This Just Unlocked Something Truly Feral In Me

this just unlocked something truly feral in me

I haven't posted an edit in forever. I hope you all like this one.

About You

(Mid-Late December 1984) Chapter 2: The Dance

Eddie Munson x female!harrington!reader

Chapter summary: A month has passed since the breakup and both you and Eddie have decided you can’t stay apart. However, pride and anxiety seem to have other plans. An awkward school dance might help make a breakthrough in your relationship though...

Word Count: 6.9k

series masterlist here

Chapter warnings: 18+ minors DNI for mature themes, angst, smoking (reader), adult language, angst, partying, underage drinking (reader and co.), 18+ suggestive content (not smut just like sporadic, vague mentions of suggestive themes), anxiety, fluffy convos,

A brick wall made jarring contact with your nose as you rounded the corner of the deserted Hawkins High halls. Disoriented, you stumble backwards only to be held in place by a pair of steel arms- preventing you from causing any further injury to your persons in the process of reacting to the initial assault on your nose. Without opening your eyes, you already know who is holding you steady- you’d know the grip on your arms anywhere. These arms have wrapped around you many of times; to comfort you, to protect you, to pleasure you.

You open your eyes and find Eddies eyes searching your face and body frantically for any serious damage while locking you in his iron grip. “Holy shit- y/n I’m so sorry sweetheart are you alright?” He questioned quickly and apologetically.

A blush creeped up your neck at the term of endearment as you stepped back from him- needing air between the two of you in order to think straight. Your arm gripped your chest and the painted concrete wall beside you, providing support to settle your rattled nerves.

“Yea I’m okay. Free nose job I guess.” You chuckled, moving your hand from your chest to lightly tap at your nose and feel for anything out of place. Eddie stifled a belly laugh at your optimistic comment- successfully putting his anxieties to rest.

“Are you sure I don’t need to drive you to like the hospital or something?”

“I think walking would be a safer option than you driving.”

He clasped his hands together and jabbed them at the center of his chest, pretending to knock the air out of his lungs as he stumbled backwards, “Low blow. Truly, you wound me.” You giggled as you stooped down to pick up the backpack you dropped in the flurry of the impact and lift it onto your shoulder.

“What are you doing here so late? Don’t you know the weirdo’s creep out at night?” he teased at you wiggling his fingers in your face. “Oh, I’m well aware. I’ve recently had an encounter with one and he damn near broke my nose.”

“Hey, I said I was sor- “

“But I’m a big girl, I can handle them. Also, I had cheer practice, so I had to stay. I should be asking you why you’re here mister.” You squinted your eyes at him in curiosity.

Eddie crossed his arms and leaned his side against a row of lockers in an effort to look nonchalant, “I think we both know why I’m here.”

You arched your eyebrow, “Stalking me?”

“You wish, weirdo.”

“Coming from the chronic detentionee.”

He rolled his eyes and giggled as you popped your hip out dramatically to the side and rested you hand on top of it in a display of annoyance.

“What were you in for this time?”

“I may or may not have stolen some test answers out of Mrs. Woodhouse’s desk. During her planning period. And got caught.”

Sighing, you threw your arms up in the air, “Eds!”

“Hey, you said you wanted me to graduate! How else am I supposed to do that!” He pushed off the lockers and walked over to the opposite side of the hall, opening his conveniently placed locker, and pulling a pack of cigarettes out.

Your arms dropped back to your hips, and you stroked your chin feigning being deep in thought. “I’m not sure maybe you could, oh I don’t know, study?”

He craned his neck around to give you a side eye, “Come on, y/n. Let’s be realistic here.”

You giggled at his antics. As he lit up a smoke- the warm blanket returned. It had been a couple of weeks since your last interaction with each other when he gave you a ride home from the party you attended, yet this banter was endlessly more effortless. You were once more confident around one another. A comfortable silence returned to envelop the two of you, the playful conversation easing the once tense atmosphere between the you both. He crossed the hall back to you and extended his hand out, offering you a puff of the cigarette.

It felt too intimate; putting your lips where his were moments before. However, you couldn’t stop the flutter in your chest or yourself as you reached for the smoke. While you made the exchange, he breathed out the smoke and began elaborating.

“You wanna know the worst part?” “Oh, do tell.” You pleaded, overexaggerating your interest in his predicament.

He smirked as you took a deep inhale, filling your lungs with the calming depressant that dulled the ever-present ache in your bones for the man who stood in front of you.

“Woodhouse has taken a particular pleasure in trying give me the hardest time possible. In order to not flunk the semester, she’s making me run music at the middle school’s dance.” He whined taking the cigarette back from you.

Your face twisted into a confused expression- one that Eddie thought made your look adorably puzzled. “You’re volunteering at the Snow Ball?” “More like I was volun-told to oversee music. Totally ruining my street cred.” He chuckled out darkly and filled the space between you with the potent smoke from his lungs. Giggling, you retorted back, “Well a little birdie told me all the cool kids are doing it. So, I think your cred is safe.”

Eddie stared back at your secretive expression, willing you to elaborate on your comment. You motioned to your mouth and zipped it shut, twisting a phantom key at the corner of your lips, and tossing it behind your shoulder. “You’re kind of the worst you know.” Your shoulders shrugged upwards, “Enjoy the crime, you do your time.”

“Okay Billy Idol.” He scoffed.

“You knew that?” a twinkle in your eye appeared as it occurred to you, he recognized a line from your favorite artist. He copied your previous actions and pretended to lock his mouth closed, tossing the key behind his shoulder as you once did.

Silence ensued. Eyes drank up the sight of each other. Brains formed phrases you desperately wanted to speak but couldn’t bring yourself to. Arms tingled to entwine yourselves in each other’s beings, noses craved each other’s scents, and ears yearned to once more be graced with the timber of each other’s voices. Infinite longing, silently vocalized into the small space between your bodies and the smoke that lingered by your mouths.

“You need a ride home?”

“That’s alright, Stevie is probably waiting outside.”

“You better head out then. Wouldn’t want to keep the prince waiting.” You rolled your eyes at his snide comment, his disdain for your brother’s popularity peeking through ever so slightly.

“Alrighty then. See ya.” You awkwardly waved your arms at him and hiked the strap of your backpack further up the expanse of your shoulder. As you trekked down the long corridor to the large, glass, double doors, you felt the familiar tingling you got only when his eyes were on you.

At the doors, your eyes caught an image in the reflection of the hallway lights on the glass- an image of Eddie planted in place with his eyes glued to your form as you glided away from him. Longing in his eyes and a visible ache in his heart.

You thought for a split second that he might come after you or call out, but then nixed the idea from your mind.

He broke up with me. He doesn’t miss me; he just misses the attention. I can give him attention. I will give him attention until he doesn’t want mine anymore.

You push the door open and flee to the comfort of Steve’s presence and the warmth of his car. Leaving Eddie alone, with no company except for his anxious thoughts.

_______________________________________________________________

“He did not!” you shrieked at the story your brother relayed to you. The smell of popcorn drifted through the house and butter clung to both your fingers. The movie you were supposed to be paying attention to went unwatched in favor of gossiping. “I swear to God y/n. He grabbed his hands in front of him-“Steve demonstrated as he described, “-and his shoulders touched!”

“I know he doesn’t have collarbones, but I’ve never seen it in action.”

“It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. But the kid is kinda cool. He asked me if I’d drive him to that dance next week.”

“Aw, that’s sweet Stevie.” You pinched at his cheeks with your greasy fingers as he swatted them away.

“I know I know, I’m a saint. What can I say?”

“You still gonna take me too? Or will I be third wheeling on this playdate of yours?”

He rolled his eyes at your mocking and agreed to transport you along with his newfound sidekick.

“I found out that Eds is gonna be there.” “Gonna be where?” “At the Snow Ball.”

A pause.

“Voluntarily?” You both chuckle. “More like he was volun-told.”

“And you found this out how?” “I may or may not have run into him yesterday and it just came up.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“I don’t really know. I caught him staring at me when I left and I swear he even looked sad, but I feel like it was just wishful thinking. I’m kind of nervous to dress up all nice in front of him, even if he doesn’t care.” You explained while pulling the pillow that decorated your families couch from behind your back and into your lap. You anxiously fiddled with the decorative fringe at its corners. “We both know he still cares y/n. I’ve seen the way he ogles you at school.” Steve retorts at your dismissive comment.

“I get it- I just don’t know what’s going on in his head. Does he regret it? If I ask him, will I just embarrass myself in putting the idea out there? Do I even want to get back with him after he couldn’t trust me? Or, he might still think I cheated on him with Hargrove!” A gagging noise emerged from your brother’s throat at the mention of his rival’s last name.

“I told you that you shouldn’t have talked to him after school, of course the prick would try to make a move. You’re too nice for your own good.”

“Not helping here Steve.” “Right, sorry.”

