liuvli

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters & a03 link

chapter wc: 8.3k

Chapter Seven: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Although the two of you had made plans to meet up and spend time together before Christmas, you didn’t end up seeing Kace over the weekend, all thanks to one person and one person only; your mother. She had spent the weekend doing nothing but complaining at you for the posters stuck onto the walls of your room, sending you on endless errands that she was more than capable of running herself, critiquing the way you and April decorated the house, being on your back constantly about grades and homework, insisting you had to set a good example for April, who already had A’s in most classes as a Freshman. Truthfully, you knew you had started to reach your limit with it all. 

Christmas Eve had finally arrived, and almost as if it had become a daily task for her, your mom was sitting on the couch filing her nails as she complained about the decorating again. To be more specific, she didn’t like the “hue of the lights” (lights which she had bought a few years back), the color of the tinsel (a color she was obsessed with the last time you heard her express any kind of interest in anything), and the tree looked “anemic”. What did she mean by that? Nobody was to know. Truly one of life’s biggest mysteries. 

She kissed her teeth as she didn’t bother to lift her head to look up at you from where she sat on her armchair, thick lashes casting a dark shadow on her eyes. You switched which leg was crossed over which, readjusting yourself on the couch next to April, TV remote in hand. 

“With all due respect, Mom, you leave April and me home alone for months on end for ‘work’. We keep the place tidy, and we put the decorations up without you having to ask. You could decorate the house yourself if you were here all the time, but you’re not. So, really, what gives you the right to complain?” That ‘tch’ sound again, switching to another nail and filing the edges again.

“...Tidy apart from the housephone. Remind me, how did that end up broken?” Letting out a huff, you uncrossed your legs, leaning forward as you looked over to her.

“I told you, I tripped over it. Must’ve slipped off the wall and I ended up catching it around my leg when getting a glass of water one night.” Silence, before just two words.

“Likely story.” That was it. Your last nerve, gone. Evaporated. Vanished. Missing person case reported. 

Standing from the couch and instantly turning to walk away, you let out a quiet sigh, holding back from the things you really wanted to say.

“Okay, I’m going out. I’ll be at Kace’s.” Blowing some dust off of her nail, your mom still didn’t manage to even look up as she spoke.

“Mhm, do what you want. Just be back in time for dinner tomorrow. No later than 2 pm.” How predictable. It’s Christmas Eve, you said you’re leaving, and she couldn’t give less of a fuck. Love you too, Mom. 

Stepping out of the house with just the clothes on your back, a simple pair of boots, and the leather jacket, you walked to Kace’s, which had thankfully never been too long of a journey. When you turned up at his front door after a short 10-minute trek, the sound of numerous voices inside brought back a memory from last Friday. You had been made aware that the group was having a Hellfire session at Kace’s house on X-mas Eve, but with all the shit your Mom had given you for the past three days, it had slipped your mind. Contemplating whether or not you should just go back home instead, spending the night with your family like most people did, you figured intruding on a Hellfire session would be preferable in comparison to the other option. 

Not bothering to knock on the door, as you had grown used to being told to just let yourself in, you made your way into the living room, finding the boys all sat around Kace’s dinner table, shouting amongst themselves as Eddie chuckled devilishly. The first of the boys to notice you was Dustin Henderson, as he was standing from his chair and facing your direction, just raising a finger to point at you, the others instantly looking over as they all noticed one by one. Coincidentally, Kace was the last to notice as his back was fully turned to you, swiveling in his seat as he finally looked up to notice Dustin’s pointing. When he turned to face you, he lit up, making you remember that he had once said that he was always happy to see you, even if you broke into his house one day and came to brutally murder him in his sleep. His words. 

Rushing over to you and squeezing his arms around you for a hug, he leaned back, his hands still placed on your shoulders.

“I’m so happy to see you, love. As always. What brings you here?” For a brief moment, your eyes flicked over to the rest of the group still seated around the table, and thankfully, Kace understood the awkward glance, shuffling the two of you into the hallway. 

“Argument with my Mom, obviously. I did tell you they were home, didn’t I?” Kace snorted, dropping his hands and taking a step back. 

“Yes, during the brief phone conversation that we had on Saturday before she got back from the store.” You hummed, remembering it now.

“By the way, how are your parents okay with this? Hellfire having their meeting here, I mean.” The tall boy leaned against the door frame, smirking to himself.

“Eh, they don’t know. They’ve gone out for the night and just told me to meet them at my Aunt’s tomorrow for the family dinner. They’ll be spending the night at hers. Hellfire at my place, woop woop!” Laughing at the cheesy display, you nodded, understandingly. 

Hearing a loud holler from the other room as Eddie called after Kace, hoping to continue with the session, you took it as a prompt to make yourself sparse. 

“...I’m gonna go up to your room and chill for a bit. That okay? I just need some space.” Kace nodded, giving you a warm smile.

“Of course, you don’t even need to ask. We’ll be done soon, anyway, because the freshmen need to be home early-ish.” With one last tap on the side of your arm, the boy returned to the room next door as you made your way up to his bedroom, immediately bee-lining towards his bed. 

Spending the next hour reading magazines that Kace proudly collected, listening to music, and letting his TV play quietly in the background, you eventually found yourself mostly forgetting about the shit you had been putting up with for the past few days, finally taking a moment to relax. Kace had popped his head through the door briefly to say that he and Eddie were driving the group home and that he’d return soon, so you found yourself anxiously waiting for that time to come, just wanting to spend some time with your friend before having to make your way home. 

When he did finally return, however, he had Eddie lurking behind him in the doorway, his stature slightly smaller than the boy’s in front of him. The two of them stumbled to explain that Eddie had revealed he’d be spending the night alone due to his uncle working again, as usual, and that Kace had so kindly invited him to come back to the house with him, betting on the chance that’d you’d tolerate him just for the reason they had explained. Not wanting any sort of fight, you allowed it, Kace perking up as he ushered the three of you downstairs, beers in hand that he had been hiding in his room for the longest time, waiting for the best opportunity to finally drink them with someone. 

As the three of you idly chatted about anything and everything, it felt like there was one topic that both you and Eddie had the urge to bring up, exchanging knowing glances every time Kace would be taking his turn to speak, and finally, you decided to pop that bubble of brewing tension.

“Who was that guy you spoke to when we went out for food a while back? You know, the one you keep letting your eyes follow when we see him in public.” As the question finally came out, Kace froze, the bottle pressed up against his lips tilted mid-air, his eyes widening before quickly placing it down on the coffee table, wiping anything away from his mouth.

“Oh, that one. Uh… steveharrington.” You and Eddie gave each other a mutually confused look as neither of you was able to catch what the last word he said was. 

“Sorry, what was that?” Eddie contributed, also curious for an answer, despite already having his suspicions. The boy sitting across from you groaned, letting his head fall back and his eyes land on the ceiling.

“...Steve Harring-”

“STEVE ‘THE HAIR’ HARRINGTON? I fucking knew it.” The speed at which he raised his voice had taken you aback, as you held your hands up in surprise.

“...I still don’t know who this guy is or why it’s such a big deal.” This time, all eyes were on you, and you suddenly felt like you had been living under a rock all this time. Eddie shifted his body to face you, clasping his hands together in front of him.

“Harrington’s this douche that used to go to Hawkins. Would try and hit on any girl that would give him the time of day, after he and his girlfriend split, of course. Thinks he’s all high and mighty.” Eddie tried his best to enlighten you, but with your expression of ‘so?’, he felt the need to add one more piece of information.

“Definitely not the type of guy that would associate with anyone like me or you guys.” With this new understanding, you nodded, taking a sip of beer as Eddie redirected his attention back to Kace, who seemed thankful for a brief moment that he wasn’t being interrogated. 

“You. How did the two of you even end up talking? What the fuck would you and Steve Harrington have in common?” Kace let the tips of his nails gently tap against the wood of the coffee table.

“Well… Tears For Fears was playing over the speakers and I overheard him muttering along to it, so I-” This time, it was your turn to cut him off.

“Hold on just a fucking minute, you like those guys? Our many years of friendship, and you’ve never told me that.” Kace just shrugged, averting his gaze, his fingers still idly tapping.

“I know, not my usual thing. But anyway, I asked him the same thing, not knowing it would be the type of music he was into either, and we just ended up… talking.” In the corner of your eye, you could see Eddie, slack-jaw, blinking in bewilderment.

“...Really didn’t take you for a Harrington kind of guy. Truly.” This earned a shrug from the suddenly quiet boy. Noticing Kace’s unusual demeanor, not his usual confident self, you tried to throw in your two cents.

“Personally, I can see it. I don’t know much about this Harrington guy, but doesn’t sound… too bad. Go for it, love.” His attention caught by the nickname you sparingly used for him, Kace finally lifted his head, giving you a sincerely thankful smile, to which you returned one. Eddie opened his mouth to speak again, which worried you, hoping he wouldn’t say anything to put your friend down again.

“You got a thing for this guy then, huh… Well, Chrissy’s holding a New Year’s party, if you two feel like coming. Pretty sure her Mom is going away with her new boyfriend to start the new year off and Jason somehow convinced the poor girl to take the chance to host a party. Most likely because hosting it himself would do wonders for the good-boy reputation he works so hard to maintain.” Both you and Kace looked over at the brunette, unsure how this was related to the previous topic you were all on.

“What I’m saying is that seeing as it’s a party with mostly… normal people, who knows, Harrington might end up showing his face. Hot girls and beer? What guy would miss out on that?” You let out a fake gag as you rolled your eyes, but this piece of information had Kace perking up instantly, leaning over the table with a hopeful expression. 

After each of you had gotten through a few more drinks, and you got the chance to briefly discuss the issue with your Mom, something you tried not to dwell on, it was time you called it a night. Of course, Kace wasn’t going to let you make your way home whilst drunk, and he wasn’t going to risk his license driving you home, of course, equally drunk. You had somehow found yourself cuddled up next to Kace on the couch, your head resting on his slumped shoulder, with Eddie sitting across from the two of you on the armchair, his shoes kicked off and his legs tucked under him. The shape of his brown, frizzy mane was just barely distinguishable as your eyes struggled to remain open, just barely paying attention to the words he was quietly speaking to Kace. 

“Man. It’s weird, don’t you think?” The boy next to you gave a questioning hum, his body subtly vibrating as he did so, Eddie continuing. 

“Just a couple of years ago…” Again, Kace hummed, this time with a gentle nod, as if he knew what Eddie was trying to say. He took one last swig of beer before placing the empty bottle on the floor beside the couch, leaning back against the cushions.

“I get you. She’s changed a lot since then. Who knows, maybe subconsciously due to your influence?” Eddie laughed, unsure.

“Right. Sure.”

With the sun shining directly into your eyes from the gap in the curtain, you woke up and are immediately aching, sleeping on the couch always working wonders for your body in the long term. At this rate, you’d be needing a cane by the age of 25. However, the second thing you noticed was just how claustrophobic your legs felt, slightly wiggling them around and feeling restricted. Shifting out of the way of the beam of light blinding you, you forced your eyes open, the sight of Eddie still asleep on the other end of the couch taking you aback. What.

Finding the clock on the wall, it read 12:05 pm. Briefly looking around the room, you searched for Kace, but weirdly, no sight of him. As you slumped back down onto the couch, you looked forward, being met by the sight of Eddie with his eyes now slightly cracked open. His arms were crossed over his abdomen, and his hair was unstyled, draping down the back of the couch. 

“...Good morning, Munson.”

“Merry X-mas, doll.” You scoffed, being saved as the sound of Kace stepping down the stairs captured your attention, the boy appearing at the bottom step wearing a long nightgown over a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt you were 90% sure was from summer camp in 7th grade. 

“Dude, did you sleep upstairs? In the bed?” With the biggest case of bedhead you had ever seen, Kace trudged over to the kitchen, pouring a cup of black coffee, and shrugging.

“Well, duh. If the option to sleep in a nice, warm bed is available, I’m taking it. Besides, you seemed… comfortable on the couch.” He snorted as you let out a loud groan, untangling your legs from Eddie’s and throwing the blanket that was draped over the two of you into his lap. You looked down.

“Did you really sleep in jeans?” The still sleepy-eyed brunette looked up at you, stretching his arms above his head.

“...Would you of preferred it if I didn’t?” Holding your hands up to block the view of his face, you began walking away.

“Ew, no. Nevermind.”

Walking into the kitchen, Kace slid a mug over to you, and you graciously expected without a second thought. 

“You good to drive me home before heading to your Aunt’s?” He sipped his coffee, wrapping both hands around the warm mug.

“Yup. But don’t count on me to come get you if shit bombs at home. You know I’d usually drop everything to come save you when you need it but… my family, you know how they can be.” You nodded, not having to ask further because you indeed did know what his family was like. 

Finishing your coffee, you offered to help Kace tidy the place up before heading home, and despite his insisting that you didn’t have to, you ended up doing so anyway. Once the living room was returned to its former glory, all three of you piled outside, saying your goodbyes to Eddie. You rested your arms atop the roof of the car as Kace turned to speak to the boy. 

“You doing anything nice today?” The metalhead shrugged, letting his keys dangle between his fingers.

“Nah. Wayne’ll be home later tonight and we’ll probably order takeout but you know what work’s like.” Kace sucked in air through his teeth, giving you an awkward side glance, and you chewed the inside of your mouth, not knowing whether you should say something or not. With just a single wave, the two of you piled into his car as Eddie got into the van, driving down the street as you and Kace sat, awkwardly.

“Why do I feel bad for him?” You questioned, not realizing you had said it out loud. Kace looked over at you, turning the engine on. 

“I do, too, love. If there was something I could do, I would. But again-”

“Yep, know what your family is like.”

As you arrived home and said goodbye to Kace, dinner was just being plated as you made your way into the house. Mom standing in the kitchen, her back turned to you and not a single ounce of acknowledgment, Dad sitting at the table already, reading the newspaper, and April practically leaping over to you, hugging you as if it had been years since you had left.

“Thank God you’re back. That woman is a pain to be around without you here.” You snorted, hushing her as you made your way over to sit down at the table next to your Dad.

“Sorry for leaving, by the way… but we both know it was smarter for me to leave rather than stay.” She nodded, twirling the end of her knife against the tablecloth. 

“Well, true. Can’t blame you for that.” 

Despite the awkward silence, only being broken when your Dad had something to say about what he had read in the morning paper, dinner was… nice? If there was one thing your Mom was good at, which obviously wasn’t her warm parenting skills, it was cooking. On the rare occasion she was home and would cook a meal for everyone, it never failed to give you a bittersweet feeling; remembering what it was like when you were younger, when she felt like an actual Mom, the kind other people had. But these meals always left a sour taste in your mouth afterward, metaphorically speaking, as it was a stark reminder of what things were like now. 

When everyone had finished eating, April had taken notice, quietly placing her cutlery down as she prepared to ask a question.

“...Can I go see Edith?” What the fuck? What kind of question is that?

“It’s Christmas day, April. Why on Earth would you need to go and see one of your friends right now?” The girl dropped her head, fidgeting with her hands, nails clicking against each other.

“Well- I got a gift for her, and I just thought since she got to go out last night-” You leaned forward, waving your hands out in front of you.

“Woah, woah. I went out last night because… I needed air. It’s not the same.” As if you had committed some sort of grave betrayal, the younger girl gave you a look, her eyes flicking over to your mom expectantly. 

“It’s kind of the same. You went out to get away from Mom, I want to go out to see a friend. I think my reason is way more valid.” Noticing the head tilt your Dad made as April spoke, your Mom huffed, the legs of her chair screeching against the flooring as she stood up. Getting more desperate, April revealed another trick she had hidden up her sleeve.

“I’ve been doing my homework! And my room’s tidy, you can check!” You groaned as you leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms.

“Oh, now you’re sucking up to her. Only when it benefits you, right? Screw our sisterly bond-” Silenced by the sound of her hands clapping together, the two of you finally remembered your Mom’s presence less than a meter away. “April, go see your friend. Don’t be home late.” Without a second thought, or a moment to let your Mom change her mind, April stood up from the table and rushed up to her room to get ready to leave, your mom collecting the empty plates and dishes. You followed her over to the kitchen, frustrated by the situation. 

“You would’ve NEVER let me go out on Christmas to see friends when I was her age.” The older woman turned to face you, one hand resting against the edge of the sink. 

“You didn’t have friends at her age. Besides, if it gets her out of my hair and stops you two from bickering…” You took a step back. 

“Right. Merry Christmas.” Dad gave you an understanding look as you walked back into the living room, giving you the go-ahead to slip the first pair of boots on that you grabbed and wrap yourself up in the only jacket you had hanging up in the hallway. 

Stepping out of the house, not caring that the door accidentally slammed behind you, you let your head fall back as you looked up, the sky a solid white. You blinked a few times, letting out a deep sigh, and as you looked down again, ready to start walking to a park, or something, you were greeted with a sight. A very familiar one, by now. The van. As you walked over, Eddie rolled the window down, leaning out slightly with a grin.

“Need something?” His eyes flicked over to the house briefly.

“Figured from what Kace was saying earlier that you’d need saving. You getting in?” Contemplating your choices, you looked back at the house, watching as April stepped out and made her way over to where you were standing, looking up at Eddie in the van.

“Who are you?” Before you could answer, giving her an equally vague response as you did before, Eddie had taken it upon himself to do so, letting more of his body hang out of the window as he stretched his arm out to shake April’s hand, which she did hesitantly. 

“Your sister’s new best friend. You the infamous Apricot?” She scowled. 

“Ew. Yes.” The girl glanced between you and the boy, before landing her gaze on the van. 

“Can you drive me to my friend’s house?” You turned to face her again.

“April, you can’t just ask strangers to drive you places.” A moment of silence before she replied, clearly finding herself hilarious.

“He’s not a stranger. He’s your new best friend.” Dumbfounded, and the metalhead laughing his ass off next to us, April began walking around to the opposite side of the vehicle, not waiting for an answer. Eddie looked down at you, wiping a tear from his eye.

“She’s funny.” You squint.

“You’re a dick.”

Accepting your fate, you followed April to the passenger’s side, sliding into the middle seat before letting the girl slide in after you, closing the door behind herself. After telling Eddie the address of her friend, he was already somewhat familiar. 

“Got a friend who lives nearby. Gotcha.” As he began driving, playing his music on a lower volume than he usually did, April nudged you with her elbow, tilting her head toward you. 

“Is he your new boyfriend?” You couldn’t help letting out a laugh, muffling the sound with the back of your hand before taking in a deep breath and regaining your posture.

“Who’s asking?” She pulled a face.

“Ew.” You also pulled a face.

“Ew, you.”

The van finally parked up outside of a house, and April climbed out the second the vehicle stopped moving, making her way around to the driver’s window, Eddie rolling it down. 

“Get a new air freshener for your van. It smells weird.” Before Eddie could reply, she walked away and up to Edith’s house, the boy rolling the window up and pulling away from the curb. 

“Nice kid. She get it from you?” You just hummed, muttering your next words.

“She thinks you’re my boyfriend.” This short sentence had Eddie choking on air as you fought a smile, taking notice of the way his fingers began nervously tapping the steering wheel.

“We should act like I am to prank her.” You kissed your teeth, shaking your head. 

“What’s wrong with you?” The boy shrugged, briefly glancing over at you.

“Your loss. I’d make a great fake-boyfriend.”

“Uh-huh…” 

Not thinking to ask where you were even going, you were surprised when the van pulled into the parking lot of Family Video, the movie rental store halfway across town. Eddie had stopped the engine and stepped out without saying anything, and you watched as he walked around the front of the van to reach the passenger door, opening it for you. 

“My angel.” He held a hand out for you, and you scrunched your brows together, a smile on your lips. 

“‘Great fake-boyfriend’ my ass. I just puked in my mouth a lil’ bit.” Grabbing his hand as you stepped down, you looked over to the Family Video building, trying to think of any reason as to why you’d be there on Christmas day.

“Enough about your ass, we going with the fake boyfriend thing or…?” Confused by what he was saying, you looked down, instantly recoiling as you pulled your hand out of his. 

The two of you made your way into the store, and you looked around, feeling slightly lost. 

“Look for a movie you wanna watch, I’ve got something I need to do.” With a shrug, you watched as he walked over to the counter, starting a conversation with the girl standing behind it, a girl with short, brassy hair. Five minutes later, Eddie was signaling you to come over to him, a VHS tape in your hand. The girl behind the counter looked down as you placed it in front of her, reading the name on her badge. 

“Gremlins? Good choice.” Eddie laughed, realizing what you had chosen. 

“Really? That’s what you went for? Out of literally everything here.” You shrugged, and he laughed again, shaking his head.

Just a few more minutes later and the tape was in your hands again. The two of you began to leave as Robin said one last thing to Eddie.

“I’ll talk to him for you. Merry Christmas, guys.” The boy smiled and nodded, before leading you out of the store.

“What was that about?” You asked as you walked over to the van again, Eddie opening the door before you had the chance to.

“Oh, nothing. Just me being the best wingman there ever was.” 

The rest of your day was spent on Eddie’s couch, watching the movie you had chosen and eating chips with dips that the boy had picked up for the two of you. You didn’t speak much, as you were still feeling tired from last night at Kace’s, and from the previous week you had been dealing with your mom and thankfully, Eddie had sensed this. He only really spoke when commenting on something happening in the movie or when you spoke first, plus occasionally asking if you needed a refill of soda. Putting personal opinion on Eddie aside, it was one of the most enjoyable Christmases you had ever had. 

At the end of the day, Eddie drove you home just as it was approaching 8 pm. The van arrived outside your house, and you waited a second before turning to leave. Eddie cleared his throat, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel again. 

“So… you coming to Chrissy’s party?” You took a moment to think about it, unsure. 

“Mm, yeah. May as well, seeing as I don’t have any other plans for New Years, and my parents head out again the morning after.” The boy nodded, his posture weirdly stiff.

“Cool, cool…” There was silence for a second as you twisted some of the rings around your fingers. The brunette opened his mouth to speak again, but you got to it first.

“Thanks for saving me. Earlier, I mean. I know I haven’t been super talkative today but… thanks. It was nice.” Finally looking over to him, Eddie was staring at you like a deer in headlights, and you couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the sight.

“What?” He shook his head as he tilted it to an angle, rubbing the side of his neck.

“Nothing, nothing. You just sounded very… sincere.”It made you scoff, but lightheartedly.

“That’s because I am being sincere.” You watched as he pressed his lips together in a tight smile.

“Right. Gotcha. Well…” Eddie’s breath hitched, almost as if he still had something he needed to say.

“Goodnight, Eddie.” Letting out a shaky breath, he smiled, studying your movements as you grabbed his hand and planted a kiss onto the back of it, black lipstick being left behind. 

As he stared down at the mark left on his skin, you took it as your chance to climb out of the van, Eddie’s hand still raised in the position you had left it in. Forcing yourself to walk into the house without looking back, not wanting to see Eddie giving you some sort of weird face, you couldn’t help but use the peephole as the door shut quietly behind you. Eddie was still sitting in the van outside your house, looking towards the building before turning to face forward, his hair blocking your view of his features. After a few long seconds, he lifted his head before finally driving away.

The days leading up to the party were the mostly same as the days previous to Christmas had been, with your parents also being out of the house most of the time running errands, preparing to go away again. April was spending most of her time in her room unless your mom was in the house, or she was out with friends, and you had also made your bedroom the place where you spent most of your time, trying your best to avoid having to speak to your Mom. 

New Year's Eve had arrived, April was spending the night at a friend’s house for a sleepover with multiple classmates, and your parents were packing to leave the next day. 

At some point, before you were supposed to be leaving for the party, your Dad had come into your room, letting you know that he had left cash in an envelope next to the coffee pot, and to call him if you needed absolutely anything. He had never stuck up for you when your Mom was giving you grief, but you still appreciated what he did for you any other time. The excuse you had given him for going out that night was that you were spending the night at Kace’s house, celebrating with his family, which your Dad was understanding of, only advising you to avoid your Mom as you left for the night. Obviously, he didn’t have to tell you twice.

Kace had picked you up and driven the two of you to the party, so you both arrived at the same time and were both feeling awkward as fuck, at the same time. Seeing as it was mostly cheerleaders, people from the basketball team, and their associated groups, potential people for you and Kace to speak to were… practically non-existent.The only reason Eddie was there was because he was Chrissy’s weed dealer, and the only reason the two of you were there was because of, well, Eddie (and Chrissy, because she had taken a liking to you apparently). Kace was somehow able to interact with all sorts of people, proved by his conversation with that Harrington guy all those weeks ago. Speak of the Devil, that’s exactly who he somehow sniffed out and had begun talking to, cutting into a conversation Harrington was having with some girl on the cheer squad. 

Trying to find some sort of way to make the party enjoyable without Kace by your side, you had found the first guy who didn’t immediately appear completely repulsed by the sight of you, judging the way you dressed and struck up a conversation with him. Yes, he was asking about the clothes and makeup, but not in a mocking or judge-y way, just out of genuine curiosity, from what you could tell. He was asking things like “Why do you dress like that? Do you like scaring people? Is that part intentional? Are you really that pale?”, so honestly, you were humored. 

That was until a girl approached the two of you, seeming to be another one of Chrissy’s friends on the team. Immediately, she threw a nasty look your way but offered you a drink, and stupidly, because of the alcohol you had already consumed up until that point, you accepted the red solo cup without another thought, chugging it in hopes of making the party somewhat more enjoyable in a short amount of time. As you swallowed the last sip, it finally occurred to you how disgusting it tasted. Some alcohol really did taste like this, but this was on a whole new level. You couldn’t imagine anyone enjoying it. Was it some shit like absinthe, or something? 

