sincerely yours... // eddie munson.
pairing: eddie munson x fem!ballerina reader (she/her pronouns)
summary: Untouchable, is what he called you. Dating Jason, the captain of the basketball team, most would call you the same. Living your holier than thou life, something else he said, you can't seem to swallow the need to prove him wrong.
word count: 11k
warnings: a lot of sex talk, this is for mature audiences only, mentions of marijuana, mentions of alcohol, slight insinuation of mean parenting on eddies end.
a/n: hi, thanks for being here :) i have been sitting on this for a while and have decided to let it be free. this is set up for a fic, all of my work seems to be *eyeroll*, i'm sick of myself, can never do something SMALL. how many high school 80s fics can we make of eddie... lets find out.
A fluff of dirty blonde hair brushes against your chin, a sweet musky scent flooding your senses, his favorite shampoo. The locks of hair were soft, you could get lost in them for hours, whether you were burying your nose in the thick tresses or dragging your fingers through them. Tonight they were tickling your skin, caressing the smooth curve of your jaw as the boy they belonged to pressed chaste kisses to your neck.
“Think you’ll be able to stay over?” He mumbles, lifting his chin to meet your eyes. Releasing a breath, you raise an eyebrow at your boyfriend and shake your head.
“Jason, I told you,” You say, repeating yourself for third time, “I’ve got a really important rehearsal this Saturday,” Glancing away, Jason bobs his head, “I don’t miss them for anything,” You smile, bringing a hand beneath his chin to make him look back at you, “Not even pretty boys like you.”
“Pretty boys like me,” Jason smirks, playfully rolling his eyes, “I’m flattered… Even if my feelings are hurt.” His pink lips that fit perfectly on his face pulled into a pout.
“No!” You giggle, cupping his cheeks, making his lips squish out, “They won’t be when you get to see the show.” He tries to smile, squishing his cheeks further.
“I can’t wait,” He sighs, then shifts over top of you, “Now keep kissing me.”
Giving him a grin, you slide your arms around his shoulders and pull him close, pressing your lips to his slowly, yet innocently.
It was all too sweet and careful. That’s all it ever was, all of the time. You’d begun to pray for time away from him so you wouldn’t grow bored of this, though some part of your subconscious, the part you ignored, was telling you that you already were.
The way your body reacted to him was enough of a sign. Kissing him was nice, he was good at that, it was everything else where he gave a subpar performance. Unlike his success on the basketball court, most times you were reaching, praying for a buzzer beater, but got left with nothing.
On the court the boy could score, many times, however, between the sheets, nothing.
This weekend his parents were going out of town which left him with an empty house. Jason was notorious for throwing rager’s, and now that you were seniors it was without a doubt they’d be bigger and better than they’ve ever been. The basketball team already knew how they were going to get their hands on three different kegs, and Jason’s dad already kept one in their basement, so this party was going to blow a hole through their roof.
On top of you, Jason slides a gentle hand over your blouse, just barely grabbing your breast, like he was nervous. That expression never showed elsewhere though, his face always read as confident, and sure of himself.
The soft touch was far from satisfying.
As his hand slipped lower, never spending enough time anywhere to rile you up, he peppered kisses to the side of your neck like he once was, using just his lips in a quick, staccato motion.
“Jason,” You whisper before his hand has the chance to slide beneath your skirt. He picks his head up with a smile.
“You have to go,” He says, half disappointed, looking at the clock on his nightstand, “Eh, it’s only eight thirty, we have a half hour,” And before he pecks at your skin again, you stop him, placing both your hands to his shoulders.
“I know, but, I never finished my homework for O’Donnell, and she’s been up my butt because I’ve been barely making deadlines because of rehearsal, and I need-“
“Okay,” Jason laughs softly, leaning down to kiss your lips to shut you up, “I get it,” He nods, then the air falls quiet for a few seconds before he shrugs, “Feel like it’s been hard to catch you recently, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry,” You whisper, taking in his deep blue eyes. With a subtle shake of his head he crinkles his chin.
“Don’t be sorry, baby,” He says, dipping his nose down to touch yours, “I just miss you, that’s all, like… miss you.” He raises his brows, making your cheeks blush. Even though he wasn’t talented, his charismatic aura sure had a way of making up for it.
Plus, sex wasn’t a topic the two of you spoke openly about, it was something that just happened.
The first time you and Jason went through with the act was the first time either of you had done anything with anyone. So, in a way, you really had no clue if he was bad at it, you had nothing else to compare it to. Maybe that’s just how sex was, for the guy to get off while the girl laid on her back for seven minutes and kind of enjoyed it.
“I’m sorry,” You repeat yourself, unsure of what else to tell him. Jason’s smile grows.
“You’re cute,” He says, then rolls off you carefully so he can stand on his feet.
Reaching a hand out for you to take, he helps you up and gives you another kiss before you hurry to slip into your shoes. Smoothing down your shirt and adjusting your skirt, you look over to your boyfriend who’s leaning against his dresser with his arms crossed, wearing a curious expression.
“What?” You ask quietly, freezing under his gaze, your fingers dancing along the hem of your skirt.
“You think you can ask your dad to extend your curfew?” He cocks his head to the side, “It’s been nine o’clock since you were fourteen, we’re eighteen. Nine just seems… A little immature.”
Pointing your eyes down to the floor, you feel your stomach churn at the question. Your curfew was nine o’clock for a reason, Jason knew this.
“I- I can- I dunno,” You stammer, “Jason, you know how he is.”
“I know, I know,” He slightly raises his voice, pushing off the dresser with his shoulder, taking slow steps toward you. His tone brushes off the seriousness in yours. “You’re just… We… We’re adults now.”
Standing in front of you, arms still crossed, there’s a persuasiveness peeking through his eyes that’s incredibly chilling. Gulping, you nod your head and look back down to the floor at your feet.
“Hey,” Jason’s entire being softens as he reaches for your shoulder, “Look at me,” He’s wearing a smile when you obey his command, “I love you.”
Painting a smile onto your lips, you whisper, “I love you, too,” Confidently enough so that he’ll let you go.
“C’mon,” He gestures to his bedroom door, “I’ll drive you home.”
Walking the fuzzy carpet of his long, grand hallway, the two of you trot down the stairs hand in hand to greet his parents in the kitchen. His mother, who he so closely resembled, was finishing up the dishes from dinner while his father sat at the table reading the newspaper from this morning. Amongst the dark blue cabinets and striped wallpaper, they truly painted the perfect cookie cutter picture.
Your and Jason's footsteps announced your arrival, cutting off his father who was complaining about whatever he was reading, something about the government probably. That’s what all dads in Hawkins seemed to talk about anyway.
“Heading out?” Jason’s mother asks, wearing a red lipstick smile to go with her sage green stretch pants, a matching sweater and her tightly permed curls. Every time you saw Ms. Carver she was done up like she was ready for her picture to be taken.
“Yes, I’m gonna drive her home,” Jason answers. His father lays the newspaper down and clears his throat.
“Son, she wasn’t talking to you,” Raising an eyebrow, Mr. Carver straightens out his glasses as Jason composes his posture. You give him a small smile, one he returns.