“There’s just so many factors that I’m not sure he can even overlook to get back with me. I wish we could talk about it, but it feels like I’d ruin the common ground we’ve found if I do. I can’t lose him completely Stevie.”

Your brother sighed and reached towards the coffee table to grab a fist full of popcorn. He popped a few into his mouth, munched, and contemplated your situation. “Maybe you don’t need to talk about it. Maybe you can drop some hints or plant some seeds in his brain and see what he does. Almost like, testing the waters.”

“Steve, that’s like kinda brilliant. How did you come up with that?”

“Oh, you know me. You are currently in the presence of Hawkins High’s local Cupid.”

“Oh yea? And how’s Cupid’s own love life going?”

Steve threw a few pieces of popcorn at your face, getting tangled in your hair as you pulled the pillow up too little too late to block his attack. “Off topic, back to you!”

The siblings bantered back and forth like a pair of gossiping hens for the rest of the night. 2 more batches of popcorn were made, the kitchen was made sticky from a shaken can of soda- resulting in a very irritated Mrs. Harrington and an assumed Mr. Harrington-, and another movie went played yet unwatched.

You and Steve parted ways a little before midnight. As you settled into your bed, your head swam with thoughts of your Eddie. The image of his toothy grin painted across the back of your eye lids and welcomed the darkness of sleep with you.

_______________________________________________________________

You yearned for the smell of last night’s buttery popcorn. Or any smell that wasn’t beer, vomit, or sweat. You weren’t particular.

You sank into the couch, red cup in hand, as you sullenly sipped from the spiked punch.

Second party in a month. Never thought my social life would come to this- forced interaction with drunk adult toddlers.

You spied your friend Dina- the culprit who insisted you come out tonight- stumbling her way towards the couch out of your peripheral vision. You sprung up from your seat, abandoned your drink haphazardly on the lamp table to your right, and caught Dina in your arms before she collapsed onto the suspiciously stained couch. “I think you’re ready to go home Dina. Who drove you here?”

“May-May!” She shrieked out. “Who?”

“May-May!” Dina sang into your ear- blowing out your eardrum in the process.

You held Dina as she swayed around in your embrace and tried to decipher her drunken rambling.

“Oh, Mabel!” “Mabel!” Dina agreed with the vigorous shake of her head.

You scanned your surroundings and found a friend lounging in a chair on a few feet away from the couch- close enough to hear you call out over the music. “Andy! Can you come watch Dina while I get her ride?” Andy swung his head around, his fluffed up brown hair shaking around his head at the motion along with the tiny, silver, dangle earring that reacted the same. His eyes scanned the scene in front of him and his eyes focused in with determination, “Of course, I won’t let her out of my sight.” Andy arose from his chair and sat on the couch, leaving room from Dinas drunk form to collapse next to him.

“Thanks man.” He made an army saluting motion with his hand, then you turned and walked into the thick of the party to find Mabel.

After 15 minutes, an awkward bedroom interruption of Mabel and her boyfriend Denis, and convincing Dina to stop petting Andy’s hair, the lot finally got Dina into Denis’ car.

“Thanks for helping again, Andy, I owe you.” You closed Dina’s door and patted his shoulder in appreciation. You averted your attention from Andy’s from retreating into the house at the sound of Denis poking his head out of the driver’s side window. “You gotta ride home y/n?” he questioned cautiously.

You shoved your hands into the pockets of your jacket and angled the top half of your body to see Mabel in the passenger seat. “I can find someone to drive me, you’ve got your hands full with Dina.” Mabel shook her head vigorously and insisted you join your drunk friend in the backseat. “Plus, I don’t know where she lives,” she added, ”and I don’t think she is any position to give us directions.”

“I thought you drove her here?”

“Yea, but she came over to my house then Denis picked us up.”

A thought crossed your mind for a fraction of a second. Dina lives in Forest Hills. Eddie lives in Forest Hills. Dina lives directly across from Eddies trailer. Your heart skipped what felt like multiple beats at the thought of possibly seeing him, but then you came back down to Earth and realized the probability of you interacting with him tonight was astronomically low.

It’s Friday night, there is no way he is home.

Yet your stomach still got butterflies at the thought of being in proximity to the trailer where everything ended. A place you once frequented multiple times a week. A place you felt safest in. A place you have not been in at least a month. You swallowed your nerves and glanced at Denis, eyeing him for permission to accompany them on their journey to Dina’s house and inevitably adding a stop to drop you off.

Denis smirked at you, thinking your lapse in response was an effect of the alcohol, “Just get in the damn car.” You giggled and stuck your tongue out at him, making your way around the car to enter the backseat where Dina greeted you with a burp in your face that smelt of vodka and stomach acid.

Definitely not buttery popcorn.

________________________________________________________________

Eddie lounged in the comfort of his room. Another Friday night, another night alone. It was a slightly warmer than usual December night, creating the perfect opportunity for Eddie to leave his bedroom window ajar; a beautiful breeze filling up his space and lungs. Silently, he scribbled down notes and ideas for his next Hellfire campaign- ever since that unfortunate November evening, Eddie has found himself with excessive amounts of free time and no choice but to fill it or be left in a spiral of despair and self-loathing.

Without warning, a voice drifted into his room that had not entered since the aforementioned night. It was so crystal-clear Eddie was concerned for his own sanity; either he had started hearing voices- your voice- in his head or you were somehow hiding in his closet. Neither of his theories yielded correct when, after discarding his busy work, he found your voice originated from outside his bedroom window, somewhere in the shadows of the trailer park he lived in.

There you stood, the streetlight you stood under creating a halo affect around your head and hair, infecting the air around you with your laugh. To your left was a raven-haired girl he knew to be one of his neighbors, Dina Rodriguez, and a dear friend of yours. She had her arm draped around your shoulder like she couldn’t stand without you- and after observing for a moment, Eddie realized she couldn’t. Supporting Dina’s left arm was another member of your squad, Mabel Myers; her boyfriend Denis “something-or-other” trailed behind the group of girls like a bodyguard.

It appeared Dina was either drunk off her ass or high out of her mind- he is familiar with both situations intimately- and it was the duty of you three to see your friend home safe and sound. She lulled her drooping head to the right and muttered another comment into your ear that sent your laughter exploding from your chest and flooding his ears again. As you tossed your head back in hilarity your eyes caught his gazing at your from across the street through his window. Immediately turning red, Eddie turned around and rushed to his bed- desperate to dive back into his campaign and distract himself from the colossal embarrassment that was being caught by you.

He heard the door to Dina’s trailer open and close and the sound of your voice disappear behind the thin trailer walls. After a while, he heard nothing but silence in Forest Hills and assumed you had fled the park with your friends after settling Dina in. Eddie should know by now to always expect the unexpected when it comes to you, because a few moments after he figured you’d left there was a light tap noise at his window. At first, he ignored it, choosing to remain focused on his campaign. Yet again, another light tap hit his window. And a few more second after that, a tiny pebble landed on the open page of his journal he wrote in on his bed. His eyebrows pinched and he picked up the stone to inspect it. These shenanigans had your name written all over then, and his heart swelled.

Stone still trapped between his index finger and thumb, Eddie approached his window and opened it further to come face to face with your flaming cheeks.

“Were you throwing stones into my room?” He questioned with a smirk on his face, holding up the pebble and launching it back out his window and onto the gravel below.

“I’m sorry I have terrible aim. I meant to hit your window.” You rubbed the back of your neck embarrassedly.

He narrowed his eyes at you, “You stalking me or something?”

You blush at his reference to your last conversation, “You wish, weirdo.” You stuck your tongue out at him.

He cocked his head to the side and rested his hands on the sill of the window, “Coming from the girl who was throwing stones at my window.”

You planted your hands on your hips and raised your eyebrows at him. “Coming from the guy who was watching me like a creeper from across the street.”

It was now Eddies turn to blush profusely. “I was hoping you hadn’t seen me.” His eyes flitted to the ground where your white sneakers made contact with the gravel road of the trailer park.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t see me either. Didn’t wanna disturb your night.” You shuffled your right foot against the dirt and sent up a gust of particles that had you stepping back slightly as to avoid the cloud. “Yet here you are, causing a ruckus that would have your mother clutching her pearls.” Eddie chuckled grasping at the guitar pick necklace that dangled across his collarbone, resting atop the black, fitted t-shirt he wore- mimicking a shocked lady. Your cheeks once more flushed at the insinuation your presence was an intrusion while muttering another apology. You ran your hand through your hair, a nervous tick Eddie noticed both Harrington siblings had developed over the years.

Eddie caught his flunder. “Oh, no I didn’t- I wasn’t saying that- erm.. What’s up with Dina?” he tried to change the subject.

You smiled sheepishly, “One too many hits. A few too many shots. And after emptying the contents of her stomach on the ride of the road a few miles back, everything seemed extremely funny to her. Don’t go hiking around marker 15… it’s not pretty.”