Placing the cup down on a table next to you, you began stumbling away, your head almost instantly feeling the effects of whatever concoction you had just consumed. Thankfully, you ended up bumping into Chrissy, who took immediate notice of your state, her eyes instantly flicking towards the girl standing a few meters behind you. 

“Oh my gosh, did she give you something? I swear-” The blinde cut herself off as she marched towards the girl, chewing her out as you started walking again, turning the corner to make your way up the stairs, hopefully running into a bathroom at some point on your journey.

Instead, you ended up tripping over some guy sitting on the stairs, the poor dude miserably failing to flirt with a girl who was clearly just sticking around because she thought it was funny. As you fell, however, your hands landing on the boy’s shoulder, he had redirected his attention to you, the girl slipping away and down the stairs, laughing with a group of people as she reached the bottom. You lifted your head, trying to get a good look at the guy as he stood up to support you, recognizing him as the tall guy lurking behind Robin at Family Video last week. 

At some point, you had made your way upstairs, sliding into the first open door you could see and keeling over as you began emptying your gut into a trashcan beside a dresser, wiping the edge of your mouth after a few seconds, and floating over toward the bed, planting yourself down with a big huff. Without realizing what you were doing, you had begun mumbling nonsense about your Mom.

“She’s such an ass… I don’t know what my Dad sees in her, really. I don’t know why he puts up with her shit. It’s so-” You trailed off as you noticed a pressure on your thigh, looking down to see the boy’s hand gripping you. 

“The fuck?” Before you’re able to instantly recoil, your hand is in his other, slowly being pulled toward his lap. You were drunk, yes, but not drunk enough to be completely unaware of what the guy was trying to do. After noticing the way his belt and zipper were already undone, you wasted no time yanking your hand away, stumbling as you stood up from the bed and continued to stumble your way out of the dark room, hearing the guy scoff as you left.

You re-entered the busy hallway, your head starting to pound again as the music became louder, partly shutting the door behind you as you tried to forget what had just happened. Somehow, you hadn’t noticed Eddie appear directly in front of you, almost bumping into him like what you did with Chrissy earlier. You made a fuzzy mental note to practice spatial awareness at some later date. 

The metalhead was already checking you over before you could say anything.

“Chrissy said you looked in bad shape but…” His voice hushed as he leaned forward slightly to look through the crack of the door next to you, watching as the guy from before stood from the bed, zipping his fly up. As you rested your head against the doorframe, Eddie directed his attention back to you, his eyes wide as he looked down, gently holding your arm.

“Did that guy try something with you?” Not quite grasping the severity of Eddie’s concerns, you rolled your eyes, your head rolling to one side and resting on your shoulder.

“Nooo. I mean, he tried. But I hopped up out of there because grossss.” The brunette didn’t say a word before pushing the door open, careful to not knock into you as he walked past and into the room. 

The guy looked up at Eddie as he began to buckle his belt up, being interrupted as Eddie snatched his hand away by the wrist, holding it up into the air.

“Did you touch her?” With a scoff, his trademark by now, the boy began trying to wriggle his hand out of the brunette’s, nervously laughing.

“Pfft, what does it matter to you? She yours or something?” You stepped back into the room, slumping against a dresser next to the doorway, struggling to stay upright as you observed the scene unfolding in front of you. Eddie immediately snapped back.

“What if she is? Really, what if?” This confused the boy, a snort coming from him as he decided to test his luck again.

“But, is she-” And again, Eddie cut him, his tone flatter this time.

“She might be.” The lack of an immediate response from the boy gave Eddie a chance to let his eyes flick over to you, his gaze softening as he appeared to be having some sort of internal conversation with himself, his grip tightening around the boy’s wrist.

He finally let himself look back at the boy.

“If I ever see you approach any woman other than your own mother again, I will cut this hand off and keep it pickled in a jar like a trophy. Do you understand what I’m saying?” The guy began stuttering his words, head trying to recoil away from Eddie, who had his face positioned just inches away.

“-Okay, man. Yeah. I got it.” Finally, Eddie released his grip on the wrist, and the boy slid out of the room within just a few seconds, his head dipping to avoid making any sort of eye contact with you. 

Gently ushering you out of the room with him, you and Eddie were face to face with Chrissy back in the hallway, the girl stepping out of the bathroom across from you, tightening to ribbon around her ponytail as she gave the two of you a warm smile. 

“Oh, hey, guys! You two good?” Eddie stepped in front of you slightly, leaning toward the blonde and lowering his voice. 

“Not doing great. You got somewhere she can stay for the night?” Chrissy was confused, her eyes flitting between you and the boy, so he continued.

“I’ve drunk tonight, and I was just planning on walking back to mine, so I don’t even have my van with me. And… things aren’t great with her parents right now, so I don’t think her going back is a good idea anyway.” The blonde began waving her hands in front of the both of you.

“Say no more. Of course, Eddie. She can have my bed seeing as I’ll probably end up passing out elsewhere in the house later when everyone is gone.” The brunette placed his hands on Chrissy’s shoulders as he thanked her, the girl giving him a big grin.

As she slowly guided you into her room just slightly down the hall, she started speaking as you failed to remain standing still in one spot. 

“Extra blankets in that closet. If she needs pajamas, there’s some in that drawer over there, and bathroom is through that door. I’ll go tell her friend about what’s happening, but I’ll probably head back to the party after that. Unless you want me to look after her, which I’m more than happy to do. You know, so you can enjoy the rest of your night.” Eddie looked around the room, shaking his head.

“No need, I can stay up here.” Chrissy gave him one last nod before heading back downstairs to find Kace. 

You were gently pushed into the bathroom with a set of pajamas that Eddie had quickly grabbed, and you continued to mumble nonsense as you the door was closed behind you. Through the wood, you could hear Kace enter the room, muffled slightly, as he spoke to Eddie.

“Is she okay? What the hell happened?” A sigh.

“Some fucking guy- I don’t know, she must’ve drunk something and a guy must’ve noticed how much of a mess she was. Decided it was his time to shine, I guess.” You can hear the sound of your friend stomping around angrily, almost being able to see the image of him running his hands through his hair due to stress.

“If I see that man, he’s getting castrated. Hold me to my word.” 

A few minutes later, you finally emerged from the bathroom, the door swinging open as you held onto the side of it for dear life. Kace immediately captured you in a tight hug, instinctively letting your head nestle into the crook of his neck, not being able to lift your arms to give him a proper embrace in return. Once released, you trudged over to Chrissy’s bed, falling back onto it and sinking into the mattress, mumbling about how comfortable it was, your head sinking further into the numerous pillows the girl had stacked up. You weren’t awake for long as Kace and Eddie just spoke amongst themselves, their two faces out of sight as they towered above you, their torsos being the last thing you could see before passing out.

Only a few hours later, you were awake. The first thing you did was read the clock on the bedside table, the time reading 04:37. The second thing you did was take notice of the way your head throbbed, the dimly lit room probably being the only reason it wasn’t somehow much worse. You leaned forward and noticed the small night light plugged into the wall, and looked up to notice Eddie asleep on the armchair across from you, his jacket draped across him like a makeshift blanket, his feet crossed over one another on the floor, and his head dipped down, his face not visible. If you listened closely, you could hear his slow, deep breathing, watching the way his shoulders and chest moved in time with the sound. 

Sitting up slightly, you tapped the edge of the mattress with two fingers, attempting to make some noise, but not too much that would startle a person.

“Psst, Munson. Hey-” He lifted his head suddenly, eyes squinting in the darkness, confused. He rubbed his hand down his face as the jacket slid down and into his lap and as he looked at you, he was more awake, his eyes wide as he leaned forward. 

“Oh, hey, you good? You- You’re awake, are you okay?” You lifted an arm and rubbed the side of your head.

“Uh, yeah… I think I’m good. It’s so late, why are we still here?” Eddie straightened his posture as if it was a bad thing to ask. 

“I’ll explain when you’re more awake and sobered up in the morning, but Chrissy offered you her room for the night. She’s in her Mom’s room next door, so don’t worry about her.” You nodded, trying to make some sort of sense of the situation with the small amount of information you had before he spoke again. 

“Why don’t you head back to sleep? You’ve only been out for… five-ish hours.” Grimacing as your head throbbed again, you were given your answer.

“I have this huge headache, could you see if Chrissy has something I could take for it?” Without any sort of hesitation, Eddie stood up, walked into Chrissy’s bathroom, and slightly closed the door behind him to prevent too much light from seeping into the room. He returned a few seconds later with two Advil and a glass of water, which you graciously accepted.

Placing the glass on the table beside the bed, you looked up at the boy. 

“Why are you even in here? Did you miss the party to stay up here?” As you asked, Eddie brought a tuft of hair from the side of his head to hide the lower section of his face as he looked away, eyes drifting around the room. 

“Well, yeah. Didn’t feel right leaving you all alone, and I thought Kace would appreciate having more time to speak to Harrington tonight, so I said I’d keep watch, or whatever.” You gave him a simple nod, a weird feeling thrumming in your chest. Probably just a precursor of tomorrow’s hangover. 

“Well, why are you sleeping on that chair?” The question made Eddie laugh as if it was ridiculous for you to even ask. 

“I’m not just gonna climb into bed with a sleeping girl, am I? I’m not that much of a degenerate. It’d feel so wrong.” Chewing the inside of your lip, you sat up even more.

“...That chair can’t be comfortable.” Eddie was clearly confused, nervously laughing as he struggled to remain still, his feet shuffling around in one area.

“Well, what can I do? Not many other options, you know?” 

Without another word, you began taking some of the pillows from Chrissy’s abundant collection and started to construct a wall of them down the middle of the bed, feeling Eddie’s eyes watching closely as you did so. He walked around to the other side of the bed, giving you a look that said ‘Really?’ to which you returned with one saying ‘Really.’ You jerked your head slightly, gesturing for him to get onto the bed. It earned a sigh from him, but he still kicked off his shoes before climbing into the bed, his body rigid in its position. 

You laid back down, but facing him still, just being able to see most of his face, just barely being able to make out his open eyes staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. The pile of pillows wasn’t too tall, but just about thick enough to qualify as a suitable partition between two people, so it was easy for you to slide your arm over it, letting your hand fall onto Eddie’s chest, your fingers slowly rubbing against the fabric of his shirt. He didn’t say anything to the gesture, but you took deliberate notice of the way he tensed up as you first made contact, before relaxing into your touch. 

You decided it was time to break the silence, but just barely, as you whispered, your voice muffled by exhaustion. 

“Thanks for staying with me.” You had begun to worry that you were crossing a boundary for a second as you didn’t get an immediate reply until you felt Eddie’s hand gently slip over your own, his fingers tucking under your palm, thumb gently caressing the skin on your knuckles. 

“Any time, angel. I would’ve been the world’s biggest douche if I had left you up here alone.” Letting your nail tap against the metal of the chain on Eddie’s chest, you smiled to yourself.

“Whatever your motivations were, I appreciate you being here for me, even if it did mean you missed most of the party.” The boy quietly chuckled, your hand moving as his chest shook.

“Worth it, for you.” 

It was the last thing you heard before falling back to sleep, and when you woke up only a few hours later again at 7 am, it would’ve felt like a dream if it wasn’t for the fact that the first thing you saw upon cracking your eyes open was Eddie’s sleeping face. His bangs messy, the pillow wall you had constructed between the two of you being mostly broken down or flattened.

The room was still somewhat dark, as it was the middle of Winter, but the morning allowed for a muted blue shade to be cast across the room, letting shadows fall on Eddie’s face almost too perfectly. Your leg was raised, lying across the wall of pillows, and one of Eddie’s hands was tousled in your hair spread across the pillow, the boy using the crook of his arm as a headrest. Despite being hungover, exhausted, and still delirious, due to having only been awake for, at most, a minute or two, you let out a quiet, shaky breath. 

“Fuck, man.”

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn't happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters and ao3 link

chapter wc: 5.3k

Chapter Six: Nineteen Forty-Six

The sound of Eddie’s cheap alarm clock on his window ledge instantly woke you up from your deep sleep, and your eyes darted around the room as you observed your surroundings, the daylight seeping through his closed blinds illuminating the room. You squinted as something felt off about it, and almost as if you had some sort of sixth sense, your eyes drifted up to the buzzing clock above you. Taking a few seconds to process the numbers displayed in red, flashing in time with the beeping, your eyes widened. 10:30 am, the clock read, and you threw the blanket off of yourself as you swung your legs over the edge of the bed, your heels landing on the boy still fast asleep on the floor. 

Slipping off the mattress, you knelt down beside the sleeping man, your hands flying up to grab his shoulder and side, shaking him vigorously as you begged. 

“Munson, wake up. Wake the fuck up, man. We’re LATE.” Miraculously, his eyes gently fluttered open, big brown eyes taking a moment before looking up at you, a hand raising to rub the sleep from his face. Eddie looked up at you with an expression of pure confusion, taking a few seconds longer than you would’ve liked for him to finally give any sort of response. 

“Huh?” Groaning, you grabbed his face and twisted his head to face the alarm clock, still buzzing urgently above. He read the time on the display, kissing his teeth as he processed what he was looking at. You forced him to face you again, your eyes pleading. 

“School. We’re both late. Why do you even have your alarm set for this time? How do you ever make it to your morning classes?” Eddie chuckling at your questioning filled you with annoyance, and you dropped his head as you stood up and began digging through your belongings behind him. 

Despite hearing him stand up behind you and finally shut off the beeping of the alarm, which had turned into white noise for you by now, you paid no mind to the boy, grabbing your clothes and trying to figure out how to turn last night’s outfit into something suitable for school. You were so focused on trying to solve this problem in a short amount of time, that you didn’t even notice Eddie crouching down beside you, balancing on the balls of his feet and resting his elbows on his knees, his hair falling to the side as he tilted his head down to watch your hands as they moved around. 

“We’ll take the day off. It’ll be fine. You don’t have any important classes on a Friday, anyway.” You rolled your eyes at how carefree he was, turning your head to face him, an unimpressed expression on your face as it was now only a few inches away from his. 

“All of my classes are important, you di- Wait, how do you know what my Friday classes are?” The brunette blinked once, his face straight as he stood from his position, stepping back as you turned your head to follow his movements.

“...Nobody has interesting classes on a Friday. Well-known information.” Standing and turning to face him, you crossed your arms over your chest, leaning on one leg.

Eddie was facing the window as he stood in the middle of the room, raising his arms above his head as he stretched, exposing a slither of fair skin above his waistband which you couldn’t help but notice as it contrasted the darkness of both his shirt and his pajama pants. You grimaced, averting your eyes as you looked back up at him. 

“Clearly not that well-known. I can’t just take a day off, Munson. You might be fine redoing a year, as everyone knows, but I’m not.” Taking in what you were saying, Eddie rolled his head on his shoulders, stepping out of his room as you followed behind from a distance, wanting answers from him. 

Stepping into the kitchen, you leaned your hip against a countertop as Eddie filled a scuffed mug with coffee, taking a sip as he also leaned back onto the edge of the sink. 

“You have a fair point. But don’t stress too much, it’s only one day. Besides, aren’t you avoiding Kace right now?” Clearing your throat at his comment, you looked away, adjusting your stance awkwardly, shrugging. 

“...Whatever. But it’s your funeral if this impacts my grades somehow.” Looking over at him in the corner of your eye, the boy shrugged, before walking over to and past you, leaving the kitchen as he made his way over to one of the couches in the living room, falling down as he made himself comfortable.

“And hey, I think it’s my year this time. I’m sure I’ll graduate this time ‘round.” Rolling your eyes, you followed suit, taking space up on the couch opposite Eddie. 

A few hours passed, sitting on that couch with Eddie, sipping coffee and eating mostly breakfast waffles that the boy had made for the two of you. Not knowing how else to pass the hours until you needed to be home in time for April getting back from school, you had been questioning Eddie on himself; asking how many times he had redone his senior year, why he was constantly redoing it, why he was such an idiot, etc. Weirdly, he was more than happy to answer your questions, explaining it was his third time repeating the year, he had a difficult time taking his classes seriously in the past, he wasn’t really that stupid, etc. It was somewhat nice learning about the boy, even if he refused to answer when you asked him to elaborate on what he meant when mentioning how he’s glad that he fucked up those first two attempts at graduating his senior year. 

It was finally time for you to return home, and Eddie had graciously offered to drive you back, as he’d feel bad making you figure out your own way home. But after what Chrissy had mentioned to you at the diner the other week, you found yourself endeared by the offer, feeling like you could see what she meant by Eddie looking out for people. 

His van pulled up to your house, and you hopped out with only a quick ‘goodbye’ exchanged between the two of you as you noticed April walking up the sidewalk just a few meters in front of the vehicle. As you shut the car door behind you, walking alongside your sister to the front of the house, April spoke up beside you.

“Who’s the guy?” You pulled out your house key, unlocked the door, and let April step in before you did, closing the door as you kicked your shoes off.

“Just that. A guy.” The shorter girl gave you a look before shrugging it off and instantly making her way over to the couch, slumping down onto it with a tired groan. 

As you followed her into the house further, you looked around, noticing just how tidy the place was, even after the state it was in last night before you left, the decorations even being tucked into a box that had been left beside the kitchen table. After a few moments of inspecting every aspect of the room, you had concluded that Kace must’ve stayed there late to tidy up for you.

Thinking of the boy, you suddenly felt very guilty for how you had left things last night. You really didn’t mean to snap at him, as you know it wasn’t his fault you were so stressed, but you couldn’t help yourself. Avoiding him was stupid, and you knew it was, but you needed to give it a chance before seeing him again, as you knew seeing him so soon after the events of last night would make you want to shrivel in on yourself and disappear. 

Friday evening was spent alone in your room mostly as you listened to music, only leaving your pit to occasionally bug April in her room or cook for the two of you. The weekend was no different, with the only addition being spending your Saturday doing housework, like laundry and the dishes as April went out to meet up with friends, only returning in the late afternoon.

Just as quickly as the weekend came around, Monday arrived. Today was the day you’d stop being a bitch and you’d finally attempt to talk to Kace about Thursday night’s incident. Almost as if you had been somehow avoiding him and the rest of your group all day (which you most definitely were), you hadn’t managed to find a chance to spend time with him. Thankfully, however, you did manage to run into another familiar face.

Eddie had slid in between you and another person when you were getting your lunch in the cafeteria and had invited you to skip your last class with him. Despite the unimpressed look you had given him, something you found yourself doing a lot lately, he took it as a ‘yes’ and cheerfully ran off after not grabbing anything to eat, earning annoyed expressions from the people behind you in the lunch line. 

Last period finally rolled around, and you had met Eddie under the bleachers where you had seen him so many weeks ago, and just like what you were doing on that occasion, you were smoking again, listening to the squeaks of sneakers as a class of sophomores played basketball on the court. It had been mostly a relaxed hang-out, until the one person you were dreading seeing today stepped into the area, his posture dipping to avoid hitting his head off the seats above. 

Your eyes immediately darted away from the tall male, your very obviously accusatory gaze landing on the metalhead, who was raising his hands in surrender, a cigarette resting between his lips. He had set you up. That fucking-

“Hey, love. You been okay?” Kace took a seat on the floor next to where you were sitting, taking a cigarette from the carton Eddie was holding out towards him. Not knowing how to reply without sounding too ‘off’ or too careless, you rubbed the back of your neck with your hand, your head tilting up to avoid making eye contact.

“Yeah, somewhat. You?” A master of conversation, truly. The boy shifted his position to get more comfortable.

“Mhm. Hellfire had a session, went well,” Eddie hummed, a non-verbal agreement, “I made sure to tidy your place after everyone left on Thursday. Felt like you’d appreciate coming back to a tidy house.” Your shoulders slumped as you felt a twang of guilt again. 

“Yeah, yeah, I did. Thanks for that, I noticed the second I got home on Friday.” Not realizing what had caused it, you looked down at Kace as he snorted, taking a drag of the cigarette between his fingers. 

“Oh, yeah? Where’d you run off to then? I mean, during the party.” Speechless, and feeling somewhat embarrassed of your tantrum four days ago, your eyes flicked over to Eddie, who was slouching back in his chair, raising his eyebrows as you locked eyes with him. 

He must’ve noticed the unintentional pleading expression you held, as he shifted to sit up in his chair, clearing his throat.

“Ah, that. I ended up finding her not too far down the road and took her back to mine so she could call her sister. That was all, really.” Nervously, your eyes snapped between Eddie and Kace, trying to sense if Eddie’s explanation was good enough for your skeptical friend. The boy squinted his eyes up at Eddie but shrugged. 

“As long as you were safe, love. I was worried about where you had run off to, but knew you would’ve hated me if I left the house unattended with a bunch of intoxicated teens inside. Figured you’d be able to look after yourself.” You chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“Yeah, of course. I’m sorry for how I acted, by the way. I knew you were just trying to-” Before you could finish your apology, you were cut off.

“Hush, no need. I know the pressure you’re under, love, and I know I can be a bit overbearing at times. As long as you feel somewhat better now, that’s all that matters.” Kace gave you a reassuring smile, to which you gave him one back. A few moments of silence passed.

“So, you and Munson, huh?” You waved your hands in front of you, grimacing as you shook your head vigorously.

“God, ew, no.” You argued back, as Eddie shook his head, too. He gave a similar response as you did, but for whatever reason, was less repulsed by Kace’s comment. You wrote it off as him not wanting to be rude.

Your internal questioning was interrupted as Kace opened his mouth again, which worried you due to what had previously just left it, but was instead glad to hear what he had to suggest.

“We should get food. Like, now. I’ll pay.” You perked up in your seat, enticed by the offer of free food, and Eddie’s tired eyes widened in interest.

“You might be an actual genius. I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard since… whenever we decided to be friends.” The comment made the boy laugh, and before you could get another word out, the school bell had rung and the three of you were piling into your respective vehicles to make your pitstops home before meeting up again. 

After the two of you dropped your bags off at yours and left a note for April saying where you had gone, Kace pulled up outside the establishment, both of you stepping out of the car just as Eddie was pulling into the parking space beside you. You turned around where you were standing to lean against the car, facing Eddie in the driver’s seat as he turned off the engine and opened the door, looking down at you as he stepped out. 

“We need to stop bumping into each other like this, doll.” You rolled your eyes, dropping your arms as you stood up straight, beginning to walk with Kace.

“Please die.” The brunette jogged to catch up with you, shoving his arm into you as the three of you stepped through the doors.

“Only if you ask nicely.”

Ordering your food was less than ideal, as Kace decided to take a century to figure out what kind of burger he was “resonating with”, only to decide on a regular cheeseburger, which had you and Eddie exchanging a mutual look of disappointment before you all found a booth to claim. Eddie had run over to it to claim the space he wanted the most, as Kace accidentally bumped into a guy who was passing him, looking back in surprise as the guy apologized. 

“Was that ‘the hair’ dude?” Sliding down into the booth next to Eddie, you twirled a piece of hair around your finger as you shrugged.

“Not a clue what that means.” Kace glanced across the room, and not long later, the food had arrived. 

As you had started eating your fries, Kace stood up from his seat, saying he was going to the restroom, to which you nodded in acknowledgment, turning back around to see Eddie plucking fries away from the box you held in your hand, shoving them in his mouth. You continued to chew on what you had in your mouth, just giving him a blank look, before he gestured over to somewhere in the room. Not knowing where to look at first, your eyes finally found the leather back of Kace, who was leaning against the side of the drinks machine, talking to the guy he had bumped into before. 

“That’s such a weird sight.” Eddie mumbled through a mouth full of salted fries. You raised a brow, not quite understanding.

“It’s that Harrington guy. Steve, I think. Went to Hawkins, huge dork. Not, like, actual dork, but you know what I mean.” Analyzing the scene for a few more seconds, you dipped another fry into your ketchup.

“Means nothing to me.” 

When Kace had finally returned, you let him finish his meal in peace. You could tell from the way Eddie was staring him down that he wanted to ask him about what you had both seen, but something stopped him. Possibly the fact that embarrassing Kace in public would earn the loudest ‘WHAT? NO.’ anyone had ever heard in a burger restaurant before, so you both chose to let it be. 

A short 5 minutes passed before you decided to leave, and as you were walking out the doors, you turned slightly to face Eddie as you made your way across the parking lot.

“My sister asked who you were.” The brunette turned to face you, surprised, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Oh, yeah? What’d you say?” As Kace fumbled his keys, trying to find the one that would unlock his car, you leaned against your door again, Eddie standing in front of you against his van.

“Said you were just some guy.” The car beeped behind you, signaling it was unlocked, and Eddie laughed as he finally unlocked his own vehicle.

“Glad to know you think so highly of me. I’m honored, truly.” With only an eye-roll in response, you slid into the car before Eddie waved to the two of you, driving out of the parking lot.

Fastening your seatbelt, and realizing how Kace wasn’t already starting the engine, you looked over to him, confused. However, as you did, you were met with this weird, smug expression, something you hadn’t seen from the boy before. A kind of ‘I know something you don’t’ expression. 

“What’s the look for?” With his grade A acting skills, the boy shrugged, starting the car with a shrug.

“Don’t know what you mean. I didn’t give a look. You’re crazy.” The car began leaving the parking lot and driving down the road, and you gently shook your head, confused. 

“No, you gave me a look. Don’t call me crazy, you always do this.” Almost as if he genuinely believed what he was saying, your words were shrugged off again, and not having the energy to persist again, you left it at that. For now.

After spending the entire weekend away from Kace, not even a singular phone call between the two of you, spending time with him again was just what you needed, and it reminded you of just how much you loved him. It was unlike you to be the one proposing plans, especially ones that could be considered last minute, but you didn’t have control over the words which were leaving your mouth until they already had.

