the receiver into his ear properly.

“Yes, it’s her.” he muttered, giving you a small glare. “No, I didn’t say anything about..No, I was not yelling out loud, Steve.” His eyes glanced over towards you briefly before he shook his head. “No, I will not– Don’t make me– ugh, Steve says hi.”

You stayed silent, unsure if responding to Steve or not would make things awkward. Dustin looked up at you expectantly, waiting for what should be a simple response. You chose to tap against your watch and signal for Dustin to end the call. He let out a small sigh before he adjusted the phone against his ear. Not at all faltered by your sudden displeasure towards him.

“No, she didn’t say anything..Yeah she’s pissed at me. Must have done something else since this morning.” he grumbled into the phone. Steve must have mentioned something he really didn’t like because he barely muttered out a pleading reminder about the game before he panicked again. “No, you can’t call me back I’m at..” he pulled the phone back and frowned at the item before hanging it up. “..school.”

When he fixed his back pack back on his shoulders, he finally gave you his full attention. Raising a brow at you. “What did I do now?”

You slapped at his shoulder, making him yelp out.

“What was that for?”

“That was for putting me on the spot.” You quickly slapped his other arm, earning the same reaction.

“And that one!?”

“That was for planning on ditching your friend, tonight!”

“I don’t have time for this!” he scowled, rubbing his arms. Without waiting for your rebuttal, he turned on his heels and made his way back inside the building. Leaving you to quickly follow in pursuit.

“Dustin,” you started sternly. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to ditch Lucas for some stupid game tonight? Don’t you think it’d be kinda nice to show him some support?”

“One, it’s not a stupid game. And two, I’m not ditching him, he’s ditching us, okay?” Dustin sighed, shaking his head. “If anything, what he’s playing is stupid and he’s clearly decided that this game is more important than Hellfire. What happens next is out of my hands.”

“Except it is considering you’re literally looking for his replacement.” you scoffed, following him towards one the halls to the courtyard. He’s about to step out the doors towards the quad and ditch you but you’re quick to grip at his arm, keeping him in place. “He might think you’re trying to replace him or something.”

“Well, I kinda am. But it’s only for the rest of the campaign.” he shrugged. “You’re making this a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

A headache began to form in your head again. Causing a splitting ache to pool all around as you tried to think of a way to help fix things before they got worse. “Look, I’m not meaning to make things complicated.”

“And yet you’re not letting me go.” he said, glaring down at your hand.

“It’s just that Lucas could take this the wrong way. You guys aren’t kids anymore. You’re people who have to balance each other out. You can’t just always do what you want and forget everyone–

“Oh, you’re one to talk.”

Rubbing at your tired face, you looked down to the ground almost defeatedly before an idea came to mind. “I could talk with Eddie if you wanted? Try to convince him to hold it off for another–”

“Stop!” Dustin snapped, clearly displeased with the idea of you interfering. "I really don't need you meddling in my business."

The tension between the two today seemed to come to a boiling point. Twisting the knot even more in your stomach. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the two of you to have a random bickering moment. But something this time felt a little different. A little more personal.

“I’m not meddling, Dusty. I’m just trying to help.” you offered carefully. “Decisions like this could lead to friendships falling apart. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

His expression hardened before he quickly retorted, "You're not my mom. I can handle my own friends. Besides, it's not like you're an expert at keeping friendships intact. Remember Steve? The guy you couldn’t even bother to say hello to?"

The mention of Steve hit a nerve and you sighed heavily. Despite this morning’s conversation, Dustin wasn’t able to fully comprehend the problems that surrounded your relationship with Steve. "This isn’t about me or Steve. It's about you possibly jeopardizing your friendship with someone I know you care about. I don’t want to come back next year and see that you guys have grown apart.”

Dustin's eyes narrowed down at you. "It’s not about you and yet you’re placing yourself right in the middle of something that doesn’t need your presence.” He leaned forward, and despite not having the height over you, his anger managed to make you curl away. “Do me a favor. If it bothers you so much, why don’t you go to the game tonight? Show Lucas some of that support you’re preaching about. Mike is leaving tomorrow, and we’re gonna make the most of tonight.”

With that he quickly turned to leave before your mind could think of something to say back. All you could do was stand there frozen to muddle over his words. Was Dustin truly this upset about you helping? Did everyone see your help as meddling? A mixture of frustration, sadness, and regret nearly caused you to nearly double over as it turned into a physical pain.

Even dorks like him can see through your bullshit. (Tick)

“Stop.” you muttered to yourself, picking yourself up enough to turn towards the direction of the editing room.

Sorry, babydoll, this pill won’t be so easy to swallow. (Tock)

The familiar nickname hit over you like a bucket of cold water. You hadn’t been called that since Bil–

“There you are!”

You jumped a bit in place, not expecting to hear another voice so suddenly. Looking to your right, you watched as Nancy quickly dashed over. A small smile on her face as she made her way to your side.

