dynamic: best friend!eddie munson x fem!reader
rating: G
contains: internalised mental health stigma, this one's for the readers with depression, shamelessly indulgent comfort and fluff, brief alcohol mentions, eddie being the only man allowed, reader being absolutely clueless about his feelings, two idiots yearning for each other
words: 1.9k
a/n: this is my first eddie fic and i am still a baby writer so pls be gentle! reader is a cheerleader, but not popular, but not not popular either. i’ve seen fics on here where reader is either the HBIC or an outsider who gets bullied, so here’s to all of us who aren’t really either of those. not proofread and no beta, we die like alexei
You wake up with a start, feeling like an invisible monster has taken residence sitting on your chest. Something weighs heavily in your stomach as you curl into the pillow, unwilling to acknowledge the waking world or the sunlight outside. A strange ache surges through your chest as unwelcome thoughts begin to gather in your mind, dark clouds warning of an incoming storm. It gets like this more than you’d like to admit. How are you supposed to be the sunshine-filled, happy girl that everyone knows like this? How are you going to plaster a winning smile across your face and shout about victory and team spirit at practice this afternoon? Not that you’ll even be visible from your spot at the back of the formation, you suppose. You’ll spend the parts of the routine you weren’t in watching Chrissy Cunningham, an angel if there ever was one, spinning effortlessly in and out of basket tosses and laughing with the other girls. It’s not like anyone has ever been mean to you, exactly. You still go to the squad sleepovers and the drunken post-game parties with the basketball team. You’ve just… never felt like you were meant to be there. Like any second, someone will look up and realise you’re some kind of impostor, just pretending to be a pretty little doll and saying the things that girls like you should say.
Three sharp knocks jolt you out of your thoughts. Throwing your fuzzy robe and slippers on, you peek around the door to see the smirking face of Eddie Munson on your front steps. His hair is as fluffy and out of control as always, his jeans perfectly ripped at the knees. You want to bury your face into his signature leather jacket and denim vest and inhale him, like the clean smell of his body wash could fill your head instead. “Eddie,” you breathe with relief, swinging the door open fully to allow him in. “Good morning, princess! Did the lady of the house sleep well?” he asks with only a hint of irony, sweeping his gaze over your cosy attire. Your brows wrinkle into a frown. “I’m gonna caffeinate. Do you want something?” you mumble, your comfy slippers shuffling against the kitchen tiles. “Black coffee pleaaaase,” he draws out, batting his eyelashes with mock coyness like you haven’t been buying coffee just for him the past few years. You roll your eyes at him affectionately, fixing your drinks as if on autopilot like you do everyday. The weight inside you seems to ease a little as he slides into his usual spot at the dining table, drumming his ring-laden fingers against it to a beat you don’t know. It seems insanely fast and chaotic, but his familiar tapping is strangely comforting in its own way.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Your mouth twists into a funny expression. You would never lie to him exactly, but what on earth could you possibly say? I don’t know, Eddie. I get really sad sometimes for no good reason and then have to go act like a normal person for hours so people don’t think I’m some kind of emo freak. “Didn’t sleep well,” you murmur eventually, sticking your face into the entrance of your mug to avoid his knowing gaze. Eddie ceases his tapping against the table suddenly. You look up curiously. He hesitates for a moment, hand twitching outwards as if fighting some internal battle with himself. Finally he reaches across the table and wraps his hand around yours, the cold metal of his rings soothing against the heat of his palm. “You don’t have to,” Eddie begins cautiously, “but I hope you know you can talk to me, mmkay? About anything that’s on your mind.” You attempt to assuage him with a little closed-lip smile, but his grip on your hand tightens a little. “I want you to feel like you can just exist around me, y’know? Like you don’t have to please anyone except you.”
Tears suddenly flood your eyes and you blink them away angrily, swiping at your cheeks with embarrassment. He rises quickly from his chair and wraps his arms around you wordlessly, swaying you both from side to side comfortingly. You begin to cry in earnest against his shoulder. One of his hands comes up to rub soothing circles against the curve of your spine. You expect him to launch into some kind of funny monologue, or tell you everything will be okay, but he doesn’t. He just stands with you in the silence, holding you through your pain. In a way, you think this might be better than anything he could’ve said. After a few minutes of sniffling and wiping tears, your eyes begin to clear. Eddie releases you from the hug and presses his forehead into yours, clasping your tear-soaked hands with his between your bodies. “Thanks for letting me cry on you,” you chuckle with a watery voice. “Pfft,” he scoffs, waving a hand like it’s no big deal. “Better out than in.”
“What?!” you burst in surprised laughter. “That makes no sense.”
“Exactly.”
Eddie grins at you, his big brown eyes crinkled with mirth. “Now do you need a few minutes, or do you want to get going? I hear pajama chic is really hot right now.”
A smile spreads across your face, a real one this time. “Yeah, sure, I’ll just get changed and get ready really quick.” You press a soft kiss against his cheek and he collapses against the table, hand pressed dramatically against his face where you kissed him. Today he follows you up the stairs instead of waiting, skipping three at a time before face-planting like a starfish into your bed, rumpling your sheets like nobody’s business. You can’t find it in yourself to even pretend to be mad, so you wash your face and change quickly into your cheer uniform in the bathroom before coming to sit in front of your vanity. Your hand hovers over your makeup and hair products, suddenly unsure. He’s never watched you get ready before, and you can feel his curious gaze lighting up the back of your head. Comfortable silence hangs between you as you begin a minimal routine, only doing as much as your little energy allows. You spritz perfume and go to grab your backpack as you notice Eddie running a hand tenderly over your shelves. His eyes dart from an old trophy to a stack of birthday cards, seemingly committing the mundane of your myriad belongings to memory. “I like your room. It’s real pretty,” he muses softly, staring right at you. You smile at him again as he takes your hand and leads you back down the stairs.
As you shut the passenger door of his van and move to buckle your seatbelt, you pause for a moment, turning to face him.
“What’s on your mind, princess?”
You hum thoughtfully in response.
“I was thinking… can you walk me to class today?”
A grin spreads across his face as he shifts the gear stick and begins to reverse out of your driveway, arm thrown casually across the back of your seat.
