#he seems sad actually and eddie kind of hates that so he starts to make some lame joke about how steve should be honored

[cuoredimuschio]

okay, but where's my steddie AU where steve wants to learn to play guitar to impress a girl he's infatuated with and he remembers that munson kid was always hanging up posters for his weird band at school, so he hikes out to eddie's usual dealing spot behind the track and asks (with far less groveling than he really should have) if eddie will teach him how to play, and obviously eddie says no because why would he want to help king steve, but of course, steve offers to pay him, $20 a week, and well, that's the kind of get-the-hell-out-of-this-shithole-town cash eddie really can't afford to refuse, so fine, he'll teach steve to play and they'll spend inordinate amounts of time together tucked away in eddie's room and they'll start to see that they have more in common than they thought and that they kind of had each other all wrong, and eddie will put his hand over steve's to help him get the placement for a tricky chord and it totally won't awaken anything in either of them?? where is it??

edit: i started writing it

[hellfirenacht]

Wing Man Part 1

Summary: Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you’ll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie. 

Tags: Eddie Muson x reader, weirdo!reader, bestfriend!Steve

You hadn’t planned on becoming friends with Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington. In your mind, he was still that cocky freshman who happened to be good at playing Basketball during your senior year of high school. You’d never paid much attention to sports or the popular crowd back at Hawkins High, but word had quickly spread about the new kid. 

When Steve and Robin approached you to help hook them up with a job at Family Video you were skeptical at first. Robin was a no-brainer when it came to hiring. She had the experience and clearly knew her stuff when it came to movies. Steve you were more on the fence about, as he seemed less cinematically inclined but Robin had vouched for him, and you were tired of having to cover so many of Keith’s shifts. Even when he was here, Keith was basically useless, always hiding in the back. 

At this point, you were desperate for any sort of help, so you hired them both. 

You quickly took a liking to them- they were easy to hang out with and were able to quickly pick up on what needed to be done. Robin always knew what movies to show on the preview televisions, and Steve was quick to pick up on any busy work that needed to get done. 

“I’m always willing to go the extra mile to slack off.” he’d said once, which had earned your approval. As long as shit got done, they could slack off all they wanted. You hated that ‘if you have time to lean, you have time to clean’ bullshit. It’s not like the job was especially hard either. 

Eventually you and Steve started talking on the nights where the two of you would close together alone. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were good for that sort of thing, they were your slowest days. You learned that he was floundering a bit after high school, struggling to find a place in the world now that he was no longer King Steve. It was also clear by the way he talked that he was still hung up on his ex Nancy, even if he wouldn’t admit it. 

That was probably the reason why he kept striking out when flirting with customers. It was actually kind of sad. 

“You know, I really should probably tell you to stop hitting on every cute girl that walks through that door.” you said, taking out some tapes from the VHS re-winder and putting in new ones. “People come here for movies, not to be hit on.”

It was a speech you’d given at least a dozen times over the past four months. You’d said it so many times that Steve was mouthing along the words as you said them, and you gave his arm a smack. Your heart wasn’t in it though, in truth you knew that at least half of the young women who came to Family Video were here to see Steve and flirt, which is why you were so baffled that he was striking out so hard. 

He was good with customers, great even. When he first started working here he would get several numbers slipped to him between returned VHS tapes. But as the Summer months shifted into Autumn, he seemed to be running out of steam. 

“I can’t help it if I’m naturally charming.” Steve said, with over-compensated confidence. “I don’t even need to think, I’m just that good at flirting.”

“Yeah, I think your charisma stat has taken a hit over these past few weeks dude.” you snorted.

“I still don’t know what that means.” Steve said. “But I have plenty of charisma!”

“You know, if you actually paid attention to what me or your children said every once in a while you’d understand us better.” You couldn’t help but laugh. Over the past few months, so many freshman had come in just to bother Steve while he was working. “How is the single mom life by the way? Am I giving you enough hours to pay the bills? Do the kids need new shoes for school?”

“I’m not the mom, I’m the babysitter.” Steve shot back, before realizing how lame that actually was then he sighed. “I think they’re doing okay. Henderson’s the only one who actively keeps up with me.”

You didn’t miss the hint of disappointment in his voice. “It’s hard when they grow up.” you said, putting your hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t put you in a home.”

Steve snorted and brushed your hand off. “Says the one older than me.” he rolled his eyes. 

“See, I don’t have six kids to raise, so I’m going to stay young and fun forever, Harrington.” you teased. “You’ve got a full brood to look after. Oh look, I think I see a gray hair right there!” 

You reached over to touch his hair and he swatted you away again. “Like hell there is!” he said, mild panic in his voice. You didn’t let up and kept reaching for his hair and he kept pushing you off. 

“Yup, that’s a gray one, you’re about to go full Doc Brown on me before the end of the year!” You declare as he attempted to push you off. 

Despite him trying to push you off, there was a smile on his face. A lot of nights ended like this with you annoying him and teasing him for his relationship with so many kids. It was endearing really. 

The door to the front of the store rang and you two immediately jumped apart as a girl came in, looking to be about Steve’s age. She was pretty, and you slipped out from behind the desk to put away some movies. He really shouldn’t be flirting with the customers, you know this. But... well it was Tuesday night and you were bored and this was far more entertaining than reorganizing the movies in the back room. Less sticky too. 

“Action!” You heard Steve call from up front and you moved casually between the aisles and cringed. Oh, no. He was doing the bit again. How many times have you told him that it wouldn’t work? “Oh, I’m sorry you’re so beautiful I thought you were an actress.”

You had to bite your hand to stop yourself from laughing. You couldn’t handle this, this didn’t work the first dozen times, why the hell would it work now? Steve’s voice carried easily, projecting around the video store and allowing you to hear every single word that came out of his mouth.

You listened as Steve threw everything at this poor girl. Talking himself up as some sort of cinema aficionado when you knew the last movie he rented was Star Wars for the third time to watch with Dustin. And he called you the nerd. 

“So yeah, I was thinking, beautiful girl like yourself might enjoy watching this movie with some company.” Steve said, handing over the movie. The girl in question gave a polite smile and declined the movie, renting the two that she had actually came for and left. 

“That... was sad, Steve.” you said, as she disappeared into the parking lot. You walked over to the counter and picked up the movie that Steve had tried to offer her. “‘The Karate Kid?’ Really? That was your big plan?” 

Steve’s was leaning over the desk, bracing his hands against the side of the counter looking down. “I panicked ok?” he admitted. “I don’t know what’s going on with me. I used to be so good at getting any girl I wanted and now I keep blowing it.”

You felt for the guy, you really did. He’d gone from the top of the world to treading water in just a few short months. Steve had told you that he had been at Starcourt Mall the day of the fire, and you had a feeling that it affected him more than he let on. You’d seen him get rejected so many times, but he was always able to brush it off. This time it looked personal. 

Well, he was your friend now, and as your friend it was up to you to help him out. 

“I think you need to learn how to talk to women now that you’re not in high school anymore, Steve.” you said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “The tactics you used before just aren’t going to cut it now. Welcome to “life after high school” where everything you learned over the past twelve years is socially useless.” 

“Yeah? And what would you know about social skills?” Steve said. “I haven’t exactly seen you going on any dates lately either.” 

“Rude, but fair.” you admitted. He didn’t mean anything mean by it, but the two of you were very much opposites when it came to how you both approached things such as your social and dating life. 

Steve was interested in taking any pretty face he saw out on a date. You had not been on a date in months, and had barely tried. Steve had countless tales about his time dating in high school, you went to Homecoming stag with your friends once. Steve talked about a time where he was almost having too much sex. You shamelessly rented porn from the back room and made Steve ring you up as he rolled his eyes. 

He’d asked you on a date once and you almost laughed in his face. He was good looking, in a traditional sense but not your type.After thinking about it, you decided that kissing Steve sounded too much like kissing your favorite cousin. You had politely declined and he seemed relieved. 

It’s not that you didn’t have an interest in dating, you did. You had tried to explain it to Steve one night, that so many people were into being popular and caring about things that you just couldn’t. You’d tried to fit in, but your interests were just weird. You could have fun at a football game if you were with friends, but that came from the excitement of being in an excited crowd and being with people you liked. You didn’t blame anyone for it, you were glad that people could care about these things. You just wished someone could get excited about the same things that you did. 

You and Steve were both fish out of water, you’d just grown used to not being able to breathe. 

“Sorry.” said Steve, standing up straight again. “That was below the belt.”

“You’re a dick, but it’s fine.”  you shrugged. You’d been called worse for less. “You know, I may not be the pinnacle of normalcy but I do happen to be a woman.”

“I thought you said you were the Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Steve laughed under his breath. 

“Only on special occasions.” you replied. “But that’s not the point. Look, you need help getting your groove back. I’m tired of renting movies from the back. I think we could help each other.”

Steve turned to you, brows furrowed. “What did you have in mind?” 

“I’m thinking we could try wing-manning for each other.” you said. “I’ll talk you up and help you not make a jackass out of yourself, and you can help me get a date too.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something smart, but he closed it quickly with a tilt of his head. He looked to the side, thinking about the proposal. 

“You can’t do any worse with my help.” you said. “I mean, that ‘actress’ line was bad. Really bad. Like, horrible. I don’t know why you keep using it.”

“It worked with Linda Mendelli.” Steve said defensively. 

“Yeah, I have no idea who that is.” you said. 

“She got the lead in the spring musical two years ago.” 

“So your actress line worked on a high school actress once.” you laughed. “That explains everything.”

“Like you could come up with a better line!” Steve pouted. 

“I can think of a million different lines that would work better than that. And I’ll share them with you, if we have a deal.” you said. 

“So you want me to get you a date?” he clarified. “That’s what you want out of this?”

“That’s what I get out of this. Well, that and I can stop nearly puking when I have to listen to you come up with some weird line when a cute girl walks in. It would save me a lot of money on nausea medication.” You smirked. 

Steve thought about it for a moment before looking you up and down. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you’re already not interested in changing anything about yourself to make this easier on me.”

“Again, that’s really rude. That is correct though, you get me a date as I am. No make-over montage, no pretending I’m something I’m not. I spent all of high school trying to be something else, and I’m done with that.” you said firmly. 

Steve turned away from you, ran his fingers through his hair, and then turned back, offering his hand. “Fine, you have a deal.” 

With a smile, you spat in your hand and grabbed his in a firm shake. “Deal.”

“Ew!” he jerked his hand back as you laughed. Steve wiped his hand on his pants looking disgusted. “That’s so gross, you really are giving me a run for my money.”

“Right then,” you said with an amused grin. “Let’s start with lesson one, and stop with any stupid pick-up lines to get attention.”

Over the next few weeks, in the slow times during work where there was nothing to do but dust the shelves and rewind tapes, you coached Steve on how to talk to women. 

“It’s really not that hard.” you explained one night. “It really does come down to just two things; be sincere and be confident. You already have probably too much confidence coming out your ass, but the sincerity isn’t there. You keep throwing these random lines out and hoping something sticks. Fine, that works in high school but not anymore.”

“I’m always sincere about asking them on a date!” he protests. “I’m not just asking every girl I see out on a date!”

“That’s statistically incorrect but I’ll humor you.” you said, as you organized the candy shelf, restocking the skittles. “I believe it when you ask a girl out, but you’re so oblivious about them as people. Newsflash, not all girls are the same Harrington.”

“Yeah, some of them are you.” he said, leaning against the counter, having already given up on pretending to work for the night. “How many times have you seen that Rocky Horror movie now?”

“I see it once a month with my friends at the old Cenimaplex right outside town. Been doing that since I was eighteen.” you confirmed. “I’m hoping to get to be part of the shadow cast at some point.” 

“See? That’s weird. Most people maybe go see it once in October.” Steve points out. 

“We aren’t talking about me, Harrington. We’re talking about the type of girls you’re into. Also, don’t knock it. I plan on dragging you along this month. It’s about time you lose your virginity.” you smirked as you ripped open a box of snickers and handed him one. “Don’t tell Keith.”

He took the candy bar. “You know I’m not a virgin. I have had sex before you know.” 

You shook your head, that’d be a conversation for another day. “Let’s get back to the point. You keep asking girls out but you don’t know them.”

“I get to know them when I’m on a date.” he said. 

“That’s all well and good, but you need to be able to see what kind of person they are before you go on the date. Not everyone is like me and wears their personality on their sleeves.” you explained, taking your own candy of choice off the rack. “Okay so today for example. Remember the girl that came in with the brown hair and rented out Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure?” Steve nodded. “So, she also rented out The Breakfast Club.”

“Okay? And what does that have to do with anything?” Steve asked. 

“It means she has a kid sibling, and is probably a burnt out older sibling.” you said. “Loves her baby brother or sister but is also very introspective and trying to figure herself out. You came on too strong with her, asking her to a high school basketball game was too high energy.” 

Steve gawked at you for a moment. “I hate that you just made sense.” He rubbed his cheeks with his hands. “Shit.” 

“Dude, just pay attention to whoever you’re interested in and all the pieces will fall in place.” you said. “Pay attention to the movies, what she’s saying, and if she’s giggling at you then that’s a good sign.” 

“Pay attention. Right. I can do this.” he said. 

Two weeks after this conversation, Steve nabbed his first date in two months. It had taken a little bit of coaching and some hyping on your end but he got a girls number and had set up a date. 

Three days after that he had another date set up. 

Two days after that, another three dates. 

It was the start of October now, and you were decorating the store for the season. You were standing on a ladder putting up a strand of black garland while Steve held the ladder. 

“So I’m taking Shannon out on Tuesday to get ice cream at the new place down the street.” Steve explained. 

“We work Tuesday.” you said. 

“Tuesday morning.” Steve clarified. “Then Thursday I have two dates with Amy and Marissa since it’s my day off.” 

He’d been going on about this for an hour. Steve had been going on dates steadily again for at least three weeks now. It had only been a little over a month that the two of you had agreed to the deal. Now King Steve was back, and you were now subject to every detail of his romantic escapades again. You were happy for your friend, really, but sometimes you’d sneak into the back room and organize the porn just to give you a moment away from hearing about your friends new-found sex life. 

It didn’t need to make sense, it just needed to work. 

“Do you ever stop to sleep?” you asked, taping up the final end of garland and coming back down the ladder. 

“Sometimes I sleep before I have to sneak out a window after I’ve-”

“Nope. No more words, Harrington.” you said, holding up a hand as he laughed. “I get it, I’ll give you more hours so that you can expand your condom budget. Your poor kids must feel neglected while you find them a new mom.”

“I thought you said that I was the single mom?” Steve asked as you both moved the ladder to a new spot. He handed you a bat from the box that held the Halloween decorations. 

“Oh, you are. Your kids can have two moms, I’ll allow it.” you said, hopping up on the ladder again. “Hey look, I’m Ozzie Osbourn!” 

Jokingly you bit at the head of the bat as Steve looked up at you as if you were insane. “...What?”

You frowned and looked down at him. “Black Sabbath?” you asked. “The guy bit a bats head off on stage?” Now he was looking at you like you were a total psychopath. “Oh come on, you didn’t hear about that? The first time it was a fake bat but then he somehow managed to grab a real bat?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, as usual.” Steve said, shaking his head. “What movie is Black Sabbath again?” 

It was your turn to stare at him now. “How are we even friends?” you asked. “You and I don’t have a single thing in common. ‘What movie is Black Sabbath’ be so for real right now.” 

“You asked me last week if the Pacers was a marathon I was going to race!” Steve shot back. 

“And I stand by that, because that does NOT sound like the name of a basketball team.” You climbed higher on the ladder to hang the bat. 

“You’re thinking of the Fitness Gram Pacer Test.” 

“Sports!” you cried out, giving the bat a small bap to make it swing. “Movement like that means nothing to me!” you gave a pause. “Unless you’re actually going to compete. I’ll care for your sake if you’re playing. Otherwise I’m just gonna smile and nod. Give me another bat.”

Steve dug into the box again to pull out another bat for you. “So what’s Black Sabbath then?” he finally asked. 

“Look at you taking my lessons to heart and asking questions about a girls interest!” You reached down and pat his hair, causing him to swat you away again with a comment about not touching his hair. “It’s a metal band.” 

“I didn’t think you were into metal.” Steve said as you came back down the ladder. 

“I’m into anything I like.” you said simply. “Why limit yourself, you know? If I like something I need to learn everything about it or I feel like my brain will explode.”

“You’re kind of weird.”

“I know.”

The two of you continued to decorate the store between taking care of customers. You were going a bit overboard, if you were honest. Keith had handed you a pathetic box of a few paper decorations to use, and you had gone out with your own money to buy more. If you were expected to be here to earn a paycheck you may as well get something out of it, even if it was the feeling of being surrounded by cheesy holiday memorabilia. 

“So how are the kids, Harrington?” you asked, untangling a fake spiders web. 

Steve sighed, messing with the candy counter. “Dustin’s doing good. He’s made a friend at school.” 

“You seem tense about that.” you looked over at him. “Care to share with the class how that makes you feel?”

“I don’t feel anything about it.” Steve said, clearly defensive. “Henderson has a new cool older friend who’s into the same nerdy shit he’s into.”

Steve was so jealous, it was written all over his face. How long had he been the cool older figure in that kid's life? 

“Should have taken him up on playing D&D with him.” you said with a grin. “Now your child is going to divorce you for a new dad.”

“You really need to sort out whatever metaphor you’re going to use with me and these kids.” 

“Nah, gotta keep you on your toes.”

Steve shook his head with a laugh. “It’s funny you know? One minute I’m the coolest guy in the room to everyone. I was king of Hawkins High, had these kids that annoyed the shit out of me but looked up to me, and the best girlfriend I could have asked for. Then I graduated, the kids took over school, and now I’m single even after going on all these dates.” 

“Yeah, life’s funny like that.” you agreed. “If it makes you feel any better I don’t think you’re super lame. You’re actually kind of an alright dude.”

“Thanks.” 

“Any time.” 

“...So speaking of you going on dates.” you started slowly, unsure how to bring this up. 

“Right, yeah, so I said I was going out with Amy and Marissa on Thursday-” Steve started.

“No not that,” you interrupted. “Well, sort of but not really. So I’ve held up my end of the bargain, Harrington.” 

Steve froze for a moment before looking up at you on the ladder. “Oh, right. So about that, I have no idea what you even like in a guy.”

“Fair enough, I have not exactly been as pro-active as you have been.” The past few weeks had been so busy with the changing of seasons and weeding out old movies that you hadn’t really had time to think about dates. You’d been stuck in a perpetual loop of work and school with the occasional odd movie night with Steve and Robin when they were free. 

“So what do you like?” he asked. “If you want my help, you’re gonna have to open up about that.”