“Rock on party animal. Are you okay?” Eddie asked quizzically. “Am I okay? Yea. Am I sober? For the most part.” You giggled.

“You okay to get home? I can give you a ride.”

“It’s okay, Denis is our DD.”

“Ah, I see. Wait, are they still here?”

“Yea, they are right over there.” You jammed your thumb behind you at the red hatchback humming at the entrance of the of the trailer park, stalled in place and- apparently- waiting on you.

“Then what are you doing Y/n? Don’t hold them up.” Eddie gestured to the car. You zipped your windbreaker up farther and crossed your arms on your chest. You made brief eye contact with the boy in the window before flicking back away to the oh-so interesting weeds growing at the base of the trailer home. “I’ll get out of your hair in a minute, I just- I guess I just wanted to say hi.”

Just planting some seeds. Testing the waters. Wondering if yours still in love with me as deeply as I am with you.

Your eyes reached his again, checking for his reaction, only to meet his glassy eyes.

He muttered a soft hello as he leaned further out his window.

You muttered a soft hello back as you stepped towards the opening.

Eyes locked; hearts pounded in sync.

Then, an ear-splitting car horn shattered the moment, alerting you two that you were not alone. You jumped out of your skin and Eddie almost hit his head on the top of the open pane. You both laughed awkwardly at the intimate bubble that had burst around you and you shuffled backwards.

“I better jam. Later.”

He didn’t respond. He held his eyes on you and waved his hand back and forth- a reluctant goodbye. You jogged to the car and stopped when you were about halfway. Suddenly, in a flurry of movement, you raced back to the windowsill.

Eddies jaw dropped as you approached him. Eyes locked; hearts pounded in sync.

“My dress will be blue.”

Bewildered eyes peered at half-sober ones.

“Do with that what you will.”

Seed, planted.

Once again you jogged back to the car, but this time you entered the car and exited Forest Hills trailer park.

________________________________________________________________

Eddie had a horrible habit of being late to almost everything. Corroded Coffin had to be at the Hideout at 7:30? He’s showing up at 8. School starts at 8:45? He’s showing up at 9. Hellfire is right after school? He’s showing up 20 minutes late.

It’s just how he rolled. His overactive mind usually distracted him from his original intent- making arriving on time a seemingly impossible task for the frazzled metal head. What he lacked in punctuality, he tried to make up for speediness in travel- an Eddie-ism that has nearly sent you into cardiac arrest on multiple occasions.

Eddie had never been on time for nearly anything in his life, much less early. Yet here he sat in the back of his van, music low, back doors open, cigarette lit, and 10 minutes early to the mandatory set up for the dance.

Eddie was early, for the first time in this life, because of you. Because of your little comment, whispered to him through his windowsill in the dead of night.

My dress will be blue.

He swore he melted into a puddle of lovesick-Eddie-mush as soon as Denis’ car exited the trailer park. That was not the comment he expected you to leave him with that night, but he was nonetheless grateful for it. He couldn’t leave his trailer early enough that night, it seemed. He wanted to see you as soon as earthly possible, adorned in a blue gown. Now, he was excited to sit in the stupid gym, listening to stupid pop music, surrounded by stupid middle schoolers. Because he would be rewarded with the sight of you in a beautiful blue dress.

As he smoked through his cigarette, he let his mind wander. He wondered what shade it would be, light or dark. He wondered what length it would be, long or short. If it would be tight, showing off your figure. If it would show your shoulders or your cleavage. What you would be wearing underneath it. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of thoughts that would only lead to sorrow when he saw you in your beautiful blue dress and wouldn’t be able to take you home with him after the dance. How he wouldn’t see the blue of the dress drown underneath the leather of his jacket that you would wear if you got cold. How he wouldn’t be able to feel the fabric of the garment under his hands as he held your waist, guiding you down the hall of his trailer and into his room. How he would never see that beautiful blue dress crumpled up on his bedroom floor.

Eddie felt like such a pervert, but he couldn’t help himself. You were his kryptonite, his eternal temptation, and he would never be able to stop himself from wanting you- or loving you. He stepped out of the back of the van and flicked the butt of the smoke stick on the ground, stomping it out under his heavy boot and ridding himself of fantasies of you. He decided he would have to settle for just admiring you and your beautiful blue dress from afar tonight, shut the doors to his van, and started towards the entrance of the gym.

*******

Half listening to Mrs.Woodhouse explaining the “do play” and “do not play” songs, Eddies eyes wandered the sparkling, silver gymnasium for you. You had yet to arrive, which caused anxiety to swirl in his chest and make his blue tie feel more like a noose, slowly choking him. After getting the run down about the music, Eddie meandered over to where an acquaintance of his, Jonathan Byers, set up his camera. They chatted about the dance, school, life- until Nancy Wheeler appeared next to the pair of boys and tucked herself under the older Byers sibling’s arm.

Eddie excused himself from the conversation, happily obliging to the new couple’s silent desire to bask in their honeymoon phase, alone.

Eventually the dance commenced, and you still had not darkened the doorway of the gym. A steady stream of middle schoolers entered, blood pumping, hearts racing, and hormones ranging- and Eddie occupied himself by spinning records of mindless pop songs.

You stepped into the gym right out of Eddie’s fantasies. There you stood, coat in hand, adorned in gold jewelry and the dress he had pondered about for the past few days.

You were a breath of fresh air, filling his lungs and igniting the anxiety in his belly, as the music thumped in his ears in time with his racing heart.

Your dress was the perfect shade of dark, navy blue and came down to your knees. It covered your shoulders with puffy sleeves that capped at your elbows, accompanied by a square neckline that highlighted your collarbones and the dainty gold necklace that sat upon them. Your earring swished around and bounced off your cheeks and jawline as you swung your head around to the music at the same time as observing the room.

Your eyes met Eddies for a split second before darting away. His chest sank at the dismissal until your eyes immediately darted back to his, realizing you’d skipped over his face and commenced a double take.

Your eyes digested the sight of him in a sky-blue tie, crookedly hanging from his white-collar shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, displaying his tattoos. A smile erupted on your face as you comprehended his appearance. He was in a sky-blue tie. A blue tie. The beam of your smile was enough to send the butterflies in your stomach fluttering to Eddies. You shyly brought your hand up and gave an enthusiastic wave to the boy, but turned to dash towards Nancy before he could return the gesture.

A moment later a small boy with extremely poofy hair walked through the entrance and sought his friends out in the bustling crowd, as many had done before him that night.

You reached the punch bowl and rounded it to stand on Nancys left, giving her a quick side hug.

“You look gorgeous y/n!”

“Me? Look at you! I feel like my eyes are about to pop out of my head- that dress looks amazing on you!” She blushed at your compliment and even deeper so when her eyes made contact with Jonathan’s from across the room. “And I don’t seem to be the only person who has noticed.” You tease her, the exchange not going unnoticed by you.

She rolled her eyes at you and shoved you playfully with her hip, not before you swiped two cups of punch and sauntered away. As you left you heard a boy ask Nancy what was in the punch. She chuckled to him and replied, “Pure fuel.” You giggled to yourself, the joke- too- not going unnoticed by you.

A small smile settled on your face as you approached the music booth, clutching a cup in each hand, and walked up the platform to Eddie.

The booth sat behind the speakers that filled the gym with music, making the space Eddie sat in unexpectedly quieter than the rest of the dance and nixing the need to shout to be heard.

“Total rager, isn’t it?”

Eddie looked up at your sly smirk, quickly soaking up your presence. “Oh yeah totally. This’ll be the talk of the playground for weeks.”

You giggled, “I told you all the cool kids would be at this shindig!”

Eddie rolled his eyes and slumped back into this chair; arms settled on the crease of his thighs. “Oh yes, Hawkins Highs resident freak and 200 middle schoolers. A shindig of epic proportions.”

“Hey, don’t forget about the co-captain of the cheer team! Or am I just chopped liver?” you raised your eyebrow at him playfully.

In a daring mood, and propelled by the beat of the music, Eddie couldn’t help but flirt shamelessly, “Not in that dress, you aren’t.”

Your cheeks rushed red, and you looked down at the flats adorning your feet, willing yourself to gain composure. You forced your eyes up again and settled into your hip, preparing your response.

“Well, I see you got my hint then. About the color.” You pointed to your own neck with your index finger, still wrapped around a punch filled cup. “Although I don’t think you really matched it right.”

“Hey, you said blue! Not what kind! S’Not my fault you didn’t specify.” Eddie accused while reaching down to the crate of records next to him, ready to cue up the next set.

“And here I was trying to be nice and bring you punch. But, if you’re gonna be a jerk then I guess I’ll take myself and my beverages elsewhere-“

“Wait, wait, hold up. Don’t go.” He pleaded. You turned back around from where you had started away, eyes locking too intensely for such a public space. Eddie pulled himself out of his momentary lapse in composure, “I’m very thirsty.”