“You sure about that? You wanna be associated with Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson?” he warns dryly, drumming a new beat into the back of your headrest with his fingertips. He’s always been more concerned with your reputation than you are.
“I really don’t think anyone will care. Besides, it’s not like I’m Chrissy or Heather and people actually give a shit.”
“Alright,” he agrees eventually, a skeptical expression on his face. “Just don’t be surprised if your party invites start getting lost in the mail.”
You know he’s being silly, but something about that doesn’t sit right with you. A few moments pass as you stare out the window at the familiar trees and footpaths whizzing past. “I don’t care if they do,” you blurt angrily all of a sudden. “It’s all bullshit anyway. We’ll all forget each other when we get to college.” Eddie’s eyebrows raise up and disappear behind his little fringe of frizzy hair.
“I see someone’s been paying attention to my cafeteria monologues. Biting social commentary is usually my thing.”
You tilt your head back against the seat and turn to face him. “Yeah, but… I just mean you’re the only one who actually, like, cares about me. You’ve seen me at my best and my worst and you’re still here. It’s easy to be friends with people when all you do is tumbling and getting drunk. What we have is – well it’s different.” He brakes a little harder than intended in his usual parking spot outside school. “It’s definitely… special,” Eddie replies tentatively, rubbing a hand across his jaw. “Listen, do you wanna come see me after the show on Saturday night? I know you’re not super into the shithole bar scene, but I think it could be nice to hang out.”
You nod quickly, trying not to read anything into it. “Yeah, sounds nice. Who else is coming?”
He grabs your hand suddenly and places it over his heart. “I’m dying here, angel. Help a guy out.”
You huff with laughter. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, y’know. Us. Hanging out. After the show.”
You side-eye him strangely. “Okay, yeah, I mean, we hang out every morning. I don’t see why not-”
“Like a date!” he bursts suddenly. Oh.
Oh.
Bravery rises up within you. You move your hand from his chest to cup his cheek where you’d kissed it earlier this morning. “That sounds really nice, Eddie,” you tell him softly. His big brown eyes meet yours and you think you might dissolve on the spot like sugar into tea. You make a point of hooking your arm around his as the two of you navigate the main hallway, attracting a couple of odd looks, but no one says anything about it. “See, I told you,” you point out, nudging him with your shoulder. “It’s not a big deal.” You both come to a stop outside your first class of the day.
“Well it’s a pretty big deal to me,” he responds with a toothy smile, guiding you backwards against a nearby locker and placing his hand by your head. Something deep within flutters delightfully at the way he cages you in. More of your classmates stream past the two of you, giving you a few more strange looks before greeting their friends like normal. You pull him into a hug suddenly. “You have a good day now,” you tell him sternly, smooshing your cheek into his chest. Eddie places a small kiss to the top of your head.
“Yes ma’am, I promise. Give Jason my love.”
You swat at him playfully, your heart considerably fuller than it had been when you woke up. The storm inside you might not ever really disappear forever, but you know that each one will pass eventually. And with each one, you know Eddie will be there.
#(。♥‿ ♥。)
bonus:
Blackpool Railings, 1951. Bert Hardy. Silver gelatin fibre print.
“Sweet, sweet burn of sun and summer wind, and you my friend, my new fun thing, my summer fling.” ~ K.D. Lang
pairing: eddie munson x reader (no prns)
word count: 3.9k
content: spoiler free, sex but no smut (i'm struggling to commit to smut), tutor troupe, swearing, smoking, drinking, my rusty writing and horrible attempt to write from the r-r-r-readers perspective 🤢 also tw the reader is good at math
summary: after hooking up with eddie munson 3 seperate times in a month and never talking about it, you somehow get stuck tutoring him.
a/n: im alive i promise. are any of my followers alive? no. but i am.
Hooking up with Eddie Munson was a one time thing.
Ok, maybe, a two time thing.
Well, if you were being honest with yourself, it was a three time thing. Three times in one month.
It was supposed to happen once.
Never once did you anticipate ever speaking to Eddie ever again after walking up to him at Vicki Carmicheal’s party. When he stepped closer, his alcohol-tainted breath fanning on you, you guessed he thought the same. You didn’t even think you would remember the night when you closed the gap.
—
“Eddie Munson, stay after class.”
Thankful that you weren't in Eddie’s shoes, you gathered your stuff to leave school for the day with the rest of the class.
“Oh,” your teacher’s eyes left his laptop to scan over the room, “And Y/n L/n.”
—
At the bonfire, when your blurred vision picked up the brown curls of Eddie Munson, you attempted to ignore heat that surged across your body. You blamed it on the alcohol. You blamed the way his chest wavered as he locked his eyes with you on the alcohol. Alcohol is what guided your hands under his shirt and what pushed his body flush to yours. You would blame a lot of what you did that night on the alcohol.
—
A tense silence stuffed the classroom as you, Eddie, and your teacher sat awkwardly across from each other. Eddie was intensely avoiding eye contact and you tried to keep your leg from bouncing as you all waited for somebody to speak.
“Mr. Munson,” your teacher started, “You, my boy, have the lowest grade out of any student of Hawkens High enrolled in Algebra 2.” He let his statement linger in the air, allowing the both of you to absorb his words, then, he continued.
“But, since I really do believe in you, I’ve taken it upon myself to get you a tutor until your grade has improved.”
You could practically see Eddie's face curl up in anguish.
“Am I not allowed to pick my own?”
Your teacher shook his head slowly, “No. I have picked out the perfect candidate.”
—
When you heard Eddie Munson was coming to Hagan’s new years party, you couldn’t deny the flutter of excitement that had danced around your chest. His being tainted your head as you got ready, your eyes trained to how he would see you. A flash of him interrupted every blink. His voice whispered in your ear. Ghosts of touch lingered on your skin.
When you finally got to the party, your eyes dodged every other person there, since they were desperately darting around. Music pumped through your veins as you grabbed a cup of whatever was in the punch bowl, eyes still scanning the room. Downing it as fast as you could, you let the buzz of the booze wash over you and resumed your search. A glimpse of leather, a black and white baseball tee, a flash of red. Finally, he was in frame.