“I have homework to catch up on,” You turn to Ms. Carver and sigh, amping up the act. Tossing a dish towel beside the sink, the poised woman turns to face you and props herself against the counter with a hand on her hip.
“You are just too busy, my dear,” She copies your fake exhaustion with a shake of her head, “When is this ballet show of yours?”
“Soon,” You smile, “We perform over spring break, so, a couple weeks.”
“That’s too darn exciting,” Ms. Carver grins, “Jason, you need to stop keepin’ her here! This girl is doing big things,” Jason’s mother leaves her place at the sink, moving closer to you so that she can cup one of your cheeks, “I’m so proud of you,” She says, then looks over to her son, “I’m so proud of both of you. You’ve grown up so much, you’re hard workers, and you’re committed to your faith.”
The reason Jason was allowed to have you upstairs, in his bedroom, with the door closed. You both wore a thin silver band on the ring finger of your left hand.
“Thank you,” You say, without a falter to your exterior, even though on the inside you were sweating.
Jason, an impeccable liar, leans over to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll be back in twenty,” He says, then leads you out to his car as you call out goodbyes to his parents, thanking them for dinner.
The drive home is everything ordinary. If one was to imagine a vanilla version of taking someone home, it was Jason driving his black Jeep Cherokee to your house, walking you to your front door and giving you a kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight to you and your father who met you at the doorstep.
After your fathers hand is shaken, Jason backs away from the door with a smile, then whispers, “Ask him,” with widened eyes. Giving him a small nod, you blow him a kiss and step inside.
“That boy knows all the right things, don’t he?” Your father asks, having found a comfortable spot on the aged living room couch.
Once the door is closed, you take a deep breath before turning around with a smile.
“He does!” You joke with him, taking a couple steps toward him. Eyeing you curiously, your dad sends a crooked smile your way and taps the cushion beside him, hoping you’d sit down with him. With a frown and a head tilt toward the stairs you tell him you have to get to your room.
“Now hold on,” He chuckles, “Just a couple minutes.”
“Okay,” You sigh, “But I’ve got homework, so don’t start any stories.” Mulling toward him, you plop next to him and relax back into the couch.
“Homework for who?” He questions, raising a brow.
“Oh, uh, Miss Click,” You say, your eyes dancing about the homey living room. Your father nods, humming in interest.
“Sure, sure,” He says, “You’re ready for Saturday’s rehearsal?”
Whipping your head at lightning speed, your eyes nearly bug out of your head, “Are you kidding? I’m overly prepared, I’m too prepared, I’m three months past prepared.”
Your father laughs, “I know you are.”
“This show is the make or break moment for me, Dad,” You begin, and his expression shifts to a serious one, “The show has got to be perfect, or I’m in huge trouble”
“Huge trouble?” He asks. You hold up a hand.
“With myself,” You explain, “This spring show is what’s going to get me that scholarship. If I screw it up? I’ll never forgive myself.”
Furrowing his brow, your father hums again.
“I’ve prepared every moment of my life for this,” You begin to speak with your hands, “Everything I’ve done has led me to this performance, and this performance will lead me to my future.”
“And it will take you… where?” He asks happily.
Sucking in a quick breath, you speak loud and clear, “New York City.”
Holding up his hand, you slap your palm against his with a smack.
“Since you were five years old, that’s where you’ve always dreamed of going,” Your father says, “Your mother swore she was going to take you there herself.”
Glancing down to your lap, you sigh at the thought of a dream cut entirely too short.
“No matter how I get there, she’ll be with me,” You say quietly, then look up at him with a small smile, “Thanks, Dad.”
“Anytime, kiddo,” He nods, “You aren’t being too hard on yourself are you?” He asks, “Your workload is alright?”
“My teachers all know what my life is like, they’ve been working with me all year,” You reassure him.
“Right,” He shrugs presumptively, “Just making sure. How about physically? You doin’ okay? That ankle been alright?”
Lifting your left foot you give it a couple rolls, feeling the strain on the joint, then press your lips together.
“Nothing to complain about,” You lie, though living a dancer's life you’ve become accustomed to dancing through injuries.
“Okay,” Is the last thing he says before, “Goodnight.”
And once you say it in response, you’re barrelling up the stairs for your bedroom to listen to some music and get ready for bed.
Waking up the next morning is a breeze, it typically always is. With an alarm set for six, you’re leaping out of bed and into the shower for five minutes exact, eight if you had to wash your hair. Today you were pulling it back into a tight, neat bun, so there wasn’t a need to tack on three pointless minutes.
After the shower you’re whizzing back to your room to slip on your clothes for the day, settling for a long sleeved, light blue sweater tucked into a calf length, darker brown maxi skirt, like the one Molly Ringwald wore in The Breakfast Club.
Even though the movie’s been out for a year, every female everywhere clung to the new it girl, especially the girls here in small town Hawkins, Indiana. They all nearly tore down the department stores searching for that outfit, and a John Bender to go with it.
When you and a couple of girls from your dance company went out a week or so after seeing the film, you got your hands on a skirt your size and charged your fathers credit card without even asking to buy it. You’d repay him somehow, eventually.
Finishing your outfit off with a pair of boots that matched, you took care of your hair, preparing it for tomorrow's early morning rehearsal, and then you were off down the stairs to meet your father in the kitchen twirling his keys.
“Swear, each day you get earlier and earlier,” He smiles at you, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall above the stove, “It’s six thirty three, I swore I just heard you get up.”
Stepping beside him, you pick a banana up from the basket on the kitchen table and laugh under your breath.
“I’m a dancer, Dad,” You say, peeling the fruit and taking a bite, “I coul’ be rea’y in under uh min-uh if I wan’ed to.” Your father blinks a couple of times, then smiles.
“Would that make you practice better manners?” He jokes, gesturing to your mouth full of banana. Slumping your shoulders, you roll your eyes theatrically even though you know he’s kidding.
With a hard swallow you clear your throat and say, “Are we wasting time talking about my table manners, or are we leaving?”
“We’re leaving,” He snickers, tossing the keys in the air, only to catch them a millisecond later, “Did you finish your homework?” He asks as you follow him through the front door, looking over his shoulder to find you picking off the weird strands that are inside the banana peel, flicking them to the ground.
“I didn’t have any,” You mumble, partially listening to what he was saying. Six thirty in the morning, though you knew how to get ready fast, did not mean your brain was as awake as the rest of you.
Locking the front door, your father frowns, creasing his brow. Like you were his shadow, you waited for him on the step just off of the porch, focused on your makeshift breakfast. He smiles to himself when he turns and finds you standing there without a reason.
“Thought you said you had some work to finish, no?” He tries to ask again, eyeing you curiously while you now walk beside him to the car.
“No, I always make sure I finish assignments days before they’re due when it’s a tech weekend,” You scrunch your face, giving your dad a funny look because he knew this about you. Once you meet his ominous eyes and silly smirk, your brain catches up to reality.
Sliding into the front seat, your eyes are wide, and judging by your fathers laugh, he was two steps ahead of you.
The car doors are pulled shut at the same exact time, and for the first couple of minutes the two of you ride in silence, aside from the radio.