“Oh but that involves being vulnerable with King Steve of Hawkins High and that’s not exactly my style.” you sighed dramatically. 

“Last week when we got together for movie night you got drunk and cried about how you got asked out to prom as a joke. Is that not opening up or being vulnerable?” 

You winced and made a face. “I did that? Yikes. I’m never drinking again.” You did remember renting out Carrie with the others and crying because she had been a very relatable character in your early high school years. Things were a lot better now that you left high school, but you supposed that had struck a nerve. 

“Come on, just give me something to work with. I know you’re a weirdo who obsesses over the most random things. You like Rocky Horror and anything with music. But what do you like in a guy?” Steve pressed. 

You fiddled with the decoration that had been perfectly hung a moment ago, just to give you something to do with your hands. This was a very good question that you had thought about a lot. 

“I guess I want someone who’s as weird as I am.” you finally said. “I’d like to at least meet someone who understood the things I cared about, or was at least willing to learn. I know I’m different, and I’m okay with being different. I want a guy who gets being like that, and won’t make me feel less for it.”

“That’s... specifically vague.” Steve said, thinking. “I was thinking more looks wise.” 

“I like guys with long hair.” you said immediately. 

That he could probably work with. You hopped off the ladder for the last time and he helped you pack it away in the storage closet.

Steve was thinking hard about what to do about his end of the bargain when the door rang and someone walked inside. 

“Steve!” A voice called out, and your co-workers face immediately lit up and ran to the front of the store. 

“Henderson!”

You watched as the two boys ran to each other, immediately going into a secret handshake that you couldn’t help but find endearing. The kids that Steve was friends with were always fun, but you had to admit that you had a soft spot for Dustin. That was a kid who knew who he was and wasn’t afraid to be it. You admired that a lot about him. 

Deciding to give them a bit of space, you made yourself busy with the horror movie section, making sure that everything was in place. Lucky for you though, those two were still very much boys and you could hear every single part of their conversation. 

It’s not eavesdropping if they’re that loud. Probably. 

“The store looks great!” Dustin said, looking around. “You guys really went all out with the decorations, huh?” 

“Yup, we just got finished. She bought most of this stuff herself.” Steve gestured to you and you gave a wave. 

“Hey, Dustin!” you called out, and he waved back. 

“They’ve started putting up decorations at school too, but people keep stealing them.” Dustin said. “There are at least three skeletons missing from the science labs.”

“Those aren’t decorations, Henderson. I think those are supposed to be educational.” Steve replied. 

“Not when they’re wearing witches hats and cat ears.” Dustin countered. Steve shrugged in agreement. 

“So is school going alright? How’s Lucas doing on the team? What about Mike?” Steve asked and you couldn’t help but laugh to yourself. Steve could deny it all he wanted, but he was absolutely a single mother to these kids. You wished that you had a way to record him so that he could see the way he was fussing over them. 

“Lucas is still a bench-warmer.” Dustin said, grabbing a candy bar from the snack stand. You conveniently were too busy making sure that a copy of Sleepaway Camp was properly rewound to notice the blatant theft. “He still goes to practice every week, but he hasn’t been on the court yet. He’s been making a lot of cool and popular friends.”

There was no hiding the disdain in his voice when he said that. 

“Well Basketball is the best way to secure your ranking at Hawkins.” Steve said. “I would know.” 

“Yeah but it seems like he never has time to even come to Hellfire Club anymore. We’re lucky if he makes it to one or two sessions a month.” Dustin sighed. “He totally blew off me and Mike last week to go hang out with his cool new friends.”

“You know, you have an in with the popular crowd now Henderson. You could use this as a chance to be popular.” Steve pointed out. 

“But I don’t want to be popular, Steve! I’m happy with the friends I have and enjoying what I like.” 

“Ignore Steve, he’s stupid. Keep doing what you’re doing, kid!” you called out to them, making Dustin laugh and Steve sigh. 

“Thank you.” Dustin said before turning to Steve again. “Anyway, Eddie says that conformity is overrated. He says it’s better to be a freak with a few friends than some weird version of normalcy and be miserable.” 

“Right, because ‘the freak’ is so wise.” Steve said, rolling his eyes. 

“He is!” Dustin frowned. “You know, he’s the only person who’s been nice to me and Mike since we started school. And last session he had us-” 

That was when you started tuning the conversation out. You looked up at the clock and swore, you had some work to do in the back before your shift is over. 

“Steve, watch the front for me. I’ll be finishing up in the back.” you called out, and Steve only waived in response. 

Once you were out of earshot, Steve held up a hand to Dustin to signal him to stop talking. 

“What?” asked Dustin. “You told me that I get at least five uninterrupted minutes to talk about the campaign when we hang out.”

“Yeah, and I’ll let you have seven minutes if you help me out.” Steve said. 

“Seven? An extra two minutes? Make it ten.” Dustin crossed his arms, 

“Eight.” 

“Deal. What do you need?”

Steve stares at Dustin for a second. He doesn’t want to ask this question, as he never had any interest in knowing anything about Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson. Eddie had been a stagnant 2 years ahead of him and somehow still hadn’t graduated. Steve couldn’t comprehend being 20 and still in high school, and he almost felt bad for entertaining this thought. Then again, you had also spent an extra semester at school, so maybe that wouldn’t be a deterrent. 

“I need you to tell me more about Eddie.” Steve finally managed to get out. Dustin looked like Christmas had suddenly come early. 

“You want to know more about Eddie?” Dustin had a shit-eating grin on his face that Steve hated. “Since when do you have an interest in Dungeons and Dragons?”

“I still don’t.” Steve said firmly. “I never have and never will understand your game. And I’m not asking about him for me, I’m asking about him for her.” He motioned to the door to the back room. 

“Her?” Dustin looked at the door, as if he could see you through the flimsy wood. “Is she wanting to play?”

“I don’t know, probably? She’s made enough references to playing before. Listen, no, that’s not what this is about.” Steve sighed. “We have this deal going on. She’d help me get dates if I helped her get a date. And she followed through, and I still have no idea how to get her a date.”

“She wants to date Eddie?” Dustin had a look on his face that was a mix of surprise and confusion. “How does she know him?”

“I don’t think she knows Eddie.” Steve said. “But she wants someone weird and as much as I hate to admit it, your new friend might actually fit her criteria.” 

“Fifteen minutes.” 

“Dude, come on.” 

“Fifteen uninterrupted minutes, and you let me rent an R rated movie.” 

“Jesus, Henderson.”

“Deal or no deal?” 

Steve turned and looked at the door that you had disappeared behind. You had been a good friend to him over the past four months, a really good friend. You and Robin had been able to keep him grounded and going after the Starcourt Fire. You’d more than held up your end of the bargain. 

“Fine, deal.” Steve agreed. 

Dustin smiled and seemed content. “So what do you want to know?”

Tag List @k8loo @terrormonster55 @sp1dyb0y1008 @crocwork-clockodile

Part 2

Dividers by @strangergraphics

[reggieslocket]

prepare yourselves because i'm going to give you a bunch of reasons and hints that will show you the high chance of eddie being actually gay and him and steve becoming a thing >:)

1. "freak" as a queercoded word

let's start with the scene where dustin, robin, steve and max find eddie in the house where he was hiding and particularly on the dialogue between the five of them

there's this scene where eddie says something about how the people in town are getting ready to hunt him because they think he's guilty and he says "hunt the freak right?" and we see robin giving him an almost sad but understating look before replying "exactly" and i find it curios that they made her respond that out of everyone, i feel like it could be because she kind of relates to eddie's situation? she also would probably be considered a freak by people if they knew about her sexuality and that's why i believe the word has a queercoded meaning, if you think about it, "freak" was already used in the past seasons when bullies made fun of will, who also happens to be a queercoded character (even though we know he's coming out this season)

2. the handkerchief code

the handkerchief code gained popularity in the 70s and later on in the 80s and it was used especially by gay men to let others know their sexual preferences and fetishes. there were different and specific meanings depending on the color of your handkerchief and where you decided to put it (left pocket or right pocket)

now if you watch closely eddie can be seen wearing a black hanky in his left pocket throughout the seven episodes and of course these little details have their own meaning, in fact the black one was used to indicate S&M (sadomasochism) and as mentioned before the fact that it is placed in his left pocket isn't casual because that placement indicated that the person wearing it was a top (the dominant one in bed) while if you put it in your right pocket it meant you were a bottom (the submissive one)

this whole hanky thing made quite sense for me except for the fact that it was hard to believe that eddie is into sadomasochism but then rewatching the show a few days ago i noticed some handcuffs in his room and i found it weird because honestly what is a 20 year old man doing with those? he's not a cop or anything and so the fact that they are in his room is a bit strange for me... i just hope that the choice of making eddie wear the handkerchief isn't casual but a powerful move by the duffer brothers in order to hint at his sexuality

3. joe and joseph's interview

this interview really do be getting my hopes up. basically the interviewer asks joe what season one steve would think of his season four self and he replies with "surprised, approving... approval" WHILE looking and smiling at joseph who is also grinning, like there's no way they aren't hiding something and i hope it's the relationship between steve and eddie and steve's bisexuality. plus the fact that even maya is smiling while it seems like natalia is the only one able to be subtle about the whole thing lmao

then obviously there are steddie-antis saying that he would be approving of him and nancy getting back together but like... what should he be approving of? they were already a couple in season one so it wouldn't make much sense

4. gaten ships them as well

remember: if gaten ships it then it's canon

i love how the first couple that came to his mind is steddie and how proudly he says their names. he seemed so serious while saying it that it made me reflect on the fact that it's not that impossible seeing it happen and if not in season 4 maybe in season 5 since i read somewhere that luckily neither steve nor eddie are going to die in the last two episodes of this season (i don't know if it's true but let's hope so)

5. the chrissy-eddie thing

almost everyone who hates the fact that we headcanon eddie as gay will give the same explanation that he is clearly straight because he was flirting with chrissy and honestly i didn't see that as flirting at all, i just thought he was being really nice to her like he is to everyone. she was having a hard time and he was able to make her laugh and loosen up a little, i didn't find it as something romantic and furthermore who says that every interaction between a man a woman has to be romantic?

like friendship exists as well people?? and don't try and say "tHeRe cAn'T bE sO mAnY qUeEr cHaRaCtErS iN oNe sHoW, iT's nOt rEaLiStIc" like trust me it's more realistic having a group of only (or almost) queer people than one where everyone is straight and i know the show takes place in the 80s but gay people existed even then but they just couldn't openly say it so stfu

6. steve's attempts to find a girlfriend

we all know mama steve is trying his hardest to find a girlfriend but none of them really "suists" him right? what if eddie is the person that suits him? i mean it would be epic if he spent two seasons trying to find a girlfriend and then he ends up with a dude lol, i'd like to see bi steve happening so bad and i just know that robin would be super supportive of him and my boy dustin would be the happiest person on earth if his two dads got together

you can't tell me that they aren't developing a little crush on each other or that they don't care about each other, just look at eddie's face and his loving eyes in that scene and steve staring at eddie's lips for the whole time. i swear if they are really trying to get nancy and steve back together i'll start a riot because honestly they would be so forced, it wouldn't be good for both of their character development and also my boy jonathan doesn't deserve this, they made jancy dirty this season and i'm still pissed ugh

anyway if you read the whole thing ily and thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

[sparkle-fiend]

A very happy birthday to @thefreakandthehair 🥳

Steve pulls into the driveway behind Eddie’s van and just sits for a second after turning off the car. It’s been a shit day – he hates his new coworker, a kid puked in the aisle between the cartoons and the romantic comedies, and a downpour started the moment it was time to leave. He can feel a headache threatening just behind his left eye. 

But none of that matters now. He breathes in and out until the frustration fades, feeling the tension ease out of his shoulders and clenched jaw. It’s movie night and Steve has the day off work tomorrow – which means he and Eddie will probably get pleasantly toasted and watch movies until they pass out together on the Munson’s couch. He’s been looking forward to it all day.

He pulls his umbrella out of the back seat and flicks it open, even though it’s not far to the door. The rain is coming down so hard it makes a drum beat on the thin nylon stretched over his head, so loud he almost misses the sound of cursing coming from the backyard – until a particularly loud “Fuck!” filters through the rain sounds.

Steve immediately circles around the corner of the house. He spots Eddie by the thrifted patio table, looking like a drowned cat with his curls weighted down by rainwater. Bizarrely, he seems to be wrestling with a bunch of balloons tied to the back of a chair. 

“Eddie?” Steve calls out.

Eddie fumbles with the pocketknife he was using to try and cut the balloons free. “Shit!” He sticks his thumb into his mouth and flings the little blade onto the table. “Damn thing’s too dull to cut string, but it can still cut my hand? Argghhh!”

Steve jogs across the yard to reach him. “Hey, are you okay? What the hell are you doing out here?” 

Eddie pouts as Steve hands him the umbrella, tugging the wounded hand away from his mouth so he can check it over.

“Well I had everything set up for an awesome party, and then this rain fucked it all up.”

“I didn’t know you were having a party,” Steve says absentmindedly. He smoothes a finger gently over the little cut on Eddie’s thumb. Thankfully, it’s not deep – the bleeding is already coming to a stop.

“Uh, yeah?” Steve looks up at Eddie’s confused tone. “For your birthday?”

Oh. Steve immediately feels like an idiot. It is his birthday – he’d actually forgotten it. He tries to laugh it off. “Oh yeah. I just wasn’t expecting a party or anything.”

Eddie looks weirdly upset by that statement. “But you’re… Steve, you’re the birthday guy. The party king of the Party. You love birthdays!”

That’s not exactly true. Steve likes taking care of people. He likes to give gifts and cook for his friends – birthdays just give him a good excuse. His own birthday has never really been a big deal.

“And after the blowout bash you put together for me, you didn’t think I’d try to do something for you?”

“I didn’t… you don’t have to like, return the favor or anything. That’s not why I did it.” Steve runs his hand through his hair nervously. All the volume is gone, deflated in the rain – just sad, limp strands of hair fighting to curl in whichever direction they please, instead of his carefully styled swoop. “I just… like to celebrate the people I care about.”

That might be admitting too much, but it’s the truth. 

Eddie’s face softens. “Steve, this party isn’t some kind of obligation. I… we’re doing it for the same reason – to celebrate someone we care about.”

His dark eyes are so intense. It feels like there’s more there – a weight to his words, something Eddie’s not admitting to out loud yet. Like they’re standing on the edge of something, almost ready to take a leap.

The moment is broken when a rivulet of icy water runs down Steve’s back. He shivers violently, and both boys blink. 

“Shit, you’re standing here soaked,” Steve says. “You must be freezing. Let’s get inside.”

They walk close together under the umbrella on the way back to the house, and Steve enjoys the warm press of Eddie’s shoulder against his own.

It’s not until they reach the door that something occurs to him. “Wait… you said ‘we’?” 

Eddie flashes a wild, impish grin. He flings open the door, revealing a living room packed to bursting with damp partygoers, waterlogged streamers and balloons. “Surprise!!!”

[this-witch-writes]

Part 4 (Show Don't Tell)

Back to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

‘Maybe you are a spoiled child!’ Eddie shouted, the blood was pounding in his ears so loudly that he almost didn’t hear the dialtone.

Steve had hung up.

Huffing in frustration, Eddie went to redial, Steve was not getting off that easy, but then he realised that he didn’t even know where he’d called from.

Eddie slammed the phone down and whirled around to rant at his uncle, who’d taken refuge in the kitchen, only for his breath to hitch painfully in his chest. Eddie hated crying, but it felt like his lungs had been shredded. He understood what Steve meant by “I couldn’t breathe”.

‘Ed?’ Wayne put up a calming hand out. ‘You need to walk that off before you talk?’

‘No, I just,’ he panted. ‘I have no idea what just happened.’

‘It got a bit heated there.’

‘No I mean.’ Eddie sobbed. ‘I think it’s really over. Apparently I’m lovely but I don’t love him.’

‘Not that he doesn’t love you then?’ Wayne clarified.

Eddie shook his head, some tears getting knocked loose into his hair. ‘It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because…’

‘Tell me what he said, son, let me help.’

‘You never say it. You smile and nod along and when I asked you, you acted like I was a spoiled child,’ Eddie echoed hoarsely trying to get it right.

‘That’s what we thought, no? He wanted you to say the words.’ Wayne graciously framed it as “we thought” and not “I said”.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Eddie repeated. ‘It’s done. It’s fucking ruined anyway and he’s gone.’

‘Is that what you want?’ Wayne pressed.

‘It doesn’t matter what I want.’

His uncle looked sad, but understanding. ‘It does to me, Eddie, always has.’

‘But…’ his lips trembled. ‘What if I try and it still…’

‘If you try and it doesn’t work, you’ll recover,’ Wayne put an arm around his shaky shoulders. ‘You were brave enough to go back to that high school where they treated you bad, and again even after the Caver boy’s nonsense. You’re brave enough to give that silly boy another chance.’

‘I don’t know how to start. I don’t blame him for hanging up but I don’t know Robin’s number. I miss him already and I’m still mad,’ he admitted with a watery laugh.

‘Be mad,’ Wayne told him. ‘As long as it’s the kind of mad that makes you ask for better, not the kind that makes you act worse.’

‘When’d you get so poetic, old man?’ Eddie laughed properly that time. ‘Where was all this when I was writing my campaigns?’

Wayne shrugged, looking a little pleased with himself. ‘I got depths, kid, and you never asked.’

A bit of a pattern, Eddie realised. Goddammit.

In the end there was only one thing to do. He didn’t have the number for Robin’s dorm but it wasn’t hard to find Columbia university campus on a map. Wayne packed him into the van with snacks and one more pep talk then Eddie started to drive.

-

The day after the disastrous call with Eddie, Steve didn’t get out of Robin’s bed. She agreed to give him 24 hours to mope and cry in peace. Her roommate wasn’t thrilled about the surprise visit at first until she picked up enough context to express her sympathy to Robin’s heartbroken “gay best friend”.

‘I’ve never been anyone’s “gay best friend” before,’ Steve snorted.

‘I have,’ Robin teased. ‘It’s easy, I’ll show you the ropes.’

‘Well I was already halfway there.’

That morning he actually showered, did his hair properly and let Robin drag him to another trendy café for breakfast.

Steve didn’t want his broken heart to make him bitter about how at home Robin seemed in New York. It was like this anxious weight had been lifted off her shoulders that was only obvious when it was gone. Still, he was a little envious. He only ever felt that at home with…

Steve sighed into his coffee and Robin looked up with sympathy. ‘Want me to start listing his irritating habits? For one thing, he eats with his hands like an animal.’

‘He just really enjoys his food.’ Steve defended weakly.

‘He walked on tables in his shoes.’

