#so therefore eddie lives au
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The Vanishing of Chrissy Cunningham
Preview:
March 22, 1986,
Hawkins, Indiana
When he reaches the drive to the lake house he finally stops running. His chest burns, skin red and pulsing, eyes wet and blurry.
The night creatures all keen a quiet, melodic lament into the darkness. Like they know, like they saw. It all catches up with him, sucking out any air that’s left in his lungs. He can’t breathe. His knees hit the ground heavily, breaking skin as he doubles over. Hands digging into the gravel, he squeezes until his palms bleed.
And then, Eddie Munson screams like he’s never screamed before. A raw volatile sound that tears the air apart violently.
Hot, burning tears stream down his face as he screams himself hoarse. Sobbing until he gags, vomiting up what feels to be the whole of his insides. His body convulses as every moment, every memory of her flashes before his eyes. Oh those beautiful eyes. That sweet smile. Gone. Cold. Ripped away from him.
“Hey, um can you give me a hand with this?” he asks shyly.
She glances up from where she sits on the table, tying her sneakers, eyes really, really blue and deep, almost like they're not real.
“Sure!” she lights up.
Falling limply to his side, he heaves, trembling on the cold hard ground.
He’s never going to see her again.
The thought guts him, leaves him carved out, empty and hollow as he just stares into the darkness surrounding him. She was just there and now… now she’s gone.
He never got to say anything… he never got to say…
She’s gone.
Chrissy is gone.
#except that she’s not!#the vanishing of chrissy cunningham#old haunts prequel#coming soon#hellcheer#eddie x chrissy#eddissy#munningham#chrissy x eddie#hellcheer fanfiction#hellcheer fanfic#old haunts#my fanfiction#my writing#canon divergent au#chrissy lives au#so therefore eddie lives au
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Look, considering I've only gotten involved in Stranger Things after season four and therefore haven't been around the fans during other new season filming starts, but my brothers/sisters/nb in fandom what the honest fuck is going on right now?
I have been a part of other fandoms when new seasons started filming and the worst I'd seen was BBC Sherlock. And you lot are behaving worst then they did.
And Jesus fuck, that's a fucking low ass bar.
(Again I am ship and let ship, kinktomato, and headcanon free for all)
But this is just what I've seen in my small deliberately secluded corner of the internet so forgive me if I get some things wrong.
Ronance fans have turned on Steddie fans.
Steddie fans are trying to eat each other over who tops and who bottoms between two horny, barely out of their teens, men.
Eddie is confirmed dead.
Dustin is trying to become Eddie.
People want Will dead because Noah Schnapps said some stupid shit regarding genocide.
And Argyle isn't coming back.
I'm going to give you my feelings on these so buckle up lets go:
1- Steddie and Ronance fans have turned on each other. And I know this because I doom scroll through steddie tag. That Ronance fans think Steddie fans are delusional and that they're going down after season five airs and there will be more Ronance fans because they're perfect for each other.
Where to even begin on this? First, never tell a shipper that their ship is never going to be canon because they don't care. Just ask all the Destiel, johnlock, and merarthur fans. Steddie fans are just going to ignore all but the most salient parts of season 5 if Eddie doesn't come back and write AUs for the rest of their lives. You know, like they have since the last scene on the Piggyback faded to black?
Secondly, I don't think I've seen much Ronance without Steddie. Granted I only read Steddie, but it seems that the two ships are tied pretty heavily together. The fruity four comes to mind. So maybe it's that they're getting tired of being a side ship next to a massive one like Steddie. Who knows. But apparently they're bitter.
And I say that because they keep tagging their anti-Steddie posts as Steddie to make sure we see it. Honestly, I just block them and go about my day. But seriously, I've never understood people's need to be shitty like posting hate on the tag for that thing. If you don't like it, fine. Block and move on.
Thirdly. Lastly. Maybe. I don't like Ronance. I saw the charms when I first joined the fandom and it was cute. Until the more I read and I realized that most of the time they don't bring up that Jonathan is even a person let alone Nancy's current boyfriend. That most of the time Steve is written wildly out of character about not caring that they're a couple and that he just wants them to be happy. Like, one Jonathan is severely under used in the fics I've read. Like Will doesn't have an older brother anymore. It's all Steve or Eddie. Which considering how you like your flavor of queer for Eddie or Steve (gay/pan/bisexual) Will talking to them about being gay makes sense, but Jonathan showed us in the last season that he is going to protect Will no matter what. Then blip! in fanfics, he's gone.
And then the whole Steve being okay with Robin not only dating an ex-girlfriend of his, but the ex. The one he thought he was going to marry. The one he dreamed a whole fucking future on. That was still hurt by two fucking years later. You either think very lowly of Steve or you just don't care. Because if you think Robin and Steve are the same person/share the same braincell/ride or die for life, there is no way even if Nancy threw herself at Robin would she even consider it. (I can write a whole ass post just on this by the way, don't get me started.)
2- This is the most recent bullshittery due to a current event about Sub Eddie. This is the worst discourse in any fandom and the worst offenders on either side tend say the most homophobic shit imaginable.
And it's pointless. Whether you think Steve is a top or bottom, whether you think he's dom or a sub. Same with Eddie. Everyone has their own flavor they prefer and they won't always match up with yours.
Personally I write them whatever feels natural for the story. But here's the major crux of the matter. I don't believe a little nerd in Bumfuck, Indiana has any idea what flagging is. I'm sorry. Left pocket, right pocket. Doesn't matter. The likely of him even knowing what BDSM is is pretty slim. I grew up in a small town. There will be some people that know, but that's because they know adults in the scene.
Don't like, don't read. Seriously, guys. Let people enjoy what they want to.
My personal feelings on the matter is that Steve is a bottom/sub because he deserves to be taken care of and Eddie would absolutely want to be that person for Steve, in and out of the bedroom. Again, you do you, beau.
3- The tombstone. Sigh. It was hard to see that. Not just because it confirms he's dead, but because it's been defaced. Most likely like fans have said, "BURN IN HELL" the poor bastard.
Having a tombstone doesn't necessarily preclude Eddie's return. There are several ways he can still comeback Kas! theory not withstanding. But the wank here is people jumping on Steddie shippers and Eddie fans in general pointing and screaming "see!"
Like we didn't have campaigns for Barb and Bob and (Billy). If someone's favorite character has died, don't be dicks when they want them to be resurrected a la Jim Hopper. Because that right there is the main reason people will still hold out hope until the final scene fades to black, okay?
I guess this one is just be nicer to each other, okay?
4- *sob* like holy fuck. Dustin you sweetheart. The long hair, the torn Hellfire t-shirt, the rings. The horns and sticking out his tongue. That poor boy needs several hugs STAT! And of course, people can't leave well enough alone on Facebook, I couldn't tell you how many of the comments were "steddie fans are going to make this all about them, aren't they?" Even though there wasn't a single comment by a Steddie making it about Steve/Eddie. But so many eye rolls. The other half were death threats against Noah Schnapp.
Which brings me to...
5- Noah Schnapp said some really shitty things about Zionism and the attack on Gaza. There is no escaping that. He said them. He double downed on them. And while yes it sucks he said those things, let's not forget he's still young and stupid. He's barely 18/19 years old. I remember being that age and saying stupid fucked up shit, and hoo boy does this make me grateful I was well into adulthood when the internet became a thing (24ish).
There are a lot of reasons to be upset by his comments and I get that. But death threats and calls for his dismissal/boycotts just seems excessive to me.
One, because the story began with a kidnapped little boy and a runaway little girl. If you get rid of one of them especially this close to the end it would fuck up the story. Now if there was more than one season left, sure. But this is literally the end. And for all we know, Will's character may already be doomed by the narrative. So calling for it now isn't go to do anything. Especially since they already had all the scripts written and would have finished filming if it hadn't been for the strikes.
Two, one person on the cast said something stupid and hurtful and you want to boycott the entire show for it? Like, what did David Harbor, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Millie Bobby Brown and all the others do to deserve you boycotting their show? If the last season tanks it could seriously hurt their careers, but hey Noah Schnapp said something bad, so fuck them?
I'm going to stop there, because this is another one I can go on and on about, but yeah. Don't hurt other people in your rush to vilify an 18 year old.
6- Eduardo Franco recently said that he didn't get a call so he didn't think he would be back. He was sure that ship had sailed.
Fans are upset, naturally. Argyle was a sweetheart and deserves better than to be cut from the story like that.
But thanks to the incident with David Harbor and Jim Hopper supposedly being dead, a lot of fans are saying he's only saying that because it's a "secret" he's coming back. Which would make sense for Eddie or any of the other character died. Martin Brenner, for example, but not Argyle. There would be no need for subterfuge. Plus, he would already be out in Georgia if he was coming back.
It's sad that he was done dirty this way, but if they split up the filming like they've done before there is still a chance he might get to come back, but as far as the current filming is concerned, yeah Argyle isn't coming back.
***
Just... be kind to each other. Remember that the other people on the end of the URL is an actual person with feelings. That people can like what they like so if they aren't hurting you, don't hurt them, okay?
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So what is Frank and Eddie’s love story in your welcome home pirate au and how did they join the crew?
Creature Pirate Au Frank and Eddie's love story is very sweet in my opinion because it's a natural born instinct of devotion far greater then humans or other species in the series can understand.
Frank is a water fae- as such, hunters captured him in a jar and kept him as a living magic compass to guide their path out at sea for YEARS.
When Captain caught word of this, he went to save frank himself but, discovered the hunters at the time were working on somthing.
A summoning circle for a golem. A water golem. Also known as an elemental.
Originally, the hunters plan was to make the golem without sentience, just extra muscle that would follow their every command. But after Captain fucked with their runes, they summoned, Eddie. A golem complete with sentience and thoughts and feelings of his own.
Captain explained what was happening to Eddie- and Eddie- as a creature of water- could also VIVIDLY feel Frank's distress. So he fights back. Single handedly Eddie takes out all the hunters on that ship and save Frank from his confines.
...afterwards however- He has no place to go. His creators won't take him in after he disobeyed them and freed their living compass- so he goes with the only person who helped make him that WOULD take him in despite his sentience. Captain!
Frank sortof- owes it to Eddie to stay by his side. Even though he HATES the rest of the crew in the beginning because he thinks Captain is an idiot for wanting to take on the life of a human of all things.
Both Eddie and Frank are creatures of the water. Physically and psychically and soulfully linked to it (and therefore eachother). They're basically married. But beyond a way we can understand. Husbands x 10. Husbands unlimited. Husbands ultimate.
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ages ago (literally only like seven months ago) i started a poe party role swap au and honestly i don’t know if ill ever finish it despite it having some banger lines so. here’s my (incredibly vague) outline. if you even care.
hg dies before the story even starts. he begins to haunt a house, a mansion, finding a space in the attic where he can focus on becoming slightly more corporeal and therefore work on his inventions. later, annabel stumbles upon this attic after she moves in, and despite being startled at first she begins to adjust to living alongside hg. they’re besties <3
eventually, annabel decides that the house has been remarkably empty, lately, and she invites a few of her friends - authors, most of them, but her childhood friend as well. hg has heard stories about this friend, but none of them can compare to him finally meeting lenore in person. the whole being incorporeal thing is very handy when it comes to nearly falling into your own soup.
the rest of the story goes very similarly. the murders begin. one by one, our guests are picked off, strangely befitting deaths, thematically. lenore begins to spend more time around hg - he’s a genius and he can’t be killed! he’s, like, the perfect guy! - and they eventually get to talking, and then to befriending. hg tells her his life and death stories, though they’re both terribly boring. lenore, in exchange, tells him about being a runaway bride, her vengeful ex, and something about food poisoning.
hg begins to experiment, using lenore as his hands because becoming corporeal would require too much energy, and he comes up with a way to surveil the house around them without having to leave the attic. they’d be safe. he leaves to set up his newfound cameras eventually.
he comes back. the attic is filled with smoke.
lenore dies in his arms. even in death, herbert george is still a terrible name. he drags her body downstairs only to run into the cops, makes up some unbelievable lie about poison and comas and allergies, and for some reason they take it at face value.
they call in mary shelley, later, the necromancer that brought him back to life, sort of. she’s able to help them reconnect with all of their lost friends, for a moment.
(well. almost all of their lost friends.)
annabel survives. edgar does not.
it turns out that anne brontë is not anne brontë but rather charlotte brontë disguised as her sister, hellbent on revenge for what annabel’s taken from her. or… something. hg isn’t quite sure. but she brings in reinforcements - eduardo “eddie” dantes and a man named guy de vere who sounds far too familiar-
hang on.
they end up outside, eventually, somehow. annabel drives charlotte to the edge of the river. it’s not very deep, but the rocks are slippery and perhaps a little too sharp, and when she slips she doesn’t come back up for a while. she doesn’t come back up at all, some might say.
with nowhere else to go, the fight ends quickly. unfortunately, this leaves hg and annabel in an empty house with more ghosts than before - in both the literal and metaphorical sense, though primarily the latter. they spend their days in a haze, unfocused and lonely, despite still having each other.
and then, one day, as hg is tinkering with his thousandth rendition of a time machine (he’s still holding out hope), the attic fills with smoke once more. he panics on instinct, but there’s no need.
when the smoke clears, lenore is standing in front of him, ghostly and yet beautiful nonetheless.
(and then they get edgar back too and they all live happily ever after etc etc.)