“Y’know, I thought it was funny, last night, hearing you say you had work due today,” The conversation had finally sparked once you were driving through the heart of Hawkins, passing by the tall, beautiful library. The streets this morning were littered with men and women alike, bustling to get to work, or going for a morning jog now that the weather encouraged them too.
“You believed me,” You mumble, focusing on the trees that were finally turning green, giving the drab town a pop of color. Your father peeks at you with a funny look, one you don’t see.
“Eh,” He sneers, “For a second, maybe,” Shrugging, he turns down a long street, one that will take you straight to the campus that was Hawkins High and Middle School, “But, I’m not the one you had to convince.” He gives you another look, one you reciprocate.
There’s another silence, a gap of dense air growing so large it could suffocate both you and your father, and the only thing that was going to save either of your lives was if you explained why you had lied to Jason.
“I… I wanted to go home,” You admit quietly, scanning the groups of people that had suddenly come into view now that you were over the hill in the road.
“You wanted to go home,” He repeats, “Okay, why couldn’t you have just told him that? Instead of making things up?”
“Because,” You snap, turning your chin to shoot him a sharp glare. Frowning once more, your father slows down and waits for a couple of kids to cross the street, then pulls into a parking space by the front of the school.
“Because, why?” He asks, egging you on, building up a resentment within you, one that's making you feel guilty for having the thoughts you were.
“Because, Dad, I wanted to go home,” Leaning forward in the chair, you unbuckle and open the visor to check yourself out in the tiny mirror, “I don’t always need a reason.”
“Well, I know that, that’s totally fine, I just want to make sure everything is alright that’s all,” He says, resting his hands on his lap, “Jason’s always a respectable young man when he’s at our place, I mean, I never get to see how he acts at his, so, I’m only being a dad and checking in,” Seeing that you were ignoring him, but not getting out of the car yet, gave him the impression that you had something you wanted to share, you just weren’t ready.
“It’s… fine,” You mutter, pulling a clear lip gloss out of your bag, smearing it on thick. His eyes flicker to the silver band on your left hand, a tiny accessory he had no part in deciding for you to wear.
“Alright,” Your father nods, “Have a good day.”
“Thanks,” Tossing the tube back into your bag, you take a deep breath, flash him your best smile, and jump out of the car to let him get to work.
For years it’s been you and your father against the world. Both of you had a strong bond, a deep connection that was strengthened by the open line of communication you practiced. The man wasn’t high strung in the slightest, he lived a life of peace and ease as best as he could. A majority of your talks end with him telling you, “I’ve been your age before…” or, “When I was a teenager, this was what we’d do…”
A lot of his memories and stories were blamed on all the marijuana he used to smoke with his friends. It shocked you the first time you heard him say it, you had to have been about thirteen years old, but since that day you’ve both shared almost everything with one another. If you were stuck, if you needed assistance with a project, a shoulder to cry on, or boy advice… You knew you could count on your father.
Lying to him last night, and just now in the passenger seat of his car, wrecked your heart. You haven’t told him a lie since you were eight years old, and even then it was you trying to convince him that you didn’t eat a cookie before dinner.
This Jason situation, that stemmed from your issues in the sack, was not going to be discussed with your father. At least not yet, not until you’ve had a proper amount of time to think things through.
Hopping up onto the sidewalk beneath the awning of the schools pavilion, you keep to yourself though your eyes stay vigilant, searching for a face of familiarity. A smile graces your lips when every other girl you walk by ogles at the skirt that you’re wearing. Normally they’d take a peek at you because you were the girl that was dating Jason Carver, captain of the basketball team. It was a comforting feeling to know that this time, they were seeing you instead of somebody’s girlfriend.
Crossing over the threshold of the double doors, the halls of Hawkins High welcome you with white brick walls and debilitating overhead lighting. Decorations and posters were hung up where it was appropriate, attempting to jazz up the place while ultimately looking like a sad birthday party.
On the bulletin board by the doors, there was a poster for your spring show. You made sure to look at the beautiful print everyday as a reminder to keep yourself going, to keep working hard no matter how tough it seemed. In just three short months you’d be graduating from this prison, and set free in the real world to live your dream… If the show goes according to plan.
Just as you return your focus back down the hall, a human being of average height with short, light brown hair collides into your side, catching you with one of their arms.
“Jesus, Robin!” You exclaim, nearly jumping a mile. Laughing with pride, Robin situates her arm around your shoulders and bites onto her bottom lip.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” Her voice was smooth, and easy on the ears, though it had the tendency to sometimes sound a bit deep fried, “I know you look at that thing all the time, daydreaming about your future,” She sing-songs, falling into another fit of giggles.
“I do,” You groan, side eyeing her, “Don’t make fun of me.” Pulling your lips into a small pout, Robin copies you, turning up the theatrics and gives your cheeks a squeeze.
“Oh, my sweet honey bun,” Robin coo’s sarcastically, making you smile, “I’m so sorry.”
“My sweet honey bun,” A green Hawkins High Varsity Basketball jacket appears beside you, slipping an arm around your waist, wedging you between him and Robin. The girl you’ve called your best friend since fifth grade drops her grasp, pulling her arms behind her back, assuming a very well structured stance.
“Jason,” Robin states.
“Robin,” Your boyfriend sends back an equally professional tone.
Smiling as your best friend gives you a sarcastic glare, she taps you on the arm once, glances at the poster on the bulletin board and nods her head.
“I know it’s important to you,” She says, “Steve and I will be there, he’s able to buy the tickets that night right?”
“Yeah, just tell him to bring change, the company’s not known to have any,” You say, and she flashes you a thumbs up before giving Jason a salute and taking off down the hall.
“She’s still hanging around Harrington?” Jason asks, pulling you into his hip tighter as he starts to walk with you to your first class, “I don’t get how they don’t date.”
“Boys and girls can be friends,” You say, looking at your boyfriend for the first time this morning. His hair was slicked back perfectly, and underneath his jacket he wore a white t-shirt and light denim jeans that hugged him in all the right places.
“I know that,” He chuckles, “It’s kinda hard though, someone falls eventually.” Holding back your grin, you simply nod your head.
There were a couple secrets you’ve been sworn to keep, ones that you wouldn’t even share with your father, which means Jason didn’t get to know either. A couple Robin leveled secrets that only you knew, and now Steve, apparently.
“How’d the work go?” Jason returns your look, smiling the second he sees your face, “Hope you weren’t up too late.”
Everything about him screamed attraction. From his smile, to his hair, to his sparkling eyes, down to the toned body he knew how to keep up with… He was a dreamboat, and every other girl that skipped down these halls wanted a piece. Freshmen came into this school knowing who he was, like the girls your age once knew of Steve Harrington. Jason was a star amidst the solum white brick walls of Hawkins High, a star that, once upon a time, knew how to make your heart skip a beat.
“Something on my face?” He asks you, pausing by your locker. Blinking twice, blankly, he pulls you from your thoughts.
“Oh, uh, no, sorry,” You sigh, starting to toy with the lock, pulling it open after three fancy twists.
“Guess I was right, not much sleep?” He raises a brow, leaning his back against the locker beside yours.
Pulling out two books while Jason gives a wave to a couple of people who said hello to him, you close the metal door with a slam and shake your head.