‘He’s spontaneous.’

‘Steve.’ She glared, done with his shit.

Another sigh heaved its way from Steve’s chest. ‘The problem is that I’m not mad, just sad.’

‘Do you need help getting mad or do you just want to forget? We can do something fun? Have a distraction?’ Robin offered.

Steve shook his head. ‘I don’t want to forget how he was good to me for so long or pretend he awful when he wasn’t. He made me really happy and even if it’s over, I’m not over it yet.’

They walked the slow way back to campus, while Robin tried to convince Steve to finally, finally move out to New York. The answer had technically always been yes, but he’d been dragging his feet for months while he and Eddie saved their money. Just as they were arguing about the money side of things, Steve spotted some very familiar curls on a hunched figure sitting on the steps to Robin’s dorm building. Steve froze, his hands shaking, and Eddie looked up. He looked a bit the worse for wear too, with deep shadows under his eyes and his hair in a mess.

‘You’re not a spoiled child,’ Eddie blurted out as Steve reached him. ‘Your parents sucked too much to spoil you.’

Steve made a punched-out, incredulous noise and Robin groaned into her palms.

‘Did you seriously drive eleven hours cross country to remind me that parents didn’t love me?’ Steve gaped at him. ‘Because I definitely already knew that.’

‘No,’ Eddie grimaced, flushing with embarrassment. ‘I meant… I forget sometimes, that you still expect people to act and think like they do, that it was normal for you.’

‘God, You two suck at this,’ Robin groaned. ‘I’ll be over there if anyone needs an adult translator.’ She sat on the opposite side of the steps.

Eddie gave her outburst a grateful look which just added to Steve’s confusion. ‘I don’t think you’re like my parents?’ He offered, not sure where Eddie going with this.

‘But you assumed that me not saying those words meant the same thing as them not saying them?’ Eddie challenged gently. ‘Even though I didn’t act like them…’ he hesitated. ‘Right?’

‘Of course not,’ Steve huffed again. ‘No one’s ever been as good to me as you. That’s why it was so confusing.’

‘I’m sorry I didn’t say the words,’ Eddie whispered. ‘I thought I had. It might not mean the same thing to me, but I should have heard you asking.’

‘I’m sorry I ran off.’ Steve said for good measure. ‘And that I wasn’t clearer. I felt so ungrateful, asking for more, asking too much.’

‘It’s not too much, it’s just not how I normally think about love.’ Eddie shrugged. ‘It was easier for me to assume… well I’m used to not feeling good enough.’

‘You’re more than good enough, Eds,’ Steve stepped closer, reaching out nervously, not sure if were back to hugging yet. Luckily Eddie made the choice for both of them and pulled him close.

Steve squeezed Eddie so tight as Eddie practically melted into his arms, clearly exhausted beyond much more talking but he managed to murmur ‘I never want to make you feel like that again’ into the skin of Steve’s neck.

‘Me either,’ Steve agreed, kissing his temple.

Then they remembered that they were standing somewhere far too public to create this much of a scene.

‘I’m still a little mad at you,’ Eddie admitted quietly once they’d sat more calmly on the steps.

‘Me too,’ Steve said. ‘Don’t want to be though.’

Eddie smiled at that. ‘Wayne said it was alright to be mad, so long as it pushed us to be better not worse.’

‘I won’t argue with Wayne.’ Steve brushed their fingers together on the stone step. ‘I want to be better at not taking you for granted, not assuming you’ll always read my mind,’ he bumped his shoulder. ‘Even if it feels like you can sometimes.’

‘I want you to never forget how much I love you,’ Eddie said plainly. As soon as he finally said it, Steve had no idea how he’d ever doubted.

‘There is no way you two disasters are staying in my room after that display,’ Robin called over, reminding them she was there and sending Steve’s cheeks scarlet with mortification.

‘I have motel,’ Eddie laughed. ‘Getting a room was cheaper than paying for just parking in this nightmare city.’

‘I think…’ Steve hesitated then decided that Eddie shouldn’t be the only brave one that day. ‘I think you’re going to like this nightmare city. I think we could both like it.’

Eddie blinked in surprise. ‘You still want to move together. You seemed nervous about even before the fight.’

‘I was,’ Steve laughed at himself. ‘And I'm not saying we pack up tomorrow or that we don't have stuff to figure out still but... I guess it turns out that you driving across the country so I didn’t throw away the best thing in my life, matters even more to me than the words.’

‘So you don’t need me to say it?’ Eddie teased.

‘Maybe once more?’

Eddie leaned in close to whisper in his ear. ‘I love you, Stevie.’

-

The end.

-

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

[sundaynightlive]

Fresh Night Air [Book was there, it was there…](Greatwise)

Disclaimers: No age gap shit. They’re 16 and 17 respectively.

Also: I do not hate Mike or any of Will’s friends—I’m just exploring the way they might tip toe around him after all the shite he’s been through.

Realistically: I ship Byler. But I like healthy love interests MOST and whatever’s going on in ST right now is not that, so why not throw a Gareth in there?

If it’s not your thing, I get it :) I only wanted to write a sweet little happy-Will fic with LIGHT angst for like two seconds. If you’re going, have a good rest of your day <3 peace and love darlings.

If you’re staying, enjoy :)

“Gareth Emerson,” the boy introduces, and Will shakes his hand over the table. He’s still a little pissed about his friends joining another party while he was in California, but when’s the last time Mike took anything Will said seriously, ever?

He shouldn’t be surprised.

They sit back down—across from each other, no less—and turn their attention to Eddie now that they’ve all been decently acquainted. The DM claps his hands together and rubs his palms excitedly—despite Will’s initial annoyance at being completely and utterly betrayed, he actually really likes Eddie, fangs and all. He’s cool, he’s nice, and he’s the only Upside Down monster that doesn’t wanna kill or eat any of them, save for the occasional half-cup of blood that seems to satisfy him completely.

They had all been astounded at the convenience of that—blood being so filling.

Or maybe Eddie’s affliction hadn’t fully taken by the time they got his body out of the Upside Down and a troupe of federal scientists pumped him full of drugs—they aren’t totally sure.

Either way, he’s a sad excuse for a vampire, and a completely awesome dungeon master.

“Good evening, intrepid heroes, and welcome to my eighth,” Eddie pauses, as if he’s in awe of that number himself, “And best campaign yet. Drumroll, please!” Will starts a little as the boys around him (plus Erica) begin to pound on the table with their fists. Will joins them after a moment, allowing himself to grin both at the nerdiness, and the undeniable giddy excitement that’s filling his chest and shoulders.

Eddie uses his hands to push his feet up on his seat—his throne, really—and then stands, throwing his arms out wide—

“Plight of the Hellwalkers!” A cheer rises up from the table, as if any of them know what that means other than tieflings and devils and the sort. Maybe something celestial, if any of them are feeling particularly combatant. Will’s already got all these ideas forming in his brain—he’s known for being pretty creative when it comes to PC’s. Will the Wise hadn’t exactly been the height of ingenuity, but Mike hadn’t always wanted to DM a complicated character—he just wanted to run impossible dungeons and make his players sweat.

Eddie’s a different story.

Will’s running all kinds of characters through his brain when he notices Gareth looking at him. Will would’ve thought he’d be chatting with all the other boys, or even with Eddie since the two of them seem to be pretty close—but no. He’s looking at Will.

Hesitantly, Will makes eye-contact with him. Gareth doesn’t seem bothered about getting caught staring. Will’s brows furrow—this is… weird. They just met not even five minutes ago.

What? He mouths.

Gareth holds up a finger, like he’s gonna tell Will in a second. Will’s confused by this (because when are they gonna have a second?) until Eddie announces today’s session is all about working on PC’s, and in order to keep the campaign interesting and fun, he’d like them all to leave the room and come back in one by one so he can get a brief idea of each character, by the end of today, and hopefully by next session, have everything ready to go.

And then he says—

“Gareth, you first. And then Mike. And after that I don’t care who goes when—figure it out.” Gareth gives Will one last glance. He raises an eyebrow. Then, he absentmindedly looks over at Eddie, and finds he’s staring daggers into the side of Gareth’s skull.

What is happening?

Still perplexed, he leaves the auditorium with his friends, unable to shake the feeling that he’s being discussed in the room they left behind. He picks at his clothes—his nice, plaid button-down and his khakis. He feels kind of stupid—everyone else has a Hellfire t-shirt of some sort—all his friends in a baseball tee, and some of the older members in what are probably older t-shirts. All Eddie’s school-allocated budget must go towards them—Will’s certain they probably don’t get more than fifty bucks, if that.

“So?”

Will starts as Mike throws an arm around his shoulders, completely oblivious to how that affects him.

“Isn’t it fucking awesome?”

Will snorts at the profanity—Mike’s been cussing more and more since he started tailing Eddie like a lost puppy. Will assumes he thinks it makes him sound cool—not that he has anything against cussing, it’s just a little funny to him that Mike never talked like that before.

“Totally,” Will says, letting a little sarcasm seep into his tone, “You just couldn’t resist breaking your promise, could you?” Mike’s eyes widen—deer caught in headlights.

“I–it’s—you never said anything about extracurriculars!” Mike tries, and Lucas and Dustin burst out laughing at the lame attempt at an excuse. Will rolls his eyes, shrugging off Mike’s arm.

“Asshole,” he mumbles. Lucas and Dustin roar with more laughter as Mike looks for other excuses—Eddie this, Dustin that—

“Dustin didn’t promise me anything,” Will points out, and Mike groans.

“Dog house!” Erica is teasing, “Mike’s in troooooubleeeee.”

Truth be told, Mike’s not in trouble. There was certainly an initial sting—the only thing Will had asked of him had not been honored—but beyond that, Will’s not fond of holding grudges, especially given he knows full well how quickly life can go from bad to worse.

It’s just fun to watch Mike squirm.

“I’m sorryyyyyy,” Mike whines, “But Eddie’s just so cool and I couldn’t say no!” He puts both hands on Will’s shoulders, shaking him lightly. Will bites his lip to stifle his grin—the way Mike is pouting at him for forgiveness is equal parts adorable and hilarious.

“Forgive me?”

Will shakes his head, still biting back that grin.

“Figure out how to make it up to me—then we’ll talk.”

Mike straightens up, puts two fingers against his forehead, and dramatically salutes. Will loses the ability to stifle his grin and fully laughs at this ridiculousness.

They’re alive, they’re friends again, and Will’s desperate crush is dwindling by the day seeing how happy his sister is. Will couldn’t stay mad at his best friend for anything, and he won’t go on liking him, either.

Things are okay. Things are on their way to good, again.

“Wheeler—get your bony ass in there.”

And that’s Gareth.

“You—” he points directly at Will, exactly like Will figured he might, “Can I steal you for a second?”

Will stands. He doesn’t miss the confused look that Mike gives him, but he does choose to ignore it, mostly because he’s equally as confused. Gareth motions for Will to follow him outside, and sensing no danger or malintent, he decides there’s no point in saying no, especially since he’s not certain how long he’s gonna be sitting bored on this bench otherwise.

“Okay,” Gareth says, once the doors are shut firmly behind them. The night air is cool and nice on Will’s skin. He wants to take a deep breath—relish in all this comfort of being home, of being able to breathe—but he doesn’t know if Gareth would clock that weird reaction to just stepping out. So he tells himself he’ll take that moment later. “I had a crazy idea, and I wanted to know if you’d be down.”

Will raises an eyebrow.

“I’m listening.”

“So, totally shoot me down if you have a better idea, but I think it would be sick to play as angels—you know, since it’s a hell campaign—but specifically an Angel still in line with Heaven’s order, and a fallen one. So, they like, know each other super well, but also are at odds with each other, and like, one’s trying to convince the other to fall and vice versa.”

Gareth looks at him expectantly. Will stares back, trying to comprehend how Gareth even…

Gareth must have read his mind.

There’s no other explanation for how spot on that idea is compared to all the concepts he’d had running around in his own head mere moments ago. And not only that, but Gareth is looking at him like… how did Will not notice he looked like that, before? Why is it only now that—

“Hello? Earth to Byers?” Will starts. Right—he has to answer.

“Yeah—I mean, that sounds awesome,” he manages, cheeks growing pink in embarrassment. He looks away from Gareth’s cool gaze, unsure how to handle the feelings he’s feeling at this moment. Excitement, anxiety—and a myriad of other things he doesn’t feel right naming yet.

“Awesome,” Gareth repeats, slugging him lightly in the shoulder. Will’s whole stomach jumps into his throat.

This cannot be happening.

“So, if you’re down, I’m free tomorrow night. We could kick it at my place and talk background and logistics and shit.”

That’s a terrible idea.

“Sounds great,” Will says, and in his mind he’s repeatedly kicking the shit out of his own kneecaps. He wishes he were a stronger man, but the idea of playing a character that’s not only complex in his own way, but has a strained relationship to another PC? It’s too good to pass up. Plus, Gareth already talked to Eddie, so Will get’s to play under a DM who’s capable of managing that kind of storyline—it fills his chest with something downright palpable.

“Fuck, I’m excited,” Gareth says.

“Me, too.”

Will wonders briefly if his internal criticism of Mike’s cussing was spoken way too soon.

-

Gareth’s bedroom is a dream—Will would call it a loft, but that’s not exactly what it is. It’s adjacent to the attic, an alcove that sticks out from the roof and makes the house look both magical and completely ridiculous. All sides of it are fitted with windows, and in between those, the walls are a deep, navy blue. For the most part, it’s immaculately clean apart from misplaced shoes and a sock or two.

The slivers of walls which are not windows are covered with intense shelving that holds both an extensive collection of cassettes and vinyls, and books. Will wouldn’t have guessed Gareth was a reader, but by the looks of it, he’s practically a library.

The carpet is soft, the bed is big and covered with an enormous quilt. There are soft white Christmas lights hanging throughout the space, creating an inviting glow. Gareth tells Will to drop his bag anywhere, so Will finds the most out-of-the-way corner he possibly can, and sets his stuff down gently. He’s absolutely enamored with the space, but he’s trying not to show it. He could only imagine the teasing that would ensue if he told Gareth the bedroom he spends every night in is like Will’s own personal heaven.

To Will’s further dismay, Gareth plops down on his bed and pats the space next to him. Never in his life did Will expect to be sitting in bed with a cute boy who’s also basically a stranger, but here he is, swallowing his own nervousness and settling down. It’s unbelievably soft. Will let’s his mind wander to what it must be like to sleep there, and then quickly snaps himself out of it.

That’s creepy, he scolds himself. Stop.

“So, did you think of anything in the last 24-hours, or do you wanna start with just the general idea I had?” Gareth asks—and it’s so impossibly normal for how abnormal Will feels. He’s so stiff he might as well be made of wood. Jesus—even his fight or flight is starting to act up.

“Well,” Will says, deciding he’ll force himself to relax by talking, “You know how angels are, like, usually a patron of something? Like, they have a specific purpose, or whatever? I thought we could use something like that to determine our proficiencies, and stuff. I was also thinking that I could be the straight-edge angel and you could be the fallen one? But that’s totally up to you—your idea, your rules.”

Will fidgets nervously with his own hands. Gareth is… actually listening to him. His expression is attentive. Will’s not used to that—so he keeps rambling.

“Also—I like the idea of a sibling dynamic but I thought it would be better if it was strictly a best friends thing? I feel like a lot of D&D overdoes the, like, “you were my brother” thing but meaningful friendships or whatever can be so much more impactful because you choose your friends and stuff, and for a character to choose their person and then lose that person and find them again but still be at odds is just—Sorry, I should shut up. I just realized I’ve been talking for way too long.”

Will wants to melt into the bedspread—hell, he just might.

Gareth grins at him, shaking his head.

“No, totally keep going. You’re brilliant.”

Yup. Melted. Absolutely a liquid. Will doesn’t think he’ll ever be a solid again.

-

Will starts spending an ungodly amount of time with Gareth, but it’s not his fault. His own friends are great, and he spares them every moment he can, but it’s been a long time since being with them has ever felt like this—totally and completely void of tension. His friends… they haven’t been giving him attention freely. It feels weighed down by this notion that they’re forced to hang around because everything they’ve been through.

It’s not fair to think of them that way—he knows they’d still care for him, regardless.

But that pity is stuck behind their eyes. And they won’t talk about things in front of him, like how they’re feeling, how they’re doing. Once, he was hanging around Lucas and Dustin, and they left the room after uttering some lame excuse. Curious and a little hurt, Will had pressed his ear to the door to find Lucas venting about Max, and how she was doing, and how he’s trying to hang out and have fun but she’s all he can think about—half-paralyzed and totally blind, all alone at home when he’s not with her.

It’s selfish, he knows, but he couldn’t help feeling offended. He can be a shoulder—he knows he can be a shoulder. He’s not going to break down the minute someone else needs a hand. They’ve been plenty good for him—he can do the same.

He just needs a chance.

But they won’t give him it, so he loses himself in the simplicity of a brand-new friendship. He and Gareth start just talking over the campaign, and the D&D stuff, but it soon evolves into much more than that. It starts with a book—

“Gertrude Stein,” Will muses, slipping the collection of poetry right off the shelf. He lets it fall open in his palm to a random page. Gareth had gotten bored of devising background and trying to locate biblical information without a bible—so he’d flopped over on the bed and hidden his face in his pillows.

Will had rolled his eyes at him, and went looking for something to entertain himself.

This is where he finds himself, now.

They read a little Gertrude Stein in English, and Will remembers it fondly. He’s not a huge poetry guy, but Stein’s poetry is so ridiculous it actually manages to interest him. It was also generally impossible for most of the class to read aloud, because of it’s insanity, but Will excelled at it. He read it so well, and so succinctly in class, the teacher herself had been shocked.

Maybe his trauma had rewired his brain for nonsensical poetry.

Book was there, it was there. Book was there. Stop it, stop it, it was a cleaner, a wet cleaner and it was not where it was wet, it was not high, it was directly placed back, not back again, back it was returned, it was needless, it put a bank, a bank when, a bank care.

Gareth looks up at him from the pillows curiously, and Will grins in his direction. He begins reading with the utmost conviction, as if anything he’s reading makes a lick of actual sense.

Suppose a man a realistic expression of resolute reliability suggests pleasing itself white all white and no head does that mean soap. It does not so. It means kind wavers and little chance to beside beside rest. A plain.

Suppose ear rings that is one way to breed, breed that. Oh chance to say, oh nice old pole. Next best and nearest a pillar. Chest not valuable, be papered.

Cover up cover up the two with a little piece of string and hope rose and green, green.

Please a plate, put a match to the seam and really then really then, really then it is a remark that joins many many lead games. It is a sister and sister and a flower and a flower and a dog and a colored sky a sky colored grey and nearly that nearly that let.