You half smiled. “And?”

“And I’m sorry.”

“For?” you waved your arms around in a circle, feigning confusion, and tousling the liquid around in the cups.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at you and you mirrored his expression- serious about your teasing. “For being a jerk.”

“Now that wasn’t so hard now was it!” You stepped back towards him and extended your arm towards him, offering the cup in your hand. As the cup exchanged between you two, fingers brushed slightly against each other. Eyes locked, then looked away- unable to process the intensity of each other’s stares. A moment passes before you noticed that the music had stopped.

“Eddie.” “Yea?” “The music.”

A moment.

“What?”

“Mr. Munson!” Mrs. Woodhouse shrieked a few feet away from the booth. Pulling you both from the locked gaze you held.

“Oh shit- “Eddie choked out while frantically changing over the record. You snicked under your breath, holding your cup to your lips to hide behind as you stifled your laughter.

“Think it’s funny getting me in trouble?” he glared at you out of the side of his eye as finally spun the track. “Only a little.” You held up your thumb and index finger in front of your face.

Your eyes caught on the watch the adorned Eddies wrist, the time setting an alarm off in your mind. You placed your cups down on the table next to Eddies untouched punch and started off on your mission. “Hey I gotta go.”

“But you just got here. Where are you going?”

“I just- I have something- someone… this thing I gotta do.” You stammer out to him through your anxious smile, concealing your urgency.

Eddies heart visibly sank. The secrets, the stammering, the lack of explanation- all brought him back to that night. That November night. The worst night of his life. While he was upset that the situation had not lessened any to allow you to tell him about it, he would not make you feel guilty for a second time about having to put it above both your feelings- he would not make the same mistake twice. He understood this was your obligation. And he let you go, just like that night.

“Oh okay. Come back if you want.”

You smiled at him and nodded your head slightly, leaving him alone behind the booth and entering the sea of students trying to impress one another by step touching and bouncing up and down to the rhythm of the songs playing.

Disappearing through the doors of the gym and into the night, you entered the freezing air for a moment to approach the police truck parked in the lot. Inside awaited your ward for the night, El. Hopper entrusted you with watching after her until he came back at the end of the night to retrieve her- wordlessly exchanging a thank you to you as Eleven climbed out of the truck and embraced you in a tight hug.

Arm slung around her, you guided her into the dance, took her coat and paid for her ticket. You accompanied her through the door and gave her hand a squeeze.

El looked up at your gentle smile and returned it. “What now?” she softly questioned, unsure how to conduct herself in such a new and public environment. “Go have fun,” you whispered in her ear, “And enjoy yourself. You deserve this.” El blushed slightly, turning her face to scan the crowd. A soft smile took over your lips as you watched her scamper towards Mike- their relationship reminding you of Eddie and yourself at the start of your relationship, last year. You tucked her coat over your arm and made your way to the bleachers covered by reams of long silver streamers, stashing it away next to yours.

Eddie watched as you reemerged from the stands with the poofy-haired boy in tow, as he wiped his eyes. You dragged him towards the dance floor and proceeded to dance with him, until he was chipper and bouncing around to the song with you. Your beautiful blue dress reflected under the lights, and Eddie swore in the moment, you looked like an angel. A real-life angel, sent down to Earth to brighten up the lives of everyone around you.

“Don’t look now, but that group of girls over there keeps looking at you.” You muttered to Dustin as you continued to dance. His steps faltered as he comprehended what you said, and a radiant smile broke across his crooked teeth. “Really?”

“Really. Now don’t let anybody get you down. Not tonight, not ever. Got it?”

The younger boy nodded his head and twirled you around.

“Don’t look now, but the guy at the music booth is totally checking you out.”

You felt your heart sprout wings and flutter off, joining the butterflies in your stomach. Your throat went dry as you questioned, “Really?”

Dustin smirked, “Really.” He wiggled his eyebrows at you and made a Chewbacca sounding noise with his tongue. You cringed at the uncomfortable sound effect and after a beat curtsied to Dustin. He bowed back to you and the two parted ways, leaving you free to make your way back to Eddie.

***

The dance ranged on in front of you and Eddie, like a battle unfolding, but did not burst the bubble you had created for yourselves. After rejoining him, you fell back into a natural conversation filled with ebbing emotion beneath both of your surfaces, coded flirting, and semi-awkward sips of punch.

“Who was that girl you walked in?”

Your heart stopped and your hands grew clammy. You had no idea how to explain the supernatural girl to Eddie and her cover story had completely fled your mind in that instance, the inquiry catching you completely off guard.

“I… well she- um,” you stammered out in a hopeless search for the right words to string together. Eddie saw your distress, he understood. No matter how hard you tried, you could never conceal your emotions around Eddie, he had always and would always be able to read you like his favorite novel. In a desperate attempt to rid you of your anxieties, he shifted the question. “What’s her name?”

You took a deep, yet shaky breath in. “El.” You breathed out. “She’s um… she’s not from around here.”

“Then how do you know her?” You mind scrambled for an explanation. “Well, I… She… She’s Mike Wheelers girlfriend, so…” your mind and mouth wouldn’t let you elaborate past that. Eddie nodded his head in understanding and dropped the topic. He didn’t know what she had to do with everything, but he knew this El girl was involved with what you couldn’t talk about. And that was enough information to satisfy him.

The rest of the night was filled with Eddie playing your song requests and laughter filling the space between you both.

***

Eddie sat in his van and watched as you guided the skittish girl to a truck, with the poofy haired boy following closely behind. After seeing her inside the vehicle, you and the middle schooler made your way past his van to enter your brother’s car a few spots down from his van.

In a rash decision he could hardly process before performing it, he leaned his head out of his rolled down window and called your name. Your head whipped around at the beckon, and you left the younger boy on the journey to your brother’s car in favor of approaching his.

When you were close enough to hear, and far enough away from the boy to be overheard, Eddie spoke.

“Thanks for keeping me company tonight. I… I had a really nice time.”

You blushed intensely at the profession and returned the sentiment, “So did I. Like I said, I miss talking to you.” A lopsided smile spread across your face, and you turned to leaved, the fabric of your blue dress swishing around you.

“Y/n?”

You turned back around, with a hopeful look in your eye.

“You… You look beautiful tonight.”

Eddie swore if your cheeks became any redder, you would turn into a tomato.

Wordlessly, you skidded back to your brother’s car and opened the passenger door. You looked back once, made searing eye contact with Eddie, then entered the car cabin and closed the door.

The seed was sewn, and it grew. The water was tested, and it was warm.

And for the first time in a long time, you both slept soundly.

About You

(Late January 1985) Chapter 4: The Rift

Eddie Munson x female!harrington!reader

Chapter Summary: After the events of the New Years party, you are actively avoiding Eddie. Will you relent and work through this miscommunication?

Word Count: 4 k

series masterlist here

Chapter warnings: fluffy activities with Eleven(sister behavior), unwanted flirting, slight angst, slight bullying, annoying principles

Monday is an unholy day in your opinion; a day violently contrasting the relaxing sabbath that antedated it. Everything about the day is inconvenient and unhopeful. Close enough to the previous weekend to reminisce and long for it, yet too far away from the next to look forward to it. A day that is unforgiving to those who can’t get out of bed on time- a synonym for yourself.

Your sneakers squeaked against the polished tile of the hallways, swimming upstream against the current of students making their way to class. You and Steve had both woken up late and needed to stop for gas before school, making you enter the parking lot right as the bell rang that signified students to begin meandering towards their first period class. You opened the door to the school as the warning bell sounded, and you all but ran across campus to get to Mrs. Click’s class.

Your back hurt from your backpack slapping against you at the vigorous motion of your running, and your arms grew red where the books you held rubbed and dug into your skin. Your stomach growled from your lack of breakfast and your mind reeled at the thought of not being able to eat for another 3 hours till lunch period.

Just as you turned the corner to enter the hallway containing Mrs. Clicks class, you were met with a road block. A handsome, brow haired, leather-clad road block.

Eddie stood in front of the door opposite to Clicks classroom, looking down at his watch anxiously and fiddling with the rings on his fingers.

Eddie had arrived early to school in hopes to catch you before the bell. He was desperate to talk to you after the events of New Year’s Eve, but he had given you space for the rest of winter break. You had been avoiding him at every twist and turn in the narrow halls of the high school and the boy couldn’t seem to catch you.

He didn’t understand what had happened. He wondered if you had changed your mind about him- but he hated jumping to conclusions. He just wanted- no, needed to talk to you.

You, however, had no desire to be let down again. After Eddie rejected your kiss, you figured he had felt sorrow for you and was leading you on to be nice- one last favor for the sake of exes. You skin crawled and you stomach knotted at the second-hand embarrassment that resonated within you when thinking about the almost-kiss that didn’t happen that night.