“Uh, not really,” You manage to choke out another lie. Last night you slept like a rock.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Jason says softly, turning to face you. Lifting a hand he drags the back of his fingers daintily across your cheek, placing one beneath your chin to beckon you closer for a kiss.
Closing your eyes, you drift into the comfort, the familiar feeling, the normality of it all, and for a second it feels good, with the potential to feel great, until a six foot tall being is thrown into the mix.
“Gareth!” Comes out of the long, curly, brown haired boy's mouth in a screech as he catches himself on his feet so he doesn’t dive into you and Jason head first.
“Watch it,” Your boyfriend sneers, holding up an elbow to protect you from a collision.
Laughter sounds from across the hall pulling your attention. It’s coming from three boys, a shorter one with light hair, a tall, lanky one with black curly hair, and one that fit right between them in height with a baseball cap on his head.
The one who was almost tossed into you stands up straight with his back facing you, flipping his messy mop backwards.
“I’ll kill you, I will,” He grills his friends from behind his teeth.
Turning around quickly, the boy four inches taller than Jason presses his lips together and acknowledges your boyfriend first.
“My sincerest apologies,” He says, seemingly not sorry at all, “I did not mean to interrupt thou, please, continue,” His deep brown eyes meet yours for half of a second, “Ma’am,” He bows his head and turns away, until he whips body back around, “Wait a sec… I know you,” And before you can process any of it, the tall boy with the curly bangs and leather jacket who was blessed with beautiful brown eyes three shades too deep with absolutely no concept of personal space, your boyfriend was slapping a hand to his shoulder to shove him away.
“Get out of here, freak,” Jason curls his lip in disgust, marking his territory with a cold glare toward the four boys across the emptying hallway. You can feel his hands touch you again, you aren’t too sure where though, your gaze is fixated on the boy who looks like he’s straight out of a movie, who’s own gaze hasn’t left you yet as he tumbles backwards into, you assume, Gareth’s arms.
A jumble of the boys saying, “Let’s go,” to one another can be heard at the same time as Jason asking you if you were alright.
“…Eddie has nothing better to do than prowl the hallways looking for…”
Eddie. That was his name.
Your boyfriend's voice was going in one ear and out the other as you watched Eddie shamelessly check you out, head to toe, ending on your hooked stare he picked up on fast.
“See you in O’Donnell’s, princess,” Eddie glances down to the skirt you’re wearing and follows his friends without a second look back. With one use of the word, Eddie unknowingly sets you up for disaster.
“Hey, what the hell!” Jason shouts after them.
“My skirt, Jason,” You say, shushing him by grabbing the sleeve of his jacket with the hand that wasn’t balancing your books.
“What’s your skirt have anything to do with what he just called you,” You could almost see the steam blowing out of his ears, “Freaks got some nerve, I swear if I-“
“Jason,” Sighing heavily, you lift your empty hand to slide it around the back of his neck, “The Breakfast Club, the movie? The one with Molly Ringwald?”
“Yeah?” He shakes his head angrily, not following.
“She wears a skirt like this,” You explain softly, feeling like you were calming a toddler’s temper tantrum, “They call her character a princess.” Jason knits his brows together.
“I really didn’t like that movie,” He says, then looks down to your skirt, “And I wouldn’t have picked up on that, that’s a lot of attention to detail, I’m surprised the freak’s got that much mental capacity.”
Jason's arm snakes around your waist like it was a little while ago, and as if on cue, the conversation had shifted to the party tonight, putting your boyfriend in a much happier mood than droning on about movies and Eddie Munson.
Pausing in front of the door of your first class, he finishes what he needs to say, gives you the fastest smooch, then scurries away to the gym.
Watching him hurry off until he’s out of view, you look down at your skirt and take a long deep breath. Personally, you loved the movie, and this skirt was your everything, it made you feel good- no, it made you feel great.
Jason didn’t notice it.
Eddie, the boy you’ve seen vaguely around the halls and in different classes noticed it.
Eddie, the boy who seemed to stir things up within you with a simple look, things your boyfriend couldn’t seem to awaken even if he was actively between your legs.
Standing up straight, adjusting your books on your hip, you take another deep breath and slip inside the door, right into Ms. O’Donnell’s.
Keeping your gaze fixated on the floor while keeping your chin held high, you beeline across the front of the classroom, turning into the last row of desks that were lined against the windows. Eddie was in this class, a fact you were already aware of. Now aware of another fact, he was going to be somebody you wanted to ignore. Big time.
Your desk was third from the back leaving you wedged between Nancy Wheeler in the desk in front of yours, and Chrissy Cunningham in the one behind.
Passing by Nancy you share a civil smile, something of routine. She wasn’t someone you’d engage in regular conversation with, but every time you’ve had the chance to chat she was nothing but nice.
Robin’s shared facts about the girl with big, owl eyes and permed hair, adding in that she’s got a teeny, tiny crush on her. Those are the words Robin uses, teeny and tiny, though whenever Nancy is the topic, Robin takes an unforgiving form, babbling and droning on and on about how smart she is, or how nice her hair looks.
You paid no mind to your best friend's rants, you knew you were the only one she could talk to, at least about Nancy… She wasn’t a girl she was able to share with Steve.
Just like Nancy, Chrissy Cunningham was another female in Hawkins High you’d avoid voluntary conversation with. The cheerleader had eyes for Jason, so much that sophomore year when your relationship began, you weren’t sure you and Jason were going to make it.
With a high pony and bangs that framed her baby face, she was the one cheerleader everybody wanted, getting to spend hours upon hours with the basketball team. Surely anyone could see why your relationship had such a rocky start, thus creating a deeper meaning for the ring on your and Jason’s left hand.
About to flash her a smile, pettier than the one you gave to Nancy, you find that she’s absent for the day leaving her desk up for grabs, which inevitably enough had to have been snatched up pretty quick.
Sliding your books on the desk, you press your lips firmly together and release a quiet sigh.
Deep brown eyes, three shades too dark are gazing back, kicked back in the chair with his lengthy legs stretched out underneath yours.
“Morning,” He says, smug as anything.
“Morning,” You nod with a slight eye roll, doing your absolute best to keep your eyes on him to assert some type of dominance, not because you were dying to check out the rest of his appearance.
You saw him in the hallway, you got a good look at him. Eddie is the utter opposite of everything you know.
Dressed in ripped jeans and a leather jacket with a denim vest thrown overtop, he was intimidating. The boy wore rings on nearly every finger, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had some sort of piercing somewhere as well. He has tattoo’s… Multiple.
Jason once mentioned not too long ago how he cannot believe anyone would want to mark their skin permanently, for life. Partially in agreement, half of you sweats at the idea of making an enormous commitment like a tattoo, but the other half finds it exciting, and just plain cool. It probably had to do with the artist within you, your creative heart longing for another form of creation and inspiration.
In passing, like how you knew he was in this class, you’ve seen one of Eddie’s tattoo’s, the bats on his arm that were each completely blacked out. Barely remembering his name then, you thought of asking him how it felt, and what he endured during the process, just to have the knowledge, not for any other reason… Obviously you’d never gotten around to that.
“Might wanna take a seat, it’s an hour long class,” Eddie says, cocking his head to the side, catching onto you and your curious eyes once again.