#or: the story of how annabel goes from living with one ghost to three in less than ten minutes#this is longer than my actual wip of this. what the fuck#lowkey embarrassed to post this even though like no one’s going to see it#but i spent too long writing it not to so#slapped it under the cut bc i wrote WAY more than i meant to#made some shit up while i was at it. this writing thing is fun sometimes#poe party#shipwrecked comedy#reese’s pieces
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au where eddie is in college and he just started an internship at this big fancy law firm…. but he absolutely hates it because it is the worst EVER. he knew that interning wasn’t going to be anything glamorous, but the people there are so mean and they treat him like shit but eddie can’t even do anything about it because he needs a good reference from this internship to graduate, so he puts up with it.
the only solace he has is his lunch break. eddie could use the break room, but he had a feeling that that would only make his days even worse, so he spends his 45 minutes of free time in the coffee shop across the street from the office. it’s the only part of eddie’s day he looks forward to- leaving that stupid office, ordering a coffee that is definitely too expensive but that eddie feels he deserves, and sitting down by himself and getting some peace and quiet.
richie tozier takes up a job as a barista during college, and not too long after he starts working there, he starts to see the same guy some in every single day. this guy looks about the same age as richie (only 20), but he also somehow has the very aura of a 40 year old businessman going through a midlife crisis with the way he comes in, tiredly orders the same drink, plops down in the seat at the window, and stares miserably into his coffee.
one day, while eddie is sitting in the cafe and contemplating all of his life choices, the barista who is always working when eddie comes in, comes over to his table. eddie assumes it’s to clear the table or to tell him that he’s been sitting here for too long and needs to leave, but instead, the barista just places another cup down in front of eddie.
eddie stares at the drink, then to the barista. “i didn’t order this,” he says, confused, and the barista just smiles. “i know,” he replies. “but… it kind of looks like you need it. don’t worry, it’s on the house.”
eddie is so surprised he can barely get out a proper “thanks” before the barista is walking away, but his surprise turns into something else when he takes a sip of the drink and realizes that it’s his exact regular order…. and he realizes that the cute barista remembered his order.
from then on, richie and eddie interact a little more and more every day. sometimes eddie will hang around a little longer after ordering to chat with richie while richie makes his drink. if the cafe isn’t busy, sometimes richie will sneak away from the register and join eddie at his table. on certain days, richie’s shift ends just as eddie has to head back to work, and on those days richie will walk eddie over to the office, because “it’s on the way” (it’s not- richie lives in the opposite direction. but eddie doesn’t have to know that). it isn’t long at all before eddie starts the dread the end of his lunch break, not only because he has to go back to that stupid office, but also because he has to say goodbye to richie.
as eddie’s internship comes to an end, eddie also comes to the sudden realization that once he’s done with this office, he won’t have any reason to come into this part of town anymore…. and therefore won’t be able to see richie as often anymore. of course this breaks his heart a little bit, as he can’t deny it…. he’s definitely grown a little (well… maybe more than a little) crush on richie.
so, on the last day of his internship, he tells himself that he’s going to do it. he’s going to finally ask richie out. he practices what he’s going to say over and over again, he hyped himself up, his heart is racing as he walks into the coffee shop and sees richie……….
…….and then his plans all come to a halt when richie hands eddie his usual drink before he can even say anything, and eddie takes the cup, and sees that on the side, richie has already written a message for him.
will you go out with me?
#what’s with all the coffee shop aus lately huh sunny#idk but. i can’t stop#coffee shop aus are my everything…..#richie tozier#eddie kaspbrak#reddie#reddie hc#reddie headcanon#it#it au#it hc#it 2017#it 2019
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For the AU headcanon game, AU in which Savitar is someone other than Barry? 👀
So I do remember various theories about Savitar's identity and one of them was Eddie. Which... I did not like that theory, so I'm not gonna go that way.
If it was someone the team knew already, then Eobard is the obvious candidate. In the comics, he's made himself look like Barry a few different ways and so there could be a convoluted plot going on that way, but... they've had enough Eobard Thawne as the bad guy on the show, I wanna speculate on someone new.
So the comics Savitar - New Earth version - was a Cold War pilot whose real identity was never discovered. While at top speed in his fighter plane, he was struck by lightning and survived the crash in hostile territory. This could be updated to him being an air force test pilot for an experimental craft using Dominator tech - foreshadowing the Dominator attack xover event later that season - that gets struck by lightning mid test. The test is classed a failure and the craft is unrecoverable - the man who becomes Savitar is assumed dead but of course he isn't.
Savitar therefor isn't obsessed with killing Iris - his existence doesn't depend on her. Instead perhaps Iris' investigation into Savitar's origins puts her in danger as he doesn't want anyone to know who he used to be - maybe he doesn't even remember and having his identity revealed would detract from the story he's selling the cult he's been creating.
Perhaps Alchemy as a stage one/first half of season boss with Savitar being hinted at until he's revealed at the mid season finale. Savitar could still be the man behind Alchemy, with Julian being unaware that he's been brainwashed to take on the persona of Alchemy under specific triggers. To de brainwash Julian, they bring in Hartley who - in this timeline - used a hypnotic flute in addition to his gloves. Julian thus has to come to terms both with what he did under the brainwashing and with the fact that he is a meta... that it was his rejection and self-hatred over being a meta that gave Savitar the in he needed to control Julian in the first place.
Part of the season's focus is on Barry having to accept that he has no idea how much the changes to the timeline are his fault and how much is stuff that was already gonna happen and he just... didn't know things were leading that way behind the scenes.
Revealing Frost's real origins in this season. Caitlin, panicking, goes to her mom for help and things with Carla eventually unravel to the reveal of Icicle. Frost has to choose between teaming up with Icicle or siding with Caitlin's friends... and chooses Icicle. Only to quickly realize she's in over her head and she turns to Caitlin for advice. The two of them form a truce to defeat Icicle and rejoin Team Flash by surprise!!! during the final Savitar vs Flash fight at the end of the season, which would also include Jesse and Wally as well as Savitar's cult.
Savitar would definitely try to recruit Icicle and Frost into his cult, but I don't see them having any of it. Icicle has his own god complex of a sort going on and Killer Frost just doesn't like him or trust him after Caitlin's experiences with Zoom and the Reverse Flash. If you've met one evil Speedster, you've met them all.
One of the things I did like about show!Savitar was that he was a fallen hero - I'm a Tales game series fan, i love fallen heroes as villains, that's basically the main villain of every Tales game and I eat it up every time. So I think part of the investigation into Savitar would be the reveal that he was a highly decorated hero and he saved a lot of lives. That's why he was tapped for the project. But after being essentially left for dead and his amnesia, Savitar grew to feel he was owed the accolades and devotion and it all warped into the god complex he has now. Forcing him to face his past isn't exactly a tomato in the mirror moment but he's torn between horror over who he's become and his desire for security and safety through the power he's accumulated.
#thanks for asking :D#kitkatt0430 answers#the flash#au headcanon game#fic ideas#season 3 au#savitar au
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☠︎ Scared, Princess? ☠︎
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Popular!Fem!Reader
Word count: 20K (Yeah, idk either.)
Summary: The Princess of Hawkins High and I hate each other, always have, but I think there is more to her... Is the Princess actually just another bullied kid who found a disguise out of her misery?
A/N: Listen, I had this joke with a Furby I really wanted to use. I tried it with a care bear and other toys to have it for the ’80s, but it wasn't nearly as funny. So: pretend turbines already exist, or make it modern!au or just ignore logistics and enjoy the joke.
CW: Fluff, Comfort, Angst, Smut 18+ | Enemies to Lovers | No use of y/n | Mentions of Past Bullying/Suicidal Thoughts/Pressure to have Sex/Loss of Virginity/Fake Friends (Reader), Neglectful Parents (Reader/Eddie), Alcohol Consumption/House Party, Fast Food Consumption, Popular Kids Being Jerks, False Accusation of SA/Incest (Eddie), !Reader being lifted up! – Smut ~ Penetrative Sex (Creampie, Unprotected, Rough, Semi-Public, Mirror Sex), mild Fear Play, Fingering, Oral (M&F), Thigh Riding, Hair Pulling, Cockwarming, Praise/Degradation, Breathplay, Spanking, mild Dom/Sub undertones, Aftercare
☠︎ The Freak's POV ☠︎
The Princess of Hawkins High.
The flawless little cheerleader ranking in the social hierarchy of high school right under all sides loved Chrissy Cunningham, the Queen.
I love to tease her, push her buttons, and make her face turn into the cute little frown wherever I can. Her nose twitches when she gets angry; I wonder if she knows...
I wouldn't say I hate her, but I certainly feel irritated by her.
Always surrounded by the most popular jerks, the princess seems to constantly seek their approval. She has done so ever since her first day of school in this hell hole a year ago.
She – in fact – might be nothing other than a little puppy expecting treats for being a good girl—a preppy little puppy whose happy little smiles sometimes even tempt me to pat her.
But the little puppy is also a giant bitch at times. She snaps at me and hisses; she attacks before getting attacked. Coming too close to her would probably have me lose a finger... Maybe even my whole hand.
At the very least, she doesn't bully anyone, even though she has been a quiet bystander multiple times when her friends are busy ruining the lives of others.
She seems uncomfortable whenever she is caught in one of those situations, but she chose those friends and tolerates their shitty behavior. So, she is definitely not earning brownie points for it.
Not in my book. No... She deserves the shit I give her; the headaches brewing together storms behind does pretty eyes. I refuse to respect those who lack any respect for others.
As every day this week, there is a commotion outside the Hellfire Club's room... The prop room of the Theater Club.
A play is getting prepared, and therefore the Hellfire Club has to constantly deal with the door opening and closing. Students rush in and grab parts of my carefully arranged dungeon. They talk, they shove, they interrupt.
How is somebody supposed to defeat a clan of crazed cultists when there is that much reality intruding our fantasy?
As the door opens once more, I snap my head in its direction, roaring, "For fucks sake, can't you see that we are busy?"
The princess looks at me, dressed in this unforgiving little cheerleading uniform and a white cardigan. She holds a clipboard angled at her hip, her eyes wide at my angry outburst.
Taking a deep breath, she smiles, "I'm sorry, but as you know: This is the prop room of the Theatre Club. Having the theatre kids come in here and get their props is within their rights."
"This has been going on for a week now," I say, annoyed. "You could just get your shit when we're not in the middle of a campaign."
"Well, I am responsible for the set design and had cheerleading practice until now. So excuse me that I don't care for how convenient it is for you, Munson."
Now that she is mentioning it, she does look like she jumped around to annoying music for the last hours, her hair not perfect, the baby hairs sticking a little to her temples and forehead...
She is silent for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek; then, a devilish grin paints her glossy lips. "You could always just get a real room for your club."
I refuse to look at her any longer. Meanwhile, she's busy telling some smitten boys to carry out one of our tables.
"You know Higgins won't give me one," I mutter under my breath.
I hate it, but plenty of people know that I had to grovel at the principal's feet to ever even have Hellfire considered a real club. We don't get to request. The smartest thing to do is be as quiet as possible before Higgins shuts it down, scared I am sacrificing cats, or goats, or some shit...
The princess hums, uncaring, stepping next to me, "Well, sucks. I need the throne."
Her pink pen points with its end at my chair – my throne. I make myself extra heavy and chuckle, "Absolutely not."
An irritated look spreads on her face. "Get lost, freak; I need it for the play."
"Already gave you my answer," I smile as ill-humored as possible, then focus back on my sheepies, hoping to rekindle the excitement there was before we were interrupted. "Henderson, your turn. The cruel right hand of— Hey! Hey, stop that!"
The annoying princess is shoving her entire weight against my throne, thinking she can tip it enough for me to get out of it. She seems not to realize that I rather faceplant and take the chair with me than give her what she wants.
"Get out of the throne."
I give her a temperate shove that is already enough to make her stumble backwards. I swiftly check if she is okay, then grin at her face. "You can have it and all the other shit your selfish little heart desires when we are done with our campaign."
"But I need it now! I can't wait for your fantasy shit to be done; I have a curfew!"
I shrug, the desperate whine in her voice barely hitting me. "Though luck, princess."
"I'm going to tell on you," she warns me, the little angry vein on her forehead finally showing up.
"Good luck with that."
"I waited for my chance to design this set all year; I won't have you ruin this for me just because of your constant need to be a dick."
"And I won't have you ruin a perfectly good campaign that took me months to prepare just because you think you're entitled to special treatment."
"Eddie," she says again after some more props have been carried out of the room. "I need the throne for King Lear. You can have it back after the play is over."
"Yeah, nah. I'm sitting too comfortably. Like I said, come back when we're done here."
A frustrated groan leaves her throat, and I chuckle, "No need to lose your mind, Ophelia."
"Ophelia is from Hamlet, you uncultured idiot. You, of all people, should know the difference."
"Why? Because I am, too, a king that is losing his mind?"
"No, but because you are repeating Ms. O'Donall's English class for the third time now."
Okay. Ouch. Bitch?
"Eddie, maybe we should just—" I ignore Handerson's call for peace. I am not going to be the first one to back down.
"What's got your panties in a twist today, princess? Did Jason switch back to railing Chrissy again? Is that why you need to bitch at us? Can't handle that you'll always be just his side piece?"
"You're an asshole."
"And you're not intimidating without your shitty friends."
She sighs. "I need to be home by nine. Please get out of the—"
"Why? Is your daddy finally coming to visit you? Would really be a first since your family abandoned you here."
We all know that she lives with her aunt, a woman that is never home. It's the basis of her coolness. She has money, a place all to herself, and nobody can restrict the number of parties she visits.
"Well, at least mine's not doing 15, leaving me to live in a shitty trailer with my hermit uncle."
Jumping up from my chair, I growl, "Be careful what you say, bitch!"
I can take every blow towards me, but Wayne – the only father figure I've ever known – is off limits.
Although she trembles, she lifts her chin at me and snarls, "What are you gonna do, trailer trash? Beat me like your dad beat your mom?"