You had barely made it around the corner when your brain registered the small flash of his figure down the hallway and instinctually pivoted to dart in the other direction. Your sneaker made a harsh sliding noise against the floor as you changed your course- the offensive noise making Eddies head snap in the direction of it. He caught a glimpse of you retreating, and immediately pushed off the wall he had settled on to follow you.

You quickly walked in the opposite direction, grateful for the girl’s bathroom that was present in that section of the school. You dashed into the restroom, entered a stall, and sat on a toilet with your head in your hands. It was pitiful, avoiding Eddie like this, and not giving him the chance to speak when you knew he so desperately wanted to. You just couldn’t bring yourself to do it- cowardice ultimately winning.

Eddie rounded the corner and watched as the bathroom door swung shut. In a fit of determination Eddie stalked towards the girl’s room, not caring what he had to do to get a moment to talk with you. As his had made contact with the door handle, and irritating voice echoed down the hallway.

“Mr. Munson! I don’t believe that is your first period classroom?” Principle Higgins questioned the boy, outwardly smug at nagging on the boy.

Eddie, hand still attached to the door handle, twisted his head around to look at the man with annoyance, “No, I just-“

“I didn’t think so. Have you suddenly developed short term memory loss and forgotten where your classroom is located?”

“No, but I-“

“That’s what I figured. I suggest you get to class Mr. Munson.” Higgins smirked villainously at him.

Eddie breathed deeply- ready to put up a fight. “But, I needed to-“

“Let me rephrase- get to class Munson. Unless you’d like to spend another senior year with us?”

Eddies fist was clenched tight around the handle as he fumed at the older man, trying to smite him where he stood with his gaze. Principle Higgins arched his eyebrow and Eddie reluctantly let go of the handle.

“No, sir.”

“Good.” The man spun around and sauntered off to vex more children- a favorite pass time of his.

Eddie, too, spun around to be face to face with 3 girls he recognized from various classes and grades. They all stared at him perplexed as he loomed in from of the girl room. Eddie snapped out of his stupor and grabbed the handle again, opening it and sweeping his arm inwards to invite the girls in.

“Ladies.” He stated as they all retreated in to the bathroom, giving him particularly nasty looks and quizzical side eyes. The short blonde muttered a small freak under her breath while she passed in a cloud of overwhelming cheap perfume. Eddie couldn’t bring himself to be offended, his armor too strong to be penetrated by such petty comments.

As he let the door close, his face blossomed red and he pressed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets in embarrassment. “God dammit.” He complained as he wandered off to class.

He doesn’t care how or when- but Eddie would speak with you sooner or later.

Just not today, and not in the girl’s bathroom.

Monday, bloody Monday.

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The door to the cabin was locked and the curtains were drawn. The sounds of the forest mixed in with the soft melody coming from the tiny radio sitting on top of the refrigerator. The warm glow of the lamps, bouncing off of the dark wood, made you feel like you were encompassed in amber.

After being credited with taking down the evil Hawkins lab, Hopper was branded somewhat of a local legend. His reputation strong enough to have him sent to the town over to help out their police force, forcing him to vacate for a weekend. Uncomfortable leaving Eleven by herself, the gruff older man phoned you for a favor. You had proven yourself a capable chaperone at the dance, so you were left in charge of looking out for, cooking, and entertaining the young, telekinetic girl.

“What better way to spend the weekend than with a superhero?” You had joked while shaking the chief’s firm and worn hand.

Not only were you thankful for something to do that weekend, but you were thankful for a distraction from the thoughts of Eddie that plagued you. You couldn’t stop thinking about him, the party, the almost-kiss, and his pleading looks at school. You had to get some air- away from the suffocation of Hawkins and the memory of him.

That Saturday had been filled with painting, a dance party, and a movie marathon of whatever was showing on TV that didn’t disinterest you both. Now, you stood in the cramped quarters of the kitchen making spaghetti- a dish Eleven had yet to indulge in due to Hopper’s aversion to cooking.

“Doesn’t he cook you food?” You had asked Eleven.

“Yes, with the box.” “The box?” The young girl rose from the couch and guided you into the kitchen, presenting you with the microwave.

“The microwave?” She nodded her head up and down with a small smile.

You eyed the fridge next to you, reached for the handle, and pulled the door to the ice box open. You were immediately faced with columns of frozen meals to be microwaved.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Hopper!” You shut the door in exasperation and faced the girl again. “No wonder you wanted to leave so bad.” Eleven giggled at your blunt humor.

You quickly proclaimed you would be making her a homecooked meal tonight and that the dish would change her young and sheltered life. “You’ve not truly lived until you’ve had a mouth full of red sauce and garlic bread.” Eleven’s mouth began to water at the thought of a new and foreign dish as she pleaded you to begin cooking at once.

You gathered your ingredients, found a pot, and began boiling the water. You cut up the garlic with teary eyes, prompting the young girl to become concerned.

“Why do you cry, Y/n?” “Oh, I’m fine! It’s the garlic. There is some property to it that makes people’s eyes water and sometimes it’ll sting super bad if you get it directly in your eye.” She nodded her head in confirmation, her worries nixed through your culinary teachings.

You allowed her to slice the bread and rub the garlic on the pieces. She smiled softly, enjoying being included in the process and experiencing something new and domestic- a luxury she has scarcely been afforded in her short yet tumultuous life.

Eleven looked over at you stirring the pot of simmering noodles, your hair pulled back into a ponytail, and couldn’t help but want to be you when she grew up. Throughout all the events of the past year, you had always been there and been such a beacon of strength for her. You were everything she wanted to be. Smart, kind, strong and beautiful. “Y/N?” she questioned in her flute like voice.

“Hm?”

“We are friends, right?”

You smiled brightly and looked over at the girl, one hand clutching a clove of garlic and the other gripping the pan that holds the bread. “Of course, El. We are friends.”

She smiled the widest you’d ever seen her produce, then sheepishly ducked back into her work.

***

Now, El sat at the tiny, two-person table by the kitchen giggling at your antics.

You danced around the kitchen with a wooden spoon for a make-shift microphone, singing along to the pop song on the radio. She giggled and cheered you on as you exuberantly flailed your arms around and twirled on your socked feet.

Pieces of your hair fell around your face, leaking out of your ponytail, and your face was flushed from the effort of dancing.

While watching you be carefree, El couldn’t help but think about Kali; her “sister” for all intents and purposes. Kali had taken care of Eleven when she needed her most, guided her through the darkness, and ensured she was stronger when she emerged on the other side. And here you were, taking care of Eleven too. You might not have been teaching her to move a train car with her mind, but you were willingly here with her, sacrificing your time and making her dinner. You were taking care of her, and in the moment, Eleven swore to herself that you were her sister. You were loud, boisterous, caring, adventurous, and whole-heartedly family to the young girl.

You broke El from her intense train of thought to have her help you test the food.

“I throw the noodles?” El cocked her head to the side in confusion. She done many a crazy thing in her life, but this had to be the strangest.

“Well, not all of them, but a few will do.”

More questionable stares were given from the girl.

“In order to tell if the spaghetti is done cooking, you have to throw the noodles at the wall. And if they stick to it, that means they are done cooking. I don’t know if it’s true or where it came from but my mother and I always used to do it together back when we would have big family dinners. I figured it would be interesting to see if it’s as fun as I remember it.” You explained to the girl, fishing with a spoon in the large pot for a few noodles to place on a small paper plate you found covered in dust in a cabinet.

You brought the plate close to your mouth a blew on the food, cooling down the pasta enough to pick up a strand between your index finger and your thumb. You placed the plate down and backed up to the edge of the kitchen. Eleven scurried behind you to avoid the projectile and you gazed over your shoulder to meet the gaze of the girl, “Watch this.”

You turned back to face the wall, brought your arm up behind you with the noodle in tow, counted down from three, then launched it at the wall across the space.

Splat.

The warm and wet noodle stuck to the wall with a hard thump, the noise startling the telekinetic girl behind you.

“See!” You giggled.

Elevens eyes went wide and she raced forwards to inspect the wall locked pasta. She poked at it until it slid off the wall and landed by her feet on the cabin floor in a limp pile.

She peaked through the curtain of her short, curly hair to gaze curiously at you.

“You wanna try?”

A smile erupted smoothly on her face, as she vigorously shook her head up and down. She reached to the plate, plucked a noodle from off of it, and took your place at the edge of the kitchen. She followed your movements, wound her arm up, then let the noddle fly. As it hit the wall and stuck, she giggled and clapped, amazed by the spectacle in front of her.

In that moment, a thunderous noise emitted from your stomach. Eleven looked almost shocked that such a violent sound could come from your body. You chuckled and blushed, the confessed, “I’m a little hungry. Let’s eat now.”

****

The conversation ebbed and flowed as spaghetti was slurped and sauce was splattered upon white plastic plates. It was safe to say you had discovered Elevens new favorite dish. She couldn’t get enough of the noodles as you educated her on the many types of spaghetti noodles that exist and the different ways to make them. She nearly choked on her garlic bread when you told her about meatballs.