Scoffing, you tear away your gaze embarrassingly fast, hang your bag on the back of your chair and slip into your seat just as Ms. O’Donnell steps inside the classroom.
“Good morning students,” Her monotonous voice carried across the tiled floors, greeting you in a way that everyone felt at half past seven in the morning.
Flipping your textbook open to the last chapter the class had left off on, you lean to the left to pick out a pencil from your bag and find Eddie tapping the bottom of it with his sneaker, making it rock side to side.
“…To chapter twelve, we’ll begin review…” Ms. O’Donnell drones on in the background as you shoot Eddie a cold glare over your shoulder. He maintained a face, wearing the calmest, slyest expression without a smile.
Shoving a hand all the way to the bottom beneath your wallet, under the make up, next to the oval compact mirror you’ve had for years, you finally grab a pencil and slip your hand out quick so you can face forward and ignore Eddie.
Normally he’d be sitting across the room in the last desk in the row, sometimes sleeping. You couldn’t understand why he’d want to sit closer to the windows where the sun would blaze down on him when he could be across the room in the shade like a sleepy little vampire.
Immediately shaking that thought out of your brain and the use of the word ‘little’, you refocus and take a long deep breath, exhaling at the same time as your bag sliding off the back of your chair, hitting the floor in a clobber.
At least four heads turn toward the commotion, including Ms. O’Donnells.
Shutting your eyes momentarily, you compose your being before turning around to pick it up, meeting Eddie’s little smirk.
His feet were now tucked under his own chair, balancing on the toes, creasing the front of his white Reebok’s.
“Apologies,” He says quietly, lowering his brows a bit.
“Don’t worry about it,” You mumble, whipping forward with a vengeance, hoping he’d sense your frustration so he’d leave you alone, but the boy seemed to be relentless.
Leaning toward his desk to get closer to you, he rests his chest on the wood and whispers, “I have a question.”
You open a notebook to jot down the things Ms. O’Donnell had started to review, putting the new notes below the ones from yesterday. As you scribble as fast as she’s speaking, you hear Eddie tap his fingers on his desk.
With another deep sigh, you stay zoned in on your notes, but whisper, “What?”
He answers right away, waiting somewhat patiently.
“Did you do the homework?” He asks. With a roll of your eyes you nod your head to answer him. That would be what he wants, you’re very prompt with your work and it’s not something you tend to hide.
“‘Course you did,” He seems to snicker.
Turning your chin toward your shoulder, you glare down to his feet and mutter, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“No talking, please!” Ms. O’Donnell cuts in, stopping her sentence about the lesson short.
Shifting around, you resume your note taking and active listening.
About ten minutes pass in peace, but as you raise your hand to answer the third question your teacher has asked, you hear another sound of a quiet laugh from behind you.
Snapping your hand back down to your side you let another student answer this one, using the time to turn around to address the situation you were in.
Staring out the window, nibbling on the nail of his thumb, Eddie is smiling, shaking his head the slightest bit.
“Can you shut up?” You sneer, keeping your volume under control.
Dropping his hand to his lap, he swipes his tongue over his bottom lip and looks at you. Like sweet caramel, his eyes were truly a sight to get lost in, and when they shift over to your angry brows the way they make your stomach flip riddles you with nerves.
“I can’t help it,” He says.
“Well, get it together,” You finally glance down to the shirt he’s wearing under his jacket- a white Motley Crue tour t-shirt from 1983, with big orange letters and the four members of the band in the center. Your dad went to that concert, you remember spending the night at Robin’s so that he could go.
Eddie glances down at his tee, flickering only his eyes up to you.
“You like them?” He asks, his demeanor changing to much nicer than before. Looking at him, you part your lips to speak but struggle to find the words.
“My dad went to the- I mean, yeah, they’re cool, my dad, listens,” You manage to whisper.
“Do we have a problem back there?” Ms. O’Donnell calls out to the two of you. You would have broken your neck with how quick you turned to her.
“Sorry, no,” You say, obtaining the third condescending laugh from behind your back.
Telling yourself you were going to ignore Eddie and his immature pestering for the next fifty minutes, he whispers four words that send a shock down your spine, “Such a good girl.”
There wasn’t a soul in Hawkins who has ever said such a thing to you. It was a simple sentence, one that people everywhere say in a meaningless, innocent matter. You’ve heard people say it to their pets, their cars even, those four words, specifically the two at the end, were not supposed to make you sweat.
Eddie oozed sexual energy, that much was clear. A cocky, confident aura was alluring, you were with Jason for god's sake, but Eddie was also self aware, and that turned the sexiness up to the nth degree. There wasn’t ever a moment he seemed to be pretending, he was who he was, and it didn’t look like he had a problem with that.
For all you know, he could say those things to anybody. He’s never been spotted with a girl, or guy, whatever he may like, you don’t know a thing about his life, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t exactly getting any action either.
Walking the halls of Hawkins as if he owned the place, looking like the bad boy heartthrob of any movie, it was impossible to not think about, or at least be intrigued by his sex life, if he had one.
Someone who uses words like ‘good girl’ in such an easy manner had to have one. That type of sentence doesn’t come out of thin air. It comes from practice.
Ms. O’Donnell’s voice fades into the background, your thoughts now clouded because of the boy sitting behind you.
Shifting in your seat, crossing your legs, you glance up to the clock momentarily and find fifteen minutes have passed. Fifteen minutes of the teacher talking that you haven’t heard, and a quarter of an hour of missed notes.
Tapping the eraser of your pencil on the desk, you look to it as your lips part in surprise. The pink, rubber end was covered in teeth marks, completely chewed up.
“What the…” Tumbles from your lips, lifting the pencil for a closer look.
“You were going to town on that thing,” Eddie whispers. Uncrossing your legs to cross the other on top, you shift in your seat again, blinking what seemed like a trillion times to help you ignore the distraction that should not be a distraction.
Eddie should be easy to ignore, he’s the type of guy you want to ignore. You grow up hearing stories about people like him, and how they’re the kind of people you shun out of society because they don’t do it any good unless they shape up and become better citizens.
Conditioned to ignore and shun, you cannot begin to imagine, or logically think why you have the deepest urge to turn around and engage with the jerk.
That’s what he is, a jerk. He saw you kissing Jason in the hallway, that has to be the reason why he’s chosen to suddenly taunt you when he’s been sitting in the same class with you all year. Eddie and your boyfriend have some unexplained rift between them, probably the clashing of societal values or something, you're sure Jason has mentioned it before, so that’s got to be the reason why.
It’s a part of the feud. Eddie is trying to get to him through you.
With a deep breath, you place the pencil on your book.
“I’ve never seen you this fidgety before,” Eddie eggs on, “Everything alright?” The stealthiness can be heard in his voice, like you were already aware of, he knew what he was doing.
“Just totally annoyed,” You mutter over your shoulder. Eddie laughs.
“Oh, yeah,” He smiles, “I’m sure you are.”
At the front of the classroom, Ms. O’Donnell places stacks of paper on each desk in the first row to be passed backward. Nancy stretches a slender hand behind her, not bothering to turn around to deliver the sheets face to face. Accepting them with a soft, “Thank you,” you take one and hand the remainder to Eddie, copying Nancy’s technique, unintentionally flashing the ring on your finger to the boy.