Will finishes the poem—called Book—and looks back up at Gareth, who seems to be stifling a laugh. Will raises an eyebrow.

“What?” he teases, “Didn’t get that? I’ll read another one.”

Suppose it is within a gate which open is open at the hour of closing summer that is to say it is so.

All the seats are needing blackening. A white dress is in sign. A soldier a real soldier has a worn lace a worn lace of different sizes that is to say if he can read, if he can read he is a size to show shutting up twenty-four.

Go red go red—

Suppose and Eyes is cut off abruptly by a pillow smacking into Will’s chest and falling over the book he’s holding out—an accident which has Gareth absolutely howling with laughter. Will retaliates immediately, tossing the book to the floor and going after Gareth with a pillow.

The rest is history.

They hang out after school, they go to record stores and diners and swimming in the pond behind his house. They have an absolute blast role-playing ex-best friends while becoming best friends, all the while, Will’s fondness growing exponentially every time they share breath. They spend nights at each other’s houses, they talk for hours, they read together, they listen to music together—Will even get’s a little bit into metal, even though it’s not totally his vibe. Weeks and weeks pass—then months. They know everything about each other like the backs of each other’s hands. Will’s friends start making comments about it—Mike especially—and light-heartedly complain that Will is “replacing” them when that is certainly not the case.

They could never be replaced.

But being around Gareth is like magic, up until the moment it’s not.

“Hey… can I talk to you about something?”

Famous last words, but Will is so full of pizza and so content with his back pressed into Gareth’s bed, head resting lightly against the outside of the boy’s knee, that he doesn’t quite grasp the connotation.

He wishes he had—that there had been warning.

“Sure.”

“So… after the earthquake—”

Will should’ve known then and there this was headed in a foul direction, but he was none-the-wiser. He was still half-engrossed in Emily Dickinson, who had grown to be his absolute favorite poet over the last few months.

“Eddie told me everything that happened. And he told me what happened to you.”

This is where it hits him. Will jerks away from Gareth’s knee like it’s scalding, hurt painting over his face as it all crashes over him.

None of this has been any different.

“Will?”

“Are you serious?” Will asks, horror growing in his chest, in his tone. Gareth’s face screws up, a look Will knows all too well—a look he only sports when he’s thoroughly confused.

He must be stupid—Will’s reaction shouldn’t be confusing to him at all.

“I just wanted—”

Everything is tainted. The way Gareth looks at him, acts with him, the way he chose Will out of everyone from that stupid table that first day of Hellfire—he knew. The whole time.

Will is some pathetic charity case who needed a real friend. And he let Will think, this entire time, that he actually liked Will for himself. Not because Will desperately needed to be liked, not because they were bonded by some shared hell, not because Will had suffered, but because Gareth liked him.

It had all been a lie.

“How could you?” Will asks, shakily. He feels tears gathering in his eyes, and he hates himself for it. Now he’s gonna cry like the broken, traumatized baby he really is. The one Gareth has always seen in him. He’s just proving a fucking point.

That’s all he ever does.

“How could I—”

“I can’t believe I let myself be another fucking charity case,” Will hisses, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand as he scrambles to his feet. Gareth seizes his wrist.

“Will—”

Will’s stronger than Gareth—he doesn’t look it, but there’s a lot of muscle beneath his clothes. He makes sure of it—he doesn’t wanna be the victim of anyone or anything ever again. He wrenches his wrist out of the boy’s grasp, pointing at him accusingly with the other.

“You. Suck,” Will snaps, doing his best not to yell. He doesn’t wanna get worked up enough that Gareth sees just how deeply this has stricken him, and part of him, a naive part of him, hates how devastated Gareth already looks. “I can’t believe I thought you actually liked me. I’m so fucking stupid.”

And with that, he snatches his bag up off the floor, and gets the hell out of there.

It’s only when he’s home, past his mom and his brother, and in his bedroom with the door shut tight, that he crawls into his closet and muffles his sobs with his teeth bared into a sweatshirt.

Heartbroken.

-

“Hello?”

“Don’t hang up!” Will should absolutely hang up. It’s been three days of nothing—avoiding Gareth at school, refusing to speak to him, neglecting to answer the phone even when he was nearest to it.

And now, just when it so happened that nobody else was home, Gareth was on the other end of the line.

“I should so hang up,” Will snaps, already angry. He didn’t wanna be reminded. He’s been so fucked up the last few days, it’s almost like Gareth dumped him. In a way, he kind of did. Or, Will did.

Whatever, the details aren’t important. What’s important is that Gareth lied to him. Extensively.

“Listen—I need to talk to you, but I wanna do it in person, okay? Please—just ten minutes of your time, and if it’s not fixed, I’ll never talk to you again. Except at Hellfire. But that’s it! Okay?” Will wishes he had the balls to say fuck no, but it’s too difficult. He allotted months of his life to Gareth, and as much as he hates it, can attribute a ton of his recent healing to him. Being carefree and spending time with Gareth had been exactly what he needed most days to get out of his own head, to stop thinking about things that couldn’t be helped.

A breath of fresh night air, one might say.

Looking back at that now makes Will nauseous, but he swallows it down. He doesn’t exactly want his and Gareth’s time being good friends to forever be tainted by the fact that it had all been out of pity, but Will doesn’t know what he could possibly say to make that better. He sighs into the phone.

“Get here ASAP. And ten minutes is all you get!”

“Sir yes sir!”

-

“Thank you for letting me talk,” Gareth says. Will crosses his arms over his chest. He’s got no intentions of letting Gareth step foot over the threshold, and Gareth seems to be able to tell.

“Ten minutes,” he says firmly, and Gareth nods quickly.

“The first thing I should’ve done when we started hanging out is tell you I knew about the Upside Down,” he says quickly, and yeah, he’s got that fucking right. “I’m really sorry that I hid that from you—I guess I didn’t think you’d wanna talk about it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have talked about it. I’m sorry.”

“Decent start,” Will says begrudgingly.

“Second, I did not choose you as my D&D partner because I felt bad for you,” Gareth says, and then his face get’s all screwy, and he starts shifting his weight back and forth, like whatever he needs to say is really hard for him to say. He looks left, and then down at his shoes, and then crosses his arms over his chest and let’s out a breath he’d been holding—

“Spit it out.”

“I thought you were cute!” he says, all his words running together, so much so that it takes Will a second to process what he’s even just said, “And I wanted to hang out with you and I thought that if our D&D characters shared a backstory then we’d spend a lot of time together and I’d be able to make a move but I felt bad about making a move knowing stuff about you you hadn’t shared with me so that night I wanted to kiss you so bad but I wanted to talk about what I knew first so that I wasn’t kissing you and then bringing up your childhood trauma because that wouldn’t be smooth at all, but then I messed everything up and—”

Will’s not sure what happens to his body. First of all, he’s absolutely floored at the notion that he wasn’t a charity case or anywhere near that at all—this boy was attracted to him and wanted to be around him. That’s so far out in left-field it’s practically a home run. Second—Gareth likes him? Like that? In small-town, middle-of-nowhere Hawkins, Indiana, a cute boy likes him? And it’s not Mike Wheeler, feelings-denier extraordinaire, or someone Will would rather eat glass than hang around with?

God, it’s Gareth?

He completely loses track of his ability to command his own body—he steps forward, puts both hands around Gareth’s face, and kisses him right on the mouth to shut him the hell up. Will’s never kissed anyone in his life, save for one girl in California, just to prove his own disinterest, but he makes it work. Gareth certainly doesn’t seem to be complaining, the way his arms move securely around Will’s waist and he kisses back with fervor.

They break, both void of breath. The kiss wasn’t exactly long, but all the excitement has Will’s ribs heaving. He presses his forehead into Gareth’s, blushing like crazy and avoiding the eye-contact Gareth’s trying to prompt from him.

“You’re such an idiot,” Will manages between breaths.

“Kiss me again.”

“Definitely.”

-

It was only a few weeks later that things started getting bad again, but they were heavenly weeks of sneaking around, sharing looks when no one was paying attention, and kissing in dark corners. Will started feeling whole again, like the places and things that the Upside Down had stolen from him were things that Gareth could replace, curling up on couches with him, meeting his mom, holding his hand, and treating him like someone who was already whole.

And though he wished, ached to ignore the warning signs, he told Gareth immediately when The Mind Flayer felt like it was slithering closer, lifting the hairs on the back of his neck and tugging at the corners of his mind.

And Gareth had been there, as fresh as summer night air in his lungs, all the way until the end.

[forever-rogue]

Reader is new to Hawkins high but she immediately grabs Eddie's attention..she is always fully rainbow and colorful, pink hair, but she hasn't made any friends yet. So instead of sitting at a table she just chills by herself along the walls of the cafeteria, writing to herself or sometimes dancing like nobody can see her. But one day Jason and his friends start laughing at her which already annoys Eddie but she isn't paying attention, but then Jason comes and takes her notebook which turns out to be a song book and after making fun of her in front of everyone she decides to perform one of her songs putting him on blast! (I recommend "Weapons" by Ava Max)

AN | I changed the prompt just a little bit but I hope you still enjoy 🥰

Warnings | Language, Injury [mentions of blood]

Pairing | Eddie x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 2.4k

Masterlist | Main, Eddie 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Eddie had noticed you from the moment you'd arrived at Hawkins High.

Of course he did. He couldn’t have ignored you if he tried. Brightly colored hair and clothes, so outside of the norm in Hawkins but so much more like him. Different. He liked everything he could see about you, from your style to your face (those eyes and that smile? yeah - he was a goner) to how kind you appeared to be, despite how rude others were. 

But - but - just because he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you, didn’t mean that he actually worked up the courage to talk to you. No, that was a whole other level of confidence that he didn’t quite possess just yet. Instead, he opted to study and observe you from a comfortable distance. 

He wouldn’t quite call it a crush or an infatuation, Eddie Munson was just…curious. Curious about the new girl that had effortlessly captured his attention. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

If anyone knew how hard it was to fit in, it was Eddie. He’d been a social outcast and pariah since he was in middle school and decided that he didn’t want to be like everyone else. Sheep, he’d called them. He didn’t want to be a sheep. 

The good thing that came out of being different was that the friends he’d found were just as different and unique as him. What more could he have asked for? 

You appeared to be in a similar situation, unfortunately it didn’t seem that you had any friends - at least not any at Hawkins High School. He liked to imagine that you had plenty of friends out in the real world, away from this hell hole. 

But still it didn’t help to make him less sad about your current, daily situation. He thought so often about coming to you and approaching you, and he ultimately decided that one day he would. He just had to work up the courage. 

And…somehow he managed to do it, not that much later. 

It was a sunny and breezy temperate spring afternoon when he found you sitting outside during lunch. You leaned up against one of the buildings, your brown lunch bag next to you and your book in hand. From the angle you were holding it, he couldn’t read the cover, but he decided that it probably was something good. 

He walked over to you, trying to be as discrete and normal as possible. To anyone else, Dustin would insist later, he looked extremely suspicious and anxious. Yeah, you made him nervous, but in ways he didn’t quite mind.

“H-hey,” he smiled and held his hand up in a meek wave when he was standing in front of you. You looked up, blinking at the bright sunlight and the boy standing in front of you. Your nerves shot up as you watched him, unsure of his sudden presence, “I’m Eddie. Eddie Munson.”

“I know,” you hoped you didn’t sound like too much of a bitch as you narrowed your eyes at him, offering your own name in return, “did you need something?”

“N-no,” his voice cracked and he wanted to sink into a hole and perish. But at least the look in your eyes wasn’t hateful or mean, “I just wanted to say hi. So…hi.”

“Hi,” you repeated, your worry and nerves slowly dissipating into amusement, “it’s nice to meet you properly Eddie. I’ve seen you around.”

“Y-yeah?” he must have been dreaming. You had noticed him, just as he had noticed. He almost cringed when he hoped your impression hadn’t been too bad, “I, umm, well I just wanted to let you know that if you ever wanted to hang out with me and my friends or sit at our table, that’s totally okay. You know, throwing it out there just in case. Not that I think you need anyone or anything but I…I’m going to stop rambling.”

“I know what you mean, Eddie,” you promised softly, “it’s hard being the new kid, especially as a senior, so I appreciate the kindness. Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer sometime.”

“Great, yeah…cool,” he scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly as his fingers tangled in his curls, “well, umm, I’ll get going. But I’ll see you around?”

“See you around,” you promised sweetly and fuck, your smile made his knees absolutely weak.

He turned to walk away, a bit of a spring and pep to his step. But before he got too far, he quickly turned back to you, “I really like your hair!”

With pink cheeks and soft eyes, he turned around and almost ran off towards his friends. You watched him go with a bemused expression on your face; Eddie Munson wasn’t too bad at all.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You didn’t end up taking Eddie up on his offer. Not fully anyway, convinced of your own belief that you weren’t worthy of his time and would eventually just bore him. Instead it was a string of stolen moments and run-ins that left your face warm and butterflies in your tummy.

Sometimes it was in the morning when you’d both arrive at your lockers and spent a few minutes catched up. Other times it would be a shy hello in between classes. A quick conversation after school on the way to your cars. From the bits and pieces you learned about him, you knew that you liked Eddie. He was kind, funny, a metalhead and a huge nerd, basically…totally your type. But you’d never push your luck that far. Instead you kept up just enough of a wall to consider him a friend but nothing more. 

The rest of the student body…wasn’t as easily convinced that you were okay. Most of them avoided you like the plague and left you to your own devices, but a few were not so kind or considerate. And, naturally, it was exactly the people you’d have expected to be jerks that were. It was almost too obvious - didn’t these types of people ever think of new material?

For the most part you were able to avoid and ignore the few rude jocks, but sometimes it was not as easy. Especially not when people were in your face and being absolute dicks for no reason. The worst being Jason Carver and his group of cronies; they really were the worst, you know?

You did nothing to annoy them or be rude to them or even be in their way. You pointedly made an effort not to be anywhere around them but that wasn’t good enough for them. 

If you were sitting outside and reading or doing some homework, one of them would walk by and make a rude comment about your choice of clothing or your hair. If you were in the cafeteria, eating lunch by yourself one of them would walk by and make rude sounds or comments about what you were eating. In class, they whisper and snicker about you whenever they could do so without being caught. 

They did everything to try and bring you or make you feel bad; but you handled it with grace. There was no point in getting down to their level - the way they treated you was a reflection of their own issues and insecurities. And on top of all that, you’d be out of that horrible school and hopefully town within a year. You could survive that.

Apparently that was not good enough for them - they wanted to get some sort of reaction from you and were willing to do almost anything to get that. Normally you could have played it but eventually you’d reached your breaking point as well. What was that old expression? Action-reaction - for every action there is an equal reaction in response.

It was another sunny day that found you sitting in the grass, under the shade of an old oak tree as you finished up some class work. You had your walkman with you, headphones on and music playing just loudly enough to block out most of the noise from the outside world. 

You didn’t hear anyone come up; if it hadn’t been for the shadows looming in front of you, you probably wouldn’t have noticed anything. Once you pulled off the headphones and looked up, you were startled when you met Jason Carver’s sneering expression. 

“Hey freak,” you sighed internally; didn’t he have anything knew to come up with? He crouched down so he was eye level with you and you hated the look in his cold blue eyes, “all alone again?”

“Can I help you with anything, Jason?” you tried to keep your voice level but you couldn’t hide the slight nervous edge to your voice. 

“Like I would ever want anything from you,” he grabbed your chin in his hand causing you to stiffen up as he appraised you, “so pathetic. You know, you could almost be pretty under all that ridiculous makeup and hair. There’s only one thing girls like you are helpful for so I guess you could help me out-”

“Stop,” you tried to push his hand away from you but that only seemed to make him more angry, “please just leave me alone. I don’t know what I did to you or what you think being a dick to me will get you, but just go away. I haven’t done anything to you.”

“Stupid bitch,” he shook his head before laughing cruelly and pushing your face away, “I don’t want anything from you and you haven’t done anything to me except exist. And honestly, I really don’t like you, so.’

“So…” before you could say anything else, he grabbed the worn and well loved journal. Your heart dropped into your stomach when he snatched it out of your reach, "give that back!"

"No, I don't think I will," there was a wicked smile on his face and it made your skin crawl, "you're always scribbling in this - what could be so interesting about this?"

“Nothing,” you were lying but he didn’t need to know about that. It happened to be your most personal confidant and friend at times, and contained all of your innermost thoughts, secrets, and things you’d written such as poetry and songs. It wasn’t that anything was terribly embarrassing - maybe the stuff you’d written about Eddie beingyour crush - but it was the fact that it was so personal. The nerve this boy had, “but it belongs to me. Now please give it back to me.”

“Why would I-”

“Why don’t you just fuck off?” your savior, not that you believed you needed one, came in the form of one Eddie Munson, stalking over with a fuming expression, “or pick on someone more your speed.”

“Cute,” he looked between the two of you, “the freaks have each other. Defending your little girlfriend, Munson? How precious.”

“You know what would be really precious?” Eddie’s voice was low and dangerous as Jason stood up to his full height. You thought about just slinking away, but you weren’t going to leave Eddie alone to fight your battles for you, “you with a broken nose and blood face.”

“You think you’re so fucking f-”

Eddie’s fist collided with Jason’s face before you knew it, a loud crunch sound reaching your ears. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched Jason stumble back and clutched at his face, whimpering in pain. You didn’t necessarily condone violence, but it was still funny to see him panic. Eddie’s first was throbbing but it was worth it to him, “I was right! A messed up face really does suit you!”

“I can’t believe you did this!” he sounded muffled from behind his hand, “you’re going to be in so much trouble - both of you! Take your stupid notebook back!”

He tossed the journal on the ground and you let out a sigh of relief at the fact that you got it back. You scrambled to grab it and stuffed it in your backpack, zipping it tightly shut. Jason had run away, cursing and muttering under his breath as the two of you stood there in shock. 

“Umm,” you stood up and turned to the curly haired boy, exchanging a surprised look, “t-thank you, Eddie. I didn’t expect….any of that.”

“Me neither,” he admitted sheepishly, “I’ve never actually punched anyone before. That shit…felt great. And hurt.”

“Oh,” you looked at his hand and saw that it was already bruising and bloody, “are you okay? Can I do anything to help?”

“No,” he insisted with a small smile, “the real question is, are you okay? I was coming to talk to you but saw him and figured that wasn’t a good sign.”

“He usually leaves me alone but today was just…different.” you shrugged lightly, “I don’t engage him normally and he leaves but something must have happened to make him even worse.”

“He’s a piece of shit,” he stated as you nodded in agreement, “he shouldn’t treat anyone like that. Maybe he’ll learn. At least for now.”