Eventually, the topic changed to the subject you dreaded all evening.

Boys.

Eleven mentioned an antic Mike and the gang got up to at the Snow Ball, prompting her to dissect the inner workings of boys. “Do you have a friend like Mike, Y/n?”

You swallowed your mouthful of noodles and took a deep breathe of air before speaking. As you exhaled, you let your chin rest on the heel of your palm while your elbow propped itself up against the table. You looked down at the pasta in front of you, and strangely could only thing of Eddies hair.

The swirling of the noodles on themselves resembled that of Eddies untamed curls- an ache in your chest panged and reverberated, a lonely buzzing took up shop on your bones again like it had done not too long ago.

“Yeah. I had a friend like Mike. We aren’t friends like that anymore though.”

“Why? Don’t you want to be friends?”

“Oh yes I do, but… I don’t think he wants to be friends anymore. Some things happened and I don’t think he wants to be friends anymore.”

Eleven’s mouth turned downwards to morph into a frown. She could not contain her sadness and confusion.

“But you still want to be friends?” she questioned, scooping another heaping of spaghetti into her mouth.

“Very much so. But I want him to be happy and I feel like it would be best if he wasn’t involved with me and all” you gestured your forked hand around your vicinity, “this mess with other worlds and what not.”

“Hopper tried to do that to me. It did not work. Time and space did not stop me from being Mike’s friend. Do not copy me.”

El’s short and choppy phrases cut through you like a knife. While, not complex, her statement and sentiment were there and apparent. She was right. She stayed away from Mike to protect him- but in reality, it did nothing but hurt the both of them.

You were too tired and confused to fully process her words, but you smiled at her implications. Your situation was a little more complicated however. Nonetheless, you smiled at her suggestion.

“When did you get so smart, huh?” you chuckled.

El smiled sheepishly into her pasta, shoving another forkful into her mouth.

Both of you grinned to yourselves and finished the meal peacefully.

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The sound of pages flipping, pencils scratching and sharpening, people sniffing and coughing, and dull mumbles filled the library like a cacophony of academia.

The words in your history textbook blurred together into hieroglyphic like scribbles that your overstimulated brain could not make sense of. You’d been in the library during your free period trying to study for your upcoming quiz, but you couldn’t keep the content straight in your mind- the lesson plan you studied all blurring into one flurry of history you couldn’t make sense of.

Usually, you had no problem studying- academics coming naturally to you. You seemed to be inept at this point in time because of the watchful eyes glued to your form. But they were not the usual brown orbs you were used to observing you. They were an irritating shade of algae green that belonged to your friend Andy.

Ever since that party before winter break when Andy helped you take care of Dina, the fluffy haired boy seemed to have developed a rapid affinity for you. In your shared classes the boy has taken it upon himself to move his seats next to yours and seemed to have wormed his way deeper into your social group.

Andy has always been a good guy, but he was the class clown- and a somewhat annoying one at that. He was a good friend to you, but you could tell that Andy was stooping in to snatch you up in Eddies absence.

Bile rose in your throat at even entertaining someone who wasn’t Eddie. You had come to the conclusion that if you couldn’t have Eddie, you would just go without anyone. Or at least until you moved off to college- but the thought of moving on made your eyes water and your throat close up.

From across the long table, you sat at, Andy lounged with his textbook open, yet discarded, with his eyes glued to your unconcentrated form. Your eyes shot up for a moment to peek at the boy, confirmed he was still studying you instead of his book, and returned your nose to its home in your own literature.

You huffed in irritation, perplexed by his unrelenting gaze. You felt like an animal in a zoo, being watched and prodded into making a move. Andy’s eyes and energy begged for you to do anything that showed you wanted him around, but no such reassurance would come for him. You had given him no indication you were interested, yet Andy seems to believe he can create a relationship out of pure proximity.

Andy’s increasing advancements had not gone unnoticed by Eddie as well.

Eddie frequented the library often, usually browsing the fantasy section or checking out The Hobbit for the umpteenth time. He had not come to the library with the intention of monitoring you, but the situation in front of him begged for his attention. Eddie stood leaning against a bookcase some ways away- a watchful eye held on you and Andy.

As Andy’s eyes tracked you, Eddies locked onto the boy- monitoring his funny business for himself. Eddie watched as you huffed for the last time, leaning down to the side of your chair to retrieve your backpack. You stowed the textbook away and sighed in defeat as you stood up to exit the studying space.

Andy took this as an invitation to follow.

The bell chimed to signal the end of the school day and an influx of students joined you and your journey to leave the library. Eddie felt like a stalker, lurking in the shadows and just around every corner to keep an eye on you. But he felt he had to protect you from the advances of this clown that vexed him.

Eddie watched as both you and Andy rounded the corner of a hallway- beckoning him to follow. It took Eddie a few moments to reach the turn seeing as he was a way down the hallway from you and Andy, but when he rounded the corner, he saw a sight he hoped he’d never have to see.

You pressed up uncomfortably into your closed locker, clutching onto the straps of your backpack. Andy, with one arm braced up against your head on the locker, loomed over you predatorily. Eddie knew Andy wouldn’t try anything slick and his creepy stance was nothing but a show to seem dominant, however Eddies gut churned at the thought of anyone flirting with you.

You were Eddies, and he’d be damned if he let you slip away. But, from the looks of it, Andy would not be the one to snatch you away- you looked about as uninterested in him as Eddie was in school work.

Eddie stalked up to the pair and listened as Andy pressed, “Come on, Y/n. Just one date. It’ll be fun!”

“Andy, I have too much on my plate right now. I’d rather not get distracted-“

“Don’t be that way Y/n.” Andy scoffed reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I think she said she wasn’t interested, Trimble.” Eddie called out to the boy, making Andy remove himself quickly from your general vicinity and comb a quick hand through his hair.

“Sorry, man. I didn’t realize…” Andy trailed off, and scampered away from the smirking misfit and the agape girl.

Before Eddie could even turn to address you, you launched out of the hallway and out the double doors leading to the parking lot. You fled, like a bat out of hell, away from the scene of your embarrassment. Your cheeks reddened at the thought of Eddie coming to your rescue unprompted. You felt infuriated and at a loss for words at why Eddie would prevent someone with flirting with you.

If he doesn’t want me, why won’t he leave me alone?

Eddie ran after you, slamming into the doors in an effort to open them quicker to catch you before you evaded him yet again.

However, his efforts proved fruitless as he watched you wind through rows of cars to reach your brothers vehicle and enter the sanctuary it provided.

As you shut the car door you gazed into the passenger side rear view mirror. Off in the distance, you could make out Eddies defeated form- shoulders heavy and fists clenched.

You roughly tossed your backpack over your shoulder and into the backseat in annoyance at Eddies behavior. You huffed and slumped into the passenger seat, arms crossed over themselves and closed your heavy eyes.

“You okay there?” your brother questioned.

“Yeah, just… Just a long day.” You sighed in response.

The distance between you and Eddie felt like a vast and hallow canyon. The wind that blew through it was harsh and bitter- no mercy for its two lonely inhabitants.

As you drove away from the school, the canyon expanded wider- the tremors of its growth could be felt by all.

About You

(Late November 1984) Chapter 1: The Car Ride

Eddie Munson x female!harrington!reader

Chapter Summary: In the weeks following the breakup, it’s been hard to not be in contact with Eddie. You let your desires get the best of you.

Word Count: 4.2k

series masterlist here

Chapter warnings: Angst, smoking (reader), nightmare, mention of panic attack or sorts (just reader experiencing triggers), partying, +18 for general mature topics and content

You felt like you were suffocating. It was a sensory deprivation and overload all at the same time.

Your goggles were clouded from the particles that floated freely around your head. You had no idea what that stuff was, and it scared you that it surrounded you like a cloud. The makeshift mask covering your mouth, nose, and ears felt like it was preventing any kind of airflow to your lungs, making them burn. It was dark all around you, no sense of direction, and the croaking from the hound like creatures seemed to echo around the tunnel making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

You screamed for somebody, anybody, to help you- but your voice was trapped in your throat.

You leaned against the wall of the small tunnel and sank to the ground, squeezing your eyes shut. Hands clamped over your ears and head between your legs to try to stop the world from spinning.

Suddenly a hand settled on your shoulder blade and your head jerk up.

There, in all his glory, was him. Him with his halo of dark curls that framed his face perfectly. Him with his worn leather jacket that was surprisingly soft and smelt like home. Him with his snarky smile that made him seem like he always knew something you didn’t. Him with his heart full of love and head full of songs.

“It’s just a dream y/n.”

He knelt to your level and pulled your face into his hands. He slid the goggles off your eyes and down to hang around your neck along with the bandana mask that was previously suffocating you. His face was so close to your own that if you moved forward even an inch your lips would brush.