“Sleepover at mine? You know, to make up for me running away from the ball the other night.” If it wasn’t for the fact that you had conveniently approached a red stoplight at that moment, you fully believed Kace would’ve still slammed the brakes on the car in the middle of the road as you asked the question. Twisting his head to face you in a way that seemed almost inhuman, you leaned back as you understood what the wide grin on his face meant.

“Absolutely. No need to ask me twice, oh my god. I love you.” You snorted at his enthusiasm. You never wanted to spend that long away from him ever again. 

The car pulled onto the driveway finally, and you both immediately made your way into the house, finding April rotting on the couch watching daytime television as always, almost as if it had become her afterschool ritual. She perked up when she heard the door close, however, and leaned her arms on the back of the couch as Kace greeted her. She gave him a genuine smile, before dropping it and turning her attention to you.

“You been hanging out with the guy again?” You held a hand up towards her as you made your way into the kitchen, not bothering to face her.

“Go away. What about Brad? You hang out with him today?” As Kace followed you into the kitchen bending down to lean over the kitchen island, you heard an extremely dramatic, excessively loud groan from the living room, the girl flopping back onto the couch.

“Oh my godddd, shut UP.” Kace chuckled, matching your smug grin as you began to pour drinks for the two of you. 

Not having any better idea on how to spend the rest of your afternoon, you and Kace decided to return to the living room where April still was, opting to watch movies with her until later on in the evening when Kace assisted you in cooking dinner for the three of you. The sight of the broken house phone on the counter beside the fridge left you with a pit in your stomach as you made a mental note to speak to your parents about it whenever they next decided to return home.

If it was anyone else, eating a meal with them and your sister would’ve felt weird, as you weren’t particularly a people person, and April most definitely wasn’t. In Kace’s case, however, it felt more natural than eating a meal with your parents. With the boy being your oldest friend, and being one of the very few people to ever get on April’s good side, it was like eating a meal with your two siblings. It was one of the many reasons you were grateful for him being a part of your life. 

After the meal, April had left to go shower and retire to her room, whilst you and Kace tidied up after dinner, before also heading upstairs. Sitting on your double bed, Siouxsie playing in the background on your stereo, Kace was painting a fresh layer of black onto his nails, and you quietly read one of your many books, this current read being one of your favorites by far. Despite how interesting it was, a thought managed to squeeze its way into your mind, stealing your attention away from the words on the page. Sliding a thin strip of paper in between the pages of your book as you closed it, and setting it down onto your lap, Kace noticed the movement, looking up at you through his lashes whilst hunched over, continuing to paint his nail. 

“What was the look about?” The boy gave a quiet ‘hm?’ before understanding what you had meant.

“Ohhh, nothing. What look?” You huffed, placing your book down next to you as you shuffled closer to him, trying to earn more of his attention.

“Kace, don’t fuck with me here. You gave me a look. I usually know what your weird looks mean, but I’m stumped this time.” Taking notice of every little movement he made, trying to figure out what his deal was, you watched as the boy chewed on his lip whilst contemplating something. He does a singular stroke of nail polish on his pinky nail before twisting the cap onto the small bottle and placing it on your bedside table, beginning to gently wave his hands around the speed up to drying process. 

“Right. It’s nothing really.” You squint your eyes at him, making him more nervous as he looks away, across the room.

“BUT. If you’re really that worked up over it… I’d suggest talking to Eddie about it. It’s between the two of you to work out, okay?” This answer left you more confused than you were before. 

What does he mean by ‘work out’? I didn’t know there was anything that needed ‘working out’. He even said he didn’t dislike my presence- Wait. He never said anything about what he thought of ME, though. This fucking guy. 

Snapping you out of your spiraling, Kace stated how late it was, yawning as he stretched his arms outwards, suggesting that the two of you should finally get some sleep. Still confused, and most definitely overthinking every word of what Kace had said, you agreed, switching the lamp off before you both tucked yourselves under the sheets. You let your arm dangle off the side of the bed, not reaching the floor as your bedframe was too tall, as Kace cuddled up with a pillow against the wall, his usual nighttime routine. Where he’d instantly fall asleep the second he got into a comfortable position, you’d still be lying awake, and tonight was no different.

Laying on your back with your arms crossed over your chest like a disgruntled vampire sleeping in their coffin, you analyzed every spot on your ceiling, thinking about the situation with Eddie. 

Is Munson just tolerating me? Is it literally just that? Tolerating? Chrissy, back at the diner, said he was a gentleman, so his actions might not necessarily mean he likes me. All the weird looks, even weirder behavior. Do I finally have some sort of explanation for all of that? Fuck. I was just starting to warm up to him. 

After your sleepover with Kace, a few weeks passed. School was going well, mostly stress-free, and you had formed a somewhat 50/50 split between lunchtimes where you and Kace would eat lunch with your regular group, and lunchtimes where you’d sit with Hellfire at their usual lunch table. A majority of your free time consisted of reading your ever-growing collection of books, going to the hangout with Kace to watch Corroded Coffin play, hanging out on the sidelines whenever Kace had a session with Hellfire, and random trips to the shopping area of town with Kace, Eddie, and occasionally, some of the club members. 

The few weeks leading up to Christmas were enjoyable if you really thought about it, and nothing too eventful happened at school in a while, as most Seniors were too busy studying for their tests at the end of the academic year, and you were hoping that the rest of the actual year leading up to New Years would be the same. 

It was December, and if you were a time traveler who had somehow ended up in Hawkin’s around this time of year, you would definitely be able to tell. The town center was decked in Christmas lights, and storefronts were equally decorated by employees, really getting the collaborative spirit up, something Hawkins wasn’t known for always doing. Trying to join in on the festivities, and also because it had become a tradition for the two fo you to always do together, April and you had decorated the exterior of the house in tasteful, warm Christmas lights, hanging a wreath on the front door to tie it all together. Thankfully, the two of you set all of it up just in time, as one day, after a long week at school, you returned home, and your heart sank into your stomach at the sight of your parent’s car in the driveway, a sight you had almost forgotten.

They hadn’t specified when they’d be returning from their “business trip” months back when they initially left, but a part of you knew it was mostly likely going to end up being in time for the holidays, something you had tried to avoid thinking about since it first became a thought in your mind a few weeks ago. 

A deep breath in, and a deeper breath out, you gathered the courage to step into the house, your fingers clutching your bag strap as you stepped through the front door quietly. Despite trying your best to do everything much quieter than usual, every movement you made sounded somehow louder than usual. 

Stepping into the living room, April was sitting at the dining table with her head down, doing homework, which she’d usually do up in her room. So, instantly, things felt wrong. You could feel tension building, as your parents currently weren’t anywhere to be seen, until you carefully tread closer to the kitchen, the two of them standing behind the island counter. With his head also down, your dad was leaning across the countertop, reading the mail addresses to him which you had left piled up over the last few months, and your mom… standing almost completely still, silently inspecting the broken house phone in her hand. Sensing your presence, she looked up, a stiff expression on her face as she held the phone up slightly, the cable swinging below. 

“Yeah, I needed to tell you about that. I accidentally tripped on-” She held her hand up, and you instantly pressed your mouth shut, lips sucked in nervously. 

“I don’t want to hear excuses. You could’ve let me know beforehand.” With the broken phone…?

“I leave you more than enough cash so you can look after yourself and your sister, and I leave you with the responsibility of the house’s upkeep. A big responsibility. Maybe I’ve been mistaken. Maybe your father and I will have to be home more often from now on, which would mean sacrificing the years of dedication we’ve put into our careers, and taking a step back from our current roles for something… less time-consuming.”

To anyone else, that would be great. Your parents are home more often, if not full-time, so they could assume their roles as actual parents. But your situation was… different. Not one that most people could relate to, and definitely not one you loved being in. The idea of your parents coming home more often? It made you feel sick to your stomach.

“I’m sorry, mom. I am.” No acknowledgment. 

“You’re eighteen in a few months, and I’m starting to feel like I can’t trust you to be home alone with your sister when we go away for work. Will you prove me wrong?” Without taking a second too long to actually think about an answer, you nodded your head, almost too enthusiastically for the situation you were in. 

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll go into town and I’ll-” Again, silenced by just the raise of a hand.

“Leave it. Your dad will sort out the issue of the house phone, but you’ll need to get a job so you can pay him back eventually. You’ve gotten away with not having one for the longest time when I’ve been working since I turned fourteen. Just don’t let me come home to something like this again. Yes?” Not knowing how else to respond, and not even considering the option of arguing back, you nodded. You glanced over at April, her head still down, and your dad was the same, seeming somewhat too interested in just a bunch of junk mail. He knew not to get involved in your mother’s parenting by now, so this was the norm. 

As you began to turn on your heel, your mom spoke again.

“And I thought I told you to cut it out with all… that.” She gestured her manicured hand at you, referencing your makeup and clothing, something you were used to from her by now. You smacked your lips quietly before fully turning to walk away.

“...I’ve got homework I need to get done.” Reaching the hallway, your mom shouted one last time.

“Make sure you get it done, and none of that strange music, thank you.” Rolling your eyes, you quietly rushed up to your room, slowly closing the door behind you so as to not catch your mom’s attention again. Throwing yourself onto your bed and grabbing the book you had left in your bedside drawer the night before, you opened it and started reading where you had left off, not being quite in the mood to get your head stuck in homework after that encounter with your favorite parent. The next couple of weeks would be pure bliss. 

[liuvli]

critical darling info <3

hai :3 new crit darl chapters soon :33 yes, chapters, plural. chapter 6 is shorter than i like but had nothing else i felt the need to add to it, so im writing 7 and will be releasing them one after the other :3 thx thx

[liuvli]

thank uuuu for the love on the new chapter of critical darling <333 i really worked hard on this one and i’m glad to see that y’all still love this series as much as i do, even after so long <33

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters & ao3 link

chapter wc: 9k

Chapter Five: Halloween in Heaven

For the rest of that Tuesday night, Eddie and you spent not much longer sitting beside the lake, talking about small details in each other's lives. You were indeed having a party next Thursday, and he was indeed coming. He absolutely did not steal your pen on purpose, and you absolutely did not believe him. You were both completely freezing your asses off by that lake, and you both decided it was a good time to head home. 

As Eddie’s van pulled up in front of your yard, you turned to open the door but as you did, you felt something make contact with your shoulder briefly, pausing for a moment before turning your body to face Eddie. His hand was lingering just above your shoulder and his mouth was agape as he tried to stutter out what he wanted to say. 

“Sorry, I didn’t- never mind. I wanted to say thank you.” You settled back into your seat as Eddie finally withdrew his hand, resting it on the back of your seat. 

“For what?”

“For earlier. Talking to me. I’m glad we could clear things up a bit. Not that there was anything to really ‘clear up’, I just mean-” Notice his arising panic, you instinctively lifted your arm to gently place your hand on his, the one resting on the seat behind you. 

“It’s okay, Eddie, I know. Thank you for talking to me, too. And thanks for the ride.” Due to the silence in the car and it being the dead of night, it wasn’t difficult for you to pick up on the sound of Eddie taking in a sharp breath, his face showing obvious surprise as you spoke. Trying to ease the awkwardness in the moment, you smiled at him, ever so slightly giving his hand a gentle squeeze to try and reassure him. 

You weren’t always a comforting person. You didn’t grow up being taught how to comfort another person, in any type of situation, and your time in high school hadn’t really given you any reason to actually be vulnerable with people. But after spending so much time with Kace, the light of your life, and your sister, the one person you could (almost) always depend on, comforting someone was something you had learned. Not as a natural instinct, but knowing how to sense someone feeling a certain way and knowing how to comfort them in the exact way they needed in the moment. It wasn’t exactly empathetic, it was more cognitive, so you told yourself. 

Eddie grinned as he dipped his head, keeping his hand where it was as your own felt comfortably cold against the back of it. Suddenly, noticing how intimate the position the two of you were in felt, you whipped your hand away from where it was resting on Eddie’s, immediately settling it on the door handle, turning to look out the window as you spoke. 

“Again, thanks. Tonight was nice.” You heard Eddie mutter a quiet “Yeah” as you opened the door and climbed out, looking back once to smile at the boy. 

“Get home safe, Munson.” Eddie lifted his head, giving a half-smile as he placed a hand on the steering wheel. 

“Will do, ma’am.” You rolled your eyes at the comment, hearing him snicker to himself as you shut the van door, walking around the vehicle as you made your way to the front door of the house.

Opening the door and stepping inside, you resisted the urge you had to look over your shoulder once more as you hadn’t heard Eddie drive off yet. However, as the door shut behind you, exhaustion washing over you, you couldn't stop yourself from looking through the peephole, seeing Eddie only just starting up his van and driving off into the night. 

You locked the door, slipping off your boots next to April’s shoes in the hallway, before swiftly making your way up to your room. It seemed as if April was already in her room, hopefully asleep, the door shut and no sound being heard through the walls. Too tired to shower, and not wanting to somehow disturb your sister, you made your way to the bathroom, rubbing your makeup off with just soap and water. 

Now with a bare face and somewhat detangled hair, you made your way into your room, and for once, you found yourself actually shutting your bedroom door. Doing that was another reminder of the jacket which was still hanging on the back, but now, you didn’t find yourself hating the sight of it. Yeah, it was still weird that you even had it, but it didn’t bother you. Alas, you turned away as you began changing for bed. 

And with that, your day was over. Exhausted and cold, you let yourself slip into slumber, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of your chest. 

The rest of the week had gone exactly how you expected; fast. With the leadup to the party and Kace being your walking, talking reminder of it, the days flew by as if they weren’t even happening. Same old shit, except with the new addition of your interactions with Eddie. Both of you still enjoyed having your little squabbles, and you even sat with him some days when Kace asked to so he could talk about Hellfire with the rest of the group, but it didn't feel as if there were any issues between the two of you. Yeah, his obnoxious school persona still got on your nerves and you made sure to make your own little digs at him for it, but it wasn’t something that made you feel the same as it had done in the past. It was almost as if you now knew it was just a persona, not how Eddie actually was. Be it a short conversation, the talk you had with Eddie on Tuesday really stayed repeating itself on the sideline of all your other usual thoughts. 

Almost as if Kace had been religiously and routinely praying to whatever god for it, the second week flew by just the same. Come Thursday, you didn’t hear the end of it from him. 

“So, the plan is: I come to yours after school, let you get ready, and help with decorating and party prep, right?” As the boy tapped the end of his plastic fork against the cafeteria table, you scratched at the rings on your fingers, trying to think of how to make sure the night went well. 

April still needed to confirm whether or not her friend’s parents were okay with her staying the night, a few people still hadn’t gotten back to you on whether they were coming or not, so you were unsure about certain things you needed to sort out, and it didn’t help that your first-period teacher had given you negative feedback on an assignment you had completed in the previous week, something that had really gotten you down. 

“-ove. Love?” You snapped back to reality as you realized Kace was trying to get your attention, placing your palms flat on the table as you turned your body to directly face him. 

“Hm? Sorry, ‘was thinking. What was it you were saying?” As he stabbed at his pile of sweetcorn, failing to impale any with the shitty plastic cutlery, Kace laughed. 

“It’s all good. As I was saying, is everything sorted for tonight? I just wanna make sure.” You were about to open your mouth to offer an unsure reply when Eddie cut into the conversation from just a couple of seats down. 

“Talking about the party again? Man, it seems like all you talk about these days.” Kace’s attention was instantly redirected as he swiveled in his chair to face the brunette, waving his hands around defensively. 

“Uh, duh? First freak party of the season at MY best friend’s house? It’ll be the party of the century, I’ll have you know. And you’re invited, remember? Don’t make me revoke that invitation, man.” Eddie held his hands up in surrender, leaning back in his seat at Kace’s rebuttal. 

“Alright, alright, I get the point. Thank you ever so much, sir. I will treasure your verbal invitation to the official party of the century. My deepest apologies.” As Kace laughed at the response he was given, you found yourself looking over at Eddie, who was chuckling to himself, relaxing back into his seat. Just as you did, his eyes landed on yours, making you feel seen. Obviously, he was seeing you, and you weren’t not seen by anyone else, but it felt like an acknowledgment rather than just some simple eye contact between two people. Weird. 

As the rest of the day passed fairly slowly, the end of the school day eventually came, and Kace was rushing to get you to his car, obviously wanting to start preparing for the party as soon as possible. 

“Love, I care about you, but seatbelts can wait. We need to go or everything will turn to SHAMBLES!” Pausing what you were doing, you made a point out of making eye contact with the dramatic boy in the driver’s seat, forcing a moment of silent reflection onto him. 

“No, no, you’re right. I’m the responsible one. But still, let's GO already.” You groaned as your seatbelt clicked in, and Kace had driven out of the parking lot before you had even finished settling down, Depeche Mode blasting through the speakers the moment the engine had started up. 

The moment the two of you arrived at yours, Kace instantly started unpacking all of the decorations he had bought from the backseat of his car, already muttering to himself his ideas on where to put everything. Not knowing what you needed to do, Kace took notice of this and looked up at you as you stood aimlessly on the other side of the kitchen island. 

“Go get ready, love. Shower, redo your hair and makeup, do whatever you need. I’ll get started with the decorations. Don’t worry.” His reassurance made you feel somewhat less stressed about the night, and you offered him a smile before making your way upstairs and switching the shower on as you got ready to hop in.

After your shower, you got ready again: redoing your hair and makeup (perhaps a little bit more dramatic than usual due to the whole theme of the party). You pulled one of your more expensive dresses out of your closet, throwing it on the bed along with a pair of ripped tights you had customized yourself, a leather corset Kace had found for you during a vacation with his family, and a few accessories you had collected over the years. With yourself put back together, and nerves stemming from hosting your own party, amongst other shit, somewhat momentarily lulled, you headed back downstairs to help Kace with the decorating if he hadn’t already completed the task by himself. 

As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you could hear the low mumbling of a few early arrivers to the party, along with Kace’s footsteps shuffling out of the kitchen with a pile of bat-shaped banners dangling and overflowing from his arms. Before you could get a word out, the plastic bats had been passed into your own arms. 

“Could you hang those above the front door, love? I’ve already put the ladder there for you, but I need to set up the drinks on the kitchen island before even more people arrive, seeing as we’ve already got these guys who decided on time is late!” The boy raised his voice as he spoke the last few words, gaining the attention of a group of people standing at the end of the hallway, whom you recognized as being Kace’s buddies from school. One of them lifted a red solo cup in the air, acknowledging Kace’s dig towards them, before happily continuing on with his conversation.

“That alright with you?” he asked, which you thought meant he wanted a response along the lines of ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but before you could give an answer, he had already disappeared from your line of sight. 

“Yep, all good,” you answered, nonetheless.

With your arms full of tangled, stringed-together bats, using the ladder to reach the space above the door deemed a difficult challenge, but achievable with careful footwork. Eventually reaching the height you needed to be at, you fumbled with the bats in your arms, trying the find one that was only connected to one other, so you could begin with your task, and after a few more seconds of untangling the bundle, you had found what you needed. Just as you were about to bring the first bat up to the wall, the entire pile slipped from your arms, and you threw your head back in exasperation. Just as you were starting to think you should probably try to retrieve them from the floor, you heard them rustle below you before the weight on the ladder slightly adjusted with a metallic creak, the heat of someone else creeping up behind you. One arm appeared at the side of your vision, gently grabbing the roll of tape from your left hand, and another arm extended from the right to lift a bat to the wall in front of you. From just the sleeves that were on both sides of your head like a pair of abnormally long earmuffs, you knew who was currently invading every inch of your personal space, and the smell of cheap cologne only gave it away more.

“I can do this myself, Munson.” A snort, just a few inches away from your ear. 

“Yeah yeah, I know. Little miss independent, aren’t you, doll? But from the pile of plastic bats that landed at my feet the second I stepped into the house, I'm willing to disagree.” For reasons unknown, your sigh of defeat was the signal for him to continue with what he was doing, the sound of teeth ripping tape right behind your head bringing your attention to the situation you had managed to find yourself in. 

Leather-clad arms, warmth from Eddie’s torso on your lower back, flicks of brown curly hair appearing in the corner of your eye each time he lifted his arm to place another bat on the wall. In the past week and a bit, you had gotten used to being near Eddie, of course, but not close to him. Apart from the few short moments of contact you had last week at the lake, it’s not like you were really wanting to be put into this position, and as you dwelled on it more and more, the more suffocating the proximity felt.

“Just saying, by the way, you could’ve just let me get down from the ladder first before stealing my job. That way I wouldn't be stuck up here doing nothing whilst you breathe down my neck,” you suggested, trying to fill the silence between you two as Eddie was still sticking bats to the wall, one by one. But, as expected, no reply. 

“So… are you letting me down?” Another piece of tape being ripped. 

“I could.” You finally managed to earn some sort of response, but that was it. Just ‘I could’. Really? Is that it?? 

Slightly twisting your body, careful not to topple the ladder over with both of you on it, you attempted to face Eddie, only getting halfway before realizing turning any more would put you in an even worse position. You opened your mouth to finally put him in his place, but he had already started stepping down the ladder. 

“Alright, come on down. I need to shift the ladder a bit to the right.” Oh. Alright then. 

With your body now fully turned around, you quickly glanced around, searching for something to- 

“Here, let me help.” Eddie was reaching his hands out to you, tapping his fingers against his palms like how you would to an infant taking it’s first steps. Not liking how the small gesture made you seem, you began to step down the ladder without any support, nearly shitting a brick when the ladder wobbled to the side ever so slightly. Another glance down at Eddie. 

“Okay, yeah.” You hesitantly let your hands find their way into Eddie’s, his fingers closing around yours tight enough so you felt secure, but not to the point where you felt like he was scared of you falling too. Just the right amount of security.

Your boots thudded against the wooden floorboards as you reached the bottom of the ladder, miraculously, without a scrape, and before he could do it himself, you did the honors of letting go of Eddie’s hands, brushing down your dress to make sure it sat how it was supposed to. Or maybe it was to wipe down your slightly damp palms. Whatever. 

With a quick look around the area, subconsciously checking that nobody was paying attention to the interaction between you and Eddie, you proceeded to look back up at him, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to say to him at that moment, but as always, he beat you to it. 

“I’ll hang these banners. You go make sure everything else looks alright, seeing as more people should be arriving soon enough.” He gave you a soft smile, gesturing towards the living room and kitchen, and you sighed, grateful that you didn’t get given the chance to say anything to make the situation feel weird. 

“Right, okay, perfect. Thanks, Munson.” With one last nod of acceptance, you rushed off into the kitchen.

Grabbing at the telephone hanging on the wall, you dialed a number and listened as it rang. When it felt like a century had gone by, and your panic levels had only increased by the dozen, someone finally picked up on the other end, a familiar voice speaking down the phone. 

“...Hi?” April’s friend.

 “Hey, this is April’s sister, is she there?” A few seconds of unanswered silence. 

“Uhh… yeah. Why?” 

“Can I speak to her, please?” … 

“I guess so.” … A long pause, with a quiet mumble in the background. 

“Hello?” Finally, April. 

“April, it’s me. I was just calling to check that you’re for sure gonna be able to stay at your friend’s house tonight. I know you said you were sure, but I just want to check.” The constant silence on the other end was really getting annoying at this point. 

“Uh, yeah, I think so. I’m not sure, you know how Edith’s mom can be.” You stood confused for a second. 

“I- I don’t know, actually… Anyway, just call me if you need anything. I’ll drop everything and everyone to come and get you if need be. Keep me updated, okay, Apricot?” A groan on the other end made you chuckle. 

“Yep, will do. Bye.” Before you could say ‘bye’ too, the call ended, and you put the telephone back on the wall. 

A short forty minutes after you got off the phone with April, the house was almost at maximum capacity. So many people had arrived since you first came downstairs, Kace and Eddie had finished decorating with cheap fake spiderwebs, a cauldron-shaped punch bowl, green fairy lights strung about multiple rooms and locations, and music was vibrating throughout the house. You had been walking from room to room, socializing with a few people you knew from school, and meeting a few people Kace had wanted you to meet for the longest time, such as people from other cliques and nearby schools. There had been a few mishaps of people spilling drinks and nearly breaking vases that you forgot to hide away, but things had been mostly good, other than that. 

Around 2 more hours passed, and a few drinks down, you found yourself sitting on a garden chair in the backyard with a beer in hand, talking to one of the boys from your group at school about how Robert Smith seemed like the type of person to insist he wasn’t ‘one of you’. You hadn’t seen much of Kace all night, only a few glimpses when he would be standing somewhere flirting with a semi-attractive male, and you didn’t have many other people you really knew to hang with for most of the night. Just as things seemed like they were getting dull for you, the sound of something slamming inside the house caught your attention. Giving a quick apology to the guy you were talking to, and leaving the rest of your beer for him on the table, you tried your best to make it back into the house from the end of the garden as fast as possible without having to squeeze in between too many drunken patrons.

The second you stepped through the open back door and heard a voice shouting from the front of the house, you knew who was causing such a racket. And you had a small suspicion about why this was happening. Shoving past a few more groups of oblivious party-goers, you made it into the hallway, where a small crowd had gathered around two people. You shivered as the cold air from outside seeped its way into the house, only annoying you due to the fact that whoever was causing such a disturbance didn’t have the decency to shut the door behind them when coming in. 

“You’re fucking dead, Munson. You hear me? I’ll fucking kill you.” Wedging yourself between two people and finally being able to see what was going on, you let out a deep sigh as you were faced with a pissed-off Jason Carver. Scratch that, extremely pissed-off Jason Carver. 

