#LatchBack | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skepsiss · 2 years ago

Text

Modern Problems, Modern Solutions - pt2 - Steddie

Pt1 Pt3

A modern day AU (2015) of Steve and Eddie in high school. Eddie is out as Bi and Steve has just recently come out as Bi. Steve is 16 and Eddie is 17.

I wanted to explore the genuine, awkwardness of young, queer love. Eddie is doing better in school with modern solutions, but his anxiety I think is worse. Being ignored (like in the 80s) helped him avoid some more intense day-to-day anxieties, but it obviously messed up his education and a lot else. Anyways, enjoy this yearning, young love, slow burn. This chapter is light and softer.

-------

Much like Eddie had assumed, heading back to school on Monday was the same as it ever was. Nothing had changed and there was no one that seemed to be gossiping or anyone who even knew about the little drive Eddie and Steve had taken on Saturday. He wasn't sure why he had vaguely worried about that or why he mentally braced himself to be leered at by some annoying preps and have to put on his tough-guy attitude. Eddie mostly stuck to his own business during school and the teasing had more or less stopped over the last year or so. Still, he could hear people snickering at him when he happened to get loud at lunch or when he let a more genuine him slip out in the hallways at school. He always felt scrutinized by his peers and quietly hated the fact that he had to go to the Special ED room for one of his blocks. He knew it was the only thing that was really helping him to keep up with his grades and graduate, but he hated the ammunition it gave other people to tease him. The nicknames had been relentless when he was in middle school.

This day, school had been quiet and Eddie had started to relax after lunch. No one had said anything to him and he didn't mention it to his friends either so he was surprised when he stopped off at his locker and saw Steve mingling near the end of the hall. They made brief eye contact and Eddie started to look away before he saw recognition in Steve's expression. He patted the guy's shoulder he was talking to and excused himself, walking down the hallway directly at Eddie.

Eddie felt his body tense and a chill roll over his arms. What was this about? He didn't want Steve talking to him at school. He had carefully cultivated his social circle with the freaks and the weirdos and the last thing he needed was for anyone to think he was friendly with the jocks.

Eddie closed his locker, motioning to turn away from Steve so he could escape the whole situation and save himself the ridicule, but that wasn't to be either.

"Eddie, hey," Steve called to get his attention. He wasn't speaking terribly loud, but anyone nearby would have heard him.

Eddie half turned and Steve was actually jogging up to him in order to catch up. That made Eddie's shoulders tense as he stood there, feeling like he couldn't escape.

"Hey," Steve offered, moving his book bag over his shoulder and fishing in one of the front pockets. "I think one of your pins came off in my car."

Eddie looked at Steve in surprise and glanced down at his hand as Steve presented him with a latchback pin that was definitely his. It must have come off of his denim jacket without him realizing and fallen onto the seat or something. The pin was obviously his–the little gold skull ribboned by the words "Five Finger Death Punch" was a sore giveaway.

"Almost vacuumed it up. It's yours, right?"

Eddie looked back up at Steve who was smiling in a friendly way, his hand still open with the pin in it. Eddie floundered for a quick moment before nodding and sticking his hand out to accept the pin.

"Yeah, uh, I didn't even realize," he replied as Steve tipped the little piece of metal into his hand. "Thanks."

Steve was already adjusting his bag back over his shoulder, not prolonging the exchange as he started to turn back towards his friends.

"No problem, later," he offered, half waving and leaving Eddie there to gawk at him slightly.

Eddie glanced around himself, but no one seemed to be staring at him, and despite Steve's friends giving him a strange look–obviously asking what that had been about–Steve seemed to wave it off without Eddie getting any leery looks, though. It was like... a totally innocuous exchange and Eddie didn't know how he felt about that.

The bell rang and Eddie pocketed the pin, his anxiety flaring still as he walked back towards his class. That was so... weird. But what did he expect? He had left something in Steve's car, he had found it, and then he had returned it. No big deal, right? But that meant Steve was acknowledging him at school and not trying to hide the fact that they had spent time together. Enough time that Eddie had been in his car. When did a guy like Steve interact with a guy like Eddie? If he had just been trying to be nice he could have returned the pin after school when fewer people were around, or left the pin with Robin to give to him at band practice or something–but no, he had walked it up to him in the middle of the hallway without a second thought. Was Steve Harrington an idiot? Or did he really not care?