Without thinking, I close the distance between us, making her yelp and back against the wall. I would never hurt her... Hurt anybody... But I can live with the fact that she's scared that I might.
Being marked as an insane freak is an opportunity to set boundaries. Bullied kids develop all sorts of defense mechanisms and grasp possibilities like these. My defense is playing crazy, an unpredictable freak.
The Princess of Hawkins High looks at me with big eyes. She's barely breathing, shaking like a leaf as I tower over her. But as we both just stare and don't move, our expressions soften, and the wind is gone from our sails.
The air has calmed way too quickly, and the way she looks at me reminds me too much of myself when I'm pretending to be big and scary, although I actually just want to make it out of high school alive, with the least amount of trauma possible.
Jeff's hand on my shoulder suddenly pulls me back, far away from her. For a moment, I could swear she took an instinctive step following me.
Dustin hands her the clipboard that – sometime during our staring – must be slipped through her fingers. He apologizes countless times on my behalf, promising her the throne as soon as possible.
She nods, seeming as lost of a fighting spirit as I am, and then leaves.
"Shit, seriously. It's always the two of you. That'll end in a murder one day," Jeff sighs, patting my shoulder before sitting down.
"Not cool, man," Gareth lectures me. "If she tells Higgins about this, we're in trouble."
I wave him off, sitting back down on my chair. I actually don't feel like playing D&D anymore.
The Princess of Hawkins High... Is she another bullied kid who found a disguise out of her misery?
*****
Not thirty minutes later, I carry the throne into the cafeteria that doubles as the performance hall with the large stage across the entrance.
Nobody's here; the lights are suspiciously dimmed. For a moment, I believe that everybody has already left. Then I notice her sitting on the stage floor, tracing something onto cardboard.
The Princess of Hawkins High kneels there on all fours, butt in the air, completely unaware of my presence. Her headphones on her head and the cardboard beneath her seem to have her resign in another dimension.
My mouth becomes dry, and I lick my lips. This stupid cheerleading uniform has no right to hug her body like that. The heat in my face wanders downstairs when I think just about how good she looks in this position.
I fucking hate Jason Carver.
He plays hot and cold with her, using her and throwing her away to be with cute, innocent Chrissy over and over again.
For a year now, both girls act like it doesn't hurt them. And while I believe that this could be very true for blissfully oblivious Chrissy, the princess accepted her treatment, keeping her title and social status rather than her dignity.
It would be a lot easier for me to hate the Princess of Hawkins High if she weren't so pretty. I truly gather a great amount of self-hatred for this shit. Out of all the people, I want the cheerleader with bully friends, the one that lets Jason Carver – of all guys – use her like a cheap toy because his friends are hers and dictate her social status.
Sitting up and stretching a little, her eyes meet mine, and she yelps, making me scream in reply.
A small heart attack is truly one way to get rid of an uncalled-for boner.
Turning off her walkman, she takes off her headphones. "What do you want?" she asks with enough hostility to freeze hell.
"Brought you the chair," I answer, pointing at the obviously in front of me placed furniture piece.
She mumbles a slight "oh," and walks down the stairs next to the stage.
"Where do you want it?" I ask, lifting the heavy piece of wood.
She points at the corner next to her, and I oblige. My arrival seems to have reminded her of the "curfew" she said she has.
Closing the stage's curtains and the door to its stairs, she grabs her bag and walks outside. I follow her silently. The club has agreed to postpone our campaign.
Outside, she checks her watch, cusses as she knows that past nine, there are no buses, and starts walking.
I call her name, making her turn around.
"Hey, I can drive you," I offer.
I don't like her, but Uncle Wayne has taught me well enough not to let a young girl walk home alone at night.
"So I end up dead in a ditch?" she snarls.
I roll my eyes. "You're going to walk home on the side of the street. I don't need to drive you to have that being the end result."
She shakes her head, walking away. "No thanks."
"My uncle says it's not safe for women, especially not pretty women. The world is full of sickos and perverts."
She turns around again. "That coming from the town's freak is not as impactful as you think it is."
I sigh, throwing my head back for a moment, then say, "Stop being stubborn and get in my van. Nobody has to know I drove you."
"Why would you even care?"
"Because I am the last person to have been with you. I really don't wanna be a murder suspect accused of killing 'the pretty cheerleader with a bright future.'"
"I'd rather walk. Thanks, though." She offers me a smile and then walks away.
Fine.
Fine. Who cares?
Not me!
I hop in my van and drive out of the school's parking lot. I don't need to be nice to her. Let her end up in a ditch—none of my business.
On the other hand, though... I really don't want that to happen. Not only because I'd be suspect number one but also because...
It just doesn't feel right. I'm a freak and asshole for show, but I am a nice guy—not like Jason's bizarre version of nice guy that only ever ends with girls in the back of his car. Wayne would kill me if he knew I let a girl put herself in unnecessary danger, and I wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight, not knowing if she ever got home safe.
I groan, smacking my wheel, annoyed, and turning the van. I drive back to down the street and halt next to the princess.
Rolling down the window, I say, "Get in. C'mon, don't make me beg."
She shakes her head again. "Leave me alone, Munson." Then she puts on her headphones and keeps walking.
Jesus Christ, why is this woman so stubborn?
I turn the car again and, at the slowest tempo possible, drive behind her.
She turns around and looks at me, weirded out.
I shrug at her. "What? You didn't want to get in?!" I exclaim although she doesn't hear me.
Shaking her head again, she continues her way home.
I hit my wheel again, hating that Wayne raised me well. Life would be so much easier if I'd actually be an asshole.
"Oh, Eddie, thank you so much for making sure I get home safe," I mock the princess's voice.
"You're very welcome. But I am just doing the bare minimum," I answer as myself.
"Yes, but it's so sweet of you. Tiny dick Carver would never do this for me."
I chuckle, "I know he wouldn't. And I know it's small; I haven't skipped PE in a while and—" I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm fucking losing my mind here..."
An imaginary conversation with the princess, that's how far gone I am. Unbelievable. She wouldn't even stop to check if I were okay should I drive into a tree right next to her. And yet here I am, actually driving at snail's speed behind her to watch out for her.
Ten minutes into this shit, she turns around again. Shaking her head like I am the unreasonable here.
"You could just get into the fucking van!"
Of course, she keeps walking and leaves me to mutter annoyed bullshit to myself.
As we reach her house, she promptly stops, looking for something in the driveway. From behind, I see her shoulders sag.
Wiping around in her face, she turns around for a second, teary eyes glistening in my headlights.
Did... Did she actually expect somebody to be home?
Just as I try to gather the courage to get out of the van, she walks inside her big, lonely house, turning the lights on.
The Princess of Hawkins High. For so many, she is an inspiration, a clear view of what you could be if you'd only were perfect enough, had enough friends, would be loved enough...
But I think I know better. The Princess of Hawkins High is all alone.
*****
♛ The Princess's POV ♛
The Freak of Hawkins High still stands outside my home with his van as I walk into the kitchen and rewind the answering machine.
Aunt Tess had promised to be home today. I'd waited for nothing other all day than to finally hug her again. Especially since she hasn't been home for over three weeks now.
I press play and listen to the calls I missed during my day at school.
"Hey, girly," the voice of my aunt rings in my ears. "So sorry, but I won't make it to Hawkins any time soon. The deal in Japan is a bigger project than I anticipated, and — Just gonna be honest, I forgot to tell you a couple of days ago. I promise I'll be home next month, and I'm gonna make it up to you with a ton of gifts from here, okay? If you need anything, just call, okay? Great, love you."
"Hey, me again, honey. I forgot to tell you, I just put some more money in your account, and there is so much on it; I am starting to feel like you forgot how to shop? How bout you splurge a little? Make me feel less bad for not being home. Okay. Gotta go, bye."
My heart sinks, and I would start crying if I hadn't already in the driveway... When I saw that, once again, nobody's there.
I get a glass of water and gulp it down to ignore the way my throat closes up. For a second, I think I hear shuffling in the bushes outside the kitchen window but am distracted by my mom's voice coming from the recorder.
I haven't heard her say my name in a while, so my entire focus goes back to the little electronic on the kitchen counter.
"Hi, sweety. How are you doing? Your dad and I miss you terribly. We're currently in Paris, and I just know you would love it here. Work has been crazy and... Look, baby, that's why I called. I know we promised we'd pick you up and travel through Italy in July, but the firm is expanding so rapidly at the moment, and July will have us in Greece and Turkey, and maybe even China... Thing is, we'll have to cancel that trip, love. I know you were excited about it, but I can't see a way we would manage to push you between our other arrangements. How about I'll send you some extra money, and you'll have a girl's trip with Tess? My treat... Yes? Yes, I just need— Okay. Okay, sweety? I've got to go back to work. We'll talk soon, okay? Love you."
I press my lips together for a moment, then throw my glass against the wall across from me. I watch it shatter and fall to the floor.
Who cares? Not like anybody except me is going to notice that it's missing. I hate how loud I am sobbing by now, but can't seem to stop myself. I'd been really excited to spend time with my parents. I haven't seen them for months, even the last call was weeks ago.
I walk into the living room and drop onto the couch, curling into a ball. It's not like my family doesn't love me. I get everything I wish for, but I'd like to have a hug, maybe even a family dinner, instead of a bunch of cold money.
I tried to spend it all, but no matter what I buy, it doesn't help me when I feel alone, falling asleep on the couch, watching movies so that I hear people talk in this house. Being lonely sucks, and I am pathetic.
I don't know how much time passes, but after some squeaking wheels burn rubber outside my house, somebody rings the bell.
My heart thumps in my chest. I'm way too scared since watching Maniac last night. Why am I constantly doing this? I know I get paranoid when watching horror movies.
It doesn't help that I don't know if the freak's still outside. I am so not going to open the door for him. I do not intend to die tonight... Although I am not sure if he would actually do something like that.
Like, he scares me, but I don't feel like I am in danger when he's around. I actually appreciated that he drove me home—kind of.
It rings again, and this time, I get up. I walk to the door and look outside to see Amy, Jessica, and Chrissy standing there.
I didn't intend to have people over, but okay. I open the door, putting on my brave girl face.
"Hi," I greet them.
They look me up and down, each one of them dressed like they belong on the runway or in a music video, anywhere but my home, actually.
"Are you okay?" Chrissy asks quickly, hand rushing to my arm.
I nod. "Yeah. Yes, just my mom and aunt canceling on me again."
Chrissy quickly hugs me as the other two walk in.
Jessica looks around. "You sure there wasn't anything else?"
I shake my head. "No. Like I said—"
"The freak was outside your house," Amy interrupts me. "Creeping through the window."
My face heats up with the terror of what he might've witnessed, what he will use as ammunition against me at our next quarrel.
He has seen me cry; I didn't hide it well enough when disappointment hit me in the driveway. Maybe he wanted to check on me?
No. That isn't Eddie. He probably just been nosey or wanted to prank me by scaring the shit out of me because I stole his throne.
"I— Well, we... He kind of followed me home after I left school," I say, noticing how bad that sounds.
Amy's eyes widen. "Then it's good we threw some rocks at him and told him to fuck off."
"I didn't," Chrissy interferes. "I think that's mean."
"Yeah, but that's just because you wanna fuck him and see if he's living up to his title," Jessica snorts, walking into the kitchen and muttering something about the broken glass.
We follow her as we always do, Amy still going on about how a couple of girls had taken Eddie for "a test ride" before.
"You guys know how I feel about premarital sex," Chrissy squeaks, red as a tomato.
Jessica cackles, "Yeah, that's why Jason has to rail your friends instead."
We're all silent for a second. Shame floods over me like a bucket of cold water. The rumors and badmouthing will haunt me for a long time, but not as much as the guilt I feel toward Chrissy.
Jason can be very convincing, and I am apparently pretty dumb. I know he's not going to leave my friend any time soon, that I am just "his side piece," like Eddie said, but I always let myself be talked into sleeping with him...
I don't think I would even wanna date him. I just don't want to get on Jason's bad side, don't wanna lose my friends, as they were his first before mine and will stay his when the question arises.
Chrissy always forgives him, saying that he can't help himself and just is insecure and uncertain about their love, but actually, he's an asshole. And I am probably no bit better.
"Jason loves me," Chrissy insists, looking at me for support, although she knows he fucks me when he's bored of sharing a milkshake with two straws and "going steady" by holding hands.
I nod, not wanting to pop her bubble of ignorance. Guys like him never change.
"Anyway," Amy claps her hands, sitting down on the barstool. "Get ready. We'll wait."
"What?" I ask, confused. "Ready for what?"
"Tammy Thompson's party?" Jessica frowns. "God, how can you forget a party like that? We talked all of last week about it."
"Sorry. I forgot."
"You gotta be really stupid to forget this. Like, I knew you're not bright, but this..."
"Doesn't matter, right?" Chrissy de-escalates the moment, grabbing a broom and cleaning away the shards on the floor. "Just go get ready, kay?"
I hurry upstairs before Jessica can go on about me being stupid. She enjoys that I should've graduated a year before them... In another school, another life. It makes her feel superior.
I take a quick shower, do what's necessary to my hair, and apply makeup. When I walk into my bedroom, I hear gossiping downstairs and try to ignore it, too scared that it might be about me.
I put on a summer dress and matching shoes and head downstairs.
Amy and Jessica are currently listening to the voicemail left by my mom. Chrissy stands next to them, looking uncomfortable.
They are laughing, and I hate that it doesn't surprise me. I hate that I know this invasion of my privacy and the mocking are a price I am willing to pay to continue being their friend.
Looking at me, they stop their laughs and turn off the tape. They compliment my clothes and call me pretty like they didn't just revel in how pitiful I am.