“What is that?” He asks with grandeur as the class falls into a quiet chatter while everyone begins their work.
“What is what?” You sigh, writing your name at the top of your paper.
To your left, a hand is held out to you. Eddie wiggles his ring finger when you look down to it.
The sight of his boney, callused fingers strikes a bolt of lightning through your chest. All four fingers were adorned with chunky, silver rings of different shapes and creatures you didn’t dare to ask more about- though you wanted to.
Swallowing hard, you peek at him and raise an eyebrow, “My ring?”
“Yeah, that,” He says, nodding, stretching his neck to catch another look.
Holding up your left hand, you widen your eyes and slightly curl your lip.
“What about it?” You ask, your tone flat.
Eddie stares at the silver band, taking it in for a second before he starts to smile.
“You and the jock married or something?” He jokes, looking at you, leaning further onto his desk so he was just about laying on it. His hand was still stretched out beside you, dangling next to your torso.
“Not married,” You state with persistence, making Eddie snort.
“Damn,” He chuckles, “Someone better warn him to take his time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t sound too happy about marrying him, that’s all.”
Scoffing, you say, “I’m eighteen, we’re eighteen, we have plenty of time to think about getting married.”
“So, it’s what, a promise ring, or something?” Eddie continues to dig.
“Why do you care?” Turning around, you sit sideways in your desk and choose not to pay attention to his hand that’s now hanging above your lap that didn’t even flinch as you twisted.
Resting his head on his arm, his bangs swish to the side, the new angle making his eyes appear even larger, more soft.
Eddie shrugs his shoulders and glances around before planting his gaze on you, saying, “You both wear them, everybody talks about it.” You stop yourself from widening your eyes.
“Ev… Everybody?” You ask, hushed. Eddie nods.
“Your lover boy feeds off the energy of everybody else in case you haven’t realized,” Eddie smirks. Snapping your eyes to your lap, and evidently Eddie’s hand, you take a breath.
“I’ve realized,” You roll your eyes, to which Eddie picks his head up.
“Ah, hah,” He grins, “You aren’t happy.”
“I never said that,” You grill, giving him a cold stare. Eddie nibbles his bottom lip, sitting back in his chair, moving his hand from in front of your body.
“You didn’t have to,” He winks.
Groaning loud enough that Nancy gives you a look, you twist forward in the chair and hunch over the worksheet you’ve yet to start.
Sure, you weren’t thrilled about where you were in your relationship with Jason right now, but it was only due to the fact that you were under immense pressure in every aspect of your life.
When the spring show was over, when finals had passed, when the light of graduation could be seen at the end of the tunnel- That’s when things with Jason would get better. You’d have the proper time to care for and nurture your relationship.
You weren’t about to let Eddie Munson find all of this out, then your business could be spread to everyone in these halls.
“Hey,” Eddie says, reaching a hand out to tap your shoulder, startling you.
“What?!” You furrow your brows and whip your head around, “Don’t touch me.” Lifting a hand, you hold the spot he tapped.
“Right,” Eddie’s eyes go wide like you’ve frightened him. Tucking his hand to his chest he nods, “Shit, you’re right, I’m sorry.”
Relaxing your shoulders, you watch his entire demeanor change before your eyes.
“It’s… It’s fine,” You say.
“No it’s not,” Eddie narrows his eyes, “I should’ve had your permission,” The two of you share a few moments of quiet, Eddie seeming like he was trying to read your mind, “You know that right?” His softened gaze returns, wide puppy dog eyes. It draws you in, shifting your body halfway around. Incredible, how the boy could shift between both personas at the drop of a hat.
“Know what?” You question, and he sighs, folding his hands on his lap.
“Jesus Christ, he’s more of a twat than I imagined,” Eddie mumbles, barely audible.
“Excuse me?” You ask genuinely, not having heard half of what he said, only ‘he’s’ and ‘twat’, which was almost enough to piece together who he was talking about.
Thinking to himself, Eddie ponders over his response with care. Sitting forward once more he presses his lips together tight and exhales subtly.
Inches apart, you can make out every little spot on his face, every line, and every scar that held incredulous history. A faint squiggle beneath his curly bangs that almost slices through his left brow catches your eye.
“He’s nice to you,” Eddie pauses, watching you study his imperfect complexion, “Right?”
“Who?” You mumble, drawing your eyes across his forehead to a freckle on the side of his jaw. The corners of Eddie’s lips threaten to perk up under your surveillance.
“Uh, your man?” He chuckles.
Right, Jason.
Clearing your throat, you turn your attention to your knees and nod. Really fast.
“He’s nice to me?” You blurt out.
“I’m asking you, sweetheart,” Eddie smiles. Squeezing your eyes shut, you sigh and shake your head.
“Jeez,” You whisper, then pop open your eyes to give him the best sure of yourself smile you could, “Jason’s nice to me, of course he is.”
Nodding slow, Eddie raises his eyebrows, “Course he is.”
“He is,” You restate, insisting on the matter further, “Treats me like a saint.”
Eddie scoffs under his breath, “Yeah, I’m sure he does.”
“Shut up.”
“Just saying,” Eddie shrugs, “No one wears rings like those,” He glances to your hand, “Unless they’re not having sex.”
Gasping aloud, you throw a look around the room to see if anyone had heard him, but everyone was focused on themselves, even Nancy Wheeler. Feeling your cheeks warm, you take your time to face his smug little smirk.
“Promise ring,” Eddie says, then shrugs again, “Purity ring, what’s the difference, huh?” His tone is nonchalant, all too calm to be discussing this topic with a blatant stranger.
“It is not a purity ring,” You whisper, leaning toward him, lowering your brows above your eyes. Eddie copies you.
“Oh, okay, then why do you both wear them?”
“Because they’re… promise rings, for each other.”
Eddie pulls a face of disgust, “You could’ve picked nicer rings if that’s really what they are.”
“We didn’t get to choose them,” You grit your teeth.
“Why not?”
“Why does it matter?”
Eddie rolls his eyes, “Why wouldn’t you get to pick out your own promise rings?”
“Because!”
“Because why?”
“Because! His parents-“
Cutting yourself short, not realizing that both of you were leaning further into one another, you zip your lips shut and sit straight up. Eddie doesn’t move, instead, the smile that's gracing his lips grows.
“Finish the sentence,” He says. Ripping your eyes from his for a second, you shake your head. “Come on, finish the sentence.”
“No,” You mutter.
“Interesting,” Eddie squints, still grinning like a fool, “Is it ‘cause I’m not of importance that you won’t listen to me? Finish the sentence.”
“What do you mean by that,” You say, locked onto his gaze.
“I mean, that you listen to everybody when they tell you to do something. You do the homework, you participate in class, you follow the rules, you’re-“
“A good student?”
“A good girl.”
There were those words again, the ones that chill your spine. The words that definitely came from practice, because you watched them as they tumbled from his lips with ease in real time this time, they weren’t muttered from behind you. He said them with his chest.
They make you feel funny, almost uncomfortable, but only due to the fact that this was how Jason was supposed to make you feel.