“Man, I don’t know what you want me to say. I didn’t give her anything, and I don’t know why you’re so convinced that I did.” Eddie was standing just in front of you, and Kace was trying to somewhat block the open doorway, setting some distance between Jason and the metalhead. You took a step forward, placing yourself at Eddie’s side, who didn’t take long to notice you and widen his eyes in… surprise? Embarrassment? 

“Anyone care to tell me what this dickbag is doing in my front doorway?” Eddie turned his body to fully face you, most likely readying to explain himself, instantly recognizing the fact that he had somehow brought trouble to your home, but Jason beat him to it. 

“Yeah, I care to tell. This fucking freak, right here, has been selling weed to my girlfriend. You know, Chrissy?” You nodded slowly, trying to listen to what he had to say over the loud party speakers that were still blasting, their noise leaking out into the street now that the front door was STILL wide open.

 “Uh-huh. Munson, your side of things?” The blonde tried to cut him off, but Kace didn’t hesitate to slap a hand over his mouth, the riled-up teen struggling in his hold. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what to tell you, doll. I know Chrissy, obviously, but I wouldn’t sell to her. Wouldn’t want this asshole giving her any trouble if he found out. But alas, can’t stop an asshole from shitting, so here we are.” This response clearly didn’t do anything to cheer the pleasant Jason Carver up, and this was shown by the fact that he was basically clawing at Kace’s gloved hands, trying to speak his piece again, which you really couldn’t be bothered for at the moment. You didn’t ask for Jason ‘Asshole’ Carver to turn up to the party you were the host of, you didn’t ask for Eddie’s side hustle to bring trouble to your (parents’) house, and the front door was still fucking open.

You had heard enough. 

“Okay, Carver. He didn’t sell to Cunningham. Don’t know what else to tell you, man. Now leave.” Unfortunately, the boy had managed to wiggle his way out of Kace’s grasp, taking a step toward you, which most people noticed, as indicated by the way both Eddie and Kace reacted. Your best friend grabbed the back of Jason’s arm, gripping until the blonde was wincing at pressure, and Eddie lifted an arm in front of you, just enough so that he could push you out of the way if Jason tried to make another move.

You see, you weren’t new to confrontation. Arguments with teachers at school about anything and everything, shouting matches with parents who insisted you were the most badly-behaved kid to walk the Earth, etcetera. You weren’t about to tolerate someone trying to intimidate you and the people you knew in your own home. And for the last time, the front fucking door was still not closed. 

“Jason, get the fuck off of my property before I grab the closest glass bottle and hurt you with it,” you warned, a girl standing beside you clutching her beer between her two hands. Finally noticing the ratio at which he was outnumbered in this scenario, Jason took a step back, appearing as if he was going to leave. But of course, this was Jason Carver, so it wouldn’t be that easy. 

“Sure, but only if he leaves too.” He nodded his head forward, gesturing towards Eddie who was now rolling his neck and looking up at the ceiling. 

“Why is that exactly?” Pulling his usual smug little face and doing his weird tippy-tappy foot movements, he answered. 

“It’s a party, man! You know what goes on in places like these? Drug deals. But that can’t happen if the junkie drug dealer is taken out of the equation. Right?” Eddie’s eyes flicked down to you, and so did Kace’s, almost as if they were expecting you to make some sort of decision. You knew what Jason was like; if you said no, he’d most likely call the cops or something, just to be a dick, and you didn’t want the party to be ruined, so you were kind of in a stump. Kick Eddie out, and feel bad despite not knowing why, or ignore Jason’s demands, and have the Halloween party of the year ruined. 

“What’s it gonna be, doll?” The sound of Jason’s voice saying that word made your skin crawl, and if it wasn’t for the fact that you had already drunk half a dozen beers and were worried you’d fuck it up and miss, you would’ve punched him square in the face. And apparently, you weren’t the only one who felt that way. 

“Don’t bother, I’ll see myself out. It’s better that way because if I dont leave now, I’ll end the night in ‘cuffs.” The mood shifted slightly as you felt guilty for leaving it to Eddie to make the decision for himself, and again, he noticed this, attempting to lighten up the situation, if only slightly. 

“Or maybe I wouldn’t mind that so much,” he mumbled under his breath, looking over his shoulder at you, his eyes flicking down your face for just a second. Did he just…?

Leaving no time for questions, Eddie slightly nudged you with his elbow, before tipping his head at Kace and barging past Jason, making his way outside. With only Jason now standing at the door, still, you crossed your arms expectantly, and thankfully, message received. 

“...Alright, yeah. That’s what I thought.” One last glance up at the lanky guard dog staring down at him, and Jason had made himself sparse. 

Finally, the situation seemed like it had cooled down, and you had just started resigning yourself back to drinking and mingling. But just your luck, there was no rest for the wicked. You felt a hand feebly tap you on the shoulder, and you turned around to see a girl with big doe eyes looking at you. Too tired to make an effort to verbally reply, you just shifted your weight onto one leg and crossed your arms again, waiting. Getting the hint, the girl quietly spoke up. 

“...kitchen. The house phone rang and I think it’s for you. I think. You’re the lady of the house, right?” With a raised brow, and a head fuzzy from alcohol, it took you a few long seconds to realize who might’ve been on the phone. Trying to make your way through groups of people crowding the very narrow hallway, and having to barge past a couple in the midst of an argument, you finally stepped into the kitchen, blurry vision getting in the way of your mission. 

Just as you finally pulled yourself together and turned to face the wall where the house phone usually was, you were almost knocked over by some guy shoving past you, walking towards the kitchen counter. But just as he did, the dangling house phone caught on his leg, and before you could prevent anything, he had ripped the cord out of the box, dropping the telephone on the floor. You rushed towards the fallen object, picking it up and holding it towards the guy who did the damage, now pouring himself a drink. 

“What the fuck, dude?! Was there really any need?!” The guy shrugged, scowling at you as he took a sip from a red solo cup. 

“Get over it, this isn’t even your house. Not our problem.” You felt your jaw instinctively clench, and it took every fiber in your body to not launch the plastic receiver at the guy’s head. Instead, you shoved it in a drawer, and slammed it shut. 

“Actually, it is my house, and it is my problem. I’m gonna go upstairs right now, and if you’re not out of here by the time I come back down, I’ll strangle you with the phone cord. You copy?” Despite his previous attitude, the boy slowly nodded, quietly sipping on his drink as he avoided eye contact with you. With a quiet ‘okay’ muttered, you took yourself upstairs, stepping over people who decided to make the stairs their hangout area. 

You entered your room, which you had made sure to lock before the majority of guests had arrived, and grabbed the first item of clothing you could reach off the back of your door, not caring enough to pay attention to what you were putting on. Only a few seconds later, you were just reaching the bottom of the stairs, and the guy from before was already escorting himself out, a sight that somewhat relieved you. Reaching the last step, Kace appeared in front of you, holding his hands up to stop you in your tracks.

“Woah woah woah, where you going, love? The party’s not over yet, and I know about your habit of running off mid-party. Not this time, love, because the party’s at your house.” You kissed your teeth, making an attempt to walk past your friend without a word, who wasn’t letting that slide, pulling you in front of him again. 

“Love? What's up? If you need air, just go out the back. Plenty of air out back, just the same as out the front.” He chuckled, finding himself way too funny for your liking. 

“Kace, I love you, but I need to go. I think April called the house but some douche broke the phone. I need to go find a public phone and call to make sure she’s okay. Now move, please.” Kace’s arms dropped slightly, as he was always understanding when it came to April, thankfully.

You began looking for some change in the set of drawers next to the stairs, and Kace just leaned over you, watching.

“But what about the house? You want me to come with you, or am I staying here to make sure nobody fucks anything up?” Getting frustrated by the fact that you couldn't find anything, when there was usually change lying all over the place, you slammed shut the drawer you were looking through. 

“I don’t know, do whatever. I need to-” Just as you spoke, a heavy gust of wind traveled under your clothing, prickling every inch of skin on your body. Hoping it wasn't what you thought it was, you slowly turned to face the front door, only to be faced with the one thing you really didn’t want to see.

“Why is the front door open… again?” Kace turned the look in the same direction as you, confused by your question. 

“Oh, I'm not sure.” It was becoming all a little bit too much for you now, and you could feel yourself losing the plot with every second that passed. 

“All fucking night, the front door has been opened and then left open. If I have to see that front door left open one more time tonight, I’ll go fucking insane.” A snort managed to steal your attention away from the problem at hand, and you side-eyed the boy next to you, covering his mouth to stifle a laugh. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I've just never seen anyone so mad over an open door. I’m sorry, it's just so funny.” Not saying anything to start off with, you just blankly stared down at the floor. Jason Carver invited himself to your home, Eddie Munson brought trouble to your party with his stupid drug business, the front door opening and closing every fucking second, and for all you know, something could’ve been seriously wrong with April. But how could you know? Because some ignorant asshole ripped the fucking house phone off the wall. 

“Yeah, no. I'm not doing this. Fuck this party, fuck you, fuck everyone here. I'm going to see April. I’m pretty sure I know where her friend lives, maybe, but I’ll figure it out on the way.” Eventually realizing that it wasn't the best time for jokes, Kace tried to grab your arm, but you pulled it away, turning to face him slightly as you walked toward the front door. 

“I'm not sure if I'm coming back, just make sure nothing else gets broken. I'm not doing this shit tonight.” Not allowing the concerned boy to get a word in, you stepped out into the freezing October night and made sure to pull the door closed behind you, the sound of the music inside muffled behind hardwood.  

With your hands shoved into your jacket pockets, and skin littered with goosebumps, you began walking down the street in the direction you thought April’s friend lived. You weren’t quite sure of the location, but with minimal help from your fuzzy mind, you could somewhat remember April telling you at some point. You were just hoping she was okay, or didn’t need urgent picking-up. 

Maybe hosting a party wasn't the best idea. You had too much stress with school grades as it was, seeing as it was your senior year, and being a full-time babysitter for your younger sister because of your asshole parents didn’t make it any easier. Despite what your previous words and actions might tell any onlooker, you didn’t enjoy getting upset with Kace, because you knew he was only ever trying to help, but with so many things to stress about, and all of that mixed with beer, it didn’t make for a good combo. Hopefully, though, the cold air would somewhat sober you up, if you were to go and check on April. 

You were lost in your own thoughts, until two bright rays of light flicked on in front of you, causing you to freeze like a drunken deer in headlights, straining your eyes to keep them open. There wasn’t much to see until you heard a familiar voice call out to you, stepping to the side to try and see who it was. 

“Oh shit, it is you. What are you doing out here?” Finally, out of the stream of light, you could see Eddie hanging out the window of his van, which was parked on the curb just a few houses down from your own. 

“What are you still doing here? Didn’t you leave, like, a while ago?” Walking up to the side of the van where the boy was leaning out to speak to you, Eddie smiled down at you with an arm hanging out the door. 

“I left, like, ten minutes ago. I was just rolling a few joints and listening to some music. Now, my turn. Answer my question.” Taking a few seconds to remember what his question was, you crossed your arms tightly over your chest. 

“I think April called the house phone but some dick ripped it off the wall. I was gonna go and see her.” The brunette nodded, the end of his tongue poking through his lips as he licked the paper between his fingers, folding it over to seal his handiwork. 

“Seems simple enough. Want me to take you there?” Your head slowly nodded, but Eddie could sense the uncertainty radiating off of you. By now, it almost seemed like telepathically figuring you out was a skill of his. 

“You know where she is?” Ashamed that you hadn't listened properly when April initially told you, you gently shook your head. Looking up at him through wispy bangs, you could see Eddie roll his jaw as he tried to figure something out. Placing the freshly rolled joint in the compartment between the two front seats, his other arm patted the side of the van. 

“Get in. I'll let you use the phone at mine to contact her, and then I’ll drive you home.” You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol in your system, the need to make sure your sister was okay, or that weird interaction you two had earlier, but for once, you wanted to be in that van with Eddie Munson. And so, that’s what you did.

It didn’t take long for Eddie to get the two of you all the way across town from yours to his, because the roads were mostly empty and he knew how much you could worry about your sister sometimes. He was also aware of how stressed out yet tired you seemed, and he didn’t want to keep you for long, thinking keeping you for longer than needed would make you start wanting to claw your own skin off in front of him.  

And with that, Eddie’s van pulled up in front of his trailer, parking next to another car that looked like it had seen better days. Before you could even try to let yourself out of the car, because how dare you, Eddie had rushed out of the van and over to the passenger side, opening the door for you as if you were some sort of royalty. As if it wasn’t already too much, the gentleman before you held out his hand for you to use for stability when stepping out of the vehicle. You thought the gesture was… unusual, but you still played along, placing your hand atop his gently, and pulling your skirt up slightly so that it wouldn’t trip you up and make for an even worse night. 

“M’lady,” Eddie mocked, giving you a boyish smirk as he looked up at you through his bangs, his head dipped in respect. You snorted and covered your nose with the back of your hand, finding this whole performance weirdly charming. In a weird way. Kind of. Nevermind.

Eddie led you to the front door of his trailer, opening it for you and letting you enter first, stepping into warmth as he stepped in behind you and closing the door behind himself. The first thing you noticed was beer cans left on a coffee table next to the couch, and Eddie must have noticed where your attention was, as he stepped to your side and offered a short explanation. 

“My uncle Wayne’s, he forgets to clean up after himself sometimes.” You nodded, muttering a small ‘oh’ before turning to look around some more. 

The trailer was small and cozy for sure. Definitely seemed like the type of place where two men lived. Not dirty, to say, but definitely in need of some TLC. You felt Eddie’s hand hovering over the small of your back, earning your attention as he pointed towards the phone on the wall next to the door, and you offered him a quick smile before rushing towards it and dialing in the number that you did remember April telling you.

The phone rang a few times, before being picked up, and because of the worry you had been feeling for the past 25 minutes or so, you didn’t wait to hear who was there before speaking. 

“Apricot, you there? Are you okay? Do you need me to come and get you? I can if you need-” 

“I’m all good. I was just calling to try and tell you that I’ll be heading to school from Edith’s tomorrow. You told me to keep you updated.” Not only did hearing April’s voice make you feel tons better, but the fact that she remembered what you had said made you feel so grateful to have a sister like her in moments like this. You let out a huge sigh of relief and turned around, holding up a thumb to Eddie to let him know everything was okay, earning a smile in return from the boy. 

“Okay, God. I’m glad. Thanks for letting me know, Apricot. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“...Alright. You’re so weird. G’night.” And with that, the call ended, and you placed the phone back on the wall, leaning against the backside of the kitchen countertop for stability.

“I'm glad she’s okay. Wait, she is okay, right? I didn’t misinterpret the-” You laughed as you let your head fall back, hair falling to the side too to reveal more of your face Eddie had seen, like, ever. 

“Yeah, she’s all good, Munson. Thanks for caring.” The two of you just looked at each other for a few beats, almost as if the relief of knowing April was okay was washing over the both of you. 

But despite being slightly intoxicated, you always knew when things were starting to feel awkward. To you, maybe. You weren’t sure if everyone else always felt the same awkwardness you did during long silences. 

“Is it alright if I… use your bathroom?” Eddie waved his hands around a bit as if he had forgotten where his own bathroom was, before pointing down to his left and taking a step back to let you through. 

“Yes, sure, of course. The first door on the left. Try to not get lost, this place is like a maze.” God, your cheeks were starting to hurt. It was definitely the alcohol that was making you feel this way because you had never found yourself smiling at Eddie Munson so much in the space of just a few hours.

Making your escape, you rushed off to the bathroom. Truth is, you didn't really need to ‘go’ to the bathroom, you just didn’t really know what else to do, and standing in a room alone with Eddie felt weird. Like, really weird. You were standing alone in a room with Eddie Munson. You were in Eddie Munson’s house. Home. Trailer home? You were in Eddie Munson’s residence. 

…

You really didn’t predict your night going this way. 

You looked in the mirror, trying to wipe off a few black smudges on your makeup, and flushed the toilet, also trying to make it seem like you had an actual reason to run off so suddenly to his bathroom. You washed your hands, waving them about to dry them off, before exiting into the main living area again, stepping out to see Eddie with his back to you, doing something on the kitchen countertop. 

When you stepped close enough, he whipped around to face you, holding a glass of water in his hand and leaning back on the counter with his other. You looked down, confused, and back up at him. 

“I figured you’d need a drink of something that wasn’t, you know, booze. You’re acting way too nice to me tonight so I’d take a guess that you drank quite a bit earlier.” Without feeling the need to question that line of logic, you took the glass from his hand, tips of your fingers brushing against his knuckles and wasting no time to take the biggest swig of water in your life. And you know what? It tasted like heaven. It was just regular, unfiltered tap water, but compared to the night you had, it was like a gift from the big man up there himself. 

“Mm, ‘preciate it, sweetheart.” You placed the almost empty glass down on the countertop, wiping the water away from the sides of your mouth with your thumb, looking up at Eddie with half-lidded eyes. For whatever reason, his eyes were wide, like, seen-a-ghost wide, and before you knew it, he was spinning on his heels to place the glass in the sink. Until you grabbed his arm, pulling his attention back to you, glass still in hand. “Could you, actually, keep that glass out?” Despite the brown bangs that covered them, you could still see Eddie’s brows scrunch together in confusion. Not knowing what was going to come out of your mouth next, you lifted your hands and placed them on his chest, looking up at him like you had been doing all night, thanks to the size difference between the two of you. 

“Can I stay the night?”

Taken by surprise, Eddie’s mouth popped open, trying to analyze everything about you, wondering if it was some sort of trick you were pulling on him. 

“I mean, I just- I don’t really want to go home right now. The party is probably still happening, but Kace is there, and he’s responsible. He also has a spare key, so I know he’ll make sure to lock everything up. We also… I got mad at him, and I’m not sure what to say to him yet. I don’t know, I’m sor-” Without you taking notice during your miniature rant, Eddie had placed the glass down on the counter, and had now brought his hands up to engulf yours on his chest, tucking his fingers under your palms. 

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need, angel.” It was weird. You were looking up at him in a way you knew you shouldn't be, but you couldn't stop yourself. Beer and freak reputation be damned, Eddie Munson could be genuinely lovely if he tried hard enough. However, you only had the realization that you should probably move away when you noticed your eyes drifting down his face, and your mind drifting to other… places.

You slipped your hands out from underneath his and turned your back to him. Thank fuck you had a knack for getting your white foundation to be full coverage. With your back still turned to him, you released yourself from the jacket you slipped on before leaving and-

…

It’s been that jacket this entire time? And no one said a word about it? Kace, Eddie? Surely one of them noticed. Eddie most definitely would’ve. Fuck. Maybe if I just throw it in the corner, he won’t-

“That’s a nice jacket, by the way. Where’d you get it?” Your head snapped around to face him, leather scrunching in your fists. 

“Shut the fuck up, Munson.” Eddie snorted, walking toward you and taking the jacket from your hands, hanging it up on a peg next to the door. 

“Glad to know the normal you is still in there.” You rolled your eyes, but only so you didn’t have to admit that you honestly enjoyed this sort of energy between you and Eddie. 

“D’you want something to sleep in? Because I doubt that dress is gonna be comfortable.” You looked down at what you were wearing, and groaned, realizing wearing something of Eddie’s was the only option, really, as this dress was too expensive to risk damaging in your sleep. As always, the boy took notice of your body language, and gave a thumbs-up, disappearing into a doorway before coming back out moments later with two items of clothing. He placed them in your arms, and you just looked down at the two pieces of fabric, another harsh realization washing over you. You were gonna need to remove your makeup. The over-the-top makeup you did for the party, the makeup you wore every time you were leaving the house and knew you would be seeing people you knew. Sure, it's not like you looked naked without your makeup, you just felt it, is all, which was so much worse. With one long inhale, and a long exhale, you looked up at the metalhead.

“Got something I can wash… this off with?” You gestured to your face, looking defeated as you did so. It looked as if Eddie had the same realization as you at that moment because he stuttered his words as he told you there would be some new soap and a clean washcloth in the bathroom cabinet above the sink. You nodded, grateful for him, at least, before making your way back into the bathroom you had just previously hidden in a few minutes before. 

After a few minutes of scrubbing your face, and making sure there was nothing left over, changing into the Metallica t-shirt Eddie had given you, and then covering your bottom half with a pair of sweatpants that looked like they belonged to a younger version of the boy, you emerged from the bathroom. 

You looked down the hall to where you assumed Eddie’s bedroom was, and all of the lights in the trailer had now been turned off. The only reason you could see anything was because of the light of the moon shining through the windows at the front of the place, and you used the minimal amount of light you were given to creep down to the ajar door at the end of the hall, stepping through with your clothes in your arms. 

There was only one light on in Eddie’s room, and it was a warm-toned, dimly lit lamp in the corner, just enough illumination so you could see what Eddie had set up for the two of you. Whilst his bed was made and tidy, he had collected a few blankets, a pillow, and an extra duvet, creating a makeshift bed on the floor. You stepped over to it, making a point to not really face Eddie, as you placed your clothes down on the floor above the pillow. 

“You didn’t have to do this,” you finally spoke, gaining Eddie’s attention. 

“Do what?” 

“Make this for me on the floor. I could’ve slept on the couch.” Without warning, Eddie stood up from where he was crouched down, towering over you again and looking directly at you. He paused for a second, just looking at your face as if he hadn't seen it before. Technically, he hadn’t, but still. Staring is rude. He coughed into his fist after a few seconds, and continued to speak. 

“This isn't for you, it's for me. You're having the bed.”

You abandoned your mission of making minimal eye contact with Eddie whilst you had no makeup on to look directly up at him. 

“What? No, I can’t do that. That’s your bed. Besides, it’s probably gross anyway. Because you’re… you. That’s weird.” Eddie rolled his eyes and smoothed out the duvet on the bed. 

“Okay, one, my bed’s not gross. I literally washed my sheets yesterday. Two, I won’t hear it. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch, let alone the floor.” You opened your mouth to give some sort of rebuttal, but Eddie's hands coming up to hold the back of your head and cover your mouth had already silenced you. 

“I said I won’t hear it.” Okay, he won't hear it. 

Without even questioning the situation, something you found yourself doing a lot that night, you just nodded, allowing Eddie to drop his hands from where they resided on you and make space for you to get into the bed, whilst he lowered himself down to the floor. 

You climbed in, surprised by how comfy the bed was for something that looked like it had come straight out of a prison cell, and the smell of Eddie and the detergent he used was… weird. Just weird. That’s all everything is. ‘Weird’. Nothing else.

By now, Eddie had turned off the lamp, and again, the only source of light in the room was the moon shining through the gaps in the blinds, creating a striped white pattern on Eddie’s bedroom wall.

“Thanks for this, Munson. I really do appreciate it.” You could hear Eddie turn over on the floor under his duvet. 

“I know. No worries, angel.”

Five minutes passed, and you were already almost gone, the late hour of the night and the exhaustion finally having an effect on you, and though not aware of it, your breathing slowed significantly. You assumed that Eddie, like most guys you knew, was the type to pass out the second his head hit the pillow, so you didn’t bother saying much else to him the moment you heard him settle down. Due to the position you were sleeping in, you let your arm fall off the bed, dangling down the side, your nails just ever so slightly tapping against the floor.

A few more minutes, and you were on the very verge of unconsciousness when you felt something touch your dangling hand. Being too tired to react in any sort of frightened way, you just let out a low hum. A pause. 

“...These your real nails?” A voice emerged softly in the dark. You hummed again, stuffing the side of your face deeper into the pillow. 

“M’yeah, all-natural length. I just paint ‘em. You like?” This time, Eddie hummed. 

“Yeah, I do.” A second had passed, and Eddie left his fingers gently wrapped around the tips of your own, the silence finally allowing you to drift off. 

[liuvli]

critical darling chapter 5 <3

i finished writing chapter 5 of critical darling tonight!! i know its been a long time due, but i finally have it done for you loves. ill edit it tomorrow, as its currently 4:30am, and then ill post it here and on my ao3 for you all <333 luv u, liuvli

[liuvli]

haiiiii im sorry for being gone for so long, im still working on cd, just been a very hectic year. id dropped out of college and moved out so things have been a bit weird!! I've been wanting to work on crit darling for a while now and ill hopefully have something for you guys soon, if you're all interested in that <33

[liuvli]

hi loves, i’m busy with college very often so please don’t worry about critical darling being forgotten about or anything <33 i don’t really have a tight upload schedule like. at all. and i just work on it when i can, but i still have so much love for this series of mine. if y’all want, i could try and post more random stuff like this abt the fic if you want?? like how reader in critical darling actually has a name that i use when talking abt her to my friend and partner, and an entire personality ^^ idk if that’d be interesting tho lol. thx for reading and following!!! <3

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.  

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters & ao3 link

chapter wc: 8.8k

Chapter Four: Lonesome Love

Sitting with your legs comfortably crossed over and under one another, your eyes remained focused on the item of clothing sitting opposite you at the end of the bed, the same thing you had been doing for the past 5 minutes or so. The black, leather jacket was folded neatly, its arms tucked under itself and shiny, somehow pristine zipper on full display to you as the low, warm light of your lamp ever so slightly reflected off of it. 

You sat unusually stiff, hands tucked into your lap as your nails picked at the skin on your fingertips, a substitute for the fact that you were no longer wearing your rings.

Why do I have this? Why did he give it to me? What the fuck?

Still slightly sore from scrubbing the makeup off your face not long ago, your eyes were wide with something, eyeing up every detail of the bulky jacket. With a sudden swift movement, you stood up and off the bed, looking down at the jacket with your hands resting on your hips like a disapproving mother. As if needing to solidify yourself in the role even more, you pointed a finger down at the garment.