And I thank them and compliment them back because that's what I do; that's how I continue to belong.
*****
I hate parties. They are nothing like in the movies. My friends don't drink or dance with me, giggle with me about nonsense...
No, we sit here on the couches with a couple of basketball players (unless they get up to help each other chug an entire can of beer or do a keg stand) and talk shit about people we don't really know.
Oh my God, have you seen this girl's perm? Kill me now.
Is she colorblind, or why did she think that color combo was a good idea?
Look at that nerd. Who invites losers like that? Why did he even show up? As if anyone wants his ass here.
"Fuck, there's the freak again," Amy's voice makes my head shoot up from my red plastic cup filled with... I guess beer and some sweet soda, but what do I know?
And true, there he stands. A can of beer in his hand, talking to Steve Harrington, a lazy smile on his face as he nudges the girl next to Harrington... Robin. That's her name. She's a girl from the marching band. She's nice.
I didn't know they were friends.
"How the mighty have fallen," Patrick says. "Back in the day, Steve 'The Hair' Harrington, King of Hawkins High, would've never been seen with the dealing freak."
I keep staring until Eddie looks in our direction, his brown eyes meeting mine. He's so pretty when he smiles and isn't frowning at me. I promptly focus back on the cup in my hands.
Jessica, who seems to have seen it, grins. "Now don't be scared," she tells me, looking at our jock friends and telling them, "The freak followed her home today and was staring through her window when we came to pick her up."
Disgusted outcries leave the guys in our group, and in an instant, Jason reaches over Chrissy, resting his hand way too high on my thigh.
"Are you okay?" he asks, squeezing the meat of my thigh. "You should start letting me drive you home for safety. You never know what's going on in that creep's sick mind."
I move my thigh a little, but Jason's hand doesn't leave me. Instead, his fingers start playing with the hem of my dress.
"I'm okay," I mumble, clearing my throat before repeating myself and sitting up more straight. While doing so, I act as though I have to correct the placement of my dress's skirt, shoving Jason's hand away.
As uncomfortable as I am around Eddie, at least he wouldn't expect me to "make him happy" in the back of his van with him for driving me home.
I know it's a big assumption, especially since I am terrified of the freak, but if that were his only motive today, he would've driven home and not followed behind me to make sure I was okay.
"You know what you should do?" Jessica says, delighted. "You should confront Munson about the stalking. Throw your beer into his face. A little embarrassment would probably humble that loser."
Amy nods. "Yeah, put him back in his place."
I shake my head—no chance I would do something like that. It's unnecessary drama, and I don't even like confrontation. It makes me shake and shiver.
"Come on," Chance laughs. "Don't be a sourpuss. We like you better when you're a sweet one."
He and Andy high-five each other, then turn to me. "Ideally, you could also throw in something about him being his uncle's bitch."
I scrunch up my face in disgust. "I am not doing that," I hiss. "That's disgusting."
Andy shrugs. "I'm just stating the obvious. None of those freaks can pull any, and Eddie looks like a pussy anyway."
"You're sick," I tell him, biting back the urge to vomit and hate myself for hanging around with people like this. People who get a thrill out of pushing others with obscene rumors and made-up bullshit.
Amy shrugs at me. "C'mon, now you're overreacting. We're just saying that because it'll hurt him. It's like when we were ten and told everyone his mommy's a hooker."
I shake my head, putting my drink on the coffee table. "That's so wrong."
"Why would it be wrong?" Jessica asks me. "It's his own fault for choosing to be such a loser."
It's your own fault for being such a loser.
I struggle to breathe as I suppress all the memories of coming home and bawling my eyes out. Of bloody, scraped-up knees from being pushed. Of my mother telling my dad I should just start fighting back so I'd be left alone.
Starting somewhere new doesn't erase the scars of the past.
Fighting back has never worked. It only made things worse. To conform oneself is the only way to survive.
I stand up promptly, ignoring the ongoing conversation.
"Where are you going?" Chrissy asks sweetly, holding hands with her boyfriend.
"Gonna get a new drink. That one's stale," I tell her with a fake smile and hurry outside.
The yard is thankfully empty for most parts. Some couples are making out while a couple of guys play beer pong, but nobody bothers to even look at me as I grab a cold beer from the cooling box filled with ice.
I press a hand, cold from the ice, against my neck to ease the tension.
Why am I doing this to myself?
It constantly keeps getting more challenging to look in the mirror, given the company I keep. But I don't know if I will survive starting right back where I started a year ago.
I wanna take a sip of my beer, but surprise, surprise, it's still closed, the cap laughing at me. I look around for a bottle opener, but it wouldn't be my luck if I would find one.
Suddenly the bottle is taken from my hands, and I look up to Eddie, who, without trouble, removes the cap with the plastic bottom of his lighter.
I stare at him in amazement. That was so cool. I have no idea how he did that without breaking something, but it's so impressive. And useful.
He hands me the bottle back. "Thank you," I say quickly, taking a sip.
Eddie stands there for a while, and I lean down, fishing a second beer out of the cooler and handing it to him. That's probably the only reason he's still here.
He takes it which a surprised expression, muttering, "Thanks."
Then he opens the beer again with his lighter and chuckles at my staring. "I can open these with my teeth—now that would really blow your mind. But last time, I chipped a tooth and had to promise my uncle I'd stop doing it."
"It's really cool," I mumble, mentally preparing for another blow from him.
But he just grabs another beer and hands it to me. I take it confused, and once he holds his lighter in my direction, I know what's going on.
I quickly shake my head. "I– No. I– I can't do that."
He cocks his head. "Why not? I'll show you."
"What- What if I break something?"
"Yeah, because nobody in the history of house parties has ever broken something—especially not beer bottles or a lighter."
He tries handing me the lighter again. "C'mon, princess. If something breaks, I'll take the blame."
I put my beer aside. I grab the lighter and look at Eddie, in each hand one of the needed items.
"Hold the bottle by its neck," he tells me, demonstrating the tight grip on his bottle.
I mimic him, and he nods. "Now, keep your thumb there and fit the edge of the lighter underneath the cap."
I do as he tells me. "And now?"
"Use your fingers as leverage and push the lighter up."
I have to try twice; Eddie encourages me. "A little harder, princess."
And then: Pop. The cap opens.
I opened the beer. With a lighter. This is by far the coolest thing I've ever done. I didn't even break something.
I look at Eddie, pure excitement painting my face.
"That's so cool," I tell him, showing him the opened beer.
He chuckles, grabbing a fresh plastic cup and filling the beer inside. "Good to know you're easy to impress."
"That was not easy," I tell him, and he hands me the red cup.
Giving me two more closed beers, he refuses to take his lighter back. "Go show your new trick to your friends."
"But that's your lighter."
He shrugs. "Got plenty more where that one came from."
I nod, putting it in my bra for safekeeping.
As he quirks his brow, eyes for a second gliding over my cleavage, I explain, "I don't have pockets."
Taking a sip from his beer, he looks away for a moment, nodding. "Well, uhm, maybe we'll see each other later? Like, when you get another beer, maybe?"
My heartbeat rises to a threatening level again. I nod, embarrassed, terrified, giddy, excited. "Y–Yeah, sure, maybe."
I head inside, walking back to my friends, who are all invested in something Jessica tells them.
As I come close enough to hear, it feels like my heart is getting pierced by a harpoon.
Nothing changes. No matter how hard you try, things will always stay the same.
"And after her aunt calls her mommy, telling her they don't even want to see her during summer break. Well, and we come to pick her up, and she cries like she just found out Santa and the Easter Bunny don't exist. It would be sad if it wouldn't be so fucking funny."
The group laughs, except for Chrissy. "Guys, that's mean. She was really upset about it."
"Yeah, because she's a baby. Come on, Chris," Jessica nudges her. "It's not like she's one of us anyway; we just chill with her because she buys expensive shit for us, and nobody's ever home."
"And because she's a good fuck," Andy adds, punching Jason's arm, "A fuck you still have to share, dickhead."
I don't know why I was stupid enough to think they would like me at least a little.
I don't know why I am surprised to find out they were just nice to me for the money.
I intentionally had made myself the selfless, sweet person. I bought them drinks and snacks; I hosted sleepovers and borrowed them money; I bought them the best birthday presents they could've wished for...
I wanted to make it seem to them like loving me was effortless.
"I like her. She's lovely," Chrissy defends me because she genuinely has a heart of gold.
Amy nods. "Yeah, and that's why she fucks your boyfriend."
The group cracks up. Jessica directing the direction of the conversation again. "She has no personality. Seriously, a piece of cardboard has more character. Have you seen her room? It's like a hotel room. So creepy. Total Carrie White behavior."
Taking a deep breath, I don't cry. I can't give them a luck to see me cry. I walk in on their conversation, put the closed beer bottles on the table, and look at them.
Their conversation halted the moment they saw me. Now they look almost a little afraid.
Jessica hums my name, her voice oozing with fake friendliness. "What have you got there?"
"A– Uhm... I," I stammer, then clear my throat.
Just pretend you didn't hear them. Gaslight yourself into blissful obliviousness like Chrissy.
"A trick," I say, wanting to reach for the lighter hidden in my bra.
But I stop.
For a moment, the grip on my filled-to-the-brim cup tightens, and I let my impulsive thoughts win. I walk up to Jessica; she and Amy are sharing the armchair.
"Are we gonna see some girl-on-girl action, ladies?" Patrick whistles; the rest of the jocks are just as enthusiastic about the idea.
She looks up at me, grinning like I am genuinely her friend, and blowing me a flirty kiss.
In a matter of seconds, I dump the cup's contents over Jessica, drowning her fake facade in beer.
She yelps, looking up at me, absolutely furious. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
I hand her the empty red cup, saying, "Sorry, my inner Carrie White came through."
The boys who formally were cheering about a wet t-shirt contest are now quiet as well. They know I heard them and have taken offense to it.
We all stare at each other for a few seconds; Amy uses paper tissues to help Jessica soak up the beer. Jessica bitches because of her makeup and dress... Not like I bought it for her anyways.
"We were just joking," Chance says.
"Yeah, let's forget about it. We all drank and thought it was fun," Jason says, hand reaching for my waist as he tries to pull me on his lap. "Come here, baby."
I take a step back, shaking my head. Then I rush upstairs and lock myself in the first bathroom I can find.
Well, not lock...
A couple of seconds after I isolated myself from the party, Eddie enters.
I am washing my hands and trying to calm down, taking deep breaths, so I don't burst into tears or have a panic attack when I fully notice him.
"You okay?" he asks, warm brown eyes scanning me.
I nod, grabbing a neon green, fluffy hand towel to dry my hands. "Peachy."
He continues staring, and I lose my nerves. "What are you doing here?"
"Wanted to check on you."
"Well, you did. I'm okay. Now get out."
It intimidates me to be in such a small room all alone with Eddie. He is terrifying. Terrifyingly loud, terrifyingly handsome, terrifyingly honest.
"What your friends did wasn't okay. They shouldn't have said those things," he tells me calmly, not getting intimidated by my tries to get rid of him.
Good to know that he heard everything. It makes me wonder how many other guests overheard how pathetic I am.
"Well, thank you for stating the obvious. Now get lost," I bark.
"Maybe you should stay away from them. You're only getting used by them, just like Jason's only using you."
I feel tears well up in my eyes as I hiss, "That's none of your fucking business, freak."
Eddie coos my name in the softest way I have ever heard, taking a step closer. "You could do so much better than running after a jock who's only using you for the sex his girlfriend doesn't give him."
Laughing spitefully, I snarl, "Better? Like who? You? Sorry, but the last time I checked, the only pussy you're getting is a quick pity fuck or girls trying to figure out if you're also a freak in bed or if we all just call you that because you're a weird, pathetic loser."
His eyebrows knit together. "Hey, don't be a bitch to me just because you chose to have shitty friends."
"As if your friends are any better."
"They are," he growls at me. "They might not make me seem cool and desirable, but at least they don't talk about me like a little piggy bank or a fucktoy they get to share."
Impulsive thoughts take over again, and I slap Eddie across the face.
I have precisely a second to fear the consequences; then he grabs me by the shoulder and pins me against the cold tile wall.
He manhandled me so roughly that it takes me a second before I can breathe normally again. His arms are now pressed against the wall of each side of me, and I feel fear creeping up on me again.
"What have they done to you that makes you think you constantly have to attack before being attacked, huh?"
I look away from Eddie, hoping he doesn't see my lips shiver or my body tremble. But he grabs my face with his right hand and forces me to look at him.
He seems angry and annoyed, but not necessarily at me. His eyes still lay comforting on my features.
"You can't possibly enjoy being used as Jason's cumdump and having to watch him go back to his perfect girlfriend — the one he actually wants — when he's done with you."
"As if you would treat me any different, freak," I bite out, hoping to hit him right in his hypocritical ego.
For a second, he just looks at me; then his hand no longer grabs my face; instead, his knuckles delicately brush over my cheek.
"You're talking to a guy who fell in love with the first girl using him for her little test ride and needed almost a year to figure out what was going on. Why these pretty girls gave me hopes, seemed like they liked me, let me wine and dine them, but once we had sex, they didn't talk to me again... Pretending I didn't exist.
"I wouldn't treat you like Jason for many, many reasons. I am not an asshole like him; I can't turn off the fact I need to have feelings for the person I fuck; Or that I hate how much I would like you to look at me like you look at that idiot...
"But most importantly, I know exactly how it feels to get used—be a little pawn in the cool kids' game. I'd never project that pain on somebody else just to make myself feel better."
I feel seen, understood, and called out for my past behavior.
Looking away while others were treated by my "friends" like I'd been by my bullies all my life wasn't okay. I knew that. But I had just wanted to be the target no longer.