Every intimate night you’ve spent with your boyfriend, he reached and reached for this feeling unsuccessfully.
Eddie did it in two words.
Stupidly self aware, Eddie brings his bottom lip between his teeth and gives it a nibble, happily watching your eyes follow. As the sound of what seems like a laugh leaves him, you look up into his disgustingly sweet brown eyes.
“Finish the sentence,” He says, lowering his chin a bit.
Obliging to his request in a heartbeat, you speak quietly, “His parents got them for us, they were blessed at the church with the promise we’d… remain loyal to our faith and wait until we were married to engage in any sexual behavior.”
“Oh my god,” Eddie laughs, “So you’re a liar, it’s a purity ring.”
There was no need for you to prove yourself to him, there wasn’t a reason for this conversation to be had. Deep down inside of you, a small part of your conscience was screaming at you to turn around, to utterly ignore Eddie and anything he tried to do to you, but for some unforeseen, goddamn reason, you were feeling masochistic, and enjoying this.
“It’s a purity ring to his parents,” You say.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” He sings, “Hold on.”
“Holding,” You nod, a bubble of confidence manifesting within you. Not that you cared a lick if Eddie Munson knew you were having sex.
“Are you telling me you lied to his parents?” He asks. You nod in response. “You made them believe that you’re wearing rings blessed by the Gods, promising that you won’t engage in sexual behaviors, only to do the opposite, and betray them, and all of the Gods and their royal subjects.”
“There’s only one God.”
“Who says? Jason?”
“Eh, kinda-“
“Doesn’t matter,” Eddie shakes his curls as if to shake away the matter, “You have sex, and all this time I thought you and Jason were going celibate for life.” Laughing for half a second, you wipe the smile clean off of your face and raise an eyebrow.
“Why do you care?” You question.
“Cause… you’re you, you’ve been untouchable for as long as I can remember, living your holier than thou life comfortably. It’s just interesting,” It’s Eddie’s turn to study your face, bringing the warmth back to your cheeks.
“Holier than thou,” You whisper, “What?”
“Right, since you’ve been living so comfortably you may not have realized that we live in two different worlds,” Eddie smiles sarcastically.
“Is that what this is?” You scrunch your face as a thousand different emotions shuffle through your mind, “You’re- You’re messing with me, when you’ve never once paid any attention to me, mind you, because you’re- you’re… pissed?! Pissed that I live my life, what, differently than you live yours?”
While you spoke Eddie sat up completely, pressing his back flat against his chair. Folding his hands together on the desk in front of him, he clears his throat dramatically and eyes his rings.
“Wrong, and wrong,” He looks up at you, keeping his chin pointed down.
Placing a fist on his desk you tilt your head with a glare, encouraging him to explain without needing to ask.
“You really are wrapped up in your life,” He says, lowering his voice drastically, “You are so clean cut, so precise about things that it boggles my mind. When was the last time you did something off schedule?”
You shrug, and Eddie chuckles.
“Exactly,” He nods, “Walking around this place, you’ve got, like, hyper focus or some shit, not giving anyone else an ounce of attention. Well, except for the boyfriend,” Eddie rolls his eyes.
“Can we get to the point?” You grill.
“You sound like my dad,” He jokes, cocking his head sideways. His bangs brush away from the scar on his brow again, drawing your gaze toward it.
“And you sound like you’re jealous of my work ethic,” You say quietly.
Eddie raises a hand to adjust his hair, muttering, “Stop,” in the process, causing you to snap your eyes back to his and reach out your hand.
“Sorry, I just-“
The hand he tousled his soft bangs with rests on top of yours, but not on purpose. His fingers are warm, and coupled with the coolness of his metal jewelry, the touch is borderline electric.
At the same time, you and Eddie glance down to where your hands met and jump apart as if the gentle graze was radioactive.
Tucking your hands into your lap, you stare down at your shoes, the boots you chose to wear with the infamous skirt that caught Eddie’s attention. Following your lead, Eddie pulls his hands under his desk, wedging them beneath his thighs.
There’s a minute of quiet between you while the class radiates its own subtle chatter.
It should feel awkward, having touched one another in total innocence on accident while only being acquainted, but it’s not.
Everything about this situation as a whole should be awkward, but it’s not.
Thinking about what he said before he planted his palm over yours, you admit to yourself that he was right. You were uptight about the way you maneuvered school, but it was all for a reason he knew nothing about. It was obvious why it seems like you ignored others and kept pushing through, you had an entire other life Eddie didn’t know you lived.
He doesn’t know your father, doesn’t know it’s just the two of you at home, doesn’t know how important your dancing is, and doesn’t know about the pressure hanging over your shoulders because of the upcoming show.
Your future, your college decision and scholarship opportunities were riding on how well the show goes. So, if you appeared uptight to other students in the hall, you weren’t too sure you cared all that much.
Though, that doesn’t mean the pressure wasn’t becoming too much to handle. As right as Eddie Munson was, part of you wished he wasn’t.
Part of you also wishes to tell him that you’ve noticed him before this moment, just like he’s been hinting at noticing you.
He’s always been hard to ignore.
Eddie’s way of life appealed to you like no other. Laidback, relaxed, no anxiety about the future- just purely living in the moment and enjoying it with the people he cared about.
Every moment in your life has felt like a brick to get you to the next step, like life was a game of chess and each move was calculated with precision for ultimate success. It was… precise, like Eddie said.
“Y’okay?” He mumbles, knocking you out of your thoughts, bringing you back into reality. Giving his concerned brows a quick glance, you take a breath and nod, then turn around to face the front of the room, picking up your pencil.
“The bell is about to ring,” Ms. O’Donnell shouts above the noise, “I need these papers on my desk as you walk out, double check your work, please!”
Darting your eyes up to the clock, your heart rate skyrockets. The entire hour of class, gone.
“These quizzes are important, I let you use your books and your friends, they should be complete.”
“Oh, shit,” You whisper, skitzing out as you hunch over your paper to start the work assigned to you ages ago, but the second your pencil begins to scribble, the bell rings.
Your classmates leap from their desks as the noise grows louder and the door swings open. Wide eyed, and probably in shock, you look up to Ms. O’Donnell sitting at her desk staring right back at you. She presses her lips together, firm, and sends a disappointed look to you- and the boy behind you.
“Guess we fucked up,” Eddie sighs. Standing up in ease, he slaps a hand on his quiz and snatches it off the desk, mulling up to the teachers desk. His sneakers slap on the tile floor to every third beat of your racing heart.
“Can I please see both of you,” Ms. O’Donnell takes the blank paper from Eddie, sending you another glare.
Gathering your belongings, sliding your bag over your shoulder, you hold the quiz between your fingers tight to keep your hands from shaking. Approaching Eddie’s side, you hand over the incomplete work with a worried frown.
The woman before you snatches the paper with vigor, eyeing you from behind the glasses that were perched on the tip of her nose. She takes a look at the quiz you’ve given her, and sighs, seeing only your name written at the top.
“At least you had the decency to write your name, Mr. Munson didn’t even give me that,” Ms. O’Donnell perks up a brow, glancing to Eddie momentarily before redirecting her attention to you. “I expect this behavior from him. Not from you,” She says, her tone laced with disappointment, “This is Eddie’s everyday, not yours.”