“I don’t want this,” you chewed the inside of your mouth as you thought for a second, “I don’t want this in my home.” With one fell swoop, you scooped the jacket up from where it had been sitting for the past 30 minutes since you arrived home, waiting for your attention as you got ready for bed. 

As you let the jacket slightly unfold in your arms, you managed to catch a small whiff of the scent basically radiating out of the thick leather. 

“Weed and… cheap drugstore cologne. Of course. Why does Eddie Munson even know to use cologne? I'm surprised he even knows of basic…” you paused, thinking about what you were saying, “…hygiene.” Running a thumb over the thick material, you glanced around your room, trying to settle on a place to tuck the jacket away. It was late, and you wanted to sleep after the long day you were put through, so temporarily hiding the garment out of sight until you could gladly return it to its owner seemed like the easiest solution at your current moment. 

“Out of sight, out of mind,” you muttered to yourself as you hooked it onto one of the pegs on the back of your door. You made sure to go the extra mile to tuck it under a few other jackets and shawls of your own, ensuring that it was most definitely, ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Seeing as you didn’t really have a reason to have your bedroom door shut most of the time (apart from when April would be loudly talking to school friends on the house phone downstairs), keeping the obnoxiously large leather jacket hidden on your door was your best option at your current moment. 

Temporarily being rid of the sight of Eddie’s personal belonging, you finally felt like you were allowed to settle down and get some sleep after a long day of listening to DnD nerds do what DnD nerds do; talk about stuff you had absolutely zero knowledge on. 

Tucking yourself under the copious amount of blankets on your bed and grabbing a pillow to wrap your arms around, you switched the lamp on your bedside table off. You allowed yourself to finally get some shut-eye, listening to the trees outside creak and sway along with the October wind. 

After that Saturday, you spent the Sunday home alone (as always) with April watching her usual selection of cheesy, overplayed teen movies. You cleaned around parts of the house and cooked for you and your sister, not changing out of your pajamas once. It was a slow day and yet, before you could even have a second to breathe, Monday came just as quickly as the weekend left. 

The first day of the week was long, slow, and all in all, uneventful - as expected from a Monday. Tuesday, however, seemed to be taking the same course as its predecessor. That was until Kace caught you trying to leave your last class of the day. Pulling you to the side almost the second you stepped through the classroom door, you were immediately bombarded with a scramble of words. He was asking (or more appropriately, telling) you to accompany him in buying decorations for the party the two of you had begun planning the previous week. Seeing as you had arranged for it to take place on Halloween night, the boy had thought up the amazing idea to deck the house out in appropriately themed decor, a decision you’d soon come to regret agreeing to. Of course, the overly enthusiastic boy promised to assist in putting all the decor up, which was the only reason you even agreed to do it, but a part of you still knew it’d be a pain in the ass to clean up the day after, especially after hosting dozens of drunk teens all throughout the night. 

Alas, it wasn’t long before you found yourself trudging down aisles in Hawkins’ local department store, watching as Kace shoved almost every Halloween decoration that the store had stocked into the cart that you were pushing along. Black and white spider-web party banners, large, pumpkin-shaped candy bowls that he planned to fill with “alcoholic beverages of all kinds”. Truly exhausting. Again, he assured you he was paying for it all, so of course, you had to throw in a few things that caught your eyes such as bat-themed fairy lights (which you most definitely planned to steal for your own bedroom once the night was over) and an orange blanket with small, white ghost silhouettes on it, which you thought you would’ve had to beg for. Instead, Kace happily grinned down at you, smiling with scrunched-up eyes like a loving mother as he nodded, giving you silent permission for you to gently place the folded-up blanket next to a pile of tangled, slightly creased party banners at the bottom of the cart. 

With Kace’s car loaded up with bags of decorations and a few other things the two of you decided to grab along the way, you slumped down in the passenger seat as you heard the trunk slam shut behind you, Kace slipping into the driver’s seat just moments after. 

“We done for the day?” you asked, opening the glove box in front of you and rummaging around. Kace turned in his seat, placing a hand on the steering wheel. Not yet noticing his eyes on you, you continued to search through the glovebox, victoriously pulling a packet of cigarettes out. Removing one from the box, you finally turned your head to face the boy at your side, scrunching your brows in confusion as you lit the cigarette between your fingers, not understanding the look of… nothing(?) coming from Kace. 

“Yeah, absolutely not, love. I could do with a drink.” Inhaling a drag of your cigarette and trying your best to blow the smoke out the ever so slightly cracked open window, you locked eyes with Kace’s, your head tilted to the side.

“You mean at the place you started working at over the summer? Didn’t you say that place was kind of a shithole?” You tapped cigarette ash into the ashtray in the center console, Kace snorting at your comment.

“I mean, yeah, definitely. But they serve me on my days off and it’s a small crowd, so it’s not like anybody will recognize me. Money is money, darling.” You blinked slowly, not taking your eyes off the boy as you tried to think of a response.

“...Alright. But, Kace, it’s a Tuesday. You really wanna start weekday AND daytime drinking in our Senior year?” The boy gasped at your statement, taking you aback as you took a sharp inhale of your cigarette. 

“Shock horror, daytime drinking on a Tuesday is what you take from this? Not the fact that I’m proposing we commit the criminal act of underage alcohol consumption?” you roll your eyes, “you’ve changed, love. You’ve given into the ways of Lucifer. May as well call yourself the devil’s proxy at this point.” You shove Kace’s arm with the palm of your hand, cracking a grin at his stupid joke. 

Only really having to think about it for a few seconds, you nodded your head as you decided on his offer. 

“Right, let’s go. Start driving before I change my mind.” Kace almost jumped out of his seat as he enthusiastically turned to face forward again, immediately getting the car running and making his way out of the car park. 

As you walked into the bar, the same one you had passed every day to and from school but had never really paid any attention to, the smell of beer filled the room despite there only being a few customers around the fairly large room. The lights were dim, and barely any natural daylight from outside was creeping in through the slightly stained windows that were scarcely built around the building. Kace almost instantly made his way over to the bar, starting up a conversation with the bartender, someone he worked with most of the time so discounts were most likely guaranteed. After scoping out the general area, you eventually made your own way over to the bar, slipping into conversation with the two as your drinks were made. 

You ended up spending the next hour or so talking about school assignments (which you tried not to linger on too much, as the thought of anything school related made you feel nauseous), some more of the specifics when it came to plans for the party next week, and every now and again watching some unknown bands play on the stage on the opposite side of the room, Kace and yourself sometimes deciding to sing along to some of the covers the two of you knew as the alcohol seeped further into your systems. 

Eventually, after a long while of generic country rock playing quietly through the speakers at the sides of the stage and through speakers scattered around the room, another band finally appeared on stage, wasting no time to start setting their equipment and instruments up, a few drunks sat at tables closer to the stage cheering in a joint slurred manner. You lifted your head up to get a look at the band that was getting ready to play, your eyes squinting as your slightly fuzzy vision tried to make out the familiar faces across the room. 

...

Is that...?

“Kace, love. Light of my life. My handsome devil,” Kace looked up from where he was slumped across the bar, “why is Edward Munson here? You do see that, right? I’m not just imagining it.” The boy sitting to your left turned around to face the stage, laughing as he clacked his rings against the side of his glass.

“Did I not mention it at any point? Munson and his band, what is it… Corroded Coffin. They play here every Tuesday from what I’ve seen. They get quite the audience too… if five middle-aged drunks are what you call an ‘audience’.” 

Christ. Why did he have to be here? Right at this very moment. After a long day of doing basically nothing at school, shopping with Kace, and stressing over your grades, watching Eddie perform with his shitty band was the last thing you needed. You had never heard them play, let alone know previously that the band existed, but from your history with the group, or more so their own reputation, it wasn’t something you wanted to finally experience. 

“Can we head out now? I’m tired, man, and April is probably wondering where I am. I can call us a cab.” However, Kace didn’t respond. He was staring at the stage as one of the boys started strumming an electric guitar, Eddie fixing the mic to match his height in the center of the stage. From the lack of any sort of response or acknowledgment from your friend, you slumped down against the bar in defeat, accepting your fate. 

For the next hour or so, you watched in silence as Corroded Coffin played on stage. Strangely enough, you found yourself somewhat liking the performance, the boys’ confidence playing a large role in the quality of their set. As Eddie signed off to the crowd - now six drunks who seemed to of enjoyed the set too - you turned your head to look down at Kace, his head resting on the bar with a warm glass of nothing clutched in his hand. 

“He alright?” You slowly turned in your seat as the voice finally processed through your mind, locking eyes to the best of your slightly-intoxicated ability. The brunette’s bangs were sticky against his forehead as he removed the black and white bandana tied around it, scrunching it up and using it to wipe away some of the sweat from his skin. 

“Mm, yeah. Probably. He said he needed a drink but I forgot he was such a lightweight.” You placed a hand on Kace’s shoulder, gently rubbing your thumb against his leather jacket as a show of affection whilst his face was pressed firmly against the bar. Kace, however, lifted his opposite arm across his chest, placing a hand atop your own as he took a hold of it. 

“‘M not a lightweight. I’m fuckin’ tired.” Almost as if she was expecting it, one of the bartenders placed a glass of water next to the boy’s head, tapping his cheek as she did so. Kace snorted, lifting his head slightly to start taking sips from the glass.

“Yeah, so, how’d you two end up here? I know Hayes started working here over the summer, but what brings you two down this part of town on a Tuesday evening?” Swallowing the last sip of your beer, you placed the glass back down as you looked around the room with squinted eyes - anything to avoid eye contact with him. 

“Kace dragged me to the department store the second I got out of my last-period class. Barely got a chance to even-” As you were talking, Kace’s body became fully erect, holding a hand in front of your face as he swiveled in his seat to face the boy standing in front of the two of you.

“There’s a part she’s not telling you,” you groaned as you realized what he was about to say, knowing there was no chance of silencing him, “we’re hosting a party next week. A Halloween party. At her house. For the freaks.” As expected, Eddie raised his brows in surprise at the new piece of information, slightly tilting his head to face Kace more, yet letting his eyes lock with your own.

“A party, you say. For the freaks? Surely, that sounds like an invitation for me and the boys, yeah?” You inhaled, readying yourself to deny his proposal, but being cut off once again as Kace let his hand firmly rest against your mouth, his other hand supporting the back of your head as you tried to pull him away from you. 

“Yup, that’s exactly what I’m saying. We haven’t fully decided on a time yet but when we do, I’ll be sure to let you know, dear.” The damage was done. Eddie knew about the party, and he had received a formal invitation from Kace himself. There was nothing you could do to reverse the damage now. Except for maybe faking your death, meaning the party would have to be canceled- no. The damage was done. 

Now standing outside the building under the low light of the streetlamps, you shivered as you waited for the cab you had called using the bar’s telephone for Kace to arrive, clicking your nails together as your hands remained tucked under your arms. You didn’t want Kace driving himself home, let alone would he even want to (he was actually responsible), and Eddie had assured the two of you that the boy’s car would be safe being left in the bar’s parking lot overnight, a bit of reassurance that comforted a now mostly-sober Kace.

Eventually, and much to your relief, the cab finally arrived, Kace climbing into the back seat as you exchanged affections, waving him off as the vehicle exited the parking lot. You were about to head back inside the bar to ask one of Kace’s coworkers to call another cab for you as there was no way you were walking the entire way back to yours, but just as you turned to walk towards the door, Eddie walked out with a guitar in hand, passing it over to Gareth as the other boys loaded a drum set into the back of Eddie's van. You locked eyes with the brunette as he noticed you stood in front of him, looking around the area before deciding to say anything. 

“What are you doing?” You stood still, your shivering seeming to stop due to the pure confusion you felt as you tried to understand his question.

“Calling a cab for myself? I drank, too, and I don’t even know how to drive when sober. What do you think I’m doing?” Eddie crossed his arms, sucking in his bottom lip as he furrowed his brows at you.

“Yeah, no. I can give you a lift. I’m not letting you get another cab, let alone wait out in the cold for one.” As he spoke, he avoided your gaze at all costs, looking around the empty parking lot as the other three boys spoke amongst themselves next to the van. 

“What’s the issue with me getting a cab?” You squinted your eyes expectantly, waiting to hear whatever bullshit reason he could come up with. 

“I’m not letting a woman get a cab alone at this time of night, especially in this part of town. Who do you think I am?” A part of you wanted to answer his question, your mouth opening as you almost did, but you thought it was best not to. 

“What about Kace? You not worried for him?” Eddie snorted at your response, tilting his head from side to side as he seemed to weigh his options for a reply.

“Mm, no, not really. He looks like he could really mess someone up if need be.” Not quite understanding what he meant, as Kace was always such a softie in your eyes, you nodded in false agreement, taking the moment of silence to really think about your options.

He was right; either wait out in the cold for another half hour for a cab, or get a ride home from someone you were hoping not to see today, or any day, at that. Weighing your options, one seemed easier, but being tired and tipsy pushed you to lean to the other side.

“You still offering that ride?” Eddie’s expression as you finally spoke seemed to catch you off guard, almost as if he wasn’t expecting you to even consider his offer.

“Yep. ‘Course, I’d have to drop Gareth off first. Poor boy doesn’t know his left from his right so I wouldn’t trust him making his own way home at this dark hour.” The boy turned to face his bandmate, Gareth flipping him off as he slammed the van doors shut, the two other boys now gone as they had presumably started to make their own way home. Eddie laughed, turning back to face you.

“Eh, no, never mind. It’s fine. I can get a cab or walk. It’d give me a chance to sober up before going home to my sister, too,” you dismissed, Eddie deeply inhaling before loudly sighing.

“Nope, I’m not letting you do that. You’re either gonna freeze to death or end up drowned in a lake somewhere. And hey, cab drivers can’t be trusted either. You ever hear those stories of murderous cab drivers, preying on sweet girls like you?” You scoffed.

“I can handle myself, Munson. And ‘sweet’? Cyanide’s sweet, too, I’ll have you know. You should know the capabilities that shit has.” The way Eddie’s eyes locked with yours felt piercing in both directions, but neither of you were letting up. With a quiet chuckle, Eddie leaned down, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Exactly, doll. I know what I said.” 

What?

What is that supposed to mean- As your brain cycled through a dozen thoughts a second, you didn’t notice Eddie straightening his posture again, appearing as if that last sentence wasn’t even uttered.

“Nevermind that, I can hear you chattering again.” His voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

“What? No, no you can’t. I’m not-” As you spoke, a gust of wind traveled up your body. The wind was, indeed, a paid actor. The sensation caused your entire body to shiver, perfectly proving the smug boy’s claim as he raised a finger, pointing it at you. 

“Right there, teeth chattering.” 

“I shivered, it wasn’t teeth chattering.” As he opened his mouth to bite back once again, the sound of the side of the van being slapped alerted both of you, Eddie turning his head at a speed that would give any regular person whiplash.

“We’re not doing this again, guys. Eddie, are we gonna get going or what?” Gareth held his arms out in offense as Eddie turned to face you again, almost completely ignoring the younger male’s query. Eyes back on you, the taller brunette decided to press only one more time.

“Yes or no, doll. Ride in the van, or end up dead ‘n’ floatin’ in a lake somewhere. Your choice.” You crossed your arms in thought, rubbing your damn near frozen fingertips against the lace thinly covering your elbows. 

“I think if I do decide to get in that van with you, I’ll still end up ‘dead ‘n’ floatin’’ in a lake somewhere. I’m tempted to go with the option that means I don’t have to be in the same vehicle as you, honestly.” Almost silently showing that he was nearing his final straw, Eddie sucked his bottom lip in, readjusting his posture to roll his shoulders back too, making you press your lips together in an attempt to stifle a snort. 

“Alright, alright, I get it. No more Mister Nice Guy. I’ll take the ride, Munson.” Eddie’s body released all of its tension as you gave your final answer, a tight-lipped boyish grin appearing on his face as he looked down at you. 

You began marching over to the van with Eddie jogging to catch up just slightly behind you. As you were just a couple of meters away from the vehicle, the boy started speaking from the side of you, sliding in next to you to open the passenger door. 

“Prepare for the ride of your life.” You grimace at the comment, unsure of any underlying innuendos he may have been making. It took a few moments more for Eddie to realize just exactly what it was that he had said, the grin dropping from his face as he clocked his own words. His head dropped, arm staying stuck out, hanging onto the van door handle.

“Ride. As in a car ride. That’s- that’s what I meant.” You couldn’t help but find the humor in his accidentally suggestive comment in addition to the way he was responding to your non-verbal reaction. Letting out a quiet chuckle as you climbed into the van, you subconsciously placed a hand on his shoulder for support. 

Getting comfortable in your seat, you quietly spoke into his ear, his curls just about grazing your cheek as you craned your neck down to him.

“I’m ready for the ride of my life, Mr. Munson.”

It wasn’t like you weren’t able to handle your alcohol. Kace had a somewhat lower tolerance than you, usually getting tipsy off of just a few shots, whereas it’d take you entire pint glasses to finally start feeling a noticeable buzz. You were always the designated “mom” of the group whenever you, Kace, and a few others went out for drinks or attended parties, as you were able to handle your alcohol the most (and also because you subconsciously made sure to hold back just in case April made a surprise visit home when she was supposed to be elsewhere). One thing you did know about your intoxicated self, however, was how you tended to thoroughly enjoy messing with people after a few drinks. You loved fucking around with people as it was but always refrained from doing so, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from people you really didn’t want the attention of. A couple of drinks just let you forget about those types of people, though. It was nice. 

As you sat back down in your seat, facing forward and smoothing out the skirt of your dress, you looked to your right at Eddie, who was still standing next to the passenger door, hand still resting on the handle. His head was hung low, his knotted brown curls hiding his face from your view. You quietly took a breath in as you tried to think of a way to ask if he was okay without sounding like a complete loser, but before you could even start to think of anything, he lifted his head, his curls flailing slightly before dropping back onto his shoulders. 

“Right, let's get going, party people.” He slammed the door shut, startling you as the interior handle almost collided with your arm. 

After Eddie had finally gotten himself into the van and started leaving the parking lot, you kept yourself squished up against the side of the vehicle, not wanting to accidentally make contact with Gareth who was sitting in between you and the driver. Not like he’d even notice if you did, as he seemed to be too caught up in his conversation with Eddie, the two boys talking about their band and improvements they could make to their set, from what you could gather. 

A short 10 minutes passed before you finally arrived at Gareth’s house, Eddie and the younger boy hopping out to unload the drum kit into Gareth’s garage, ready for their next rehearsal day. Not knowing how long it was going to take as you were sitting alone in the van, you decided to look around at your surroundings. 

Eddie’s van had obvious wear and tear to it, a fact you noticed almost instantly. It still seemed to be in good condition compared to what you thought a vehicle owned by the infamous Eddie Munson would’ve looked like. There were a few empty cans of what appeared to be beer brands in the foot well of the passenger seat near your boots, the same cans that had been rolling around and clattering against the interior of the van the entire trip to Gareth’s. You wondered how the noise didn’t get on Eddie’s nerves each time he drove, because it definitely did get on yours in just a single car ride. 

With an idea coming into your head, you began looking around the vehicle, searching for something in particular as you dug through all the nooks and crannies in Eddie’s van, trying to avoid touching anything that looked off-limits or sticky (why things were sticky, you didn’t want to know). You opened the glove compartment just in front of you and began rummaging around as you pushed a stack of tapes to the side, your eyes catching a glimpse of a pink box. With squinted eyes and a short pause, you eventually recognized the packaging from the shelves of your local drugstore, slowly sliding the stack of tapes back to their original position to hide it. Making a quick awkward movement, you promptly clicked the glove compartment shut, making a mental note to not open it ever again, as if you were even going to be in Eddie’s van again.

Not knowing where else to look that you haven’t already, you leaned over the middle seat, stretching your arm to reach down into the door compartment next to the driver’s seat. Allowing your hand to dig for a couple of seconds, you almost gave up and pulled away as your knuckle touched something sticky, but quickly stopped as you heard that familiar crinkle. Victoriously, you pulled a black plastic bag out of the sticky, trash-filled compartment, holding it in the air triumphantly.

However, just as you did so, the driver’s side door swung open, your eyes snapping up at the disturbance and locking with Eddie’s own. The boy stood there, silent, as he looked down at you, your torso still stretching across the seats, seatbelt being pulled to its limit, and crumpled-up plastic bag still firm in your grasp. 

“What you doing, doll?” Eddie asked, leaning against the side of the open vehicle as his posture relaxed. You looked between his face and the plastic bag once, before leaning back to sit up straight in your seat, busying yourself with collecting trash from the front section of the van and shoving it into the black bag. 

“Cleaning. This thing is filthy, Munson. Like, honestly, it’s disgusting. Some parts of the van are sticky. Why are they sticky? Vans shouldn’t be sticky. What the fuck do you even do in here?” you replied, avoiding his piercing gaze as you frantically shoved empty cans and takeout boxes into the bag. 

The van shook slightly as Eddie climbed in, pulling the door shut behind him. He was silent, and you could see him staring at you in the corner of your vision. Being under his intense watch made you feel queasy. 

“You a clean freak all the time, or is it just when you’ve drank?” You rolled your eyes, settling the bag of trash in between your knees as you looked over your shoulder at him. 

“I’m not a ‘clean freak’, I just don’t want to sit in the middle of garbage. It’s fuckin’ gross. Do better.” Eddie snorted at the jab you made at the end of your sentence, and you just stared at him with a look of “I’m not joking, Munson. Sort it out.”. Surprisingly, Eddie seemed to catch your drift, pulling a blue plastic bag out of the side compartment in his door. 

Without even being asked to do so, the boy started shoving pieces of trash and chewed, discarded gum into his plastic bag. Strangely, as you attempted to watch what he was doing without making it obvious, you were somewhat endeared by his sudden actions, appreciating the effort he was putting in to tidy his own van. 

“She was due a deep clean, anyway. Not that I’m gonna deep clean her tonight, just gonna start by tidying up the inside a bit, if you catch my drift.” You side-eyed Eddie as you tried to understand what he meant by that last part, earning a slight shrug in response, shoving a glass bottle into his bag at the same time. You looked around the van, trying to see if there was anything else that needed disposing of. From what you could see with minimal searching effort, there wasn’t anything else you found, feeling happy with yourself as you realized. 

Tying a knot in your bag, you broke the silence again.

“What do we do with these bags? Should we just leave them tied up in the back until you get back to yours later so you can toss ‘em?” Eddie looked out of the side window for a second, before holding a hand out towards you and replying.

“Nah, hand it over.” He reached over to grab the plastic bag in your grasp, his fingertips slightly grazing the back of yours as he did so. The boy opened the door again, stepping out of the van as he made his way over to the trash cans outside of Gareth’s house, tossing the two bags in one of them. Brushing his hands off, he made his way back to the vehicle, hopping back into his seat and starting the engine as he slammed the door shut. 

“Won’t Gareth, or like, his family notice that you’ve done that?” you questioned, skeptical towards the choice he had made. 

“Nah, I toss beer cans and other shit in their trash all the time during practice. They never notice, but if they have, they haven’t brought it up to anyone yet.” Looking over his shoulder, Eddie cracked an aloof grin at you before promptly driving away from Gareth’s. 

As Eddie drove along, you finally started to sober up, and that’s when the questions started. 

“Where are you taking me?” Eddie didn’t respond instantly, as if he himself didn’t even know. And then he shrugged. 

“Dunno. What you in the mood to do?” He side-glanced you, your hands in your lap as you played with your rings, trying to think of something. 

“Preferably, it’d be going home. But I’m not sure I wanna go back while I’m still kind of tipsy. Don’t need my sister dealing with that.” You rested your head against your arm which was pressed up against the window, and you could see Eddie raise his brows in the corner of your eye. 

“You got a sister? That’s something I didn’t know about you.” You lazily shrugged at nothing.

“Yeah, she’s a freshman. She knows those two freshies that are in your little nerd club.” The brunette nodded, keeping his attention on the road ahead of him, yet making it clear that he was still listening to you. 

You weren’t fully sure of where he was driving to, but he seemed focused nonetheless. 

“Cool, cool. The more you know. I’m slowly learning more about you, doll.” The way Eddie’s chocolate-y curls dipped as he angled his head to face you sitting at his side made you feel a swell in your chest, the air in the van suddenly feeling stuffy. You sat up, beginning to roll down the window on your side, shaking your head as you spoke.

“I thought I told you not to call me that, Munson.” Eddie laughed at your comment, finding the humor in your sudden change of attitude. 

“Ooh, struck a nerve there, didn’t I? Sorry, won’t do it again, your highness.” His voice was riddled with mockery, and you rested your arm out of the open window, feeling the chilly air pleasantly nip at your flushed skin. 

When you didn’t respond, Eddie decided to fill the silence again. 

“Don’t get sour on me now. If you wanna get one back at me, why not come up with a name for me, huh? Then you’ll have a way to fire back instead of just calling me Munson. Get creative, yeah?” You turned your head, cocking it to the side with uncertainty as you looked at the boy who had brought his focus back to driving, his right arm now propped up to rest on the back of the middle seat. 

Slouching down lazily, you took a moment to think, giggling to yourself at your own mental commentary. Without looking away from the road, Eddie angled his head towards you. The way his brows knitted together in the middle of his forehead contrasted with the boyish, toothy grin on his face as he piped up at your sudden amusement. 

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Making an obvious gesture to slightly turn your body away from his, crossing your arms tightly across your chest, you shrugged.

“Nothing. I’m not laughing at anything, sweetheart.” The sickly cliche nickname had made you laugh quietly to yourself, the sheer sweetness of the classic pet name being something you thought Eddie Munson, local “satanist” metalhead, would’ve loathed entirely. 

Instead, the snort that erupted from him had you turning to face him in an instant. 