“Hey,” you said softly, not quite finding confidence in your voice. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Nancy repeated, laughing a bit before she thumbed in the direction towards class. “Class is over in five minutes. I thought you were just showing Mike out?”

A flush of heat spread over your face. Slightly embarrassed at just how far you lost the track of time in your quest to change your cousin’s mind. Without saying much, you gripped at Nancy’s arm and led her back to class.

“Do you think the editing team can score me a ticket to the game tonight?” you asked quickly, pushing your way into the door with her in tow.

The girl looked over at you incredulously before she snapped back into the conversation. “I feel like I’m missing a chapter here. Didn’t you have work plans tonight? Why do you suddenly want to come to the game? Don’t you hate sports?”

You felt a little overwhelmed with the sudden rapid fire of questions but tried your best to answer them all in hopes of her helping you out.

“I do, but I’m gonna try and skip out early.” you sighed, pushing your stuff quickly into your bag. “And I want to go because I apparently have the only school spirit left in my family and need to show Lucas that his friends do care. And lastly, yes, I hate sports. But I’m willing to tough this one out for a bit.”

Looking back up at her, you noticed she’s a bit hesitant over your words. The bell interjected before either of you could say anything else and you take a few seconds to calm your heart rate down from the weird voice in your head before.

From the familiar look in her eyes, you could tell she wasn’t a hundred percent believing you. But after lunch with Robin, you knew that having another friend worried was the last thing you wanted right now.

“Are you okay?” she asked shortly after the brief pause, like you expected. “Because I can help with the ticket but..it looks like–”

“I’m fine, Nance. But thanks for the solid.” you said quickly, not wanting to dive in that direction. “I’ll see you tonight.” With a quick wave, you made your way out the room and towards your next class.

Hopefully clear of any familiar voices.

This was a bad idea.

From outside you could hear the crowd of people clamoring inside of the gym. Excited for the final game of the season to begin. For the majority, it was supposed to be a fun, anticipating night. You, on the other hand, were filled with dread.

It came upon you the moment you stepped up to the doorway and caught sight of the beacon of hair that was your ex boyfriend.

Why of all places did Steve think to have a date at his old school’s basketball game? He could have easily gone anywhere in Hawkins. It wasn’t like he was at this school anymore. He didn’t need to pay attention to the high school games! So why the hell was he here on the one game you decided to go see?

From the safety of behind the door, you watched as Steve quickly got up and gave a wave down towards the gym floor. A quick follow to his line of direction and you watched as Lucas on the court floor smiled up at him. Giving him a wave back from the bench.

Stupid caring Steve.

“Hey! You’re finally here!”

You looked away from the door’s window to find Nancy peeking her head through on the open side. A small smile tugged on her face before she finally stepped out to join you in the hall.

“Yeah, managed to guilt Keith into letting me leave in record timing.” you chuckled nervously, patting your nervous hands over your dress. It was a lovely white cotton dress from Yves Saint Laurent’s spring collection. But under the yellow hued gymnasium, you weren’t sure if you looked as fresh and clean as you hoped. Especially with how tired you knew you looked today.

Nancy reached out for your hand, squeezing it lightly before she pulled you closer. “Are you sure you’re okay today? You seem kind of out of it. I’m sure Lucas won’t mind you missing. The game is almost done and he’s sort of distracted for the night.”

“I’m fine.” you lied, not needing to stress out your friend. “Just haven’t slept well lately.” Your eyes glanced back into the room. Going directly to where Steve was sitting with his bubbly date. She’s from your grade, but you aren’t sure you’ve had any classes with her. “Besides, I’m already here. Might as well make the most of it.”

Nancy hummed lightly, nodding her head towards the room. “The place is kinda packed tonight. You’re gonna have to stick by me and Fred.” Her blues turned back to you with a bit of mirth in them. “That is if you don’t try and kill him when he talks to you.”

Your nose scrunched up at the mention of her friend. Behind her, you could see Fred speaking closely to the school’s photographer, giving him an earful as he pointed across the court. “Can’t make any promises.” you snorted. “Just try and keep him at your side if you can.”

The two of you laughed at that and you finally left the safety of the doorway to enter inside the gym. Instantly you’re hit with a wave of emotions as the gym’s atmosphere washed over you. From your left you caught sight of a familiar green and orange combo and noticed Robin in the stands. She noticed you right away and brought her hand up to wave at you.

“You’re here!” she mouthed, making you nod your head at her.

From behind you could see as the interaction caught the attention of Steve who was nearby. The two of you awkwardly held eye contact for a second before you quickly tore your eyes away. Glancing at the scoreboard instead. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

“You think the team has a chance?” you asked, leaning in towards the two beside you. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

Nancy pursed her lips, jotting down a quick note on her journal before she glanced back at you. “I’m hopeful. There’s still time left in the game.” she answered, sounding genuinely hopeful.

Fred leaned forward, giving the two of you a cocky smirk as he held up his notepad. “An hour with the opposing team having a six point lead, Carver slowly losing it, and the team lagging so bad they’re fumbling. I highly doubt those sixty minutes mean anything.” he finished with a scoff.