“I do so,” you smiled softly, “he, ugh, he stole my journal. It’s really special to me and I’m glad he didn’t get a chance to take it.”

“Seriously,” he too was curious as to what was in your journal but wouldn’t ever even dream of taking it or even asking if he could see it, “he’s just a jerk but hopefully he’ll leave you alone now.”

“I’m sure he will,” you agreed softly, “is, umm, that offer to hang out with you and friends still open?” 

“O-of course, always,” he grinned eagerly, “that’s actually what I was coming over to ask. No pressure, but if you’re wanting to.”

“Definitely,” you reached for your backpack and swung it over your shoulder, “hey, I hear that you’re in a band?”

“I am,” he was trying not to seemed too eager but inside he was practically jumping up and down, “just you know, a little side thing but yeah.”

“I’m actually a bit of a songwriter on the side,” you gently nudged him with your elbow, “that’s what a lot of my journal is - songs. I’d love to show you some of them sometime and pick your brain.”

“Totally,” his heart was practically beating out of his chest with excitement, “I’d like that a lot.”

“Cool,” the two of you exchanged shy smiles.

“Cool.”

 This was definitely going to be the beginning of something beautiful.

[crappymixtape]

crappymixtape recos

going to try and do this at least once a month – sharing fics that are on my reading list or have just blown me away ❤ so many talented writers on here omg 🥺 show them some love and BE KIND, REBLOG! xoxo, 💿

❤ “i’ll miss your forever” – @andvys ( you are winning the battle against Vecna but you are also losing as you get closer and closer to death • eddie x reader )

❤ “i’ve got you” *18+ only – @chestylarouxx ( TW: drugs // you go to a party, grudgingly, and find that maybe that joint you smoked wasn't just the weed you expected. an old friend takes care of you • eddie x reader )

❤ “star of the show” series – @supernovafics ( TW: asshole!steve // you're hoping for the best, perhaps even some sort of miracle, but from the first phone call to the first meeting, it's pretty clear that everything that has been said about him is oh so true • modern!actor!steve x reader )

❤ “can i try one” – @inkluvs ( request prompt with a cw: reader is a bit ditzy? a luna lovegood type beat ; petnames • steve x reader )

❤ “get off – the v-card” *18+ only – @palmtreesx3 ( steve and robin get jobs at a sex shop, ie. buckle the fuck up, omg • steve x reader & robin x oc )

❤ “’rari go fast, i know you like it” *18+only – @superblysubpar ( steve takes you for a ride after closing a big deal at dinner • rich!steve x reader )

❤ “all i really want is you” blurb series *18+ only – @loveshotzz ( TW: age gap // in between summer days, when the sun barely touches the sky, when no one else is awake, you start to fall in love )

❤ “sugar meets spice” series – @lofaewrites ( the summer of 86’ brings eddie munson 3 things- a diploma, an actual job & a pretty girl who seems to like him just as much as he likes her – needless to say, life is good • construction worker!eddie x waitress!reader )

❤ “if tomorrow never comes” series *18+ only – @sweetsweetjellybean ( TW: smut, mentions of self-harm & death // trapped in the upside down, steve is prepared to die alone until he finds you hurt and in need of help. doing your best to survive while the world catches fire, is there time for one more chapter in your story? • steve x reader )

❤ “half my heart” – @steveharringtonscarkeys ( very sad and kind of out of context steve angst and sadness • steve x reader )

❤ “a study in self-sufficiency” series – @sattlersquarry ( steve’s parents have plans for his future, but he’s starting to think he wants something else • steve x reader )

❤ “to be drunk and in love” – @theshireisburning-so-mordoritis ( drunk confessions, best friends to lovers, eddie being a menace and friends who are extremely touchy and too dumb to realise it's because they're in love • eddie x reader )

❤ “to be alone together” *18+ only – @katsu28 ( steve has to work on valentine’s day, but maybe it’s not as bad as he thought it would be • steve x reader )

❤ “hugs” – @sigh-mon-says ( TW: implied homophobia // steve Harrington hated hugs until you came along • steve x reader )

❤ “colorblind” – @livingintheupsidedown ( TW: trauma, panic attack, S4 spoilers // you can't decide if you should tell Steve how you feel or not, he makes that decision for you • steve x reader )

[a-strange-inkling]

Hellcheer Ten Years Later/Recovery AU…

(So this tragic idea is eating away at my brain and distracting me. Thought I’d jot it down here for maybe a future story or inspiration).

tw: mentions of drugs, alcohol, addiction, od, eds and attempted s*icide.

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.

.

There was never any Vecna or Upside Down, never a drug deal at an abandoned picnic table in the forest behind the school, and Eddie and Chrissy never met again after that fateful Middle School Talent Show. After graduation, Eddie did just what he said and ran like hell out of Hawkins and never looked back.

It’s 1996 and Eddie made a decent career for himself, touring and opening for big names, but always felt this unhappiness inside of him, this void that no amount of sex, drugs and rock and roll could ever fill. In his late twenties the drugs and alcohol spiral out of control to the point he wakes up in the hospital after an accidental OD.

Wayne takes him home and begs him to get help, try to recover, that he doesn't have the strength to bury any more family members. For his uncle's sake, to repay him for taking him in as a kid, Eddie eventually gives in and admits himself into a private recovery center somewhere in the hills of Illinois.

It’s rural and quiet, filled with rich and semi famous addicts. Eddie hates it upon entry… and well the withdrawal, being told what to do on a daily basis, and the group therapy doesn’t warm him up to it.

One morning, feeling weary and miserable, he takes a long walk outside on one of the trails. He stops in his tracks, pretty sure he’s hallucinating when he sees Chrissy Cunningham, the former Queen of Hawkins High and his crush of eight years, reclined on a bench, reading under one of trees... And she’s reading The fucking Hobbit of all things.

Stupefied, he slowly approaches and it’s actually her, thinner than he remembers if that’s possible, those sparkling blue eyes now dull, gray... sad. "Chrissy?" he asks in disbelief, startling her terribly.

“Sorry, sorry... I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She stares up at him with haunted eyes, trembling a little. It unsettles him for a moment, and he thinks he should just walk away, leave her alone... but he stays, tries again. Desperate. “Uh hey, hi…" Very smooth. "You probably don’t remember me; but we went to high school together—"

“Eddie Munson.” she replies softly in astonishment, eyes widening.

And for the first time in he doesn’t know how long, he feels life and warmth inside him again as they talk and reconnect on the bench, beneath the leaves. She’s still so beautiful. Sweet and kind. He makes her laugh and the sound causes his heart to skip a beat in his chest, only for it to sink a moment later when he notices the wedding ring on her finger, but he doesn’t let it show.

She’s Chrissy Carver now. She married Jason right after graduation and studied at IU with him for four years before moving back to Hawkins to be near her parents and start a family. She grows quiet and reserved, her smile disappearing when she mentions her husband. He watches as she recoils back into herself. She tells him that she's been struggling with an ED half her life as well as addiction and depression.

Jason admitted her into rehab after her last failed s*icide attempt earlier that spring. She’s been there for almost four months now.

Eddie listens silently as she slowly opens up to him. It’s awful to think that someone like her ended up in a place like this. Her life seemed so perfect back in school.

He asks if she’s found any healing during her stay.

She shrugs her shoulders saying that she’s away from her mother, so that is healing in and of itself.

They walk and talk together every day after that, sharing their scars and the dark ugly parts of their lives that led them there, finding companionship in one another.

He plays his music for her in exchange for her poems and thoughts. Falling in love in the most unlikely way in the most unlikely of places.

[blushweddinggowns]

Ever since Steve had gotten that new job at Family Video, he was gone, a lot. Too often for Eddie’s liking, even if it was just a part time job. And when he was off, it was a fucking battle to get him all to himself. 

The kids were always after him, and then there was Nancy, and now freaking Robin, who seemed to be beating them all out nine times out of ten. And he couldn’t really do anything about it. Because Steve followed all the rules. He called every two hours, always came home when he said he would, and spent every night in their bed. Eddie always knew where he was, what his plans were for the day. And the girl made him so happy. 

Eddie had half-expected that same nice feeling he had when he saw Steve and Nancy together, happy just to see Steve happy. But with Robin, it was different. In all honesty, he was jealous. But it was a very confusing jealousy. He knew that Steve didn’t love her like he did him, he wasn’t that insecure. The girl was a fucking lesbian for god’s sake. He heard the words come straight from her own mouth.

She had been so shy when she told them, near hiding behind Steve while Nancy and Eddie sat on the couch. Shy and scared, like they would ever be capable of rejecting her over something so small. God, Eddie was easy, because that whole thing had melted his heart. No wonder her sad face always worked on Steve, the girl was naturally adorable. 

Which just made the fact that he didn’t like her worse. It wasn’t her fault, he knew that on some level. But as sick as it was, he didn’t really like anyone being close to where he was in Steve’s life. And she was starting to skirt uncomfortably close to the line. 

Because Steve loved Robin. Really loved her. Like knew everything about her loved her. Eddie knew that he loved everyone in their family, but this was different. Even Nancy, who Steve would do literally anything for, wasn’t in the same league. Because something about those two just clicked, bizarrely fast. Like finishing each other’s sentences fast. Like telling each other every traumatic childhood experience they ever had in the span of a month fast. 

And he kind of fucking hated it. Nancy had boundaries, lines that Steve or anyone weren’t allowed to cross. But Robin didn’t. At least not for Steve. No, he could be just as weird with her as he could be with Eddie. Whiny, possessive, touchy, she didn’t care. If anything she just gave it back full force. And for so long Eddie had been the only one who could fully deal with how intense Steve was. And he liked it that way.

And the worst part was how much Eddie actually liked her. Or he would have if he didn’t feel like he was in competition with her for Steve’s spare time. He hadn’t known at the time just how literal she was with the little I won’t let him die, comment. But she had stayed true to her word. And was also one of the only other people in their group that was reasonably freaked out by all his crazy shit. And in Eddie’s eyes, cowardice wasn’t a bad trait if it meant keeping the people he loved alive. 

But despite how much he trusted her, despite how happy she made Steve, Eddie sincerely, wanted her to fuck off. Just a little bit. Not that he let it show to either of them. 

Did that make him a horrible person? Yes. Was that anything new? No.

But at least he wasn’t alone. Nancy was annoyed too, but to a more reasonable extent. In a way, she had been just as spoiled with Steve’s time as he had been. There were common days that Eddie was busy with things that Steve wasn’t involved in, and she used to have first pick when it came to when they hung out. But now she had to work around his new work schedule and his new best friend schedule, all while her boyfriend was hundreds of miles away. 

It was an annoyance they kept between themselves. But it was nice to have someone to be shitty with, just one more thing he loved about Nancy. 

They were whispering about it as their table, eyes stuck on Robin and Steve laughing across the room. They were at the bowling alley, sitting around with drinks after a frankly embarrassing loss to the wonder duo. They were crowded around a claw machine, Robin cheering Steve on as he tried to go for the impossible elephant in the back. Robin had already won Steve a stuffed narwhal, so according to him that meant he was obligated to return the favor. Despite the fact that he had already lost four times. 

“They’re adorable and I hate it,” Nancy sighed as she gnawed on her straw, “The worst part is how great she is. Did you know I tried to invite Steve to the movies last weekend? Well guess who picked up the phone?”

“Robin?”

“Robin,” Nancy said, “And I actually ended up inviting her to the movies. And had fun.”

“Traitor,” Eddie huffed half-heartedly, feet kicked up on the table, “But I know what you mean. I can’t even hate her. Did you know she speaks four languages? How is that fair?”

Nancy shrugged, “It isn’t. But neither is life I guess.”

She was right about that. But he just wanted her to back off a little. But without hurting her feelings, or pissing Steve off. There was only one answer he could think of, “Makes me want to find her a girlfriend or something. Just somewhere to redirect her time. Maybe I can put out some feelers.”

Nancy raised a brow at him, “A girlfriend? In this town? Good luck.”

“Why not?” Eddie asked, “I got lucky. You got lucky. Why can’t she?”

Nancy rolled her eyes, “Oh yeah, I’m so lucky that my boyfriend moved across the country.”

“Y’know what I mean,” Eddie said, eyes already scanning the room. It really would be the perfect solution wouldn’t it? The only problem was that he didn’t really know what gay girls were supposed to look like. But he did know that Robin drooled like an idiot for anyone who even slightly resembles a young Barbara Eden. That couldn’t be too hard to replicate, right? 

He kept looking around, eyes stopping when on a particular petite blonde. Oh, she was definitely Robin’s type. 

“Hey look at her,” Eddie said quietly, jutting his chin forward in the blonde’s direction, “She’d be perfect.”

It helped that she seemed to keep glancing Robin’s way, barely paying attention to what her friends were saying. She kept smiling to herself, coincidently synched with every dramatic cheer Robin gave Steve. That seemed as good a sign as any.

Eddie was more than happy to play the part of her unknown wingman, especially if it meant having Steve to himself again. 

But Nancy didn’t seem very impressed. She raised a brow at him, “You have no idea who that is, do you?”

But Eddie was already on his feet, shrugging when Nancy tried to stop him, “Feelers!”

He made his way over, a plan forming in his head. It’s not like he was going to tell anyone she was gay, that was far from his place. But maybe he could gauge any interest, or at least her personal level of strangeness. Because they couldn’t just be gay. They had to be a little weird if it was ever going to work. He just needed to see if he could find someone who had the vibe. And a good starter test for that was to see if she closed down on Eddie “The Freak” Munson straight away.  

She startled a little when he waltzed right up to her, but she didn’t turn and run, which was sadly something. He stuck his hand out with a smile, “Hey there. I’m Eddie.”

He half expected her to laugh at him, or at least ask who the hell he thought he was. But she didn’t do either. Instead she smiled back, reaching out to shake his hand, “Chrissy.”

From the newest chapter of this fic!

[courtingchaos]

Wooo I’m feeling some kind of way recently. Stress will do that to you.

A/N: this is fluff but seriously, no minors. I mean it.

But like, paint this picture with me.

Older Eddie (Professor Munson in my imaging), remembering all the things that make you happy. He notices you’re upset because job stuff and you’re having a hard time being in your 30’s and he gets it. It wasn’t that long ago he was there and he’s been watching you ghost around the townhouse for a week. Hair clipped up and the same pajamas you’ve had on for at least three days. He still trips over himself to see you though, even unwashed and snapping and sad. Every day he comes home and searches for you, and every day this week he’s found you in the spare room you’ve slowly turned into your space.

He’s told you he’ll clear it out and get you real office furniture but that makes you sink deeper into your depression. You talk about not being able to pay him back and he’s never once expected that.

You don’t have to. He doesn’t want you to. Let him do something for you. He just wants you to feel better.

And maybe that starts a fight because he’s already got his career and his friends and his money and his home. You’re floating in a job you hate and looking for another one to bide your time in because you actually hate the degree you spent 7 years getting. You only did it to prove to everyone else you could and now?

Now you live off of your boyfriend in his big, expensive brownstone. He’s 12 years into his field and settled and also 25 years older than you.

So what is it? You only like charity cases or something? Gotta rescue the idiot?

He knows you’re mad. He knows you lash out like this. He knows you’ll push so that everyone else leaves and you can feel like you got left instead. So maybe he snaps back at you for a second. Reminds you if he didn’t want you living with him and dating him he could find someone more age appropriate (he says with an eye roll). When you stomp up the stairs to your room he yells up to you that if he didn’t love you and was 20 years younger he’d be throwing your shit out onto the pavement outside, damn the old money next door.

Maybe you avoid him till the weekend when he’s home the whole time. You haven’t slept in the same bed and you haven’t answered a single knock or text or FaceTime. He sends you little flower emojis and a string of stars. He finds a tiktok about the Mars rover that he knows you’ll want to see and sends you some screen shots of the new menu for the whiskey bar you two like to go to. While you were sleeping he slid into your room and left your Sunday morning fancy coffee on the nightstand and when you finally wake up and notice it, you can hear him moving around in the kitchen.

You still feel like shit but at least you know he isn’t kicking you out. You know he wouldn’t, not over a stupid fight like that but still. It’s when you’re wrapped up in your robe and heading down stairs to finally speak to him you notice the bedroom door open. The bedroom you normally sleep in, with a sticky note on it. An arrow pointing in with a smiley face and crudely drawn horns. On the bed there’s a little paper bag from the expensive soap place you rarely buy from and it seems Eddie has outdone himself again. The rose shower melts and the lemon soap and that stupid body pouf you like so much that smells like candy. If you cry about it in the shower you don’t tell him and he doesn’t bring up your puffy face when you finally pad into the kitchen.

He’s baking something, it smells sweet and you spot the split packaging of the orange cinnamon pillsbury rolls in the trash and you have to swallow the lump in your throat. He hates those so you know he ran these errands yesterday when he left for those few hours. Probably ran by the grocery store first and then into that boutique that he always complains smells too much. He pauses when he see you staring into the trash can, silent and still. Doesn’t say anything, just tilts his head to try and catch your eye.

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I don’t know what to do about anything and I’m panicking.

He just shrugs and smiles. He gets it. He always gets it. There’s something in him that always gets your mood swings and that deep seated anger. He’s never asked you to try and snuff that flame out, just helps you tend it.

It’s a controlled burn. You gotta let it get all the kindling out so new shit can grow.

Eddie pulls you into a hug and you lean into him. Breathe him in slow to try and get that lump to go away. You thank him for your shower and then gesture sadly behind you at the oven and thank him for the cinnamon rolls you know he hates. He laughs and it rumbles against you. He hums along to the music and you tuck your head into his neck and realize he’s got Neil Young on. There’s an old man joke on the tip of your tongue but then he starts singing along to Harvest Moon and you shut up. The tears you’ve been holding in since getting out of the shower push up and over and stain your cheeks and wet his old tshirt and he just shushes you. Sways you against him until the timer goes off and he sways you over to the stove and manages to get the round pan out without burning either of you.

Maybe it’s a rainy day and the drops patter against the windows. Eddie knows you like the rain and he dances you across the living room so he can crack the window so you can hear it coming down.

Because I’m still in love with you, I wanna see you dance again…

Sings quietly into your hair and tucks you up close and let’s you cry on his shoulder and when he feels you slowing down, taking those deep breaths to steady yourself, he pulls his phone out and replays the song so he can properly dance with you. He wants you to laugh so he holds your fingertip and first knuckle, acts like he’s playing a tiny harmonica. You giggle and he feels better, lighter. There’s color in your cheeks again and you’re looking him in the eye before you give him a kiss and drape back over him.

It’s cozy and it smells like cinnamon rolls and you’re swaying with him and you both are happy.