“Really? That’s what you came up with?” The snark in his voice made you huff, dramatically re-folding your arms across your chest in mock offense.

“Hush, Munson. It was the sweetest name I could think of in my current state. ‘S not good enough for you, your highness?” Again, the brunette let out a hearty laugh, causing a very subtle smirk to form on your face. 

Approaching a red stop light, Eddie brought the vehicle to a halt, turning his attention over to you as he leaned toward where you were sitting, his arm on the back of the seats giving him support as his face got uncomfortably close to your own. He smelt like cigarettes and sweat. Nasty. 

“Nah, it’s good enough. Just thought you would’ve tried to wound me a bit more, sweetheart.” The way Eddie’s large doe eyes burnt into your skin made you feel like shriveling up inside, imploding in on yourself. Somehow, you managed to slouch even further into your seat, keeping your eyes locked onto his as if he’d do something if you even looked away for just a second. There were a few beats of silence between the two of you before the stop light turned amber, a change you both seemed to notice as you finally let out a breath you didn’t know you were keeping in, and Eddie leaned back to sit up straight in the driver’s seat again, continuing the drive down the road as the light turned green. 

Okay. Good. Stay over there. 

After that last stop, the van remained in complete silence. Normally, Eddie could be seen (or heard) blasting his metal music through the school parking lot each morning and afternoon, but on this night specifically, any type of music seemed to not be on his mind. With your mind unoccupied by anything else, and with the gust of wind that spread into the van through your open window, you began shivering just as usual, your black lacey dress doing nothing to keep you warm. You pulled at the dress’ long sleeves to try and cover your hands more as if doing that would do anything for your situation. 

Eddie seemed to notice the way you were shivering in your seat in the corner of his eye, his hands fidgeting on the steering wheel as he finally broke the silence. 

“You not got my jacket or anything? I thought I let you borrow that so you wouldn’t freeze your ass off anymore. Do you just forget about the typical Hawkins weather each time you leave the house or something?” Instinctively, your shoulders relaxed once you picked up on the uncertainty in Eddie’s voice, the surprising absence of his usual snark tone making the atmosphere in the van feel a lot more casual. 

“...It’s at home. At mine. It’s at mine. Why would I have it with me?” He side-eyed you.

“Because I gave- let you borrow it so you wouldn’t freeze. I’ve already explained this, man.” You looked over at Eddie and he was firmly focused on the road ahead of him now. You looked down at your lap, your hands resting on your legs as you twisted and turned the rings decorating your fingers. The van was silent again. Eddie silently driving, you silently thinking. 

Looking up after only a few moments, focusing on the road ahead, you spoke. 

“I appreciate the gesture, Munson. I didn’t need the jacket but still, thanks. I’ll… I’ll make sure to get it back to you soon. I know you wear that thing basically all the time.” Eddie’s shoulders jolted upwards as he chuckled, tight posture coming undone at your words. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. And you’re right, I do wear it all the time. My outfits don’t feel right without my precious leather jacket. She’s a statement piece.” You turned your head to face Eddie again, a smile appearing on your lips. 

“She’s a she, yeah? Why does your jacket have a gender, Munson?” The boy looked over his shoulder, his head angled to look down at you with a smug look on his face. 

“Well, you know, the ladies love me. You should know this by now, doll.” With the return of his mocking voice, you roll your head back, groaning as he slapped the steering wheel with a burst of hearty laughter, the previously silent, awkward atmosphere in the van completely dissipating. 

“More like you love the girls, and they don’t want you within a fifty-mile radius of them.” As you sat back, proudly crossing your arms, Eddie held his hand up, making a talking gesture with his fingers to mock you. As he did that, you noticed how he had pulled up finally, the car stopping in front of what looked like just a bunch of trees. 

Looking out of the window, you tried to get a grasp on where you were, the unfamiliarity of your surroundings leaving you completely in the dark. 

“Yo, wanna explain where…” you waved your hand out the window into the darkness, “this is?” Eddie took the key out of the ignition and climbed out of the van, making his way around to the passenger side to open the door for you. 

“M’lady,” he said, as he bowed slightly, holding an arm out to his side. Not knowing what other option you had apart from flat-out refusing and just making it awkward, you climbed out of the vehicle, smoothing down and adjusting your clothes as you took a better look around. There was a road nearby, the one you had driven down to arrive at your destination, and the rest of the area was shrouded in tall, ancient-looking pine trees. 

You were really trying your best to figure out where the fuck you were, but it was a lost cause. It wasn’t like you didn’t know your way around Hawkins; you just didn’t venture down long, empty roads leading to murder-y wooded areas often. You know, for obvious reasons. 

“Answer me or I’ll kill you, dump your body, and use your van to take my ass home.” Eddie looked down at you, his arms crossed like a stern parent, but his smiling face gave the exact opposite vibe. 

“If you take my van and somehow figure out how to drive it to yours, wouldn’t that just incriminate you when my missing person case goes public?” You shrugged.

“Nah. No one will be looking for you.” The boy let out a breathy laugh, his eyebrows arched in surprise at your blunt statement. 

“Jesus H. Christ, doll. That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” Is he serious? Almost as if your face spoke the words you were thinking, Eddie unfolded his arms, turning his back to you as he slowly began walking towards the trees.

“Right, okay, come on. I’ll show you why I’ve brought you here.” You stayed planted where you were, not being fully sure about walking into a dark, wooded area with Eddie Munson himself. Noticing the absence of your footsteps following his own, Eddie stopped in his tracks, spun on his heel, and stared at you from a few meters away. 

“If you don’t follow me, I’ll be the one dumping a body.” Defeatedly, you dropped your arms to your sides, trudging over to him with a long, dramatic groan. 

As you reached his side, Eddie continued to walk again, and you noticed the way he was looking down at you from his side. Smug prick. 

“Whatever.” You turned your nose up at him, facing forward as you entered a gap in between the trees, making sure not to trip over any possible fallen branches on the forest floor.

After 5 short minutes of hyperfocused walking (ensuring to make it out the other side in one piece), and lighthearted banter between you and the tall brunette, the sight of a large body of water caught your attention, the moon above you reflecting brightly off of it. Eddie got ahead of you as he jogged to the edge of the lake, sitting down on the dry dirt with his legs crossed, knee protruding out of one of the rips on his dark, acid-washed jeans. You made sure to take in every detail of your environment as you followed the boy to where he was sitting, tucking the bottom of your dress inwards behind you as you sat down, keeping your knees tucked up towards your chest, a measly attempt at staying warm. 

There were a few long moments of silence before anyone spoke another word. The way the moon shone off the gentle ripples on the water caught your eye every now and then, the subtle swaying and creaking of the old trees behind you serving as the main source of noise in the area around the two of you. Now and again, you caught yourself looking to your side in the corner of your vision at Eddie, his hands nestled in his lap as his fingers played with his silver, chunky rings. You had taken note of that particular habit of his. 

The silence was deafening, but not uncomfortable. Awkward, definitely, but not uncomfortable. You didn’t feel like clawing your way out of your own skin and running off into the woods, never to be seen by anyone, especially Eddie Munson, ever again. You just felt like you needed to say something. But at the same time, you felt like you shouldn’t. Nonetheless, curiosity got the best of you. 

“So… why are we here, may I ask?” Eddie instantly started to shuffle out of his position as you spoke, his leg closest to you tucking against his body as he rested his chin on his knee, arms hooking around his ankle. 

“Thought you might want to sober up before heading home. Because, you know, your sister.” He turned his head on its side, allowing it to somehow comfortably rest on his knee, now facing you. You slowly nodded in agreement, taking it as a good enough answer. However, it wasn’t the kind of response you could also respond to, cutting the conversation short once again. 

A few beats passed before you realized that you and Mr. Munson had just been staring at one another, his face blank and unreadable as you suddenly felt small under his watchful gaze. In a matter of seconds, you scraped the bottom barrel of your mind to try and find some sort of conversation topic, figuring anything was better than silence with a side order of prolonged eye contact. 

“What did I do?” The extremely vague question had Eddie’s brows furrowing together under his bangs, just barely visibly due to the only source of light in the area being from lanterns hanging outside the nearby cabins. You managed to get the hint that Eddie didn’t have a single idea as to what you were on about, so you continued. 

“What did I do to make you dislike my presence so much? I mean, you can’t hate me that much if you took me all the way out here in your van with your spare time to help me sober up. It just doesn’t-” He held a hand up between the two of you, lifting his head from his knee with closed eyes before adjusting his position on the ground to allow his body to face yours. 

“I’m gonna stop you right there. You’ve got it wrong, doll-” the way your face dropped at the nickname made Eddie pause for a moment, “sorry, habit. But still, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t dislike your presence, I thought you disliked mine. Or, more specifically, me. I know we didn’t really speak, like, at all before your buddy Hayes asked to sub for Hellfire, but I just get the vibe that you feel like I’ve wronged you in some grand, unredeemable way. What’s up with that?” 

Did you really come across that way? You weren't exactly fond of Eddie due to the shit he’d get himself into in school and around town, but it wasn’t like you hated his guts for a personal reason or anything. Honestly, you saw him as mostly just like any other Hawkins-deemed creep; the same as you. A social outcast, a small-time pariah, and a full-time freak. You didn’t intentionally come across as hating every fiber of Eddie’s being, but you could admit there were times when you had been less than friendly to him, mostly during school if you had managed to run into him or vice versa. 

Still, Eddie thinking that you hated him didn’t sit right with you. You looked down at the dirt as you tried to think of the words for what you wanted to say.

“I don’t hate you, Eddie. I don’t think I ever have. I know we’ve clashed before and I haven’t always seemed the most approachable. God, you don’t even seem that approachable at times with the whole cocky attitude you flaunt around school, but I don’t have anything against you. Not knowingly, at least. I haven’t even personally known you for that long. I’ve known of you, I guess, but I haven’t known you. But I can say now that I think I know you somewhat better than I did, say, compared to last week. You’re-” You caught yourself mid-sentence as you finally looked up again to face the boy just sitting across from you, and when you did, the expression on his face had you completely stumped for words. 

It was a mixture of awe, and what seemed to be like him holding back on making a joke. 

“Carry on, doll. You were about to give me a heart-wrenching, lovey-dovey, diabetes-inducing compliment?” You sucked in your cheeks, rolling your jaw as you narrowed your eyes at the boy’s smug face, allowing yourself a few moments to think of the perfect way to fire back at Eddie, wanting to damage his ego more than you almost just did to yourself. 

Instead, all you could find yourself doing was extending an arm out to shove his shoulder, Eddie’s tucked-in sitting position coming undone as the slight nudge caused him to lose balance, his arms flung out to regain stability. The urgency in his movement had you laughing quietly, not wanting to disturb the serene peace of the lake and woods surrounding you. There was a moment where, after regaining stability and getting back into a comfortable sitting position, Eddie locked eyes with you, the smile forming on his face mirroring your own, only with the addition of his dimpled cheeks as you continued to let out a modest chuckle.

The air settled as your laughter died down and you found yourself idly dipping the toe of your boot into the most shallow part of the lake, careful to not dip too far. However, Eddie’s next words brought your attention back to him after only a few minutes of comfortable quiet between the two of you. 

“You called me Eddie.” 

...

“What?”

“You called me by my first name.”

...

“...So?”

“You’ve never done that before.”

Had I really not?

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t apologize for it. It’s nice to hear. I mean, someone calling me anything other than Munson or… freak.” You stared at his face, and his expression was, once again, unreadable, his eyes trained on the gently rippling water beside the two of you. In the corner of your eye, you could see his ringed fingers tapping softly against his denim-clad knee.

“Gotcha…” you muttered, feeling slightly awkward and wanting to alleviate some of that tension, “...got it. I’ll keep it in mind, sweetheart.” His finger-tapping paused. Through his knotted brown curls, he locked eyes with you again, staring you down in a way that didn’t make you want to shrivel in on yourself for once. 

“Cheers, angel.” You scoff at the nickname.

“Not that one again…” Despite how you had negatively reacted to the nickname the first time he had called you it, the laugh you let out wasn’t one of annoyance or condescension, it was just one of genuine confusion in a soft moment that you didn’t want to ruin. 

“Hey, I mean it this time. Thanks, man. You’re a peach, even if you don’t look it.” Well, that wasn’t something you heard every day. Or, any day… ever, at that. It was nice being able to joke around with Eddie, and you wondered to yourself why you hadn’t tried actually talking to him ages ago. 

“‘M glad you think of me like that, Munson, even if you are the only person that does.” Eddie lifted his head from where it had been dipped down due to his, at times, awful posture, and he grinned at you as he, once again, fidgeted with the rings on his fingers, hands tucked into his lap to try and stay warm against the October chill. 

“No worries, doll.”

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.  

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters & ao3 link

chapter wc: 6.6k

Chapter Three: Leather Doll

“-up. Hey, wake UP!” You stirred awake at the sound of a fist hammering on your bedroom door, your sister's voice taking a minute longer to process. As you dragged the pad of your middle finger over your eyelids, attempting to wipe the sleep away, you managed to open a singular eye, your vision blurred but still able to make out the shape of the girl standing in your open doorway. 

“Huh…? What time is it?” As you lifted the quilt off your body, you kicked your legs over the side of the bed, sitting up with your arms stretched out above your head. 

“Phone’s ringing,” April replied, not answering the question you had actually asked. Groaning, you stood up and smoothed the t-shirt you were wearing out, sluggishly pushing past the short girl to make your way down the hall towards the staircase. She followed behind with a bowl of cereal in her hands. 

“Why couldn’t you have answered it? You’re a big girl, you don’t need me to answer the phone anymore.” You chuckled at the comment you made, April scoffing as she pushed past you to beeline into the kitchen. 

“‘Cause, it’s not for me.” 

“Hello…?” Your eyes snapped open at the loud voice on the other end replying to you, and as the person spoke, you finally realized who it was.

“G’morning, love! How is my favorite person in the entire world doing on this sunny Saturday?” Although you were the one who had been awake for only a maximum of 5 minutes, the chipper tone of Kace’s voice seemed so unwarranted for it being so early in the day. 

“I’m doing… good, Kace. I’ve been awake for about 30 seconds but still, doing amazing.” The way you annunciated the last word was telling of how sarcastic you were trying to seem while saying it, but apparently, that point didn’t get across to your friend. You walked out into the hallway with the landline still in your hand, the cord stretching to its limit as you turned the corner, looking at your puffy-eyed reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall. 

“Great! Meet me at the diner in town at 2. See you there, love!” Before you could object to the boy’s preposterous demand, a click sounded through the phone as Kace hung up on you, the dial tone ringing into your ear as you groaned into the receiver. Knowing you had no other choice, you made your way back into the kitchen, placing the landline back onto the wall as you looked up at the clock. 12:24 pm. The late time you had woken up didn’t surprise you much as you recalled staying awake until 4 that same morning, just listening to music whilst reading one of the books you had acquired from the town’s bookstore earlier on in the week. 

“You going out?” April perked up, chewing on a mouthful of honeycomb cereal as she stared up at you through messy parted bangs. Despite how much you didn’t feel like leaving the house so soon, you accepted defeat as it was Kace who was asking you to leave the house. Not having the energy to return a verbal response to the girl, you lazily nodded before dragging yourself out of the room, heading back up to your own room to get dressed.

With some of your favorite music playing on the stereo you had on your desk, you were just about ready to leave the house over an hour later. You had spent the hour or so teasing and hair spraying your locks into a dark, frizzy mane, and painting your face with the palest drugstore foundation you could find, accentuating your features with black makeup of all different kinds. For it being October in Hawkins, and with just a single glance through your closed curtains, it seemed to be a warm, sunny day outside, which meant you chose one of your thinner draping dresses to wear; one with short sleeves that would still look somewhat okay with your black laced gloves and whatever silver jewelry you had thrifted over time. 

Being conscious of the time and not wanting to be late for Kace, you poked your head into the living room, looking around for April as your eyes finally locked onto her sitting on the couch. You tapped the door frame, trying to grab her attention away from whatever was in her lap as you spoke. 

“I’m leaving now. I’ll be back in a bit, and I’ve got my keys but if you decide to go anywhere, make sure to lock up with the spare key on the hook. ‘Kay, Apricot?” Strangely, the blonde didn’t perk up, even at the awful nickname you had been calling her since the beginning of time. Instead, she absentmindedly dismissed you with a nod, scrawling something into the notebook in her hands. Hoping she had somewhat listened, you finally left the house, slipping your headphones onto your head as you played the cassette you already had in your walkman. 

After a long trek into town whilst listening to one of your many mixtapes, you had finally reached the diner, slipping the headphones off the back of your head and letting them rest around your neck as your face scrunched up in dis-ease, an uncomfortable feeling settling thick in your chest. 

Your eyes landed on a van that was parked outside the diner in one of the parking spaces. It shouldn’t have made you feel so off, but for some reason, it did. It looks… familiar. But you couldn’t pinpoint why. Choking down the strange feeling lodged in your throat, trying to rid yourself of it, you made your way into the diner, hoping that spending time with Kace would serve as a distraction. 

As you made your way inside, your eyes darted around the semi-busy establishment, landing on a few people sitting at tables and booths. None of them were Kace, and you couldn’t see him anywhere, despite the fact that he usually stuck out like a sore thumb due to his bold, dark fashion choices, similar to your own, of course. Thinking that maybe you had gotten the time wrong or something, you look up at the clock on the wall above the counter, and sure enough, it had just hit 2:05 pm. As you were about to step outside to see if Kace’s car was even in the parking lot, the sound of a door opening caught your attention as you turned your attention over to the noise. As if he could sense your presence in the room as he walked out of the restroom, Kace’s head turned and his dark eyes locked with yours, a wide grin forming on his lips. The tall boy giddily walked over to one of the booths, sliding down onto a seat as he waved his hand at you, beckoning you to join him. 

He was sitting at a table with a few other people, and the gears started turning in your head as you recognized a few of the faces, specifically those belonging to Mike Wheeler and Dustin Henderson, two boys you knew through your sister being in the same grade as them. She had told you stories about the boys ever since she first went the middle school with them. Absolute menaces, from what you had gathered. 

Dragging your eyes away from the two bickering freshman, skimming over a few other unfamiliar faces and heads, your attention lands on the back of a single head in particular. Long, brown, knotted curls draped over a pair of broad, slumped shoulders, arms extending out towards the table as the figure rambled on about something you couldn’t quite distinguish. It was him, there was no doubt about it. His theatrics and iconic lion’s mane were recognizable to anyone. Why the fuck was Kace sitting at a table with the last person you wanted to see right now?

Figuring it’d be less awkward to take a seat at the booth rather than making a complete 180, walking out of the diner and never being seen again, you cautiously stepped towards the table, assuring to avoid letting your curious eyes fall on the face of the brunette as you slid onto the seat next to Kace, conveniently managing to place yourself directly opposite the one you dreaded acknowledging the most. Itching to understand the situation you had managed to get yourself into on that fateful Saturday afternoon, you cocked your head towards Kace, leaning closer to the boy to ensure only he could hear you speak. 

With a low, agitated whisper, you ask, “Care to explain how and why I’m currently sat across from the fucking Eddie Munson right now on a sunny afternoon when I could be elsewhere instead? You know, literally anywhere else.” The boy sitting at your side let his eyes flit down to the table in front of you, before coming back up to lock with yours, and the small accidental gesture made you follow suit. And that’s when you noticed it. 

Sprawled across the table were numerous pens, pencils, and sheets of paper, along with the diner’s menus. The vast amount of crumpled sheets of paper had words messily scribbled on each of them, all in different handwriting styles and colored pens. They were DnD planning sheets, and character sheets, from what you could tell. During one of your many hangout sessions over the years, you could recall the gothic boy you had known since you could remember talking your ear off once about the dreaded game that the parents of Hawkins seemed to loathe, and yet obsess over entirely at the same time. 

You didn’t understand the attraction of the roleplaying game, but you did know that the way Kace spoke about it meant it was something he loved more than anything he had ever spoken about to you before. Middle school was when he played it the most with friends he had met at summer camps, but the second high school rolled around, he seemed to have forgotten about it. From the predicament you were in now, however, apparently, he hadn’t forgotten at all. 

The pieces started to click together in your head as you began to understand what Kace was there for, but it didn’t answer the question you more importantly needed answering; why were YOU there? 

A once-in-a-lifetime warm, sunny October day in the miserable town of Hawkins, and I’m sitting in a stuffy diner with a traitor, who I once called my best friend, a table of boys I had never had the pleasure of talking to, and the one person I absolutely did not want to see today, or ever, in fact. Lovely, how great. I’m so lucky to be alive right now. 

“Well...” Kace’s raspy voice snapped you out of your thoughts as he finally decided to grace you with an attempt at a valid explanation, “I heard around school that Hendy and Wheeler were looking for a sub for Hellfire seeing as one of their members had to bail last minute for some other shit, and you know how much I’ve always wanted to play DnD with an actual club.” As you processed his words, your eyes wandered around the table, observing the 6 boys that had crammed into the one booth, each of them preoccupied with discussing things amongst themselves or scrawling messy notes onto sheets of lined paper. 

Kace was right, you had always known how much he wanted to play with an established team. But his reasonable explanation still didn’t answer your burning question. 

“Right… okay. Why am I here, though? I don’t know shit about this game, and I sure as hell won’t be learning any time soon.” Returning back to making eye contact with the slim boy hunched over next to you, he rolled his eyes as his fingers picked a pencil up from the table in front of him, tapping the pink eraser at the end of it against a sheet of paper. 

“… I need my support animal with me in these difficult times. Truth be told, I’ve never actually spoken to anyone here before yesterday, so planning a DnD campaign with two freshmen and some guys I don’t know seemed kinda… shit. Figured it wouldn’t hurt if I invited a plus one.” The tight-lipped, smug smile on Kace’s face made your blood boil as the cockiness in his tone was ever apparent. 

“Why the fuck am I your support animal? I thought I was your love, your dearest, most precious friend.” Trying to not reveal the slight annoyance you felt despite Kace’s understandable excuse for dragging you out of your house on a Saturday, you gently nudged the boy in his side with your elbow, laughing quietly as his tense shoulders softened at your lighthearted response. 

“You are, love. You are.” 

With a final, defeated sigh, you turned your attention back to the rest of the group sitting around the table, allowing Kace to continue writing down notes on a crumpled, coffee-stained sheet of paper. Not really knowing what you were supposed to do whilst acting as the boy’s “support animal”, you let your eyes skim across the faces of the others, trying to figure out the identities of the few you weren’t familiar with. 

After a few short seconds of no names coming to mind, your gaze managed to finally land on the brunette sitting directly across from you. 

…What the fuck…?

Eddie’s deep, brown eyes were wide, somehow bigger than their usual doe-like appearance, and the lower half of his face was masked by a thick tuft of hair from the side of his head which he was holding over his mouth, hiding whatever expression he was holding underneath. His eyes were boring into you, making your skin feel warm and itchy as you felt as if you were being watched like an animal in a zoo. Trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling created by Eddie’s eyes remaining so scarily and persistently trained on your face, you shifted in your seat as if trying to shrink in on yourself. Maybe if you were smaller and shrank down to the size of a bug, he wouldn’t be staring at you so intensely. 

However, the decision to attempt to shrivel in on yourself was your biggest mistake as your legs crossed under the table, and in par, the end of your boot grazed against Eddie’s leg, presumably dragging up his shin. Despite your internal monologue cursing out prayers to the almighty God that was supposed to be up there somewhere, the audible hitch in the boy’s breath and the way his entire frame stiffened at the contact was a clear indication that he had, in fact, noticed the accidental touch of your boot against his denim-clad shin. 

Against your own wishes, your eyes flicked back up and locked with his, immediately regretting doing so as you noticed the… disgust(?) on Eddie’s face. Almost as if he couldn’t even bare to be sitting across from you, let alone making any type of bodily contact with you (the feeling mutual, of course), the lids of his wide eyes fluttered in a sort of twitching motion. Before you could even do anything, such as apologize or run out of the diner, never to be seen again (something that seemed especially appealing today), the boy scrambled to slide out one of the laminated menus from under numerous sheets of paper, holding the large object up to his face and covering it in its entirety. As he did so, the dark curls peeking out from under the menu shifted on his shoulders, indicating that he had turned his head to face the younger boy sitting next to him, who quickly followed suit, eyes skimming past your face before fully landing on Eddie. 

As the two boys muttered behind the thin (and magically soundproof) laminated menu, you watched as the metalhead’s free hand waved around at his side, a sign that he clearly wasn’t exactly overjoyed about something. Twisting the rings around your fingers anxiously and trying to look at just about anything and everything in the room that wasn’t the silent scene in front of you, your eyes snapped back to look at Eddie and the boy in the sleeveless plaid jacket as the older male dropped the laminated menu onto the table to expose his face once again, eyes half-lidded in annoyance and an overall resigned look on his face. The brunette with the shorter hair shook his head expectantly as if waiting for Eddie to continue with his tantrum. With one last glance over at you as if to remind the metalhead that you were still there, Eddie breathed out an agitated, yet defeated sigh/groan, just like the one you had given Kace minutes before. 

Allowing Gareth to go back to discussing something with Wheeler and Henderson, Eddie turned his body to face you again, fidgeting in his seat to stretch his legs out under the table. His boot briefly entered your vision as the obnoxious gesture made it so the scuffed, leather shoe placed itself on the floor, slotted in between your own two boots. Rolling your eyes, you slid your headphones back onto your head, leaving one of the sides off of the ear that was closest to Kace, just in case the boy needed something from you. Preparing to waste your day sitting in a stuffy diner with a group of boys you entirely weren’t familiar with, and the infamous Eddie Munson, you pressed the play button on your walkman, allowing Joy Division to quietly play through the one headphone that was on your ear.