The two of you stared at him quietly for a moment before you leaned over and looked at Fred seriously.

“Benson, do you think you can lighten up?”

Unfortunately, Fred’s prediction seemed to be coming true. Merely four minutes later into the game the other team gained another three points.

“Crap, player eleven just took out ten.” Nancy muttered, “I think he’s done for the night.”

You looked over to where her attention was and frowned as you watched the other teammates help carry out the injured player towards the benchline.

“So they’re bringing in another player, right?” you asked, glancing to Nancy for confirmation.

She looked up from her notepad with a slow nod before the realization hit her. “It’d be the next person up on the bench…”

The two of you excitedly peered over just in time to watch as Lucas excitedly got up from the bench. Tearing off his track suit in order to join the rest of the team in the group huddle.

You couldn’t help but start clapping and jumping as you yelled out. “GO LUCAS!”

The boy, having heard his name thankfully, found where you were and shot you the gummy grin that you’ve seen so many times. It was an oddly familial sense of pride that surged in you and you couldn’t help but actually get excited for the game finally.

“You sound pretty excited for just a benchwarmer.” Fred noted, adding the newest addition to his notes. “You think he’ll turn around the game?”

“He’s a Sinclair.” you said confidently. “They’re stubborn but they sure as hell come through in the end.”

And boy did he.

In just the hour worth of game play, Lucas had managed to not only get the team’s points high enough to be only a point behind. Making it so that with one good shot, they could take the whole thing.

Jason, who you thought had been ball hogging the whole night, seemed to be tied up in a bit of a corner. He quickly called out for a time out in the game. The clock showed it was the last ten seconds of the game. Making whatever last team huddle crucial.

“I don’t know, girls.” Fred sighed, pushing on the bridge of his glasses. “I still think they’re gonna mess it up.”

“Oh come on.” Nancy laughed. “You seriously can’t sit there and tell us that after seeing the jump in points we managed to get to.”

“I’m just a realist.”

“Yeah, a real party pooper.” you teased, glancing over at the team again. “They finally have an ace in the group and you’re praying for their downfall.”

Fred glanced over with you and scrunched his nose a bit. “Sinclair’s got talent. But nothing helps me sleep better at night than being proven right.”

The referee blew into the whistle again and you nodded over towards the court. “Get ready to eat your own words, Benson.” you mused.

The tension in the air was palpable by the time the players all returned onto the court. You could practically feel your own heart race as the game started up again.

Back and forth, the Hawkins teams passed around the ball, getting it to their main goal; Jason. In a quick second, he had a golden opportunity to secure the win. Shooting the ball out towards the hoop in a steady throw. The ball danced around the rim, teasing everyone with the possibility of victory, but it bounced off.

In a split second, Lucas snatched the rebound. Turning away from the others on the swift turn of his heel as he doubled around and leaped into the air. Releasing the ball towards the hoop.

Time seemed to freeze as the basketball circled the rim and bounced against the backboard. Then, with a collective gasp from the crowd, it dropped through the net.

The gym erupted in cheers as the school's victory echoed through the air. Nancy and you shared a shocked glance of excitement before you started to cheer and clap. The entire school community joined in, creating a thunderous applause that seemed to shake the very foundation of the gymnasium.

The team and cheerleaders all gathered into the main court floor, circling around Lucas and eventually picked him up into the air. Chanting out his name in victory.

In the midst of the celebration, you turned around, hoping to spot Robin in the stands. There were bursts of instruments booming into the air and cheers intertwined that added joyful noise to the atmosphere.

However, as you scanned the crowd, your eyes locked onto something you definitely did not want to see. There, in an embrace, stood Steve with a date. The room seemed to freeze for a moment as his date pulled back, shooting him a happy smile before sealing the victory with a celebratory kiss.

New love, how promising. (Tick)

A pang of discomfort surged through you, and a sudden headache gripped your temples. You felt the weight of the past in that moment, the history with Steve crashing back into your thoughts, and all the regret you’ve felt lately come at you. You quickly turned away, hoping to hide your reaction from Nancy before she saw anything.

Guess she really might be the one. (Tock)

You ignored the taunting words as you tried to process what you saw. Trying to picture it as the new normal when you felt a trickle of warmth on your upper lip. Touching it, you realized your nose was bleeding again. Panic set in, and you discreetly covered your face with your hand, attempting to hide the bleeding.

Nancy finally seemed to notice your suddenly odd behavior and called out to you. Reaching to place a hand on your shoulder. But you quickly pulled back, throwing out a quick excuse about feeling unwell and slipped away from the crowd. The gym door closed behind you, muffling the cheers, and you found refuge in a nearby empty classroom.

Fumbling through a desk for tissues, you took a moment to compose yourself. The mix of emotions, the unexpected encounter, and the physical discomfort left you overwhelmed.