“You’re perfectly safe. You can wake up.”

And with that command, your eyes drifted open and made contact with the soft light spilling into your room. You smiled and shuffled down into your sheets as the memory of him was still firm in your mind. You let yourself revel in the phantom sensation of his lips close to yours before reality hit you. Like, it did every morning.

The reality that he was not yours anymore. That he would not be driving you to school. He would not kiss you at your locker before 1st period. And since its Tuesday, he would not be driving you to watch a Corroded Coffin gig at the Hideout tonight.

Ignoring the melancholy that had taken root in your bones for the past few weeks, you rise from your bed and begin another monotonous day.

Steve and you made your way to school, arriving much earlier than usual. Steve still hadn’t gotten use to not having to pick up Nancy on the way and this threw off your schedule a bit. As you pulled into the lot- one of the first ones there for the umpteenth time this week month- Steve sighed to himself.

“Well, this essay will not write itself. Sure you don’t wanna keep me company in the library?”

“We both know that’s code for wanna fuck around so I can avoid my responsibilities, Stevie.”

You both chuckle as he swats your shoulder and reaches for his backpack in the back seat.

“Always a ray of sunshine y/n. You’re still the one whose gonna proofread it for me out of the goodness of your heart.” He crooned to you while stepping out of the car.

“The weathers nice so I think I’ll read on the bench till class.” You give him a half-hearted smile.

He gives you a small sad smile. He is well aware that Eddie and you would frequent that bench before school almost daily.

“Old habits die hard.” You admitted and shrugged, the urge to defend your somewhat pathetic behavior bubbling up in your chest.

You grab your backpack and exited the car in a fluid move that had you gliding towards the picnic bench towards the side of the parking lot. Once arrived, you rifled through your bag to find your favorite book and Walkman. A slow melody filled your ears as you dive in, forgetting your surroundings and circumstances. A craving burrowed into your bones right alongside the melancholy, though.

It’s a craving for him. The craving for the comfort he brings. A craving for home.

An insatiable craving that cannot seem to be quenched. You have unfortunately found comfort in smoking, however. The smell of the cigarette envelopes you in the aroma of him- lulling the buzz in your body for him.

Yet, of course, last night you had used your last smoke and not had time to buy another pack before school this morning. So, you sat on the bench with your book clenched in your cold hands, bending the pages, as the craving consumed your body and left you with not a thing to do about it.

So, it was going to be one of those days.

Just as the buzzing settled to a low hum, a screeching broke through the music playing in your ears. The sound of Dio clashed unsettlingly with the Tears for Fears song in your ears and a rickety van pulled into its usual spot in the lot. As he pulled into his usual spot in the lot. The sight of his van brought thoughts of him like a tsunami in your brain. You clenched your book even harder, as if it were the only thing keeping you anchored to earth during this assault of memories on your psyche.

So, it was really going to be one of those days.

He put the vehicle in park and you watched the van as it thrummed with energy. You felt akin to the car. Thrumming with energy but unable to move anywhere.

You knew you would regret the ultimate hurt the decision you were about to make was going to bring you, but you couldn’t find enough cons to out way the pros in your mind.

I need a cigarette. I know he will have one. I have been going mad not talking to him or seeing him. Just one conversation will hold me over for a while. Who cares if I have a breakdown afterwards- the high of the moment is going to feel so good.

Before you could even really decide, your legs were already moving you away from the bench and towards the van you know so well.

Before you could even really decide, your hand was coming up to knock at the glass window of the driver’s side door.

Before you could even really decide, you were jerking him awake from his cat nap in the driver’s seat before a long day at school.

It took him a moment to calm down from the initial scare of the knock startling him awake. Once he realized who was the perpetrator of the knock, his pulse picked up again.

Eddies eyes widened and he blinked in disbelief at who was standing in front of him, and he frantically rolled his window down to destroy the barrier between you two.

You both stared into each other’s eyes for a minute before daring to break to silence. You found a frail voice in the back of your throat and whispered out a small hi to him.

He took in the sound of your voice, ringing like a bell and replenishing his frazzled mind before greeting you back. You look down to your feet awkwardly before looking back up to him.

“I know this is weird but I- I was wondering if you didn’t mind me bumming a cigarette off of you?” you mumbled out.

“I- well- You smoke?” he stuttered out.

“Recently yea.” His eyes darkened understanding the implications of your words.

“Well, I- um yea. I’ve got one.”

He turned to his glove compartment and shuffled around for a moment. The black shirt he worse stretched across the expanse of his back and highlighted his muscles moving under his luscious skin.

You’d been practically drooling by the time he turned back around with a cigarette in hand. He reached out to hand you the smoke stick as you extended your arm and met in the middle. Your fingers brushed each other’s as you made the exchange- lighting your skin on fire. Even the smallest amount of contact had you wanting to jump into the car right through the window and hold him so close that you would fuse together.

“Thanks.” You mutter out as you hold it between your fingers, rolling it anxiously.

You slowly, and very awkwardly, began to turn around and back away from his van when it seemed that neither of you were going to say anything else.

Make her stay, make her stay, make her stay His mind rattled.

“Well, um, do you need a light?” Eddie offered up as he sensed you about to leave.

“Oh I’m- actually I’m good I’ve got one in my bag.”

“Right cool.”

“Thanks though.”

“Yea no problem.”

You both stared again.

“So, um I guess how- “

“Don’t ask me how I’m doing Eds. I think we both know the answer.”

“Then it’s good thing I was gonna ask how long you’d been smoking.” He halfheartedly chuckled out.

Your heart dropped into your stomach as tears welled up into your eyes. Of course, he wasn’t asking you how you were. He broke up with you, he doesn’t care.

“Oh right. It’s been like- wow I don’t know this is so embarrassing I can’t think,” you chuckle to yourself while gazing down to the asphalt under your feet.

Eddie could tell you were in distress; he could read you like a book. Regret flooded his body over his snide comment that reduce you to this stuttering mess in front of him. Desperately, he tried to backtrack.

“No but I want to know that too- I just figured you wouldn’t wanna talk about that. I figured you wouldn’t wanna talk to me period. I can’t believe you’re here and speaking to me.”

“Neither can I. My feet just kind brought me here.”

“I miss talking to you. I mean it’s weird going from talking to you every single day to not at all.”

“I miss talking to you too.”

You both knew what you really meant.

Eddies hands toyed with the rings that adorned his fingers, twisting and fidgeting with them in an attempt to release the anxiety in his chest.

After you walked out of his trailer that night, he knew he made a mistake. He let his issues get the better of him and it finally messed up the best thing in his life- you. He knew he shouldn’t have pushed you to tell him and trusted you to explain everything eventually. It was evident that this was not something easy you could tell him. They way you were pleading with him that it wasn’t safe for him to know yet and the look in your eye made it apparent to him, only after the fact, that this was serious. Something major happened, and it messed you up. This was bigger than you or him. And rather than being there for you when you needed him to pick up the pieces, he broke you apart further.

“Maybe we could… like… talk then? Sometime?”

You sucked in a breath and pause. Debating. Weighing your options. Deciding if the heartbreak is worth it.

“Eventually yea. I’d really like to.” You give him a meek smile. A beam of hope.

“Good. Cool. Whenever, no rush.” He means it. You believe him.

________________________________________________________________

The week flew by uneventfully. That’s how they seem to be as of late. You wake up, you go to school, sometimes you’ll have cheer practice after, you go home and go to bed. Rinse and repeat. You’ve only just now finally found the will to start engaging with your friends again. Nancy was there for you as best as she could- but it was difficult when she couldn’t enter your house in fear of coming face to face with Steve.

But this week seemed to be a little different. After your encounter with Eddie, you could feel his eyes on you everywhere you went.

You could see his subtle glances towards you in English and you could feel his stare across the lunchroom. His watchful eye ignited something in you that you hadn’t felt for what seemed to be an eternity. It was hope. Hope that he would wave to you in the hallway. Hope that he would pass you a note. Hope that he would offer you a cigarette. But it was also anxiety. Anxiety that he would watch you silently until he graduated in the spring- assuming he finally graduates this time. Anxiety that he was waiting for the perfect moment to tell you he had moved on and was letting you go. But you would take the bittersweet emotions over the numbness that inhabited your body like a parasite.

The end of the week drained you, however.

You jogged the sidewalk of your neighborhood, an afternoon exercise ritual you tried to participate in as often as possible. You found the adrenaline and endorphins of the activity helped to unfog your mind and raise your spirits.

Every so often, the setting Sun would brush your eyes, momentarily blinding you. As you rounded the corner of Shirley and Maplewood, the Sun obstructed your vision harshly, making your surroundings impossible to perceive. It was in this instant that Mr. Berkley’s dog, Flash, decided it was the perfect moment to bark as loudly as he could at your movement.

The sound of the growl startled you, and as your spotting vision flickered towards the black hound, your temporary blindness comprehended the dog and something it wasn’t. A creature. The kind the kids found in October. The kind from the tunnels.

For a split second you brain told you This is a demo-dog. You are in danger. If it’s this close to you, you’re already dead.

The scream that ripped from your chest was instinctual and piercing. The tears that sprung from your eyes were involuntary and violent, just like your collapse to the ground.

You registered what had happened, picked yourself up, and jogged off with tears in your eyes before Mr. Berkley or a neighbor could exit their houses to question you and your seemingly bizarre behavior.

Maybe I’ll give running a break you decided.

And stay away from dogs.

________________________________________________________________

The weekend brought better fortune. You made an appearance at a party with your friend, Chrissy, but didn’t stay long.

“I think I’m gonna head home Chris.” You muttered into her ear as you found her smushed against a wall in a pack of cheerleaders and basketball players, all rambling on overzealously about the typical gossip and trying not to puke on each other.

She looked into your eyes and understood. Your social battery was drained. You had no more energy left in you to pretend that you were okay. You had no more energy left to pretend that you weren’t praying to every force in the universe that he would walk through that door and take you away. But he didn’t and he wasn’t going to.

She pulled away from the huddle of drunken teenagers and hugged you close.

“Hey, you did good. A whole hour! Now that’s what I call progress.” She gave you a radiant smile and you returned it with a limp one of your own.

You stalked out of the house with your head down as to avoid getting roped into any conversation. Once on the safety of the porch, you finally rose your head all the way up to the sky and breathed in the chilly night air. You wrapped your jacket tighter around your body and reached into your pockets to put on your gloves. As you reached in your hand was met with a crinkled cylindrical stick. You removed it from your pocket and there in your palm rested the cigarette Eddie gave you.

After the conversation that one morning, you completely forgot about the cigarette- leaving it unsmoked. You put it in your mouth and reached into your purse to find your lighter. A minute of hopelessly rummaging through it informed you that it was not on your person.

“Dammit Stevie.” You muttered, taking the cigarette out of your mouth to have it lazily relax between your index and middle finger.

You recalled just how your lighter was taken from you forcefully by your brother on the night of the tunnels. They needed fire to ignite the gasoline and to complete the mission you involuntarily sacrificed it in the process. A shudder passes through your body- not from the chilly night air. You closed your eyes and leaned upon the banister of the porch to steady yourself.

A voice drifts towards you, carried out of the dark expanse of the night in front of you by the winter wind- rescuing you from the dark memory, “Finally need that light?”

Your eyes snap up. Emerging from his beat-up van was the man you’d been praying to see all night. You heart skipped a beat, and it took you a moment to respond. “Oh um, yea I guess I do, now.”

He slinked towards you in that way in only Eddie did. His body moved fluidly and confidently, almost feline like, as he approached your shivering figure on the doorstep. He produced a metal lighter and ignited the cigarette you had placed back to your lips. You muttered a thank you and took the first inhale as he clinked the metal contraption shut and stuffed it back into the pocket of his leather jacket.

He paused a moment and watched you. Eddie always liked to watch you do trivial things like washing dishes, taking notes, or riffling through your bag. He appreciated your existence and observed you like the most fascinating creature in the world. His breath left his body at the sight of your lips wrapped around the smoke stick, a sight he’d never seen before, and tilt your head to the side to expel the air.

After a beat you worked up the courage to break the silence. “So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?” He smiled at your question. “My services were required. Donnie promised me double for making a house call.” “I see I see.” You nodded your head awkwardly.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yea I’m not really in the party mood. I was just about to walk- “

“Walk?” He interrupted you. “Y/n you were not seriously about to walk home from here.”

Your eyes rolled, “It’s like a mile and a half.”

“Can’t Steve come get you?””

“He’s busy and I’m fine. I’m a big girl and I walk home by myself.” You insisted laughing at his franticness.

“It’s pitch black out.” “It’s 7:30 Eds.”

His voice hitched in the back of his throat at the sound of his nickname. He decides to potentially cross a boundary that exes shouldn’t cross.

“Let me drive you home. I’ll be 5 minutes just enough to drop off with Donnie, get my cash and get out.”

You hesitate. “You really don’t have to do that.” “I would sleep better tonight knowing I didn’t leave you trek across dangerous lands all by your lonesome.”

“This is Lock Nora Eddie. It’s more Hundred Acer Woods than Mirkwood.” You chuckle out.

You both laugh at your remark. Then the silence creeps back in. But it’s not awkward this time. Its comfortable like a warm blanket had been wrapped around the two of you. You look into his eyes and discover the seriousness to his request.

“Only if it’s not an inconvenience.”

“You’re never an inconvenience y/n.”

Silence.

“Wait here and finish up. I’ll be 5 minutes.”

He enters the house and takes the warm blanket with him, leaving you alone again on the freezing porch with a half-burnt cigarette in your fingers.

************

The car ride brought on the strongest bout of déjà vu you’d ever experienced. Apparently, nobody had been a passenger since the breakup because the seat was still in the perfect position for you. The music he usually blasted was reduced to a low hum that drifted throughout the cavernous car and his driving was abnormally slow and safe- as it always was when you were present.

The moment was a perfect replica of so many late-night car rides, except your thigh lacked his strong grip on it and his face was now replaced with an anxious grimace instead of a content grin.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and willed yourself to speak. “So, how’s Wayne?”

Eddies body relaxed into his seat as your voice filled his ears. As he basked in your presence, he reminded himself that he might not have another opportunity to talk to you in such an intimate setting ever again or at least for a long time- so he needed to man up and respond.

“He’s good but tired. He picked up a bunch of late shifts for his buddy whose wife had a baby- but the extra cash is nice.”

“He ever figure out where he left is tweedy bird mug?”

Eddie grinned at the memory of the three of you ransacking the slovenly trailer for any sign of his uncle’s precious yellow mug. “Yea he brought it over to a neighbor while sharing a smoke and left it. Damn near cried when they called saying they had it.” “That man and his mugs.” You giggle out.

“How’s Steve? Heard Wheeler and him split.” Eddie cautiously inquired hoping to not drudge up any undesirable topics in the little time he had with you. You closed your eyes and sighed at the thought of your brother’s pain. “Yea it’s been difficult for him. He just doesn’t know what to do. He was sad about it and he still loves her, but he’s moved on from the initial heartbreak and he’s left in this sort of limbo right now. It’s stressing him out- and on top of that he’s trying to figure out colleges and what his plan for next year is.” You admitted to him in a word vomit- try to avoid the nitty gritty details of the breakup seeing as his situation mirrored yours and Eddies.

“Man, that’s tough. I can’t even think about my plan I just gotta see if I can make it through this semester let alone graduate or go to college.” Eddie chuckled out in a lighthearted jest. “Eddie- “

“I know I know y/n the whole shpeal about my potential. I get it and I really thank you for believing in me, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry than fucking high school right now.”

“What could be more important than trying to pass Eds?” You questioned him exasperatedly, gazing upon his profile- eyes transfixed on the road. “I can think of a few things.” he snuck a glance at you out of the corner of his eye only to be met with the sight of your cheeks dusted in a red hue- like a polaroid developing in front of his eyes. Your gaze returned to the road and you both stared at the inky night that stretched before you.

“I just want the best for you Eds. I get it’s not my place anymore, but I can’t just stop caring about you and being invested in your life like flipping a switch off. That’s not how it works.” You muttered defensively about your intrusion on his plans. “You don’t have to be sorry for caring about me y/n and certainly don’t have to ever stop.”

The car stopped moving. His statement shocked you so deeply you didn’t even realize you’d arrived home, his van parked at the edge of your lawn. The lights illuminating the windows of your home we warm and inviting- beckoning you to come inside and escape the unpleasant car ride you’d endured if only to be in Eddie’s presence for a split second. Your hand wrapped around the handle of the door, and you craned your neck around to peer at his face. You were met with an expression you’d never seen cross Eddies face before- it was one of a thousand words all trapped within the confides of his body: chest, brain, mouth, lungs, tongue.

You couldn’t discern a single thing he wanted to tell you, but you understood none the less. You turned the corners of your mouth upward in a petite smile and thanked him for the ride. He shook his head up and down wordlessly and tried to pin you to your seat in the van with his gaze. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and you exited the car- swiftly and quietly, leaving Eddie alone yet again.

He couldn’t understand what brought him to this moment. How he let his emotions get the better of him. How he let you get away from him. How he let you just walk out of his van without pleading for forgiveness and a second chance. All he knew was that the world would not be right until you were back and his arms, and he vowed to himself that he would reconcile with you if you would have him; just as soon as he worked up the balls. Which might take a while.

He sighed, rubbed his eyes in an irritated manner and put his van in drive, steering himself away from you and towards the isolation of his empty trailer.

Alone again.

________________________________________________________________

So excited for the next chapter (it’s truly so long get ready) :)))))