Throughout the next few hours, all the way through to somewhere around 6:30 pm, you resorted to being the one to make constant trips to order more food and drinks for the table, essentially turning yourself into the mom of the group. Over the span of four hours, you had dabbled in a few conversations the boys were having that weren’t entirely DnD related, grasping at any type of topic of conversation you could involve yourself in. Surprisingly, through the power of human connection, you had learned the names of the once nameless boys and had additionally learned that not all Hellfire members were aggravating pains in your ass. 

From what DnD-related conversations you had listened in on, you gathered that the boys were mostly coming up with ideas for future campaigns, assisting Kace in writing up a character sheet, and figuring out how to implement the boy’s character into their current team.

Despite how bored you had been the entire time, listening to both sides of your cassette twice and scribbling small drawings on a piece of paper Kace had given to you, you found yourself content with the situation you were in. Although it wasn’t how you’d usually spend your Saturdays, you enjoyed seeing Kace so happy and social, talking to people about something he had loved since the start of time itself. Even if Hellfire was only a temporary fix for him until their missing player, Lucas Sinclair, was freed from the restraints of basketball practice, a strictly scheduled occurrence enforced by Jason Carver himself, you knew Kace would make the most of being Hellfire’s sub.

Seeing Kace so authentically happy was great and all, but you were still bored. There are only enough times that you can listen to the same cassette in a short period of time before it gets repetitive, you know? Along with the long, awkward silence you had engulfed yourself in for the majority of the past few hours, you were also aching from how cramped up you felt. Eight people crammed into a single curved diner booth wasn’t really an issue, surprisingly; instead, it was the fact that you had chosen to keep yourself shriveled up in a small space, as earlier’s boot-knocking incident had you taking extra measures to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. This resulted in Eddie keeping his legs stretched out under the table just centimeters away from yours the entire time, only moving away whenever he had to stand for someone to get out of the booth or when he himself needed to go to the restroom. At this rate, you’d fossilize where you were sitting because of how you had managed to condense yourself into the smallest space possible like a sardine in a tin. 

Sitting back in your seat with your arms crossed, nails scratching at the skin on one of your thumbs, and walkman and headphones tucked away into your bag, your eyes wandered across the table absentmindedly, taking note of all the empty glasses in front of everyone. Thank the Lord. 

“Anyone need refills?” As you spoke up, the boys all turned their attention onto you, the clinking of glasses being pushed towards you sounding instantly at the same time. A couple of the boys murmured quiet ‘thank you’s as they continued talking amongst themselves, but Dustin spoke louder than the others.

“Thank you again. We’d be truly lost without you.” He nodded his head as he spoke, tipping his ‘Thinking Cap’ at you with a wide smile on his face. Collecting as many of the glasses in your arms as you could possibly hold without bearing the risk of dropping anything, you snorted at his somewhat genuine appreciation of you.

“No worries, Henderson.” You nodded in response to the boy as you began walking over to the counter with just about half of the empty glasses the boys had placed in front of you, making a mental note to go back to retrieve the leftover glasses that you couldn’t hold. 

Reaching the counter, the glasses clanked against each other as you set them down, feigning a dramatic huff and placing your hands on your hips in an exhausted mannerism. The girl working the counter turned around with a glass in hand, wiping the inside of it with a white dishcloth as she smiled warmly at you, before grabbing the dirty glasses and placing them on the countertop behind her. 

“You, like, their mom or something? This is your fifth time coming up to the counter to order stuff for them,” she lightheartedly joked, giggling to herself. With a breathy laugh, you sat down on one of the stools at the counter, trying to avoid ruining your makeup as you leaned your cheek on your palm, elbow digging into the cold surface it rested on. 

“Pfft, yeah, I basically am. The one with the similar get-up to me invited me here earlier without telling me what for, and now I’m stuck playing babysitter.” The blonde chuckled, pulling a pen and small notepad out of her breast pocket as she readied to take another order from you. 

“Tough luck,” she paused before asking you anything further, “actually, I’ve still got your drinks order from earlier written down here. You want me to just get you what you got then?” Grateful for her expert customer service skills, and ability to sense when someone just needed a bit of a break, you beamed at her in relief, holding your hands together in prayer. 

“God, yes, thank you. Forever grateful for your support in these trying times, hun.” With another giggle, the girl tucked her notepad and pen back into her pocket, giving you one last sweet glance before turning on her heel to start preparing the drinks. 

You watched the girl happily work as she hummed along to the quiet radio playing on the counter next to you, her blonde ponytail swaying with each movement she made. The cheerful pep in her step was refreshing the see in a town like Hawkins, especially after the long day you had been through. Much to your dismay, you were snapped out of the short moment of calm you were in as you sensed a body slide onto the stool directly next to yours, a hand decorated generously in chunky, silver rings placing a few empty classes on the counter entering the corner of your vision. 

Shit. Speaking to the cute waitress made me forget about those glasses… fuck.

Thankfully, despite your apparent incompetence to remember the mental note you had made, Eddie had decided to bring the other few empty glasses to the front, something you almost found yourself thanking him for. That was, of course, until you remembered exactly who he was. Eddie Munson. Instead, you stayed silent, keeping your eyes trained on the blonde happily dancing to the pop song playing on the radio. 

“Got a few more glasses for you here, Cunningham. You’re welcome,” he finally spoke, and the fact that he addressed the girl by a name had you intrigued. Did he know the girl? Thinking about it, the girl did seem somewhat familiar…

“Thanks, Eddie,” the blonde turned around for a second, grabbing the glasses and placing them on the back worktop with the others, “you guys doing your… Dungeons and Dragons stuff? It is called that, right?” The brunette let out a boyish chuckle, grinning as he fidgeted with the rings around his fingers idly. 

“Yeah, that’s right. And yeah, we are. ‘M hoping to start a new campaign next week with the boys and we’re just trying to get a few things rearranged and sorted seeing as one of our players is preoccupied with your boyfriend’s incessant need to keep a strict practice schedule.” As he responded, the girl fully turned her body to face him, her shoulders slumping and arms dropping at her sides as she wore an apologetic expression. 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. You know how Jason can get when it comes to basketball. I can try and get him to ease up on Sinclair, if you want-” 

“No, no, it’s fine. Honestly. We’ve got Hayes subbing for the time being, so there’s no need. Thanks for the offer though.” Giving the boy one last sincere smile, she turned back around the continue working on the back countertop. 

No longer occupied with his interaction with the blonde waitress, Eddie turned his attention over to you, trying to not make it obvious as you both locked eyes. Eddie “The Freak” Munson and the Chrissy Cunningham… were friends? For a reason you could most definitely place, that possibility seemed alien to you. 

“That’s the strangest crossover I’ve ever seen.” The now-silent boy cocked an eyebrow at you, still idly fidgeting with the rings on his fingers.

“You and the queen of Hawkins High. Didn’t know you knew each other.” With a quiet scoff beforehand, Eddie laughed snarkily at your comment, grabbing onto a few of the beverages Chrissy had placed on the countertop in front of the two of you.

“Yeah, well, I know a lot of people, doll. Don’t get too jealous, will you?” With a single obviously sarcastic, half-assed smile, Eddie made his way back to the booth where everyone was sitting, placing the glasses he had carried over in front of a few people. 

You sat silent, in a mixture of offense and awe as Chrissy turned around and placed a few more full glasses on the counter, tightening her ponytail before leaning against the cold surface, her eyes locked onto Eddie just as yours were. 

“Don’t mind him. He’s probably just annoyed that he’s paying for an unexpected party member’s drinks.” As the girl spoke, your eyes widened as your snapped your head to the side to face her, lips slightly parted in shock. 

“Oh, shit. He’s the one paying for all these? I thought everyone chipped in at the end or something-” The blonde laughed with a soft lilt. 

“He does a lot for his boys, believe it or not. And he certainly wouldn’t make a lady pay for her own drinks in his presence, no matter he much he loves to act as if you’re the bane of his entire being.” Listening to Chrissy’s words, your eyes had somehow found themselves settled on the boy’s side profile, taking note of the way his lips curled up at the corners as he grinned at the Hellfire club. When you looked back at Chrissy, the girl was smiling at you, her cheeks rosy and bunched up. 

Looking down at the glasses on the counter to try and distract yourself from the previous conversation, you picked up a few before realizing you weren’t going to be able to hold two of them, Chrissy thankfully catching onto this realization.

“Go and take a seat, I’ll bring the other two over.” You nodded, silently thanking the girl as you accepted her help without another thought. 

Making your way back over to the booth, you slid down onto your seat, handing a glass to Kace and sliding one over to Jeff as he nodded at you gratefully. Chrissy placed two glasses on the table which were immediately scooped up by Dustin and Mike, the boys instantly downing half of their drinks in a split few seconds. 

After being back at the table for only at least 10 minutes, Chrissy’s words were still lingering at the very front of your mind as you stared across at Eddie, a ring-clad finger pointing at the curly-haired freshman as he lectured him on a “stupid, bullshit, nonsensical” suggestion he had made, the freshman arguing back with the same amount of ferocity. Trying not the dwell on staring at the side of the metalhead’s face for too long, you sipped on your glass of coke as you stared out the diner window, the sky very noticeably dark as it neared 7 pm. You looked down, and your straw was marked black, your lipstick clearly being the culprit. Christ, sitting in silence was really fucking boring. 

You sat wondering how much longer you’d have to sit in silence putting up with the shouting-fest happening around you, the boys “debating” (arguing) on whether they should write Lucas’ character out of next week’s upcoming campaign, or if they should just leave his absence unexplained, not mentioning it in the story. Truly riveting entertainment, you thought. 

As if you had manifested it or all of your praying to a higher power throughout the day had finally come to fruition, the boys soon decided to call it a day, Eddie declaring that it was for the best before someone got murdered. The sudden cold October breeze nipped at your exposed skin as you stood by the door to the diner, waiting for Kace to finish a conversation with Gareth as you lit yourself a cigarette.

Apparently, sunny October weather isn’t to be trusted. The fact that you had, for once, decided to leave the house in thin clothing, one of your favorite long, black, witch-esque dresses without a jacket, was now a decision that had come back to bite you in the ass. Standing outside in the diner’s parking lot freezing your ass off whilst waiting for Kace to drive you home wasn’t really how you saw your evening going. 

Trying to occupy your mind with something other than the way the cold air slivered along every inch of your body, you turned your head to look through the diner’s window, watching Chrissy clean tables, her blonde bangs framing her face perfectly as her head dipped to lean down. Too busy focusing on what she was doing, you didn’t notice the sound of footsteps approaching you until the sound of a metal chain rattling alerted you. Taking a drag of your cigarette, you slowly turned your head as you pried your eyes away from the blonde waitress, the smoke you exhaled through your nostrils immediately dispersing in the wind.

“Jesus, Kace, finally. I was wondering how long it was gonna ta-” You turn, and lock eyes with Eddie Munson, who was just standing less than a meter in front of you. What the fuck, man. 

“Need something, Munson? Or you just gonna stand there and look pretty?” You take a deep drag of your cigarette as the brunette let out a low chuckle, tucking his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, and his eyes flicking around the area in an attempt to avoid prolonged eye contact with you.

“I’m s’posed to be giving Gareth the Great a ride home but he’s busy talking to your friend over there.” Giving yourself a boost by standing on your tippy-toes, you peeped over the boy’s shoulder, and sure enough, Kace is leaned against the side of Eddie’s van talking to the much-shorter male in the plaid jacket, the two of them happily chatting along about something you couldn’t hear from such a distance. 

Pursing your lips together, you flick the ash off the end of your cigarette. Finally making actual eye contact with you, the most intentional it had been the entire day, Eddie asks, “May I?” You’re confused for a moment before he brings a hand up to point at the cigarette slotted between your two fingers. You take a couple of beats to contemplate. 

...

For the sake of simplicity. 

“Sure, whatever,” you respond, holding the cigarette up to allow the metalhead to pinch it from your grasp. He does so, and brings it up to his face, inspecting the black lipstick painted around the filter end of the white stick. With his head dipped to observe the marks, his eyes look up at you through thick lashes, seemingly analyzing your face before bringing the stick up to his lips, inhaling deeply, holding it for a long few seconds before exhaling through his nose, a gesture you thought was his way of mocking you. 

Now without the distraction of the cigarette between your lips, you quickly resumed your shivering, the cold once against starting its assault on you as the summer-friendly dress you were wearing neglected to do you any favors as you stood out in the mid-October Hawkins weather. Eddie snorted as he noticed your shivering.

“Cold out, isn’t it? Careful, love, you’ll scare someone off with all that teeth-chattering. Or maybe it’ll just be the way you dress, who knows.” You grimaced at his snide remark, looking at him with a face of pure disgust. 

“Don’t call me that.” Eyebrows perked up in a condescending manner, Eddie took a step closer to you, letting the cigarette sit between his index and middle fingers as he crossed his arms, the leather of his jacket audibly rubbing together. 

“What, you got a preference or something? Didn’t get any complaints earlier when I called you doll. Is that it, maybe?” his head dipped to hang just next to yours, his cheek just a few small inches away from your own, “is that what really does it for you?” The snarl as he spoke those last few words was laced with mockery, and you snatched the cigarette from his grasp while he was so close, taking a drag from it.

“Fuck off, Munson,” you exhaled a cloud of smoke in the boy’s cocky face, causing him to step back slightly, “you walked away before I could smack you ‘round the head for that one. It wasn’t really a fair fight by my standards.” Overhearing the conversation between Gareth and Kace soon coming to an end, Eddie turned his nose up at you, looking over his shoulder momentarily at the two boys. 

“It’s never a fair fight with me, angel.” You scoff, trying to mask the way the new nickname made your skin crawl. Or maybe it was the gust of chilled wind that danced over your exposed limbs. It was something, that’s all you knew. 

Turning your head to avoid the much-taller male’s gaze, you take a small drag of the nearly burnt-out cigarette, but as you did, you felt the boy standing in front of you shove something into your arms. 

“Hold this,” he ordered, the stubby cigarette falling out of your grasp at the impact and dropping to the ground below. As you looked down, the sight of patches sewn onto denim was an immediate indication as to what you were holding. You squint your eyes in confusion, looking back up to see Eddie peeling his dull leather jacket from his torso, switching it out for the vest you had in your arms. 

“It’s cold. Be grateful that I’ve gone the extra mile to lend you my beloved jacket instead of the vest. Denim’s not really your style, is it, doll?” Not knowing how to respond in a situation you never thought you’d find yourself in, your eyes scan every little detail of the metalhead’s face, trying to find some sort of ulterior motive hidden in the fine lines. 

“Hey, Ed! We going or what?” The sound of Gareth’s voice shouting over to your direction from the distance interrupted your train of thought, and Eddie turned around to give the boy a thumbs up before turning back to face you, a simple nod being the last bit of “reasoning” you got from him as he spun on his heel, jogging over to the van. The two boys exchanged a few words before climbing into the vehicle and driving out of the parking lot in a matter of a single minute. 

Before you could process or notice anything at all, Kace was standing at your side with his arms crossed, staring at the van as it drove out of the parking lot. 

“Gareth’s cool,” you finally say, Kace angling his head to look down at you. He nodded, and you felt his eyes burning into the bulky jacket you held in your arms.

“Should I ask?” he questioned as you rolled your eyes, beginning your walk over to his Chevrolet Camaro on the other side of the parking lot, the slender boy following right behind you. 

“Munson being a condescending prick as usual. It’s not even that cold.” You attempted to stifle a shiver as the breeze got one last attack in, Kace laughing as he opened the passenger door for you, allowing you to climb in before making his way around to the driver’s side of the navy blue vehicle.

As Kace got the car started up and began driving out of the parking lot, a thought finally hit you. 

“Hey, why couldn’t you give me a ride to the diner earlier? If I’d known you drove today, I would’ve been able to get there at the same time as you rather than being later than literally everyone else.” Turning the car stereo on, lowering the volume majorly as The Cure began blasting through the speakers, Kace shrugged, glancing over at you in the corner of his vision. 

“Dunno. Felt like being a dick.” He quietly snorted to himself as you rolled your eyes. 

“I hate you.” The boy lifted his right hand over to you, lazily tousling it in your hairsprayed mane as you flicked the appendage away. 

“My heart is yours too, love.” The affectionate response made your cheeks ball up as a smile spread across your lips.

Apart from the few moments where you managed to include yourself in off-topic conversations, the entire day had been long, boring, and most definitely awkward, but finally getting some quality best-friend-time in with just Kace settled the unease that had been festering in your chest all day since the moment you arrived at the diner. With your forehead dropping to rest against the car window, you idly tightened your hold around the leather item of clothing resting in your lap, pulling it against your chest as your fingers fiddled with the icy, metal zipper. 

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.  

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

all fic chapters & ao3 link 

chapter wc: 4.5k

Chapter Two: Pens and Picks

A cloud of light grey smoke filled the air as you exhaled the drag you had taken of Kace’s cigarette. You absentmindedly waved your gloved hand in the air as you sluggishly tried to disperse the cloud, a half-assed attempt at making sure none of the smoke would be seen seeping through the cracks in the bleachers. Your eyes traveled through one of the gaps that were eye-level with you from where you were sitting on the gymnasium floor, your back leaned against the brick wall behind you, and you could see a group of boys stumbling around with a basketball, blocking each other as their sneakers made horrific squeaks against the floor. 

Not really caring about a group of sweaty 17 to 18-year-old boys, you slowly dragged your eyes away to turn your attention back to Kace who was laying down on the floor, head resting on a rolled up gym-mat.

“A Halloween party?” kissing your teeth, you wait for a response as you fiddle with your hands in your lap, your long painted-black nails clacking together as you did. Kace turned his head to the side to face yours, one of his earrings dangling down onto his cheek as he brushed it away.

“Yeah! Make it the first freak party of the school year. And it’s fitting, seeing as it’s Halloween. Yeah, yeah?” The boy’s white toothy grin appeared as he enthusiastically proposed the idea to you.

It’s not like you had an issue with parties or anything, and you had definitely hosted one or two, but you were still an academic try-hard at times, and it was also your last year at Hawkins High. You didn’t want to make any choices or do anything that could risk you not getting that diploma at the end of the school year, and saying a final “fuck you” to principal Higgins as you walk off that stage, never having to see the miserable old bastard ever again. There was a lot on the line, truly.

“Tch, I dunno, man. I need to book my ideas up this year. Can’t give in to distractions or waste any time,” your flat, fully-serious tone made Kace’s grin drop, a dull, somewhat-bored expression playing on his pale face.

“Blah, blah, blah. I get it, I do! You wanna get the fuuuck out of this Hell-hole, I do too! But it’s only a single party, love, it won’t hurt your academic streak of straight A’s too much. Unless, of course, you take some complete mind-fuck of a drug at the party and scramble your brains for the rest of your life,” you both blankly stared at each other, “just don’t do that and you’re set.” Unsure of whether or not he was being serious, you allow yourself to snort at his comment, leaning forward to pluck the cigarette between his index and middle fingers out of his grasp. You hold the stick up to your lips, taking a deep drag in, holding it in your system for a couple of beats before slowly exhaling.

It is Halloween… and the freaks hadn’t had a good party in months, as the summer season was mostly busied with parties held by the “other” groups at Hawkins. Jocks, cheer squad, party-goers, the band freaks, for some reason. But now that October had finally rolled around, it was finally back to being the freak season. Late, private parties in the cold fall and winter season, hosted by the different “freak-ish” cults at Hawkins High while all the prissy popular groups stayed bundled up inside with their… lovers, or something. You didn’t quite, but you knew it couldn't have been as good as the parties the freaks held in the cold seasons.

Whilst deep in thought, you hadn’t noticed that you had kept the cigarette held up to your lips, but not taking a drag, just keeping it there without really thinking. Kace noticing this is what eventually snapped you out of your thought.

“You gonna actually smoke that or just make out with it? Because if so, give it here instead.” You rolled your eyes at the idiotic comment, leaning forward as you gently placed the filter-end of the nearly finished cigarette between Kace’s lips, the boy nodding at you as you did so.

“Alright. Let’s do it. Your house or mine?” Kace sat up as you agreed to his proposal, clapping his hands together like an overjoyed child, his rings clanking together as he did so. 

Despite his appearance; the heavy, dark makeup, the matching leather jeans and jacket with varied different shirts every day, the silver jewelry he never failed to crowd his outfits with, and his spiked, maroon, almost-black hair, he had always been the most upbeat, cheerful person you knew, and he had never once failed to make you smile. Except for that one phase in middle school where he went full anti-social freak, “I hate my mom” type thing. Thank God it was short-lived.

The lanky boy crouched as he took one last drag of the cigarette, dropping it on the floor and stomping it out as he finished it.

“I’d say your house because, one, it’s bigger, and, two, I don’t know if my parents have any plans to leave the house for long enough on Halloween night or any day around the 31st. But, what about your sister? I'm willing to bet you don’t want your sister in the house if you’re planning on hosting a party there, right? Am I right?” Groaning, you rolled your head back as you rubbed your palms together, the lace of your elbow-length, fingerless gloves rubbing together. It didn’t take long for you to think of a solution.

“She’s 15. She’ll wanna go stay round her friend’s house, or something. If she doesn’t already have plans to do so, which I’m willing to bet on, I can easily convince her. Or just bribe her, either work.” You raised your eyebrows at the simple solution, and after thinking over it in his own head, Kace nodded, bobbing his head up and down with a hyped grin on his face. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something else, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Through the bleachers, you could hear the basketball players running toward the locker rooms to change, and Kace groaned.

“Christ, I’ve got math next. Wish me luck, love.” The raven-haired boy leaned down from where he was standing, slouching slightly to avoid hitting his head off the bleachers, as he planted pecks on both of your cheeks, your lips ghosting the action to do the same to his. As he leaned back up, you slipped your fingers into his front pocket and pulled out a fresh cigarette, holding it up to him as you immediately began to light it. He rolled his eyes.

“Using me for my cigs, you wound me.” You clicked the lighter shut and stuffed it back into your pocket as you let the cigarette sit between the corner of your lips.

“Payment, for my time and attention,” you smirked up at the boy as he reciprocated the expression, waving goodbye as he ducked under the framework of the bleachers, leaving your sight in just a small second.

You were now sat alone leaning against the wall under the bleachers in a now-empty gymnasium, grey clouds of smoke wafting through the air as you took drags of the cigarette you had stolen from your friend. 

Your friendship with Kace had always been perfect. Completely platonic, grew up like siblings, and you both had an undying trust for each other. There had never been any sort of issue between the two of you, and although there were times when you barely saw each other due to different friend groups or just not even sharing classes, you still pulled through all the way to senior year. 

...

Senior year.

It was finally your senior year, and you just had to get through it, and then your time at Hawkins High would finally be over. No more shitty cliques, no more shitty grades, no more shitty people. Your first year at Hawkins High was mediocre; not too bad, but not really eventful. Your sophomore is when it started to go downhill, as you were severely lacking in the friends and personality departments. That one day you got jumped by those shitty cheer squad girls was probably the most memorable. Assholes. Who the fuck sprays PERFUME in someone's eyes? Couldn’t that, like, make them go blind, or some shit? Fuck them, they’ll end up graduating and being fucking miserable when their cliques dissolve. Stupid, fucking-

“Shit-” Your eyes snapped open as you simultaneously snapped out of your thoughts, immediately looking over to the source of the sound. 

...

...

Eddie Munson?

The metal head was frozen in place, posed like one of those creatures in a “bigfoot sighting” photograph, his body looking as if he was frozen mid-step. The silver chain on his hip dangled as he failed at remaining completely still as if staying still would mean you wouldn’t see him. 

Still frozen, you took the chance to look the boy up and down. A sleeveless denim vest layered over a leather jacket Kace would be envious of and an Iron Maiden tee, blue, ripped jeans, and white high-tops. Not really your style, but not the worst you’ve seen, especially at a stuck-up school like Hawkins. As your eyes traveled upwards, you noticed how frizzed and knotted Eddie’s hair was, more than usual, as if he had been running from something, or someone, as the small amount of sweat on his forehead meant his bangs were damp against it. His cheek was also red and somewhat bloodied, a dark, small cut on the corner of his bottom lip catching your eye. He reeked of distant sweat, weed, and cheap cologne. Surprisingly, not anything like blood from the satanic, sacrificial rituals he was rumored to take part in. Or, more specifically, take control of. Rumors, am I right?

Tired of him standing dead-still like an opossum playing dead, you decided to break the silence, taking a drag of the lit cigarette between your fingers.

“What do you think I am, a fucking t-rex?” Although mostly hidden by his dark, sticky bangs, you noticed his brows knit together in confusion at the comment, his stance releasing a small amount of tension as you finally spoke.

“Wh-what? Why would you-” You roll your eyes.

“You’re standing there frozen as if I won’t see you or some shit if you don’t move a muscle, like a t-rex. You don’t know your dinosaur facts or some shit?” For some reason, the sound of those words leaving your mouth caused you to chuckle at yourself. You took a drag of the cigarette, exhaling the smoke out of your nostrils. 

The blood, the tousled hair, the whole out-of-breath thing; he was definitely being chased by someone. Or, some people. You wouldn’t normally allow fellow freaks to be harassed by some stuck-up jocks, especially if they were actually throwing punches at one another, but it was a Thursday morning, and you didn’t really feel like having your hide-out being discovered finally by a group of amped-up assholes looking for a fight. 

Just as you were trying to come to a decision, the sound of the gymnasium doors swinging open and a voice shouting out to the freak just stood a few meters in front of you was your call to make up your mind.