[dameronology]

champagne problems [e.m]

summary: after three years away from hawkins, things are falling into place for you. it's a shame that everything is not what it seems (based on the t swift song, of course)

warnings: mentions of cheating, language, she/her pronouns so this is fem reader

this started as a steve fic but it felt more natural to be eddie. but i promise i don't have a favourite. probably. maybe. we'll see. i hope u enjoy.

-jazz

You’d gotten the first train you could from Grand Central Station. Rain had started falling uncontrollably by that point, layering the morning remains of Manhattan in grey clouds; it was welcome after such a long summer. There had been a drought - the streets were dry and the plants on your balcony had died from the heat. At least that’s what you had blamed it on. Eddie had always teased you for your inability to keep a plant alive. No, you’re not babysitting Dustin, he’d said, you can’t look after a cactus, let alone a kid. 

It was hard not to smile at the thought of him. Back in Hawkins, still working at the record store and writing shitty songs about shitty things. Not much had changed for him; he was doing community college, trying to save up enough to get his own place. That had always been the plan back in high school, when you and him had dated. It only lasted two years - might as well have been a million when you were that young - but you’d been best friends even after you broke up. You’d barely left each other's side, right from your sophomore year separation, to walking the graduation stage together, to him driving you twelve-hours to New York in his van when you went to college. 

He’d made a joke then about waiting for you. It was his attempt at telling you that he was cripplingly in love with you - for real now, not just in I’ll meet you by your locker at lunch way. 

You’d met George exactly a week after that. A Columbia law-student a few years older than you with a kind smile and a flashy car, he was almost everything you could have asked for. And the difference between him and Eddie Munson was that he’d actually tried to get you; he’d brought you flowers and asked you out and been open about his feelings for you every day since. It had been hard not to fall in love with him and even harder to find a reason to break up with him. 

New York passed you in a flash as the train gained speed. Everyone else around you was asleep by that point - it was 4AM after all. They were either teenagers returning from a night out in the city or businessmen catching up on sleep before a long day at work. Either way, none of them gave you a second look; none of them noticed the glittery dress you wore under the stolen tuxedo jacket, or the discarded heels on the seat beside you. None of them knew what was going on in your life. 

Pulling a piece of scrap paper out your bag, you grabbed a pen and began to scrawl.

Dear Eddie, 

Sorry I haven’t written for a while. Things have been crazy here. 

Your friendship with Eddie had dwindled, undoubtedly. You used to call every day, then a few times a week, and then a few times a month. That was every three months now, save for the post-cards you sent each other every time you travelled - a tradition since you were twelve years old -  or the occasional letter when you just couldn’t verbalise what you really needed to say. He knew about George. He knew that he made you happy. And he hated him for it, 

Tonight was meant to be a big night. It was your third anniversary and you’d both planned big things - a fancy dinner, with a town car and a hotel for afterwards. George still tried after three years to make you happy and you hated that his efforts had been in vain. You could still recall his face as you’d walked away, sadness captured between the smell of Dom Perignon and the waiting breaths of his family in the moments leading up to what was going to be the most important question of his life. 

I handed in my last assignment a few days ago. There’s been a few offers of graduate jobs from places in Manhattan but I don’t really know what I’m doing at this point. I miss Hawkins a lot at the moment. Maybe not the town itself, or all the crazy shit that came with it, but I miss how simple things used to be. When we all used to hang out, me, you, Robin, Nancy and Steve, and just be. I didn’t have to worry about much back then, and knowing you’re all still there and life goes on without me gets to me for some reason. 

You paused for a moment, dropping your pen and staring out the window. 

You’d last seen Eddie the Christmas before the one upcoming. It had just been you travelling back for the holidays; George was busy with work, which meant keeping to yourself in your childhood bedroom for a few weeks. It was the first time in almost two years that you’d been home for Christmas without him - that meant it was the first time in two years that you and Eddie had been alone in the environment where your love had first developed.

Maybe that had been the catalyst. You could probably blame the wine too, but the blame fell on you both for that kiss. Everything that happened after was worth the guilt you felt for it; the clashing teeth, hands all over each other, bed sheets thrown aside as you pulled Eddie impossibly closer and felt at home for the first time in years. 

I think about last Christmas all the time. I think about how I should have known then that George isn’t the one for me. That was the first since I’d left Hawkins that I actually felt something again. And I’m not saying he’s bad in bed And I'm not saying I don't love him but I don't think I love him in the right way.

Coming back to New York with the shame weighing on your shoulders had been almost unbearable. Telling George was even worse; you weren't a cheater, you never had been, but it was a cold, hard fact now that you were. And he'd taken it in his stride - admitted to having his own moments of weakness early in the relationship, but it didn't matter if it doesn't mean anything, right? We'll just commit to each other from now on.

So, you'd smiled. You'd said it with your whole chest: that Eddie Munson meant nothing to you. It had just been a fling. There was no underlying feelings. No harm, no foul.

There had been whispers amongst New York's elite in the following days. Gossip spread around like wildfire.

Did you hear what she did to George? Once a cheater, always a cheater and yeah, maybe he'd done it too, but it was way before they were serious and she's crazy to risk it all for somebody Indiana nobody. Worst of all: hopefully things will change when they get married.

Marriage was the next, natural step. It had been on your mind since George's sister had told you that he'd asked for his mother's ring. It would be a big affair - his family did come from money. Like everything in New York, it was going to be structured and put together; you were going to be a puppet in the social scene's theatre. Maybe you'd get a mention in a magazine if you were lucky. It was the kind of shit that Eddie would scoff and roll his eyes at. He had done exactly that when you'd told him over the phone.

I think you knew when I told you about his mum's ring that this was all some stupid, elaborate, fucked up affair. It's my fault for letting it go on for this long. I should have told him a long time ago that I'm not cut out for this. i don't want to be a rich housewife. I don't want to spend my days worrying about what everyone else thinks of me.

You knew where you wanted to be - you knew the exact address, in fact. It was in Eddie Munson's trailer, watching some shitty movie and smoking weed and not giving a fuck about anything. That was exactly how you'd spent your last summer in Hawkins before college; that should have been the natural point for you to finally get together, but he'd been too chicken. He hated himself for it now but you knew in your hearts that the way you'd existed then was how it was supposed to be.

Breaking that reality to George had been had. It was your own fault - your own doing, courtesy of the fact you hadn't backed out years ago. Had you lead him on? Yeah, maybe. It wasn't intentional but it sometimes it was hard to know the answer to such a big question til you could see the outline of the ring in his pocket. Leaving him broken hearted in the hallway of the Waldorf Astoria wasn't how you'd wanted things to go but not much mattered when you needed things to end.

I miss you. I miss Hawkins. I'll be there sooner than you think.

You slept the rest of the journey, guilt barely subsiding even when you were miles away. America passed you by, each second bringing you closer to where you were supposed to be. Not necessarily Hawkins, but wherever Eddie Munson was.

About three stops away from yours, you made your way to the bathroom and rifled through your bag for some clean clothes. You didn't have much, given that you'd left in such a rush. Just a few shirts and loose sweatpants. One shirt in particular caught your eye; it was baggy and black, a faded Aerosmith logo on the front. It was one that Eddie had left at your house almost seven years ago. It fit you like a glove now.

You posted the letter as soon as you stepped off the train in New Jersey. It wasn't your permanent stop, but your old college room-mate had offered you a place on her couch with open arms. Just somewhere to stay for the next two days whilst you got your shit together and waited for your mum to wire you the money the ticket back to Hawkins.

The main thing was getting away from New York. There was nothing there for you anymore. Maybe there never had been.

--

The rain was still coming down when you reached Hawkins the following Thursday morning. You weren't surprised - fall was passing now into winter, bringing with it cold and wet and months of dark afternoons and grey mornings. Still, there was something fresh in the air. Probably the feeling of being away from the city after months of recycled Manhattan subway-and-hot-dogs air.

You'd taken the night train again - mostly because it was half the price, but you hadn't accounted for the fact that your quiet hometown would still be dead to the world when you arrived. The only tiny piece of hope you had was the pay-phone across the road from the station.

The dial tone only rang three times before someone answered.

"Who is this and why the fuck are you calling me at five-"

"- hey, Eddie."

There was the rustling of sheets - presumably the poor boy suddenly sitting up in bed. "Hey. Hi. Wow, I didn't expect to hear from you."

"Don't s'pose you've checked the mail recently?"

"Uh, yeah...yeah I have," he said. "I got your letter last night. I smoked a joint and was going to work out what to write back but then I fell asleep and - well, now I'm here. So I still haven't worked out what I was going to say-"

"- it's okay," you murmured. "You don't have to say anything. It was stupid. I'm gonna stay at my parents for the foreseeable future, so you don't have to like...talk to me."

"Wait, you're in Hawkins now? At the station?"

"Yeah."

"At six in the morning? In the rain?"

"It's basic geography, Eds. If it's raining there, it's also raining here."

"I'll be ten minutes."

Eddie Munson was nothing if not a man of his word, because eight minute and forty three seconds after he hung up, his van screeched to a halt outside the station. There was a thud as his boots hit the ground, paddles splashing up around his feet as he crossed the road to where you were stood by the pay-phone.

He had his arms around you in seconds, large hands splayed out on your back as he pulled you into his chest. Eddie was warm - like always - he gave the best fucking hugs. He always knew exactly what you needed.

"You're an idiot," he said. He pulled back from the hug and took your face in his hands. "You're cold and wet and I've missed you but most of all, you are an idiot."

"That's the nicest thing that's been said about me in the last four days."

He gave you a pained look. "So you broke up with George?"

"Yeah. He tried to propose to me and I dumped him."

"Why? I thought you were happy-"

"- Eds, I was never happy," you cut him off. "Especially not since last Christmas."

"Ah," he grimaced. "So I'm something to do with it?"

"Only if you want to be."

"Always," he gave you a little smile. "Look, we don't have to make any grand declarations of love right now, okay?"

You frowned.

"Wait, not like that," Eddie quickly said. "I mean...what do you think I've wanted to hear for the last three years, huh? I'm just not sure outside the train station at 5AM when we're both sleep deprived is-"

"- I love you," you said. It was firm; with your entire chest, despite the guilt weighing on it. "I'll say it again when we wake up too if you want."

"You can say it then, for sure. And the evening, and then maybe around lunch time too, and then the morning after that, and..." he trailed off, pausing. "I love you too."

"You do?"

"I do. I always have," he replied. "Even though you're keeping me stood here in the rain."

"Okay, let's go," you took Eddie's hand in yours. "You can drop me at my parents, or I can get a taxi, or-"

"- or you can just stop dancing round the question and come back to the trailer?"

The journey home was quiet and content. Nothing but the rain on the ceiling and the dulcet tones of Black Sabbath playing lowly in the background. Neither of you had much to say - it had already been said, after all. There was a lot more to talk about but just for now, you were happy.

The gratified silence continued at the trailer. Eddie moved with ease, finding you clean, dry clothes and discarding yours into the laundry. His hands felt natural on your skin; a welcome warmth after a few moments in the rain and three years in the cold. Three years. Was that really how long it had taken?

Eddie made a few quiet jokes here and there as you bumbled about him. It wasn't until you climbed underneath the covers next to him that he pulled you into his chest and finally spoke properly. He still wasn't quite sure what to say - mostly because he was certain this was a dream - but the thing with Edward Munson was that he started ninety-percent of his sentences not entirely sure where they were going.

"Are you sure you want to leave everything behind in New York?"

"There's nothing for me to leave," you replied, glancing up at him. "I've never had anything there. It's always been here."

"I always figured that what happened last Christmas was just a goodbye," he continued. "A...sorry I love someone else sort of thing, you know?"

"That's not it at all, I promise," you said. "That wasn't a goodbye at all. It was...I don't know. I don't know what I thought it was going to be in the moment either but I know now it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"For real?"

"Yeah," you affirmed. "It made me realise what I actually wanted."

"Me?"

"Yes, Eddie," you couldn't help but smile. "It's you. It's always been you."

[royalty-unknown]

Could you please do one of little reader who is Jason Carver’s sister? (hate that guy) but Eddie is their caregiver? and Jason catches them being bottlefed by Eddie?

The Start of a new friendship

Cg!Eddie Munson x little!reader Including Brother Jason Carver Requested by: Anonymous 

Hi my lovely flower! I’m really happy that you sent this in because I love in this case when I fix how characters view each other and when characters go from enemies to friends. I dislike him too but I don’t want to view him as bad and a meanie :( 

WARNING!!: Heavy Heavy Fluff, Enemies to Friends.

Eddie Munson, your amazing boyfriend and caregiver, You absolutely adored him but you couldn’t say the same for your brother who practically hated his guts. You didn’t understand why though he was lovely, took care of you when you regressed, Was so soft and kind, Loved you no matter what, And was actually very intelligent. But no Jason your brother no matter how good he seemed or was he still hated his guts. 

Eddie was playing with you with the toys basically creating a mini d7d game but less violent and with stuffies you had the house to yourself and decided to invite Eddie over and you ended up slipping when he got here but he didn’t mind he just took care of you like the amazing caregiver he was. You both stopped playing after you started whining “What’s wrong kitten?”he asked “hungwy” you said looking at your tummy that growled in frustration of not being filled with food. 

“Aww ok I’ll go make you a bottle ok you stay here and shout..Uh-..Care bear! If somethings wrong ok?” he said getting up “Okie” You said as you went back to playing and as he walked to the kitchen of your house. About 15 mins later he came back with a freshly made warmed bottle and gently picked you up and he sat on the couch with you on straddling his lap as he held is wrist out and bringing the nipple of the bottle up to it to let it drip on his wrist to see if it was too hot, Which it wasn’t so he put the bottle in your mouth and gently patted you bum. 

About half way done you're in a deep sleep but still drinking and that’s when your bedroom door opens to reveal your brother Jason, “What are you- Y/n?!” He said walking up to you and Eddie. Eddie hugged you and leant back saying in a low voice as to not wake you “aye man, I understand you don’t like me and that you don’t think i’m good enough for her but please let's not argue right now I will explain everything to you later and you can kick my behind later but please not while she’s like this..” He said with eyes that pleaded. Jason sighed and sat down next to him as Eddie quietly went back to feeding you after you started whimpering. 

Eddie shushed you while bouncing his leg and patting your bum. It was silent until Jason spoke up “She’s an age regressor?..” He asked a tone completely soft and different from how he would usually address him which was aggressive. Eddie was taken back but still answered “u-uh yeah.. She uses it to cope with (Reason)..h-how'd you know” Jason was quiet then he blurted out “Chrissy regresses too..” he said and Eddie replied “Oh! We have to let them have a playdate sometime” Earning a chuckle from Jason.  

“Hey eds? If it’s..Ok if I call you that” and Eddie smiled “Yeah! And I would like that!” he said then jason blurted out “It’s not that I don’t like you it’s just I don’t want her to get hurt she’s been hurt enough..I am really sorry for how much of an a-butt I can be”he said sounding sad but chuckling at the end of his sentence. This made Eddie chuckle as well. “Hey it’s ok man we all have our moments, and I understand you're just trying to protect her and that’s okay I’m just glad we had a talk about it and I can assure you that I will never ever hurt her a day in my life.” 

He said smiling down at his sleeping baby who now has a pacifier in her mouth but his words sounded honest and direct. Jason smiled at his words and stood up “alright Eds I have to go take care of chrissy” He said walking out and Eddie nodded. Who would have thought Jason Carver would be so nice to Eddie Munson. 

<3 

Word Count: 896

Hi my lovelies! Please let me know about your thoughts and opinions but in a respectful manner. Again thank you so much for this request hopefully it met what you were looking for if not please let me know! I like when I fix Jason so he isn’t mean to Eddie bc we all know our Eddie doesn’t deserve it! But this request was very fun to write and I do hope to receive more from you and others and I will hope to improve as I go and continue writing stories! But anyways hope you're drinking 1-4 water bottles/cups of water and eating at least 1-2 meals a day! Until the next one my fellow Victims~

 Your Friendly Neighborhood,

      ☢Killer Bunny☢

[withacapitalp]

@thefreakandthehair

Dearest Lex! First of all, happy birthday <3 People like you are once in a lifetime, and I'm so so grateful we've become friends. I tried to pull together a little surprise, I'm sure someone else has already posted theirs, but I scheduled mine to be here bright and early!!

For anyone not in the loop who wants to do something for Lex DM me!!

Link to Ao3

Eddie had never exactly had the best track record with birthdays. 

When he had been couch surfing with his mom and dad, there wasn’t exactly time for setting up a birthday party, or money for cake and presents. If he was lucky, his mom would get him a cheap toy car, or a lollipop that she swiped from the gas station — little ways to make the day special. She tried, she really did, but that was mostly at the start.

By ten, she seemed to have forgotten her son even had a birthday, too lost in the drugs to see him waiting for her to notice. Hell, there were even some years where he himself completely missed it. They would pass by somewhere, and Eddie would offhandedly see the date, realizing with a jolt that his birthday had passed days or weeks ago and nothing had changed. 

He hated those years most of all. 

But…but today was his thirteenth birthday. 

He was turning thirteen today, and he was finally in a place he could really call home. He was turning thirteen, and for the first time, Eddie wanted to let himself hope. He let himself day dream about a party with balloons and a cake littered with bright candles. He had thought endlessly about how Thirteen was going to be great, the best year yet. His year. 

Eddie had, foolishly, let himself think that things might be better now. After all, Wayne had been nothing but kind to him so far, always wanting to know what Eddie thought and listening when he told wild long winded stories. Wayne was good, and he seemed like the type to make birthdays something special. 

He woke up that morning, hope starting to stir in his chest, and it instantly vanished when he threw his arm out to wake his uncle, only to find that the other side of the bed was cold. 

Uncle Wayne wasn’t in the room they shared, and when Eddie wandered out, there was a post-it note on the fridge saying that he switched to the day shift, and he wouldn’t be home till 7:00 tonight. 

No cake, no presents, not even a card. He hadn’t even written Happy Birthday on the note. 

He tried not to be disappointed, tried to reason with himself, because Uncle Wayne might not have even known it was his birthday. He hadn’t even known Eddie existed until a few months ago, how could he know when his birthday was?

But there was a wrathful sad creature writhing in his chest, pressing down on that old wound and making it reopen, telling Eddie that if Wayne actually did love him, he would have known. He would have cared enough to ask. 

It wasn’t fair to think that way. His Uncle cared plenty. He had taken Eddie in, given him a home, shared his room and his food and his life when didn’t have to, and Eddie wanted to be grateful for all of that. He was grateful for all of that. 

He just also wanted Thirteen to be different. 

The rest of the day was the same. Eddie went through school in a daze, barely paying attention to his classes or the assholes all around that liked to make fun of him. No one wished him well, or asked how he felt to be thirteen, and he was almost kind of glad for that. 