Your breath caught as his eyes slowly moved over your form, shyly meeting your own. Multi-colored lights glided across his body, his white shirt so shear the ink of his tattoos could be seen through it. Music drowned out your heartbeat. You could feel the blush that crawled up your cheeks, Eddie's own color reflected back. Carefully, you let one foot float in front of the other and walked over to Eddie. Alcohol already fusing with your body, you let your hand casually hook around his belt loop. Using your new connection, you guided him out of the house, a smirk pulling on the corner of Eddie’s lip as he let you lead.
“Not even gonna say hi first,” he scoffed, hands raised.
“We can talk when I’m high,” you countered, sitting down behind Mr. Hagan’s shed, and desperately attempting to cover up your flustered expression from the adrenalin.
Eddie dawned a faux-concerned expression. “I think this drug problem is getting really serious.”
“Shut up Munson.”
His smirk reformed as he pulled out that stupid rusty box, and rummaged through it until he found a pre and a lighter. After straightening it out a bit, he gently placed the joint between his teeth. Each satisfying swipe of the lighter dragged your eyes down to his lips. The flame that danced over the sides of the joint lured your gaze to stray from Eddie’s deep eyes to focus on his mouth as he exhaled a puff of smoke, letting some stream into his nose.
After a couple more hits, he held the joint out to you between two fingers, glazed eyes watching the stars. You gratefully accepted it, attempting to clear your mind of the vision of the moonlight cascading down his face, sculpting each dip and grove. You breathed deep when your lips were sealed around the filter, letting the smoke fill your lungs. Each hit brought you back to him. Back to how close you were seated, how his leg felt against yours, how he'd begun to slide his hand closer to you.
His hand lingered above your exposed thigh, just grazing it with the skin of his palm. Chills swept down your legs as the cool metal of his rings brushed across your skin, and you could feel the curve of his satisfied smile at your reaction as he leaned into your shoulder. His hand carefully curled around your leg, slowly gliding its way up.
“What are you doing Eddie,” you whispered.
He replied lowly, so close you could feel each syllable against your skin as they left his lips, “Whatever you want me to.”
—
The sound of yours and Eddie's shoes against the deserted linoleum of the school hallways was unnerving. Binders and spiral notebooks dug into your skin as you gripped them, hands white knuckled and clammy. You could just barely feel the denim of his jacket brush against your arm, and you half wished he would move further away as you walked.
You had to tutor Eddie fucking Munson. Your teacher hadn’t spared either of you a moment before sending you off to the library, giving you just enough time to overthink the next hour.
It wasn’t easy being near Eddie. You two had never interacted outside of sex, and it was difficult to interact normally, acting as if nothing had happened. But what were you supposed to say? How do you approach a conversation about that? Not even just that though, how do you approach any conversation with somebody you’ve never even spoken to outside of sex? You’ve never even had a conversation with him sober. Was he even going to listen to you teach? Would his whole view and respect for you be skewed? And how on earth were you supposed to talk to him when such a striking mix of weed and cologne permanently emanated from him. Your brain probably wouldn’t even work well enough to teach him math.
He seemed fine. That familiar stupid smirk hung on his face as he held the library door open for you with a flourish.
The thank you said in return probably counted more as mouthing than speaking.
Acutely aware of his intense gaze on you, you awkwardly led him to one of the old chipped tables in the corner of the library, far away from any remaining students. Your chair creaked as you pulled it out, breaking the silence you and Eddie had been drowned in since you left class. You finally unclamped your hands from around your notebooks and began to lay them out on the table busily while Eddie fished around in his pocket for something.
Turns out it was a singular dull pencil without an eraser.
“Alright,” you said uncertainly, sitting down and trying to organize your brain, “Um… where do you want to start?”
“You’re the teacher here, where should we start?”
Of course he was gonna make this difficult.
“Ok. Fine.” You shuffled your papers around, not really for any reason, just to bide yourself some time. “Do you have any questions about today’s lesson?”
His face instantly slipped into a deep troubled pondering expression. One that was much too dramatic for Eddie to be serious. “What did we learn?”
“Matrices and transition graphs,” you almost deadpanned.
Gears began to visibly turn in his head, and he muttered, “Matrices and transition graphs… ahh…”
“You have no clue what those are, do you?”
“Not one.”
You sighed, not even shocked, not even angry. It was honestly sort of tough to conceal your smile.
“I'm going to be your tutor for a while, aren't I."
He shot you a grin, “Only if I have it my way.”
—
Tutoring Eddie Munson was alright.
That’s what you told to anybody who asked.
In reality, tutoring Eddie Munson was much more than alright.
You had never really ever been around somebody like him. He exuded a disconcerting aire of cocky but comforting, cool but offbeat. At every moment when you thought that he would finally upset you, he would wheel in the exact opposite direction, driving your emotions through a startlingly enjoyable route.
Shockingly, he was pretty easy to talk to. Never once did your past encounters get brought up, which you were endlessly grateful for, and he treated you just like any of his friends, with respect and kindness, which could not be said for some of your other past hookups. He said hi to you in the halls and smiled at you from across classes, he learned your favorite music and what food you hated, he made an effort to know you. Tutoring him barely felt like work. Most of the time that you spent teaching him math was overlaid with chatting mindlessly and giggling as he tried to secretly count on his fingers. Sometimes you could waste whole tutoring sessions listening to some grand dramatic story he told as he bounded around your table, morphing into different characters and voices, putting on a full one-man show before you.
He was also, completely and utterly, gorgeous.
The way his hair draped delicately over his shoulder, how his necklaces dangled from his skin as he leaned over the table, when he would tilt his head to the side as he listened, the glimpses of his tattoos. Every word you spoke and every syllable you uttered had his undivided attention as you talked, big brown eyes gazing at you, taking in every feature.
On cloud-free days, the sun would beam down through the tall library windows onto the dark oak of the table you had both claimed and would reflect off of the silver of his rings. They would glint distractingly as Eddie wrote, catching your eye at every shift. It happened so often you had now memorized his usual jewelry selections. A great ugly boar rested on his middle finger, accompanied by one skull ring on either side. On his other hand, an ornate ring with patterns that curled up the side and cradled a deep blue stone in the center.
He knew you were staring at his hands, but you didn’t care.
His unflinching reaction towards your gaze gave you just enough of a push to one day ask, “Could I… try on one of your rings?”
His eyebrows raised in shock, “You want to wear my jewelry? This is quite out of character…” He flashed a toothy grin at you from across the table, “I love it.”
“Thanks for reminding me how much you love the real me,” you deadpanned, ignoring the excitement that was bubbling up your chest.
“Forever and always,” another shining grin, “Now…” he said dramatically, face suddenly darkening, “Which one will you choose… your whole reputation depends on this one decision.” He waved his hands around with a flourish. “Will you still have your student’s respect after this? Will anybody ever talk to you again? We will see..” His hands stilled in front of you, and he held them out to give you a clear view of each band.
You put one hand up to your chin, miming contemplating the choice, and let your other hand drop down to his own, taking one finger and guiding it across his knuckles. His chest completely stilled.
“Hmmm…”
Your finger came to a halt over the intricate ring with the blue jewel. Eddie’s smile reformed and he faintly exhaled as your finger lost contact with his skin.
“Good choice,” he said, not looking up at you. His eyes were trained at his own hand, slowly twisting the band off of his ring finger. They continued to avoid yours as, to your surprise, he didn’t give you the ring after he had freed it from his own finger.
He took your right hand in his, his skin gently curving around your own, and brought his thumb beneath your ring finger, lifting it above the others. Your chest began to heat up at the delicacy with which he delivered this, and you urgently tried to blot out the earlier instances when Eddie had held you with the same touch. It felt like he was barely grazing your skin, and yet you could feel, with a searing intensity, each joint of each of his fingers shifting under your flesh, curling and stilling around you.
Chills shot up your spine as the cool metal of the chosen ring finally met your skin, and at last, Eddie raised his eyes to meet your own. They remained riveted on yours as his fingers guided the band down your finger and, though the ring was fully fastened, his fingers remained resting against your skin. He let them stray up, delicately brushing against you as he cradled your hand.
The raw air chilled your skin when he drew away.
You’re grateful he didn't say anything when you left that session with the ring still fixed around your finger, because you don’t think you could’ve gone through that again anytime soon.
That night, you slept thinking of Eddie’s touch.
—
The issue with Eddie was, despite your best efforts, he would never leave your thoughts. Every sense was occupied non stop by his smell, his voice, his gaze. Intoxicatingly, you overdosed on every part of him, eventually giving up on blocking his presence and allowing him to consume each and every thought you produced.
He seemed to know that even after you left him, he remained a permanent fixture in your mind. It was written in his smug smile and his playful jabs, the knowing.
His presence was so constant that it must’ve been on purpose.
Each little thing. Him using your pencil casually during school, knowing you could see. Never mentioning the ring that still lay on your finger, allowing you the chance to keep it. The glances down your being as you passed, catching him staring across the class, touches that lasted far too long. He wanted you to be thinking of him.
There were nights when you, under the golden light of your desk lamp, would open your notebook to doodles dotted around the edges of your paper, snuck in while you were focused on something else. The pages of anything you brought to tutoring were lined with cartoonish devils and creatures with many legs and sharp teeth that lined their roaring mouths that Eddie had thought up. Vines curled around the lining of the page, and a little mix-matched group of elvis and wizards dashed across the top margin. In the very bottom corner, tucked between a crude drawing of a smiling clown and an ornate sword, was a drawing he seemed to have put a bit more time into.
The more you examined it, the stronger that recognizable heat radiated across your chest. It was a bust's profile, with the head tilted slightly down and brows furrowed in concentration, pen carefully structuring the swooping bridge of a nose and curvature of lips.
It wasn't flawless, but there was no mistaking that it was you.
That night, you slept thinking of Eddie’s thoughts.
—
Eddie’s math grades had actually begun to improve, and in class you watched with pride as he started to listen to your teacher, sometimes even taking notes. He would show you his math tests with a huge smile, genuinely excited to see how you would react at his new shiny high score.
Mid-way through April, he sauntered into the library, horribly concealing the giddy expression that was forming on his face and a hand behind his back.
You inquired, your face beginning to reflect his smile, "Something terrible happen to you, Ed?"
“Oh it’s nothing,” he said, drifting around the table as if he was wandering through a lush garden, “just… this!” and the hand that had been hidden behind his back whipped out to reveal a paper with a great red “93%” scrawled on it.
“Eddie!” you sprung out of your chair and ran over to where he was to snatch the paper out of his hand. “This is fucking g-”
But before you could finish your sentence, he flung his arms around you and drew you into a hug. “I’m a genius now, thanks to you,” he whispered into your ear, as you brought your arms up to loop around his back.
“You don't even need me anymore,” you whispered back, trying to fight the urge to bury your head into the crook of his neck.
Eddie pulled away abruptly, looking at you as if you had just slid a knife into his chest. “Don’t you try and get rid of me.” His face was inches from yours, hands dropping to rest against your hips instead of fully pulling away. You let your head tilt to the side gently.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
He shook his head with a faux-anxious aire, “I’m gonna have to start failing my tests again so that you can’t escape, aren’t I?”
You could barely even focus on what he was saying because of how vividly you were aware of how his hands rested against your jeans, how you could smell the weed in his hair and the leather of his jacket, how he hadn’t broken eye contact since he pulled from the hug.
His smile had finally returned to his face, he had gone off on some tangent and was animatedly talking, clearly still giddy from his test score. That smile had become a very important part in your life as of late. They weren’t rare or extreme, but they were somehow better every time.
That night, you slept thinking of Eddie’s being.
—
Liking Eddie Munson was hard.
Eddie Munson sticks to what he knows. Eddie Munson gets bored easily. Eddie Munson won’t ask you out.
You knew he was going to Steve Harington’s birthday party. You didn’t know how he even managed to get invited but you knew he was going. And he knew that you were going too.
But when you got to Steve’s house, he was nowhere to be found. You had spent the first 30 minutes, walking around and making brief conversation with people as you half-searched for Eddie. As you made your way around the house, still unable to find him, you began asking people off-handedly if they had seen the freak (under the pretext of giving him his math homework back). The few answers that you received that weren’t weird looks got you nowhere, and eventually you found yourself finally just aimlessly roaming through the upper floors of the Harringtons' house.
It was useless. The top level was completely empty, save for a rather awkward encounter with Nancy and Steve as they were leaving his bedroom, and you knew it was time to leave. At the very least, you needed some fresh air if you weren't going to entirely go, so you returned to the first floor and into the foyer.
You flung the front door open with a huff and your eyes landed on a figure that was standing on the porch of the house across the street. Cigarette haze clouded around him, catching the moonlight in its smoke and giving him an almost dreamlike glow as he let his head hang back. Despite yourself, you let his name fall from your lips, shouting across the empty street, “Eddie?”
He casually swung himself around to face you, eyes foggily making their way to meet your own, lighting up as they cleared. A smile had begun to spread across his face and he lifted up his hand to beckon you to him. Slowly, you floated across the abandoned road and up the few stairs to the neighbors porch, leaning over the balcony railing and basking in the cool spring night that you both found yourself in. Eddie gently leaned his back against it, taking a drag from his half finished cigarette as he did so.
“Do you wanna go on a walk with me?”
You didn’t try to hide the grin that tugged at your lips. “Where to?”
“Just around,” he said with a shrug and a smile, and he set off, one hand deep in his pocket and smoke billowing from his lips. Following behind him, you quickly caught up and paced beside Eddie, melting into the mix of collonge and cigarettes that exuded from him.
The faint murmur of music could still be heard coming from the street, pumping adrenaline and impulse through your bones as if it was the cold itself. You, again, could feel the leather of Eddie's jacket brushing against your bare arm, static branching from the skin. Lonely street lamp’s glow glinted on the shining leather and in the brown of his averted eyes.
Eddie broke the silence first, eyes trained at the stars.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.” He let out some smoke with a puff.
It took you a while to recover enough words to form a sentence in reply and, thankful for Eddie's avoidance of eye contact, you let yourself breath before giving an answer.
“What… about me?” You tried to come off as nonchalant but you could tell he could hear the tenseness dripping off your voice.
“About” and it was his turn to waver now, sucking in an uneven breath that you could only just hear, “your… whole being.”
He pushed his head into his hands and let out a laugh. An actual, honest, almost desperate, laugh. “Every waking moment I’ve ever spent with you,” he continued, “Every word you’ve ever spoken, every time you’ve ever looked in my direction.” With each word he spoke he seemed to be in less and less control of what he was saying, more and more frenzied.
You hadn’t moved. You stood stagnant, in the middle of the empty street, streetlights spotlighting you and him, blacking out the rest of the world into dark expanse, and stared at Eddie Munson as he said words you couldn’t dream of and looked at you like he never had before.
As Eddie stood just inches before you, a lock of hair caught between his teeth, looking at you for a response with worry etched deep in his features. You knew what you wanted to say, and when you breathed in and readied to reply, you just hoped it would come out how you wanted it to.
“Eddie,” you reached out and took his hand, “Would you go on a date with me?”
The worry that had felt so ingrained in his face dropped at all at once, and he gazed at you, lips slightly parted and eyes wide.
“Did you mean that?” he whispered, so softly it was barely audible.
You let your forehead meet his, “Of course.”
When he spoke again his voice came out almost strained, as if he was trying to stay calm, "Then yes, yes, yes-" and, finally, he closed the gap between your lips, cupping your face and pressing against you like it was the last thing he would ever do.
And in that glorious moment it became very clear to you, hooking up with Eddie Munson was definitely not a one time thing.
During band introductions Elvis accidentally knocks over his Gatorade by pulling on the microphone cord. Las Vegas, Nevada. August 12, 1970. Dinner show
Part 2 of this Eddie fic :)
Uh duh. Thanks to everyone who loved it so much!! Slow burn🤪
I never realized how boring my life is without Eddie constantly bugging me- and flirting with me- nearly every single day.
Since the minute we both hit puberty and had the “birds and the bees” talk- awkwardly- with his uncle, we’d always looked at each other in a different way and we’ve always been bashful and flirty. Always.
But weeks have passed since I've seen Eddie, since I've spoken to him in any way other than quick glances shared in the hallway. This wasn’t us being bashful and giddy around each other, this was genuine fear on both sides to talk about what had happened.
Maybe it was because I implied that I wanted to kiss him- to feel his lips against me in more ways than one- and maybe he got nervous after his uncle came home almost immediately after I openly commented about his talented mouth.
But this is possibly the longest we've gone without talking to one another, even in the midst of the rest of our friend group and at Hellfire.
The group has definitely picked up on the added tension between the two of us, realizing that something must've happened between us but I'm sure they don't realize the extent of what happened. That Eddie openly dirty talked me into a pool of submission and arousal- that he made me want to rip his clothes off then and there, to draw noises out of him that I’ve only dreamed about. I can only imagine that they would never understand the way Eddie spoke to me and how it made me feel- the words he said to me that had my mind turning to mush, the words that play on an instant repeat in my mind.
"I wonder how wet I can get you just by talking to you like this."
"Do you think about my fingers, my rings?"
"So needy, pining for your best friend."
I shiver and turn in my seat to look back at Eddie as he stares down at his history textbook, his tongue sticking out in concentration. He's been trying to do better in all of his classes lately, wanting nothing more than to graduate with me this year, but it's now me who struggles to pay attention in class. My mind is in the gutter and swimming with thoughts of talking to him- fucking him, to be frank.
Suddenly, he looks up and freezes, his lips parting in quiet shock at the sight of my eyes locked on him. I send him a small wave, pulling a soft smile out of him as he shifts in his seat, sending me back a tight lipped smile. I nod towards the door, watching his brows pull together in gentle, boyish confusion. Raising my hand without giving him another moment to ponder, the teacher sighs and she calls on me.
"May I go to the bathroom?"
By the time Eddie finally frees himself of the confines of class and stumbles out of the school, spotting me leaning against his van, he looks frustrated. His hands are shoved in his pocket and his breath reflects in the cold air.
"Are you kidding- get your ass in the van, you're gonna freeze your ass off, kid." He mutters unlocking the van and pushing me into the slightly warmer vehicle. I immediately crawl under the blankets that he has folded in the back, watching him shut the door tightly and relax against the wall. His eyes are demanding yet soft, his gaze trailing over me, almost asking 'well?'.
"I know we've been avoiding each other since, uh..." I trail off, flashbacks riddling my brain as his cheeks flush. He looks away from me quickly, clearing his throat and he pulls a blanket over his lap. "I miss you and I'm sorry if I ruined anything by being pesky." I huff, feeling better after apologizing but feeling even more confused when he looks physically pained at the thought of me feeling guilty for all of this.
"Fuck- you didn't ruin anything, babe- I just didn't know you felt that way about me." My heart leaps at the pet name, my tongue slipping out to wet my lips as they continue to dry. "I didn't know you wanted to know me like that." I crave you like that. There's a soft, bashful smile on his lips and I scoff, shaking my head incredulously.
"You genuinely didn't realize that I wanted you like that?" My question seems to take him off guard, his brows lifting in shock at my forwardness.
"Is that really how you feel?" He asks, moving towards me as he scoots to sit between my legs. His voice comes out breathless, as if he's been holding onto that question for years, a weight lifting from his shoulder as his hand reaches out to rest on my knee.
"I wouldn't have put myself out there if I didn't want you." I whisper, lowering my gaze from his. "I was just too embarrassed to make a move o-or ask you if you felt a similar way-"
"I do- fuck, I always have." He laughs, reaching out towards me to place a hand on my knee. "I've wanted to talk to you, the last few weeks, I mean. But I was terrified that you just closed up on me and would never want to look at me again." He huffs exasperatedly, with a shy smile, his brows twitching anxiously. I bite my tongue for a few moments, looking over his nervous frame wondering where my confident best friend went. Did I seriously turn him into an anxious, boyish bundle of stress?
"I've been looking at you." I whisper, my voice quivering as his eyes lift, gazing up at me through his dark lashes. He waits for a moment, waiting for me to go on and the comfortable silence he offers me only makes me want to go on. "Thinking about you."
"Thinking about what?" He asks, barely giving me a chance to add onto my statement. I just clear my throat and push the blanket off of me, stalking across the van to slide down into his lap. He doesn't argue, just wraps his arms around my waist. He looks up at me with a teasing look but there's a sense of sincerity behind his dark hues.
"Being close to you again." I let out a brief sigh of relief, playing with the ends of his curls.
"What else?" He asks, leaning down to gently press a kiss to my exposed collarbone, a shiver running down my spine but not from the cold- no, I couldn't be more warm.
"You kissing me." I grin, my head tipping back to allow his lips to venture further up the column of my throat. He chuckles against my skin and grips at my waist, my head spinning from arousal.
"Where?"
"Everywhere." I giggle, loving the laugh that rumbles in his chest. He pulls back to look up at me, brows pulled together, feigning confusion with a shit-eating grin.
"Is that an offer?" He gasps, pulling me even more flush against him with a wicked look in his eyes. I just groan, my hands gripping onto his shoulders as words escape me.
"Please."
"Oh so it's not an offer, it's you begging." He teases, his lips skimming against mine ever-so slightly with no intent of kissing me until I tell him what I want- which is him. So simple and so plain but I can't seem to vocalize it, the words getting stuck on the tip of my tongue. Instead, one word comes out.
"Eddie..." He shushes me mockingly, reaching up to takes my cheeks in his hands, his eyes flickering back and forth between mine.
"Patience, sweetheart. You know I'd never leave you hanging."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Taglist: @bubblebuttwade @rafelover2405 @leslienjazzy @sorceresss @grxnde-dwt @alex–awesome–22 @bunnietoof @niyamar1e @serialghost @plantlungs @geniusohn @akaliltimmytim @lilaalouuxx @xshariex @elliotsbeigeguitar @elle4404 @lelieja @srhxpci @joselyn001 @taysirene @spinkspanther @thedivineuphoria @peter-maximoffs @tsukishimawhore @poohkie90 @szlaco @distantsighs @nstyles4299 @wolflover384 @givemefoodandlovesstuff @vane2828 @yeswhatever33 @amirrahfranson @vvaalleennttiinna @f-mu @yaspillz @jeyramarie @skylievin@abbybarnes17 @jointherebellion215 @visiondaddy @steezysimfinds @its-ya-gay-boi-luigi
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i don't wanna be on my phone but i need my phone to figure out where i'm going on a walk and i need my phone to get to my audiobook and i need my phone to call my brother and i need my phone to get in touch with my friends which is fine but i don't want to be on my phone.
so i walk and that's fine and i'm using the phone in an okay-way in that moment. but sometimes i am using the phone like it is a weapon and that's stupid because no it's not. ive seen a weapon those are different this is a phone. but it's also in my hands until 2 AM and i haven't slept. at 4AM. i don't even mean to do it half the time i'm opening the phone to check the weather or to check my email which are things-that-are-okay but then i am in my phone for hours somehow, and i missed the dawn while i was on instagram. i don't even like instagram.
i don't want to be on my phone im not good at it so i try to put distance there but then i'm distancing myself from my friends. we meet up in person but my pictures are on my phone and the menu is on the phone (mon dieu) and so is venmo. so i need the phone to be with my friends and that's fine because it can record concerts and fun activities and i can take pictures of them smiling with pumpkins.
but i don't want to be on the phone because i go to look at the pictures of the pumpkins and i hate how i look in it but it's fine. and somewhere between the pumpkins and 3AM i have lost so much time. i don't even know what i'm doing on it only that i don't enjoy it any longer. it is this long blank void. forever and ever. restless like how mushrooms feel restless beside a dead body.
i don't want to be on my phone so i pick up the phone and i type into google things to do in my area and i save them to my phone and i'll need my phone to get to the tickets and i'll need my phone to book the appointment and i'll need it, i'll need it
Eddie x Fem reader.
Summary: After an argument, you’re determined to prove Eddie is wrong about you. You decided you’re going to Jason Carver’s party alone. Eddie is set on finding you, worried what kind of situation you might find yourself in. He quickly realizes how right he was to worry and convinces you to leave with him. (Mentions of drinking and potentially violent situations.)
Shit! Shit! Shit! Eddie forcefully smacked his hand against the steering wheel. How the fuck am I supposed to find her? Roll down the windows and call her name like goddamn Lassy? Eddie’s van tore down the pavement, Dio at top volume as he wracked his brain on where you might be. She wouldn’t really be at Jason’s would she? The two of you made fun of Jason all the time. In fact, Eddie loved to climb onto tables, giving his best impression and interpretations of Jason’s speeches. Your favorite being his ‘where is the clitoris?’ speech. He’d mimic the hand gestures and all, his shaggy hair shaking wildly. ‘WE CAN FIND IT! If it exists. EITHER WAY WE’RE NOT GIVING UP!’ He literally had you laughing so hard you were in tears. That was a proud moment for Eddie. No way she’d go….but if she wanted to get back at me she would.
Given all the popular hangout spots were closed for the night, Jason’s house was the best lead. Problem was, Eddie had no idea where Jason lived. He was perfectly happy with that guy taking up as little space in his brain as possible. He wasn’t sure if it was his disdain for him and his basketball buddies or Holy Diver rattling the interior of the van, but he was now a man on a mission. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and laid on the gas. He’d drive all over Hawkins if he had to. Has she even drank before? Ugh, she’s probably a light weight too. He was certain if he didn’t find you soon enough, you’d be throwing your guts up in a bush somewhere. Which to Eddie, seemed like more fun than studying for biology. But it wasn’t something he wanted for you.
He found himself somewhere he wasn’t too familiar with. White two story houses with paved driveways and well maintained lawns. It’s gotta be around here. He cut the music and began scanning the area. It didn’t take too long to find. He came upon a modestly immaculate home. Through the trees he could see plastic cups littering the yard and teens smoking in the driveway. The thump of music could be heard coming from inside the house. Yep, this is definitely it. Eddie switched off the engine and began making his way to the house. He assumed there would be a few people there less than happy to see him. He just prayed you weren’t one of them.
The closer he got to the house, the more familiar the faces in the driveway became. Clients. One was a regular, Tate. Tate was a stand-up guy. Very punctual and genuinely pleasant during their transactions. Eddie was a little shocked to see him there. As he looked around, he noticed the crowd wasn’t entirely what he expected. He imagined testosterone filled, wannabe frat-boys everywhere. This seemed way less hostile. Band geeks, science nerds. And now, Eddie the Freak.
“EDDIE? NO WAY! You’re here?! NOW it’s a party!” Tate exclaimed, the light from the house driving the shadows away from Eddie’s clean, shaven face. His brown eyes darted from one group to another. He could feel their heads turning in his direction. It was so nice of Tate to alert everyone of his arrival, but he would’ve much preferred to be in and out without notice.
Eddie took a slight bow. “Don’t get too excited. I’m off the clock. No goody bags.”
“…Well that sucks. BUT it’s still gooda see you, man.” Tate swayed as he slurred. Sweet kid. Eddie was glad he was having a good time.
“Hey, you know y/n, right? Is she uh- is she here?” He questioned Tate hopefully.
“Oh yea, shesin the house. But if you’re looking to spend some quality time with her, you’re prolly gonna have to wait in line. Andy has been barking up that tree aaall night.”
That son of a bitch. Eddie patted Tate on the back as if to thank him for his service before storming towards the door. He just knew that basketball prick was up to something. The closer he got, the harder his heart pounded. Through the door, he encountered a sea of people. Some happily surprised to see him. Others snickering and undoubtedly whispering to their friends about him or cracking jokes. Not that he cared. He was only there for you. He began pushing and weaving through the hoards trying to find you. He tried to call your name but it was instantly lost in the pulsating music and endless chatter.
“Watch where the hell you’re going!” An all too friendly party-goer sounded as he was accidentally nudged. Eddie offered up his hands to show no offense. This was impossible! The house was sizable to say the least and there were too many people. He struggled to think of where to start. If I were a drunk girl at a party…where would I be? Eddie pondered this for a second, someone’s elbow digging into his side as he squeezed through. Kitchen. Always the kitchen. He could see the white glow of light reflecting off tile and into the hall from where he was standing. Not much further.
————
“Let me pour you another.” Andy was way too close to you for Eddie’s comfort. From the doorway he could see the two of you.
“A-another? I feel like I’ve had a lot. Things are getting a little spinny.” An involuntary chuckle escaped your lips. At first you liked the way the alcohol made you feel. Your muscles loosened. Your body felt warm. So warm in fact, Andy took the liberty of helping you out of your jacket. But after about the third or fourth drink, things started feeling too surreal. Almost dreamy. You felt the cold envelope you hands as Andy filled your cup once more. You weren’t entirely sure what you had been drinking, but it was sweet, pink and citrusy.
“Why do I never see you at any of the games?” Andy brushed a piece of hair behind your ear before letting his hand rest on your upper arm. His palm run up to your shoulder and slyly, he slid a finger under the strap of your dress. If you had your wits about you, you probably would’ve slapped him or at least told him off. But you weren’t even sure if what was happening was real. How could it be? Andy coming onto you at Jason’s Carver’s house. That was some alternate reality shit. You shyly tried to pull your shoulder to your ear to break the contact, but lost your balance as your head swiveled. “Whoa, careful.” Andy laughed, moving his hands to your hips to steady you. He kept them there. It didn’t feel right, but your inebriated brain lacked the coherency to understand why or protest it.
You were visibly drunk. Your cheeks flushed pink and head heavy. Eddie knew with one look. Your body language was entirely different than your usual. Even so, he could see your discomfort towards Andy’s advances. His blood boiled under his skin as he watched him put his hands on you. He didn’t look half as drunk as you were. How fucking dare he think he can take advantage. No way that was happening. Eddie unapologetically shoved through the remainder of the crowd to get to you.
“Eddie?” You were so confused. You weren’t sure if it was really him or some girl with a similar haircut. It took a second for your vision to settle. Wait- Nope, definitely Eddie. “Wh-why are you-“
“Get your fucking hands off her, man.” His voice was low and gravely. Quick and biting. In one forceful motion, he grabbed The arm of Andy’s letterman jacket and ripped his hand off your waist. His sweaty palm leaving a wrinkle on your delicate dress.