Something was going on with you. But you couldn’t pinpoint what.

Just as you were trying to stop the bleeding, the classroom door opened then closed quietly behind you. Startled, you turned to see Steve standing there, a concerned expression on his face.

Whether it be the headache or the current ache in your chest right now, but the sight of a concerned Steve had you frowning at him. Not quite ready for him to see you at your most pathetic vulnerable place again. Especially after a day of awkward waves and avoiding phone calls.

"What are you doing here?" you snapped, your tone sharper than intended.

Steve, only a little taken back by the harshness of your tone, stepped closer towards you. "I saw you leaving in a hurry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

You avoided making eye contact, focusing on keeping the tissue against your nose as you returned to giving him your back. "Just a nosebleed, Steve. It's nothing."

He tilted his head. Eyes scanning over your face before he shook his head. “You sure it’s nothing? You don’t really look too good.”

“Wow,” you chuckled half heartedly. “Thought I actually looked good tonight, thanks.”

“Look, I just meant I can tell you’re not okay.” he sighed, trying to keep the conversation calm. “I know that you might have seen–”

“See you and your date kiss? No, I don’t think I did.” you said sarcastically, chucking the paper into a nearby trash can. A touch to your nose and you were happy to feel that you were clear of any more blood. But your happiness quickly disappeared when you turned to look back at Steve.

His jaw was tightened in annoyance and he carefully pinched at his nose for a moment before he glanced back at you. A more calming face now that he took a second. "That's not fair, and you know it. Besides, I didn't expect you to be here. I'm sorry if what you saw hurt you."

“Don't need to apologize, Steve.” you groaned. It was unfair of you to be upset and the last thing you wanted was Steve to apologize about it. But you struggled to get that out. “I just want you to leave. I mean, really, why are you even here? I’m fine. You have a date that’s obviously into you and ready to celebrate. Why aren’t you focused on that right now?”

Steve remained unfazed, his eyes piercing through your defensive front. "Because I've been watching you all night, and while you might smile and joke with everyone else, it's clear to me that something's eating at you."

A scoff fell past your lips as you tried to ignore the truth in his words. Leave it to Steve to be the only one tonight to see right through you. “I think you’ve forgotten what it’s like for me to watch a sports game. Nothing is wron—.”

“Don’t lie. Not with me.” he cut in quietly, reminding you of all the past confrontations you’ve shared where he slowly broke down your walls.

“God.” you squeezed your eyes shut, forcing them to hold back the emotional tears that seemed to easily come forward when talking to Steve. “You should go. She’ll be wondering where you are, you know?”

His gaze softened, a mix of compassion and frustration. "I don't care about that right now. I care about you. Talk to me."

Anger and frustration surged within you, fueled by your own self-loathing. "You don't get it, do you? We’re broken up. I'm leaving soon, a-and I can't drag you into my messed up head. I don't deserve whatever this is!" You waved your hand between the two of you. The air around you felt heavy and you wished that Steve would leave for the sake of giving your erratic heart a chance to calm down. “I shouldn’t be your concern anymore. Just go, please just..go.”

Steve took a step closer, his voice gentle but firm. "I told you. I don't care about any of that. Not when I know something is going on with you. I can't stand to see you like this. You're not alone, and you don't have to be."

Something inside of you breaks down at the idea of Steve still trying to comfort you when he had no reason to. All he was doing was enjoying his night and you were the one pulling out the theatrics. But for some reason, you lived in a world where Steve Harrington would always comfort the people who hurt him the most.

He deserved better than that.

"Well, it's too late now.” you croaked. Tears threatened to spill as you took a step back. “I can't keep going back to you whenever things get tough. I need to do better."

Just as you contemplated making a run for the door, Steve gently grabbed your arm, pulling you back toward him. The warm palm of his hand ran up the side of your arms, making you shiver at how cold you didn’t realize you were until he was cupping at your cheek.

"You don’t need to do anything, Honey. Just let me in,let me help." he whispered, his eyes locked onto yours.

Your breath turned heavy, and you barely had the chance to realize what was about to happen when he closed the remaining distance, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss. And just like always, the world seemed to fade away as the familiarity of his touch ignited a spark of longing within you.

From the looks of it, Steve felt the same as the two of you wrapped around each other. Wasting no time to soak in this moment.

Steve, with his arms now wrapped around the sides of your waist. And you, with yours locked around his neck to keep the kiss going. Neither one of you seemed to care where you were or what you were just talking about as you staggered back to hit against the large desk.

He reached down to grip around the back of your legs next, using a bit of strength to help get your rear to sit on the edge of the desk so he could wedge himself between your legs. The familiar heat rising inside of your chest when you felt the front of his jeans press against your inner thighs. His fingertips traced along the edge of your dress before he palmed at the thick part of your thighs.

You gasped at the sudden feeling, parting your lips against his and giving him the chance to trace the tip of his tongue against your mouth before he sealed them back together. The sensation of his tongue caused a moan to escape your lips. It’s been a while since you’ve been kissed like this and your head is spinning out of control.