Because thirteen felt the way that twelve did. It felt the way eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, and four did too. 

Thirteen sucked. 

By the time he got out of class and back to the trailer park, it was getting hard to hold back the tears pressing at his eyes. He lept into the trailer and shut the door with a bang, hitting his back against the door and sliding down. He collapsed onto the floor in a heap, sniffling and pressing his palms against his eyes, trying to make them stop before they started. 

Eddie had always been a crybaby. It was something his father had absolutely detested about him, something he had tried to beat out of his son time and time again. Those attempts had only made Eddie cry more, which made his father angrier, which started a vicious cycle, which led to scars and nightmares and all of the things Eddie just wanted to forget about. 

This wasn’t how Thirteen was supposed to be. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about the bad things, he wasn’t supposed to be upset. 

“Why’re you cryin’ kiddo?” 

Eddie immediately startled at the unexpected voice, jumping with a gasp and accidentally smacking his head against the metal door. Now he was really crying, holding the back of his head with both hands and choking on cut off sobs. 

Wayne shot up from his easy chair and dashed over. He lifted his arm, probably only intending to help Eddie up, or check the back of his head for a lump. 

That wasn’t what Eddie saw. Eddie saw a hand raised his way, and tears on his cheeks, and knew he was about to get punished again for being a stupid crybaby. He flinched back, ducking his head between his legs and waiting. 

But no hand ever came. No screaming, no pain. Nothing. Hesitantly, Eddie lifted his head up, watching his uncle with fearful eyes. 

Wayne was still as a statue, his arms at his sides. There was a funny look on his face, a strangled kind of shock that looked uncomfortable. Eddie uncurled from his ball, lowering his arms and wrapping them around his knees loosely. 

“‘M sorry,” He mumbled, humiliated. This was really turning out to be his worst birthday ever. Wayne chewed on the inside of his cheek for a minute before slowly lowering himself down to the floor, groaning as his knees cracked loudly in the quiet trailer. 

“You don’t got to apologize,” Wayne said once he was on the ground. Eddie knew that was true. This wasn’t the first time they had done this particular song and dance, but it was the worst time. Wayne told him the same thing every time- he didn’t have to apologize. 

Eddie still felt the need to. 

“Sorry,” He repeated, cringing as the word flew out of his mouth. Wayne sucked a deep breath in and let it out in a long sigh, looking around as he contemplated his words. 

“Does it help you if I say I’m not angry with you?”

Eddie paused, considering. Whenever Wayne said he didn’t have to apologize, Eddie always felt like he needed to apologize for apologizing. It was silly, and confusing, and made his heart race. 

But the thought of knowing that Wayne wasn’t upset made his heart beat just a little bit slower, so Eddie nodded hesitantly. Wayne nodded back, clicking his tongue once and looking Eddie right in the eye, forcing him to look back. 

“Then I’m not angry with you. Not even a little bit, Eds,” Wayne said carefully, making sure every word was heard. 

It was the little nickname that really made Eddie’s shoulders start to relax. Wayne had started calling him that the third or fourth day after his arrival, and, every time he did it, Eddie felt just a little bit safer. 

Wayne let Eddie calm down a bit more, watching him brush away any lingering tears and take long shaking breaths. Then, when he was sure Eddie wasn’t going to fall apart again, he repeated his initial question in a soft, unexpectedly gentle, tone. 

“Why were you cryin’?”

Eddie’s cheeks flushed, and he ducked his head. Now that it was over, he felt ridiculous for falling apart like that. It was such a silly thing to get so upset over, and Wayne didn’t need to know. 

“I thought you had a shift?” Eddie said, changing the subject while smoothly avoiding the question.

“Got Gordie to take the last three hours. I wanted to be home to surprise you,” Wayne replied. 

A blinding rush of hope stabbed Eddie directly in the chest. He despised it for still existing, for not being beaten down by the reality of the life he had lived. Through all of it, he still had hope, he still wanted to believe something better was coming. 

Maybe that was stupid. Maybe it was brave. Maybe it was the only thing keeping Eddie alive at this point. He dropped his gaze to the floor between them, trying to gather up his courage. 

“Why?” Eddie whispered, unable to look up in case he was wrong. 

It was quiet. It was quiet for a long time. Eddie didn’t move, didn’t dare to even breathe too much. He couldn't until he heard the answer. 

“...It’s your birthday, kiddo,” Wayne said, each word coming out slow and measured, “You know that, right?”

Wayne knew. 

Wayne knew, and he had taken time off, even though they needed the money badly. He had given up those precious few hours just to be here for him. Just because he wanted to. 

The lump that had begun to ease out of his throat grew three times as big. 

“Then why’re you so surprised that I’d wanna be here?” Wayne wondered, sounding confused, but also sad. Guilt began to bloom in his stomach, but Eddie couldn’t bear the thought of lying right now. 

“Didn’t think you knew,” Eddie mumbled, feeling his lashes starting to stick together. The unspoken ‘didn’t think you cared’ sat heavy in the air between them. 

Eddie dropped his head between his knees again, hating himself for thinking badly about Wayne. His uncle had done nothing but care for him this entire time, making sacrifice after sacrifice, and Eddie had really thought he would do something as terrible as this? What kind of person was he? 

Wayne, unaware of Eddie’s internal battle, spoke slowly, taking his time with each word the way he always did. 

“Got it out of the paperwork your social worker sent me,” Wayne said, hesitating for a second before lowering his voice into a whisper before asking his next question. 

“Is that what got you all upset?”

This is where it would be smart to lie. 

If it was his father, Eddie would have lied. 

If it was mother, Eddie would have lied. 

If it was anyone but Wayne, Eddie would have lied. 

Instead, he gave the tiniest nod he possibly could, taking the risk of falling and hoping his uncle was serious about wanting to catch him. 

Wayne sighed heavily, and Eddie raised his head just enough to watch as his uncle shook his head and got to his feet, only walking a few steps before coming to sit next to Eddie by the door. 

“I’m sorry. I thought about wakin’ you when I left, but I wanted to let you sleep. I should’ve done that, and I apologize,” Wayne said, lowering his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and tugging him in for a sideways hug. 

It always amazed Eddie how quickly Wayne would apologize for things. He had never heard his father say he was sorry, but Wayne did it all the time. If Eddie’s toast was too crunchy, if he was late coming home, every time he thought he misstepped, he said he was sorry. For all the little things, and all the big things too. 

It was strange, but it was probably the thing he liked most about living with Wayne. With Wayne, Eddie wasn’t always the one who had done the wrong thing. 

“But I had a plan, if you wanted?” Wayne offered, and Eddie nodded his head against Wayne’s shoulder, still not ready to talk. 

“Well, I figured we could grab a slice or two, ‘n go to the movies. See that new one you were talkin’ about? Salem’s Somethin’? Thought you might like to see your first official PG 13 movie together,”

“That sounds nice,” Eddie whispered, the smallest trace of a smile gracing his face as Wayne grinned when he spoke. 

“Yeah, then after I uh I got you a cupcake? You said you like red velvet, so I tried to get a cake, but the bakery only did cupcakes. I got a chocolate one for me, but I have a candle you can put in it.” Wayne continued, pointing over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. There was a pink box sitting there, tied tightly with white twine that came together in a pretty bow on the top. 

Eddie couldn’t even remember talking about his favorite kind of cake with Wayne. But Wayne remembered, and the thought of that flooded him with warmth from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. 

He let his legs slide out straight, sitting right next to his uncle’s. His feet only reached about three quarters of the way down his uncle’s calves, but Wayne swore that would change soon. He liked to call Eddie a ‘bean pole in the making’ and that always made him laugh. 

“Oh, and I got a present for ya,” 

“A present?” Eddie wondered aloud, amazed. The movie and pizza was already so much, and the cupcake was even more. Weren’t those his presents? 

“Yeah. Go wait on the couch and close your eyes, alright? Didn’t get a chance to wrap it,” Wayne instructed, briefly stopping to ruffle Eddie’s curls before walking down the hallway to their room. 

Eddie stood on slightly shaky legs, walking over to the couch in a daze and sitting in the corner. He closed his eyes, letting the darkness take his vision as he waited, unable to guess what his present might be. 

He heard Wayne walk back over, and something heavy was placed in his lap. It was big, really big, and Eddie’s leg began to bounce in anticipation. 

“Okay, you can open ‘em,” Wayne said, and Eddie’s eyes flashed open. 

There was a guitar case in his lap. 

A real life, genuine, honest to god, guitar case. 

Eddie stared at it with big bug eyes, every single thought rushing out of his head as fast as they could go. He lifted one trembling hand and put it on the hard plastic, feeling the scratches and grooves with his fingers as he stared down at it. 

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

He lifted it out of his lap, and stood up. Wayne stepped back, and Eddie kneeled down, feeling for the latches and lifting them. The guitar was somehow even better than the case. It was a soft amber wood acoustic, with a few stickers adorning the bottom, and strings that were just starting to fray at the top. 

It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. 

“Dean, my manager at the plant? He said he was lookin’ to get a new one, so I convinced ‘im to sell me this one. ‘S a little old, and he said it’ll be finicky, but it’s a good starter guitar. Thought you might like to make some music, seein’ as you listen to so much of it,” Wayne explained. 

That was a lot more talking than he was used to from his uncle. When Eddie looked up with a wide eyed expression, still unable to speak, Wayne’s strange bout of nerves vanished. 

“I know it ain’t much,” Wayne started, hunching in his shoulders, “But-”

“I love it,” 

That was Eddie’s voice, but he didn’t think he had spoken. The words weren’t good enough. They would never be good enough. No words would ever be able to even start to explain how Eddie was feeling. He stood up and wrapped his arms tight around his uncle’s middle, burying his face in the man’s chest and trying to hide the treacherous tears that had escaped once more. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Eddie whispered endlessly, wishing that there was something better to say. 

Wayne seemed shocked, but he recovered quickly, patting Eddie on the back. 

“C’mon now,” Wayne muttered, probably embarrassed by the outburst. Eddie didn’t care. He squeezed even tighter, trying to convey everything he could with a hug, because words were pale in comparison. 

Wayne finally resolved to just let Eddie get this out, sighing and wrapping his arms around the boy’s shoulders. 

“Alright. You’re alright now,” Wayne whispered, putting his chin on the top of Eddie’s head, knowing he couldn’t do that for very much longer. 

And Eddie believed him. For the first time he let himself think things were going to get better without being afraid. 

[hllfireclb]

Call me Valentine Munson | Eddie Munson x Fem!reader

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warnings: fluff, mention of smut, mention of drugs, Eddie smoking a joint, some hurt kinda? If I missed any please let me know!

Word count: 1.9k

A/n: I hate Valentine’s Day. I actually wanted to go into detail more and make this a longer OS but my absolute hate for that day is too big (sorry) plus I couldn’t handle even more soft/ hurt Eddie. I don’t wanna cry in the middle of the night lol. I‘m also still working on requests, please bare with me😭🫶

English is not my first language, so I apologize for any kind of mistakes in the story. Feel free to send requests and please read navigation or check out my masterlist! Feedback is always appreciated but please stay constructive! Don’t like? Don’t read! Enjoy the story!

Masterlist

You knew that Valentine’s Day would be new to Eddie, especially because he told you that he hates this goddamn day. 14th of February. His official "hate date“ how he likes to call it. He told you that he doesn't understand the concept of valentine's day, that he doesn't see the point in showing your loved one, all of your "love" for just that one day and that if it was up to him, he’d show his girlfriend love all the time. You gladly agreed with him, with the fact you both hate that day and will never be like the cheesy couples as soon as you got into a relationship yourself.

That was exactly one year ago when you and him were best friends only, nothing more. But now? Now you‘ve been dating the, number one Valentine’s Day-hater and even though the two of you agreed, that you will show each other how much you love the other every single day and that Valentine’s Day was complete bullshit, you‘re still sad that you won’t get anything on that special day.Well that‘s what you thought.

Why should he gift you something on the day he abhors the most? Why should he surprise you with something? He thinks you hate the day just as much as he does, right? So it‘s pointless to give yourself some hope for a small present or a rose.

So you started this day just like every other. Going to school, studying your ass off in the library during your break since your beloved boyfriend decided to stay at his trailer with the lame excuse that "he doesn’t want to see all the cheesy shit in the hallways" like he said on the phone when you called him from school earlier.So instead of hanging out with the only person that could brighten up your day a little, you sit here, alone, studying for the next biology test.

What a great Valentine’s Day.

The day goes by slower than usually. It‘s always like this when Eddie‘s not around you. The world gets grey and boring without him by your side. Minutes feel like hours and your lips barley form into a smile on these kind of days.

So when you stop your car in front of his dark trailer you should be on cloud seven, happy to be able to jump into his arms and give him a big hug, followed by a passionate kiss. But today‘s different. Of course you‘re happy that you can be by his side now, snuggle up to him on the sofa while watching a movie together and eat some popcorn…but the fact that you had to see all these happy couples together today did something with you.

You‘re disappointed. Disappointed that Eddie didn’t even think about showing up to school, so you at least were able to judge all these giggling, feet kicking couples together. It would have been a lot easier for you of he would have been by your side.

You shrug off all your thoughts before you step inside his trailer, not wanting to seem upset or sad so he’d feel bad at the end of the day. While you start to take off your shoes and jacket, you notice something very unusual. The trailer is quiet and all lights are turned off. The only source of light comes from Eddie’s room. Normally Eddie would stand in front of you already, wearing the cutest smile ever while he’d reach out for you, placing a soft kiss on your lips afterwards. Some music would be playing quietly in the living room because he knows you don’t like it, to get your ears blasted away after a long school day…but today there was nothing. No music, no hugs, no Eddie.

Did he forget that you wanted to come over?

"Hey Eddie! I‘m home" you say, your voice slightly raised, expecting him to hear you. When you don’t get an answer you start to worry. Maybe he‘s in his room? You think to yourself to calm your mind down from the instructive thoughts that start to fill your head. Taking a big, deep breath before you start walking towards your boyfriend’s bedroom, hoping that he’d be there. Exuberantly you swing open his door, expecting him to be sleeping on his bed or maybe writing something new for his upcoming D&D campaign with the boys. You were expecting anything but definitely not what you‘re seeing in front of you right now.

The dim lights of a few lavender candles being the only sources of light in his room. Filling the air with a pleasant smell, mixing together with the smell of weed, cologne and Eddie. His, usually very messy, bedroom is cleaned up. The clothes that would normally lie everywhere are hanging in his closet, the bed is freshly made, the random stuff and trash on his desk and shelf is gone too and it looks like he even vacuumed the room.

In front of you, you see your reason to smile every day. Eddie. He‘s holding a small bouquet of roses in front of his chest, his hair looks washed and fluffy just how you like it. He’s wearing a black jeans without any holes in it and his tattoo covered chest and muscular arms are hugged nicely, by a white button up shirt. As you step a little bit closer you‘re able to smell his scent, or how you like to call it, your personal drug since you can’t get enough of it. He‘s showing you the beautiful smile of his as he starts speaking softly.

"Too much?" His voice is barely above a whisper when you stand directly in front of him, the flowers being the only thing that keeps you away from pulling him into a tight hug. Your lungs feel empty and your mouth turns dry in the split of a few seconds. Like it was said, you expected anything but that. Your boyfriend cleaned up his room and got pretty flowers, for you.

That’s something that no one ever has done for you yet and it just feels so personal because you know Eddie hates this goddamn day…plus he cleaned up for you. If there‘s one thing he hates more than Valentine’s Day, it’s probably cleaning up. Especially because he‘s known for his Organized "Munson Mess“ how Wayne calls it. He even got you pretty flowers that look quite expensive and you know he‘s probably low on budget again. How could you still be mad at him for not showing up at school after all of this?

When you don’t answer Eddie it‘s his turn to feel worried. Maybe it’s too much you? Maybe you don’t like anything of this cheesy stuff? You‘ve agreed with him back then, when he told you that he "hates“ Valentine’s Day.

Truth is, Eddie doesn’t hate it. Yes, he gets annoyed by the couples at school every single time..but that was only because he used to be alone on this day for twenty years straight. He never got love from anyone expect Wayne, but you can’t quiet compare this love with actual love. So he decided to walk the easy way and hate on this one, stupid day of the year. But deep down Eddie Munson is, and always was, a hopeless romantic.

"I knew it would be too much…I‘m so sorry Sweetheart! I just- I just thought it would be cute to give you something..I didn’t come to school today just to prepare some things for you!" He starts to explain himself while putting away the roses. Before he can continue his small rant about how stupid that idea is, you stop him by pressing your lips onto his own. Soft but passionate. Confusion takes place on his face when you softly let go off him, smiling like an idiot.

"It‘s perfect Ed‘s. I Love it! I actually was kinda sad that you left me all alone in school today earlier but now? I couldn’t be happier right now." you whisper against his lips, before crashing your own onto his again. He happily joins the kiss, pulling you even closer to his chest as his hands find their way to explore your body. They squeeze the flesh of your ass and thighs, he even massages one of your boobs slowly to give himself some comfort.

A few moments pass before you pull away from him to get some air, still smiling like an idiot who‘s in love...and you are. After Eddie explained the whole situation, why he had to take a day off school, so he could prepare this whole surprise and get everything for it, the two of you sit down on the sofa like you usually do. Some random movie plays on the TV while Eddie feeds you with the food he ordered before you arrived at his trailer. It’s actually a miracle that you didn’t smell any of it when you walked inside earlier.

His shirt is opened slightly, just enough to present you his beautiful chest with it‘s soft hair on it. You‘re sitting between his legs, facing him with a smile on your lips as you play with the buttons of his shirt. "I‘m sorry again…that I left you alone at school today y’know? But to be honest, I‘m happy that I didn’t have to witness Jason Carver’s cheesy-ass speech for Chrissy. Most of the stuff he says, is probably bullshit" Eddie says while he places the empty plate on the small coffee table in front of the sofa.

His comment making you giggle softly. His eyes meet yours, the sound of your soft voice causing him to join you with a deep chuckle, while he teaches for the already rolled joint. "God we‘re just like these weird couples at your school. You know, the ones we always judged?" You offer him a smug grin but all he does is shrug.

"So what? Call me cheesy because I am. You made me this way!" He grins back at you, his fingers poking into your sides just enough to make you squirm under his touch, causing another chuckle of his to leave his mouth. "I will be your personal Valentine if you want me to be princess. I‘m going to shower you with kisses, love, gifts and a good fuck. Call me Valentine Munson“ he adds with another smug grin before placing the joint between his lips.