He thinks I look at Jason with love... God, the freak's a little stupid.
"You don't want me to look at you like I look at Jason," I tell him, avoiding his eyes.
He tilts his head so he can follow my gaze. "Is that so?"
I nod. "I look at Jason like he's somebody who told me he's in love with me and would break up with Chrissy so that I'd lose my virginity to him. And since then, I sleep with him because he calls the shots, and my friends are actually his friends..."
Eddie clenches his jaw. "You're right. Don't want you looking at me like that."
He's so close to me I can smell the cologne on his skin and the cigarettes on his breath. He's terrifyingly handsome.
"I'd rather have you continue to hate me then."
"I don't hate you," I whisper. He's too close to be any louder.
"But you don't like me either," he says, frowning.
"I'm scared of you," I admit, face piping hot with shame. "Y-You see right through me and call people out on their bullshit. I'm scared you'll do that with me, and I won't be able to look in the mirror again."
He doesn't say anything, so I continue to babble like a pretty-dressed fool.
"You're hauntingly pretty. I– I am really scared of what you make me feel because I want to run away from you without a chance to escape."
Eddie smirks during all of that, looking like a wild animal lying in wait for the kill.
His body shifts, now so close I could never escape, even if I'd try. His left leg moves between my thighs while the hand from my cheek now dances around my throat, ending any need for a necklace.
I look up at him. As he applies the tiniest bit of pressure to my throat, I whimper. I feel like I should run, my body tells me to flee. I tremble badly, eyes already teary as I feel myself become excited. I quickly look away.
I am excited. I am aroused, wet. Eddie does this to me with his presence. My fear of him arouses me.
My fear and the thought that he wouldn't actually hurt me... But very well could.
It feels so wrong that I whimper again, hips bucking and my sensitive clit rubbing against his thigh. I whimper again, that level of arousal unknown to me.
I look up at him again. He'd never looked away; he had studied my behavior, the rollercoaster of emotions I am currently going through.
My hands run up and down his chest, fumbling with his jeans vest, leather jacket, and the soft shirt beneath. There is no question I'd claw myself into his skin if he'd try to move away.
I buck my hips again, now shamelessly using the friction.
His head dips lower again, his warm breath spreading on my skin. "Scared, princess?" he asks.
I nod, lust drunken. "Terrified."
Then he kisses me, smiles just seconds before our lips collide.
I moan into the kiss, Eddie not needing any more confirmation that I am enjoying this.
His hands grab my hips, starting to control the way I am rocking on his thigh. His hips start rocking into me, and I can feel his clothed erection pressing against me.
My hands wander into his messy curls, his lips leaving my mouth and moving down to my neck. I moan loudly as he begins to suck at the delicate skin of my throat.
The suction hurts, causing electric shocks to strike straight between my legs. Eddie's mouth releases me with a pop, his warm, wet tongue licking over the angry spot apologetically.
He pecks my lips, a boyish grin on his lips. "Your beautiful," he tells me, pupils so blown I believe his eyes to me nothing but black marbles.
I whimper in reply, my entire focus lying on the tightening inside me and how good the harsh material of his ripped jeans feels against my clothed pussy.
Suddenly he removes his legs from me, holding my hips in place so I can't follow him.
Annoyed noises leave my mouth, but he just smiles at me. "I know, sweetheart, but you're making a mess on my leg. We can't have that, now, can we?"
I quickly shake my head; the bathroom just lit enough to have me see the wet patch I left on his thigh. Reason tells me I should be embarrassed, but Eddie looks at me so proudly I can only think of chasing the high it gives me.
A hand leaves my hips, and Eddie uses it to palm his bulge, seeming to hope it'll relieve him of some pressure.
Our eyes meet, and he grins, "Wanna show me how much of a slut you can be? How good you can behave?"
I quickly nod, following the push of his hand, and sink to my knees. I quickly run my hands over his thighs while he unbuckles his belt and opens his jeans.
I try to reach for his boxers, already licking my lips, but Eddie swats my hand away, the slap burning on my skin.
"Don't be a greedy whore," he warns me.
I quickly nod, eyes unable to stay directed at Eddie's face as he finally untucks himself. His thick cock is painted with rough veins, the pink, leaking tip making me want to forget any formerly given commands.
"Now, what did I say?" he warns me, hand reaching into my hair and making a makeshift ponytail out of it.
"You've done that before?" he asks, and I shake my head. "We don't have to."
I look up at him, pleading, "Please. Want to."
A low chuckle leaves him. "Now that's just pathetic, baby." Still, he uses his grip on my hair to pull me nearer his pulsing cock.
As my lips barely touch him, he coos, "Don't be shy; give it a kiss."
I do as he says, kissing his tip and coating my lips with his salty precum. He looks so pleased as I lick my lips; I instantly kiss his cock again.
"Good girl," he whispers, guiding me to take him into my mouth. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you, princess."
At the same moment, he tucks harsher on my hair, the feeling making me moan onto his cock. "Not any more than you want me to, at least," he chuckles, seemingly having hurt me unintentionally.
As I am comfortable with this new position, have gotten the hang of it, I try taking him deeper. He's long; I don't expect to be able and take all of him; he doesn't seem to expect it either.
But I give it my best. Eddie's hand is guiding my bopping head, grunts and praises leaving him. I almost choke, only the breathing through my nose hindering me from gagging, but I take all of him, the curly, dark pubic hair at his base, tickling my nose.
Our eyes meet as I hold him in the back of my throat, and a guttural moan escapes him. His fist hits the tile wall behind me, the loud sound making me jump and pull away from his cock.
We stare at each other for a second, a string of saliva still connecting us. Then we grin like misbehaving children.
Eddie takes a step back and pulls me to my feet. Gripping my hair again, he yanks my head back, exposing my throat. His tongue darts out, licking a broad strip up to my lips, following where the string of spit had landed.
He doesn't kiss me; instead, he smiles at me, leaving me waiting for something that never comes.
Spinning me around, Eddie holds my back pressed against his chest while he shoves the soap and small towels from the counter space into the sink. Then he pushes my upper body onto the now empty counter, my hot cheek resting against the cold marble.
I can feel him push up the skirt of my dress, Eddie's coarse hands groping my ass, and then slapping me harshly. I yelp a little, feeling him lean over to check my expression, and then do it again.
I clench my thighs together, not knowing when I will finally feel relief. Another smack comes down, this time on my other cheek. I whimper, hoping for the spanking to be over soon. Not because I don't enjoy it but because I am too riled up to wait any longer.
Thankfully, Eddie seems to have heard my silent prayer. He pulls down my panties, letting them drop to my ankles. I hear the chain on his jeans jingle and then the familiar sound of a condom wrapper.
I reach behind me, grabbing Eddie's hand. He leans forward, smiling at me. "It'll just take a moment, sweetheart. Safety first."
He tries, but I don't release his wrist. "I'm on birth control. Just– Just please let me feel you."
Eddie takes a deep breath, then nods. "Are you sure?" I nod so fast I fear dislocating something.
Standing behind me, I feel him glide his cock through my fold a couple of times, coating himself with my arousal. Then he bottoms out in me with one solid thrust.
I moan loudly, pressing my forehead against the marble counter as he stretches me out in ways I thought impossible.
Eddie shortly rests his body on mine, face pressed against my shoulder. His right hand rests next to my head; the left one runs up my thigh and waist. He solely lifts himself from me enough to reach under me and grope my tits.
He growls quietly and kisses my shoulder before he pushes himself up again. His hands glide down my back and come to a hold on my hips.
Eddie pulls me into him several times, experimental thrust having me breathless. Then he sets into a harsh and unforgiving pace.
I am so wet, the room is filled with the most obscene squelches I have ever heard. The high-pitched, already fucked-out moans leaving me surely don't make anything better.
Then, Eddie's hand tangles itself in my hair again. He pulls me up on my hands and forces me to look into the mirror.
"Keep your eyes on the mirror, baby. Watch yourself getting fucked by the freak," he tells me with a hint of resentment.
Watch the man you demonized for so long show you the gates of heaven.
I look at myself, hair a mess, lips puffy, pupils blown. I moan, every thrust coaxing another sound out of me while I feel Eddie so deep in me it makes my eyes try to roll back.
But I focus, I do as he demands, and I watch us. Watch Eddie. How his head falls back as he moans, how his hair sticks to his sweaty forehead, how his hand reaches underneath me, between my legs and starts rubbing my clit.
My insides tighten again; the coil inside me seconds from snapping. My head drops, and I accept the stinging pain that comes with it.
I already pulse around his cock when he stops playing with my clit.
He let's go of my hair as well, the hand now wrapping around my throat and pulling me up. Eddie leans down a little, ensuring I am pressed against his chest.
He's looking over my shoulder. I follow his gaze. Our eyes meet in the mirror.
"Look at that, princess. Fucking terrorized me for a year, running around and being a little bitch, and now you're so desperate for me, you didn't even let me put on a condom."
I whimper, not able to find words.
Eddie chuckles. "No, no. Don't be ashamed. It's good to know that all that was needed to have this raging bitch become a little puppy was to fuck her pussy raw until she sees stars."
"Eddie..."
He leans closer to my ear, never breaking eye contact. "Yeah, that's right, baby. Let the whole house know how badly you want the freak to come in your little pussy."
I'm on the brink of my orgasm when he says, "Fucking look at me when you come. I deserve to be the only thought in your dumb little head when you come on my cock."
And instead of keeping my eyes on his reflection, I turn my face to my right, looking straight at him.
The mirror had been a type of protection; it had kept us from looking directly at each other. We were supposed to hate each other, and maybe we would change our minds when our eyes meet. But I look at him, and all I can think of is how I don't want this moment to end.
He didn't think I'd look directly at him; the look on his face as our eyes collide tells me that... And it tells so much more.
Eddie dips his head lower, the hand from my throat now holding us up while the other cups my cheek.
"You're so beautiful," he whispers, kissing me roughly as we melt into each other.
We are moaning into the kiss, my right hand flying up and holding onto his neck, the other trying to dig itself into the marble beneath its palm.
As I come, my knees buckle, and I go limp. Sex has never felt this good, and my body seems wholly to agree, the orgasm almost knocking me out.
Eddie's hand leaves my cheek so his arm can wrap around my waist and hold me up while he keeps thrusting into me. He finally fills me with his hot cum. Forehead pressed against my side, a husky moan leaving his lips.
Carefully, he lowers me onto the counter, my cheek resting on the marble top. We're both panting, and I don't feel like I am fully back on earth again.
Eddie brushes my hair out of my sweaty face, half his weight resting on top of me. He lazily kisses my cheek a couple of times, only stopping when a smile tucks on my lips.
As he stands up, ready to pull out, I grab his hand. He instantly stills in his movements. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."
I shake my head. "Please. Not yet."
He signed, looking around a little. Then he pulls me up against his chest. With his arm around my waist, he lifts me up, walks over to the closed (and ugly decorated) toilet, and sits down.
Still inside me, his arm spreads my legs apart, hooking them over his own, so I can comfortably sit in his lap.
I am on full display, and I don't know if Eddie locked the door, but I don't care. Because his arm is still around my waist while the other lazily strokes over my naked thigh.
He leaves kisses up and down my neck and shoulder and presses his forehead against my temple. I am wholly satisfied. And the big scary metalhead seems to be too.
"You know," he suddenly speaks into the silence. "Whoever thought that fluffy toilet seat covers are a good idea is a psycho. Feels like I'm sitting on a fucking Furby."
There is a second of silence, then we both burst into laughter, making Eddie add, "The worst part it that that pervert seems to like it, given the way he tickles my balls."
"Jesus, Eddie," I laugh, holding my stomach.
As our laughter finally ceases, he presses another kiss on my shoulder. "Hey, how- how about we ditch this party and go eat a burger instead? My treat."
My heart races again, and I seriously start to question if I know the difference between excitement and fear, but at the same time, I am astounded.
He wants to spend time with me. We just had sex, he'd gotten what he wanted, and he still stayed around.
Jason had never stayed. He took what he wanted and then left.
The pain in my chest and the tears I refuse to cry let me feel just how fucked up the last year has been.
"I– My friends are..." I stammer. I don't know how to collectively call that bunch of bullies and explain how afraid I am to go downstairs again.
Eddie, however, seems to misunderstand my stammering. "Yeah, don't worry. Was a stupid idea anyways." He stands up, making sure I stand on my feet and then pulls out. "I'll go down first; just wait a couple of minutes, then you can join your friends again."
I lean against the marble counter. "Eddie, I didn't–"
He grabs one of the neon-colored hand towels and soaks it in water. While cleaning himself, he sneers, "No worries, princess. Won't tell anyone you took a test ride on the freak."
He's hurt, having built up a wall so promptly that I feel like he believes he never had a chance with me anyway. And now, he hates himself the for having gotten his hopes up.
Eddie tucks himself away, rinsing the towel with some more water before stepping next to me and kneeling down. I whimper and look at the ceiling as he pushes my dress up and begins to clean the mess between my legs.
Given the way I just let him fuck me and then sat there spread out for the world to see with him still inside me, I actually have no right to be this embarrassed right now.
"That's a nice ceiling," I blurt out to distract myself. "The only thing not neon colored or fluffy in this bathroom."
Eddie huff's a small laugh against my thigh but stays quiet as he cleans me of our mixed cum running down the inside of my thigh.
I press the back of my hand against my face, eyes squeezed shut, and just continue my mortified blabbering.
"I'd like to go eat something with you. It's just that I don't think I'll survive the humiliation of going downstairs and facing my friends after I just bathed Jessica in my beer. I am not good at confrontations, and if you don't know a way to get me out of this house by climbing out of a window or something, I believe I have to stay here until the party's over."