“Get lost, Munson. I don’t need your shit disturbing my peace. Take the circus’ monkeys with you too, if you don’t mind.” Ash fell from the end of your cigarette as you waved your hand towards the out-of-breath brunette, signaling him to leave. He groaned as he flipped you off, maneuvering his head from under the bleachers to check if the coast was clear before setting off. It, in fact, was not, as you peeked through a gap in the seats and spotted the group of boys chasing after Munson out of the gymnasium doors onto the field. You snorted at the almost comedic-looking display.

~

The remainder of the school day passed by smoothly and quickly as you spent lunch with your clique and Kace, opted out of 5th-period Chemistry to hang out with one of the girls from your group in the bathroom, and happily attended your last period art class, the teacher, Miss. Coeur, always being a favorite of yours. 

When you finally were allowed to leave school at the end of the day, you arrived home and were greeted by your younger sister, April, who was sitting on the couch flicking through tv channels. You placed your bag on the dining table, taking a seat next to the blonde girl on the couch. Sensing something was off, you looked up at the clock on the wall next to the kitchen door. 3:34 pm. Strange.

“How come you’re home before me? You normally take, like, 50 minutes to walk home from school despite it only being a 30-minute walk.” In the appropriate fashion of a true 15-year-old girl, April rolled her eyes, not bothering to look your way.

“My class got sent home early because some kid made the teacher cry and she walked out. She’ll probably end up quitting. ‘S a shame, I liked her,” she mumbled out, continuing to flick endlessly through the channels on the tv. Clearly, nothing to her liking was on.

You snorted, replying, “You got problems, man. That kid must’ve been a real asshole to make the teacher cry. Freshmen… What’d the kid even do? Or say.” She shrugged, finally glancing in your direction as you place the tv remote on the armrest, letting a show quietly play in the background. 

“‘Not sure, I wasn’t really paying attention, honestly. It was that Brad guy again, as usual. He’s funny, though, I’ll give him that.” As she spoke, you perked your eyebrows up, a smug smile spreading across your lips. April looked up at you with pure confusion written on her face before something clicked and she grimaced.

“No- no, do not. Don’t even go there.” 

“You got a… cruuush? A tiny, weeny crush, maybe? Huh, Apricot?” You wiggled your painted-on eyebrows before you could react to the couch cushion being tossed your way. At the impact, your bangs flew out of your face and you widened your eyes in fake shock.

“I told you to not call me that! And ew, gross, Brad is gross! I do have standards, actually.” You chuckled.

“Okay, okay. You totally don’t like Brad. I get you. So sorry, Apricot.” April huffed as she went to grab the cushion she was leaning on to fling at you but you beat her to it as you deflected hers with the one she had thrown just moments before. 

April’s blonde parted bangs swayed as she shook her head, readying herself as she declared war, “You’re so dead.” You swallowed, faking a scared gulp as the girl grinned across at you, her hands gripping onto another cushion.

~

The plate you were holding clattered against another as you slotted it into one of the gaps on the drying rack, grabbing a cup to clean as you did so. After another 5 minutes, the dishes had been done, April was up in her room sleeping (hopefully), it was dark out as the clock struck 10:30 pm, and you were just about ready to head upstairs to bed too. You dried your hands off by shaking them as you walked through into the living room, grabbing your lace gloves from the dining table as you made your way upstairs, checking that the front door was locked as you passed it.

After a long shower, spent mostly cleaning the black, thick makeup off of your face and shampooing copious amounts of hairspray out of your hair, you were finally ready to sleep. Homework for classes you cared about was completed, your alarm clock was set, and you had managed to get a proper meal into your diet for once, cooking for both you and your sister.

Your bed was cold as you climbed into it, the window being open right next to it as the obvious cause, and you shivered as your rubbed your legs together hoping to warm up. Finally, you began dipping in and out of consciousness as your eyelids grew heavy. And, as always, just like clockwork for the past however many years, that itch was in the back of your mind as you drifted into a deep sleep. 

~

The silver rings on your fingers glinted in the morning October sunlight that shone through the classroom window as you fidgeted with them, waiting for your 4th class of the day, English, to start. As students began to pile in, you silently watched from your seat at the back of the classroom, not having anyone in that class to talk to as none of your group had managed to join you this year. It was fine with you, though, because you weren’t bad at English; you knew how to do the work, and reading and literature, in general, was something you had always enjoyed. Being alone in a class you actually liked wasn’t an issue for you.

After only a few short minutes, it seemed as if everyone had arrived, Mrs. O’Donnell stepped towards the door to close it but as she did, an arm stuck itself through the small gap, getting trapped due to the older woman not realizing it until the very last second. The door swung open as a familiar face pushed his way through, and O’Donnell crossed her arms in disappointment as she looked at the boy.

“Apologies, ma’am.” The brunette’s untamed curls bounced as he dipped his head, trying to avoid O’Donnell’s killer glare.

For whatever reason, up until now, you hadn’t realized Eddie “The Freak” Munson was in the same class as you, despite the fact that it had been an entire month since school started. He wasn’t hard to miss, as it wasn’t unusual for him to be making some sort of scene wherever he went, something you found yourself rolling your eyes at regularly. Standing on tables in the cafeteria, screaming in the halls to his little nerd clique about whatever, and arguing with hall monitors about being “late” to class (he was, in fact, just completely skipping his lessons, and getting caught whilst doing so). The obnoxious metalhead had made a name for himself as the freak of the school, but you never found yourself grouping him in with the other “freak-ish” cliques you were a part of. He was different, and in your mind, made shit hard for himself. 

When he bee-lined over to the desk behind you, his head still dipped as he did so, you knitted your brows together as you wondered how you seriously hadn’t noticed him in your class until now. It wasn’t like he kept a low profile or attended classes on time. Christ, he sat directly behind you, for fuck’s sake. You weren’t that oblivious, were y-

“Psst, Patricia Morrison.” Two fingers tapped your right shoulder as the voice piped up, snapping you out of your thought. You turned around at the disturbance, a mixture of confusion and annoyance plastering your face as you locked eyes with the boy behind you who was leaning over his desk to bring his face close to yours. Why Mrs. O’Donnell wasn’t taking notice of this, you had no idea.

“Why-” As you went to question the name he had called you, the name of a bassist in a band you knew Kace liked, Eddie brought his finger up to your face, just ghosting your lips as he shushed you.

“You got a pen I can use? I forgot my shit in my locker,” you started to turn your body so you could rummage through your pencil case but halted as he spoke again, “oh, and thank you so much for helping me out yesterday, by the way. Got my shit rocked because you basically told me to get lost rather than letting me hide out in my smoke spot.” With unfiltered annoyance and your face now, you kissed your teeth at the last comment, squinting your eyes at him.

“It’s not your ‘smoke spot’, it’s the space under the bleachers, fuck head. You got some ownership over it like a dog that’s pissed on a fire hydrant or something?” you snorted, grabbing a pen from your desk.

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe I do.” Rolling your eyes into the back of your head, you quickly turned in your seat as you heard Mrs. O’Donnell clear her throat, her attention on both of you and Eddie as your quiet bickering finally caught her attention.

“Got something you two need to say? Share it with the class, maybe?” Her drawn-on eyebrows were high and arched as she expectantly tapped her shoe against the floor, half of the class's attention turning to you and the boy behind you. You shuffled in your seat uncomfortably as you took notice of all the eyes on you.

“Sorry, ma’am. Munson was just asking for a pen.” The older woman turned her nose up at you, a subtle gesture to show that she was accepting of your excuse, her eyes lingering on you for a second as she turned her attention back to the class. As everyone turned back around in their seats, all of the tension in your body left simultaneously. 

Rummaging through your pencil case, you finally pulled a pen out as you twisted your arm around to place it on the corner of Eddie’s desk. With your head turned slightly and your voice quiet, you ordered, “Return the pen after class, or I’ll hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands.” He snickered. 

“Will do. Forever grateful, doll.” The nickname made you shiver as you grimaced in disgust, tuning back into Mrs. O’Donnell’s rambling as you tried to push the horrid thought that was Eddie Munson to the back of your head.

Without any other disturbances, the class ended almost as soon as it started, and everyone rushed to push their way out through the small door at once, wanting to get to lunch sooner than usual as it was Friday, and everyone seemed to act more rushed to finish classes the closer the weekend got. 

As you were packing your things away, not bothered by the allure of lunch finally arriving, your eyes widened as you remembered the pen you had sworn to get from Eddie. But as you turned to claim your pen back, the boy seemed to already be long gone, no trace left of him in sight. That was, however, except for a red guitar pick that he had managed to forget on his desk. 

All throughout the duration of the class, you had to refrain from turning around in your seat and (somehow) killing him with the small piece of plastic he had been non-stop flicking against the edge of the wooden table. It seemed that, in the rush to get to lunch as quick as possible, he had forgotten the tiny plastic pick. Without another thought, you picked it up, tucking it in the small pocket of your black dress, walking out of class as you avoided eye contact with O’Donnell, who was staring you down for whatever reason.

You slid into the seat next to Kace as you finally made your way to the cafeteria, the boy’s numerous bracelets and chains jingling as he waved his arms in excitement.

“My love! Oh, my dearest girl, I’ve missed you today. I hate how Friday is the one day we don’t have a single class together. I’m blaming it on the Gods.” Kace turned his body to fully face you as you brushed your combed-back hair out of your face, pulling a bag of chips out of your bag as the boy held his hand out. You placed a few of the salted chips into the palm of his hand as your eyes drifted across the cafeteria but not really looking at anything specific. Apart from Eddie Munson who was, once again, causing a scene, and his loud shouting muffled to quiet rambling due to his position on the opposite side of the cafeteria to you.

“Munson stole my pen.” Crunching loudly on the chips you had given him, Kace quirked an eyebrow upwards, not stopping his chewing to verbally ask you to continue. You didn’t need him to, though, as you knew just from his expression that he was waiting to hear more.

“Apparently, it’s taken me an entire month to realize he was in the O’Donnell’s class sitting literally behind me. But because I didn’t let him hide under the bleachers when he was being chased down by some jocks after you had left yesterday, he’s got a grudge against me now. I also let him borrow a pen because he asked, but he didn’t give it back.” In the fashion of an angry child, you popped a chip into your mouth, chewing with a more than disgruntled look on your face as you stared the metalhead down from across the cafeteria. 

Kace chewed the last of the chips you had given him, pointing a finger at you as he readied himself to reply before swallowing with one big gulp.

“Asshole. That’s what he is.” You nodded in enthusiastic agreement. However, just as you thought you were on the same page as your long-time best friend, Kace rubbed his hands together off to the side, getting rid of any crumbs the chips had left.

“Actually, you’ve reminded me that I actually need to go talk to Munson,” your eyes widened as you harshly swallowed what was in your mouth, “don’t stress, love. I’ll only be second.” Waving your arms around frantically as you stared at the boy sitting next to you with nothing but a face of betrayal, you couldn’t help but be confused at Kace’s sudden switch-up. 

With his chains clattering against themselves and his earrings dangling from the sides of his head, Kace stood up as he smoothed out his shiny leather jacket, wasting no time before taking long strides across the cafeteria over to the table where the entire Hellfire club was sitting. Defeated, you leaned back in your chair, unable to do anything apart from observe in silence as Kace started a conversation with Eddie, who was sitting at the head of the table surrounded by his goons. 

“What the fuck…?” you muttered under your breath, crossing your arms over your chest as the lace of your sleeves draped off the sides of your torso. 

“It’s like when worlds collide. Looks freaky as shit and could only ender shittier,” the girl sitting behind you chimed in. You nodded, pouting your lips like a spoilt child who watching their only friend make new friends. It kind of was that, in a sense, but you weren’t a child, so you had no other choice but to suck it up and shut up.

I swear, Eddie Munson. You better not indoctrinate my only friend into your weird nerd cult. It’ll be the last thing you ever do. 

[liuvli]

Critical Darling Chapters

You can find all chapters of Critical Darling here <3

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41088966

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

Chapter 1: I was seventeen, you were just a dream

Chapter 2: Pens and Picks

Chapter 3: Leather Doll

Chapter 4: Lonesome Love

Chapter 5: Halloween in Heaven

Chapter 6: Nineteen Forty-Six

Chapter 7: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

[liuvli]

Critical Darling

pairing: eddie munson x fem!goth!reader

summary: It's your senior year. You're a "goth freak" and you definitely stand out, but it doesn't bother you. You're proud of who you are, and nobody is going to change that. Not even the person that motivated you to be so proud in the first place. Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

warnings: she/her pronouns, slow burn, cursing, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, minor use of y/n, slightly bitchy reader, work in progress

tags: first meetings, pov second person, s4 doesn’t happen, goth!reader, tradgoth!reader, fluff, angst, eddie & chrissy friendship, reader is a little fruity

author’s note: a friend suggested i upload this to tumblr so i decided fuck it. lol. it’s still a wip, ofc, but im working on it whenever i can so i’d appreciate y’all having faith in the upload process <33 

all fic chapters & ao3 link

chapter wc: 2.8k

Chapter One: I was seventeen, you were just a dream

“Fuck, fuck- FUCK! Shit…��� you hissed in pain, your eyes still squeezed shut as you rubbed the heels of your palms into them.

With the limited amount of vision you had, you managed to stumble into the bathroom, using a hand and extra-wide steps to be able to figure out where you were walking as you tried to make your way towards the sinks. Just as you started to think you could’ve been walking in endless circles, a shiver snaked up your arm as your hand made contact with the cold porcelain sinks. Sighing with relief, your eyelids still glued shut, the sting being somewhat relieved that way, you turned one of the taps on, hunching over to bring your face closer to the water.

Cupping your hands together, collecting a pool of cold water in your shakey palms, you strained to open your eyes, fighting against the burning sensation that was still lingering in them. With them as open as much as you possibly could will them to (not much), you splashed the cool water onto your face as it offered a small amount of instant relief to the sting that had been making them leak with tears for the past 5 minutes. 

***

Before you found yourself blindly staggering down the school halls to find a bathroom, you had been on your way to lunch period, putting a few items from your last period class into your locker. Without any type of forewarning, your locker door was slammed shut just inches away from your face by a hand that came from behind you, and with a small, fed-up, quiet groan, you turned on your heels to face the group of girls looming behind you. 

Three of the cheer squad girls. Although you were a sophomore at Hawkins High and were fully aware that you had known these girls since middle school, you had never bothered to learn any of their names; all you knew was that the brunette in the middle with the extra-short green skirt seemed to be the cult leader in the cheer squad, always ordering the other girls around and for some reason, they obliged without a single complaint. Always. 

Your mouth hung slightly agape as your tongue pressed up to the roof of your mouth, your eyes squinting in confusion as all three of the girls stared you down in similar fashions, with dramatized “intimidating” stances and their arms crossed over their chests.

“Yeah?” you answered, without them even asking a question. From the way they were looking down at you and crowding around you like a pack of wolves staring at their first meal in months, you could tell they were dying, itching to ask you a question. The brunette stood in the middle cocked her head side-to-side as she made looks at her goons, lips pouting in a smug grimace. The display was exactly like something out of a teen drama movie that your little sister would probably find herself watching on a weekend.

“Uh, don’t ‘yeah?’ me, freak. Char, over here, said she saw you gawking at Matty. Isn’t that right, Char?” the cult leader snapped her head to the right, eyes widening at the blonde standing at her side, who frantically nodded in agreement, “yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d have to remind you that he’s MY boyfriend. Matty-bear wouldn’t ever even THINK about a freak like you. But you know that, right?” As the teen-movie stereotype stood directly a foot in front of you and drilled through your skull with just the sound of her voice, you felt your eyes roll into the back of your head, your eyelids low in boredom.

“I don’t know what your minion thought she saw, but it wasn’t that. I don’t want your prissy boyfriend, you prissy bitch.” The girls all gasped in unison as you spoke, the two “minions” exchanging glances just behind their leader as they waited for her to respond. Like a pissed-off bull on a fuck ton of steroids, the brunette’s nostrils flared as she huffed, her eyes so wide you thought they were going to fall out of her skull. 

“W-what did you just say to me, freak…? And did you just- roll your eyes at me?! Do you even know who you’re talking to right now?!” Her shrill voice ran right through you as she raised her volume, her high-pitched squealing attracting the attention of a few other students passing by. As it always is with Hawkins High, despite the event that was happening right in front of them, everyone witnessing the confrontation passed on without as much as a single word. 

Growing increasingly tired of the group’s childish performance, you couldn’t help the sigh that crawled out of your lungs. For whatever reason that they had conjured up in their dense little skulls, that small breath of air you let escape your lips was the final nail in the coffin for their hive mind. The girls all exchanged looks as the brunette uncrossed her arms.

“Perfume, Eva.” As if she had been thoroughly trained like a fucking dog, one of the minions rummaged through her bag before pulling out a small bottle of perfume, firmly placing it in the cult leader’s readily open hand.

Before you could even process what was happening, the brunette held the glass bottle up to your face, her fingers pinching around the little fabric bulb. The second you clocked what she was doing, your eyes were suddenly flooded by the scented perfume that was contained within the decorated bottle. The brunette managed to get just a couple of pumps in before you slapped your palms over your eyes, hissing in pain. You grunted as your vision was obscured by the stinging pain you felt, unable to see the girls giggling as they exchanged a few words with one another. A hand landed on your chest unexpectedly as you were pushed, your feet stumbling over themselves as your back collided with the cold metal of your locker behind you. The sound of the girls’ footsteps started and got quieter as you sensed them walk away from you, their giggling dissipating as quickly as they did. 

Knowing no one that had witnessed the incident was going to help you, you let out a shaky breath before mustering up the energy to blindly stumble your way to the closest bathroom. 

***

That’s how you found yourself in the position you were now in. 

You continued to splash your eyes with the cold water from the tap that you were collecting in your hands, chasing full relief from the perfume that still lingered in the corners of your eyes, irritating the sensitive organs. Too busy trying to get your vision back, you almost didn’t notice the sound of one of the cubicle doors behind you unlocking, the squeaks of someone's shoes rubbing against the bathroom floor going through you.

The person’s footsteps got slightly louder as you felt a presence appear next to you, and you wanted to know what girl had decided it was a good idea to approach you at that moment, but the perfume still agitating your eyes prevented you from doing so. Fuck, this was some persistent eau de parfum. Instead, you chose to silently continue splashing water into your eyes as if you hadn’t heard the unidentified student (or teacher) approach you in the first place.

A few seconds went by and you were both still not saying a word. You could tell whoever it was, they were still standing there, observing you. After they had briefly washed their hands, you didn’t hear their footsteps walk away from you or leave the bathroom. They just stayed where they were at your side. The thought, the feeling, of someone you couldn’t identify staring at you in a moment like this made your stomach churn, uneasiness settling in your skin as the hair on your arms pricked up slightly. You were desperate to dissolve some of the disgustingly thick tension.

“Can I-” you hissed, the perfume still going on as strong as ever, “can I help you?” Your tone was low and serious, a hint of agitation underlying as the stubborn shit in your eyes really pushed you to your limits when it came to how much you were willing to put up with. Whoever it was standing next to you snickered at your question, something about the sound of their mockery directed towards you seeming off. That’s a weird laugh for a girl-

“I don’t know, man, can I help you?” Shit. That’s not a girl. Unless there’s a girl at Hawkins with an incredibly deep voice- shut up. With your hands freezing where they were, just a few inches away from your face, you coughed as you cleared your throat. You weren’t stupid, you never had been, so the realization of the position you had REALLY managed to get yourself into hit you like a ton of bricks almost instantly as this mystery boy spoke. 

“...This isn’t the girls' bathroom, is it…?” You winced as you heard your voice waver. The sound of, what seemed like, metal tapping against the porcelain sink next to you made you jump slightly, all your other senses being hyperalert due to your lack of vision.

“No. No, it isn’t,” you were both silent for a minute, “...are you okay? Actually, never mind, stupid question. Do you need help? What- what happened?” As this mystery boy spoke, his sudden change from a cocky tone to one of genuine concern helped to calm you down just ever so slightly, you took a few seconds to analyze the voice. 

It wasn’t one you were really familiar with, he didn’t sound like anyone in your grade. You were a sophomore, and his voice seemed deeper than any of the other boys’ voices you knew. Not that you knew many, you were a loner. One single friend and it was someone from elementary school that you didn’t even talk to unless you shared a class together and it was just your luck that for this year, sophomore year, you didn’t share a single class. To the rest of your grade, being a world-renowned loner made you a freak, somehow more of a freak than that nerd cult everyone spoke about. Assholes. Everybody was assholes.

You shook your head as you straightened your back standing up straight with your eyes still squeezed shut. Trying to dry your face off, you rubbed the sleeves of your cardigan across it, grimacing as the somewhat rough material irritated the sore skin around your eyes.

“No, no. I’m fine. I don’t need your help. I’m fine,” the creep didn’t respond, allowing you time to think about your response, “those fucking girls, man. The sophomores on the cheer squad. Assholes. I didn’t fucking look at that girl’s butt-ugly boyfriend! I don’t even know what he looks like…” Your words trailed off as you realized you had been rambling, but it seemed to stifle a hearty chuckle out of the boy standing next to you. You were standing with your fingers over your eyes, feeling like a complete fool, as the coldness of your fingertips helped soothe the slight burning you still felt.

“They did… this to you?” As he spoke, you heard the sound of metal quietly clanking against itself. Not knowing what else to say about the situation that had happened 15 minutes prior, you nodded your head. The boy made a ‘tch’ sound as you remained quiet.

“Why?” You shuffled on your feet as you turned around to lean back on the sink, your arms still raised to let your hands rest on your face, and you allowed a few minutes of silence as you thought about your answer.

“I’m a freak. They’re not. They don’t like that, for some reason. Pissed them off, I guess. It sounds like they’ve got their own demons to work through, honestly.” The boy made a sound that sounded like the mixture between a hum and a poorly-suppressed laugh, and you couldn’t help the weak smile that spread across your lips, despite the situation you were in.

“You’re right, you are a freak.” You felt your muscles seize up as the words left his mouth because what the fuck? Who the actual fuck does he think he is? I swear if I could actually see right now to throw a punch-

“But you’re also right about those girls having their own issues to get over. They’re giving you shit because they’re insecure about themselves and you’re just someone who minds her own business, not bothering anyone else,” you took in what the mystery man was saying, but chose to stay silent as you hoped he would elaborate on what he had initially declared, “but you are a freak. A freak of nature. You don’t act like the others, you don’t have a clique, you don’t gossip, and you don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. It’s good. It’s good to be a freak. Embrace it.” As he uttered those last words and you felt a wave of realization wash over you, the bell for the end of the lunch period rang, signaling the start of your next class soon. 

You turned back around, turning the tap on, but pausing before resuming trying to soothe your eyes just a bit more before having to speed off to your class. He hadn’t left yet, and you knew he could sense that you wanted to say something. So you did.

“Thanks. For… talking to me.” Chewing on your bottom lip, the feeling of thanking someone, being vulnerable with someone, being unfamiliar to you, your fingers curled around the sides of the sink, gripping onto the cold porcelain, the tap running like white noise in the background as you awaited the boy’s response. Any response.

He cleared his throat, mumbling, “No worries, kid. I’ll leave you be to… sort yourself out. But until class starts, I’ll guard the door to make sure none of the other guys come in, okay? Once class starts, you’re on your own with that one.” With your head dipped down to hide the grin on your face, you sighed in relief as you heard the mystery man exit the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him. 

...

What a freak. 

***

That encounter was almost a year and a half ago. It was nearing the end of your sophomore year and now, you were a senior. It was October of your senior year, to be exact, and a lot had changed. One of the most noticeable changes about you was that you actually had a friend group know. At some point, after your summer break almost 2 years back, when your junior year started, you ended up sharing almost all of your classes with your elementary school friend, Kace Hayes, a boy you, by now, could trust almost everything with. He was your ride-or-die, and you were grateful when he happily welcomed you into his group of friends.

…And that’s where things started to take a turn. Under the influence of Kace’s friends, a group of “gothic freaks” at Hawkins High, and motivated by this itching feeling at the back of your mind you couldn't quite figure out the origin of, you blossomed into something you were finally happy with. Each morning, you’d spend at least an hour painting your skin with bold, dark makeup; sharp, thick eyeliner that extended from the outer corners of your eyes, up past your equally as sharp eyebrows, and varying shades of dark lipstick that brought attention down to the ring that hung from your pierced septum. For school, that’s as toned-down things would get. Weekends would roll around and your group would host or attend parties with other “freak-ish” cliques, and you would happily take it as an excuse to adorn your favorite white facepaint under your usual bold look. You were happy with how you finally looked, and it made you feel good, so good. It was you, and you had finally found like-minded people that supported that.

Your parents weren’t approving of it, but what were they gonna do? Actually parent you for once? Since you turned 18, they took your age as an excuse to leave you as your 15-year-old sister’s babysitter so they could go on trips for “business”. It was bullshit, they’d just go vacationing with you or your sister so often that you two had grown used to only each other’s company. They were assholes, but at least you didn’t have to put up with them. They still gave you many for food, so that was a plus. 

School, however, hadn’t really gotten better or exactly solved the issues you had with it, it just got more bearable as you found your people. You were attached to Kace at the hip, so there was always someone there for you, and you didn’t feel alone with who you were anymore. Things were ok. Life was ok. You were a freak, but that was good. It’s good to be a freak.

There was still that constant itch though.

[liuvli]

"you read a lot, right?"

"yes!"

"what are some books you've read recently?"

"uhh i don't remember"

[liuvli]

Me reading a really good book: god this makes me wanna write

Me reading a really bad book: ugh this makes me wanna write

Me having coffee: i wanna write

Me going on a drive: i wanna write

Me doing the dishes: i wanna write

Me waking up: i wanna write

Me writing: