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jo-harrington · 1 year

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Freaky Friday - A Stranger Things Story (Part 2)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Word Count: 8.4k

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader, Eddie and Steve (Enemies to Friends)

Summary: Eddie thinks that Steve has everything in life handed to him on a silver platter (including his new girlfriend who Eddie has a crush on). And Steve just can't believe that the kids look up to Eddie the Freak, or that he lives his life without giving a single fuck.

Must be nice. But you know what they say, the grass is always greener.

Warnings/Themes: AU with no Upside Down. Body swapping, dark magic/alchemy, unrequited love, mutual pining, Babysitter Steve, No Upside Down means slightly still King Steve, unresolved feelings, manipulation/deception, Reader gets a nickname (Honey), no Y/N if I can help it, no smut in Part 2 either but the next chapter does get steamy.

Note: Ok big shout out to @ghost-proofbaby for her Steve lessons and just generally being a Steve soundboard. I'm not a Steve girl yet but...idk. And then also to @trashmouth-richie for being so supportive and listening as I ramble on about plot things. I admire you both as writers and love you guys as friends; thank you for your support.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

“No, no, no,” Steve whined as he approached the mirror, squishing his face and pinching at his cheeks. “This is a dream. I’m still asleep. Or I’m dead.”

He cleared his throat a few times, slapped it, pinched his Adam's apple. He used every bit of willpower in him to stop the voice that was coming out of his mouth from being Eddie’s voice. It didn't stop that everything else was Eddie's though.

Eddie’s hair. His face. His body.

Steve was in his house—trailer, Steve recalled. It was a trailer. He was wearing his clothes. Sleeping in his bed.

Steve vaguely recalled the thing he thought last night when Eddie left Family Video.

A curse.

Eddie had put a curse on Steve. Steve had made Eddie pay non-member prices for his stupid video rental and Eddie put a fucking curse on him?!

There was a knock at the door and Steve jumped.

"Everything alright in there Ed?" a hoarse, muffled voice asked.

"Uhhh," Steve tried to come up with some kind of response, but suddenly all of the excuses he could ever come up with eluded him. Every scrap of knowledge he had ever reluctantly learned about Eddie Munson—thwip—gone.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to focus, get in the moment, clear his head. If this was a basketball game or a swim meet, he would never let himself get this worked up.

"I'm fine," he started and then paused.

Eddie's parents weren't around anymore, who did he live with? The kids had mentioned it once or twice, said the guy was nice, a little rough around the edges. Said he let Eddie do whatever he wanted for the most part. His uncle...

"I'm fine Uncle W-wayne," Steve answered.

"Late for school," Wayne sighed. "You skipping again?"

"I--"

Steve didn't know what kind of excuse to come up with. What kind of excuses did Eddie give his uncle? His attendance was abysmal, Steve knew, and on the days he was in class, his attention was barely there. Always scribbling and doodling and cracking jokes when he was called on to answer.

He should have just dropped out the first time he failed, a fact that Steve had mocked him for repeatedly, let alone this second time.

Fuck, but if Steve was stuck in Eddie's body, he couldn't not go to school. He had enough trouble with his high school diploma, let alone without one. Maybe...maybe he could ask Dustin to help with his—

Dustin.

That little brat would be at school. Of course. He and others...they were a part of this little cult...maybe they knew what Eddie did to him? Or they could help him at the very least figure out how to reverse this curse.

"Listen son," Wayne continued. "I know it's hard to do this all over again; I told you that you didn't—"

"No, it's ok," Steve quickly cut him off. "I just slept in...accidentally. I'll go. I'm late but I'll go."

"Alright, whatever you say. I got a fresh pot going for you but I'm gonna get cleaned up and hit the hay alright?"

"Sounds good," Steve replied absentmindedly, staring around the room trying to figure out what, in all of the piles of clothing and junk, he could wear.

"Steve Harrington."

Eddie rummaged through the products in the medicine cabinet. Shampoos and after shaves and hair gels and mousses. Way more interesting and expensive sounding than the bottom shelf stuff he got at Melvald's.

He had to be honest, some of it didn't smell great and he didn't see the appeal. Oh well.

"The name's Harrington, Steve Harrington."

He shuffled through the clothes in the closet and the dressed. A lot of trendy, Sears catalog-looking stuff. Polos and windbreakers and jeans in various shades of blue. All neatly hung and folded, nothing out of place, even the underwear drawer was pristine. Nothing black or ripped or...god forbid a band tee or something like that.

Eddie was gonna have to change that...eventually.

"Hey, uh, have we met before? I'm Steve, Steve Harrington."

After the initial shock of finding that he was, indeed, in Steve's body, a sort-of calmness washed over Eddie. The panic subsided pretty quickly, to be honest; he might have been full of electric, frantic energy that dared to be contained, but he was also very good at improvising and devising a plan thanks to years of DnD.

But what was the plan when you found yourself in someone else's body? There wasn't really a handbook for that but like any good player...he would just have to play the part until the answers were revealed to him. And that meant he would have to become Steve Harrington--know Steve Harrington--in a way that he would have loathed if he wasn't in this situation specifically.

The first step had been checking out what Steve was packing.

Eddie peeled away the tight purple briefs and stared at his dick.

"Alright Harrington, alright," Eddie bobbed his head from side to side in contemplation and then grinned ferally. "Mine's bigger." And with that he adjusted himself back in the underwear and continued on his exploration.

Clothes, shoes, books—or more accurately the lack thereof.

Jesus, how have I failed twice and he graduated?

He dug through drawers, found the stash of dirty magazines under the bed, and then scanned over the calendar neatly pinned above the desk with shifts at Family Video clearly penciled-in in a handwriting that looked way too nice to be Steve's.

Steve would be expected to open the store this morning and Eddie grimaced. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his day, but he had a part to play.

He grabbed the little green and orange vest hanging off the back of the desk chair and threw it on over the trendy striped polo that made him itch—did Steve have some kind of allergy or something? God, his chest and arms were just itchy, and it was driving Eddie nuts.

He headed downstairs, through the immaculate house that he vaguely knew the layout of having dealt at a party Steve held last year, to the kitchen to rummage for some kind of breakfast.

He had already checked upstairs and now again as he walked through; the house was empty. Steve's parents gone for the day.

Eddie rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge and found, among the very neat and plentiful groceries, a brown paper lunch bag with the name "Stevie" written on it with a little heart.

"Great," Eddie scoffed bitterly, the first really sour thought he’d had all morning. "His mommy still makes his lunches."

Eddie thought about the handwriting on the calendar upstairs; it was the same as the lunch bag. Thought about the neatly folded clothes, about the extremely tidy rooms. He knew Steve's mom didn't work; she didn't do much of anything except parade around town flaunting her perfect life.

And she was a real bitch.

She was on the Hawkins Town Council and the PTA. She was the first person to call Hellfire Club a cult when they had originally petitioned for some money from the PTA for shirts a few years back. She had called Eddie a menace too many times to count, periodically to his face if he parked a little too close to the front to her liking at Bradley's.

"And she makes her precious baby boy Stevie tuna salad sandwiches and ants on a log like he's 6," Eddie grumbled as he peeked inside the bag. He couldn't remember the last time someone made his lunch for him.

Well he could...in those early days with Wayne. They were both trying to navigate the new living arrangement after his mom had passed. He wasn't that great at peanut butter and jelly or carrot sticks...but he did teach Eddie that you could put potato chips inside of your sandwich though. Taught him how to make the best of a situation, to take care of himself.

So that's what he was going to do. He was gonna make the best out of this situation and play the part and get through the day. Because things were always good—life was always good—if you were Steve Harrington. And he was Steve Harrington now.

"And Steve Harrington," Eddie pushed past the bitterness and found a little spark of goodness. "Drives a BMW."

"Watch where you're going freak!" Someone grunted at Steve as they rammed their shoulder into his as they passed.

"When did everyone get so damn rude?" Steve grumbled to himself. It was the fifth person who had done that today. Hawkins High really had gone to the pits in the past few months since he graduated.

To be fair, everything had really sucked for him so far that day. He thought, Hawkins High was his stomping ground. Just put on the Harrington charm—despite the rough exterior—and everything would work out.

He was so wrong.

First he had gotten detention for being late to class, apparently for the third day that week—

God, Munson needed to get his act together; no wonder he hadn't graduated yet.

—then when he had tried to schmooze Mrs. Worth, the school secretary, into giving him Dustin's schedule, she laughed. And when he asked if he could have a copy of his own schedule, Eddie's schedule, she had just rolled her eyes and said,

"Trying every trick in the book to get out of classes, Edward. I can't help you unless you help yourself."

"How can I help myself if I don't have a schedule Jeanine?" he snarked, figuring Eddie's own signature shitty attitude would get him somewhere instead.

It only added an extra 15 minutes onto his detention.

Great.

Finally he managed to find the crumbled scrap of a class schedule in Eddie's locker—the only locker without a lock on it although he doubted anyone would want to steal from this absolute cesspit—amongst the piles of incomplete homework and garbage and overdue library books. It took everything in Steve not to rip it to pieces when he saw archaic symbols drawn all over it, no doubt another curse Eddie was waiting to enact on someone.

Steve just went through the motions and still got picked on and berated by every teacher and most of the students. Of course, Eddie fucking deserved everything he got. He was a lazy student and a menace, always causing some kind of trouble. But it made Steve especially grumbly that he would now have to deal with the fallout of Eddie's shit. Despite trying to adapt his own good behavior.

"Just gotta find Henderson and this will all have been some silly dream," Steve muttered to himself all day. And thankfully he had survived until lunch and immediately spotted Dustin and Mike as they sat down at the freaks' usual lunch table.

God he needed to get those kids away from Munson and his cult. Especially now that he knew what they could do.

He quickly crossed the busy cafeteria, uncaring of anyone he bumped into or the sharp words they spat at him.

"Henderson, we need to have a little chat," Steve announced as he reached the table. One of the older kids at the table—Steve tried to recall his name: Gary, Garth, Garrett—perked up at the sight of "Eddie" though and started chatting excitedly.

"Hey we were just talking about Hellfire tonight. I know you won't tell us anything but do we ne—”

"Hellfire's canceled," Steve dismissed coldly.

"What?!" They all started talking over one another.

"You never cancel Hellfire."

"Are you sick?"

"Guys he's dying. Or he's lost his mind."

Steve felt the annoyance bubble up inside of him and he raised his voice.

"It's canceled!" He leveled all of them with a scathing look. "I've got detention. Alright?"

"You always have detention," Mike spoke up, then cowered slightly as Steve glared at him. "Y-you've never canceled before..."

"Tough shit. Maybe next week." Steve turned his attention back to Dustin. "Let's go."

He grabbed Dustin by the arm, hauled him out of his seat, and pulled him out of the cafeteria.

As soon as the heavy double doors clicked shut behind them, Steve fell back against the wall and buried his face in his hands.

"Shit! Eddie!" Dustin's demeanor immediately went from fear to concern. "What's going on?"

"'m not Eddie," Steve groaned.

"What?"

"I'm not Eddie!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands out as if it would reveal who he actually was. "It's Steve, I'm Steve."

"O-ok?"

"I'm Steve and I woke up in Eddie's body and I don't know what's happening and I'm..." He started breathing heavily. "I'm so fucking pissed off and I'm so fucking scared."

"Hey listen man, I know," Dustin began hesitantly. "I know you keep telling us that the weed is not for freshman but if this is supposed to scare me—"

"This isn't to scare you," Steve grumbled, grabbing Dustin by the shoulders so he could pull him closer. "I'm not high. And I'm not Eddie. I'm Steve Harrington."

Dustin blinked at him.

"Ok..." he nodded slowly. "You're Steve Harrington? Tell me something only Steve and I would know."

Steve wracked his brain; there were a lot of things that he and Dustin shared, he was closer to Dustin than all of the other kids. But now, so was Eddie...so what was something that Eddie wouldn't know?

"Last year...last December..."

"Yeah?"

"The Snow Ball?"

"Ok?"

"I helped you with your hair...I told you my secret."

"Which was?"

Steve and Dustin stared each other down for a moment before Steve caved.

"Thefarrahfawcettspray," he muttered.

"What was that?"

"The Farrah Fawcett Spray, alright? I swore you to secrecy, I wouldn't tell anyone else, let alone Eddie Munson." He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin hissed. "It really is you."

"I told you so, you little punk."

"What did...I mean..." Dustin clutched the bill of his cap with both hands and exhaled. "How?"

"I was hoping you could help me figure that out," Steve sighed. "And how to undo it."

"I think this is a little beyond my academic ability Steve."

"No, not just because you're smart. Because you hang around Munson. He's the one who did this to me."

"Wh-what?" Steve started talking a mile a minute and Dustin stopped him. "Ok, slow down. I'm gonna need you to start over. If you want me to help you, I need to know everything."

Steve spent the rest of lunch explaining everything to Dustin, from the interaction with Eddie at Family Video to feeling off last night during dinner and then waking up in Eddie's body this morning.

Dustin asked, what seemed to be, random questions. Like if he had remembered brushing his teeth the night before, if he’d had any indigestion, or if there were any scars that he had as Steve that might have appeared on "Eddie's" body instead.

"I wasn't exactly eager to check Eddie's body out," Steve scrunched his nose in dismissal.

"You didn't even take a shower or anything?" Dustin asked.

"I mean, no," Steve shrugged. "But now that I think of it...how am I gonna even be able to take a shower. Ugh, I don't want to touch Eddie's junk."

"Your junk," Dustin reminded him.

"Eddie's body," Steve insisted.

"And you're Eddie for the foreseeable future," Dustin shrugged. The bell signaling the end of the period rang and Dustin sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna skip next period and see if the school library has anything useful. But I'm not hopeful."

"Hey, you shouldn't skip class!" Steve argued.

"It's just Latin."

"Which you're failing."

"Skipping one class while you've literally had your mind transplanted into another body over night seems like the correct choice. I'll see you later." Dustin disappeared amongst the throngs of students and Steve sighed, resigned to go through the motions for the rest of the day.

It was a lot more of the same shit he'd gone through in the morning: getting body checked in the hall, having his books slapped out of his hand, teachers purposefully calling on him thinking he wasn't paying attention—even though he was, thank you very much. Although...considering that Eddie's notebooks were filled with doodles and poetry and shit...it wasn't a far stretch to believe that no, Eddie didn't actually pay any attention in class.

Steve actually had never had any classes with Eddie except for PE, really. And the fact that Eddie got into constant arguments with Coach should have been enough of an indicator of his poor academic performance as it was. But he’d based all of his assumptions on other factors. They hadn’t really interacted short of seeing him roaming the halls, the many few times Steve and his friends had mocked the Hellfire kids, even the one or two times Steve had gone up to Eddie himself to coerce him into dealing at a party.

He had always thought of Eddie as a thorn in everyone's side...but now being Eddie...

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and although Steve knew he had to get to the cafeteria for detention, he still went to find Dustin and see if he had any answers.

It wasn't a long search, Dustin was waiting by Eddie's locker looking...incredibly nervous.

"Anything?" Steve asked.

"The school library isn't well-stocked with occult books," Dustin sighed. "Best I could find was this, Mysteries of the Unknown, which I'm gonna read, I just don't think it's gonna help us out very much."

Steve groaned and covered his face with his hands.

This was just great.

“Listen, I’m gonna level with you this is…kind of outside of my expertise here Steve,” Dustin said hesitantly.

“But what about the cult stuff,” Steve asked, throwing his hands out. “You spend every Friday with Hellfire Club.”

“Playing a board game,” Dustin defended. “One that you could have learned by now if you just—”

“You’re telling me there aren’t any spells or...or something that could do this in your little game?"

"It's Dungeons and Dragons. Not Jumanji."

"...does that game maybe have a spell that—"

"No!"

"Well what about all of this shit Eddie has drawn in his notebooks, huh?" Steve fumbled to flip to one of the pages that had little symbols drawn in the corner. "What is this?"

"Probably something for a campaign. Maybe you should ask Eddie?" Steve froze and Dustin frowned. "You...have talked to Eddie about this right? You didn't just...come to school...without talking to Eddie, did you?"

Steve felt like an idiot. Of course Eddie would be in his body if he was in Eddie's. Eddie didn't just...banish Steve...he put a curse on both of them.

"Dustin Henderson, you are a genius." Steve pressed a kiss to Dustin's head, turned on his heel, and ran towards the door. Detention be damned.

"I'm not a genius, you're just an idiot!"

For all of the fears Eddie had about growing up—finally graduating, deciding if he should take some classes at the community college like the guidance counselor suggested ages ago, having to get a job or really throwing everything he had into making Corroded Coffin successful—he was honestly having a good time working at Family Video.

Steve always seemed a little bored and grumpy every time Eddie had stopped in. But it wasn't that bad if Eddie was being honest.

He'd been a little frantic at first, trying to figure out which key unlocked the door, and how to turn on the computer and open the cash register—thankfully there were little handwritten instructions taped under the keyboard—but once everything was up and running, it was a good time. He got to put a movie on—Star Wars, duh—easily chatted with some of the apparent-regulars who came by to make returns, even processed shipments of some new releases. It was a blast.

Eddie vaguely wondered, whenever he found himself back in his own body, if he should apply for a job here.

The bell above the door rang and Eddie turned, expecting to greet customers, only to be met with a fuming Robin Buckley.

Eddie didn’t know Robin very well, but what he did know he respected, if not outright liked. During his first senior year, she and a group of band nerds had gone up against Corroded Coffin in the last round of the Hawkins High Battle of the Bands. Now, he knew that the whole competition was rigged—Corroded Coffin had gotten second place despite being the best metal band in town—but she was pretty cool to shake their hands after the event was over. Tell them how good they were.

Of course, her band did a cover of "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions." Kind of cheating if you'd asked Eddie...but they did a pretty good job of it. He couldn't fault the student body for choosing that over the alleged Devil Worship music.

However, gone was the bashful Robin in his memory, and instead there she stood seemingly gearing up for a fight, with her sleeves rolled up and teeth gnashing together as she sneered.

"Forget something today dingus?" Robin asked "Steve" through clenched teeth.

"Uhhh," Eddie fumbled. "I don't kn—"

"Me! You forgot to pick me up for school," Robin exclaimed, hands thrown up in the air in exasperation. "You didn't even call? What gives?"

"I, uh," Eddie wracks his brain for an excuse. Because he didn't know he needed to? Because he wasn't actually Steve? "I accidentally overslept."

"And then I was worried about you," Robin rambled, running a hand through her bangs as she went on. "You could have...crashed into a pole, or...or...had a stroke and drove into a ditch."

"I'm sorry," Eddie offered with a half-smile.

"You better be! And your alarm better be set on Monday; I am not walking to school again," Robin grumbled as she headed to the back room to clock in. Eddie sighed in relief as the door shut behind her.

He really did feel bad about not picking her up for school. His friends were used to him skipping or just...sleeping late. If he wasn't at their houses to pick them up by a certain time, they knew they'd have to find another ride. Or just walk.

Gareth's mom was usually nice enough to give them rides on the days when Eddie didn't show.

But Robin...well, shit, Eddie knew Steve and Robin worked together...not only here but at Scoops Ahoy before this but damn, he didn't know Harrington was driving her to school. He must have been really good about picking her up every day if she was mad and worried.

"—and the thing is that I worried all day for nothing." Robin continued as she walked back onto the shop floor. "What if he's dead? What if his parents don't know? I think I failed my algebra test because of you so...just call next time ok?" She stared at him expectantly.

"Ok, I will," Eddie nodded. But Robin just narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms across her chest. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" she asked. "What are you still standing there for? It's almost 4."

"Oh!" Eddie checked his watch. "Is it? I guess...my shift is over right?"

She stared at him with a dumbfounded expression and then slammed her hands on the counter, making him jump.

"This is why you're single, this is why you can't find a girlfriend," she whined. "I don't even feel bad for you anymore. Not when you're screwing it up every step of the way. I really thought you were gonna get it right this time."

What was she talking about?

"How could you forget!?"

And in spectacular timing that Eddie could only have expected in a movie, the clock struck 4, the bell rang as the door opened, and you walked in for your date with Steve.

You were nervous.

Of course you were nervous, this was your third date with Steve Harrington. Steve Harrington. You sort of still didn't believe that he had asked you out.

You didn’t believe you were still going out with him.

It was just a random night that you'd run into Family Video to grab a movie before they closed. How easily he bantered with you, how he made you laugh, how he suggested Sixteen Candles of all movies for your study night with the girls from your classes at the Tri-County Community College.

He had made a joke when he looked up your mom’s membership…if the number on file was up-to-date so he could inform you of new releases…or just to ask you out.

You had giggled so stupidly after you left. He had called that night.

You'd always been sort of afraid of him during school. He was cute, sure, charming when he wanted to be...but he was popular and a jock and kind of a douche. You’d seen him pick on countless nerds.

He was King Steve, The "Hair" Harrington, whose dad owned the car dealership and had even run for Mayor once and was expected to run again. And you...you didn't have confidence issues really, but there wasn't anything really special about you either. You'd always held out hope that your silly high school crush would ask you out, so you never accepted any of the offers you had from any other boys.

But he never ended up asking you out, no matter how many signals you gave him, how much time you spent with him. How you wore the cutest outfits if you knew you’d partner with him in class.

And shy of some random drunken makeouts and one unfortunate hookup at some stupid party to get your first time “out of the way” (according to Julie Williams)…you stayed single.

Now you were out of the dregs of the high school hierarchy, sure, but you never expected Steve to ask you out. You weren't popular by any means...

But neither was Nancy Wheeler before Steve dated her.

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

You couldn't get the name out of your head. Or more accurately, you couldn't get Steve saying her name out of your head. You hadn't even heard of her until they had started dating in your junior year; she was a year younger than you and Steve. Sweet, a little timid maybe. You thought they were cute together, always kind of near each other. Holding hands or kissing or laughing.

Nancy stood in the spotlight with Steve, and they spent enough time for him to become nicer and for her to become more confident. Confident enough to dump him about halfway through your senior year.

Rumors were afloat about King Steve losing his crown. That the new kid Billy Hargrove had taken it when the king was down on his luck. But Billy was an even bigger douchebag and you'd thought...well, Steve was the big man on campus, he would bounce back right? Surely once you graduated at least? He’d find his footing and move on?

And you thought he had. He’d stayed in town, gotten a job, went about his life like it was normal. Still drove around and charmed the town, asking girls out and whatnot. Asking you out.

Imagine your surprise when he mentioned Nancy on your first date. Coffee at that little bakery in the town square; he had ordered for you before you got there and you asked if it was his favorite or something.

"Well Nance always liked it so I figured you might."

And then again at the movies, he'd ordered you a cherry coke and Mike and Ikes. No popcorn.

"Nancy always complained about the kernels getting stuck in her teeth."

You were patient and you tried to be nice. But it created this constant, subconscious comparison to her that hit you every time you saw her around town. And she was always around.

And Steve…tried, he made sure the dates were nice, he called on the phone, asked you about your day, told you about his. You just knew you couldn’t…allow yourself to feel less than, even if Steve didn’t realize he was doing it to you.

So you decided you were gonna end things.

You'd gone to Family Video to tell him as much, to have a nice discussion, before heading to your shift at Benny's. But he was very sweet, unexpectedly so. Promised your third date would be something special. You'd both dress up. He'd take you out to dinner somewhere nice.

"You're gonna love this place," Steve had said, taking your hand in his. "Nance thought it was great when I took her there too."

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

And at that moment you decided to just pull your hand away and tell him "I'm sorry Steve" and "you can’t keep bringing her up, it’s over."

Until you caught sight of Eddie Munson at the corner of your eye.

Your high school crush.

Who was funny and clever and silly and handsome and more. Who was everything you could kind of ever dream of. Who you got into a fight with your best friend over because she thought she had dibs since her brother was his friend. Whose name you scribbled in your notebook and almost died the one time he flipped through to copy your notes.

Who never saw you as more than a classmate.

And you decided...even if you were tired of playing second fiddle to Nancy…you had spent enough time waiting to be noticed by Eddie. All of high school and, you were ashamed to say it, even now after the fact.

You couldn’t do this anymore. Couldn’t pass upon another boy who actually noticed you just to keep waiting on Eddie.

So you told Steve that his idea was great and you went on your merry way.

You had convinced yourself that it could work out, that you could be Steve’s girlfriend if he asked, if he kissed you at the end of the night. You'd dressed up to go to class today, knowing that you wouldn't have time to change for the date after. Your friends had teased you about your date, about the fluffy tafetta dress you'd chosen, giggled along with you and inflated your confidence.

It was still a little bit of a shock when you walked into Family Video promptly at 4 only to find Robin standing in front of the counter with the most pitying, sympathetic look in her eyes. And Steve still behind it, looking like a deer in the headlights, still dressed in his casual work clothes, hair slightly disheveled.

Not prepared for your date at all.

Did he forget?

You shouldn’t have felt bad, really. You were meeting him after his shift. You knew that you didn’t always look or feel great after work. You should have given him the benefit of the doubt.

Or did he change his mind?

Because he talked the talk yesterday and you fell for it. You let your pride get the better of you and you should have just followed your instinct to end things.

That insidious voice in the back of your mind though…

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

…told you that he realized you weren’t good enough.

"H-hey," you greeted sheepishly. Your throat got tight

“Say hi dumbass,” Robin muttered over her shoulder. “Steve was just telling me how excited he was for your date!”

“Really?”

And then…it felt like Steve was suddenly seeing you for the first time. Because Steve Harrington just had a way about him, right?. That cool, casual exterior. That easiness.

Looking at him now…his eyes were wider and brighter, his smile bigger, eager. It was a version of him that you hadn’t experienced.

Was this maybe what Nancy Wheeler saw when she looked at him…looking at her?

And now he was looking at you this way.

"I...I'm not late am I? Or too early maybe?" you asked, suddenly bashful under his gaze.

“No,” Steve shook his head. “You’re perfect.”

“Gross,” Robin gagged. “Ok get out of here before I vomit.”

Steve practically vaulted over the counter and disappeared into the back for a moment, then situated himself at your side upon his return.

“You ready to go?” He asked eagerly. You raised your eyebrows in question and glanced down at his outfit, still dressed the same, still wearing his Family Video vest even.

“Oh you…” you started and then stopped when his smile got even brighter. “Yeah let’s go.”

You were barely out the door when a familiar van skidded into the parking lot and came to a halt in the spot next to your car. Eddie jumped out of the driver's seat and slammed the door, before pointing at Steve with a manic look in his eyes.

“You!” Eddie shouted. “What did you do? How did you do this!?”

You immediately turned to Steve, whose eyes went wide for a moment before he smiled lazily, almost condescendingly.

“Me? I didn’t do anything,” Steve announced, holding his hands up innocently.

“I know you’re in there Eddie, you son of a bitch,” Eddie grumbled and practically lunged at Steve. Steve jumped a few steps back and you got between the two of them, hoping your presence would put Eddie at ease.

Wait…

Did he call Steve…Eddie? Did he call Steve by…his own name?

Was he high or something? You tried to rationalize it: The anger, the manic look in his eyes, the way his shoulders shook as he breathed heavily. It only made sense.

“Hey look at me,” you said gently. “It’s gonna be ok, you need to take a deep breath and calm down. You’re gonna be ok.”

“Stay out of this honey,” Eddie said through clenched teeth. “This is between me and him.”

“Steve, what’s going on?” You glance back at him for an answer.

“Nothi—” Steve began but Eddie quickly spoke over him.

“He put a curse on me, he put a curse on us,” Eddie heaved.

A curse?

“M-maybe you need a doctor or something,” you tried. “You aren’t making any sense.”

”He doesn’t need a doctor,” Steve called from behind you. “He’s a freak, a criminal. He needs to be locked up.”

Eddie froze and looked between you and Steve, fear suddenly in his eyes.

“Steve are you crazy?!” You turned and hissed at him, but by the time you turned back to Eddie, he was backing away and retreating into the van.

“This isn’t over,” he threatened, pointing at Steve through the window. “You’re gonna fix this.”

“Eddie wait!” The van backed out of its spot and sped back out of the parking lot. You sighed with worry. “Eddie.”

“Sweetheart,” Steve casually put a hand on your shoulder “Don’t worry about him.”

You turned on your heel and slapped his hand off you.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Eddie played the part perfectly...

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

...or so he thought.

While he would never call anyone else a freak, standing and staring at his own face--despite the realization that Steve was in there--it was almost cathartic to yell those things at himself. To get a feel of what everyone else felt when they yelled those things at him. To not be on the receiving end of it for once.

Except you didn't seem to see it that way.

While Eddie had felt like he had hit the jackpot all day, being in Steve's body, he knew that he really came out ahead when you showed up for your date with him. The thought briefly crossed his mind...if he broke your heart as Steve...it might be a better chance for him to ask you out and for you to say yes.

But considering that he might possibly spend the rest of his life as Steve Harrington...having you was too good of a chance to pass up.

He would rather have you as Steve, knowing you would never care for him as Eddie, than lose you altogether.

Except that might be exactly what he had done as you stood there glaring at him.

"W-what?" He asked nervously.

"Are you kidding me right now?" you exclaimed. "He...there was clearly something wrong with him. How could you say those things? How could you call him those names? And then he...he left...what if he gets hurt?"

"What do you care about Eddie Munson?" he scoffed.

"He's my friend!"

Fuck.

Hearing that made his heart ache in his chest. He was a friend. Yeah. Just a friend. Which is why...if he wanted to salvage this, he would have to think quickly.

"I just...you're right," he explained, holding his hands out defensively. "He looked like...there was something wrong. And you were so quick to jump in the way...what if he hurt you?"

"He wouldn't!"

"I was worried."

"He wouldn't have hurt me."

"Listen to me," he soothed and approached you carefully in case you lashed out again. "I...I care about you, honey. I don't want to see you hurt. And Eddie...definitely looked like he was ready to hurt someone. I needed to get him away from you."

You gnawed at your bottom lip for a moment, pulling at your fingers nervously as you contemplated his excuse.

"Alright," you finally nodded. "I understand."

"You do?" he asked.

"Yeah," you sighed. "But please...please don't do that again. Don't call Eddie a freak. He's my friend and he deserves better than that."

Eddie's throat got tight, wanting to scream--

It's me. I'm Eddie. I'm in here.

--instead he took a few steps closer and folded you into a hug. You shook for a second, and god damn did he feel like he was on the verge of shaking too.

He needed a distraction.

"So...how about that date huh?" He questioned after a few moments of savoring the feel of you in his arms. "You ready to go."

"Sure," you pulled back and gave him a small smile. "Where are we going?"

Eddie, of course, had no idea where Steve had planned to take you. His mommy didn't mark dates in his calendar like she did his work schedule. So he simply decided to make something up on the spot. One of his favorite places.

He simply told you it was a surprise and led you to Steve's BMW, opening the door for you like a gentleman should, before he got you both on the way.

His fingers fidgeted on the steering wheel as he drove. He debated asking you questions, but decided against it on the off chance that they were things Steve had already on your first two dates. And the music that Steve had in the car was abysmal and wouldn't do anything to calm Eddie's nerves.

You seemed content to stare out the window as he drove though, still fidgeting with your fingers as the drab scenery passed by once he got onto old highway 77.

A few miles past Starcourt sat "Stoney Creek Adventure Center," boasting a halfway decent arcade and two miniature golf courses. With all of the new amusements in and around Hawkins, it wasn't as busy as it was the few times his mom and Rick had taken him when he was a kid. But it was still pretty lively on a Friday night: some families with younger kids, a couple of teens who snuck into the windmill to get high and make out.

Eddie escorted you out of the car and watched as you stared at the half-faded turf and oversized obstacles.

"So?" he asked, hands on his hips. "What do you think?"

Your hesitation to answer made his throat tight again.

What if this wasn't a Steve Harrington-calibur date?

"Uh..." you paused and looked at him out of the corner of your eye. "This is the place you took Nancy Wheeler? You said...you were taking me someplace she really liked."

Alright, time to make it or break it.

"I just thought you might like something different," he shrugged. "I thought...I've been bringing up Nancy a little too much. I want to enjoy new things. With you."

The way your gaze softened and you smiled at him...yeah, he was really fixing all of Harrington's fuck-ups. Give you everything you deserved.

"Oh, that's...yeah, that's really sweet," you giggled. "I...I didn't want to say anything...I know she was important to you. But I was actually starting to feel like--"

"Hey, listen," he interrupted you, knowing what you were going to say next...feeling a little smug that he was right. "The past is the past. I'm sorry I made you feel like you were playing second fiddle to Nancy."

"You really did," you confirmed.

"But I really like you," Eddie admitted, feeling a weight lift off of his shoulders as the words escaped him. Even though the voice he said them with was not his own. "I want you to feel important too. Ok?"

"Ok," you agreed, lips pursed and nose scrunched as you obviously fought a smile.

"Alright then, let's get to putting," he clapped his hands together and started walking towards the arcade to pay for your rounds of golf.

He stopped, however, as you grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't you think I'm a little overdressed?" you asked bashfully, gesturing down at yourself. "You told me we were going someplace nice."

He placed a hand over his heart and acted wounded.

"You're saying mini golf isn't nice?" he whimpered.

"No, it's perfect, I just..." you shrugged. "I don't know, I think...I don't even have a jacket or anything."

"Well tell you what," he said and peeled his Family Video vest from his shoulders. "As long as you don't tell Keith that I made you a temporary employee for the night--that's what this means you know, so don't take it lightly--you can wear my vest."

You didn't fight the smile this time, it beamed brightly in the golden afternoon light. You put the vest on and did a little turn, modeling it for him, looking slightly ridiculous with your fancy dress and the stupid green and orange vest.

What Eddie wouldn't have done right then to have his battle vest instead right then. To make you look like you were his girl and not Steve's.

"Beautiful," he told you truthfully. "Now you ready to lose? I happen to be a mini golf champion."

"In your dreams," you scoffed.

No...not in his dreams anymore...

At the end of the night, well past it getting dark, Steve drove you back to the strip mall parking lot for you to get your car and head home. But it felt no less romantic than it would have been if he was actually dropping you off at home and you were chatting on your porch before you went inside.

“I really did have a great time tonight,” you told him honestly. It felt like a cliché, like something from a tv show. But...despite the rocky start, you did have a great time and it was absolutely nothing you expected from Steve of all people, especially not after those first two dates. After all of the things you had doubted.

You had played both of the miniature golf courses, sat at the little picnic benches and shared a basket of half-soggy fries with ice cream cones--yours strawberry, his a chocolate-vanilla swirl--and chatted about your classes, and then ended the night beating the high score on Space Invaders.

Maybe things were looking up after all. Maybe you were right to give him this last chance.

“It was kind of perfect," you continued. "Thank you.”

“Well, what can I say?” Steve beamed. “I’m full of good ideas, when I’m inspired to have them.”

“And I, um, inspired you?” You asked hesitantly.

“You have no idea,” he laughed. “You wouldn’t even believe what was going on in here even if I told you.” He tapped his forehead a few times.

You reached up and rapped your knuckles on the side of his head the way you would a watermelon to see if it was ripe.

“I dunno, sounds kind of hollow to me—Steve!!” He grabbed you around the middle and started tickling you. You yelped and giggled as his fingers relentlessly tapped and pinched at your sides. “Stop it.”

“Sorry, honey, I told you I was full of ideas,” he pouted playfully but didn’t let up. “You just looked awful ticklish; it inspired me.”

“I can’t,” you laughed. “I can’t breathe.”

“I guess I can stop,” Steve sighed, the tickling letting up for a moment. His hands stilled on your waist as you caught your breath and he inched closer. “I think I’m inspired by something else now, to be completely honest with you.”

And then he did a thing--something he had been doing all night--he was looking at you like he couldn’t really believe you were there with him. His eyes were sparkling and happy. His smile wasn’t the…signature smooth Harrington smile that you’d grown accustomed to the last few dates. It was wider, easier.

“Y-yeah?” You whispered. “What’s that?”

He leaned in closer, rubbed his nose against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut and you exhaled softly.

"C-can I," he whispered, soft enough that you could barely hear him. "Can I kiss you, honey?"

"Y-yeah," you agreed just as softly. He hummed but didn't make another move, choosing to continue giving you such soft attention. It made your heart melt.

"You sure?"

"Please," you keened.

He let out a soft chuckle and pressed his lips to yours and you sighed.

If was all of the tender softness you deserved, but never knew in the fast, hormone-and-alcohol driven kisses you had experienced in high school. However few. You were simply surrounded by him.

His touch--his soft lips molding to yours, pressing, and his hands on your waist, pulling--constant and pleading for more but never pushing. His scent that invaded your senses--sharp and citrusy and fresh, like a summer's day. His sounds, that simple...constant little hum as the seconds ticked by.

He was everywhere and everything.

But...

You thought about Eddie earlier that day, the striking, wild look in his eye. So different from the Eddie you were used to, the Eddie you cared about, the Eddie your heart beat for over the past 5 years. You were worried about him, yes, but one thought occupied your mind.

How would Eddie have kissed you?

Your heart stung when Steve pulled away and you blinked back the burning in the back of your eyes.

You couldn't entertain those thoughts, not when Steve was standing right in front of you, after he had just kissed you so perfectly, and looked at you as if you were the only thing that could ever make him happy.

“G’night honey,” he murmured.

“Goodnight,” you whispered guiltily. "Goodnight Steve."

Eddie made it back to the Harrington's house with a big smile on his face.

He could do this forever if he had to.

Live in Steve's body, go to work at Steve's job, drive Steve's car, kiss Steve's girlfriend.

He'd been partially wondering on his drive back to the house--

Between the long, sweet moments of recalling your kiss.

--if this was, perhaps, some kind of karmic reward for all of the shit life had handed to him. A terrible father, a dead mother, a short attention span, and the entire town voicing their opinion that he was some dirty, rotten, trailer park freak. And then on the contrary, Steve--who had been given everything he never asked for and was an ungrateful shit--could have some karma as well.

As he made it up the stairs--the stairs, Eddie still couldn't believe it--to his new bedroom, Eddie thought about Wayne and did feel a little guilt. He definitely suffered just as Eddie did, maybe more so, simply for the fact that he had to put up with Eddie for 10 years and now would have to put up with Steve too. Eddie's stomach turned when he thought of all the things he did just to take something off Wayne's plate. Repairs around the trailer, grocery shopping and "making dinner" (which was usually code for some kind of takeout when he was too lazy to pop some frozen pizza in the oven). Not to mention the extra cash he made dealing...would Steve do those things now that they were stuck like this?

Where was Wayne's karmic reward?

There were so many things Wayne sacrificed for Eddie. And Eddie knew and did everything he could to give back to his uncle, as much as his uncle would let him. Now with this situation with Steve, he had to do a little more to lift what would end up being an additional weight off of his uncle's shoulders.

Maybe...

Maybe "Steve" could convince Mr. Harrington to offer Wayne some better, cushier job at the car dealership? So he wouldn't have to suffer as much as he did at the plant. He definitely deserved more, but this was the first thing Eddie could think of off the top of his head. After a few months it might be a new car, or some...help with a down payment on an actual house...or at the very least, a larger trailer so that he could have his own bedroom instead of that fold-out bed.

Yeah, that was it. He would think about how he would bring it up next time he saw good ol' Pa Harrington...but since the house was still empty almost 14 hours after Steve's parents apparently left for work that morning, it might not be any time soon...

Eddie opened the door to the bedroom--momentarily dismissing his thoughts of Wayne to consider if he should get some posters to cover the pretentious plaid-papered walls--only to find the light on and his own face staring back at him, scowling, as Steve sat propped against the headboard of the bed.

Eddie hesitated in the doorway, stunned.

“I told you this wasn't over, Freak."

Fuck.

Tag List: @luna-munson83 @kaitebugg03 @invaderzia1 @delusionalbabe @secretdryrose @eddiesguitarskills @simplyundeniable98 @imaslutforcuddles @hanobe8

#Eddie munson x reader #Eddie munson fic #stranger things fic #Eddie munson imagine #Steve Harrington imagine #Steve harrington fic #Steve harrington x reader #Freaky Friday AU

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thesolarangel · 8 months

Text

A touch of cinnamon and spice

Chapter 1

Summary: Eddie and Steve meet for the first time at college under awkward circumstances. Well, at least for Eddie.

1.438 words · Rated: G · College AU, no upside down · fluff, pining, getting together, cozy cute fall fanfic with minimum drama and zero angst or warnings!

Thanks again to @elronds-pointy-ears for reading my first unhinged draft and giving me some thoughts on how to deepen the interactions between them! @niennawept for beta reading my edited draft, you helped me so much, THANK YOU again! …. and for @lady-of-imladris for helping me choose a title! I love you guys!

Read on AO3 here

Chapter 1 · throwback · summer ‘86

“You’re kidding… College?” Eddie chuckled, staring at his uncle wide eyed.

They had been standing in the kitchen of their trailer home, a few weeks after Eddie had graduated, discussing where he could go from there. If it were up to Eddie, he’d just get famous with his metal band “Corroded Coffin” right away and tour the country, but these things didn’t happen over night. And it wasn’t like Wayne decided over Eddie’s life. He was of age, he could decide on his own. But Wayne’s opinion mattered to him greatly. This man had provided for Eddie for half of his life and he was deeply grateful for that.

Wayne crossed his arms and looked at him sternly. “Listen, kid, I know high school was tough –”

“That’s the understatement of the year, right there.” Eddie snorted.

He had managed to get his high school diploma on the third try. Keeping up with homework and studying for exams never came easy to him. He had had trouble concentrating and listening to what was being discussed in class and the teachers labeled him as lazy without even trying to get through to him.

When it came to math, history and other school subjects that Eddie found boring, it was almost like there was an invisible force pulling his attention away, keeping him from concentrating and it was very hard to fight that.

But eventually, with the help of a terrific new guidance counselor that had transferred to his school that year and the support of his uncle, he had made it somehow. Alumni of ‘86, baby!

“Eddie, you’re incredibly talented when it comes to the stuff you’re interested in. You’re creative, driven… I’ve seen the artwork you put up in your room… and you learned that puppet song within a week it came out.”

“Master of Puppets”, Eddie corrected him. And how could he not, it was a legendary piece by his favorite band.

“All I’m sayin’ is, would be pretty unfortunate if you wasted that kinda potential, son.”

He was right. Eddie did have a different mindset when it came to drawing, writing his own lyrics or shredding away on his guitar.

“Alright, I’ll think about it.” Eddie sighed.

A while later he had applied to a few public colleges in the area that had art programs. For his application portfolio Eddie had collected some design work he did for the promotion of their band, some pencil sketches and several elaborate fantasy drawings he did for his recent DnD campaign. And he had gotten in!

_______

October 5th 1987

Fall had always been Eddie’s favorite season ever since he was little. The deep red color of the fallen maple leaves was his favorite color and he secretly loved crunching the dry leaves under his boots. With every passing day of summer, he looked forward to cooler temperatures, horror movie nights and of course: Halloween. While planning his costume in his head, he put the hood of his parka over his unruly brown hair and made his way to class.

This was going to be his 3rd semester of studying fine art and so far he was doing really well, despite his own doubts. Learning about the subjects he was interested in and acquiring new creative skills had proven to be much more straightforward and uncomplicated for him than high school stuff.

College had given Eddie the chance for a fresh start. For the first time, he wasn’t the freak, the loser, the kid with the weird hair who listened to “devil” music. The university offered all kinds of programs and they had a big art department ranging from photography and fine art to design and film-making. So naturally, there were plenty of art nerds, film geeks and a variety of young people studying alongside Eddie. He fit right in and he had also made some new, real friends.

Jonathan, his roommate, was studying photography and English and wanted to become a journalist. He already wrote a weekly column in the school’s paper. Jonathan was the intelligent, kind, introverted type with short shaggy dark blonde hair and inconspicuous appearance. Eddie connected with him through his open-mindedness and his passion for music.

Argyle lived in another dorm down the hall. He studied film-making and worked part time at a local pizza shop from where he often swiped pizzas for them. He was a laid-back, approachable guy, who got along with everyone and also hugged everyone when he had the chance. With his long black hair, tall stature and colorful clothing, he stood out in most places.

Eddie thought he was very lucky to have met them since making friends had never been easy for him in the past. Both of them were very easy to get along with and they also had a lot of shared interests.

…

Eddie arrived at a seemingly empty classroom, illuminated by the bright morning sun. Several canvas stands and some chairs were set up for the students. He chose a seat and dropped his bag and coat on the back of the chair.

When he sat down and combed through his backpack for his pencil case, he heard something rustling from behind the nearby folding screen. Obviously not thinking this through, Eddie wandered over and found –

Oh.

His eyes landed on the muscular naked back of a stranger who was in the process of getting undressed. Eddie froze. Unable to take his eyes off of this guy’s athletic physique. His tanned skin was patterned with plenty of freckles that looked like stars in a beautiful constellation which Eddie desperately needed to explore. Those jeans hugged his butt perfectly and when he took them off, they revealed tight black boxer briefs and broad hairy thighs. Eddie wanted nothing more than to have his head crushed by those legs. Oh, what a way to go.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

A voice ripped him from his fantasy. Fuck.

The gorgeous stranger was now facing Eddie with both hands on his hips and a slightly cocky expression. Eddie noticed his beautiful hazel eyes, pouty lips and effortlessly styled hair. His strong chest was even hairier than his legs and a dark little happy trail disappeared at the rim of his underwear which displayed a significant bulge.

Fuuuuck.

“I’m so sorry!” Eddie almost yelled when he realized he had been staring. He could feel the burn of embarrassment on his face but like a deer in headlights, he stood there completely frozen.

The brunette smirked. “Don't worry about it, you're gonna see me nude in a minute anyhow", he replied in a smug voice. Eddie went even redder if that was at all possible.

Right, they were going to do nude sketches today, to learn some anatomy… Eddie felt he had already learned a lot.

“Alright, I’m gonna, uh… go, yes, I’m gonna go set up”, he stumbled backwards, averting the stranger’s view.

Little by little the classroom filled with students and their tutor arrived and gave them a quick instruction on sketching techniques when drawing from a live model. Two other students closed the door and blinds and placed a small platform in the middle of the room. They were ready to start drawing.

The handsome stranger emerged completely naked from behind the folding screen. He seemed very secure in his body, judging the way he stepped gracefully onto the platform, striking a pose the tutor had asked for.

Eddie tried so hard to look at him in a professional manner as he began sketching his beautiful body. He roughly outlined his proportions with some charcoal on his sketchbook. He tried to keep a straight face when his view landed on the model’s dick. And what a gorgeous one it was… Eddie felt his heart thump violently in his chest.

In a moment of carelessness when Eddie’s eyes wandered over his freckled skin upwards to his handsome face, their eyes locked. The brunette gave him a wink and held his view. If he was flattered or amused, Eddie couldn’t tell, his face was burning up once again and he tried to hide behind his sketchbook.

Focus, Munson. You just gotta keep it together for 20 more minutes!

His hand swept over the paper, messily sketching and filling in the model silhouette with charcoal. At this point, he didn’t care if the drawings turned out badly, he just wanted to get out of there, away from this awkward situation. Once he was done, he quickly packed up his stuff and rushed out of the classroom.

...

To be continued...

tag list: @starlady66 @bananaphanta @runawaymun @mistergandalf @fenharel-enaste @queenmeriadoc @elronds-pointy-ears @hbyrde36 @hammity-hammer @corrodedbisexual @spoookysix @rozzieroos @cranberrymoons

devider by @firefly-graphics

#steddie fanfic #steddie fanfiction #fluff fanfiction #steddie fluff #meet cute #awkward meet cute fanfic #college au fanfic #college au #steddie college au #spicy six fanfic #steve x eddie #autumn fanfic #fall fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #fanfic writing #ao3fic #fanfic

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lovesickonmybed · 7 months

Text

bad idea right? | (2/?)

chapter one | chapter three | series masterlist

eddie munson x OC | word count - 3831

summary | a game of truth or dare has consequences.

warnings | swearing, underage drinking, smoking, mentions of drug use, mentions of sex, sexual harassment, a bit of bullying, and depression.

a/n | i fucked with the timeline a little so billy and max had moved to hawkins a few months earlier because I need him for the story. listen to bad idea right? by olivia rodrigo and g.i.n.a.s.f.s. by fall out boy while you read this btw.

God fucking dammit. My night was awful to begin with, hell I didn’t even want to be here in the first place, but now it’s even worse. Eddie fucking Munson is here, and he looks hot, like really hot. I swear to god if I was more drunk I would probably already be on him. Sure he hates me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still think he’s hot. After our falling out I was hoping I’d hate him, that he’d suddenly turn ugly in my mind, but nope, he just gets hotter and hotter. And tonight it’s like he’s the only guy I’ve ever seen. Every guy I’ve ever hooked up with or ever even found attractive all exit my brain as soon as my eyes land on him. He’s sitting on a boulder with his long curly hair tied back into a bun, he’s attempting to light his cigarette. What strikes me as odd is that he’s completely alone, usually Ronnie or Dougie is with him but they’re nowhere to be seen. I down my drink and look away from him, if I keep looking at him I’m going to go over there and it will not end well.

To distract myself I go over to one of the coolers and try to find something that won’t taste awful, I take a while to find anything. I smile to myself when I find a mini bottle of Malibu and a coke. I grab them and stand up and turn around, immediately running into somebody. They grab me by my shoulders to steady me. We meet each other's eyes and my face goes red and my mouth goes dry. Of course the person I’ve just run into is Eddie. He removes his hands from me with a disgusted look. “I-I-I’m…s-sorry…” I mumble before running off to go find somewhere to hide from him.

I duck behind a rock and open the tiny bottle of Malibu, I chug the entire thing and then chase it down my coke. “Goddammit!” I whisper/yell to myself. I know I look insane as I claw at my skin, breathing heavily, trying to self soothe and calm down. When I’m finally calm I’m left with crescent-shaped indents on my legs from my nails. I wonder what Eddie thought when he came face to face with me like that. I mean I can probably guess from the look on his face that he was annoyed and disgusted. I get lost in my own thoughts, panicking and overthinking the interaction when Carol plops herself down next to me.

“Are you alright? You look like you’re gonna throw up.” Carol isn’t really concerned about if I’m okay, she’s more concerned with how it would look if somebody in her friend group puked at a party from drinking too much, I’m already on thin ice for the amount of ass I’m showing tonight.

“I’m fine. Fuck. I just-” I don’t sound fine, I don’t sound calm. She can tell I’m upset.

“You just what?” She asks in an annoyed tone.

“I just ran into Eddie…like literally, physically ran into him…w-who invited him?” I ask.

“Oh, Tommy did. Apparently Eddie is like dealing now or whatever and we needed a weed hook-up for tonight. We didn’t think you’d care. It’s not like you and that freak are friends anymore anyway,” She explains. Right now I’d love nothing more than to punch her in the face.

My friends are assholes, I’m aware of that. But that doesn’t mean I’ve succumbed to it too, she knows I hate when any of them call him a freak or insult him. I hate when they do it to any of the Hellfire kids, I always try to get them to back down and it always ends with her berating me the entire time she drives me home about how if I don’t shut my mouth then I’ll end up back with them. Then she so graciously reminds me I won’t just be back with them, I’ll be lower than them, because if she drops me then not even Hellfire will want anything to do with me thanks to my betrayal. She wasn’t always such a bitch to me. When this all started her and Tina actually enjoyed having me around. They were kind to me; they took me shopping, and we’d have movie nights, now something has shifted. It’s like they’re aware of who I used to be, it’s like it matters to them now that they used to dump trash on me or make fun of me for my appearance. They heavily monitor every move I make, if I step out of line even the slightest then they remind me of where I could be. Eddie was right about them.

“When did he start dealing? I never thought he’d end up like that…” The Eddie Munson I knew was terrified to turn out like his father. His dad was pretty much never home, Eddie would always be at Wayne’s because his dad was out somewhere in another state usually in lockup or getting into some kind of trouble. He’d always come back with a story and a kind smile that charmed everyone into forgiving him for being the worst dad of the year.

“Are you kidding? We all knew he’d end up like that, Viv. He’s a Munson, they’re all worthless low-lives!” Carol says.

My hand curls into a fist and I squeeze my eyes shut tightly. I’m one drink away from beating her ass, “Watch your mouth, Carol.”

She looks at me bewildered, “Why don’t you watch your mouth, Vivian? Defending a loser like that won’t get you far. I’m sure you like fucked him or whatever before you left his loser ass but that doesn’t mean you need to defend him anymore. Spending your time defending a reject like him won’t get you anything good, especially not from him. Just in case you forgot, he hates your guts. If you don’t want to spend the rest of your senior year as a loner then you’ll let me say whatever the fuck I want about him.”

I go quiet. I hate that I go quiet but her threats are real and I’d rather be with people I hate than be alone. Carol smiles at my silence, “I’m glad we had this talk. Why don’t you go buy something off him to calm down?” She chuckles to herself and walks off to go find Tommy.

I fish my carton of cigarettes out of my pocket and light one up. My hands are shaking with anxiety and anger as I bring it up to my lips. I look around at everyone else who’s here, I’m jealous of them all as they talk with friends, flirt with crushes, and just enjoy their time here. I haven’t had a close friend or anyone to confide in for a long time, even at these parties my friends won’t hang out with me anymore. I honestly don’t know why I show up, I go to parties to be ignored and drink in a corner until I’m stumbling home and trying not to cry. That’s how tonight will go as well. I’ll get into the car of whatever sober girl I can find, because I’m not making the mistake of getting into a car with a guy again, and make small talk as she drives me home. I’ll stumble into my bedroom, cry when I take off my makeup, end up in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts and crawl into bed to cry some more until I can finally fall asleep. It’s not ideal but I guess it could be worse.

I see Tina flirting with Billy and I shake my head in disgust. He’s the worst thing to roll into Hawkins. Every time I see any of my friends with him I just start distancing myself more and more, I can’t take it. He’s an asshole, a creep, a goddamned racist sack of shit and I want nothing to do with him. I don’t get what any of these girls see in him. Why do they throw themselves at that asshole when there’s so many better options?

I get up to find another drink so I have something to occupy myself, this time I make sure Eddie is nowhere in the area when I do so. I see there’s only shitty beers left but at this point I’ll take whatever. When I’m going back to my hiding area I’m grabbed by Vicki Carmicheal, she’s one of Billy's groupies. “Vivi! You look bored, come play truth or dare with us!” She drags me off to a group of about 15 people and I let her. What more do I have to lose tonight? I’m sitting between Vicki and Tina as the game starts. I’m zoned out for a lot of it, people are just making others admit their crushes or making them do vaguely embarrassing bullshit. Finally somebody asks me the dreaded question.

“Vivian, truth or dare?” Heather Holloway is the one who asks, she’s another one of Billy's loyal little groupies, sweet girl but her taste in men is abysmal.

“Uh, dare I guess,” I say as I take a sip of my beer.

Heather giggles, “I dare you to strip and take a nice little swim.”

I’m looking at her like I could kill her, “Seriously? That’s what you’ve come up with? If you wanted to see me naked, you could’ve asked…” I get dirty looks from quite a few people for that comment but I couldn't care less.

“Don’t be a baby, do it.”

I glare at her and begrudgingly head towards the nearby dock, everyone in the group follows me, which of course gets others to follow out of curiosity. I get to the end of the dock and debate if I’m really gonna do this; I finish my drink and decide that I have nothing to lose. It’ll probably piss Carol off to no end as well and I love nothing more than seeing her mad. I start by putting up my hair, next I take off my shirt. I’m wearing a red lacy bra underneath it. I hear some asshole yell, “Take it off!” and roll my eyes. I take off my shorts next, I’m wearing a pair of leopard print panties underneath, they’re one of my favorite pairs. I kick off my shoes and peel off my socks before taking a deep breath and jumping in. The water is cold but not cold enough to where I freeze up and can’t swim. I resurface and look at everyone on the dock. Carol looks pissed but everyone else has a smile on their face.

“Is no one gonna join me?” I joke.

“Hell no! I heard they found a body in there, you’re crazy!” Tina exclaims.

“It’s just water,” I say before swimming off.

The water feels nice, I’ve always felt calmer in water. When I was a kid, I’d go to the community pool and sit at the bottom for as long as my lungs would allow me. There was something so peaceful about it. I decide to get out and get redressed; I swim back over to the dock where I see Billy Hargrove standing smugly, his arms crossed as he looks down at me.

“Quite a show you put on there, sweetheart,” He says, clearly trying to sound seductive.

“Mhm,” I say uninterestedly, “Mind helping me up onto the dock?”

He reaches down and helps lift me out of the water, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to him. I put my hand on his chest to keep some distance. I don’t want him to think I’m into any of this.

“Thanks, Hargrove,” I pull away from him and look down at where I swore I had left my clothes, but of course, they’re not there. I look around with a confused look and then turn to Billy.

“Where the fuck are my clothes?” I ask angrily, I’m freezing cold and in just my underwear with like half of Hawkins High staring at my body.

“You don’t really need them, do you, sweetheart? I mean with a body like that, why cover it up?” He teases, he reaches out to touch me and I take a step back.

I cross my arms over my chest to cover it up, “I’m serious. Where. The. Fuck. Are my clothes?” I’m giving him my meanest glare.

“Give me a kiss and I’ll tell you,” He smirks.

“In your fucking dreams. Just tell me where they are!” I’m yelling now and causing a scene. Carol is gonna murder me.

“You know what, princess? With an attitude like that I don’t think I will…unless you wanna make it up to daddy,” He says.

I damn near slap him across his smug face, but before I can get the chance somebody is coming to my aid. I see Eddie snatching my clothes out of somebody's hands, some asshole football player I can’t bother to remember the name of, and gulp as I watch him walk up to me. He doesn’t say a word as he hands me my clothes, I feel pathetic as I take a minute to even look him in the eyes, “T-Thanks.” I redress quickly.

He just nods in response. He goes to leave but Billy is seeing red and wants a fight. He grabs Eddie by his jacket, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going freak?” My eyes go wide, maybe I want a fight too.

“Billy shut the f-” I’m cut off by Eddie pushing Billy into the lake. Everyone gasps and Eddie goes running, since I’m technically involved in this and don’t plan on having my ass handed to me by Billy Hargrove I take off as well.

I run as fast as I can to the road. I didn’t drive here because I don’t even have a car so it looks like I’m walking, or well, running home tonight. When I reach the road, I take a minute to catch my breath. That’s when a van pulls up beside me. The window rolls down and for a minute I think I’m about to become a missing person. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but get in,” Eddie says.

My eyes go wide and for a minute I’m frozen in place with my mouth hanging open.

“Hey! Unless you want Hargrove’s little groupies to tear you apart I’d suggest getting in.”

I nod and run over to the passenger side and hop in, I’m quick to get buckled so we can get the fuck out of here. He notices me shivering, “There’s a uh, a blanket in the back. You look cold and this piece of shit doesn’t have heat or air conditioning.”

“T-Thanks,” I reach into the back and grab the blanket. I recognize it from Wayne's trailer, it’s the one I always used at movie nights. I smile as I remember the time we had watched The Hill Have Eyes, and I pretended to be scared of the cannibals so I could cuddle up next to Eddie. I wrap the blanket around myself and nuzzle my face into the warmth.

We ride in silence for about 5 minutes before I realize I don’t even know where he’s taking me, “Hey um, where are we going?” I ask. I take a minute to take in his appearance, he looks so much different from when we were friends. He’s been growing out his hair, it reaches his shoulders and curls beautifully. The dark circles he already had under his eyes are even worse now, but he doesn’t look bad. He looks even better than when I knew him.

He rolls his eyes, “I’m taking you home, obviously.” There’s the snarky response I expected. He’s hot even when he’s mean to me.

“Oh, okay. Sorry…” I reply softly.

“Where did you think I was gonna take you? Did your shiny little friends corrupt you into believing I’m a virgin sacrificing satanist or something?” He asks sarcastically.

“Definitely not. You couldn’t sacrifice me anyway, you need a virgin, remember? If you sacrificed me it’d probably fuck up whatever you’re doing, turn into a monster or something,” I joke.

I see him smile and butterflies fill my stomach.

“Sorry I forgot you gave your virginity to Tommy fucking Hagan,” he says dryly. I struck a nerve and now I feel like I could throw up, guilt is clawing in my throat.

“You gave yours to Nicole Summers so I guess we’re fucking even, huh?” I reply angrily.

The rest of the ride is silent, and he speeds up to get to my apartment quicker, we’re there in no time thanks to all the traffic laws he’s broken along the way. “Out,” he says when he pulls up outside of my apartment building. His voice is stern and commanding.

“Thanks for the ride…and for standing up for me,” I say.

“Don’t expect it to happen again, now get out,” He says coldly.

“Fucking fine then!” I hop out of the van, “I’ll walk next time.” I slam the van door and start trudging to my apartment.

“There won’t be a next time! You owe me for this, by the way!” He yells.

“Yeah sure, whatever!” I walk faster up the stairs and go into my apartment.

My mom is already in bed asleep. I come in quietly and tiptoe to my bathroom. I strip off all my clothes and turn on the shower; I take off my makeup while I wait for it to heat up. I slip my hand under the water to check the temperature, it’s perfect. I step in and sigh happily as I feel the warm water wash over my body. I wash my hair twice because I don’t trust whatever the hell is in the water at the lake. When I get out I wrap a black towel around my body and a blue one in my hair. I do my skin care and hair routines; it helps calm me down before bed. I know that tonight it’ll be pretty impossible for me to get to sleep, most nights I’m up for a while and I know tonight it’ll be even worse. I put on a band t-shirt and a pair of black and gray striped panties before getting into bed. I know the shirt will come off before I go to sleep, I can’t stand the feeling of wearing a shirt when I try to sleep.

I get under the covers and turn on my radio, sometimes listening to music before bed helps me clear my thoughts, but not tonight. Tonight the music just soundtracks my thoughts about Eddie and what happened. I wonder what he thought when he saw me at the cooler, and then what he thought when he saw me stripping in front of everyone and jumping into the lake. I wonder if he liked what he saw, or he was still just disgusted by the mere thought of me. I wonder why he helped me. He didn’t have to, he could’ve just left or completely ignored the entire situation but he intervened. He stole my clothes back from some jock and pushed Billy fucking Hargrove into the lake. He’s on two peoples shitlists now all because he helped me out. It makes no sense; he looked at me with disgust when he saw me at the cooler so why help? And why offer me a ride home? God, I just don’t get it, men are so fucking confusing. There’s a reason I limit them to one night and then pretty much force them to swear it into secrecy that we had ever had sex. It’s not that I’m ashamed that I’ve slept with who I have, well besides Tommy, that’s like the biggest regret I think I’ve ever had. I just know what’ll happen if everyone knows who I’m sleeping with, when you’re in Carol and Tommy’s circle everybody is obsessed with who you’re fucking. Everyone loves the drama of getting to label someone a slut or getting to come up with bullshit rumors about your relationship. But if nobody knows shit about your love or sex life, then you can kind of avoid it.

It’s not just my circle whose relationships and hookups get picked apart. Shockingly Eddie’s love and sex life is considered a fun topic to many people. Everyone knows me and Eddie used to be best friends so when he started dating a girl who was practically my clone everyone was quick to spread rumors he was only dating her because she looked like me. I can’t lie, she could’ve been my twin. She had the same hair and eye color as me; she had my lips and my eyes; she was like me but prettier and it pissed me off.

I saw them together once at a party; she was dancing on him and he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world, the strobe lights in the room illuminating their faces. It drove a stake through my heart as soon as I saw it. I remember running into the kitchen and taking a shot, and then another. I was quick to find a guy to hook up with; I hoped it would take my mind off Eddie. I had even let him give me hickeys hoping Eddie would notice and be jealous, but that guy couldn’t even make me cum so I got absolutely nothing out of it. I should’ve been over Eddie by then, and I should be over him by now, but he clings to my mind constantly like a parasite.

I’ve heard the stories about Eddie, sleeping with a few girls here and there, stumbling into short-lived relationships with some of them. My luck is just as bad. Every guy I’ve been with can’t seem to give me what I’m looking for, but then again, I don’t even know what I’m looking for. I just know it’s not whatever a drunk bathroom hookup or a blind date has given me. I’m sick of how I’ve felt since me and Eddie stopped being friends. Some nights it gets so bad I almost pick up the phone. I have his number memorized for years, and I doubt I’ll ever forget it. When I’m drunk, I have to fight back every urge to call him. I know that if I do, he’d either slam the phone down as soon as my voice hits his ears, or maybe he’d cuss me out, tell me everything that’s wrong with me as if I haven’t spent my nights listing off every flaw for years. The emptiness aches through my body like a sickness. It’s an ache that alcohol or pills can’t fix. I don’t know if anything ever will.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x oc #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic

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givemeanaccountalready · 8 months

Text

Does Haruka give anyone else Peter Pan vibes in “All Knowing All Agony,” or is that just me? And I don’t mean this Peter Pan:

I’m thinking more along the lines of this one:

Let me explain. In Haruka’s first music video, “Weakness,” the line between Haruka’s younger self and current self is much more clearly defined. They wear separate outfits and Haruka’s younger self seems to be doing his own thing while Haruka watches. The only times the two interact is when Haruka reaches out to his younger self and hurts him.

Meanwhile, in “All-Knowing and All Agony,” the boundary is much more blurred with Haruka’s younger self acting out grandiosely to emphasize current Haruka’s actions.

And you guys may have already noticed this, but Haruka’s younger self seems to be wearing the same school uniform as his current self did at the beginning of the music video when he is freaking out.

So, get on with it, what does this have to do with evil Peter Pan?

The original Peter Pan was meant to represent the good things and the bad things about children. He is the boy who is always ready for another adventure. Mischievous is his middle name. Fun was a serious contender. But like most children, he doesn’t think before he acts, and his two serious flaws are his tendency to boast and be careless.

“The Child Thief” by Gerald Brom takes the bad side of Peter Pan and then doubled it. His Peter Pan is this half-human, half-fae humanoid who brings children and young teens (typically between 10-15, but he prefers them closer to 13-15 because they tend to have better odds at surviving) to his home world to help fight his war against this enemy group. Peter is doing this on behalf of his mother figure, and internally admits that while he is good at winning over the kids he brings over, he doesn’t really have an emotional attachment to them outside of what they could possibly do to help his mother figure. Peter even callously notes in the first or second chapter that not every kid he has attempted to lead to Neverland survived crossing over, and the book later notes that an unknown but high number of kids have died because they fought in Peter’s war. I won’t spoil the ending, but that all-consuming focus on saving his mother figure reminds me of Haruka’s all-consuming drive to get his mother to look at him, regardless of the cost of life.

We know Haruka wants to go back to his younger years because his mother was kinder to him then. Perhaps his implied learning disability wasn’t as noticeable as back then because younger Haruka rarely appears troubled in either video. In “Weakness,” the only time that the younger Haruka is not smiling is when he is interacting with his current self. Younger Haruka is smiling widely whenever he shows up in “All-Knowing All Agony.”

If I had to guess, I’d say that young Haruka is somewhere between 10-12. He looks like he could be having a play date with Amane. Current Haruka is ~17, and has more of a thing about growing up than Holden Caulfield. Young Haruka in “Weakness” has his eyes on his mom, that girl, and animals, and is alarmed when he is lost and looking for the dog in the woods and when he sees the scribble blood covering his hands. Current Haruka in that same video is mostly just watching. His moments of action come from him lashing out at younger Haruka. Then when his younger self and current self mix in “All-Knowing All Agony,” he starts to embody that careless, selfish aspect of Peter Pan. Current Haruka corrupted the idealization of his younger self. It’s no longer about petting dogs and having a good time, but about meeting his goal of getting his mother’s love and if that means killing, then so be it.

Quick sidebar. I’m not sure if this is just a Western thing or if it exists in Japan too, but historically, Western fashion has dictated short pants for boys and long pants for adolescents and men. It used to be embarrassing to wear shorts past the age of 12-13. Most schools that have uniforms that I know of tend to leave out the option for shorts in the boys’ warm weather uniform when boys reach high school, or even late middle school, and instead the boys are told to wear pants made of something more breathable compared to their cold weather uniform pants. Haruka seems to be wearing shorts as a high schooler, and I’m not sure if that’s supposed to mean something about him trying to revert back to his younger self or if I’ve lost the plot entirely. His younger self seems to be wearing the same brown shorts, white-collared shirt, tie, and sweater vest combo that his high school self is wearing. I’m only bringing this up because in “Weakness” Haruka’s current self is wearing longer pants and a shirt that are clearly distinctive from the polo and shorts combo his younger self wears. Even his shoes look different. Young Haruka wears sneakers whereas current Haruka wears slip on loafers. Young and current Haruka are separate in “Weakness” but aren’t in “All-Knowing All Agony.” It means something, even if I don’t grasp it yet.

But enough about clothes. What do y’all think?

#milgram #haruka sakurai #sakurai haruka #milgram analysis #I still can’t focus on my WIPs and am once again the Milgram fandom’s problem

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ashes-writing · 2 years

Text

wild one pt two | stranger things ; g.emerson

tag list babes || req rules + fandoms/characters || got a req or a ? || masterlist

CHAPTERS ;

one can be found by clicking. masterlist of other ST things can be found here.

AUTHORS NOTES;

Okay so look.. We're not talking about how I went veering into badgirl!popular/cheerleader territory with reader. We're not, lmao. I'm also still not ignoring my thousand other wips, I swear. This just came to me and I thought what the hell, why not. So, here we are.

You guys literally made my morning, you have no idea. All the comments / reblogs + reblogs with tags / the likes, you name it. I really didn't think about anything outside of getting this idea out of my head and you guys blew me away, ughhhh. I love you all so fucking much and you truly don't know what your interactions with my bullshit mean to me, I can't even begin to express it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

SUMMARY;

-- cheerleaders and drummers don't mix. Or do they?

aka, you're a cheerleader. not your typical one, but the fact remains. he's a drummer, one of the freaks. and yet somehow, you keep circling back to each other. how's this gonna go, I wonder?

PAIRING;

Gareth Emerson x Cheerleader/Popular!Bad Girl reader.

{ beyond clothing descriptions and the knowledge that reader has female organs + the personality stuff I can't stop adding in, reader is mostly a blank slate. have fun with it. }

WARNINGS;

jason carver + his friends existing, body image / self esteem issues, angst, swearing, bullying / teenagers being shitheads within their own circle of friends, a bra is mentioned, holy shit reader and Gare are awkward angsty little stubborn shits and i live for it, for this chapter, that's it.

TAGLIST;

The only people on my taglist for Stranger Things currently are listed below. If you’d like to be and you aren’t, please go add yourself via the link at the very top of the post.

@ALLELITESMUT

@AURUMBELIS

@ARIES-ARCADE

@COLE22ANN

@HCLOANGCLS

@HEYAITSKLAUDIA

@ICEQUEEN1371

@KRYS-ORION

@LETSBEDRAGONSTOGETHER

@MUSICHEALSSCARS

@scoobiessnacks

@secretsicanthideanymore

@SUITS-AND-SMIRKS

OTHER STUFF;

Okay, first of all, this is just another slice of life type thing.. and also, look.. loook.. so my undying need to give Billy growth of some kind won out here. I mention that Susan threw Neil out. And I'm going off that to further say that maybe Billy stuck around a while, graduated and then got the hell out of town. BUT.. before he did, he kind of had time and space away from Neil's influence to realize that maybe he was becoming his father and he didn't want to be. He's still gonna seem to be an asshole, but just.. slightly less / more accepting of people. Since the Upside Down / Vecna and the other stuff that traumatizes every single one of these poor kids doesn't exist in most of my writings, Starcourt still exists, Jim and Joyce took the fam to California to celebrate their wedding or something and are back and naturally, nobody will be dying in this. JSYK more importantly, Gareth and Jeff have been aged to 18 so that the gang will all graduate together. Nobody is underage (except the actual kiddos but this is more about Gareth/reader with a side of Max) so we're all good.

“What are we even doing here?” Gareth grumbles as the four of them make their way over from where they’d parked in front of the diner to the park where the Fourth of July carnival was in full swing. The deafening sound of Motley Crue nearby and screeching brakes had the four friends sharing a look and glancing in the general direction of the sound.

You’re swearing up a storm and pulling at the handle on your door but the damn thing is stuck again. Emma’s already gotten out and she’s using the mirror on the passenger side to primp as Max and Lucas attempt to help you unstick your door. “I keep telling her Lucas, this car is literally Christine. Remember last week when it just quit and we all had to walk in the rain?”

“Hey, maybe if you try to wiggle the handle when you pull…” Lucas suggests. You try but it’s not budging.

“Jesus christ, just go out the window, trouble! Patrick is waiting!” Emma’s impatient, practically bouncing on her feet and ready to get her date started. You glance over at her and laugh. “Oh my godddd, go then, Em! Don’t keep your guy waiting or whatever cos this car is a demon straight from the pits of hell tonight!” you’re waving her off.

Eddie chuckles and rubs his chin. “That car’s possessed.” he muses.

Grant snickers quietly, “Her temper kind of reminds me of someone else’s…” and as he says this, his eyes fix on Gareth.

“Wasn’t she walking away from it while flipping it the bird that day it rained last week?” Jeff chuckles and shakes his head. Eddie laughs and nods. “Mhm.”

Inside the car, Max is torn between laughter and concern. “Okay, look. The windows are down. Just climb out. Before you break your hand.” she grimaces as you hit the door one more time and try to yank the handle a little more. "Stupid fucking piece of shit, oh my god, c'mon!" you grumble in frustration as you pinch the bridge of your nose and blow at falling hair “I’m gonna push this motherfucker over the quarry, I swear to God. It’s coming, ugh. C’mon you piece of shit! Open!” you proclaim, pulling harder on the handle, beyond agitated now.

Emma’s gone ahead already and the second you see Andy glancing your way, you groan inwardly. Not today, Satan.” you grumble as you hoist yourself up and climb out the window of the car. Lucas does the same over on the passenger side, pulling Max out after he’s steady.

And just like clockwork, Andy’s clearing his throat when you finish giving your hair a tousle and checking your pockets to make sure you have everything you need so you don’t have to walk back over from the carnival.

“Hey.” Andy’s eyes roam over you slowly. Almost lingering long enough to be lewd when they settle on your tits and it’s to a point where you clear your throat while rolling your eyes just to get him looking up at your actual face. Everything about the way he’s looking at you makes you really uncomfortable, but true to form, Andy doesn’t seem to pick up on it. If he does, he doesn’t care because like the rest of the jocks at Hawkins High, he’s used to getting exactly what he wants.

“Bye.” you retort, biting your lip. “As you can see, ape,the problem is solved. There’s uh, nothing to see here, no sense in hanging around.” you’re trying to get rid of him but he doesn’t seem willing to get the hint. Thank God for Max and Lucas, because they wander over and clear their throats. You use their appearance to your advantage and hurry away. “Gotta go, uh.. We’re going to the midway or something.” and you grab hold of your stepsister’s elbow, the two of you hauling ass away in such a hurry that the three of you wind up colliding with the four members of Corroded Coffin. More to the point, you wind up colliding with Gareth and the two of you topple over. You raise up, straddling his hips and you can feel yourself turning red and hot all over. Gareth realizes that his hands are on your hips and flustered, he moves them off real quick.

“Uh..” your hand catches in your hair as you extract yourself from his body reluctantly, “Sorry.”

Gareth looks like he’s glaring at you and all you can think is that this is just awesome, just great. Now you can add nearly crushing the poor guy with your body right to the bottom of the list under covering him in cake flavored vomit back in seventh grade.

Jeff clears his throat and gives Gareth a look to clue him into the fact that his facial expression is maybe not the best choice for the current situation and Gareth wants to die right then and there because he realizes that he’s scowling at you. You hold out a hand to Gareth to attempt pulling him up and he honestly wants to grab hold of your hand but that stubborn need to not look like a little bitch and pull himself up off the ground wins out and he pulls himself up and as soon as he realizes what he’s done -and what you possibly think now because of it, he wants to punch himself in the face for it.

You linger for a second or two. “You’re uh… I didn’t hurt you, right?” you ask quietly, swallowing hard as you look him over in concern. Trying not to focus too hard on his eyes and how angry he looks or how embarrassed you are, or how up close, his lips look even more tempting somehow.

But you’re assuming that you’ve blown it all over again and given that your father and stepmother live in a trailer park, the option to buy a deserted island and live out your dying days is not available to you. ,, Guess it’s back to avoiding him at all costs.” the thought comes and it makes you frown just slightly. Sadly. You plaster on a weak smile as soon as you feel it form though, and you take a deep breath to pull yourself together. “Sorry. I’m.. Gonna go now. Yeah..” you hurry away before he even manages to get one single word out.

And as you disappear into the crowd on the midway with Lucas and Max flanking either side of you, Gareth turns and immediately kicks the nearest garbage bin to him as he swears out loud about the whole mess that just turned into.

Eddie would’ve laughed, but he could look at his best friend and just tell that Gareth was torn up real bad about the way that all just transpired, so when Jeff is about to open his mouth, he nudges him and shakes his head no quietly. Jeff nods in agreement and Grant leans in, whispering to the two of them, “He really shook her up. That’s the first time I’ve seen her actually get flustered since at least 6th grade.”

“Yeah, he won’t believe that, buddy. Still thinks the whole reason she vomited all over him that one night was because she wound up getting sent to the closet with him on the spin.” Jeff explains calmly. Eddie snickers quietly, “Y’know how he is, man.”

“Yeah, and sometimes, it doesn’t do him any favors.” Jeff responds with Grant nodding in agreement. “Agreed.”

You’re standing in line for the Gravitron when you spot Gareth walking past, your neighbor Eddie and their other two friends Grant and Jeff in tow. You quickly face the front and you bump against Max as you do it. She snickers quietly. “Are you okay? You were really flustered back there.”

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s fine, everything is fine. I was just born to a father too fuckin poor to buy me a private island to go die on, that’s all.” you laugh, gazing at the ride as it spins while twisting some messy strands of hair around your finger. “Guess it’s back to avoid at all costs.”

Max laughs and shrugs. “Or.. you could just ya know… Play the whole thing off.”

Lucas chuckles quietly. “He wasn’t mad. Gareth’s just got an angry face sometimes. He doesn’t even realize when he’s doing it.”

“Oh trust me. He looked mad. If he wasn’t, he was probably annoyed because my fat ass was probably crushing him or something.”

Lucas almost tells you that he’s at least fifty percent sure that’s not the case, but he knows how stubborn you are by now. So instead, when he catches sight of Will,Mike and Eleven, with Dustin in tow, he waves them over.

“Guys, this is ____.”

“Call her trouble though. Everybody else does.” Max smiles at her friends, “She’s my new stepsister.”

You smile at the group of teenagers and laugh. “I don’t bite.”

Will gives you a weak smile and nods. “Hey.”

Mike’s gaping at Max. “Isn’t she a cheerleader?” he questions, wary and tense as he gazes over at you when you’ve turned your attention back to the ride you’re all in line for. “Why isn’t she with her friends right now?” he’s only asking because he’s worried, because he’s not even an official freshman yet and already, the taunts and the teasing and the bullshit from the jocks have started towards him, his best friends Will and Dustin and his girlfriend Eleven.

Max rolls her eyes at Mike. “Would you relax? She hates them. I mean, except for Emma. Maybe that girl Chrissy Cunningham.”

“Hey. I’m Dustin Henderson.” Dustin smiles at you and you smile back. “I think I babysat you a few years ago, kid.” Dustin laughs and nods. “Wait, yeah. I remember now. The blanket fort.” and you grin, giving him a thumbs up.

Eleven smiles at you. “It’s nice to meet you. Max talked about you a lot when she called or wrote this summer.”

You smile back at the other girl and nod. “She talked about you nonstop. How was California? I bet it was fun, right?”

“It wasn’t too bad. I think Jim was ready to get back here, he said he’d gotten enough sand in places it shouldn’t be for the rest of his life.” Eleven laughs and you smile at her, nodding. “Yeah, my dad took me to this big race day or something when I was little. Kinda hated the beach because of all the sand.” you shrug.

The line inches forward and you find yourself getting pulled into the conversation happening between Max and her friends.

And then you spot Caroline and some of the other cheerleaders wandering down the midway. “Fucking hell. It’s too early in the night for them. C’mon ground, open up a portal? I’ll even take one to hell right now…” you rub the bridge of your nose. Luckily, Max has just enough friends that with all of them standing around you, Caroline and the two other girls flanking her walk right past without even noticing you.

“If you hate them so much, why not just quit?” Mike’s gazing at you, curious.

“Because quitting means they win, kid. Quitting proves that they’re all right about me and I am trash. I’m too petty.” you explain, giving a shrug.

The ride’s ready to board and you step on. Seeing one or two others do it, you get curious.

“Don’t think about it.” Max hisses.

“Oh come on!” you grin as you do a handstand and press yourself back against the wall, “Gravity will hold me up.”

“Okay, well.. When you puke everywhere, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Max gives a mild shrug as she and Lucas take the two spots next to you.

Across the ride, Eleven mouths to Max, “Is she crazy?” and all Max can do is shrug because sometimes, she does wonder.

The ride comes to an end and you stumble off and right into Emma, who is cozied up to Patrick and carrying the biggest stuffed panther you’ve ever seen before. You pout a little, but you smile at Patrick. “Hurt her and I’m coming for your knees, dude.”

Patrick chuckles. And spotting Lucas as he exits the ride, he grins and makes his way over. “Worked on that jumpshot yet, kid?”

Lucas nods.

Max nudges you and nods to the cotton candy stand across the midway, laughing when you freeze because Gareth and his friends are sitting at a picnic table eating nachos. “I feel like cotton candy. C’mon.”

“Oh no. Nope. Not a chance. I’ll give you the money and let you go, though.”

Max grabs hold of your arm and she’s practically dragging you towards the vendor. You’re laughing but also as you pass the table Gareth is sitting at, you’re painfully aware that he’s sitting there.

And despite trying your best not to, you glance back because you hear him laugh about something and it catches your attention.

“Ya know, it’s not that hard to just make the first move. I did with Lucas.”

You laugh but the laughter dies away the second you realize she’s being serious. You shake your head. “Oh no. Nope. Absolutely not. Every single time I try to even breathe near the guy, I go and fuck up, do something stupid.”

Max laughs quietly. “Y’know… when my mom met your dad I was scared. Because Neil and Billy, they..” she rubs her forehead and you nod because you know where she’s going. “Yeah. I know.” you mumble quietly. “How was he when you talked to him last time?” you ask quietly.

“Happy to be back in California. Relieved to be away from Neil too. He’s happier, it’s like he’s a total different person. He said he thought about coming to visit around Thanksgiving and he actually talked to my mom for two hours.” Max admits, managing a weak smile. “Maybe Mom throwing Neil out gave him the courage to do it too.”

“Maybe it did.” you answer, smiling.

Max speaks up after a quick glance around reveals that Gareth was staring right at you and turned away only after he realizes that she’d caught him doing it. “Ooh.” Max laughs as she leans into you a little, “he was looking at you.”

You laugh and shake your head. “Nice try, Max. It’s not happening.” you sigh a little, glancing back but so quick you could’ve easily given yourself whiplash when you turn your head to look back at the stall you stand in front of instead. “Nope. I honestly think he hates me. I mean, to be fair, I can’t blame the guy. First I barf on him then I go and try to crush him.”

Max raises a brow. “You? Crush him? You realize he’s brawnier and a little taller than you, right? I doubt you crushed him.”

You shrug. Because all you ever hear from the coach of your squad and Caroline is that you’re too thick, you need to cut back. This and that and if you were even slightly less confident in your body like some girls your age, you’re pretty sure it would live in your head rent free. And sometimes, on a bad day, it does. But you try not to let it get to you.

Caroline spots you and she gives you a disappointed look because of where you happen to be standing when she wanders up to you. “I thought you were cutting out sugar?” she nods to the cotton candy stand.

“I never said I would… Mother.” you roll your eyes and take a big bite of the cotton candy as soon as the vendor inside the stall hands it to you. Caroline’s eyes settle on your Motley Crue t-shirt and your cut offs and the black motorcycle boots and she wrinkles her nose. “We have got to take you shopping at Starcourt soon. Can’t have you roaming the hallway like some grungy little whore when school starts back again.”

Max tenses and glares up at the older girl. Every part of her wants to say something but she doesn’t because she knows you well enough to know that you won’t hesitate to handle it.

You’re doing the same and you smirk. “Ya know… Maybe I prefer the grungy whore look. Maybe that’s just me.”

Caroline snorts in annoyance. Steps closer and smirks. “You do realize if you weren’t so flexible and so good at most of the stunts, you’d have already been off the team, right? You’re an image problem. Your skills and Chrissy, bless her sweet heart.. They’re the only things holding you at the top.”

“Oh really now.” you purr, stepping closer, smirking as you laugh softly. “Sweetheart.. What the hell makes you think I give a shit to start with, hm? The only reason I haven’t quit is Em and Chris. I promised them I wouldn’t quit way back in 9th grade. Sides,” you laugh and twirl hair around your finger as you glare at her calmly, “I like making the rest of you miserable bitches squirm.”

“Are you ready to go, Max?” you ask your stepsister as you shove past Caroline and you do it hard enough she stumbles back a little and you storm away.

Max is laughing and the two of you high-five as you stop within earshot of the table that Gareth and his friends happen to be sitting at. “I swear to God, Max..One day she’s gonna catch me in the wrong mood and I’m going to strangle her bare-handed.” you’re fuming a little as you glare at Caroline’s turned back. Max nods. “Her sister is just as bad. Maybe worse. She was trying to pick on Eleven at the roller rink last year.”

“Yeah, let her try that shit, any of them, truth be told. Let any of them try that shit when you guys are around me. They can honestly all go fuck themselves.” you grumble and take a few deep breaths as you toss the empty paper roll that held your cotton candy into the garbage. “C’mon. Let’s go back over. See what everyone else is doing, huh?”

Max nods and the two of you walk away.

Gareth glares at Caroline Owens turned back. Rolling his eyes. “Miserable bitch. She’s on somebody’s case about anything when her nose looks like an actual bird beak?” he’s ranting, he’s irritated by it and he’s not bothering to hide it. Eddie snickers and Jeff nudges Eddie. “I told you he still liked her, man.”

Gareth glares at the two of them. “I don’t. It’s just fucking stupid.”

“Mhm. And what was that two minute rant just now, Emerson?” Grant questions as he finishes off the nachos he’d gotten himself.

Gareth shrugs, goes quiet. “Nothing. It just pisses me the fuck off.”

“Mhm, right.” Jeff teases, but it’s gentler. Because he’s still remembering their talk out in Gareth’s garage earlier that afternoon. The one where he admitted that maybe he still liked her but then he immediately went on to list off every single reason why that wasn’t a good idea. And Jeff knows that right now, there’s a lot going on in his best friend’s head.

You make your way down the midway with Max and her friends because they’ve decided to tag along with her and Lucas and as soon as you spot Andy and Jason, you grumble. You give Chrissy a sweet smile and wave. And as the three of them wander over, you grumble under your breath even more about Andy and Jason.

It’s Lucas’ idea to just get in line for the bumper cars since that line is the shortest. So you all get in line for it and somehow, this doesn’t deter Andy or Jason from wandering over.

“Given any thought to what I suggested this afternoon?” Jason’s flashing that megawatt grin. Chrissy mouths an apology to you and speaks up quietly. “If she doesn’t like Andy, she doesn’t like him, Jason…”

“Sweetheart, I’m just trying to help my buddy. Andy really likes her.”

“But she doesn’t like him. Kind of feels like you’re forcing things.”

“I’m not, princess.” Jason says it so smoothly. You watch Chrissy swallow hard, swallow down whatever she was about to say with just the slightest hint of fear and worry in her eyes. You gaze at her a second or two, concerned.

You nudge Max. “If a guy ever treats you like that asshole treats her, run. He’s so controlling. She wanted to come stay last weekend, right? He tells her mother exactly where I live and that Wes has been to jail for an assault charge from an old bar fight and naturally, she couldn’t.”

Max glares at Jason. “Doesn’t surprise me. Not at all.” she mumbles, mostly to herself. She can’t stand him because she can see right through him. So could Billy. That’s why before he left for California last year, he warned Lucas about him. After apologizing for the way he’d treated him, which came as a huge shock to her when he’d done it. She’s almost praying her former step brother comes to visit for the holidays because she’d love to see Billy get his hands on Jason.

Andy’s eyeing you up. You shrink back just a little. Roll your eyes. “My eyes are up here, dirtbag.” you grumble calmly, Andy not even bothering to hide the fact that he was staring at your tits yet again. He chuckles. “I know, darlin. I just can’t–” you shake your head and smirk. “If I were you, I wouldn’t finish that sentence, pig. The answer is still no. Until the day you see Satan himself passing out Icees in hell, that’s gonna be the answer. I mean this, Andy,” you twirl some hair around your finger as you tilt your head to look up at the taller boy, “If you and I were the last hope at repopulating Earth, I’d fling myself right off the face of it. You’re a disgusting perverted asshole.”

“So bitchy.” Andy shakes his head. “You’ll be sorry you said that, darlin.”

You scoff at his warning. “Yeah, no. No I won’t, actually. If you came over here to try and guilt me into double dating, the answer is no. Get Em and Patrick to do it. I’m here with my family, okay? That’s more important, asshole.”

Max smiles just the slightest when you’re not looking to see it.

“And as her stepsister, I don’t want you around me. Got it?” Max speaks up, calm and quiet. Andy scoffs at her, rolling his eyes, “Oh yeah? Well what if your opinion doesn't count, kid?”

“Counts one hell of a lot more than anything you have to say, Andy. You can go now. Buh-bye.” you give him a dismissive little wave.

“You guys stay away from him and his friends, alright? Jason’s going to poison them all and they’re nothing but bullies.” you say it and Max nods. “You don’t have to tell me twice. It worries me that Lucas is on their team and he’s around it.”

You sigh and nod. Glancing over at her boyfriend as Jason wanders over to chat him up and you’ve seen the way it makes his friends scatter. “If he starts to change, do what’s best for yourself.” you fluff her hair. “C’mon. Let’s go collect your date and go find his actual friends and find somewhere to sit for the fireworks.”

“Hey, did Mom say if she was coming by after work with Wes?” Max asks. You shrug. “Wes said he wanted to meet us up here, something about watching fireworks with his girls is definitely better than getting wasted like he used to.” you admit, laughing softly. “Your mom’s really turned my big scary biker dad into a huge teddy bear. I kinda love her for that.” you admit, slipping an arm around Max.

You and Max wander over and you clear your throat. “C’mon kid. We need to find a place to sit for the fireworks. Thought you two might want to find your friends and sit with them too.” you smirk calmly at Jason as you say it, arms crossed over your bare midriff.

“We’ll see you at the gym tomorrow, buddy. We’ll work on that jump shot again. You’re gettin real good.” Jason says it so smoothly, with such a charmers grin too. Lucas grins back. “Okay, see you then.”

As you’re walking off, Max elbows him. “Hey! You know tomorrow is Saturday. You know that’s DnD night, Lucas.”

“And I can do both. Relax, baby. I know. I didn’t forget, okay?”

Max glances at you and sighs, shrugging. But she nods and manages a smile.

You find a spot in the grass and sprawl out, rising up when Emma wanders over with Patrick. You laugh and nod to Emma’s leg. “I’m borrowing your girlfriend’s thigh. I need a pillow, the ground’s hard, man.” Patrick snickers and gives you a thumbs up. “Go ahead, you’re good. You were her friend first.”

“Smart answer, buddy. Real smart answer.” you grin at him. You lean in to Emma and mumble quietly, “Caroline started her bitching earlier.”

“You too, huh? You should’ve heard Patrick when she came at me for eating that deep friend jalapeno. He told her to mind her own damn business, basically.”

You glance from Patrick to Emma and you giggle quietly. “So how’s it feel to live the dream, hm?”

“You could too, y’know.” Emma glances at you and then off into the crowd a little closer to the front and you glance in the direction to find Gareth and his three best friends sitting or sprawled out on the grass and for just a minute, you catch yourself attempting to imagine it before quickly shoving the thought out of his head as you tear your eyes off and look back up at her.

You snort in laughter. “Right, Em. Look, we both know that’s not gonna happen. Besides,” you settle to lay your head in her lap, “Pretty sure if he didn’t hate me for barfing on him back then, he hates me for nearly crushing him tonight.”

Emma scoffs. “Bitch, where? Where are you saying you crushed him, huh? Because he’s not a beanpole for one and two, he’s actually taller.. Sturdier than you.”

You flip her off and shrug. “I hit him pretty damn hard though, that’s where. I’m not saying it about me, I’m saying it because I pretty much football tackled the poor guy…. It was when we were trying to escape fuckin Andy that first time.”

“Still! I doubt he hates you for an accidental crash, woman, jesus christ.” Emma argues.

“Woman, I’m telling you. He was glaring at me. Full on glaring.” you insist.

Emma laughs and shakes her head. Apparently, you haven’t realized that it’s just Gareth’s default facial expression most of the time and in no way does it indicate that he’s angry. Unless he’s yelling, in someone’s face about to shove or just calmly glaring with his fists clenched.

As Mayor Kline gives his long-winded speech about the importance of the holiday, you lounge on the ground, staring up at the stars. Nearby, you can hear Max and her friends talking back and forth and laughing. When you spot your father and Susan making their way in, you wave and nod to the spot in the grass between Max and her friends and you with yours.

Patrick clears his throat. “Either of you want anything? I’m gonna get a snowcone.”

“Please, babe?” Emma asks.

“Cherry coke. Tell ‘em not to skimp on the cherries, please?” you call out.

– ( after the carnival)

The knock on the door of the Munson trailer had the four best friends sharing a look. Eddie palms his face. “I fucking forgot to get my clothes out of Susan’s dryer. Goddamn it.” he grumbles to himself as he puts down his Monopoly piece and puts away his money. “No stealing, shitheads.” he’s calling out over his shoulder as he opens the trailer door.

You instantly regret your decision to just wander over without bothering with the formality of pants and in one of your longer t-shirts when you spot Gareth sitting on the living room floor inside Eddie’s trailer. “Your clothing, dude.” you hold up the taped and overfilled laundry basket. Eddie catches you watching Gareth as Gareth makes himself look at the game board in front of him.

“You can come in and say hi?” Eddie’s taunting remark draws you out of your own head. “Nah man.. Wrestling's on tonight. I was kind of in the middle of watching a real good match with Wes when the dryer went off. I uh..” you shuffle bare feet against the stoop and drag your hands through damp hair, “Better get back over there. Yep. Mhm.” you’re rambling and you want to die, but you do the next best thing instead. You bolt back across the street.

And it’s only when you’re back in the trailer that belongs to your father, Wes and Susan, your stepmom, that you realize somehow, your laundry must’ve gotten mixed in with Eddie’s because you’re trying to find your favorite leopard print bra, the one with the little snakes on it too, and you can’t find it anywhere.

“Just fuckin awesome. First I manage to tackle a guy I’m pretty sure I might have a crush on again and make him hate me, but now, my goofy neighbor Munson knows what one of my bras looks like. Fuck my life.” you groan out dramatically as you fall back against the bed.

And across the road, Eddie’s putting his clothes in his room when he spots it in the pile. He snickers to himself and yes, maybe to fluster Gareth just a little, he slingshots it in Gareth’s direction. “Something for you, buddy.”

“The fuck?” Gareth realizes what it is and his entire body reddens as he shifts the way he sits on the living room floor in front of the Monopoly board. “How the hell’d you get this?”

“Sometimes their shit gets mixed in with ours when I wash clothes.” Eddie shrugs.

Gareth turns the thin garment over in his hands but he’s smart enough to know that his friends are about to start the teasing at any second, so he tosses it back at Eddie. “Idiot.” he grumbles, rolling the dice so that he can take his turn.

Eddie snickers quietly. “Keep it, man.”

“Give it back to her, idiot. Do we really need a reason for those douchebags she’s probably friends with to come looking for us?” Gareth grumbles.

“You realize she kinda hates them, right? Literally Emma and Chrissy are the only people from that crowd she actually likes. Your girl is a loner, Emerson.” Jeff insists but he knows he's talking to a damn brick wall at this rate. Gareth's got his mind made up. And he's definitely wary.

“She’s not my girl.”

“But she could be.” Jeff suggests calmly, glancing across the table at his best friend. Gareth laughs and goes quiet. “Yeah, somehow I doubt that, I mean.. Thanks to my face doing it’s usual thing earlier, she probably thinks I hate her now anyway.”

“I doubt it, man.” Jeff and Grant insist in unison. Eddie just rubs his hand over his face and laughs. “You’re always calling me dramatic, who thinks a girl hates him just because his face does bitchy things on it’s own? Because it’s not me, Emerson. Ya know, the quickest way to clear it up is I dunno, actually talk to her.. Right?”

“Yeah, not happening. You saw her just now when she was at the door with your clothes. She didn’t even look over here. Like at all. It’s not a big deal anyway, school will start soon. She’ll wind up dating one of those assholes. I’ll even bet on it.” Gareth insists.

“Whatever you say, buddy.” Jeff just shrugs.

#gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth emerson imagine #gareth emerson fanfiction #gareth emerson fanfic #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson x fem!reader

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crymeariveronceagain · 2 years

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Okay, so, I missed the prompt for yesterday but I still want to do it. Sooo. Here we goo.

What Kotlc means to me

There's something kind of special about how I got here, in a really strange way. There's something special about it. Being 15 and trying to read every single book in the library. Picking up a book because I need somewhere else to go, someone else's life to live. Reading the entire series through Nightfall in 3 days.

I never looked back, to be honest? I had huge opinions and my cousin had read the books and another friend of mine has also read the books so I talked about it with them, and the Flashback came out and I read it and got so annoyed with Fitz and Alden. Like, literally. Part of my love and attachment to this series was born from my distinct hatred of specific characters.

And I'd never been one to write fanfic. My mom had thoroughly pounded it into my head that fanfic wasn't real writing, and that I should be doing more real things with my work. I guess, with kotlc? I decided that didn't matter?

Who cares if it's not real writing, I enjoy it deeply and I loved sharing it with other people? It brought so much joy to me when I was able to capture the voices of Keefe and Sophie in Walk Through Hell. I remember sitting there and thinking "This sounds like something Shannon would write".

And I remember recommending the books to everyone. My then-boyfriend took me up on reading it, and fell in love with it, too, and I think that was the only time he ever liked my writing, when I sent him the Google doc for Walk Through Hell.

I was a Pinterest fan for a long while, and Tumblr posts in the making lurk in the comments sections of the kotlc pins. I went on mini rants about how Keefe and Sophie and even Fitz, even though I changed my tune about him after a while of character analysis. But nobody really interacts on Pinterest. Comments get likes or maybe a comment back, but it's not a social media. It's just media. No social. Like YouTube.

So like, in a really dark part of my life, I started posting stuff to AO3. And it just opened up this world where I could write and discuss my thoughts through my writing? If I had something to say I could say it, even if it was writing a fanfic about it and posting it, qnd people would see it! People would comment, or leave kudos!! It was insane.

And, eventually, I joined Tumblr.

You would not believe how freaked out I was the first time @hunkyhair-my-beloved interacted with one of my posts. Like. Holy crap. You guys don't understand how much of my Pinterest collection of kotlc stuff was their incorrect quotes. Like, not even kidding. I literally felt like I was interacting with a celebrity.

So, I guess.

Kotlc is writing stories. Kotlc is getting mad at characters and writing a 6k dissertation on why they're awful, or a 10k thesis about why they're misunderstood. Kotlc is reading the tags of the people who reblog stuff from me. Kotlc is rolling my eyes at @fintan-pyren. Kotlc is giggling at incorrect quotes and crying when I think about songs that fit Keefe's character. Kotlc is sharing my stupid media analysis with people who actually love hearing it, and enjoy my nonsense enough to stick around and come back for more.

Like, I look back on it now and I'm like, ah, yes. I coped with my spiraling life by writing about Linh Song in a similar situation to me. I wrote about Sophie to understand myself. I wrote about Keefe to get inside my own head and understand the pieces of my own broken heart. Yada yada yada.

At the time, I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was just doing something fun.

Kotlc for me is being up at 1 in the morning writing so that I finish the next chapter. It's grinning at AO3 comments and laughing with you crazies. Kotlc is just.... Fun. Kotlc is so much fun.

As much as I can get worked up over the ways I think canon is lacking, stars.

Kotlc means a whole lot to me.

#kotlc #keeptober #ten years of keeper #kotlc fandom #kotlc thoughts #SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY FRIENDS ON THIS HELLSITE Y'ALL ARE SO COOL #what kotlc means to me

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kissmejusttokissme · 2 years

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hello, so I know this blog has kind of become a twilight au clusterduck but I promise I am actually working on my other projects. the newest chapter of "Waiting Room" is being worked on as we speak and I thought why not post a snippet while I'm working on it. so, here it is, a lil Murray & Eddie snippet from chapter three (very much not the final product)

The second time Murray sticks his nose in, Eddie genuinely considers fleeing the country.

They’re sitting at the dinner table, some fancy pasta dish on their plates and a half bottle of wine waiting to be drunk, and Murray straight up asks if Eddie and Steve are lovers.

“That kid has been eating up my phone line,” Murray says, topping up his glass. “So, either you’re the bestest buddies to ever have existed or you’re spending all that time whispering sweet nothings to each other.” He looks at Eddie over his glasses. “And judging by the blushing you think I don't see when you’re rushing back to the guest room, I’m guessing it's the latter.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything for a long minute. Lets the silence really settle over them and wonders if it’s too late for him to find someplace else to stay. It had been different in Hawkins, with Hopper and Joyce and the kids, he’d known -or at least he likes to think- they wouldn’t change up on him. That he had never been in any danger around them. But he doesn’t know Murray. Two weeks and a handful of decent interactions don’t give you insight into a person's soul.

“So, I’m sensing that you might be freaking out,” Murray says. “So, before you have an aneurysm or, I dunno, try making an escape through the guest room window, let it be known this is a zero-tolerance household on judgement. Well, not all judgement, I’ve been known to express my opinions from time to time but is that not the right of a man in his own home?” He sighs. “You know, my first boyfriend did say I talked too much but he also said that he trusted the government so let's just say I don’t trust him to be anyone’s character witness.”

Eddie blinks slowly. “Your first boyfriend?”

“I have a rich tapestry of a life,” Murray says. “Someday, when I’m drunk enough, ask me about my ex-wife. That’s a doozy.” He finishes what is in his glass. “So, am I right about your pen-pal or what?”

Being one of the few people who can drive, Steve has been tasked with taking the two-hour trip to the nearest city every week to call Eddie and keep him updated. Except, six nights in a row now, Eddie has been shouted over to the phone and Steve has been on the other end.

(“My parents are driving me insane,” he says.) (“The kids are worried about you,” he says.) (“I miss you so much it’s like you’ve taken a part of me with you,” he says.)

(Eddie cries every time and bites back the urge to run all the way to Hawkins and face it all just to see Steve in person again.)

“He saved my life,” Eddie says, pushing his food around his plate with his fork. “We,” he sighs. “We’re whatever we are.”

“At least you can admit that you’re something,” Murray says. “You'd think people would see that I have won literal awards for investigative journalism and trust my judgment. But who am I to question the human condition, right, I'm just some guy." He offers to pour Eddie more wine and, for once, Eddie accepts. "You must miss him."

“I miss everyone."

“But you miss him more,” Murray says. “It’s not a crime to admit that you love someone, you know. It’s not going to make the rest of those idiots want to save you any less.”

#waiting room #steddie fic #so this is one of two murray and eddie interactions and i am very much not. sure. about the first one but i do like this one quite a bit #this chapter is a bit of a pain to write cause there's so much happening but it will be worth it to get to the absolute duckery that is 4 #eddie munson

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jo-harrington · 1 year

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Freaky Friday - A Stranger Things Story (Part 5)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Word Count: 14.1k

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader, Eddie and Steve (Enemies to Friends)

Must be nice. But you know what they say, the grass is always greener.

Warnings/Themes: AU with no Upside Down. Angst, body swapping, dark magic/alchemy, fluff, love, smut, mutual pining, Character development, manipulation/deception, Things That Require Communication (Hey Guess What) , Reader gets a nickname (Honey), no Y/N if I can help it, self hatred, loss of identity, oral sex (f receiving), vaginal fingering, dry humping

Note: Ok guys, here we are. Only 4 hours late and with no PiV because I'm a lying bitch but I will write a oneshot if we want it. Holy shit, but can I say that this is the first "series" that I have finished writing. I talk a big fucking game about writing fics for so long, but man those were LONG FICS that I abandoned hundreds of thousands of words in, or they were all oneshots that now only live on my old computer. The ending, I hope, is not disappointing, but I literally didn't want it to be left up to interpretation. Thank you @ghost-proofbaby for tamping my insecurities down with this one. If I am the brains of this series, you for sure are the heart. And let's not forget @shiftingtherain once again for inspiring this whole thing to begin with.

This chapter is unedited...but I am tired and sweaty and happy. So have fun.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

"You're lucky I don't have to--shit!" Robin's eyes went as Steve opened the door to the trailer and she got a view of his--Eddie's--face. She reached out, as if to touch the swollen bruising, but second guessed herself and her hands immediately found the straps of her backpack. "What happened to you?"

"Eddie happened," Steve grumbled miserably.

"Eddie?!" Robin shrieked and Steve immediately shushed her and swatted her into the trailer. He pointed to Wayne, who was--thankfully--dead asleep and snoring on the fold-out bed, then ushered her back towards Eddie's room.

He'd felt...somewhat guilty early on when he realized that Wayne slept out there on the uncomfortable fold-out while "Eddie" had a room and a bed, and had tried to offer to swap, but Wayne grumbled something along the lines of "if I told you once, I told you a thousand times."

"Eddie did this?" Robin asked once the bedroom door was shut behind her. "Did he lose his mind?! Why would he punch you? You two are supposed to be...seeing through one another's eyes and all that shit. Working together to get back into your own bodies."

Steve felt his stomach drop.

He had stewed on it all night Friday and all day Saturday as he hid in Eddie's room and wallowed in shame. The sick sort of triumph he felt when he got that response from Eddie--as impulsive and fueled by anger as his own words had been--had faded and as the mottled colors began stitching together and spreading across his skin, the realization of just what he had said had settled in. And with every moment that the ache in his face became more pronounced, his guilt grew.

"I...I might have...fucked up," he admitted. Robin's expression went from one of shock to one of annoyance, and Steve immediately launched into a recap of Friday night. Hell...of everything that he'd been keeping from her.

Because, truth be told, he had been.

Steve knew that Robin was more in touch with her emotions, or rather...acknowledged them at the very least instead of simply ignoring them. She was smart as a whip and when she made you face the truth, it stung just as badly. He had told her that he'd been getting tutoring sessions...just not from who. Every time he brought up Nancy...well...Robin wasn't her biggest fan. Really not because of anything that she had done...except break Steve's heart...but because he couldn't get over her no matter how hard he tried.

And if he was being honest with himself, he hadn't...really tried too hard.

Steve hoped Robin would see things from his perspective, though. Her expression remained stony as he explained everything, but her emotions shone through her eyes as he poured his heart out. As he admitted to all the mistakes he made.

"I don't...I don't really believe those things," Steve explained truthfully. "But when I get hurt? When I'm desperate and overwhelmed? I just...lash out. You know this. And there's so much I've had to keep inside and this whole experience.

"Rob...you've gotta believe me, it's been shit. Eddie's right, his life is hard...I really don't know how he does it but...damn my life sucks too alright? So I figured, if I could have one thing, just one thing, to make it all worth it...this might be it.

"But I don't know why...why he wouldn't just let me have this," he concluded and ran a hand over his face, wincing as he pressed into his black eye.

"Alright, you're not just a dingus, you're a real bonehead," Robin rolled her eyes. "You and Eddie both! This whole situation isn't some treat for either of you, it's supposed to be a lesson."

"I know that!" Steve threw his hands out to gesture at himself. "But I'm still Eddie and Eddie's still me. So what lesson? What is selfless love?"

"Because you haven't...you haven't..." Robin sighed and ran her hands through her bangs. "Maybe we're working backwards? We're trying to find...selfless love. But...but the spell said there was a prize reflected in each other's eyes. What about self love? Gotta love yourself before you love someone else right? Or whatever bullshit those self help people say on the Oprah show."

"That's bullshit Rob, I don't love myself," Steve grumbled. "In fact, I hate myself...a lot."

"Ok ok," she pointed at him. "See and you thought Eddie had it all, that he loved his life. You told me so yourself. You were jealous because he had it all."

"But he doesn't."

"And he thought you had it all? But now he's realizing you don't," she reasoned.

The more Robin talked and rambled, the more she made sense. She snapped her fingers and waved her hands around, as though willing the solution into her head.

"Ok," Steve sighed. "We've figured out that no...we don't actually like being one another...so what gives? Why haven't we switched back?"

Robin gasped and grabbed Steve by the shoulders to shake him.

"It's Nancy! You idiot!" she hissed.

"Nancy?" Steve frowned. "Nancy's not stuck in someone else's body, I am."

"No!" Robin groaned. "You were on the right track but you started thinking with your dick when you thought that you could get back with Nancy!"

Steve began to fidget.

Was it...could that have been the answer all along?

He refused to believe it.

"We loved each other!"

"But you loved her more than she loved you," Robin explained, mirroring words he had once confided in her right back to him. "And you refused to let her go. And now you would quite literally be someone else entirely to get her back."

"She doesn't love Steve," he signed. "But she might love Eddie."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" Robin stared at him, dumbfounded. "You are not Eddie Munson. You have to let her go. You have to accept yourself, and if that means letting Nancy go, then it's the right thing to do. You need to apologize to Eddie...and you need to fix this."

Steve's mind raced; he knew, deep down, it was all true but...he just couldn't accept that it was just that easy.

"Ok, ok, b-but there has to be another way," Steve attempted to deflect and Robin groaned and rolled her eyes. "No, wait, hear me out here. I...I could...help him get a job at the dealership--"

"Not gonna help when you are still Eddie and you don't know shit about cars," Robin reasoned.

Steve pushed past her and dug through the pile of notebooks and textbooks on Eddie's dresser.

"I could get him to graduate," Steve bargained.

"I think you need to give it up," Robin rolled her eyes. "You know what you need to do."

"No, I can do other selfless things, I can, I can..."

Steve and Robin went back and forth, verbally jousting with excuses and explanations, as he flipped through Eddie's school notebooks. He glanced over half-finished essay drafts and barely legible chemistry equations. As though there would be some great solution to this problem amongst the countless algebra equations and--

"Hang on," Steve held his hand out to silence Robin. He turned and showed her the notebook. "Look at this."

"What is it?" She took the notebook from him and they flipped through the notebook together.

Your name. Over and over. Your initials and Eddie's. Little heart drawings and daggers and--what Steve assumed to be--princesses and knights. And then towards the end...a bunch of pen scribbles obscuring the little fantasies with the oh-so-familiar sigil drawn beneath.

It had been a notebook that Steve had scooped into his arms along with piles of Eddie's laundry and other knick knacks in an attempt to tidy up the trailer a little bit for his own sanity Wayne. To clear away some of the clutter. Especially after he and Eddie had torn the trailer apart looking for the occult book that one night, something that felt like ages ago now.

Steve felt a kind of triumph at this. Justification.

What a fucking hypocrite.

So it wasn't just him that was holding up their inevitable switch back, it was Eddie too. Eddie had a crush on you, and now he had gotten exactly what he wanted by dating you for Steve.

Except...

Except Eddie sort of always seemed to be worried about you. Worried about you finding out the truth, wondered how upset you might be if you did.

"Shit..." Steve sighed.

"Ok so maybe Eddie is as much to blame here as you are," Robin rationalized. "I told him...he needed to tell her the truth, that she would be heartbroken. I didn't realize that he..."

"No...it's..." Steve struggled. "Shit...shit."

Because it all made sense. Steve hadn't thought about the details, really, but he knew how it felt to have feelings for someone who you couldn't have...who didn't like you back. And while he happily planned to try Nancy back...Eddie...and you...

"Shit!"

He had to talk to Eddie.

"Hey Steve. Uhh..." You twirled the phone cord around your finger as you stammered into the receiver; the speech that you had practiced in your head was completely forgotten as you got the Harrington's answering machine.

"Listen, you left pretty quickly last night and I was just wondering if everything was alright? Or...or maybe I did something to upset you? B-because...we are having a good day, I just...if I did something...I'm sorry. Anyway...uhm...I'll try calling back later...or I'll...yeah...bye."

You slammed the phone as you hung up and covered your face with a groan.

You were up all night--heartbroken and embarrassed.

Steve left...he ran out of your house. One minute...he was...well he was...

You'd had a wonderful date and you had been...so focused, so in the moment as he...gave you the most intense pleasure you'd ever felt...and he just left.

You had been shocked. Barely clothed, legs made of jelly--whole body made of jelly--stunned into silence as he pushed himself away from you and pulled his clothes back on. When you called his name, he looked sick to his stomach.

His eyes clamped shut, shook his head, and then ran.

You'd pushed yourself out of bed, stumbled after him while calling his name, but he was gone. You could practically hear the tires screeching as he tore down the street.

Something happened. You must have done something. It was the only explanation that made sense. Everything had been going great and then it wasn't, and he looked so...disgusted.

So it must have been you. You wracked your brain for some idea...

Did you...did you make a weird noise? Did you...moan too loud or something?

...until a sense of dread overcame you.

Had you said Eddie's name? And not Steve's?

No...no...you couldn't have. Because as much as Eddie kept popping up in your thoughts...you knew that you were with Steve. Your entire head and heart were filled with Steve Harrington.

So why did something still feel wrong when you thought about it now?

Your mom got home late and had trudged off to bed; she barely glanced into your room to make sure you were asleep, and you had half the urge to stop her before she scuttled off. But you knew she would grill you if she saw the tear tracks reflecting the streetlight outside of your room.

You couldn't tell her about this.

And of course, you didn't tell your mom everything but...you really could have used a little bit of comfort. Her occasional words of wisdom that seemed to make everything better.

It was as you lay in your bed that you thought about the other times you'd gone to her, the times you'd cry after a mishap that your child brain couldn't quite comprehend. All the hurt in the world because of a doll that wasn't shared, or some painful words that were thrown around haphazardly.

"I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding," she always said. "You can talk in the morning, and it'll all be ok."

Except it wasn't ok. And Steve hadn't picked up. And you felt...sick.

You would have gone over to the Harrington's house or Family Video if you didn't have to get to work...to apologize in person and...

And what? What if he never wants to see you again? What if this just pushes him right back into the arms of Nancy Wheeler?

You knew that the insidious little voice in your head was just...just praying on your insecurities. It was irrational, but a fear was a fear. And you didn't want to lose someone you loved as wonderful as Steve.

You took a calming breath and made a plan...you had work today and class all day tomorrow, which meant if Steve didn't call back by the time you got out of work...you might not even going to see him until Tuesday night at the earliest if he was going to hang out with Eddie and the--

Eddie.

Your stomach lurched with nerves.

He and Eddie were friends, it was a fact that you were trying to move past. And as much as it anguished you to see Eddie...you couldn't lose Steve. So maybe...just maybe if Eddie didn't already know what happened and refused to look at you, he would know how to fix this.

You couldn't wait for Tuesday night.

You needed to fix this today.

"There you go sweetie," Mary cooed as she placed a mug of chicken soup on the bedside table and then brushed the hair out of "Steve's" face. "And I ran out and got crackers and ginger ale if you're not feeling up to soup."

"Uh-huh. Great. Thanks mom," Eddie muttered and stared numbly at the plaid-papered walls. If he didn't look at her, if he focused on the tense whooshing sound in his ears instead of her voice, he could pretend that it was his mom taking care of him.

Truthfully, he didn't want to be here, pretending to be sick. After he'd made his escape from your house, he realized he had nowhere to go where he could ground himself in...well...in himself. The one place he wanted--his stupid, ramshackle trailer in Forest Hills...home--was still inaccessible to him. So was his other home, you, as he had just...left you. Ran. Like a coward.

While he didn't want to be stuck in the Harrington's house with Mary up his ass for hours, he knew it was the only place he could really let himself become numb without interference from the outside world. So Eddie resigned himself to another day of being Steve Harrington and allowed Steve's mother to coddle him. The cold reception he had been receiving from Mary was immediately replaced with gentle care that made Eddie feel like a kid again, in those carefree days between his father's incarceration and his mother's death.

Knowing how deceitful she was, though...how willing she was to manipulate her son...well, needless to say that Eddie wasn't really buying the sincerity of Mary's behavior. He wished that it was genuine--for Steve's sake, even though he was still pissed at Steve--but in the case that it wasn't, he was not letting up on his demands.

Chicken soup from the deli, snacks from the grocery store, and some time in the house alone so he could smoke a joint in peace and let the high calm his troubles for a little while.

"You know," Mary sat down on the edge of the bed and Eddie groaned, which immediately got her to change her mind and remain standing. "I called the video store to let them know you were having a sick day, and that manager. Kevin? Keith? He was incredibly rude."

"Yeah," Eddie responded as Mary continued, disinterested in making a conversation now that he had started to come down from his high.

"And speaking of rude," she scoffed. "There's this...rude girl who's called twice this morning already while I was out; she left messages. Is this the girl who you've been going out with Stevie?"

Eddie's interest piqued and his spirits lifted just the slightest, then fell again, when he realized it must have been you.

Now, after the panic had subsided, he knew that he had messed up. That he shouldn't have run. Fuck...he couldn't finish what he started but at the very least he could have...stayed and told you the truth. Told you everything. But hindsight was 20-20, or so they said, and in the heat of the moment...running from the reality that he wasn't himself and that you would never love him seemed like the only thing he could do.

Eddie didn't quite know how to feel about the fact that you were calling him now. It wasn't that he didn't want to see you. No, he...he only wanted to fix what he had messed up. But...he just couldn't stand to see you look at Steve with that look in your eyes. Hear you say his name, when all Eddie wanted was for you to want him.

"...sounded so unsure of herself. That's not the kind of girl you want to attach yourself to; you need someone who knows what they want and will go after it. Not to mention that she apologized. Said she hurt your feelings. Is this why you're sick? What did she do? I'll have a talk with her mother and make sure she never calls you aga--"

Mary's heated speech was interrupted by the rapid ringing of the doorbell. She tried to ignore it but it kept ringing.

"My God, if we're not answering it means we're busy," she groused under her breath and turned on her heel. "Will some people never learn patience."

Eddie said a quick thank you to whatever deities he could think of for getting Mary away from him, and he closed his eyes.

Back to the rest, back to his wallowing. Back to the...sound of rocks hitting the window, what the hell?

Eddie's eyes shot open and he rolled over to stare at the window, and sure enough, tiny rocks kept hitting the glass. Over and over.

Eddie pushed himself out of bed and crossed the distance. He briefly wondered if you might be out there, if you had tried calling with no answer. But he had negotiated with Benny to give you a day off yesterday, so he knew there was no way you weren't at work today.

He opened the window and leaned out, only to find the surprise of his life when he "Eddie" himself...or rather...the real Steve was standing in the backyard, staring up at him.

Eddie felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing the swollen black eye on his own face. Much more than the memory of him giving it to himself conjured. That he gave to Steve?

Fuck this wasn't getting any easier to sort out in his head. And there was no way that it was gonna be fixed any time soon.

"What do you want?" Eddie called down to Steve. "Come to rub it in my face that you have a real date with Nancy tomorrow night and that I was wrong?"

"I came to apologize," Steve called back. Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes. "No, I'm serious. I fucked up. I said some nasty things and I regret it. I shouldn't have said them. I was angry."

"A lot of true things are said in anger," Eddie sneered at him. "And that wasn't the first time you said some shit like that."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Steve sighed. "You don't have to forgive me, but...fuck I have to make this right because--"

"Save your breath," Eddie rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna hear it."

He could only imagine what happened that would get Steve to change his tune so quickly.

He tried to make a move on Nancy and she told him to get lost because she had a boyfriend already, regardless of what Harrington Charm Steve thought he possessed.

Or she just laughed in his face because who in the world would ever want to date Eddie Munson.

He winced, knowing it was a little too harsh, but his insecurities would win for another day or two. As eager as he was to get back into his own body, to go home, Steve could stand to deal with the fallout of whatever mess he made. Eddie would just stay in bed until Steve was as tired of this shit as he was. Then maybe they can try to work together and fix this again.

He was about to tell Steve to fuck off, when the patio door opened and Mary's voice echoed across the yard.

"Excuse me, this is trespassing!"

Steve was frozen, like a deer in the headlights, at the appearance of his mother.

Steve loved his mom, don't get him wrong, but sometimes...

Sometimes he just didn't understand how she could be sweet and loving one moment, and then an absolute misery the next.

It had been a recent discovery, this sharpness to her. In fact, for the longest time, he never considered that she was anything other than a happy and loving PTA mom, well-respected by friends and neighbors.

Growing up, she did everything Steve thought moms were happy to do. Go to PTA meetings, plan summer barbecues, come to all of the games for the sports he played, and cook elaborate dinners for the whole family to enjoy. But as his dad stayed later and later at the dealership, he was less present at family dinners or available for family outings on the weekends, creating Mommy and Stevie time. And as Steve got older, he preferred to hang out with his friends and run around Hawkins then stay at home alone with his mom.

He saw the light start to disappear in her eyes and he just...thought nothing about it. Didn't realize that he was also one to contribute to it.

Tommy H. had made a joke once about his dad having an affair, and Steve just...figured that must be the case for his dad too. He must have been, which is why...why he and mom didn't smile at each other much any more, why birthday gifts had become more elaborate and expensive, why both of his parents traveled together when his dad had conventions and auto shows.

And Steve defended her, always. She was an active member of the community, she went out with friends, and volunteered at the church. She did her best to take care of anything and everything the family needed. Protected them.

Until she didn't.

Until the one afternoon that the strip mall had lost power and Family Video closed early, and Steve came home to find his mom and Mayor Kline together.

All of the care and the sweetness and the motherly love vanished. Steve had suggested she talk to dad, if she was so unhappy...so lonely...but she had spat and swore and cursed his father, claimed that he was the one who ruined things. Ruined her happiness. Ruined their family. But once she saw the hurt expression on Steve's face, she begged him to let it go, to forget about what he saw. Promised that she would do better, she would talk to dad and fix it. For him.

But it happened again, and again. Steve hadn't seen the mayor in their house but he saw the evidence of him. The tie pin left in the bowl that they dropped their car keys in, an extra wine glass next to his mother's on the coffee table. Everything she did felt...forced. Every time he would notice something off, the evidence of all the things she did around the house, for him, for the family, became more noticable. As though she tried to buy his forgiveness rather than actually fix the problems with their family.

He tried to confront her about it again, ask if she had talked to dad. She had yelled and complained and blamed him for wanting to hurt the family. And that was when she offered to give him his allowance back.

Blood Money. Judas. The words echoed in his head, some remnant of some Sunday school lesson that had faded over the years, as he tucked the stack of bills into his wallet.

He didn't know who it was that he betrayed by making this deal...his father, himself, maybe even his mother...but he knew it wasn't right.

So he kept it all inside. Ignored it and let it fester. Kept his mouth shut.

Until now.

Steve looked around the yard, at the big house and the pool, at "Steve" leant out of the window with his good looks and expensive pajamas. He thought about his dad at the dealership, working hard to give this all to them. And finally looked at his mother, who made sure everything looked pristine, only for it all to be festering and rotten just below the surface.

He might have towered over her but couldn't feel any smaller as she glared at him. Glared at "Eddie."

"I, uh," Steve cleared his throat and held his hands out to show that he wasn't doing any harm. "I just came by to talk to Ed--Steve! To talk to Steve."

"So you ding dong ditch and then you trespass into my yard?" Her brow raised in disbelief.

"It's cuz I knew you weren't gonna let me in," he explained.

"If I won't let you in, that means you shouldn't be on my property. Period." his mom sneered at him. "I know you, Eddie Munson; you spray painted my car a few months ago."

Steve glanced up at Eddie, and Eddie simply shrugged as though he hadn't been the one to do it. Which was funny, because in actuality...it had been Steve who maybe had gotten a bit too creative after one too many beers at Heather Holloway's Back to School kegger.

"So what if I did!" Steve shrugged, technically owning up to it.

"That's enough for me to call Chief Hopper right now!" she shrieked, and Steve could see her practically vibrating.

Steve knew that calling the police was sort of his mom's MO. But he wasn't phased.

Probably because he was in Eddie's body and not his own. But maybe it was because he was in Eddie's body that he also felt a bit of courage building.

"You're really going to call the cops on your son's friend?" Steve laughed at her.

"My son wouldn't hang around someone like you."

"Oh yeah? Tell her about Hellfire Club, Stevie! Or how you've been coming to Corroded Coffin shows!" Steve called up to Eddie, whose eyes went wide as he was put on the spot.

"Steven!" his mother turned and glared at Eddie now. "Is this true?"

Eddie stammered and glared at Steve, who didn't give him the chance to respond.

"What? You're surprised that your precious son would want to spend time with a drug dealing, no good, piece of trailer trash?" He practically quoted his mother word for word, having recalled the few times she had encountered Eddie out in Hawkins.

His mom spun around to face him, but he continued.

"Come on, Mare, you don't think that I could be a worse influence on him than you are. With your lying and canoodling with Larry." His voice went falsetto. "Oh Larry, you know how to make a girl feel like she's 20 again. Barf."

"How do you know about that?"

"You're bribing and manipulating your son, you're ruining your family, and on top of that, you're a huge bitch."

Steve felt the weight on his shoulders get lighter with each word that escaped his mouth. He also saw his mother's anger start manifesting physically. She was turning red, shaking, breathing heavily. He knew that he needed to make his escape before she really did call the cops. Or hit him with a shovel or something.

"Wayne's sick," Steve called up to Eddie and Eddie's eyes went wide.

"Who's Wayne? Is that another one of your little drug dealer friends? Get out of my yard. Get off my property!"

As Steve ran from his parents' backyard and away from his screaming mother, his mind raced. He knew he shouldn't lie to Eddie but...desperate times called for desperate measures. He needed to get Eddie alone so they could talk, reconcile what happened. So he could convince him that this...that this was exactly what they needed.

He knew that he needed to rally the troops if he was going to fix what he broke.

It took hours for Eddie to get out of the house.

As soon as Wayne's name had left Steve's mouth, he felt like he was doused in ice water. Every nerve was on fire, his body itched to leave and it was unfair that he had to be subjected to Mary's tirade as soon as Steve had run and Mary returned to the house.

All he wanted was to get into the car and race to Forest Hills to see his uncle, but instead, he had to listen to her speech about dangerous criminals and vandals and making better life choices. She even tried to lecture him about taking classes at the community college to get away from the deadbeats who hung around Family Video.

Jesus Christ, lady, way to kick a man while he's down.

Once she was done with her lecture, she marched him straight back to bed so he could get the rest he needed.

Eddie knew he'd have to make a miraculous escape and he waited and waited for Mary to settle in the living room or get on the phone or something. His mind raced in the meantime as he thought of all the ways that Wayne might be sick.

Was he sick sick? He'd been sick a grand total of once in Eddie's life, in 79, when a nasty flu bug swept through the whole town. He remembered wishing that he knew how to make soup other than from the can, but when he'd brought Wayne the bowl of microwaved Campbell's, the look of pride on his uncle's face was enough to relieve him of his guilt.

Maybe he'd gotten hurt at the plant? He always made fun of his uncle's age, calling him old timer and geezer and whatnot, but he was getting older and he needed better glasses than the readers he got off the little revolving rack in Melvalds. Maybe he cut himself...or needed stitches. Or threw his back out?

Eddie thought back to his initial idea of getting him a job at the Harrington's dealership, something he never acted on and suddenly felt dread that whatever fate had befallen Wayne had only happened because he hadn't acted fast enough.

Hours passed by and he waited. Mary had brought him a grilled cheese with the crusts cut off, she'd done several loads of laundry, and even ushered him into the bathroom to take a shower. But before he knew it, she had ducked her head into his room.

"Stevie, are you feeling ok?" she asked gently. "I need to run out for a little while. Run a few errands."

Eddie glanced out the window, at the way the sky darkened, and then back at Mary who was dressed a little too nicely for errands.

Nice to know she's going to knock boots with Mayor Douchebag while her son is sick.

"Ok mom," Eddie forced a smile. "Be...safe."

"There's more soup in the fridge, if you want any more while I'm gone."

"Sure."

She turned and left without so much as an I love you, and as soon as Eddie heard her car peel out of the driveway, he was on his feet. He threw on a pair of jeans and one of the t-shirts he had gotten with you the day before, and then ran down the stairs.

"Fuck, she took my keys?" he groaned as he noticed the little bowl on the table in the hallway was conspicuously empty. "Well, bad news that her son is actually a criminal drug dealer deadbeat vandal who knows how to Hotwire a car."

Eddie found tools in the dusty toolbox in the garage, and then strolled out to Steve's BMW. It was a shame that he would cause damage to the vehicle--it had been a nice change from his van, even though he missed the van immensely--but desperate times. He struggled for a moment, the imported car a little trickier than the clunkier Chevys and Fords his dad had taught him on, but he got it in the end.

For the first time in his life, he was a little thankful to his father for giving him some kind of skill, as unsavory as it might have been. Because if he didn't have it, there would be no way for him to see Wayne right now.

Maybe being Eddie Munson wasn't such a bad thing after all.

He pulled into the trailer park and the car skidded to a stop beside the van. Even Wayne's car wasn't here, which meant that Steve probably had to pick Wayne up from the plant.

Or the hospital.

He jogged up the steps and threw open the door...

"What the fuck?" Eddie exclaimed.

...only to find Steve, Robin, Lucas, Dustin, and Will sitting around the living room with notebooks and homework and DnD mini figs. The TV was on, the volume down low, with a stack of videos piled in front of it, and there were cans of soda on every available surface.

"Took you long enough," Dustin announced and rolled his eyes. The other kids started chiming in.

"We started working on homework when you didn't show up right away."

"And Mike's birthday campaign."

"It's been hours!" Robin exclaimed. "Keith is gonna have my ass too, I called off, and you called off too. Which means he's working open to close. And you know how he hates that. Er...um...well one of you knows." Robin glanced back and forth between Eddie and Steve.

Eddie looked around again. The trailer was cleaned, he could hear a load of laundry clunking around in the washing machine, there was a stack of frozen pizzas laid out on the counter in the kitchen, one in the oven making the trailer smell enticing.

But no Wayne.

They tricked him.

"Alright, what the fuck is going on here?" Eddie asked, then zeroed in on Steve. "You lied to me. You used my uncle as bait and you lied to me."

"I'm sorry, I had to," Steve got to his feet and sighed. "You weren't listening to me...and then my mom..."

"You lied to me to get me to come over for some kind of pizza party? I didn't know you were that desperate for friends, Harrington," Eddie asked incredulously.

"No!" Robin interjected. "He lied because the two of you need to settle this once and for all. You haven't been entirely truthful about this whole situation either, Eddie."

"What do you mean? I've told you everything."

"Not everything." Steve pulled a spiral notebook off the coffee table and threw it at him. Eddie's stomach dropped as he realized what he caught. "Open it."

"I don't have to do shit," Eddie feigned anger and threw the notebook over his shoulder.

"No, because you already know what's in it," Steve jeered. "You have a crush on my girlfriend and you've been using this to your advantage this whole time. Don't look at the kids, they already know. I told them." Eddie had glanced at Dustin, Lucas, and Will, half expecting to see betrayal or deception in their eyes, but they looked sympathetic.

"Listen," Steve went on. "I know how it feels to have a crush on someone and think that you don't stand a chance with them. We all do." He gestured at the others, and they all nodded.

Eddie felt uncomfortable under their heavy stares, and it sent his skin crawling.

He knew that he wasn't alone in having a crush on someone; unrequited love had a definition for a reason. He didn't understand why they wanted him here? Why were they confronting him like this? Did they blame him for the spell? He already knew it was his fault.

"So what? Why am I here, Harrington?" Eddie finally asked.

"To work it out once and for all!" Will explained. "There's only two options here."

"There was more to the riddle," Lucas elaborated. "More than just the translation."

"You both want to be with someone that...otherwise wouldn't want to be with you," Robin continued. "The real you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about myself, Buckley?" Eddie sneered at her.

"Leave Robin alone," Steve sighed. "She's the one who figured this all out. The prize...reflected in another's eyes...when I saw that notebook I thought that it was...something tangible. Popularity, or...or...friends...or a girl. But the real thing is love."

"Yeah, Selfless Love," Eddie shrugged. "Selfless love will change you back. What about it?"

"But in order to love selflessly, you have to love yourself first. And even if you find it hard to believe, both you and Steve...struggled with that. You thought...you couldn't be loved by the person you wanted the most. You didn't have the kind of life the other had. The love you thought the other had," Robin offered.

"So...there's really only two ways about this." She continued. "We all work together to help you two to learn to love yourselves. It's gonna take some time, because you clearly still hate yourself Eddie, and Steve...yeah he's not gonna admit to it because he's shallow--sorry Steve--but...he struggles to love himself because everyone else leaves him. Shut up Steve, you know I'm right.

"Or... you suck it up and deal with it. Steve stays Eddie, and he shoots his shot with Nancy. And you stay Steve, and you get to keep your honey. And honestly, this needs to be the outcome if we can't get you to change back with the self love thing.

"But it means that the two of you need to work together," Robin concluded. "Because it isn't gonna be easy."

"I'm willing to try if you are." Steve held out his hand to shake. "I mean...it's a win win no matter how you slice it."

Eddie stared at Steve's offered hand and then at all the others' open faces.

He was...touched that they were all here and willing to help. He truly was. And he knew that it was a gesture of good faith from Steve, trying to work together. They'd almost become friends the past few weeks, trying to solve this situation...what he had told Mary earlier had been true. Hell...Eddie was almost proud of Steve for standing up to her the way he did.

But to accept that offer meant that there was nothing to lose. And Eddie had already lost himself.

"Fuck you," he swatted Steve's hand away with his own. "I'm not shaking to that."

There was a collective commotion of "what's" and "why's" from everyone and Steve looked lost.

"What's your deal?" Steve asked.

"What's my deal? What's your deal?" Eddie laughed. "You think I'm gonna believe that you want to help me love myself, when just the other night you listed off every reason under the sun that I'm not worthy of love or friends, and that I would live and die alone. Yeah, real great act there, Harrington."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Eddie.

"So you don't want to be me and you don't want to be you, then who do you want to be?"

"I didn't say I didn't want to be me, I just said you're fooling yourself if you think I'm gonna let you help me want to be me. Besides, don't you think it's still a little too convenient that it's only a win-win for you?"

"How is it not also a win for you?" Steve questioned. "You either get your life back or you get the girl of your dreams. Same for me."

"What if I want both."

"Then I say you're the one being selfish here."

"Come on guys," Dustin sighed. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything. You need to come to an agreement and--"

"No, th-th-there's...there's nothing to agree on!" Eddie stammered. "Except the only thing there is to agree on. You can't always get what you want, right? Isn't that the way the song goes? Rolling Stones? We're trying to make a deal to find a way to make the best of either situation, but neither of us is gonna be fully happy in any scenario. I learn to love myself and what? The girl I love doesn't love me either, so what's the point? You get the girl you want, but you need to live with the fact that she doesn't love you.

"But could you live with yourself day in and day out if she looked at you with love in her eyes and didn't see you for who you truly were? If she believed you were someone else. Could you live with that Steve? Could you live with Nancy Wheeler screaming out my name as you make love to her?"

Robin and the kids all started groaning and making gagging noises at the last sentence, but Eddie knew he hit a nerve in Steve as he had the decency to look a little sad.

"Don't you see I love her, but she doesn't love me. And she never will. So if I had to choose, no...I don't want to be Steve Harrington anymore, I want to be Eddie Munson again, because even if she never loved me, I wouldn't have to be face to face with the fact that she loved someone else, every day, for the rest of my life."

Eddie finished his shouting and his shoulders heaved with his labored breath, and as he realized what he just said, he turned on his heel to get to the door.

He didn't want to run away from this, but he felt like he had no choice but to run. This had been a mistake. He should have left as soon as he realized that Wayne wasn't sick. Back to the Harrington's where he could suffer in silence until he was ready to face the reality of being stuck in Steve's body.

"Eddie, wait!" Steve shouted and jumped across the living room to stop him, as Eddie's hand turned the knob. "You can't just lea--"

Eddie was about to turn and start yelling at Steve--he couldn't tell him what he could and couldn't do--but as the door to the trailer swung open, both he and Steve realized that someone was there.

You were standing on the other side and they didn't know how much you had heard.

It really was the longest Sunday at work that you had ever faced. Each minute was an eternity, and each break that you had went by too fast. You sat by the kitchen door to call home, and Benny would watch you with a critical eye as you asked your mother if there were any messages for you--there weren't.

Your mom knew there was something wrong by the tone of your voice...but she knew your breaks were precious and not to take them up with her questions.

"I'll be home a little late tonight," you warned her.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah...just...going over by Steve's for a little, I think."

"Ok Honey. Have fun. Tell him I said hi."

But you wouldn't...at least...you thought you wouldn't as you drove your car towards Forest Hills Trailer park after work so you could talk to Eddie.

Imagine your surprise as you pulled up to the trailer with the obvious green and white van out front...only to also find Steve's burgundy BMW parked next to it.

Fear gripped you, and you debated...well, you debated just leaving. Cut your losses and run, because they had to be in there...obviously talking about you.

But looking further past the two vehicles you saw a handful of bicycles leant against the side of the trailer.

So maybe it would be safe...if they were having a Hellfire meeting or something.

You parked your car and slapped your face, gave yourself the pep talk of the century.

He's in there and Eddie's also in there and their friends. And you're gonna walk up there and act completely normal, say that you came by to see Eddie but...oh, Steve what a surprise, you were trying to call him but he must have been here all day.

Yeah that was it. Perfect. You just had to get out of the car and say it.

The air was thick with the sludge of your nervousness, and its viscosity grabbed and pulled at you with each step toward the door you took.

You could hear the voices even before you got to the door, the variations in the timber of Steve and Eddie's voices vibrated through the wooden walls and vinyl siding. And it wasn't until you pulled open the storm door to knock that you really heard what they said.

"The girl I love doesn't love me either, so what's the point? You get the girl you want, but you need to live with the fact that she doesn't love you." The sound of Steve's voice made your heart plummet.

Nancy. They had to be talking about Nancy. He still loved her.

No wonder he was so quick to run when you said his name. He pretended you were Nancy all the way up until then.

"But could you live with yourself day in and day out," Steve continued. "If she looked at you with love in her eyes and didn't see you for who you truly were? If she believed you were someone else. Could you live with that Steve?"

Wait...Steve? But...but that was Steve who was talking. What...what was happening.

You kept listening and as Steve kept talking, as you heard other voices chime in to try and stop him, and as he got louder and closer, you got more and more confused,

"So if I had to choose, no...I don't want to be Steve Harrington anymore, I want to be Eddie Munson again." Again. "Because even if she never loved me, I wouldn't have to be face to face with the fact that she loved someone else, every day, for the rest of my life."

"Eddie, wait!" And that was Eddie's voice.

Eddie called Steve...Eddie, just like he did that day way back when...the day he showed up at Family Video. The day that you had that date with Steve, when he changed your mind about breaking up with him.

And Steve was claiming...that he didn't want to be Steve anymore...that he wanted to be Eddie again. But if he wanted to be Eddie again...that meant he had to be Eddie at some point in the past...right?

Time slowed down and you got dizzy as you tried to make heads or tails of it all.

The dates and the kisses and the cologne and the chewing gum.

All of the times that you wished you knew what it was like to be with Eddie, when you were held so tenderly in Steve's arms.

The music and the declarations and the...the Nancy of it all.

You had thought vaguely last night that it almost seemed like they had traded places...but that was impossible.

"You're not...what I expected Steve Harrington to be like," you muttered. "You're so much better."

"Of course I'm better, it's because I'm..." He faltered for a moment.

It's because Steve was Ed--

The door to the trailer swung open and you stood in wide-eyed shock as you came face to face with Steve and Eddie.

Or...Eddie and Steve.

"Honey," they muttered simultaneously and you couldn't help the step you took back, the way your foot faltered on the steps of the small porch. You tumbled down the few steps and caught yourself on your hands, only for them and your knees to get ripped up by the gravel of the drive.

"Shit!"

"Is she ok?"

Two sets of footsteps came thundering down the porch steps and hands grasped at your arms to get you back to your feet.

"Honey, look at me, are you ok?" Steve--Eddie--cupped your face in his hands and turned you to him. He looked down at your hands and winced at the scratches. "Shit, we need to clean you up."

Meanwhile Eddie--Steve--talked over him.

"What did you hear? How much? You can't say anything, you can't tell anybody. They wouldn't believe you. They'd think you're nuts."

"Good job Harrington, can't you see she's hurt."

"She heard everything, Munson. God. We need to be proactive about this."

"Guys!" A voice came from the trailer door and you looked over to see Robin and a bunch of Steve's...Eddie's...someone's freshman friends standing behind her. Both of the boys continued bickering back and forth until Robin yelled again. "Shut the fuck up!"

Everything went silent except for the ringing in your ears.

You did the only thing you could do...

Your thoughts went a mile a minute as you revisited the epiphany you just had. And you couldn't believe how much sense it made. That it was Steve who touched you and kissed you and loved you. But underneath it all was Eddie.

...you turned on your heel and ran.

Eddie's heart clenched as you pushed his hands away from you, and you ran.

Well...ran was a generous term. You hobbled and skipped, the deep scratches and cuts on your skinned knees prevented you from gaining the speed you probably wanted. And it was all he could do not to go after you.

You heard. How much of it? Everything? How long had you been out there? You had to know now. You'd never look at him again.

It hurt, cut him so deep that it practically stopped his heart in his chest.

He knew that this was inevitable, had come to this conclusion that he would lose you...shit before he even had you. Everything in between then and now would just be a beautiful memory that he could take with him for the rest of his days.

"Well aren't you gonna go after her?" Robin called from her place at the door.

Eddie looked over at Steve, who looked right back at him.

"She means you," they said in tandem.

"Me?" Steve exclaimed. "Why me?"

"That's your girlfriend," Eddie said, as though it was the most obvious thing on earth.

"No," Steve laughed. "That's your girlfriend. And on top of that, you love her, so you need to fix this."

Eddie was speechless as Steve went and sat on one of the steps. He fished a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his vest and lit one up. Eddie rolled his eyes and looked back up at Robin and the kids.

"Go!" They all yelled at him. Eddie scrambled and started in the direction you ran, shaking his head softly as he heard them all turn on Steve with an "are you an idiot?"

He knew the way you ran. This was his home turf, even if he hadn't been here for a few weeks. He would always know this worn, dirt footpath that led to the gazebo out beyond the last trailer in the park. There used to be a jungle gym and swings out there...he had sat on those swings for hours after he heard news of his mom's death.

It was a good place to cry.

And Eddie half-expected you to be there crying, especially as he saw you, perched up on the bench with your face in your hands.

"Honey?" Your shoulders went rigid as he spoke, and he stopped in his tracks. "Hey it's me. Are you...ok? Can we talk?"

"Me who?" you asked softly, the fragility in your tone enough to make him pause. "Please...I need an answer, who am I talking to? Steve? Or Eddie?"

"Eddie," he said, clearly and confidently, knowing that this was it.

Your shoulders started shaking and he could hear vague whimpers coming from you. He couldn't hold himself back, he shuffled over to you, stood directly in front of you with his hands on your shoulders as you cried.

"I'm sorry," he began. The words flooded his mind: apologies, excuses, declarations of his emotions. He could barely contain one leak before another sprung. "I'm sorry I lied to you, I'm sorry I kept it a secret. It's just that it was so...unbelievable, so impossible, that I knew there was no way I could tell you without you thinking I was crazy.

"And before I knew it, it was too late, and we were dating. I was dating you for Steve but I was also...I was dating you for me because I've...I've had this stupid crush on you for years. Can you believe it? Years! And I never...I never thought I was good enough for you. But I was so...so angry because Steve wasn't good enough for you either. He's an idiot. Imagine my surprise, my luck the day I woke up and I was Steve...and I got to take you out on some date and finally...finally get to show you how much I cared. How I felt...

"But it wasn't right to have lied to you. To...to touch you and kiss you when you didn't know it was me. We all kept it a secret. Me, Steve, the kids, Robin. We all could have come clean at any time, but we figured we could fix it before then and now...now we might be stuck this way forever so please, please, I need...

"I don't need anything actually. There's nothing I can do to make this right. I can't ask anything of you, except to listen to me and believe that I never meant to hurt you throughout any of this. There were no tricks, no...well I guess there were lies. But I never pretended to care for you. Everything I said and did...it was real. And I don't blame you if you hate me, or if you never want to see me again, I just need to know...I need to know that you're alright.

"So please Honey," he ran his thumbs soothingly back and forth over your shoulders. "Please look at me and tell me...tell me you're at least ok and if you want me to leave you alone, I'll leave you alone forever. Just please. I need to know you're ok."

Your shoulders kept shaking and although Eddie's heart practically disintegrated in his chest, he felt...lighter. Something had shifted. Everything was out there, the truth. He didn't have to hide from you anymore, pretend that he was something he wasn't. All that was left was for you to tell him to fuck off...

When you peeled your hands away from your face and looked at him, though, you had tears of laughter in your eyes and a manic smile on your face.

"You..." you hiccuped through a giggle. "You're...you're Eddie Munson and you love me?"

"What?" he asked in disbelief, not entirely sure that he heard you right.

"You...you're Eddie Munson," you poked a finger into his chest. "In Steve Harrington's body."

"Yes."

"And you, Eddie Munson, love me?" you questioned. Eddie froze and you continued. "Don't act like I didn't hear....everything you said. You said...you said...you loved me but I would never love you back. But..."

You grabbed onto the front of his shirt and shook him, wincing as the rough fabric scraped against your torn up palms.

"I told Eddie...I told Steve...that I had a crush on you, Eddie Munson," you shook him and looked up into his eyes with a smile. You had...a crush on him and you told...Steve? "And he just said--"

"When?" Eddie interrupted you.

"In High school."

"No, when did you tell Steve?"

"Uh...last week? I don't...the...the night you came in with Corroded Coffin," you closed your eyes and shook your head. "And Steve...you...I'm sorry, it's really confusing."

"I know, imagine how I feel," Eddie chuckled.

"I told 'Eddie' that I had a crush on him in high school," you explained. "I told him and he acted like it wasn't anything to blink at. Like he didn't even remember I existed. And I felt so crazy, so hurt, that I went home and I tore up my diary because I never even thought you...that he...that..."

You rambled about thinking about him and smelling his cologne, noticing his chewing gum, and thinking about him when you kissed Steve--when you kissed him--and Eddie felt all the pain that he had, all the insecurity he had for the past 24 hours, melt away.

All the light in the universe--the burning of an infinity of stars--couldn't compare to the way his heart was shining right at that moment.

You didn't want Steve. You wanted Eddie.

"...and you ran away and I thought...but you..."

Eddie didn't let you finish your thoughts, he smashed his lips to yours and kissed you with bruising intensity.

The way he felt outdid any high he'd ever had.

He kissed you until you both needed air, then dropped little pecks around your face until you directed him back to your lips.

"You love me," you muttered against his lips.

"I love you," he nodded.

And then you said the one thing that he had wished to hear come from your lips for weeks, months, years.

"I love you too."

As soon as Eddie was out of sight, Robin and the kids were on top of Steve, yelling at him and swatting at him.

"Are you kidding me?" Robin shrieked.

"What?" Steve howled.

"You need to go after them too," Dustin tried to reason with him. "She's hurt and she's crying. This entire thing is a disaster."

"She's not my girlfriend! OW!" Robin had slugged him hard in the shoulder. First a black eye now a bruised shoulder. Great. "Ok, why do I need to go?"

"Because whether or not she's your girlfriend, you and Eddie both dragged her into this mess. So you both need to explain it to her," Will explained.

Steve sighed.

"Fine," he grumbled and threw the cigarette to the ground.

As he followed after you and Eddie, he sighed and wondered how this was all gonna play out. Why you hadn't just gotten into your car and driven away if you knew the truth. If you thought they were insane.

You could have made a fortune, told the newspaper.

If you told the newspaper though...that meant Nancy would find out eventually.

Nancy...

Steve reflected on everything that Eddie had said. He knew, now, that it was all in the context of you. That Eddie loved you...

So then why didn't he say anything? Steve...would have understood...or tried to at the very least. Right? And what Eddie had said made some sense to Steve.

"Could you live with yourself day in and day out if she looked at you with love in her eyes and didn't see you for who you truly were?"

But who was he? He was just...Steve. He could talk about his parents and his time at Hawkins High...all the sports he played and friends he made. Nancy hadn't wanted Steve anymore, hadn't wanted that life.

But was that even his life anymore? He had less now than he had before. His parents were broken, their family in shambles. His friends had left him and laughed at him. Hell, even the admissions essay Nancy had helped him write once upon a time hadn't gotten him into a college; he just...worked at family video.

What could he offer her as Steve? Shit, did he even have anything to offer himself?

"If she believed you were someone else. Could you live with that Steve?"

What did Eddie have though? He had a band and friends and carefree fun.

But Steve learned over the last few weeks that it wasn't as carefree as he thought.

Shit, even Eddie living his life wasn't as carefree as one would assume. What could Eddie give to Nancy? What could Steve as Eddie give to Nancy? Yeah he enjoyed nights out with Corroded Coffin but...he didn't even play his own guitar. Eddie did. And he was enjoying Hellfire Club but...well, the kids and Eddie really helped him with the DM role. Maybe he would like it better if he was one of the players instead of the leader of the whole show.

What the hell was Steve? But no one? Would anyone even care if he was gone?

But he loved Robin, she was his best friend. And he loved the kids as though they were his own siblings. They all had done so much for Eddie...and for him the last few weeks. They put themselves at risk of being accused of...witchcraft and hysteria...they subjected themselves to his and Eddie's anger when they were at each other's throats.

They had plenty of opportunity to leave them both behind--to leave Steve behind--but they didn't.

"Could you live with Nancy Wheeler screaming out my name as you make love to her?"

Make Love. Love. That was really all Steve had to give Nancy anymore. And all he really wanted in return. Could he be happy knowing that she loved someone else and not him? Not Steve Harrington?

Fuck, she was doing that now with Jonathan Byers.

Steve saw you and Eddie huddled together at the gazebo, and as he got closer he heard what Eddie said to you. He felt those desperate words floating in the air.

"...But I never pretended to care for you. Everything I said and did...it was real. And I don't blame you if you hate me, or if you never want to see me again, I just need to know...I need to know that you're alright. So please Honey. Please look at me and tell me...tell me you're at least ok and if you want me to leave you alone, I'll leave you alone forever. Just please. I need to know."

Steve...froze in his tracks, and it was like a lightbulb switched on.

For as much as Eddie had just declared his love for you back at the trailer. He was willing to let it all go, let you go, as long as you were alright.

Eddie had done all of this, had caused this entire fiasco...because...because he thought that nobody loved him--because you didn't love him--just like Steve struggled to find people in his life who loved him. And Eddie was willing to walk away without love, so long as you were ok.

Steve thought about Nancy and Jonathan. About how happy they were...how they were alright, and making plans for the future together. More than Steve had ever really done with Nancy. He had his plans and she hers. He had his father's expectation to live up to and she had...ambition.

As much as it hurt...Steve knew...weedled and pushed deep down inside of his being that Nancy would never have been happy with him as she was with Jonathan. And sure...it hurt to see them together but...her smile. Her happiness. It still warmed his heart.

Because he loved her. He always would.

Steve watched as the two of you rambled and laughed and verbally tousled back and forth and he felt...lighter somehow. More awake and aware than he had been for weeks.

He didn't feel so stuck.

Selfless love.

Huh...so that's what it was.

Steve would have gotten closer, would have helped explain the situation to Eddie, but he knew Eddie had it under control.

Because despite their troubles and differences, despite all the shit that they had been through...something new was forming between Eddie and Steve. Friendship was a kind of love, and Steve wouldn't go and stick his foot in it to save his own face.

Steve turned on his heel and walked back to the trailer. Maybe not with...a new head on his shoulders, but definitely a new perspective.

Selfless love.

Steve woke up feeling...like he was sleeping on a cloud...although there was a heavy weight on his chest and his arm felt numb.

Was this Heaven? Was he dead? Had the stress of the past few weeks finally killed him?

He had returned to the trailer, to Robin and the kids, the night before, and shortly after, you and Eddie had trailed in after them looking...happier than you had been when you'd run off. Steve had been glad, if a little confused.

He'd put two and two together when he caught a glimpse of a soft kiss Eddie had pecked on your lips when you left...and he felt...embarassed for a second. To think that Eddie would have kept you warm for him for as long as you were in each other's bodies.

Man, maybe I am a douchebag.

The group of you had gone over plans to help Steve and Eddie achieve some self love, to help them get back in their bodies.

But now...well, if Steve was dead there was really no way that he was going to be able to enact those plans were there?

He briefly wondered, as he opened his eyes to a brilliant bright light, if Eddie would be able to get back into his body if he had died. Or if he would be stuck as Steve Harrington forever.

Steve blinked the cobwebs out of his eyes and frowned at the sight before him.

Plaid-papered walls and matching curtains that were thrown open and letting in all the early morning sunlight. A too soft bed that he had missed and you tucked into his side with the weight of you numbing his shoulder and his arm.

Huh? This didn't make any sense.

You groaned beside him and nuzzled your face into his shoulder. You muttered a quiet "guh morning Eddie" and scrunched up your face as you opened one bleary eye.

"Eddie?" he asked. And then it hit him. "Eddie!"

Steve jumped and pushed you off of him. He got to his feet and started running his hands over his body. Fluffy hair, toned chest, stubbly arms--ok so Eddie hadn't been shaving like he promised.

"What's wrong?" you asked, confused. "Is everything ok?"

"It's...it's me, I'm back!" Steve exclaimed. "I'm back!"

"Back?"

"It's me, it's Steve," he cheered and knelt on the bed. He grabbed your hand and pressed it into his hair, as though touching it would convince you somehow.

"What do you mean? I..." Recognition sparked in your eyes and you pushed him away from you. "If you're...does that mean he..." You scrambled to your feet, shoved your shoes on, and ran out of his bedroom.

Steve could hear a commotion outside the room between you and his mom, then the front door of the house squeaked open and slammed shut. Before long, his mom poked her head inside his room and tutted disapprovingly.

"Did that girl stay here all night Steven?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "That's not the girl from the answering machine is it? I can't believe you--"

"Mom!" Steve stopped her and crossed the space between them. He looked down at her, truly for the first time in his life, and spoke clearly for the first time too. "You're so full of shit."

Eddie stirred awake and felt at peace.

Truly everything was working out in his favor.

He had a plan to get back in his own body, he had you, he had...something sharp digging into his shoulder, what the fuck?

He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, his fingers dug into his eyes and as he pulled them back...strands of hair came away with them. Long, tangled strands...unfamiliar...but familiar all the same.

But Steve didn't have...

Eddie really looked at his hands then, at the ring-clad fingers and the tattooed skin. His familiar bats and his puppet master that he had gotten last summer. He turned his head and saw the glowing red lights of his shitty K-mart alarm clock.

6:45

The screech of tires and a spray of gravel outside really made him aware of the world around him. The room was still somewhat dark... but bright sunlight shone in from the makeshift curtain. He stared at band posters and the Corroded Coffin banner he made back in 9th grade, and slowly the recognition set in.

He was home.

He was home, he was home, he was home. He pushed the hair out of his face and looked at his arms, his body, his bed. He pulled the half-worn copy of Lord of the Rings out from under his pillow where it was sort of jutting into his shoulder and he kissed it.

"I'm Eddie Munson," he spoke out loud in his voice. He tried to lower the register, achieve his DM voice. "Eddie Munson."

There was a knock on a frantic door somewhere.

Wayne. No wait, it was still too early to be Wayne. He wouldn't be home until 8 when Eddie was already at school.

More recognition hit him.

"Fuck I have to go to scho--"

"Eddie I swear to god, if you don't open this door right now," your voice was faint, shouted from somewhere outside.

You. Your voice. He had fallen asleep beside you in Steve's bed...and now he was in his bed, in his body, and you were outside his door.

He kicked the blankets off of him, wincing as he saw that he was only in his boxers--thank fuck he was getting sick of tighty whiteys--and ran out to the door.

He stared at the living room, at the remnants of everyone being here the night before. Tidier than he would have left it, but Steve had promised to clean up. He vaguely wondered what else Steve had cleaned during his stay at Casa Munson.

"Eddie!"

"Shit," Eddie cursed and threw the door open, fully intent on being suave with his greeting, since he was back in his body. This would be his first chance to charm you as himself, after all. But as soon as you had your eyes on him, you threw your arms around his neck and planted a kiss right on his lips.

It was an entirely different sensation, kissing you as himself and not as Steve. You tasted...pretty much the same...maybe a little different. Tangier. Maybe a little...earthy but it wasn't even 7am yet and he doubted you brushed your teeth at Steve's.

Shit he hadn't brushed his teeth yet either.

But his nerves were immediately alight in a way that they never really got when he was Steve. And his blood rushed to mutually desired places much faster than it had in Steve's body too.

That was going to be weird, going through life comparing things to Steve again...in a different way. But...

"You're too busy thinking," you pulled away and smiled. "And not busy kissing me."

"Sorry Sweetheart," he chuckled. "Mystical body swapping does a whole lot on the mind. I got distracted."

"I'll forgive you," you pecked down his cheek to his neck and bit playfully. "Just this once."

"Your teeth feel sharper like this," Eddie noted aloud.

"It's because I'm biting you harder," you grinned against his skin. "Because I know you like me now so I'm not afraid to mess up."

"Not distracted thinking of someone else now either," he offered and felt you tense in his arms. The confidence in him faltered. "I'm sorry, Honey, I didn't mean--"

"No it's..." you pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. There was a glee there, one he hadn't expected to see. "I don't know. I guess it's all been wild and unexpected and 24 hours ago...I thought I was gonna lose...you forever...and now I have you."

"You have me," Eddie promised. "For as long as you want me."

"Never gonna stop."

"No?" he asked in a tease. "Not even if I...swapped bodies with old Ted Wheeler or something."

"Uh..." you wrinkled your nose and glared at him. "Eddie I don't know if you're intentionally killing the mood here but...I mean if you're trying to ask me if I would fuck Mr. Wheeler even if he was actually you, the answer is a hard no."

"But you'd fuck me?" he asked smugly.

"I'm sincerely trying to," you laughed. "I don't think you were this chatty as Steve."

"I am pretty talkative. Don't worry, I have other uses for my mouth, but first things first, I need your clothes off Honey."

He ushered you back to his room and his fingers pinched and plucked at your work uniform as you went. You still had it on from your shift the day before, and it was now wrinkled from sleep, and Eddie vaguely wondered how comfortable it was, but you eagerly pulled it off you as you set foot into his room and he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Not sure how clean the sheets are," he stepped close to you and cupped your face in his hands.

"It's ok."

"But I'm gonna take care of you Honey."

"As long as you don't run away again."

"I won't. I promise." He took your hand in his and pressed it against the bulge in his boxers, groaning at the spark of tension and pleasure. This was what he had been missing, the pleasure he felt in his own body, so familar and long-since-felt. "Feel how hard I am for you? Feel how much I love you?"

"You love me?" You asked.

"Are you always gonna ask if I love you?"

"I just gotta check. Make sure you didn't change your mind...or that...I don't know...that Steve didn't jump back into your body or something."

"Oh," he pushed you down onto his mattress and slid between your legs. He ground himself against you, the friction of your underwear making you both hiss in want. "I'll make you forget all about Steve Harrington by the time I'm done with you. You'll only remember my name."

He didn't play games, didn't waste time luxuriating in the details of you, when all he wanted was to take you to paradise again and again, and follow you, as quickly as possible.

Also because even if he did skip class with you today, his uncle would be home soon and he did not want this to be the way the two of you met.

He kissed down the length of your body and rid you of your underwear. He inhaled the heady scent of you, put his tongue on you the way he had on Saturday, and noted again that the taste of you was different. Better.

He could feel you holding back and he looked up at you smugly, resting his chin on the crest of your sex.

"What did I tell you? I want to hear you," he teased, and inched his fingers along the inside of your thighs. "You're beautiful you know...your pussy's so pretty. I didn't get to tell you that the other day. All of you, you're so...gorgeous and I can't believe you're all mine."

"Yeah?"

"You're all mine right?" He asked, kissing back down as his fingers spread your lips and he teased your clit with his middle finger. You whined. "Louder honey, you're all mine right."

"Yes." He sunk his fingers into you and he laved at you, lapping up whatever you gave him. The complex, sweet taste exploded on his tongue, and he pressed in further, further, crooked his fingers till you were panting. "Eddie."

He smirked and backed away slightly, looked up at you with hooded eyes. "Say it again. Give me what I want and I'll give you what you want."

"E-Eddie," you keened.

"Again," he sped up and started shifting against the bed, as he chased his own pleasure. "One more. I'll get you there sweetheart. I'll get you there you just have to ask."

"Eddie please!" He stroked with skilled fingers and used his thumb to rub your clit firmly. He watched as you came. Awed in the beauty of you as you twitched and leaked, luxuriated in the flutter of your cunt around his fingers, and basked in the crescendo of your moans.

All while he rutted quickly and wildly against the bed. He wasn't gonna last--he'd barely touched himself in Steve's body, and he knew Steve wasn't doing any routine upkeep in his--and before long his release spilled as he grunted and groaned. He couldn't help himself, he bit into the plush of your thigh, enough to earn another high pitched whine from you.

You both panted and came down from your highs. He'd kissed back up your body to your mouth, letting you take the affection that you needed with your arms wrapped around his neck and your fingers threaded through his hair. He felt a tingle in his spine as your nails scratched against his scalp, and he knew it was a promise of more to come later, but he knew he needed to clean you up now.

He whispered sweet apologies as he left your side to get a washcloth from the bathroom, and then he cleaned you up first--paying close attention to the scrapes on your hands and knees, then the mix of his spit and your release between your legs. Then he took care of himself, slightly embarrassed as he rid himself of his stained boxers and revealed his rapidly softening cock to your curious gaze.

"Shit," he laughed and looked down himself and then back up into your eyes, so filled with affection. "You know something?"

"What?" you grinned at him, clearly feeding off his joy.

"Steve definitely has a weirder dick than me." You covered your face in your hands and cackled.

"I hate you!" you shouted, voice muffled.

"Noooo," he quickly flopped on the bed and pulled you to him. He peeled your hands back from your face and pressed a kiss to your lips. "You love me.

June 1986

This was it.

Eddie had never been so nervous in his life. Not the first time he performed with Corroded Coffin, or the first time he was the DM for Hellfire, not even the first time he kissed you.

This was the minute that his future would finally begin.

"Edward Munson," Principal Higgins' voice echoed across the football field. Eddie climbed the makeshift stage accompanied by a mix of cheers and applause (and boos from the douchebag jocks who had made his life miserable for the past 6 years).

He shook Higgins' hand and took his diploma, smiling nicely for the photographer that had set up right at the edge of the stage, and when he got a mischievous look on his face, Higgins sighed.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you Eddie," he warned.

"Come on, it's not like you can fail me now!" Eddie snarked and tucked the diploma under his arm, before flashing double birds at the older man. The sounds of the crowd grew louder--parents outraged, students amused--and as Eddie turned to extend the gesture to the crowd, he saw his little audience get to their feet and cheer harder.

Wayne who shook his head, forever amused at his boy's antics. Rick who, quite frankly, looked high as a kite. Gareth and Dave and Jeff's parents, who were there for him and Jeff. Steve and Dustin and Lucas--who had cheered for Robin, Jonathan, now for Eddie, and soon enough for Nancy. Will and Mike were with their families, but Eddie could still see them clapping enthusiastically.

And front and center, next to Wayne with the brightest smile and the loudest cheers, was you.

It was still weird, even after months of getting to be with you as Eddie instead of as Steve. Not bad weird. Better weird.

This was a moment he never imagined he would get to experience. Graduating high school, getting to know you and love you the way you did.

It still felt surreal, but as he ran off the stage amidst hooting and hollering of his classmates and the audience, he knew it was where he was meant to be.

Hours later, Eddie was surrounded by friends, family, and classmates in the Wheeler's backyard, celebrating the momentous occasion of high school graduation.

Wayne chatted with Ted Wheeler and Thomas Harrington, who had in fact offered Wayne a job at the dealership. Their kids newfound and unexpected friendship was a chance to actually talk with one another and Tom quickly realized that his new acquaintance was actually a skilled mechanic. While it took a little convincing on Eddie's part for Wayne to actually take the job, Wayne was actually grateful that it paid a little more and offered better hours than the plant.

Eddie's eyes narrowed as he watched Tom rub his ring finger nervously, the missing wedding ring obvious and awkward, especially amongst a big crowd like this. But no one dared say anything about the divorce or the fact that Mary had been seen around town with Mayor Kline. They didn't even ask Steve how his mother was doing. Everyone welcomed the Harringtons, glad they could make it to the celebration.

Guests milled about, the kids all chased each other around with water balloons, and too many overcooked hamburgers and hot dogs were consumed.

Eddie had his arm around you as you chatted with Nancy and Jonathan about plans for the future. You and Nancy had become fast friends, especially after Eddie returned back to his body and actually took advantage of Nancy's tutoring sessions.

There had been a moment, early on after the swap back into their own bodies, that Nancy had commented on the fact that you were dating Eddie...when she thought you had just been seeing Steve for weeks.

"I'm just worried about him," she confided in Eddie. "We didn't break up on the best terms. He'll always be my friend."

"I think he'll be ok," Eddie assured her. "The two of them are just friends. He doesn't have that many of those in Hawkins. You know, she convinced him to sign up for classes at the Tri County College in the fall?"

"No way," Nancy exclaimed. "I thought he was just gonna be stuck at Family Video for the rest of his life."

Eddie chuckled in recollection, remembering Nancy's disgusted face.

No, Steve wouldn't be stuck in Family Video forever, because Eddie had recently take a job there as an assistant manager to kill the extra time he had now that school was over and supplement that money from the additional gigs Corroded Coffin had earned over the summer.

It wasn't a record deal or a tour...just some local carnivals and fests...but it was a start.

And of course, there was you. With your unending affection and support and bright, shining personality. The you he got to know between high school and his...foray into Steve Harrington-ness only bloomed further under the gentle attentions of him and his love.

You told him things that you had never told him as Steve. You confided in him about your worries for the future, about your struggle balancing school and work, about your ideas and insecurities. And he did the same with you. It was a mutually fulfilling relationship, and one that was full of trust.

And the sex was one of the highpoint of his entire life so far. Not even his Warlock ranked quite as high on the list.

"Hey Eddie!" Dustin called to him and Eddie turned only to get hit in the face and doused with water from a rogue water balloon. He ran a hand over his eyes and did a dog-like shake to get the water from his hair. He glared at Dustin and Steve, who had thrown the precision shot and laughed heartily at his expense.

Douchebag.

Eddie sighed and looked around the party, at friends and family, at the kids, and you, and finally at Steve, who nodded in amicable understanding.

If he never saw Steve Harrington again...what would Eddie do? They'd experienced one of the...weirdest of things they'd ever experience in their lives. And it was something that inexplicably tied them together.

They were friends now.

Who'd have thought.

But, Stranger Things could've happened.

Thank you for reading. <3

#freaky friday au #Eddie Munson x reader #Eddie Munson angst #Eddie Munson smut #Steve Harrington x reader #Steve Harrington angst #Eddie Munson fluff #stranger things fic #Eddie Munson stranger things #Steve Harrington stranger things

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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years

Text

fine line - p.p

chapter 4

pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Synopsis: there’s a fine line between love and hate and you and Peter dance it on a regular basis

Series Masterlist and Regular Masterlist

“Would you stay with me?” You asked timidly, assuming the answer would be a definite no.

“Of course.” Peter nodded, making you recall the time your dad told you he would surprise you. Peter sat down next to you, giving you your space but still close enough to comfort you. You heard him chuckle after a beat of silence and looked at him curiously.

“You know, that’s the first time you ever called me Peter.” He commented, looking at you with a half smile.

“I’ve called you Peter before.” You insisted in your hoarse voice.

“No. I would’ve remembered if you did.” He chuckled. “You always call me Parker.”

“Oh. I guess I do.” You realized as Peter reached forward and wiped your tear with his thumb. You held eye contact with his and he dragged his thumb down your cheek, letting his warmth assuage your pain.

“Thanks.” You mumbled, giving him a weak smile.

“No problem.” Peter said sincerely. “This is the longest we’ve been in a room together without yelled at each other. It’s also the closest you’ve ever let me near you.”

“Sorry.” You said as you got ready to move. “I can move over-“

“No, it’s okay.” Peter stopped you by placing a hand on your arm. “I want you close.”

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth to hide how happy his sentence made you. Despite how awful you treated him, he was always kind to you. Usually his generosity made you even angrier, but you didn’t have the strength to hate him tonight.

“You shouldn’t be nice to me. I’ve never been nice to you.” You shook your head and look down at the box of tissues in shame.

“I believe in treating people how you’d like to be treated. You’re also letting me be nice to you, which is a nice change.” Peter cracked a smile as he brushed your wilting curls out of your face. You leaned into his hand for a moment, closing your eyes as you finally felt peace.

“I don’t hate you.” You said suddenly, making Peter raise his eyebrows. “You said I hated you before. I don’t, really. I’m sorry I made you think I did.”

“I’m sorry too. I know this hasn’t been easy for you. I didn’t even want to move in. Mr. Stark insisted, he thought I’d be able to keep you company.” Peter laughed slightly, feeling the irony of his statement.

“Then why did you?” You wondered. You always thought it had been Peters idea to move in as a way to reap the full benefits of being an Avenger, but it turned out you were wrong.

“My aunt just got this job at a charity and she absolutely loves it, it just takes up all her time.” Peter explained. “It’s the first time I’ve seen her happy since my uncle passed and I didn’t want her to chose between her job and taking care of me, so I moved in here. I…I didn’t know Mr. Stark was gonna take me on all the missions and stuff.” Peter said softly. “I never meant to take your place.”

You opened your mouth and quickly shut it, feeling incredibly stupid and guilty for how you’d been treating him.

“I didn’t know that. Any of that, I didn’t...I didn’t know.” You said quietly as your eyes filled with regret.

“You and I don’t talk much.” Peter shrugged sadly. You tilted your head to the side, looking at him sympathetically in an entirely new light.

“You were right before, you know.” You told him. “I am jealous of you for being my dads favorite.”

“Y/n, I was just saying that.” Peter apologized. “That’s not how I really feel and it’s definitely not true.”

You looked straight ahead at your deep blue bedroom walls and let out a sigh, knowing the impending conversation wouldn’t be easy.

“He wanted a boy.” You said after a beat of silence, busying yourself with your fingernails so you wouldn’t have to look at him.

“What?”

“When he adopted me. He wanted a boy.” You explained further, feeling a blush of embarrassment cover your face and neck.

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Peter shook his head as he shifted a little closer.

“Yes it is.” You smiled sadly. “They did all these family matching events at my foster home when I was a kid and he would always stop by. I always saw him talking to the boys. He never signed any papers though, I think he was just browsing.” You chuckled, and Peter did too.

“You don’t have to tell me if it’s difficult to talk about.” Peter said kindly as he rested a hand on your knee.

“I want to tell you so you can understand.” You insisted, feeling like this was your best shot at an apology.

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“I never got picked.” You came outright with it. “I would show up to these events in my best dress and biggest smile and watch all my friends get taken home by some family, even if it was just for a test run, but nobody ever picked me. It gets to you after a while.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Peter sympathetically squeezed your knee.

“No, it’s okay. If some other family had wanted me, I wouldn’t have ended up with my dad.”

“You’re really strong for being able to see the bright side of all this. I don’t know what I would’ve done.” Peter shook his head as he got a look into your history.

“I appreciate that.” You smiled softly at him, letting him know you were no longer upset.

“How did you end up with Mr. Stark?” Peter wondered.

“He came pretty late one day, after an event had been going on for a while. He had Pepper with him that time, I guess he finally convinced her to come. By the time he arrived, all the boys had already been taken, and I could just see the disappointment in his face. Then he made eye contact with me.” You smiled to yourself. “I had seen him there so many times, but this was the first time we interacted. I had on this fluffy pink princess dress to make myself look more presentable. He saw me and laughed.”

“Princess. That’s why he calls you princess.” Peter made the connection.

“So you’re not as dumb as I thought.” You teased him, playfully this time, as you nudged him. “He bent down in front of me and asked if I’d like to live in his castle for the week, and I said yes. After the week was up, he brought a suitcase to my foster home. He said my suitcase matched his because we were a family now. It was the first thing that had ever been mine, you know? Not a hand me down or anything. It was mine. Those suitcases are all worn out now, but we still use them for every mission. At least, we used to.”

“Thats why you were upset he threw his out. Y/n, I’m sorry. I didn’t know any of this. You never - - You don’t talk to me.” Peter’s voice was pained as he got the full picture of why the fight had upset you as much as you did.

“I know. And I’m sorry for that. I know this doesn’t justify why I treat you the way I do, but I hope it explains it a little.” You looked at him apologetically. “It’s dumb but I always saw those suitcases as a symbol of our family. And then he goes and throws them out to buy one for you. Not that I would need one anyway since he stopped bringing me on missions and I just, I don’t know, I felt replaced.”

“That’s not dumb.” Peter insisted. “Mr. Stark likes having me around but I could never replace you. You’re his daughter. I know he spends a lot of time with me but that doesn’t mean he wanted a boy.”

“That’s not the only thing, though.” You continued. “When I got to his house for the first time, before the tower was even built, he already had a room set up. Blue walls and little shirts with sports slogans on them told me what I already knew. He wanted a boy. He wanted you.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d ever wear a shirt with a sports slogan on it.” Peter slipped a joke in, making you chuckle softly.

“Yeah, well. You check all his other boxes.” You reminded him. “You’re smarter than me, better at technology than I am, and you’re a freaking superhero for crying out loud. I can’t do half the things you can and he knows it. And when you guys save the world together or build these amazing inventions, it’s like you’re rubbing in all the things I could never do with him. It just reminds me that you’re what he wanted.”

“So are you. He loves you.”

“I don’t doubt he loves me. I just doubt I’d be his first choice.” You shrugged sadly. “You and I are both orphans and if you hadn’t had your aunt and uncle to take care of you, you would’ve ended up in the same place as me. And if you had been there that day at the event…”

“You think Mr. Stark would’ve chosen me, not you.” Peter finished your sentence, and everything made sense to him at once.

“Yeah.” You whispered as tears filled your red rimmed eyes once again. “I’m sorry I don’t call you by your name. I’m sorry I’m mean to you and push you away. But you have to understand, you’re not someone I ever wanted to know. And when you say things like him preferring you, I believe you.”

“I never should’ve said that. I wish we had this conversation when I first moved in.” Peter sighed heavily. “I would’ve understood you so much better. And I…I wanted to understand you.”

“You did?” You jerked your head back in surprise at his statement.

“Yeah. It was kinda a bummer when I realized my mentors extremely beautiful and intelligent daughter hated me.” Peter chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “He talked so highly of you, I wish you could’ve heard it. He’s this world famous billionaire inventor and superhero and his greatest accomplishment is his daughter. It made me really excited to meet you. And then…”

“And then I made your life hell.” You squeezed your eyes shut in embarrassment as you finished his sentence. “I’m sorry, Peter.”

“It’s okay. I still liked you, even if you were mean to me.” He smiled sheepishly. “I could tell you were funny and nice from when I heard you talking to other people. I just didn’t understand why you didn’t like me.”

“I feel like we could’ve been really good friends by now if I hadn’t been so quick to judge you.” You pouted as you looked at him. “I thought you were taking advantage of my dads money of something. You’re actually a really good guy. I should’ve listened the first 50 times me dad told me that.”

“We can still be friends. I think I’ll be around a while.” He teased your usual hatred of him being around as he bumped his shoulders against yours. You laughed as you moved together, feeling grateful for the second chance he was giving you. Something he had said clung to the back of your mind and in the name of being honest, you brought it up.

“Do you…do you really think I’m beautiful?” You asked curiously as you looked at him. A blush spread from Peters nose bridge all the way to the tips of his ears when he realized you caught his subtle compliment.

“Um, don’t you?” He shrugged, answering your question with a question to put the ball back in your court. Your lips twitched into a smile before you looked away, feeling flustered in place of your usual disdain.

“To answer your question from before, my date was lame.” You shrugged. “Harry was on his phone the whole time, something about fantasy football? I don’t know, I wasn’t listening. Rich people are like, super boring.”

“I thought you liked him? Last I heard, you wanted to be his girlfriend.” Peter couldn’t help from rolling his eyes as he spoke.

“Oof.” You clicked your tongue. “If you haven’t figured out by now that I played up my feelings for Harry to make you jealous, then maybe you’re not smarter than me.”

“You wanted to make me jealous?” Peter repeated for confirmation. “It worked, but why?”

“Do you want to know the number one thing that annoyed me about you?” You asked him, the fight a distant memory now.

“I don’t know. Do I?” Peter chuckled as he rested his head in his hands to look at you.

“No matter how much I disliked you,” you shook your head and shrugged slightly, “I always liked you more.”

“I thought you said you would never like me.” Peter recalled, a hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah, well,” you moved closer to him, sitting on his thigh and resting your hand on his shoulder, “I guess I had a change of heart.”

“Well.” Peter looked up at you with a fire in his eyes. “What ever am I going to do about that?” He said slowly as he drummed his fingers on your leg.

“Yeah. What are you gonna do about it, Parker?” You brought back his old nickname to really push him.

“I have a few ideas, Princess.” Peter mumbled before crashing his lips to yours. Your hands immediately went to his hair, tugging it for all the times he made you stressfully tug at yours.

“You drive me crazy with all your eye rolling.” Peter said between kisses as he pushed you down on the bed. “Nobody is that annoyed all the time.”

“Every time I saw you in the lab I hoped you’d burn your hand on the benson burner.” You confessed as you trailed kisses on his jawline.

“I hate when you leave your cereal bowls out. Do you know how disgusting almond milk looks when it’s left out? Ugh it made me so mad.” Peter groaned as he pinned you to the bed.

“I hate when you’re in the kitchen when I’m baking. You’re so annoying.” You whined, tilting your head up to kiss him.

“You’re so annoying.” He shot back as he pulled you closer.

“I cannot stand you.” You shook your head before kissing him again. “At all.”

“That makes two of us, princess.” Peter gave you a cocky smirk as his hand traveled up your leg.

“I told you not to call me that, daddy.” You shot back, making Peter gulp. You laughed wickedly and propped yourself up on your elbows. “Thats what I thought. You’re all talk.”

“That wasn’t fair.” He growled, teeth grazing your earlobe now.

“You just can’t handle it.” You teased him.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Peter said simply as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Same.” You laughed at the irony. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

Tag List 🏷

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#peter parker x reader #peter parker x you #peter parker x stark!daughter #peter parker x stark!reader #peter parker enemies to lovers #peter parker jealous #peter parker x y/n #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #marvel #spiderman

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boldlyvoid · 3 years

Text

Amoreena | Chapter ten

chapter ten

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: immense amounts of fluff, discussion of bad dreams death and past trauma at the end all related to canon

word count: 5.3K

from the beginning <3

Dreaming wasn’t something that came easily to Spencer. When he did dream they never made any sense, dark and twisting basements, endless staircases, treading a deep dark sea for hours as the waves swallowed him whole. Wind chimes that he couldn’t find wouldn’t stop twinkling as he aimlessly ran around a trailer park. It was never peaceful.

Then his mind found the park and couldn’t stop re-creating it, over and over again in his mind every single night when he closed his eyes.

He was in the middle of the most perfect dreamscape, his girls reading under the sun as Y/N’s head rested on his shoulder…

Then his phone started to ring, opening his eyes to the sun barely waking up as well. He answered the phone before Y/N could wake up beside him, “hello?”

“Spence, I’m so sorry to wake you,” JJ’s voice slipped into his mind and woke up right up, she wouldn’t call unless she needed to. “We have a really bad case, we have to leave like right now and the babysitter can’t take the boys and Henry is still too little to make sure Michael eats during the day and he’s still so little—“

“Hey it’s fine,” he cut her off as he sat up, waking Y/N in the process. “I’m only 12 minutes from Quantico, leave them with Anderson and I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you so much, Spence, oh and they need breakfast, I’ll leave some money with Henry, can you make sure they eat?”

“Absolutely, don’t worry, good luck and be safe,” he reminded her, feeling weird that he didn’t have to go as well.

“Thanks again Spence,” he could hear her smile before hanging up, leaving him to stretch and finally get out of the bed.

“Was that JJ?” Y/N asks, getting out of bed and putting on her housecoat to follow him to the bathroom.

“Yeah, the boys need someone to watch them if you don’t mind?”

“They’re family,” she reminded him with a sleepy smile.

“They need lunches for today, I can drive Amoreena to school with them too?” He’s splashing water on his face so he can wake up enough to drive safely to Quantico, wiping the water from his eyes as he hears Y/N laughing softly.

“It’s Saturday silly, and Monday is their last day anyway if they need to stay that long,” Y/N reminds him, “I’ll try and have breakfast ready when you get back.”

“Tomorrows the 14th, shit,” he remembers his calendar. “I have to take my mom to get her yearly scan and cognitive test done tomorrow morning, I won't be able to send her off on her last day.”

“That’s okay, as long as you’re there for the little graduation and the all about me display ceremony it’ll be fine, it starts at 1:30,” she didn’t mind him missing it but everything in him felt like the worst person ever if he did.

He never wanted to miss anything ever again.

“You’re sure that’s fine?”

She nodded again, wrapping her arms around him and looking up into his beautiful, tired eyes. “Family comes first, that means Diana was in the calendar longer so you go with her. Amoreena just wants to come home with you from school, for the next 10 years of school she’ll be coming home to you.”

“Why don’t we wake Amoreena and go get breakfast with the boys? I’d like to get to know my god kids too…” her voice cooing as she soothed his morning anxiety, blessing him with more time with her, he nodded.

“You go get the boys and come back and pick us up, I’m sure she’ll take a few minutes to contemplate feeding chickens or breakfast,” Y/N smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly.

She pulled away but he pulled her right back in, pressing his lips right against hers again and again until they were both laughing, teeth bumping into each other in their early morning delirium. She finally pulled away from his grasp, rushing to the bedroom door so he couldn’t follow her.

“Go get the boys!”

He fake huffed, “fine!”

Slipping into his jeans and a sweater, placing her grandpa’s hat back on his head once more. He made sure he had his wallet and identification, the guards knew him it’s not like he wouldn’t be allowed into the building with a visitors pass.

And then he was out the door and driving down the road. Pulling into Quantico with a strange feeling in his gut, he didn’t realize how much he hated it here until he didn’t need to be there all the time. He was granted a visitors pass, parking in the garage and taking the elevator right up to the BAU.

He walked into the briefing room to find Henry on his phone and Michael sound asleep again on the couch.

“Hey, uncle Spencer!” Henry cheered, not waking Michael in the process somehow.

“Hey buddy,” he said, scooping the now 13-year-old Henry into his arms for a quick hug. He was still cuddly and sensitive and quiet, much like Spencer at that same age.

It was almost like JJ picked him as the godfather knowing he would need him. Choosing to text or call Spencer about cute girls and chess games and new star wars movies, instead of going to his dad for chats about football and beer… or whatever Will was into. Spencer really didn’t give him a chance to get to know him over the last 15 years, harbouring a hatred for him that he didn’t really understand until he met Y/N.

Now will was the jealous one in a sense, wondering what he could do to get his own son to come to him for advice and support. But he understood it, Henry was exactly like Spencer and he needed to see that being awkward and quiet doesn’t last forever.

“So, I’m not sure if your mom and dad told you, but I got married and my wife has a daughter and we’re going to take you boys out to breakfast, okay?”

“She said you’re Nini’s dad, like for real?” Once again someone from the LaMontagne called Amoreena Nini and he had no idea why.

“I donated sperm when your mom got pregnant with you, I didn’t think I’d get to have a family,” he was honest with him. He was old enough to know how it worked and mature enough to hear the word sperm without freaking out.

“Cool, Nini and Mike are normally friends.”

“Why do you guys call her Nini?”

“Michael couldn’t say Amoreena when he was 4 so he called her Nini, and then Dad would call her that when he teased Mike about his crush on her,” it made complete sense for a kid to not be able to pronounce it.

But his brain got stuck on the crush part, turning to Michael who was still sound asleep with his face pressed into his backpack, drooling slightly. JJ’s kid had a crush on his, a weird fantasy he had coming true where he and JJ can be friends forever as in-laws.

It was too bad Amoreena really didn’t like boys, not even in the 8-year-old ‘ew cooties’ way either. She was raised around women and she was comfortable with them, and she had no problem punching Michael in the face if he ever pissed her off. It was going to be interesting seeing them interact today.

“Okay, well let’s get your things and bring them back to our house and then we’ll go get breakfast with my girls,” Spencer smiled, seeing Henry’s face light up at the day he gets to spend with Spencer. “You’re going to love Y/N.”

And he did… walking into Spencer’s new house to drop off his backpack, dropping his jaw when he saw Y/N instead. He was so much like Spencer it made him laugh, patting Henry on the shoulder, “I know,” he teased him.

Henry turned to him with wide eyes, “I’ve never met Nini’s mom, that’s her mom?” He whispered that same anxious boy Spencer used to be staring right back at him.

He nodded with a smile, “yeah, she’s really nice don’t worry.”

“Henry! It’s so nice to meet you,” she says as she walks into the main room.

Henry turns around to see her when she’s pulling him into a big hug, Spencer can see his eyes are closed as he takes a moment to hug a pretty girl. Spencer couldn’t help but bite his tongue, not wanting to laugh and embarrass the poor boy now that he was noticing pretty girls. Even if that girl happened to be his wife, it was inevitable for Henry to crush on one of Spencer’s girlfriends with how much he copied him.

She pulled back softly, Henry’s arms still around her waist, she brushed his beautiful blond hair behind his ears. “You look so much like your mom, you’re so handsome!”

Henry forgot how to breathe, trying to stutter out a thank you as he backed up out of her space and turned to Spencer, “he’s always looked like JJ, you should have seen how tiny he was originally,” Spencer jumped in to save him. “Where is Amoreena?”

“She’s trying to pick between 2 different dresses, I’ll go make sure she’s in one by now,” she smiled at them before leaving the room, heading up the stairs to Amoreena’s room.

“You good?” Spencer nudged Henry, laughing lightly. “She’s your aunt now, she’s not going to think you’re a dork so you can calm down around her, I promise.”

Henry released a deep shaky breath, “you’re right, sorry.”

“It’s fine, I was like that around your mom before you were born, you should have seen me,” he tried to sympathize with the boy, only making a disgusted face arise on him.

“Ew, that’s completely different she’s my mom!”

Spencer wrapped his arm around him, “and Y/N is my wife!” He whispered as loud as he could so that it wouldn’t be heard by her.

Henry sighed, “and she’s like what 50?”

“35,” Spencer looked at him and laughed as he shook his head, “how old do you think I am?”

“Mentally? 6-years-old,” Henry bullied him right back for all the brotherly teasing, “but physically you look 79.”

“Thanks,” Spencer said, tucking the boy under his arm and messing up his hair, “now you look like a dork.”

He loved Henry more than he could express, unlike Amoreena he knew he wasn’t his kid, it wasn’t fatherly at all. Henry was his best friend's kid, his godson and his little brother, and as he got older he was becoming more of a best friend than he thought he would.

—

After breakfast when everyone was awake and happily full, Y/N took them all into town to visit the farmer’s market. Letting the kids look around and see if there was anything they wanted to all make for dinner, she was the best mom and aunt in the whole wide world and Spencer kept falling more and more in love every second he spent with her.

She was glowing in the sunlight, walking through the booths looking at all the fresh vegetables and fruit, Spencer followed her with Michael’s hand in his and Henry not far behind. Amoreena was off talking to her favourite vendor, an older woman who reminded her of her great-grandma, it was sweet.

Spencer thought about how their future would be much of the same, Y/N and him with a couple of kids while the rest of them did their own thing. He couldn’t wait to see all the little faces they’d create together, to get to know all the personalities and raise them into being just as wonderful as their sister and cousins.

“Ugh,” Y/N stopped dead in her tracks then, they were heading towards the butcher’s booth when she turned around, almost green as she reacted to the smell. “Nope, not going down there.”

Spencer couldn’t stop smiling at her as she tried to not throw up in the middle of the market, people watching her dry heave as she walked away. Spencer knew JJ was pregnant with Michael before she even told Will because she was the exact same way very early on. Living on ginger ale and baby cookies to stay sane, Y/N was going to need that hack.

He didn’t say anything, just profiling her in his mind as he followed her again.

Henry and Michael used the money JJ left them to buy some homemade candies from the market, Y/N picked up some donuts to bring home to her parents, and Amoreena only wanted fresh strawberries. Spencer however snuck away from the group really quickly to get something they passed earlier, something he wanted to get for Amoreena.

There was a vendor with homemade shirts and dresses, knitted hats and all sorts of collectables. If he was going to miss her last morning before kindergarten, he wanted to get her something to wear that morning so he’d be there in spirit.

There was a beautiful handmade purple dress hanging on the wall behind the vendor, the same kind old woman that reminded Amoreena of her GG. “Hello, how can I help you today?”

“We haven’t met, but I’m Amoreena’s father,” he introduced himself with a smile, and the old woman face beamed.

“Yes you are,” she smiled. “She has your nose, it’s lovely to finally meet you!”

“you too, um, I was interested in that purple dress,” he points behind her, “it looks like the one from tangled, I’m sure she’d love it.”

“that’s exactly how she described it when she saw it today,” the woman explains as she takes it down from the wall for him. “It’s $35, but I’ll do $20 for my favourite little friend.”

“That’s very kind, but I don’t mind,” he says, taking $35 dollars out of his wallet and laying it beside the cash box. “Thank you for always making my girl smile.”

“Thank you,” she smiled again, folding the dress nicely and placing it in a white bag, “would you like some tissue paper so she can’t see what it is?”

“That would be great, thank you,” Spencer smiled too, incredibly happy that this was his life now.

She handed him the bag then, stuffed to the brim with purple and pink paper, Amoreena was going to love it. He said his goodbyes and met the rest of his family at the car, hiding the present between his legs in the passenger seat as they drove home.

—

Henry and Michael did end up having to stay the night, switching into their PJs after dinner and joining them all in the living room for a movie night. They let the kids stay up later to watch the whole movie, watching Michael fall asleep once again on the carpet, he had been so well behaved all day it was like he was afraid of Amoreena now.

Michael was perfectly happy sleeping on the couch all night, Henry, on the other hand, slept in Y/N’s old room to have some privacy and so he could sleep in on Sunday.

By the time JJ and Will got home on Sunday night, Y/N and Spencer were just putting some burgers on the grill, they had enough for the whole team and so sure enough, the crew made a short trip from Quantico to Heaven.

Matt called his wife, she drove their handful of children over, Luke of course let Penelope know, the two of them still happily seeing each other now that she wasn’t on the team, it was cute to see them together. Then Penelope, of course, invited Derek and Hank. Emily, Rossi and Tara coming along just to witness Spencer being happy.

It was the best summer party they’ve ever had. Bob and Linda were beyond excited to have so many new faces in their yard, throwing on 2 more packages of burgers, feeding a whole army like normal.

The kids were all running around together in the field, playing with the cats and the goats, rolling down the big hill towards the cows, chasing fireflies as the sunset.

It was all of their last day of school on Monday, a weird day to end on but they were excited nonetheless. Y/N’s father lit up a bonfire in celebration, setting up every lawn chair and log they had to make sure everyone had a seat, they all gathered with marshmallows on sticks and drinks in their hands, smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.

Spencer made a happy life for himself that he was no sharing with them, and they call understood perfectly why he chose this one. It was peaceful, perfect and the most loving environment he’s ever been in. They were beyond proud of him.

“This place is amazing,” Tara leaned towards Spencer, “your family is wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Spencer smiled at her, raising his voice then as he looked at the rest of the team, “I just want to thank all of you actually, you’re all my family and it’s been so surreal introducing you all, I’ve never been happier.”

He was swarmed with hugs then, everyone also using it as their queue to gather their kids and hit the road. They watched everyone get in their cars one by one, Penelope did everything in her power not to leave with at least 3 cats, Matts's kids asked if they could come back, often, with Y/N reminding everyone that the gates are always open.

It was everything he ever wanted.

Amoreena jumped into his arms then, he held her against his side as they both waved at everyone, saying goodbye to all her new aunts and uncles and cousins. Her family kept getting bigger and bigger by the day and she was so incredibly happy about it. She’d take in a million more family members if they let her, her heart didn’t have a capacity level for love.

He carried her up the porch stairs then, bringing her into the kitchen where the white bag with purple tissue paper was waiting for her. Her eyes lit up as she saw it, “is that for me?”

“You bet it is,” he enthused, “I’m not going to be here in the morning, grandma Diana has a doctor's appointment, so I got you something for tomorrow morning.”

He set her down on the floor, handing her the bag and watching her carefully remove all the tissue paper. She laid it on the table softly to keep it for later, saying it was good to make barbie dresses with. When she finally saw the dress her jaw dropped.

Y/N was there too now, watching in awe as he surprised both of them.

“Did you buy this from Candace?” She asks softly as she takes it out of the bag. Holding it to her chest as she twirls around lightly.

“I did, I thought you’d like to have something to remind you of me there, I’m sorry I’m going to miss sending you to the bus on your last day,” he tried not to cry as he crouched down to her level, taking her into his arms and giving her a soft hug.

“That’s okay, you’re always in here,” she took his pointer finger in her hand and poked her own chest with it, “I love you, dad.”

“I love you more, Amoreena,” he smiled through the tears, scrunching his nose so they wouldn’t roll down his cheeks, giving her another hug before Y/N started her bedtime routine.

—

For the past two weeks, his dreams have been filled with lush fields of green draped in the most beautiful golden glow. Both his girls sitting beside him as they read, each of them has a book and it’s silent. It’s serene, the dictionary definition of peace.

However, it took him a while to fall asleep tonight, he was too anxious for Amoreena’s last day of kindergarten in the morning and the fact he wouldn’t be there for the drop-off.

Y/N was sound asleep on the pillow beside him as he stared at her, for what felt like hours, brushing her hair off her face lightly and making sure the blankets were still covering her. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room just enough that he could see her face twitch into a smile as she fell deeper into her slumber.

Seeing her happy relaxed him enough to follow her. Blinking into his dream realm and finding a few new faces waiting for him by the tree…

“Dad!” Another little girl he’s never seen before was running towards him, wrapping herself around him as he held her.

Suddenly, 7 other children he doesn’t know are surrounding him in hugs, tacking him to the ground in a fit of giggles and tickles, “we missed you! Why were you gone for so long?”

He’s so confused, he knows he’s dreaming but he chooses to stay, to wander the world and ask the questions his mind was so obviously trying to answer. “I’m sorry,” is all he can reply, taking Amoreena’s hand and following her towards Y/N as she sat on the picnic blanket.

She was older, which meant he should be too, looking in the pond quickly for his reflection to see’s his wrinkled face, the white in his hair and beard. Their kids had all grown up but where was he for it?

“Welcome home,” she smiled as he sat down. “it’s about time you met the girls.”

“Where was I?”

“You don’t remember?”

He shakes his head, “I was supposed to be here.”

“Amoreena got into Yale, did you hear that, cutie? Elly, Junie and Theo are in high school now, look how beautiful they are…”

He watched his children frolic in the field, running around without a care in the world that he missed everything. Why did he miss everything? How could he miss everything?

“It’s too bad you missed Cordelia and the other twins, can you believe we had 3 sets of twins, Spence?” She laughed like it was funny, “how could you leave me alone with 9 babies?” Still smiling, staring into his soul as he died a little inside.

He started to panic then, breathing heavily as he tried to remember where he was to miss everything, “I was supposed to be there for them!?”

Suddenly he’s ripped awake by Y/N shaking him and pulling him against her skin, “hey, shhh, it’s okay.”

He was crying and shaking in his sleep, sweating as he tried to fight off the dream, his anxiety in full swing for absolutely no reason, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

“You didn’t go anywhere, Spencer, you’ve been there the whole time,” she reminded him, rubbing her hand over his back as he settled into her arms. “You were mumbling and then yelling.”

“I got to the park and you told me I missed all of them growing up,” he whispered the painful words into the open, freeing them from his mind and letting them exist somewhere else.

“Them?” She coo’s, holding his head against her chest as she rests her cheek against it, holding him as close as humanly possible.

“We had like 9 girls, they were all so beautiful as you and Amoreena, they all had my nose and your lips and the curliest blowing hair in the whole world, and I missed everything, again,”

“I won't let that happen, do you have any handcuffs leftover? Because I can keep you here for good?” She teased him in a hushed whisper, playful and happy to prove that he was fine, they were fine.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” he whispered again shimmying down lower to lay his head on her lower stomach, kissing her stomach softly. “I’m not leaving you all, never.”

“I had a bad dream too, that’s what woke me up first,” she replies softly. “Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of Stephen’s death, and the first time I never visited him.”

Spencer felt the need to sit up then, making eye contact with her to see her true feelings. “I don’t want you to stop loving him because you also love me. He’s special to you, you should go see him soon.”

“Spencer,” she smiles at the concern in his voice, “I will, I only didn’t because I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant, I was bleeding a little yesterday and then it stopped, that probably means the implantation worked and I don’t want to tell him yet. And I tell him everything.”

“Everything?” He asks in a way that she hears; “even about me?” inside his thoughts.

She nods softly, “I went on that first Monday after I dropped you off at your apartment, I needed him to know I was finally ready and I thanked him for sending you to me.”

“What was he like?”

“He was from Boston, accent and everything,” she smiled with sad eyes as she recalled him to her mind. “He was in theatre school, I met him in the summer at a music festival in Chicago, he was playing guitar and we had too many beers and I lost my virginity to him in a tent in some field.”

She recalled it like it was a fond memory, missing him but not enough to be sad about it now. “I ran into him again when I went to college in Boston and we were talking outside before the rain hit, like one of those classic movie scenes, and my apartment was closer, the rest is history.”

“Hey Stephen is the one song you always skip, I never wanted to ask why but I don’t think you’ll mind telling me?” He wonders out loud, still a little delirious from the lack of sleep.

“He looked like an angel when I first saw him, he was standing under a street light reading his music sheets and the light was glowing perfectly, it was amazing I wish I had a picture of it. But then the Fearless album came out for the first time and it was my favourite song because it was like she wrote it for us. He was my perfect angel, my superstar, he was going to be on Broadway one day and we were going to move to a cottage in England, we had lots of plans and that song just makes me think of the life me and him must be living in the universe where it all worked out.”

It’s long-winded and she doesn’t seem to be over-emotional by the end, in a shocking turn of event’s it seems like she feels freer after getting it off her chest.

“I haven’t always been this happy and cheerful Spencer,” she adds, “I had a really dark spot after he died, it was horrible for me. I was so angry, I was reckless and mean and hurtful, and in that time I wasted precious moments I could have spent being happy with my grandma, and so my dream tonight was just the fight I had with Evan and my grandma dying and the cops saying Stephen was dead and placing that stupid fucking flower on his coffin thinking it made up for the fact I couldn’t even look at him in there.”

“How you respond to trauma isn’t really up to you, that’s why it’s trauma. Your brain can’t really cope and so it does typically the stuff you’ll regret the most in that time of grief, it’s not your fault and I’m sure everyone understood. You had every right to be mad, hell, I’m mad you lost him because I know how much you hurt in silence for so long,” Spencer can’t help but wish he could have been there for her.

“What happened to you after Maeve died?”

It was only fair that he shared too, “I locked myself in my apartment and didn’t take care of myself, I didn’t talk to anyone, I just sat in my living room and almost died reading every book I had because I didn’t feel like I was worthy of being taken care of so if I starved to death, so be it.”

“You still haven’t told me what happened with her and the kidnapping,” she reminds him of their little chat a few weeks ago at the school. “I get it if you’re not ready, I’m sure it’s a lot.”

“I was getting headaches, really bad ones, and so I reached out to a geneticist to see if she could help me. I sent her my brain scans and some blood tests and she helped me find supplements and natural ways to help my body rest from the stress of my work,” he explained it easily like the feelings didn’t hurt anymore.

“We talked on the phone a lot and I finally asked her why she was so afraid to meet me or have me know anything about her. She had me call her from a payphone, always a different one each time, I was to call and let it ring once, then hang up then she’d call me back. She thought she had a stalker, she was getting weird messages and threats and she felt genuinely unsafe, and she had every right to,”

“10 months went by and we thought she was safe, but her ex-fiancé got a private investigator to find her and in return found me instead. It turns out that Maeve had a student who felt wronged by her and wanted to outdo her, so she dated her fiancé and scared her underground but then she wanted me.”

Y/N’s face is full of concern like she’s listening to a true-crime thriller where she knows the ending won't be good.

“I tried to talk her stalker down, I almost had her and then she kissed me and I keep looking at Maeve, she saw right through me. She threatened to kill Maeve, she had a gun to her head but at the last minute she killed herself, but Maeve’s head was too close to hers,” the words hurt on the way out.

“And someone also had you sent to prison?” She asks, wanting all the trauma in one night to save him the trouble.

“Yeah, she was an assassin, I tricked her into thinking I found her dad and I was so smart she thought I was her soulmate, it was all an elaborate plan to bring me down to her level.”

“Did you kill someone?”

“I’ve killed too many people,” he answers with complete honesty once again. “I’ve killed mostly murderers and rapists, I typically don’t have to. I really try not to, but I’ve also killed people to keep myself safe. And I’d probably kill someone to keep you or Amoreena safe too.”

“Get in line,” she laughs, able to make every single conversation easy even when they shouldn’t be.

“I uh,” he wants to tell her more but he doesn’t know-how. “I was also sexually assaulted in prison, and I was kidnapped and drugged in 2007, I OD’d and died but then I was resuscitated, I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a lot.”

“I am so sorry Spencer,” she rests her hands on his cheeks, looking into his eyes as best as she could in the dark, still seeing the goodness in there. “You’re safe here with me, forever and always, I can promise you that.”

“Thank you,” he’s never going to stop thanking her.

Settling down on the bed once more, he cuddles back into her side. She brushes his hair behind his ear softly, humming a soft melody as she soothes him back to sleep. He snuggled right against her, holding her gently as he fell back to sleep on her, dreamless as she was everything he needed.

love you all for all the support thank you x100 <3

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

#spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid self insert #spencer reid request #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine #amoreena

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vagabondreamer · 3 years

Text

After the Fall (4)

Pairing: Lucifer x Angel! Fem! MC

Word Count: 2k

Series Summary: Angel! Fem! MC is part of an exchange program that sends her to the Devildom for a year.

Chapter Summary: MC spends some much needed time with Simeon, Luke, and Solomon.

Author’s Note: I totally headcanon that angels are touch-starved.

***

You wanted to shove his pride right down his throat. Throughout the week you had to endure his smug expression and his little comments that were meant to embarrass you, but it just made you mad. Being in the house was driving you insane. Mammon was always glued by your side trying to come up with money-making schemes, Asmo kept flirting, Satan was always asking about the history of your people - as if he didn’t have brothers more knowledgeable than you - and Beel, well, Beel was about the only person not driving you insane. You had barely seen Levi at all, so he didn’t really count at the moment.

Class had just ended, and you could already hear the boisterous Mammon waiting outside the hall for you. Needing a little break from the boys for the weekend, you looked to your angel friends.

“Hey Simeon, do you think I could spend a night or two at the Purgatory Hall?” He looked at you with concern.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just feel overwhelmed.”

“Of course she can stay over for a sleepover!” Luke was practically jumping out of his seat.

“Well, I’d love to have you over, there just really isn’t any room. Plus, you’d have to ask Lucifer for permission.”

“Why do I have to ask Lucifer?” You were getting desperate. “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

“He’s going to freak out again if you just leave without letting him know where you are.”

“Fine, whatever, I’ll ask. But, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Walking out of class, you had one mission, and that was to find Lucifer.

“Hey MC, how was class?”

“It was alright. How was yours?”

“Boring. The only thing more boring than class is Lucifer’s lectures.” You laughed at that. Anytime Mammon involved you in one of his plans, it always ended in a lecture for the both of you.

“Speaking of, have you seen Lucifer? I need to talk to him.”

“He’s probably in a meeting with Lord Diavolo.” He grabbed your hand and started walking in the direction toward the council room. You looked down at your connected hands, and a weird feeling bubbled up in your stomach. “Hey! It’s not like I wanna hold your hand! There’s just too many demons, don’t want ya to get lost.”

You rolled your eyes. He was always a little dramatic. It’s not like you had never held hands with anyone before, but you were a kid back then. Angels didn’t really hug or hold hands as adults, it was always deemed a little too inappropriate - even if it was platonic. You liked the bubbly feeling, even if it was coming from Mammon.

Mammon led you down a long hall, at the end sat a set of large doors.

“Make sure ya knock before goin’ in.” Geez, if Mammon was the one to say that, then it must be pretty serious. “Think you can get Lucifer to take ya home?” You nodded and he went on his way.

Standing in front of the large doors, you gave a hard two knocks; the sound resonated in the halls. You could hear shuffling behind the door, and it swiftly opened up, showing Barbatos.

“Can I help you, MC?”

“I need to speak to Lucifer, is he here?”

“Can it wait until after the meeting? He’s with Lord Dia -”

“MC!” Speak of the devil.

“Hi, Lord Diavolo.” His smile and energy was contagious, you couldn’t help but smile back. But in the background, you could see the familiar scowl. You knew you had to make this quick. “I’m sorry for interrupting, I just -”

“It’s alright MC, come join us, we were just talking about student affairs.” He ushered you in, leading you to a seat right next to Lucifer. You felt completely out of place, and Lucifer’s stare wasn’t helping. “Before you speak, I just want to say I am sorry about what happened. You should know that those boys have been taken care of.”

And in that instant, you were taken back to that horrible memory. Your hand reached up to feel the scars that reside permanently on your face. You knew you were being irrational, Lucifer was just doing his job and the marks on your face would’ve been questioned - but you couldn’t help but be angry. Why did he have to report it? You looked over at him, expecting to meet his gaze, but his eyes were focused on Lord Diavolo. It seemed like he didn’t expect Lord Diavolo to ever approach you about the subject - he seemed pissed off. You took a deep breath and shoved the memories back down.

“Thank you.” Is that what he wanted to hear? His concerned smile looked genuine, and his apology sincere. But why did it feel like you couldn’t tell him what you really felt? By all means, he was royalty, but he wasn’t your ruler. Maybe it was because of how Lucifer treated him. He was clearly upset with him, yet he wasn’t expressing it. You wondered how he must’ve treated Michael - it’s no wonder Michael was so fond of him. And it’s no wonder why Michael would never treat you the same - you weren’t Lucifer and you would never be.

“So, MC, what did you want to talk about?” It felt silly asking for permission for something so trivial, especially in front of the future king.

“I just wanted to spend some time with Simeon and Luke. Over the weekend?”

“Is everything okay at the House of Lamentation?”

“Of course. I just think it would be good for me to be around them, too.”

“Well, I think it’s a wonderful idea.” You looked to Lucifer, you were asking him permission.

“You heard Lord Diavolo.”

“Thanks,” you told both of them. You left the room and waited right outside the door for Lucifer to be done with his meeting.

***

Lucifer had escorted you home to pack an overnight bag, and then brought you to the Purgatory Hall. Not much was said, both of you were in a bad mood due to the meeting. You said your goodbyes, and he reminded you to text him if you needed something. Walking inside, the presence was immediately different and it reminded you of home.

“Hey guys!”

“MC! I’m so glad you could come!” Luke rushed over to you - he was covered in flour.

“What are you doing, Luke?”

“I wanted to bake for you! And, since you’re close to Michael then you can tell me if it’s good enough to give him, too!” He urged you towards the kitchen; the countertops were filled with sweets of all sorts - it would be a dream come true for Beel.

“I wouldn’t say I’m close to Michael. He kind of just orders me around.”

“Ah, you’re so lucky you’re next in line to be an Archangel!”

You just nodded, and started taste testing. It was a huge honor, and almost never happened to angels. But even then, you didn’t feel lucky. Your path was forged for you, the sole reason for your existence was to take Lucifer’s spot, and for some reason that bothered you.

“Luke, are you done now?” You could hear Simeon call out from a different room.

“Yes! You can let him out now!” You gave Luke a questioning look. “Oh, Solomon’s not allowed in the kitchen when I’m baking.”

Simeon and Solomon both walked out of the room, and sat by you at the table.

“He likes to add his own flavors,” Simeon explained further. “It’s usually not very good tasting.”

“Ya know what? I’m offended,” Solomon feigned hurt. You giggled at their interaction. It had only been a short while, and they were all getting along so well. “So, did you get tired of being around the brothers already?”

“Well -” You’d be lying if you said you weren’t tired, but they weren’t exactly all that bad either. “Each one is just...a lot. There’s a lot of big personalities.”

“Yeah being around Asmo alone is a lot, I can’t imagine being around six more,” Solomon said half jokingly.

“Six?”

“Oh, right, five.”

“Luke, these treats are divine!” Simeon changed the subject quickly. Why did it feel like talking about the seventh brother was a crime?

“Yeah, I think Michael would like these.”

“Really?!” You just nodded and smiled. After all, you did come here to try to not think about the brothers.

The rest of the night consisted of dinner and watching movies until Luke and Solomon passed out. Simeon placed blankets on top of them and called you to his room. It was spacious, and had a couch in the corner.

“You can take the bed,” Simeon said as he started to prepare the couch to be slept on.

“What? No, I’m not taking your bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“MC, it’s no big deal -”

“I don’t want to feel like a burden every time I come over.”

“You plan on coming here more often?”

“Well, only if I’m welcomed.”

“Of course you’re welcome.” You quickly laid on the couch, forcing him to go lay down on his bed. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Just a lot has happened in these few weeks.”

“You’re feeling new things...am I right?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“I volunteered Luke to be a part of this program - but don’t tell him, because he doesn’t know that.”

“Okay.”

“I did that because I think it’s important for young angels to see things from...a different perspective.” You nodded in agreement. “I see things differently because of the war. And because I wanted to see things differently.”

“What are you saying?” He hesitated for a moment, as if calculating his next words.

“All I’m saying is it’s not a bad thing to see the other side.”

You meditated on his words. He had known the brothers for a long time, so it made sense to have some sympathy over what happened; but why would you sympathize with all demons? How could you forgive any demon? The marks on your face was proof enough that they did bad things.

“Simeon?”

“Yeah?” He yawned.

“Do you ever feel like...like you don’t have your own life? Like, your purpose is someone else’s?”

No response. You turned your head to see Simeon fast asleep.

***

Simeon walked you back home. The walk was filled with small talk, and your stomach turned at the thought of being alone with the brothers once more. He must’ve seen the look on your face, and tried to reassure you.

“Just try to get to know them better. You should try to get to know Levi, too.”

“He’s always stuck in his room, how am I supposed to get to know him if I don’t know the secret phrase?”

“Secret phrase? Oh, yeah, I know it.” You laughed, thinking he was joking.

“Oh you’re serious? What is it?” He proceeded to tell you the password, and informed you that it was from TSL.

You gave him a hug goodbye. The shocked look on his face said it all.

“I’m sorry - I know we don’t do that - but wasn’t it nice?”

“It was, MC. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Bye, Simeon.”

You walked into the house, and headed up the stairs to your room when you saw a wild Levi out in the open. Now was your chance, you knew you had to catch him now or never.

“Levi!”

“AH!” He shrieked and beelined to his room, dropping some snacks he was carrying.

“Wait!” You made it to his door just as he was closing it, and stuck your foot out to stop him from shutting it. “I know the secret phrase!”

“Ha! There’s no way a normie like you could know it!” You then repeated what Simeon just told you moments ago. Levi stopped trying to close the door, but barely opened it up, eyeing you instead.

“I just want to get to know you.”

“Why would you want to know a yucky otaku like me?”

“Well, I’m here for a year. And I’ve already talked to the rest of your brothers.”

Levi opened the door more, allowing you to step into the shadows of his room.

“Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”

After the Fall Tag List @ptv-hades

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agustdakasuga · 4 years

Text

You Never Walk Alone | Chapter 19

Genre: Werewolf!AU, Poly!AU?, Mate!AU, romance, fluff

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: Student!reader, Omega!Seokjin, Alpha!Yoongi, Beta!Hoseok, Alpha!Namjoon, Omega!Jimin, Beta!Taehyung, Alpha!Jungkook

Summary: You live a quiet life in your late grandfather’s cabin in the woods. You go to school just to graduate and get your diploma, not to make friends or stand out from the crowd. That was until one day, you enter your home to see a pack of wolves that need shelter.

The boys just want to spend quality time with you. What better way to do that than to spend the day at the beach and then going for your first ever dinner date together?

After going to that house with the boys’ mother, you felt a lot better. You felt a lot more reassured and you had more will power to be stronger. The boys could see that too and they were glad that their families were able to make you feel better, even if they didn’t know what upset you in the first place.

“Where’s (y/n)?” Namjoon asked Yoongi. The older nodded over to your figure, who was smiling and listening to the gardener explain things about the flowers.

“She really loves the garden.” Yoongi chuckled.

“She’s there every free minute she has.” Taehyung smiled fondly as your smile got bigger when the gardener handed you a light purple rose. You held the flower and turned your head to see the boys all staring at you.

“Hello.” You gave a shy wave.

“She’s so cute.” Jimin chuckled as the 6 of them waved back at you. Wait, 6 of them? The boys looked forward to see a fairly large, dark grey wolf pad over to you. You felt something touch the back of your thigh and turned around. Smiling, you bent down and stroked Jungkook’s fur, showering him in light kisses as he basked in the affection.

“JEON JUNGKOOK!” The 6 older wolves scowled at their sly maknae.

“Isn’t this pretty, Koo?” You held the rose out to him. He sniffed it curiously, letting out a cute sneeze from the excessive pollen.

“Oops.” You chuckled, stroking his head. The gardener bowed and returned to work while you sat on the stone bench. Jungkook placed his head on your thigh, wanting all your attention.

“Why are you acting all puppy, Koo?” You smiled.

*bark*

Looking up, you jumped slightly to see 6 other wolves staring at you, their tails wagging in anticipation. You blinked in confusion as Taehyung suddenly pushed Jungkook’s head off, each paw resting on your thigh as he stood on his hind legs. He barked happily, his tongue hanging out.

“Yes, Tae?” You giggled as he licked your cheek. Jungkook huffed in annoyance at how his brother easily pushed him away and took all your attention.

“Shall we go for a walk at the beach?” You asked.

“Yeah! We can go for a swim!” Jimin jumped up and down. You giggled and they followed you but they stuck so close that you tripped and almost fell but ended up being draped over Namjoon’s body.

“You guys are tripping me!” You giggled as you pushed yourself up. Yoongi sat by your side, eyes following your hands, as you dug through your luggage.

“Umm...” You turned back to look at him and he blinked at you, tilting his head cutely.

“Can I help you with anything?” You asked. He shook his head.

“Alright then. Get changed.” You ruffled his hair and grabbed some clothes out, going into the bathroom to change. You closed the door before Yoongi could shift back into his human form since you knew he would be totally bare and you were not ready to see that yet. You changed into your swimsuit, pulling your dress over it.

“Yoongs? Are you changed? Can I open the door?” You knocked on the bathroom door.

“Yeah, yeah.” You heard his nonchalant voice and opened the door. He pulled his black shirt over his head, running a hand through his messy hair. You grabbed your things and went out with him.

“Let’s go!” You took the two vans that the boys drove here in. When the vans stopped, Namjoon opened the door for you to come out.

“The beach!” Hoseok screamed and all of them, except Yoongi, ran onto the white sand. Yoongi rolled his eyes at his brothers’ behaviours and held your hand, heading to find a nice spot with you. He laid out the mat and sat down, patting the space beside you.

“Not gonna swim?” You asked.

“Hate the water.” He grumbled, looking away. It was obvious, he wasn’t a fan of the beach.

“Aww, Yoongles. I’ll just keep you company then.” You squished both his cheeks in your hands, cooing at him. He scowled and slapped your hands away with the most annoyed look ever.

“I told you to stop calling me that.” He scoffed.

“Okay... Yoongo Boongo.” You snickered. Suddenly, you were being hauled off the sand as Yoongi held you in a bridal position.

“W-Wait! Where are you going?! What are you doing?! Wait! Yoongi!” You screamed as you saw him head closer to the water. Instinctively, your arms wound themselves around his neck. If he was going to throw you into the water, you were taking him down with you. Your 6 other mates who were supposedly supposed to protect you just watched on.

“You guys are supposed to protect me!” You pointed at them as they all burst out laughing, falling onto the sand.

“Are you sorry?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow. You looked away, pursing your lips. Yoongi scared you by doing a fake drop, making you scream in fear once again like before.

“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry!” You shouted, wailing.

“Give me a kiss.” He gave a smug smile. You rolled your eyes and gave him multiple pecks. Chuckling, Yoongi walked back and set you back down on the mat. You immediately rained slaps on him.

“So mean!” You grunted. Seeing the other boys all play in the water, you wanted to go swimming too.

“I’m gonna swim.” You removed your dress. Yoongi’s eyes widened as the sight of your black high waisted two piece.

“Where are you going?” He grabbed your wrist.

“Swimming? We’re at the beach, Yoongs!” You chuckled and his hand fell limp. He knew the others were going to have the same thoughts as him. It was confirmed when they stopped wrestling one another and stared at you with wide eyes and slightly opened mouths.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Taehyung was the first to freak out. Yoongi smirked at his brother’s reaction.

“Geez, you didn’t have to shout. I’m going swimming. That’s why we’re at the beach right?” You frowned slightly. Taehyung’s eyebrow twitched slightly. You shrugged and tied your hair up, waddling in the water.

“Jungkook.” Taehyung pointed.

“What- JUNGKOOK!” You squealed as Jungkook threw you over his shoulder and led you back to where Yoongi sat.

“Back so soon?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, bub. You’re not going to be walking around dressed like that.” Jimin came and sat in front of you, ruffling your hair. Says him, who is dressed in a muscle tank that is now see through because of the water.

“I just want to swim.”

“Not in that though. We can’t have other males looking up our beautiful mate.” Namjoon grinned. Hoseok whistled and Taehyung trotted over in his wolf form. He stepped into the space between your crossed legs, pressing his entire wolf body against your front in an attempt to block other people from seeing your skin. You shook your head.

“Here, jagi. Cheer you up a little.” Jin held out an iced lolli to you. You grinned and received it, enjoying the cold sweet treat.

*Whine*

Taehyung pawed your thigh for some. You broke some off, letting it rest in your hand as he licked it gently. Namjoon stayed by your side, leaning back on his palms as he watched you interact with Taehyung.

“Enough sun for the day?” You asked.

“Yeah. I’d much rather spend time with my mate.” Namjoon smiled back and Taehyung barked in agreement. You chuckled and wiped your hands, subconsciously stroking Taehyung’s fur as you watched Jin, Hoseok, Jungkook and Jimin play frisbee on the beach.

“I may just take a nap.” You laid down, putting your head in Namjoon’s lap. Taehyung moved and placed his head on your stomach.

With dark clouds starting to roll in, you knew it was time to go home. You could continued your nap there instead. You and the boys packed up and headed home.

“Actually, (y/n). We would like to take you out tonight for dinner.” Hoseok said. You tilted your head in confusion as you walked up to the house with them.

“We want to take you out on a date.” Jimin explained further.

“Oh!” You finally understood.

“Yeah, we haven’t really gone out on a legit date as lovers, with everything that has been happening. So we all talked and think that you deserve a nice dinner date. I mean, you said we haven’t asked you out officially. (y/n), would you like to go on a date with us?” Namjoon asked on behalf of all the boys, who were now staring at you.

“You know I was just kidding but sure, I would love to have dinner with you all.” You giggled.

“But I have to ask my mates first.” You tapped your chin.

“Oh, I’m sure they will be fine with it. Even if they’re not, it’ll be our little secret then.” Jungkook kissed your cheek, nuzzling his cheek against yours lovingly. You laughed and pushed him away.

“I’m gonna shower then.” You went to take a nice bath to get rid of all the salt water and sand. Namjoon greeted you when you came out.

“Strawberries and peaches.” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around you, pressing his forehead against yours.

“What?”

“You smell like strawberries and peaches. Mates always smell different to one another. When we knew you were our mate, you smelled like strawberries and peaches, not like a normal human would smell. I don’t know if we smell different to you.” He explained. You shyly leaned in to sniff him.

“Pinewood? With some vanilla? I thought it was just the cologne you guys use that make you all smell like a nice candle.” You blinked innocently.

“Of course, only our mate would compare us to scented candles.” He ruffled your hair.

“Stop teasing me. Not all of us are as smart as you, Joon.”

“You’re just cute, babe. But I was sent to give you this.” He picked up a box and gave it to you. You released him and opened the box. Inside was another beautiful dress. But it was simpler, a dark blue body con, short tube dress.

“It’s pretty. I love this. Thank you.” You hugged him. This dress was very much more your style, simpler.

“I’ll let the princess get ready then. Yoongi was telling us how you don’t like heels so we got you these.” He gave you the box, which was a white Doc Marten Chelsea boot. Pecking your cheek again, he left the room. You got dressed, did your make up and wore your shoes. It was simple but you felt like a million bucks, thanks to your boys.

Grabbing what you needed, you left the room and headed down. The boys all melted when they saw you. No matter what you wore, you never failed to take their breath away.

“Our mate is truly stunning.” Jin held your hands in his. You smiled shyly. Yoongi tilted your chin up to give you a light peck.

“We should go before we’re late for our reservations.” Jimin checked his phone. Instead of driving, the boys called for two cars to come pick you up.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

“You’ll see.” Hoseok lifted your hand to his lips, kissing the back of it.

“Princes, princess. Your table is this way.” The manager bowed. You felt weird, no one has called your princess yet. That title made you feel different. You kept a straight face as you walked through the dining hall, the other customers all turning their heads to stare at the princes and their mate.

“They’re staring.” You whispered to Taehyung.

“Because you’re so beautiful. But they can’t have you because you’re ours. You’re mine.” He leaned into your ear, his hand resting on your lower back.

“Please let us know when you’re ready to order.” The manager led you all to a private room. There were 4 seats on both sides of the cloth covered table. It was Jungkook, Namjoon, you and Yoongi on one side, the rest on the other.

“This place is expensive.” You thought out loud.

“Don’t worry, jagi. Just order what you’d like.” Yoongi put an arm over the back of your chair as he browsed through the menu. Honestly, you didn’t know what to order because there were so many foreign words that you didn’t understand. You have never been to such a high class, fancy restaurant before so this was all very new to you.

“Need help?” Namjoon leaned over.

“I don’t really know what all this is.” You told the boys, blushing.

“Alright, we’ll order for you then.” Jimin smiled. When the waiter came, the boys all ordered their own preferred kinds of steak. Namjoon ordered for you, you didn’t know what he ordered.

“How many glasses?” The waiter asked.

“8, please.” Jungkook said. The waiter bowed and soon returned with 8 wine glasses. You have never had wine before but this was a new experience so you were willing to try it. He poured some and let Yoongi taste some before Yoongi gave a thumbs up. The glasses of wine were passed out to everyone.

“To, our beautiful mate and our first date.” Hoseok chuckled.

“Thank you.” You blushed as they all clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. It was good, the sweetness of the wine along with the slight but nice burn down your throat.

“Like it?” Jin asked. You nodded your head. All of you chatted as the appetisers came. There was some variety in them.

“Marinated raw tuna. Try it.” Taehyung encouraged.

“It’s good.” You were pleasantly surprised by the taste. It was nice and unlike anything you have ever tried before. The boys all smiled when they saw how much you enjoyed it.

“Try this.” Namjoon held his fork out to you. You coughed a little before leaning in to eat the food off his fork. Following suit, the other members with different dishes began to hold ther forks out to you, hoping that you would take their offer. You blinked in surprise while Namjoon rolled his eyes with a shake of his head at his pack.

“Here are the mains.” Waiters came in with your mains. You watched, mesmerised as Yoongi handsomely tasted a new kind of wind and discussed with the manager how it needs to ‘breathe’ before it can be drunk.

“Are you checking me out?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow.

“N-No!” You stuttered, looking away.

“The Miyazaki Wagyu?” The waiter asked. Jin gestured to you and the waiter placed the plate in front of you with a bow. Did they just order you the most expensive steak on the menu?

“Isn’t this the most expensive?” You hissed.

“Just enjoy it, babes.” Jungkook chuckled, sipping his wine. You cut into your steak and placed it into your mouth. It was so flavourful, soft and just melted in your mouth. You had to resist the urge to let out happy sounds of contentment at the taste. Yoongi chuckled.

“Good?”

“It’s the best steak I’ve ever had.” You nodded.

“That’s good to hear.” Yoongi patted your head. He sliced a piece of his steak, which was different from you, and placed it on your plate. It was really good too. You were really enjoying the time with them.

“Hehe.” You poked Jimin’s cheek.

“Who’s the genius who let her finish the wine?” Jin sighed. You hummed as you hugged Jimin, nuzzling your face into his neck. Jimin wrapped an arm around your waist to hold you steady. You had insisted to sit on his lap because you wanted to ‘squish his cheeks’ and the boys were apparently bullies for ‘trying to separate you from squishing’.

“I’m happy.” You sang.

“You are?” Jimin stroked your head. You nodded your head happily, staring into his eyes.

“Shh... I have to tell you a secret.” You messily placed your hands over his mouth. Jimin chuckled, gently grasping your wrists to pull your hands away from touching his face.

“What secret?”

“Shh! I’m trying to tell my secret.” You frowned. He held his hands up in defence. Taehyung, who was sitting next to Jimin, watched on in amusement.

“Okay, you... cannot tell anyone! Shh, I actually have 7 boyfriends! And! And! That’s not all... You cannot tell them, okay? Promise me. I really, really, like REALLY like them.” You giggled to yourself.

“We promise not to tell.” Taehyung smiled.

“Okie, I’m-I’m trusting you. You know, they’re so cool. You wouldn’t believe me but they’re werewolves! Werewolves are real, you know?!” You gasped.

“Really?!” The boys played along.

“Uh huh. My 7 boyfriends are werewolves. But... But you can’t tell anyone. I-I don’t want people to know... Because... I don’t want them to leave me. I-I’ve been alone for... uhh... years. And-And now, they’re all I have. I-If they leave me, I’ll be alone again. A-And, I’ll get sad. No one wants to be my friend... except them.” You said sadly.

“We’ll be your friends.” Jimin told you.

“Really?” You looked up at them with sparkly eyes. They nodded their heads, a part of them feeling sad by what you just spilt to them.

“Okay. But I have to ask m-my boyfriends first. I think! They don’t like me having other boys as friends. But they’re nice! So don’t worry. They will say okay.” You giggled.

“The other day... in the toilet... some girls were saying that I’m supposed to make my mates s-stronger. But... I’m human, so I made them weaker.”

“They said that?” Taehyung held your hand.

“Uh huh. I was really sad... after that. Because I-I don’t want to hurt my ma-mates. They’re EVERYTHING to me. I-I even dodges Kookie’s hug because I thought that m-maybe... it’s true that I am not right f-for them.” You unknowingly shed some tears, which Taehyung wiped.

“So that’s why she was sad.” Jimin said.

“Poor (y/n).” Taehyung whimpered.

“But I’m okay now! I love my boyfriends. They’re nice. They also feed me yummy foods!” You continued to laugh, making them smile softly. As the car stopped, Jungkook came to carry you.

“Wee!” You cheered as Jungkook carried you upstairs. The other boys looked on in amusement. They all adored the drunk version of you. Jungkook went upstairs and got a maid to come in to change you. He washed up as you got changed. You were dressed in Jungkook’s big hoodie and some shorts. Jungkook came out and joined you in bed.

“I love you.” Jungkook leaned in to give you a kiss but you covered your mouth with your hands.

“I can’t! I have boyfriends! 7 of them!” You shook your head.

“I’m sure they won’t mind.” Jungkook gave an amused laugh, trying to give you another kiss but you placed your hands on his chest to stop him.

“Nooo! I only love them! I’m sorry, mister. If they know, they’ll hurt you! Real bad.” You scolded. Jungkook huffed, clicking his tongue in disbelief. He laid down beside you, making you face him.

“Koo?” You called. He hummed in reply.

“I love you.” You giggled shyly. Jungkook lifted his head and you boldly pressed your lips against his. He squeezed your waist as you pulled away to breathe. He moved you close to him until his big body was almost draped over you. Softly, he began to hum to lull you to sleep.

“Jungkook, hyungs. We need to talk.” Jungkook heard Taehyung.

Tag list

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