All you do is roll your eyes at him playfully evoke handing him the lighter. When he has finished his first drag on the joint, your lips immediately find his. They‘re just way too addicting to not touch them in any kind of way, Eddie doesn’t complain at all though. The smoke of the joint slowly fills your lungs as he blows it into your mouth, causing a soft whine to leave your mouth.

And just like he promised to you, he ends your day as your own, personal Munson Valentine with kisses, hugs, lots of love and a sleepless night ;).

[dat-dio-backpatch]

Summary: Being the lead singer of Corroded Coffin had it's pros and cons. Pro, you get to make great music with your best friends. Cons, your boyfriend Billy hates how much of your time rehearsals take up, he especially hates the fact that you're spending that time with Eddie Munson of all people

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Swearing, unhealthy relationship

A/N: ok so uhhh, second time posting my writing,,,, again it's another Part 1 since I seem incapable of writing anything short enough to be a one shot

~~~~

Being the lead singer of Corroded Coffin was fun, it meant you got to spend time with your closest friends playing the heaviest music you could manage. It was even better when you started getting gigs down at the hideout playing for an actual live crowd, even if it was just a handful of old drunks. But everything has its pros and cons, even Corroded Coffin. Getting to perform live meant having to practice a hell of a lot more, ever since you guys started the gig you found a major chunk of your free time spent in Gareth's garage rehearsing. You didn’t really mind it, Gareth's mom always provided great snacks, it gave you a chance to chat about whatever campaign you guys were playing through in Hellfire and of course it just meant more time bantering and goofing off with Eddie. But just because you didn’t mind the extra practice sessions didn’t mean no one had complaints, in fact someone had more than a handful of complaints about the whole situation. Your boyfriend Billy was not shy when it came to voicing his opinion and that did not change when he starting commenting on your sudden lack of time to spend with him. To be fair you still spent almost every spare moment with him but that just didn’t seem to be enough. 

“You’re seriously turning me down to hang out with those dorks again” Billy was angry, he always got angry when this subject came up. 

“Billy you knew I had practice today, I’m not turning you down I’m just sticking to my schedule” You said, sighing as he leaned against your bedroom door frame and threw you a harsh glare. Usually that menacing glare was enough to get people to do what Billy wanted but it barely fazed you, it never really had. Billy didn’t intimidate you, it’s the reason he was so intrigued by you in the first place and a major reason he loved you as much as he did. But in moments like these it got on his nerves, not being able to get you to forget your dorky friends in favor of staying with him all day really ticked him off. 

“You know I’m starting to think you just don’t want me around anymore” His glare simmered into a soft, sad expression that struck you with a pang of guilt. “Never make time for me anymore, always talking ‘bout your band, ‘bout him”

This got you up out of your seat, abandoning the homework you were rushing to finish. He lowered his gaze, looking down at the floor as you walked over to him, only increasing the guilt you felt. Raising your hand to his face you gently brought his gaze back up to meet yours and offered him a small smile. 

“Billy, I always want you around. I love you, you know that. There's one more important to me than you, no one ” You spoke softly, gently resting your other hand on his chest. You knew this was another ploy to get you to blow off practice but you could read Billy well enough to know there was also some truth to his words. “But you also know I can’t just skip practice outta the blue, I made a commitment to the band, to practicing. I’m not the kind of girl who just blows off important stuff like that.”

Billy just let an annoyed huff at your words, but his expression softened and you saw his lips start to curl up into a small smile. Keeping your hand on his face you stood up on your tiptoes to kiss him softly, you felt one of his hands wrap around the small of your back to pull you closer as his other hand grasped onto your hand still resting on his chest. You hummed softly as he deepened the kiss, losing yourself a bit in the tenderness of it all. Tender moments were far and few between with Billy and as much as you loved his brash chaotic energy you cherished these small exchanges. But you knew you were on a time crunch, taking one last second to savor the sweet kiss you pulled yourself away, smiling to yourself at the way Billy leaned forwards to chase the kiss. 

“You’re welcome to stay while I get ready” You said, moving back to your desk where you quickly shoved your half finished homework back into your backpack before pulling out your makeup bag. You always practiced in the dramatic makeup you wore on stage, it helped it feel less daunting to wear it on stage. “But it’s only like another 20 minutes, I don’t wanna be late”

“Works for me” Billy agreed, flopping down on your bed before turning to watch as you applied the bold eyeliner, dark shadow and black lipstick with a deft hand. He had to give it to you, you made it look easy and he had to admit he found it really hot. The makeup made you look like one of the heavy metal chicks on his posters, only hotter because it was you wearing it and you were his girl. His girl was a heavy metal chick and that was a fact Billy absolutely thrilled about. He wasn’t so thrilled when you were already packing sheet music and crumpled lyric sheets into a drawstring bag and tying the laces on your beat up sneakers. 

“Alright Billy times up, I gotta get going” You said smiling as you stood up and slung your bag over your shoulder, grabbing your car keys off your bedside table. Billy groaned but didn’t get up. “Come on don’t be an asshole, I gotta go”

“You sure you couldn’t be just a bit late?” Billy asked, propping himself up on his elbows and offering you his trademark mischievous smirk. “I’m sure they’d understand, I mean look at you, who wouldn’t wanna spend some extra time up close and personal with you looking like that”

“I’m not sure Eddie would be thrilled if I showed up late and told him it’s cause my boyfriends got no self control” 

“Don’t need an excuse if you’re not there” Billy countered, his voice deepening low and sultry “You seriously telling me that you’d rather sit in a garage all day than spend some time with your boyfriend?”

“What I’d like to get some practice in before the gig this friday, and trust me Billy I need all the practice I can get” You said rolling your eyes, his antics were always entertaining but had a tendency to get old real fast especially when he dragged them out far too long. “You can crash in my room while I’m gone but I doubt that’d be any fun” 

“I could go with you” 

“I doubt you’d have any fun at practice either” He was officially dragging this out far too long. “You’d just be sitting in the corner listening to our shitty music” 

Billy finally got up from the bed and walked over to you, using the height difference to tower over you. He knew it wouldn’t intimidate you or get you to relent and stay but he still enjoyed seeing just how small you were compared to him. 

“Now babe don’t go talking ‘bout yourself like that, I’m sure you sound lovely” He gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, leaning in a little closer while doing so “ Is it so wrong that I wanna watch my girl sing in that nice makeup?” 

“Billy,” You hesitated, weighing your options as you took a glance at your alarm clock, it was already 4:45, shit you were going to be late if you didn’t get going now. “Ok listen, we take a break around 6:30ish and we end around 7:45-8ish. If you wanna drive me there you can stop by during the break, and I could give you your own private concert on the drive home”

“Shit dollface you’ve got yourself a deal” Billy said as he broke out in a wide grin, throwing his arm over your shoulders before you both made your way out to his Camaro. You still weren’t exactly sure how you’d explain this to the guys but they’d just have to deal with it if they wanted you there on time. And if you were being honest with yourself, getting to ride with Billy in his camaro was more than worth the complaints you’d be getting from the guys later. 

It didn’t take long to get to Gareths, he lived just a few neighborhoods away and thanks to Billys signature reckless driving you arrived a couple minutes early and somehow both in one piece. From the driveway you got a clear view of the weird looks the guys were shooting you, and you didn’t blame them given how shocked you were when you first saw the way Billy drove. You offered them a small wave and smile, which they reciprocated before going back to tuning their instruments and talking amongst themselves, though a glance was occasionally thrown your way. 

“Thanks babe!” You said cheerfully as you reached for the car door only to feel Billy grip your arm tightly, pulling you back towards him. 

“That anyway to say thank you?” He joked, rolling your eyes you leaned in and kissed him. Like at your house he quickly moved to deepen the kiss, using his grip on your arm to keep you close for just a few moments more before he finally let you push away. 

“Billy!” You felt your cheeks heat up with embarrassment, a quick sideways glance confirmed your fears as all the guys were once again staring at the two of you. 

“What? Can’t I kiss my girl goodbye?” He feigned ignorance, even laughing a bit at you for blushing so aggressively. 

“Not in front of the guys Billy, seriously!”

“But it's so fun getting you all riled up, you look cute when you get all flustered like that '' He went to pull you in again but you forcefully pulled your arm away from his grip making his grin fall into a tight frown. “Hey what's the problem, thought you liked kissing me”

“I like kissing you, I just don’t like making out with you in front of all my friends” You said grabbing your bag and opening the car door but you paused before getting all the way out, you didn’t want the guys to hear this less than stellar conversation. “I told you that already, if you’re gonna act like this you probably shouldn’t be back during break and I’ll find another ride home” 

“Jesus princess, you sure have a fucking attitude today” 

“Billy I’m being serious” You hold yourself back from snapping at him but your annoyance was clear as day to anyone listening, clear as day to the guys who were still staring at you. “I’ve told you this shit like 5 times already. If you wanna make me and my friends uncomfortable just don’t show up,” 

“I’ll be here at 6:30, I’ll visit you during your break like a good boyfriend and then I’ll swing back around at 7:50 to drive you back to your place.” Billy snapped each sentence out with the same restrained harsh voice he used whenever he got angry at you and had to stop himself from saying something worse. Sometimes he didn’t stop himself, sometimes when he started using that voice the things he said kept getting worse until both of you were red in the face and screaming. Usually he’d avoid you for days after only to show up with chocolate or flowers and a sugar sweet apology. You were thankful that today he actually had some self control and didn’t start a screaming match in Gareth's driveway, though you knew he was still a ticking time bomb that you weren’t in any mood to diffuse. 

Instead you just got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind you, as you made your way into the garage you could hear Billy curse and slam his hand against the wheel but you didn’t turn around until you heard the sound of his rumbling engine far off in the distance. As soon as you could no longer hear it you let out a breath and started setting up your music stand with the lyric sheets you’d brought, thankfully one of the guys had already set up the mike for you and even got it at the perfect height. 

“So what song are we starting with? Cause I’d like to go over the chorus in Witch's Curse a couple times, the latin spell part keeps giving me trouble” You ask turning to face the guys who all made a piss poor attempt at hiding the fact they’d still been staring at you, each of them turning their heads to look at something random as you felt the blush creep back up in your face. You knew what they saw, what they possibly heard and that this certainly did not help improve their less than stellar opinions of Billy. 

“Guys?” 

They all looked at you but were clearly avoiding direct eye contact, it was Eddie who quickly swooped in to break the silence and ease some of the tension as he gently put his guitar back onto his stand before making his way over to you. 

“Which parts giving you trouble?” He asked leaning over your shoulder to look at the lyric sheet, his long curly hair falling over your shoulder and nearly onto the sheet of paper. He was overexaggerating how far he had to lean, but Eddie over exaggerated nearly every move he made. It was one of your favorite things about him, how he could so effortlessly make a room full of people burst out laughing or sit in horrified silence as led a session of D&D. You found yourself staring at him as he edged a little closer, squinting his eyes as if he could barely read the large writing on the paper. You giggled at his antics, finding yourself distracted and staring at him, he was so close to you you couldn;t help but feel a little star struck. It felt weird, reacting like a blushing school girl when it was just your best friend leaning over your shoulder. It’d just been so long since Eddie and you had been this close, you guys used to be the kind of friends that would cuddle or roughhouse but after Billy came around it all sort of stopped. You missed it, just being close with your friend. 

“Don’t go zoning out on me man, I can’t be that boring” Eddie laughed as he noticed you staring at him silently “Come on what parts giving you trouble, I can always try and rewrite it for you if its too tricky”

“Oh, uh, no no you don’t have to do that. It’s a great song, it's just the latin line” You said pointing to the lyric in question. “I just have trouble pronouncing it right, I didn’t take Latin” 

“I know, we had Ms. Mortens Spanish class together your freshman year, remember?” you nod, smiling at the memories. “I had to use this shitty latin dictionary for this part so I'm not entirely sure on the pronunciation myself”

“You wrote the song but you can’t pronounce part of the chorus” 

“Hey latin always sounds creepy can’t blame a guy for wanting a dark sounding chorus” He raised his hands in mock defensiveness as you yet again found yourself giggling “just say it however is easiest to say it, I don’t think anyone listening to us will know latin” 

“You make a fair point” You shrug, turning your attention back to the paper as Eddie makes his way back to his guitar, swinging the strap over his head and getting ready to play. 

“Maledictio arescit Sed mea erga te fuit semper verum” You mutter to yourself, repeating it a few times as the guys start going through last minute preparations before playing. 

“Alright guys, Witches Curse from the top!” Eddie shouts, giving you a small smile and brief thumbs up as Gareth starts clashing his drum sticks together in a steady count and on three you burst into song in unison. 

~~~~~

An hour or so passes and you’ve perfected Witches Curse and a handful of other songs that just needed one or two more play throughs. You were already tired, it was surprising how much energy it took to sing along and keep pace with how fast the guys would play but you found you loved the challenge and the adrenaline rush you got as you continued to nail each note right on beat. It was invigorating but right now all you wanted was a piece of the Pizza Gareth's mom had brought out for you guys and some cold water. 

As you were shuffling around the lyric sheets just to be ready to start right up after break Eddie snuck up behind you, grabbing your shoulder so suddenly you nearly jumped out of your skin. This sent all the lyric papers flying as Eddie burst out laughing, the guys joining in as you scrambled to grab all the papers. Only you weren’t annoyed at all, you were laughing right along with them, just happy to have this moment of ease and humor with your friends. You were still chuckling as you stood back up to set the sheets down, turning then to Eddie who was stifling even more laughter as he held out a slice of pizza on a paper plate for you to take. 

“Thanks man” You took the plate from his hand, hungrily taking a bite. 

“Yea no problem” Eddie said shifting his weight from leg to leg as he stood, he’d never really been able to stay still. “You killed it with the latin by the way, sounded metal as hell”

“Really?” Eddie nodded again, smiling brightly “Shit that's a relief, everytime the chorus came up I was so sure I’d blow it. Latins tricky man, it’s a dead language for a reason” 

“Doesn’t change the fact it sounds sick as hell, Especially when you’re the one singing it” Eddies smile grew wider as he watched your own smile grow “seriously you killed it, I can’t wait to actually watch you sing it on stage”

“What’s it mean by the way?” You asked between bites of the pizza, you’d been curious about the meaning of the words since you first saw the lyrics 

“Oh it's nothing important, just picked out words that I thought would sound cool” He shrugged off your question 

“I call bullshit, you’re really trying to tell me that Eddie Munson, the king of overthinking every last lyric he writes, just picked out random words that looked cool?” You scoffed at this, you had a point after all. Eddie put so much effort into making sure each lyric of his songs had some sort of meaning, he always said the song didn’t sound quite right without a deeper meaning. 

“It’s boring, trust me the song sounds cooler if you don’t know” 

“Again I call bullshit, seriously you gotta tell me” You countered, finishing your slice and setting the paper plate on your music. Crossing your arms over your chest you tried your best to strike some sort of domineering pose. “Come on spill, what's it mean?”

“Ok ok I’ll tell you, just not here” He glanced over his shoulder at the guys who were currently competing to see who could eat the most pizza in under a minute. “Come on” 

Eddie grabbed your hand and led you outside, the sky was just starting to turn pink and orange as sunset was just beginning. Once the garage door was securely shut behind you Eddie glanced around a second time, jokingly ensuring you were safe from evesdroppers. 

“No ones listening Ed no spill!” You giggled at his antics 

“Alright hold your horses sweetheart” He chuckled leaning closer to whisper into your ear. “The curse is withered But my love for you has always been true”

“Are you telling me it’s a love song?” You asked, feigning extreme shock as Eddie leaned back against the wall of the garage already blushing. “Eddie Munson wrote a love song?”

“Yea yea it’s a love song” He waved your mockery off with his hand as if that’d get you to stop prying. “You see why I don’t want the guys hearing that shit?”

“You’re probably right to keep that little detail away from them, I don’t think they really appreciate love songs” You said, still stifling giggles at how embarrassed Eddie was acting “Whose it about?”

“What?”

“Who’d you write the song about?” You asked “Love songs are always written with someone in mind so who’d you write the song about?”

You didn’t think Eddies face could get any redder 

“You got a secret crush Ed’s?” You pried further “Come on who is it? You gotta tell me”

“Nope, my lips are sealed. I shared enough dorky secrets for one day” He said crossing his arms “Sorry Y/N you’ll never know, it’s a secret i'm taking to the grave”

“You won’t even tell your best friend? Come on this is exactly the stuff you’re supposed to tell your best friend, you know I can keep a secret!” You were practically bouncing as your curiosity grew “Please, I’m so fucking curious”

“Curiosity killed the cat you know” Eddie quipped with a smirk 

“Yea but satisfaction brought it back” You countered with a smirk of your own “People always forget that part of the saying”

“Can we drop this for now?” Eddie asked starting to look serious, some of the goofy energy beginning to dissipate 

“Is it Chrissy?” You asked before you could stop yourself “You’ve always had a thing for cheerleaders”

“Me?  A thing for cheerleaders?” Eddie attempted a laugh but his smile continued to fall “never. And I'm never telling you who its about” 

“It’s totally chrissy isn’t it” You said with a triumphant grin

“It’s not chrissy Y/N” Eddie nearly snapped, the jovial mood almost entirely gone now “Seriously can we drop this for now?”

“Eddie it’s just a song and a crush, it can’t be that embarrassing can it?” You wouldn’t drop it, not now when you were so sure you could get the secret out of him 

“Why’re you dating Billy?” His question stunned you, left you scrambling to process it as you stood there mouth agape. 

“Why does that matter?”

“He’s an asshole Y/N, you always seem uncomfortable or pissed off when he's around and it's just worrying” He explained himself but only succeeded in further confusing you. 

“He’s just not good around other people, never knows how to act and it just gets frustrating after a while alright?” Now it was your turn to explain yourself “He’s not always like that, when we’re on our own he’s a total sweetheart” 

“Aren’t boyfriends supposed to be like that all the time, not just when you’re alone?” Eddies question left you speechless, you had nothing to counter with and again were left just standing there

“I’m just saying that you’re a really sweet girl and you shouldn’t let a guy treat you like that just cause he’s shitty with social situations” Eddie continued “God knows none of the guys, or hell even me, know what we’re doing when it comes to meeting other people but do you see us acting like assholes?”

Again speechless, you were still trying to process his first comment as he continued speaking and you just couldn’t seem to keep up fast enough to respond. In fact you never even got the chance as the rumbling engine of Billy's camaro could suddenly be heard, and in what felt like moments the shiny blue car was pulling up and parking in the driveway just ahead of you. 

“Sorry I’m late sweetheart” Billy said as he climbed out of the car, making his way over to you and eddie. His voice still had that low gravelly touch of anger, you didn’t know if he’d just stayed angry the whole time or got angry again seeing you outside alone with Eddie. “But it seems like you found a way to entertain yourself just fine”

It was definitely about Eddie.