I interrupt myself with a whimper as Eddie brushes over my sensitive clit, then grab his hand to avoid him doing that again and look down at him.
I am met with a boyish grin on his pressed-together lips as he tries not to laugh at my short-circuiting brain. He throws the towel into the sink, and while standing up, he pulls my panties back into position.
"Want me to create a distraction? I could lay a fire... Or start a fight with Jason, restoring your honor?"
I giggle, and he leans closer, pressing a soft kiss on my lips.
"Or – if you like it extreme – we could kill two birds with one stone and set Jason on fire."
"You are crazy."
He nods. "The craziest."
"Maybe don't commit murder and get prison time just when I'm about to go out with you."
He chuckles, pecking my lips again. "Yeah, sounds counterproductive."
Eddie spins me around, back pressed against his chest and arms slung around me. I look at our reflection in the mirror. My hair is a mess, my makeup smudged, but Eddie (whose chin is comfortably resting on my shoulder) looks at me like I hung the stars in the night sky for him.
"I look like a mess," I mumbled.
He quickly snaps, "Shut up. You're beautiful."
I lean my head against his when somebody tries to open the door. We quickly jump apart, my anxiety rising as I say, "Occupied."
"Hey, we were looking for you," Amy says through the door.
"I'm fine. Just go away, please."
Eddie's hand brushes over my hair, and we smile at each other for a moment.
I don't need to be afraid.
I don't need to... I still am, though.
"Don't be a bitch and come out so we can talk," Jessica hisses, and I wonder if she's still soaked with beer or only reeks like a distillery.
I'd be oddly satisfied with both.
"There's nothing to talk about. You guys used me and are shitty friends." I look at Eddie, a proud smile on my lips.
I am standing up for myself. I don't need to be their punching bag.
"Everyone uses everyone. That's how life works," Jessica says.
Amy agrees, "You actually should be thankful that we let you to hang out with us; it's not like anybody else would ever want that."
"Yeah," Jessica goes in for the final blow, "If not for your lack of personality and annoying sob stories, then for being the basketball team's mattress. Everybody else would throw you to the curb for being a whore."
That's when Eddie unlocks the door and swings it open, towering over the two girls, growling, "You better fucking take that back."
The two girls look at him, absolutely terrified for a moment, so I step in front of Eddie. My hands are resting against the doorframe as though I could keep Eddie in and protect him from the hate we are about to receive.
"Are you kidding me?" Jessica asks, and I feel my stomach tie itself into knots.
"I– I am..."
"You seriously let the freak fuck you?" Jessica asks, this time so loud I am certain at least some of the other party guests are hearing her.
I nod a little, everything feeling numb as I am back in the position I was in a year ago. I am prey about to be devoured by monsters.
Jessica storms off, her heels loud on the hardwood floor. I look back at Eddie, who looks at me, brows knitted together. I just know he can sense the aura of panic and anxiety surrounding me.
Amy still stands there, looking at me, my disheveled appearance, and then at Eddie. As her gaze meets mine against, she says, "You didn't want it, right?"
I frown. "What?"
She repeats herself calmly. "You didn't want to have sex with Eddie. He forced you."
I feel the metalhead behind me tense up.
Shaking my head, I stammer, "No, we– I–"
But Amy interrupts me. "It's not your fault. That monster just preyed on you all day and attacked the second you were alone. We're on your side; I promise we still love you. Babe, we all know you would never let the freak touch you."
I spiral down the option I have just been given.
Lie. Lie. Lie.
Lie and tell me you were raped.
Lie so we can all pretend that nothing else happened today.
None of your actions will have consequences.
Eddie is an easy scapegoat. Nobody will bet an eye if I wrongly accuse him of assault.
Lie to save your life while ruining Eddie's.
Lie, and we will lie for you.
This goes beyond bullying. It is downright evil and disgusting... And for a moment, I think about it. Think about the get-out-of-prison card I have just been handed.
This is how far some people will go to keep their social status.
Being one of the cool kids is not worth this.
Jessica returns, all our friends with her. She has a big grin on her face, ready to shred me into pieces. This time with audience.
Jason is the first to speak, pushing past Chrissy and taking in the scene before him. The picture of Eddie and I. The mental image of us having sex.
"What happened?" he asks.
Amy is quick to cut off Jessica, nodding first at her and then at me. "Eddie raped her. Right?"
Jason's eyes are on Eddie, fury there that is solely his own righteousness. The rest of the group starts to explode into rage, throwing every possible insult at Eddie.
Jason takes a step towards us, and I make sure not to let him get to Eddie. "He didn't do anything," I say loud enough to make them shut up.
Chrissy pushes past our friends and takes my hand. "But Amy just said–"
I nod, barking, "Yes, because Amy is very sick in her head."
I make sure to look at every single one of my former friends (excluding close-to-tears Chrissy) while saying, "You are awful people. So easy to jump on the bandwagon and ruin somebody's life only because it fits your bully agenda. I am pretty sure that not a single one of you likes the others. You guys are just hanging out because you very well know that you're horrible, and none of you could ever make a single real friend."
They are silent and confused, look at each other and then at me. This felt good. No wonder Eddie is constantly calling people out.
"And you know what?" I ask them, feeling a second wind of courage as I look at Jason. "I just had amazing sex with Eddie. Better than I ever had with your pathetic ass. Also lasted about three times longer. Being fast isn't always a good thing, Jason.
"I hope that one of these days Chrissy finally realizes that she can do so much better than a guy whoring around for his ego, just being with her because she'll make a nice and quiet housewife that'll do his laundry while he bangs Amy and Jessica and has Andy's mom go down on him every Tuesday since her divorce."
All eyes are on me... Well, not really.
Patrick's are on Jason as he had known Patrick was chasing after Jessica for years now.
Andy will probably pass out, vomit, or both at any moment.
Jessica and Amy look at each other and wonder how I knew they, too, fuck Jason while making me out to be the devil for having done it.
Good old Jason is very talkative during sex but sadly very inconsistent with names and the amount of details he gives about other sexual encounters.
And poor Chrissy's are on her boyfriend. It hurts now, but frankly, I think it's better she finds out what kind of man he is now than in ten years when they're married with kids.
Jason, red-faced, takes an angry step toward me, his hand twitching as he raises it. I instantly yelp, "Touch me, and I'll sue your ass so badly you can kiss your scholarship and bright future goodbye."
The jock lowers his hand and looks at his "friends," but I cut into the meat of their lies way too deep.
It's then Eddie wraps an arm around my waist and shuffles us out of the bathroom. I'm not mad at him, as he almost uses me as a human shield to deflect anything that could come from the jocks—it's for the better; they won't hurt me.
As there are a couple of steps between us, Eddie grabs my hand, and we rush down the stairs. It's early quiet. I hadn't noticed that the music was out before. At the middle of the stairs, we see multiple party guests scattered around the living room, staring at us.
Had Jessica planned on letting everyone hear how she and the rest of the bullies chewed me to pieces?
Eddie and I exchange a look and then walk down the stairs like we weren't just about to run off.
"It's not a party when there's no fight, am I right?" Eddie chuckles loudly into the room, looking at Steve Harrington, "Dude? My stuff?"
Steve hands him his lunchbox. "You two okay?"
Eddie beams at Steve, wrapping an arm around me and lifting me a little. "Have you heard her?" he asks proudly. "My girl devoured those jocks."
"Think everyone heard her. You guys should probably take off."
He sets me down on my feet again, and Steve turns to the rest of the party. "Okay, people, now that the entertainment is over, who is ready to party? I think we should make use of that sweet pool outside!"
The former King of Hawkins High has the people wrapped around his finger as he turns the music up and encourages them to follow him outside, quickly waving us goodbye.
Taking my hand in his, Eddie walks to his van with me. Grabbing his keys, he grins, "You wanna get in, or am I walking you to Benny's?" I punch his chest and let him open and close the door for me.
Putting my seatbelt on, I finally feel my adrenaline drop. That situation was terrifying. It's a miracle I didn't start to cry in front of them; the tears are sure as hell coming now.
"Oh my God," I whisper as Eddie gets in. "I can't believe I did that."
His hand moves up to my thigh. "Hey, sweetheart. Everything's okay."
I shake my head. "I just obliterated all the friendships I had."
Eddie is silent for a moment, then sighs. "Okay, you know what you're gonna do? I'll drive you straight home, and you call your friends tomorrow and tell them you were drunk and did some uppers with me."
He pats my thigh before removing his hand. "Trust me, the way their friendships work, they'll never talk about tonight anyway. You'll have a perfect excuse for going off on them, and everything will be as it was."
I look at Eddie, surprised. He doesn't protest. He even helps me come up with an airtight excuse. But I honestly don't think I want them back as friends.
I watch his jaw clench as he stares straight forward. "I– I don't want..."
"It's cool, princess. Not like I expected anything to change between us," he tells me quickly, pained laughter leaving his lips.
I nod. Of course, he didn't. "Oh, okay." I wipe away the tear running down my cheek.
Stupid, stupid. I won't cry because Eddie Munson and I just had a meaningless hookup. I'm not gonna cry because he hasn't just magically fallen in love with me.
Eddie turns the key, and the van comes to life. Loud metal music nearly bursts my eardrums, and we both yelp in shock. He quickly turns it down and looks at me, apologizing, but I am already laughing.
He joins my giggles, hand flying back to rest on my thigh. I quickly wrap my hands around it, making sure he can't move away again.
It takes a moment to collect ourselves and even longer as we just look at the other. He's so pretty.
God, I really don't want to be his enemy again.
"I'm sorry," I tell him, making him tilt his head. "I was a giant bitch to you the entire year. The things I said weren't okay, and the names I called you weren't either."
He looks at me, then checks his watch. "It's a little early for a Christmas miracle, sweetheart."
I nod. Fair, I deserve that. I have made myself as unappealing and lovable to him as possible.
"I was a bitch to you, and you didn't deserve it, Eddie."
He shakes his head. "You weren't a bitch... At least not a big one. A little bitch. But I guess that came with the company you keep. Adapting to avoid being an outcast again has its downsides."
My eyes widen. "H– How...?"
How does he know?
How does he know?
Eddie shrugs. "Instinct. You seem a lot like you're attacking before I can say something. You never really bully but are willing to look away when your friends do it because you wanna stay on their good side. Everything about you, when you're with them, is fake. And when we're alone, you are a completely different person."
He chuckles. "When we're alone, you're a cute little thing that doesn't bitch around or wants to fight me for a chair. You're even scared of me... Like, I know I can seem scary, but come on. I would never hurt you. I'm all bark, no bite. But somebody who's been bullied a ton – know that one first hand – never really counts on it to be over. So we keep our guard up."
"I'm not afraid of you because I think you would hurt me. You call people out on their bullshit, and apparently, you see right through mine... I always feared that one day you be too spot on in front of Jessica and the others, and they learn that I am actually just a loser who befriended them so that I wouldn't be their target."
I wipe the back of my hand over my now-wet cheeks; the other hand still holding Eddie in place. "I am actually a really, really awful person. Just like fucking Jessica. I'm a total hypocrite."
"Hey, don't say that," Eddie coos, but I shake my head
"It's true. I befriended the worst bullies in Hawkins High and sucked up to them so they'd like me, although that's exactly the type of people that made my life so miserable that my parent sent me to live here, thinking bullies don't exist in go-fuck-yourself Hawkins.
"I am pathetic. A fucking joke. I- I literally just got my schedules on my first day here, took a look at what the cool kids were wearing, and then skipped classes to buy clothes that would make me fit in. What kind of loser does that?"
Eddie squeezes my thigh. "A loser that thinks fitting in is the only way for them to survive."
"That's stupid," I bite. "I would've survived even if I hadn't done that."
"Can you promise that? Can you really say that you would've survived if everything would've been like in your old school? If you would've gotten bullied again even after leaving your entire life behind—including your parents? Or would you have hurt yourself?"
I look away from Eddie, tears still running down my cheeks. I wouldn't have survived. I wouldn't have been able to handle all this pain again. Every single day up to moving here had been hell. I'd come home from school and cry for hours.
My parents weren't home enough, so they hadn't even noticed when I started skipping classes just not to be in school; I stayed at home and stopped taking care of myself. I'd been a dead girl walking when they finally decided things needed to change.
"See?" the metalhead next to me says, knuckles coming up to brush my cheek. "Even if it wasn't right, you did it because you thought you had no other option. You just tried to survive with the least amount of damage possible."
"Stop being so understanding," I sob. "Makes me feel even worse."
He nods. "Sure... Okay, then, how dare you, woman? How dare you attack my sweet innocent quirk of rubbing truths into people's faces without them asking for it?"
I giggle, almost choking on my tears. "You're such a dork."
He forcefully has to remove his hand from my thigh so he can cup my face in his large hands, thumbs wiping away my tears.
As he gives me a kiss on the nose, I say, "I don't wanna be their friend again. Wanna..." I stop myself before I can say something stupid like, "I want to stay with you."
"I– I think I have a proposition I'd like to make, princess," Eddie says. "I don't know if you knew, but eight toxic friends are actually the exact trade-in price to get a top-of-the-notch metalhead freak like me. It's even enough to treat yourself to the he-might-even-ask-you-out-if-you-promise-not-to-run-away-screaming bonus."
He removes his hands and gives me room to think. "Now, why would you want that?" I ask, not understanding how he could literally hate himself that much.
Eddie shrugs. "Believe it or not, there are people that actually like you. Also, you chose me today. You were given a one-way out ticket that would've put me in prison right next to my dad, but you chose to protect me instead."
"Everyone would've done that."