The previous tension that had fueled your argument seemed to dissipate, replaced by the undeniable fire you both shared.

He swallowed your moans as his lips stayed connected with yours, taking every second that he could to make your thoughts go away as you focused solely on him. Your hands eventually found their way to gripping at the collar of his shirt, trying to scratch at the small visible amount of chest hair that peeked through his shirt.

But just as quickly as you were wrapping your legs around his waist was the memory of him and his date kissing cutting in. And it was like a spotlight shined over what the two of you were doing. Quickly, you pulled back from the kiss, curling into yourself in order to try and get some air into your brain.

He seemed to catch onto things and gently reached back to help unwrap your legs from around him. Stepping back a step in order to stand before you but not completely pull away from you just yet. You let your hands fall back to rest on the desk to balance yourself while Steve ducked his face in the crook of your neck. Not quite able to break away from you just yet.

You could feel as he brought a hand up to trace gently against the necklace on your neck. Toying with the single letter that rested in the middle.

“Steve?” you asked softly, watching as he pulled away from your side to look at you now. There was a terribly familiar look of sadness to his eyes. Almost as if he knew what you were going to say next.

“Please..” was all he said back.

Reaching up, you quickly untied the necklace from your neck and gathered it carefully in your hands before you looked down. The sad glint of metal shining up at you finally caused the tears to roll down your cheeks. Feeling guilty again for what you were about to do.

Reaching for his hand you gently placed the necklace down into his palm, curling up his fingers to hold it before you pressed a light kiss to the back of his hand.

“I’m done hurting you, Steve. Please give this to someone who truly deserves it.”

You quickly pushed yourself off the desk, fixing your dress before you made a step to leave. He was quick to catch your hand, looking at you with such a pleading look that you’d fall for any other day. "Don't do this. We can still fix things."

His words held such a promise in them. You knew he’d give you the world if he could.

“I can't meddle more in people's lives than I already have, I’m sorry. I just keep hurting everyone.”

With that, you gently pulled your hand from his grip and left the empty classroom. Leaving behind the person you still loved. Knowing that in your attempt to set you both on the right path, heartache would be alongside the two of you.

It was the hardest pill to swallow yet.

It felt like forever for the crowds to finally pile out of the school.

The sounds of cheering made its way outside of the gym into the parking lot while you hid away near the side entrance to the school. It was hard to avoid everyone after you left Steve. You weren’t sure how you’d be with Nancy or even Robin if they asked what was wrong again.

You severely needed to clear your mind of everything. Not think about the trouble you were causing to your loved ones and instead focus on trying to make most of the night. So after wiping away your tears, you found yourself making your way towards the school’s theater.

It appeared to be clear of any of the hellfire members. Leaving behind its dungeon master to clean up the mess the others left behind.

He was busy stuffing away pieces of the game into a box as he whistled to himself. Looking over all the work with a grin on his face until he heard the sound of your footsteps. A slightly fearful look on his face before he pursed his lips at you.

“You tryna give me a heart attack?” he grumbled, pointing a finger at you. “Coulda swung at you, Henderson.”

You chuckled a bit, joining him at his side as you looked down at the sheets of paper he collected into a folder. “Excuse me, I thought nothing spooked you.” you mused, moving to sit down at the grand chair that was placed by the table. “How was the campaign? Worth missing Lucas’ game I hope?”

Eddie breathed heavily through his nose, looking over at you unamused while he stuffed more supplies into the cardboard box. “I was warned you’d be in a mood.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, two little birds told me, actually.”

The idea of Mike and Dustin as two annoying bickering birds sort of brought a smile to your face before you remembered how mad Dustin was at you. “Birds,” you repeated. “Can’t say they’re wrong. I’m sort of annoyed with all of you.”

“Aw, you’re breaking my heart, Princess.” Eddie cooed, picking up the box. “I think I’m gonna go home and cry about it.”

Not waiting for you to follow, he quickly made his way onto the long pathway out of the theater. Making you slightly worried as you rushed after him. Thinking that he was actually upset with you until you approached the door and saw that he stayed by the entrance doors to hold it open for you.

“You know you owe Lucas, right?”

“God,” he said with an eye roll. “Sinclair made his choice tonight.” he pointed out after letting go of the door when you stepped out. “There’ll be other campaigns for him to join in the future. We still have a few months of school left.”

“But basketball season is over and all his friends missed out on seeing him make the winning shot.” you huffed, walking alongside him as he made his way towards the parking lot. “Don’t you think this game could have waited until next week?”

“He helped them win the game?” he said softly, an amused grin on his face. “Those Sinclairs, man. They’re something else.”

You’re a bit confused by what he meant but pressed on in order to get to your point.

“Eddie,” you sighed, watching as he trudged down to where he parked his van. “You’re still missing my point.”

“Your point is that you want all of us to stick together and be best friends until the end of time. Like some gooey family sitcom, right?”

“Not the words I’d use but kinda.”

Eddie glanced over his shoulder to frown at you. “That’s not how shit works but look,” he grunted, setting the box down on the hood of his car before he turned to face you fully. “If he’s really upset about it, the guy knows where to find me. Don’t make a big deal outta nothing.”

The words were oddly similar to Dustin’s from before and you couldn’t help but become silent after that. Fighting with your head to keep the negative thoughts from continuing to ruin your night.

It’s not until Eddie opened up the back door to his van in order to put away the box that he noticed you had gone quiet. From the back you could hear a deep sigh from him until he closed up the doors and made his way over to stand beside you.

“I’ll talk to him, ok?” he said softly, nudging you with his elbow.

His soft promise eased your mood a bit. But even that couldn’t stop your mind from being clouded by everything today. The fight with Dustin, the talk with Steve, and even the weird voices that your guilty conscience kept bothering you with.

"Alright, spill it. What's going on? You’re being off again," Eddie prodded, raising an eyebrow.

You hesitated for a moment, worried that opening your mouth would just make matters worse. But you still replied anyway. "It's a lot of things. For some reason today, I feel like I’ve been just messing up with everyone. It’s hitting me harder than usual."

Eddie's expression softened, and he placed a hand on your shoulder. "Mess up how?”

“Well, Dustin's mad at me, Steve and I are officially over, and I’m making my other friends worried.” You turned your head to look up at him, feeling the slight pain your head returned as you spilled out your worries. “I just feel like I'm hurting everyone around me no matter how much I try to make things right.”

He looked at you with a determined expression. "You can't control everything, and you certainly can't make everyone happy. Why you put that much pressure on yourself is beyond me.”

His slight lecture made you feel a little embarrassed, making you reach up to the chain around your neck until you feel nothing. Slowly you remembered what you just did just a while ago.

You almost felt like crying again.

“Look, Dustin’ll come around. Ok? He’s family and that means he’ll get over the little shit that doesn’t matter eventually. Your friends being worried about you is kinda a good thing because that means they care, and as for Harrington–”

His voice cut off and you glanced up to watch as he painfully tried to spew out some sort of helpful advice for him but all Eddie ended up doing was shaking his head. Looking down at you with a sorry look. “Is he really worth feeling this shitty?”

“He means a lot to me, Ed.”

“Even after he practically broke your heart? Not even considering for a moment to go with you?” he asked, not caring to sugar coat the question at all.

“He has his reasons.” you mumbled, trying not to feel pathetic for sticking up for Steve. Even if his answer did break your heart.

“He has excuses.” Eddie scoffed, looking away from you as a frown tugged on his brows. “Harrington is an idiot for not wanting to follow you.”

“No, he’s not. Don’t say that.” you said quickly. Despite the heartache and sadness that came with everything, you’d hate anyone to think so negatively of Steve. “He’s got his own life to live.”

“And he can’t live it with you?”

The words throw you off more than you expected and you have to lean against the door of the car to keep yourself balanced. The truth was, you weren’t sure what was the right answer anymore. Because at the end of the day, neither one of you were prepared for what the future held.

The more you thought about it, the more it seemed to do your head in. The only promising prospect was the idea of being able to leave Hawkins and go home. It was just unfortunately, alone.

Eddie sighed beside you before he nudged at your side once more. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “This whole thing just..sucks.”

“It does suck.” you confirmed, looking back at Eddie with a sad smile. “Wanna get out of here? I’m thinking of heading home.”

“I can drive you home,” he nodded.

“No, home, as in California.” you said half-joking.

Eddie smiled at that before he wrapped an arm around your neck, bringing you down to tousle at your hair. “How about instead of the road trip, I take you out for a bite to eat? Burgers make a great remedy for heartaches.”

The annoyance of having your hair messed up is quickly changed into a bit of happiness at the idea of Eddie’s attempt to fix your mood. “I’d like that.” you nodded, pushing out of his arms to fix your hair. “Let’s go.”

“All right, but we might have to stop by my place first.” he winced, almost like he was in pain.

“Why’s that?”

“Okay, Eddie, I’m ready to go!” came a shaky voice from behind you.

You turned around to find Chrissy Cunningham of all people standing near the back entrance. Shy smile on her face as she waved over at you.

“What the hell?”

“So, are you two friends?”

From the backseat of the van, you struggled to keep a straight face as you watched the interactions between Eddie and Chrissy. Since she stepped down the steps of the school and met you both in front of the van, there was an air of awkwardness in the air.

Thankfully not from you.

No, you were perfectly comfortable in the back of Eddie’s van. Slightly entertained at seeing the two attempt to make small talk in front of you.

Eddie for some reason did not know how to react as coolly as you knew he could. The girl brought out this inner dorkier side of him that you were unaware of. It reminded you about the first time you truly hung out with Eddie. At Tina’s Halloween party. They held a connection then and seemed casual. So why was it so different now?

“Hello?” Chrissy asked softly.

“I’m sorry!” you coughed, shaking your head from your thoughts. “What were you asking me?”

“I asked if the two of you were friends.” she repeated, eyes flickering between the two of you. Very quickly you leaned forward to pat her shoulder gently, giving her a small smile.

“Only when I need a ride.” you said simply, earning a scoff from Eddie in the driver’s seat.

Chrissy finally seemed to crack out of her nervous state and let out a small laugh. Almost relieved. "Got it.” she nodded. “You guys had me wondering if I had interrupted a moment back at the school."

At that you couldn’t help but ask the question that came into mind since she joined you two tonight. “You have me wondering too. What brings a popular girl like you on a mission for drugs tonight?"

She sighed, her guard dropping for a moment. "Honestly, I just need something stronger to help me sleep. A lot has been overwhelming me lately..I just need to forget. Even for just one night.”

There was an air of desperation in her tone that tugged at your heart. Not even for the fact that it was sad, but because deep down something that anxious and desperate was building up inside of you as well.

“And you think drugs are what’s gonna calm you down?” you asked softly, looking over at Eddie. “What are you asking for anyway?”

“Special K.” they both said at the same time.

You weren’t even sure what that even was but felt a small pang of worry build up in you. Eddie’s side hustle wasn’t the most ethical thing you’d like for your friend to do. But at the same time you understood people had different means of living. And who were you to judge them for that?

“Well, if the special K doesn’t work out as well as you hoped, I’m here to talk if you ever need an ear.” you offered, hoping not to sound as meddling as you have been today.

Chrissy sighed, a hint of sadness falling into her tone. "I don't want anyone to worry about me. Plus, it's hard to explain to people who seem to have it all together."

Her blue eyes locked onto you at that. Did she really think that you had it all together?

“Trust me, Chrissy. The majority of people at our school, including myself, have no idea what we’re doing.” you started, picking at the hem of your dress. “I’m pretty sure my life is about to get turned upside down and it’s not even finals yet.”

The words sounded more light than you really meant to, but it thankfully gave Chrissy another reason to laugh. Hopefully having some sense of relief to hear another peer give off the same sentiments.

“Henderson is right.” Eddie pointed out, turning down the pathway to his house. “If we all had our shit together, I’d have been out of here two years ago.”

“You would have been out of here if you had shown up to class now and then.”

Eddie looked into the rearview mirror to playfully scowl at you. "Hey, I had better things to do!"

“Playing pool in some dive bar outside of town is not something better to do.” you snorted, hearing Eddie’s engine sputter like him as it slowly turned off.

If it weren’t for the fact that you guys were parked in front of Eddie’s trailer, you were pretty sure he’d attempt some sort of reply. But now that it was back to his business, he settled for giving you the finger before he glanced over at Chrissy. “It’s kinda cold out here if you want to wait inside for me to look.”

The blonde nodded her head quickly, unbuckling her seat belt before she hopped out of the van. Eddie was going to do the same when he noticed you weren’t moving from your seat. There was a confused look on his face that had you chuckling a bit.

“What? Aren’t you gonna go inside?”

Eddie licked over his lips, nervously glancing out the passenger window to a waiting Chrissy before he frowned at you. A small pout on his lips. “Well yeah but..aren’t you coming too?”

“To help you make your deal?” you asked, adjusting yourself in the back to get comfortable. “Count me out, Mister. I’m not going to get caught in a drug deal anytime soon. I’d rather freeze my pretty little behind off.”

His eyes widened, "What? No, it's perfectly safe!” he coughed, perplexed. “Besides, you've been in my house before. You know I've got some stuff there."

You waved your hand, ignoring that bit of information before you smirked at him. "Look, Eddie, this is your chance to have some alone time with Chrissy.” Again his face turned into pure shock at your words. “I happen to know that you've had a thing for little Miss Cheer since last year. Now she’s willingly coming to your trailer. Seize the opportunity, my man!"

“She’s here for drugs!” he scoffed. “Just come in with us so it’s less awkward.”

“You’ve been making her wait forever now. She’s probably frozen in that skirt.” you said offhandedly.

He shook his head in disbelief, "This is ridiculous. She’s one of the most popular girls in school. She has a boyfriend."

The thought of Jason Carver made the two of you visibly scowl before you waved your hands. “Popularity means nothing. I mean, I hang out with you and that’s not a big deal.”

“You’re not like the others.” he mumbled under his breath.

You brushed off his comment, focusing on the matter at hand, “Come on, Eddie. Take the chance.” you said, trying to encourage him. “See what happens.”

For what felt like a long minute, all Eddie did was stare at you like he was trying to figure you out. As if the words you said weren’t clear as day and had some other meaning to them. Which they did, you wanted him to find someone too. Someone that had the time to open up their heart properly and not so haphazardly as you have. But you couldn’t exactly say that.

"This is stupid,” He sighed, resigned. “But fine. We’ll be right back.”