Looking over at the boy towering beside you, you find him staring at her desk with an emotionless, empty gaze.
You wondered how many teachers said this about him, he didn’t even seem surprised. He appeared as if he’s heard this about himself for ages, like… he was entirely self aware. You guess that talent was apparent in every aspect of his life.
That part of you, the one that wanted to interact with Eddie while he was causing this problem, started to feel bad for him. Teachers can be such assholes, this much you know, but to belittle someone in front of themselves, and another, is a different type of assholery.
“I’m so sorry,” You say, your voice wavering with every syllable, “Ms. O’Donnell, you know me, I didn’t do this on purpose I was just-“
Pausing, you turn both of their heads, Eddie and Ms. O’Donnell.
“Just what?” She asks, exhaling heavily.
“Uh,” Stammering, you glance up to Eddie once more, shaking your head, “Distracted,” You mutter, looking to your teacher for some sympathy, and like you did with your father this morning, you lie your ass off, “With my spring show coming up, and rehearsals happening more often, I think my brain needed… needed a second of distraction from the stress, I think it even happened subconsciously, you know I wouldn’t do it-“
Maybe you weren’t lying.
“Okay,” Ms. O’Donnell holds up a hand, cutting you off abruptly, “I get it, but this is an important grade, I don’t want you to miss this assignment.”
“I don’t want to miss it either,” You say.
“Eddie, you should make it up as well,” Your teacher nods her head once, gesturing a hand toward the boy, “Would do you good to have a completed grade? Yeah?”
Slightly shrugging, Eddie nods, and mumbles, “Course.”
“Here’s what we can do,” Ms. O'Donnell begins, “You both can meet me here tomorrow, at this time, and I will let you take the quiz together with the same amount of time as everyone else,” Your heart sinks to your knees.
“No, no,” You speak up, “I have a rehearsal tomorrow, it’s going to be running all day, I can’t do that.” Eddie gives you a curious look.
Folding her hands, your teacher smiles, “It’s fine. Why don’t you take this home with you, finish it tonight, or this weekend, and return it to me Monday morning.”
“Deal,” You blurt out, making Eddie laugh, “I mean, yes, please, yes. I’ll have it done tonight.”
“Wonderful,” Ms. O’Donnell’s eyes switch between you and Eddie as she says, “And maybe you should work on it together,” You and Eddie snap your necks to look at each other, “Everyone worked with some type of partner today, it’d only be fair if you did the same.”
The thought of Eddie Munson coming to your house, or vice versa, twisted your stomach in knots. It’s not that you were worried something would happen, or that he would try to make something happen… It was the fear of telling Jason.
He would absolutely, one thousand percent, request to be in attendance, and if that were the case, no work would get done. Your boyfriend would spend the entire time ridiculing the boy who didn’t seem all too bad.
Eddie knew how to push buttons, but he didn’t have a problematic energy to him.
Looking at him now, his eyes are just as wide as yours.
“Uh, that’s, uh, up to you,” Eddie clears his throat, shifting in his sneakers a bit, “I can be here tomorrow, we don’t have to do it together.”
He was giving you an out. Self-aware of the fact that you two didn’t belong hanging out with one another, or reading the fear on your expression, letting you make the decision.
You had a Jason. A Jason that caused Eddie a lot of problems. It made sense why he wouldn’t want to do the assignment with you, but the deepest piece of you wished he would’ve taken initiative and agreed with the second option Ms. O’Donnell gave you straight away.
It was wrong. There’s no way in hell you and Eddie would get along outside of these cinder block walls, he said the words himself, you live in two different worlds.
Your perfect, pristine way of life was no match for his lap of luxury.
But it was so, so, enticing.
Turning to Ms. O’Donnell, you give her a small smile and say, “We’ll figure it out, thank you,” and brush by Eddie to start for the door.
“Uh, thanks,” Eddie mumbles to your teacher, then scrambles after you. Ms. O’Donnell watches the exit with an eyebrow raised, the unlikely pair hurrying out of her classroom, one she would’ve never seen coming. Eddie Munson never thanked a teacher before in his life.
“Hey, wait, hey,” Eddie calls after you as he pushes past people in the hall.
“I can’t be late to my next class,” You mutter, peering behind you as he trips over his own foot, stumbling beside you, “You really can’t stay on your feet can you?”
“Nope,” Eddie sighs, “I wasn’t born with spacial awareness like you, okay Miss Perfect?”
“You gonna follow me all the way to English?” You question snarkily, side eyeing him.
“Mm,” Eddie hums, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Don’t think so, you're not the stalking type.”
Your jaw drops, “Excuse me?”
Eddie laughs, “You're predictable, that’s all.”
“I am not predictable,” You state, and watch Eddie weigh the possibilities, tilting his head side to side making his curls go astray, “I’m not!” Pausing your speed walk, you turn to face him, the other students parting around the two of you.
“You kinda are,” Eddie raises his eyebrows, speaking carefully, “I know exactly what you’re gonna do for the rest of the day, and no, it’s not weird, because I could stop any one of these soulless assholes and they’d be able to tell us the same thing.” He gestures to your surroundings, encouraging you to take a peek.
Taking a deep breath, you try to not let him get under your skin, that seems to be his aim of the game.
“Well, I’d rather be predictable than unreliable,” You sneer, looking him dead in the eyes, “I could also stop anyone of these soulless assholes and I’m sure, without a doubt, they’d tell us the same thing.” Narrowing your eyes, you're surprised to see a fire ignite in his.
Wearing a crease in his brow, Eddie represses a smile. Your intent to hurt him, or bruise his ego, has only done the opposite. He’s impressed.
“Are we doing the assignment together, or not?” He asks, glued to your glare.
“That depends,” You deter, stepping closer to him, “If I’m so predictable, what do you think I’m going to say?”
Eddie’s smirk leaks onto his lips, “You want to say no,” He begins strong, and you can feel your defeat on the rise, “And you think I expect you to say no, but now, in this case of predictability and being worried you’re becoming a stereotype… You’re gonna say yes.”
A sharp inhale from you makes him laugh.
“Oh, and I think your panties are in a twist for two reasons. One, you have to tell your boyfriend where you’ll be, and he hates my guts, and two, I’ll be proving you wrong… Twice.”
Your cheeks warm, fueling your annoyance for the boy you have to look up to. At least Jason was nearly eye level, talking to Eddie this way made it all the more condescending.
“Did I get it?” He asks cockily, “Did I win?”
Gritting your teeth, you say, “Meet me in the middle school parking lot after the last bell. Then we’ll see if I’m the one who’s right.”
Storming away from the imperfectly alluring boy, you point your nose forward and hurry toward your next class.
“Good luck breaking the news to your boy toy!” Is called after you, spurring your feet on to move faster.
You wouldn’t see Jason until lunch. That gave you at least another two hours to come up with a convincing story as to why you’d be missing his party. Eddie’s name wouldn’t even be mentioned, it’d be a little white lie, something you were excellent at creating these days.
What you didn’t see coming was the uncountable times you’d have to come up with one because of Eddie, and it was only a quarter past eight in the morning.
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