"Absolutely not," he shakes his head. "You saw how badly they wanted you to say I assaulted you. Every single one of them would've loved to throw me under the bus like that. So much so that I stopped hooking up with girls because my uncle always feared that could happen.
"One pretty, innocent girl regretting having fucked the freak, looking for a cop-out, is all it would take. There are maybe ten people that would come to my defense in all of Hawkins. The rest would say they knew I would do something like that, that I always was creepy, dangerous, and that it has to do with the satanic music I listen to.
"Maybe you made some bad decisions, but you're a good person, sweetheart. And because you chose me, knowing that it would slaughter your social status, I am more than ready to choose you and keep doing it."
I nod, but before I can answer, he pulls out of the driveway, drives down the road, and adds with a grin, "I also think you're a straight ten, so... I'd be stupid not to at least try to talk you into dating me. Like, she takes my side, she's pretty, laughs at my jokes... My Uncle would say you're a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a loser like me."
"Okay, I–"
Eddie interrupts me, pretending he's deep in thought. "I will, however, have to find a way to explain to the boys how I managed to pull someone like you... Ideally, without the fact that I fuck like a god—there are some little shrimp in Hellfire, so we'll have to keep it PG, baby."
"Eddie?" I giggle, but he continues.
"I will also have to make you the Princess of Hellfire Club. Because I don't think we can keep your former title... But don't worry about that. I have good connections to the King of Hellfire. I'm just gonna roll him a joint and explain to him how cute my girl can be when she isn't trying to design the set of 'Hamlet'—"
"King Lear," I interrupt him.
He nods, a mischievous grin on his lips. "Right. The one with Ophelia."
"I am going to beat you," I warn him, making him giggle because, apparently, he does know the difference and just loves to annoy me.
"Better be nice," he warns jokingly. "I'll have a lot of persuading to do since you stole the King's throne. Won't be easy. He was very pissed about it."
I let him ramble on, not a single doubt in my mind that he is too giddy to actually let me answer. But when my ears pick up on a familiar tune on the cassette that is playing, I quickly turn the volume up.
"Uh, 'Sweet Leave'!"
Eddie looks at me for a second, then back on the road. I have rendered him speechless.
"Sorry," I tell him promptly. "I– That was rude. I shouldn't have touched the radio without asking."
He shakes his head. "No. No, it's fine... I– That's Black Sabbath."
I nod. "Yeah, I know. I like them. My aunt took me to a concert of there's when we were in London in '81. Her ex-husband was really into rock and metal. They had a nasty divorce in which she got all of his vinyls and cassettes because he cheated on her, and she wanted to hit him where it hurt. Most of the stuff is also signed. It's all up in the attic somewhere. I can show you should you want to come over someday–"
Now, hello over-sharing. What the hell was that? I can't remember the last time I rambled that much.
"Sorry," I quickly say, but Eddie's hand moves to my thigh, a pearly white smile on his face.
"No, please, keep going." I look at him, unsure if he's only saying it to be nice, but he insists. "Seriously. Wanna hear more."
"Okay... Uhm, they divorced the spring before I moved here, and my aunt still had the tickets she had bought for his birthday, so she took me to the Monsters of Rock Festival, with ZZ Top, Marillion, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Metallica... It was so cool."
I laugh at the memory. "They only had very big shirts left at the merch booth, so I got a giant one. I actually still sleep in it when nobody comes over."
"Why?"
I bite the inside of my cheek. "I... I hide all my stuff in the basement. My old stuff. Like I said, I really wanted to fit in when I moved here and thought that maybe I was the problem."
"That's why Jessica said you have no personality?"
I nod. "I never decorated my bedroom. There are some polaroids, a scented candle, and my stuffed bear but all in all, it's still the guest bedroom I moved into. Didn't want to give anyone ammunition to bully me."
I hate how pitiful I sound, so vulnerable it scares the shit out of me, but Eddie squeezes my thigh. "But that right now is who you are? Like, listening to that kind of music and being into festivals and concerts?"
"I– I don't know if that's who I am. I definitely like it, but it's not all there is to me," I say. "I like aspects of every music genre, I like traveling, I like horror movies, but also am a sucker for romance novels... Especially the tacky ones with the bare-chested guys on the covers. I also never — not once — was able to keep a plant alive. I just forget they exist and stop taking care of them.
And apparently, I like talking way too much, way too fast. But I never really wanted to talk to somebody that much so it's a good possibility that I just need to get used to liking somebody that much."
Eddie chuckles, teasingly chirping, "Oh, so you like me, huh?" I nod, and he says, "Normally I am the one talking too much, but honestly? I think I like hearing your voice more than my own, so even if you don't stop with those cute little info dumps... I think I'm good."
I giggle, ears heating up and jaw hurting from my smiling. "Now what's that smile for, baby?" he asks, grinning too.
"I don't know. You just... You make me feel..." Giddy? Comfortable? Calm? Excited?
"Horny?" Eddie asks, pulling into the parking lot of Benny's.
"No. I mean, yes, but not right now," I stammer. "I think the feeling right now is happy. You make me happy."
Eddie kills off the engine and looks at me as though I told him he just won the lottery. "Happy, huh?" he breathes, and I nod.
Removing his hand from my thigh, he harshly grabs the stirring wheel with both hands. "I– Uhm. Wow. Okay," he stutters, street lights showing his pink cheeks. "I didn't think– I... That feels really weird. Like somebody opened a shook-up can of soda in my chest. All fizzy and bubbly and that kind of shit."
I frown a little while trying to decode what he just said. "I think normal people call that feeling butterflies," I say. "Like, when your heart starts beating so fast it feels like it's jumping out of your chest."
Eddie nods. "Yeah. That's the feeling." He starts laughing, "Shit. Never had that one before."
"I think I had it for Jason... In the beginning, I mean."
Eddie looks at me like a kicked dog, and I instantly regret having mentioned Jason. Why did I even do that?
Just as I want to apologize for ruining the moment, he says, "He really did you dirty, huh?"
"It's kind of my own fault," I mumble. "I should've known that real life isn't like a shitty teen romance, where the new girl captures the heart of the most beloved jock in school.
I'm so stupid. I had known him for maybe two weeks and actually believed him when he said I was special and that he was in love with me. Let him sweet talk me into having my first time in the backseat of his car, although I wasn't even ready... And the next day, he was still with Chrissy, and he never said 'I love you' again."
Eddie's doe eyes stare at me, glassy with a hint of pain. "I won't do that to you," he promises. "I know that's a very basic promise, but I won't hurt you."
I just nod, staring at my hands in my lap. Don't they all say that? He reaches for my chin and makes me look at him.
"Hey, I'm serious," Eddie insists. "I almost started crying, and my heart did that butterfly soda thing because you said I make you happy. If something good makes me have that strong of a reaction, hurting you will probably kill me."
I shake my head, being too vulnerable for my own liking. "Butterfly Soda is a cute pop band name."
Eddie chuckles at my sentence, then asks, "Can I kiss you?"
I nod, and he brings our lips together so gently, so chaste, I melt into him without hesitation. He could hurt me but trusting that he won't shoots a thrill up and down my spine.
He pulls away, grinning.
"What?"
His smile grows wider. "I bagged the hot cheerleader. And it's not even like I didn't have the hots for you before, but now knowing that you like the same music as me and are also a little bit of a freak..." He snorts a laughter. "Jason's a fucking idiot, and I'm such a lucky bastard."
I, too, laugh a little, making Eddie kiss me again. Then he says, "Okay, princess. What kind of burger do you want? I'm gonna get the food and then drive us home."
"To my place?"
"If you're okay with it?"
I quickly nod. "Yeah, totally. I- Uhm, I want a cheeseburger with bacon. No tomato, I won't eat it if there's a tomato in it. Like, seriously."
"Tomato in burger equals death. Got it. Fries and a milkshake?"
"Yes, and yes."
"Let me guess, strawberry?"
I gasp, appalled. "How dare you?"
"Chocolate?" he guesses again.
"Vanilla. Vanilla and nothing else in the world. Strawberry. Do I look like a strawberry girl to you?"
Eddie giggles, "Well, to be fair, you also didn't look like an insane person to me a few minutes ago."
"Let me guess, Munson, you like chocolate?"
He nods, "And strawberry and vanilla. Can't do wrong with me. It's a milkshake; I drink it. But I only dip my fries into chocolate shakes."
I blink at him. "You dip your fries into your milkshake."
"Yeah, the sweet and the salty balance each other out."
"You have a real nerve calling me an insane person," I laugh, reaching into my bra and handing him my credit card. "Here, your disgusting eating habits on me."
Eddie's smile vanishes, and he shakes his head. "Nah, keep it, sweetheart. Told you it's on me."
"It's okay. I have too much money anyway. My aunt is actually getting worried if I don't start spending it," I assure him, but he shakes his curly head again.
"Sweet thing, even if I'd accept you paying for it, they won't let me pay with a card that has somebody else name on it."
"But I'm giving you my okay. Chrissy used it too one time, and nobody cared."
Eddie frowns, and he stares out the windscreen for a moment. "It's not your card that is the problem. It's me. You won't find any place in Hawkins that will let a Munson pay with somebody else's credit card. My old man made sure of that."
"Oh," I mumble, watching how his face is drowning in shame. I'd known his dad was in prison and had used it for ammunition in fights before but, honestly, hadn't thought that the town was treading Eddie as if he was solely his father's son. Doomed to repeat his mistakes.
"Yeah. They'd probably call the cops without thinking twice, and that would end our cute little date in a heartbeat."
"Kay," I say, unbuckling my seatbelt. "I'm going in with you." Eddie looks at me, confused. "If I'm in there with you, they know you didn't steal my card."
"You know that means you're going to be seen with me, right?"
"You gave a whole speech about how I'm now your girl and what we're going to tell your friends."
He shrugs. "Well, yeah. Mostly because I like hearing myself talk and think I have banger jokes, but... I don't know. Am not as confident as I thought I was."
"Want me to tell you that I don't mind being seen with you?" I offer, making Eddie grin.
"I mean, you could hold my hand when we go inside. That's something couples do. Maybe I'll lay my arm over your shoulders and kiss your cheek too."
"Yeah, we can totally do that," I agree. Before pulling down the visit and looking at the mirror. "I need to fix my makeup, though."
"Say no more," Eddie smiles, pulling the still-damp neon green hand towel from his pocket.
"You stole Tammy Thompson's towel?" I ask.
He nods proudly. "It's our towel now, baby. Not like she wouldn't have thrown it away, given that we used it to clean ourselves after fucking in her bathroom."
Grabbing a clean corner of the towel, he spits on it before bringing it to my face and cleaning away the dark streaks of makeup on my cheeks.
"I should be more grossed out by this than I am," I tell Eddie, making him laugh.
"Nah, you enjoy having my spit on your face."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Because you're a freak. My freak, to be exact."
Eddie leans back, checking if he removed all of the mascara, then nods, happy with his work. He presses a kiss to my lip and then gets out of the van, running over to my side and opening the door for me.
*****
"Please tell me that's a joke!" I squeal, sitting next to Eddie on the floor of my living room.
He shakes his head, dipping another fry in his chocolate milkshake. "Nah, honest earned money."
"You ate a worm for ten dollars," I exclaim, making him chuckle.
"Yeah, because I was twelve and stupid. Today I would charge at least twenty bucks to eat one," he tells me proudly.
"How about I give you fifty, and you promise to never eat a worm again?"
"Deal, sweetheart." Grabbing my hand, Eddie shakes it eagerly, a boyish smirk on his lips. "See? Eating worms is already bringing in profits."
The Freak of Hawkins High has me laughing at all his stupid jokes, makes my heart flutter at every pet name he gives me, and the thought of him ever leaving makes me sad.
Maybe somewhere down the line of tonight's disastrous events, I have lost my mind. Maybe there was a rift in reality, and I ended up in a parallel universe... But somehow, I feel like myself again. Although she is a girl I bearly know at the moment, she feels familiar.
Somehow Eddie has found his way in the middle of all my chaos. He stands in the eye of a hurricane I created by trying to be the social butterfly I never was supposed to be.
The more time he spends with me, the more I feel grounded. I start feeling real again. I am not a butterfly. Maybe I am a raven, a rabbit, or a fox... Or maybe I am a girl that likes to use silly metaphors because they sound poetic. Who knows?
Cleaning up after our royal feast of burgers, fries, and milkshakes, I wash our plates. Eddie standing behind me and nipping at my neck. His teeth graze my skin, softly biting it.
Laying the clean plates aside, I lean back against his chest and sigh. He replies with a cocky chuckle.
"Can I ask you something, possibly very dirty?"
"Anything," I sough as my face heats up, and I try looking at him, but he holds me too securely, kissing my cheek and then my temple.
"I know we now established that you're positively afraid of me and know I am not going to hurt you... But when we were at the neon bathroom of horrors, I recall you saying you want to run away from me without a chance to escape."
I nod. "I– I know I said that, but that's not a question."
Eddie squeezes my waist, making sure to tickle me. "Oh, I'm sorry for trying to ease you into the conversation."
I giggle, and he stops as I try to move away. Sitting me on the kitchen island behind him, he steps between my legs, bringing his face close to mine. "Did you mean it?"
I quickly shrug, making him lecture me, "No, baby. Use your words. Work with me here."
"I know it's weird," I finally say, embarrassment burning my face. "I– I don't feel it with anybody but you, but it's really confusing."
Eddie's brows knit together. "Does it turn you on when you're scared of me, sweetheart?"
I nod, breath stacking as his hands glide up my naked thighs. "Want me to hunt you down like prey?"
I whimper, making his ego swell. "Maybe we could drive out to lovers lake sometime, and I chase you through the woods... Would you like that, princess?"
I nod eagerly. God, I should not feel myself becoming this wet when thinking of him like that.