From your spot you watched as Eddie lamely excused your absence, waving his hand over at the van before he walked up the stairs to his trailer and opened the door up for Chrissy and entered inside the home.

You took the time alone to dissect the events that happened today.

One thing was Dustin definitely had his own convictions about you. Whether it be about butting into his life, breaking up with Steve, avoiding Steve, or just some other thing you weren’t even aware of.

Then there was Steve..

Well, you felt pretty much like a broken record about him. Not only were you still in love with him, but you were officially over. Returning that necklace would surely cement that now. Even if you regretted that whole day in your driveway. Wishing that you could go back and just..pause like he had wanted. But it was too late for that now and you’ve brought in someone else into your life to ruin.

Another thing would be that Robin and Nancy were both definitely worried about you and you were out of excuses to explain what was wrong. Mostly because you had no idea what the hell was wrong with you. It’s not like you weren’t faced with struggles before. Why was this year suddenly worse?

Maybe it had to do with the fact that there was a recurring voice in your head that laid out all your inner guilty thoughts. Or the nightmares that plagued your night, or headaches that ruined your days, or even the newest addition; nosebleeds.

There’s absolutely no more room in your mind for the list of problems that you already had. If there wasn’t a way to fix at least one of these things, you were pretty sure you’d lose it by the end of spring break.

Maybe you needed to actually take the week off. Go home and see your parents. Get a break from the mess that you got yourself into at Hawkins. Ironically it was supposed to be the place to get you out of your mess from California, but stranger things have happened since then.

“CHRISSY! CHRISSY! CHRISSY!”

The sudden sound of Eddie yelling pulled you out of your contemplative thoughts and you quickly rushed to the back of the van, pushing open the back door so that you could stand before the house. The screams continued on inside but you were frozen in fear at the sight of lights blinking rapidly inside. Sending a familiar chill up your spine.

“No.” you whispered, not ready for this to happen again. It couldn’t! The gate was closed! This couldn’t be happen–

“HELP!”

Without a second thought, you rushed up the stairs into the trailer, nearly tripping your way in. “Eddie?!” you gasped, finding your footing before you noticed the two right away.

Chrissy was standing completely still before a panicked Eddie. He was smacking at the side of her cheek, screaming out for her to wake up when he looked back to see you. “Holy shit, Henderson, she’s like, tripping out!” he yelled, voice cracked with panic.

“What the hell did you give her?” you frowned, joining his side to try and shake the girl. It wasn’t until you were close enough that you noticed the whites in her fluttering eyes. “Shit is she having a seizure?”

“I gave her nothing, man. I don’t know what the hell is going on!” he said, pinching at the sides of her neck, arms, anywhere to get a response out of her. “Chrissy! Wake up!”

“We need to get her out of here!” you urged, knowing the danger that could be lurking with the room’s lights blinking like this. If it’s anything you’ve dealt with before, a panicked Eddie and comatose Chrissy would be nothing against a demogorgon.

You reached for her hands, trying to clap at her hands and get her body to snap out of it. But the more you tugged, the farther she seemed to get away from you. Wait, how the hell is she moving?

Glancing down at her feet, you noticed that her body has slowly started to ascend up in the air towards the ceiling. “What the fuck?” you gaped. This didn’t happen before..

Eddie, having noticed her rising state, staggered back. Eyes wide and shocked at what was going on. “W-what do we do?” he asked you, looking up as Chrissy rose towards the roof of the trailer.

“We-..I-..” your breathing became strained and you felt like your heart was about to go into cardiac arrest the faster the lights blinked. What the hell was going on?

Her body shot up into the air, like a marionette doll manipulated by unseen strings. Eddie fell back from the sudden change, cursing out loud as he fell down to the floor.

You stood there, helpless and paralyzed by fear. The limbs of her body began to twist and turn in unnatural directions. Creating a sickening sound of bones twisting that echoed in the air. The scene unfolded with a nightmarish intensity, and you could feel the tendrils of something dark wrapping around the room.

“N-no.” you said, watching next as her mouth cracked into a haunting angle.

A wave of dizziness washed over you. It was as if the very ground beneath your feet was giving way. You stumbled backwards until you finally fell down into the ground. Your vision narrowed away as the darkness began to take over the world before you.

“No.” you said again, fighting to stay awake. You had to get out of there. But you couldn’t fight this power over you. The last thing you saw before succumbing to unconsciousness was the sight of Chrissy’s eyes sinking into her head and the sound of Eddie’s screams.

A/N: Hello! It’s been so long since I’ve been working on this chapter. I redid it like three times and still aren’t quite happy with some parts. But! It’s up and will hopefully help me to get to the storyline. I know it’s kinda angsty but I promise i’ll have fun in here again and more Steve/Reader. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Love y’all~

TAGGING REQUEST:

@cluz1babe & @starofavolonea

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x henderson reader #steve harrington x henderson!reader #Steve Harrington x female reader #steve harrington x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x henderson!reader #eddie munson x henderson reader #stranger things fic #cac

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