The whole exchange puzzled Eddie for the rest of the day which proved to be a nuisance as he was called on in class for not paying attention. His brain just kept drifting back to the exchange in confusion–absolutely fixated on it. He was overthinking, he knew it, but he couldn't help himself. What did this mean for him? Was he going to have to be on his toes and endure annoying questions from his classmates in the locker room after Gym? Was he going to have to be an asshole to Steve to prove to his friends that no, he didn't actually like him, he had just been nice was all?

Eddie grumbled about it all the way to band after school, hating that he was wrapped up in high school politics. He wanted to just forget about it, but couldn't. He felt like his hackles were up the whole time and he messed up more than once in rehearsal, only to snap at the teacher and then angrily excuse himself for the rest of the day. That had everyone staring at him which made him feel worse and that night had been spent mourning the day as he lay chest down on his bed and let his phone cycle through YouTube videos. He stayed up too late and woke up frustrated by his alarm only to drag himself to school again the next day.

His mind did feel a bit clearer though, and he tried to focus on the fact that he had Hellfire after school today. Gareth was going to bring in his new copy of "Out of the Abyss" which Eddie hadn't gotten to look at yet. Gareth had proclaimed that it was a brutal campaign setting, even if Eddie had quietly already changed part of the phrasing in it from what he knew of the setting. He wasn't keen on the premise of the plot being based on the party starting out as slaves, and he'd probably change that to prisoners or something if he were to run it. But this was their first real look at the Under Dark since 5e's initial release in 2014 and he was excited to see how it all fit together.

Eddie let himself focus on that for the rest of the day, bracing himself for the debate that always popped up about the differences and superiority of 4th edition versus 5th. He liked taking both sides at different times depending on his mood, and he was running through the argument in his head as the club members started filtering in.

As everyone trickled in through the door–Dustin and Will showing up already in the throws of a conversation–Eddie felt his anxiety from the previous day melt away. He was laid back, sitting so the chair he was in was wobbling on it's back legs and his feet were up on the desk in front of him. His thoughts were a mile away from Steve Harrington and how their proximity would affect the remainder of his high school career. He was even laughing at some innocuous comment Benson had made and was now being ripped apart by Jeff when his attention was snatched away.

"Henderson."

Eddie glanced over, noting that Dustin was exclaiming animatedly at Will, obviously giving an impassioned speech over something.

"Henderson!"

Eddie looked again, staring at Steve who hung off the doorframe to the classroom they were all piled into. No one else was paying attention to him and Eddie could see the frustration on his face. Without thinking more about it, Eddie wadded up the paper in front of him and chucked it at Dustin across the way, hitting his arm harmlessly.

"Yo, Halitosis!" Eddie yelled, not getting up from where he was seated, his feet still up on the desk.

Dustin's attention was pulled away and he looked at Eddie with the most exasperated expression in human history before Eddie jammed his thumb in the direction of the door.

"What? What?" Dustin asked, putting his arms out to the side as he looked from Eddie to Steve.

"You left your stack of crap in my backseat," Steve said, his tone familiar and put-out sounding.

"Okay?" Dustin exclaimed, which got an eye roll from Will.

"Okay? So, go get it or you're not seeing it until next Tuesday, come on, man," Steve scolded which got a sneered look from Dustin.

"And you didn't bring it in, why?" Dustin retorted, walking towards the door anyway, followed by Will who was obviously perturbed by Dustin's incredulous behaviour. He probably had intentions to help him bring all his things inside, too.

"What am I? A pack horse?" Steve quipped back, stepping out of the doorway for the two boys to walk out to his car. He pointed his car fob towards the parking lot, no doubt knowing that they were close enough that he could unlock it from here.

"Don't forget to lock it!" Steve called after the boys, which got a mumbled reply that Eddie couldn't hear.