“You got a problem, Freak?” Andy stiffened his posture. He turned away from you, giving Eddie his full attention. “Is this your girl?”
As quick as the flick of a lighter, Eddie’s eyes shot to you. There was something there, but you couldn’t read him in your state. “N-No, she-“
“Then I suggest you back off, Freak.” He punctuated the sentence with a shove to Eddie’s leather clad shoulder. But Eddie didn’t flinch. He barely budged. His eyes grew wild and dark. You’d never seen him like this. His nostrils flared and jaw clenched. Andy stepped closer and puffed his chest as if trying to instigate a reaction. You looked down and saw Eddie’s ringed hand curling into a tight fist. He was volatile. You felt like he could take him honestly, but one swing and Eddie would be jumped. Andy would definitely have backup nearby. You weakly placed your hand over his fist.
“Eddie, don’t.”
“Get your jacket. I’m taking you home.” You didn’t protest. He continued staring daggers into Andy, refusing to break eye contact.
“You really leaving with this guy, y/n?”
You ignored the question, allowing Eddie to drape your jacket over your exposed shoulders, eyes still locked on Andy. You’d never seen him look so intense or intimidating. It was kinda scary. Andy shook his head in disbelief. Munson had swooped in and stole you right out of his hands. “Whatever.” He huffed. Surprisingly, he let it go and skulked away. It was a relief. Things could’ve gotten messy. As you tried to walk away with your friend, you struggled to keep even footing. Why was it suddenly so hard to walk like a normal person? You nearly tripped over your own feet.
“I got you.” His voice was almost a whisper. He leaned down to drape your arm over his shoulder, his other arm around your waist. Maybe it was because he was familiar or maybe you could feel the difference of intentions, but his touch felt way more comfortable than Andy’s. You could smell his cologne mixed with the smoke of his last cigarette. Weirdly pleasant. “Let’s get you the hell out of here.” You leaned into your friend, the leather of his jacked sticking to your cheek. With closed eyes, you let him guide you back to the van.
————
For a while you drove in silence. You thought maybe he was pissed at you. Every so often you could feel him look at you, but you were too embarrassed to meet his eyes. You imagined the looks he gave you would either rack you with guilt or tear through you like paper. Such an idiot. The alcohol in your system felt amplified in the dark of the van. The road ahead you felt winding and barely recognizable.
“…You okay?” He finally spoke.
“Myeah, I’m fine. Woozy is’all.” You spoke quietly to conserve what energy you felt you had left. The silence overtook the two of you again. You could feel there was something else he wanted to ask, but he almost seemed afraid to.
“…..he didn't….he didn’t like-“ Eddie bit at his thumb and nervously shifted his focus between the road and you.
“No…no, that was as far as it went.” You looked down at the wrinkle on your dress. You wondered what might’ve happened if Eddie hadn’t have shown up when he did. “But I’m glad you were there.”
The air felt heavy with a tension you may have even struggled to grasp while sober. “You were that mad at me?” Eddie’s eyebrows pinched together as he spoke.
“I just wanted to prove you wrong. But I guess I fucked up. Probably ruined your night.”
”Ruined my night? Are you kidding? I got to crash Jason Carver’s house party and leave with the hottest girl there.” His toned lifted to it’s natural state, clearing away some of the edge you felt. He couldn’t have meant that. You smirked and rolled your eyes. “….you do look nice though.” His face softened as he eyed you up and down in your party dress. He had never seen you in something like that. His gaze lingered momentarily on the hem of the skirt, slightly raised, resting against your skin. It wasn’t a hungry look. Still, he quickly pulled his eyes back up to the road as if he was committing sin. “So is this a new look for you?”
“No. After tonight it returns to the back of the closet.” You preferred your jeans and T-shirts. “So…where are we going exactly?”
“Um, I’m taking you back home?”
“Nononono. I can’t do that. I told my parents I was staying with a friend. My dad has a nose like a bloodhound, okay. If-If he catches me sneaking back in, he’ll know right away. I-I can’t.” You we’re in full protest of the idea.
“Well is there somewhere else you can go?”
You thought about his question for a second. The first thing that came to your mind was Maddy. You always thought you’d be attending your first big party together. The two of you crashing at her place afterward. “No.” You admitted, voice sullen and small.
It didn’t go unnoticed. Eddie may not have know the nature of it, but he knew the word was laden. “Tell you what, I gotta stop of for gas. It was a bit of an adventure finding your ass tonight.” He grinned, begrudgingly. “I’ll run in, grab you something to sober you up a little then you can come stay with me. You can take the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor. And as soon as you wake up, I’ll run you back home. ‘Kay?” He’d really do all that? It seemed like such a grand gesture, but he was so casual about it. He was probably still feeling guilty about what happened in the woods.
All at once the heat radiating from the vents changed from pleasant to smothering and sickening.
“Eh-Eddie I don’t feel-“ A slight tremble at the end. His head snapped to you so quick he could’ve got whiplash. The color completely drained from your face. He looked at you in horror. He knew what was coming.
“JESUS CHRIST! Don’t you do it, y/n! DON’T!” He frantically bounced in his seat. The van bounced with him adding to the queasy, fun-house effect stationed on your insides. “D-D-D UHHHH” he stammered. “ROLL THE WINDOW DOWN OR SOMETHING! I am NOT cleaning up after you!”
You clumsily grabbed the window crank on the side of the door. Just as quickly as you let the window done, you shoved your head out. The chilly fall air filled your noise and eased you back from the verge of sweat. The feeling in your stomach slowly began to subside. You breathed in the relief. It smelled like wet leaves and asphalt. You took a moment to appreciate it. Beyond the sound of wind fluttering past your ears, you could hear music. Eye’s Without A Face by Billy Idol played with Eddie inside the van. A bubbly smile found it’s way to you. Maybe it was the alcohol, but life seemed to lose all its heaviness in that moment. You were carefree. Is this what Eddie was trying to get through to you? He watched you from the corner of his eye, smiling to yourself. Hair blowing in the breeze, singing into the wind. He sang along with you.
‘I’m thinking of you. You’re out there, so say your prayers’
plenty of emotions.