Steve looked back at the room and at the other boys there who were all a bit amused by the exchange. Steve seemed exasperated, but in that kind of way an older brother who secretly adored their kid sister would. He was smiling a bit while he rolled his eyes and Eddie couldn't help but smile back.

"Tell me about it," Eddie retorted, chuckling a bit in a good-natured way. He hadn't meant it to be an invitation, but Steve seemed to take it as that and stepped into the classroom to stand near the other guys.

Benson and Jeff seemed confused by his approach, but they didn't look as anxious as Eddie felt by the friendly way Steve approached them.

"He like this during your guy's club, too?" Steve asked, putting his hands on his hips and looking towards the door as if he could see Dustin standing there.

"More or less," Eddie offered, putting his hands on top of his head as he leaned back, trying his best to look casual. Why was he acting this way? Who was he? Why did he care what Steve Harrington thought of him?

"Why do you drive the little hellion around anyways?" Eddie asked, surprised by his own question.

"Dustin?" Steve asked, looking back at the other boys, "well..." he seemed to pause and think for a while, hands still on his hips as he looked back over toward the parking lot.

"He's a good kid... generally," he replied, giving a bit of a nothing answer. That left Eddie feeling unsatisfied and curious about the real reason. You didn't just know some random kid for no reason, especially when you lived in such different worlds.

Steve shrugged and smiled briefly, before nodding.

"Well, I better make sure he isn't scratching up my paint job. See ya," Steve offered, half waving, "talk to you later, Eddie."

Eddie blanched as he watched Steve leave, staring after him as the boy walked out into the hall and towards the parking lot. Talk to you later, Eddie? What did that mean? They were going to talk later? Since when?

"You know Steve Harrington?" Jeff asked and Eddie almost broke his neck with how fast he whipped around to look at him.

"As if–" Eddie hissed, his chest clenching hard as he processed all of that. "We've talked like, once–that's it."

Jeff and Benson seemed surprised by his delivery before their attitudes melted into something else: interest in having a repartee at Eddie’s expense.

"I don't know man," Jeff teased, shrugging a bit, "you two seem pretty close."

"Yeah, you tossing the ball around after school or something?" Benson taunted, backing up a bit.

Eddie felt his face grow hot and he wobbled the chair back onto all fours as his frustration seized him.

"Shut the fuck up–we talked one time!" He hissed, knowing that he was getting riled up and in turn giving the two boys what they wanted.

"It only takes one time," Jeff sighed dreamily, which in turn made Benson catch him by the shoulders and tilt him as if they were swooning over each other.

"Oh, Steve..." Jeff tormented, snickering a little as Eddie stood up fast enough to make the desk and the chair squeak back.

"Cut it out!" Eddie snarled, sending enough energy towards the other two to have them stumble backward over one another and laugh at the display. They were scared, but obviously amused.

It was all good-natured, Eddie knew it, but it was getting under his skin. Why was he so embarrassed? Usually, when the guys teased him about boys Eddie just retorted with a quick, inappropriate remark and left it at that. He'd lean into the tease and act the damsel or reverse it and purposefully get so raunchy and macho about it that his comment would verge on harassment. They were joking, Eddie would joke back, they always knew the other didn't mean anything by it.

Eddie was still red in the face when Dustin and Will pushed their way back into the classroom, arms full of books and their conversation from earlier still raging. They both seemed to stop though as they read the energy in the room, Will chuckling awkwardly.

"What's... what's uh, going on?" He asked nervously and flinched hard when Eddie looked at him. His expression was so sour that Eddie was sure that Will thought he was in trouble.

"Nothing–" Eddie snapped, which got a few more chuckles from Jeff and Benson. He didn't need to deal with this, he was better than this.

"Move," Eddie demanded, walking towards Dustin and Will and then forcing his way into the hallway. He walked red-faced to the men's washroom to cool down, eager for this day to be over. PT3

#my_writing #my writing #steddie #eddie munson #steddie fic #steve harrington #i write DnD books irl so I'm vibrating being able to use that knowledge here lmao #somft part #the next part is pretty soft too #but after that.....

153 notes · View notes