As he raises his eyebrows, I remember to use my words. "Yes. Would like that very much."
Taking my jaw in his hand, he brings out lips together, grinning and whispering, "Kinky little thing," before kissing me so gently I could melt on the spot.
As he pulls away, he kisses the tip of my nose, then asks, "Want to show me your bedroom?"
"Are you going to stay?" I ask naively.
Although I am fully aware of my bedroom showing ending with him inside me, my heart yearns for a closeness I didn't think I was able to allow.
Eddie's warm eyes look at me, surprised and enamored. Almost as though I turned down hands full of diamonds just to hold a small rock, he'd handed me.
"Good luck trying to get rid of me," he laughs, pulling me off the kitchen island and setting me on my feet.
I grab his hand and pull him upstairs, turning off the lights downstairs as I do so. If I have my way, we're not coming down again until morning.
As we enter my room, Eddie looks around. He is underwhelmed. Massively underwhelmed. I can see it hidden under his pitiful attempt of keeping up a neutral face.
"Is it that bad?" I ask. "Did I ruin the mood?"
Eddie quickly shakes his head. He pulls me to his chest, kissing the top of my head. "Of course not, baby... I just understand now what Jessica meant by cardboard personality. It's really like a hotel room."
I look at the white, empty walls, the basic sheets, and the almost empty bedside tables with solely lamps and alarm on it. "Didn't want to risk having something I like and then get made fun of for it," I admit.
"Gonna make sure you'll never have to do that again, okay? You're too perfect to make you hide," Eddie tells me without any judgment in his voice, so sincere it feels like an oath.
He pulls himself away to look at the teddy bear sitting on my desk. "Now, who's that guy?"
I quickly grab his hand before he can touch my bear. "That's Frank. Please don't touch him. He's starting to fall apart. Have him since I was a child."
Eddie grins at the one-eyed bear, who's missing an ear. He points out the safety pin keeping the filling in his head, "Frank's short for Frankenstein?"
I shake my head. "They promise me for three years now that they'll help me patch him up."
"They?" Eddie asks before nodding. "Oh. They. Family's really leaving you hanging, huh?"
"They're– They just work a lot."
"You should still be their number one priority. You're their child." He runs a hand through his hair, trying not to talk himself into a frenzy. "Shit. When I started living with Wayne, he quit his job as a trucker and started working at the plant, doing night shifts so he could be home with me during the day."
"They make sure I'm cared for, though. I have tons of money. Can buy whatever I want," I defend my parents and aunt.
Eddie sighs, annoyance in his words. "Not everything can be fixed with money. Somebody should've been there to tell you that after you changed schools."
"Are you mad at me?" I ask, worried about the change in his demeanor.
His expression quickly turns soft. "No, no, no, princess." Cupping my cheeks, he says, "I just hate how you had to fend for yourself. After trauma, a kid needs somebody to trust and feel safe with, somebody who shows them they're there for them. You can't just give them money and a fresh start in a new town and think shit doesn't catch up with them. Your parents should've known better."
"Was your uncle that person for you?"
Eddie nods, sitting down on my bed with me. "Mom and Dad were really bad for each other. Saw a lot of nasty, toxic shit happen between them," he sighs, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Dad always had a foot in prison, and every time my mom would say we were not going back to him, yet we always did.
"After she got sick and eventually died, Dad didn't sell his stuff anymore but took it. The crimes got worse, his patience as thin as a knife's edge. My mom wasn't there anymore to cash in the beatings, so I got my ass handed to me a couple of times because I was too hyperactive and tested my luck.
"CPS got involved after Dad once again stole a car and that time robbed a diner, shooting the waitress, and I ended up with my dad's older brother. Wayne's cool, though. Took me a while to understand that you can get in trouble, and it ends with a stern talk and not with losing a tooth.
"Man's as linear as they come. Has never even gotten a speeding ticket. Would've probably ended like my dad, wouldn't it have been for him."
I swallow harshly. "Now I feel like a real piece shit for picking at your family when we'd fight."
Eddie shrugs. "Not like I didn't rub it in your face that you're being neglected."
"I'm sorry."
He presses his lips together. "I'm sorry, too."
I turn on the lamp on the bedside table, get up, and turn off the big light. My bedroom is now sparsely lit by warm yellow light. It seems cozier like this.
Walking back to Eddie, I climb in his lap, him not wasting a second to let his hands roam my body. We kiss, Eddie, pulling me into him by the waist, hips grinding up against me.
It feels like hours pass; the chance is high that that is actually the case. We sit in the middle of my queen-sized bed. Layer by layer, we have shed our clothes until we sat fully naked in from of each other.
Our legs are partially tangled, and there is nothing we hide from each other. I am the most vulnerable I've ever been. But I feel safe.
We still kiss, hands gliding over the smooth skin, exploring. Eddie's fingers glide in and out of me, while I moan into the kisses, returning the favor. We take breaks to collect our breath, using that time to admire the naked person before us.
The next set of kisses has Eddie back me against the pillows. My hands have captured his face to ensure he has to come with me.
He takes place between my legs as if we'd never meant to be together in any other way than this. As though we never had been at war with each other and ourselves while ensuring the other would succumb to madness.
Pulling his fingers out, he moves them to my lips, watching nearly enchanted as I take them into my mouth and clean them from my own wetness.
As he enters me, it feels like everything else, every growing pain of character, every touch by somebody other, and every spite-filled encounter washes away.
Eddie's movement is nothing more than pure lust and a sign of how long we've waited for the other. Our bodies pressed closely together, fingers, nails, and teeth digging into delicate skin like holding on to our sole lifeline.
The past and, with it, Jason, Jessica, and everyone else is nothing more than part of the tedious prologue before Eddie and I.
The night is filled with promises, whispers of sweet nothingness, and the call of each other's names. Only once we're wholly exhausted, have taken and given everything we can, can we bring ourselves to stop.
Our sweat-covered bodies are still tightly wrapped around each other. A kiss or two still stolen with the greatest efforts to ignore every sore muscle and the burning of our raw, scarlet lips.
Brushing wet hair out of my face, Eddie lies next to me, his fingers dancing over my face. The storms feel like they have surrendered to the fact that this is meant to be.
We're no longer fighting it and letting the other in. The Freak and the Princess of Hawkins High... We never stood a chance anyway.
*****
Opening my eyes the next morning, there is a total of forty-five blissful seconds. Birds are singing, a soft breeze is blowing over my skin from the window Eddie must be opened, and the sun is shining.
Then I roll over, and my hand touches the cold pillow next to mine. I sit up, look around, and notice the lack of clothes on the floor.
Not only that, Frank the teddy bear is gone too.
My heart is beating fast.
A voice in my head laughs at me, while another tells me I've been played. Last night and this morning, make sure to leave me with an unsettling whiplash I try to ignore.
I get up, quickly throwing over my dress from last night, and walk down the stairs.
Maybe I am freaking out over nothing.
"Eddie?" I call through the house but am met with no answer. "Eddie?"
He's not in the kitchen, the living room, or the garden. There is no message on a notepad or a missed call. I call and call until my voice cannot hide the reality of things.
I am alone.
I walk back upstairs, tears running down my face as I change the sheets, close the window, and take a steaming hot shower. I need to get every memory of him off my body.
He left.
He fucked me and left.
Eddie fucking played me. He let me let my guard down and stabbed me in the back.
I shouldn't even be surprised. I've been nothing but a bitch to him all year. He saw a chance to get back at me and took it.
After my shower, I put on my baggy festival shirt and panties and put on a horror movie while I cry my eyes out on the couch.
I cry over the loss of my teddy bear. I cry over how real last night felt. I cry over the fact that I have effectively burned every bridge and am on my own... Just like I always was.
I gave Eddie so much of myself, thinking he would be different, not like Jason. But men are all the same, apparently.
*****
☠︎ The Freak's POV ☠︎
Sneaking in through the ridiculously loud squeaking door, I kick off my shoes. The hardwood floors seem like they are worth more than both my kidneys on the black market, so I don't want to risk anything, even though the princess told me not to worry last night.
I put the plastic bags I carry with me in the kitchen and catch a glimpse of my girl lying on the couch. The loud credits of a slasher on tv seem to have canceled out my arrival.
I walk in, smiling at her. The second she looks up, my smile falls.
"Hey, sweetheart, baby, are you okay?" I ask worriedly, closing the distance between us and falling onto my knees before her.
Did her former friends call?
Another heartbreak by her family?
She takes a shakey breath, whimpering, "What are you doing here?"
I look over my shoulder toward the kitchen and back at her. Her eyes are red, her cheeks wet. How long did she sit here and cry? "I– I was out. Was up before you and got us some breakfast."
"You left," she whispers.
"Only for a little."
"I– I thought..."
As her voice dies, my eyes become wide. The princess had thought I wouldn't return.
"Shit. Baby, no, no, no. I was just out getting some stuff. I left you a note." She shakes her head, but I insist. "I did."
I pull her up from the couch, dragging her upstairs. I did not tiptoe around this morning and search for sticky notes and a pen like an idiot for this to be the outcome. For her to be upset.
Entering her bedroom, I walk straight to the nightstand on her side of the bed.
Okay.
Fair.
No note.
The princess still stands there at the door, looking like she has been absolutely miserable since she woke up—which is no surprise if she thought I ran off after promising her the world last night.
She showered and wears this shirt that would make a better dress. Lilac-colored ones replace the sheets from last night, and the severity of what she went through hits me like a brick.
The princess thought I used her and left.
Just like Jason fucking Carver.
The bane of my existence.
God, I hate that guy.
I turn to the nightstand again. I know I placed the note there. I'd stuck it on her alarm so she'd see it. I drop to the floor, looking under the bed.
Nothing.
But there, almost completely behind the nightstand, shines the neon pink traitor. Wind must've yanked that piece of shit up and thrown it behind it.
I quickly get up and hand it to her. The princess takes a second to read:
"Out to get breakfast and take Frankenstein on a ride. Gonna be back in a heartbeat. — E. ♡"
As she looks up at me, her beautiful eyes fill with tears again. "I thought you wouldn't come back."
I rub the back of my neck. "Didn't mean to upset you, princess. Next time I'll put it somewhere better, kay? Promise."
A tear runs down her face, and I am quick to cup her cheek and wipe it away. Her fingers wrap around my wrist while she nuzzled her cheek into my palm.
My heart flutters and my chest feels fuzzy (that whole butterfly-soda condition really feels more like a medical emergency than anything else). She's the most gorgeous when she lets me see her vulnerable side.
"You kidnapped my bear," she finally whispers, and I chuckle, pressing a kiss to her hairline.
"No bearnapping took place, baby. We just went on a little shopping trip."
"Told you he could fall apart at any moment..." she huffs.
I wrap an arm around her, and we make our way down to the kitchen. Opening one of the plastic bags, I hand her her stuffed friends.
She sits down on a barstool by the kitchen island and carefully pats his head. "Thought you took him as a souvenir."
We're seriously doing something wrong if women think that low of us.
I should beat the shit out of Jason.
I look at her, obviously fake annoyance on my face. "Now, what was so hard to understand when I told you you're now stuck with me?"
She shrugs, and I dislike that I understand her uncertainty. It will potentially take a while of me being the most annoying, clingy piece of shit until she gets it. But okay. I'm good at being annoying and clingy. I'm totally up for the challenge.
"Why did you take him with you?"
I grin, flipping over the plastic bag—an array of needles, threats, filling, and fabric tumbles onto the counter.
"We're fixing Frankenstein," I announce, opening the little paper bag with the replacement eye and showing it to the princess.
"Really?" she asks in disbelief. "But– I can't sew."
I spin slowly, pointing out my battle vest's patches. "Lucky for you, I am a God at it."
"And you know what to do?"
I nod. "The lady at the store helped, and we picked out a matching fabric, threat, and eye. She's also the reason I didn't get the demon-looking cat eye. She said she thinks my girlfriend could get scared should I put it on her teddy bear."
"Girlfriend," the princess whispers, the softest smile on her lips.
"Of course. You traded your shitty friends in for me, remember?" She nods, making me sigh in relief. "Good. Amazing, actually. Because your boyfriend also got you these!"
I pull a couple of posters out of the second bag, unrolling them to present them to her royal highness. "Black Sabbath, Metallica, and – of course – Corroded Coffin."
She giggles, grabbing the Corroded Coffin one and looking at mine and the guys' hand-drawn masterpiece. "So I'm hanging my boyfriend's band on my bedroom wall?"
"Hey," I tell at her jokingly. "If my girl isn't supporting me, then who is?"
She nods. "You're right. Gonna be a good rockstar girlfriend."
"An extremely hot one, too," I say, wrapping an arm around her waist again. "We're gonna be the bi-awakening for a lot of people, sweetheart."
"Sounds good." The princess leans forwards, capturing my lips with hers, and I feel my knees buckle.
No matter how cool I pretend to be, she makes me fucking melt. And now that she doesn't bite anymore, I can finally indulge myself in her.
Wrapping her legs around my waist, I set Frankenstein on the counter and carry my girl upstairs.
Throwing her onto the freshly made bed with which she tried to erase the memory of us, I crawl on top of her while taking off my jacket and shirt and throwing them aside.
I kiss her softly, feeling her hands glide over the massive searches she marked me with last night. They burn like hell, but each ounce of pain feels good. The princess marked her territory.
"You wanna paint your walls before we put the posters up?" I ask her. "Or would you rather get some wallpaper?"
She looks around for a moment then her stunning eyes meet mine. "You know how to put up wallpaper?"
I shrug. "I mean... It'll probably look like shit, but sure. If you want it, I'll figure out how to do it."
I have an unbelievable, lovesick audacity that makes me believe I could do anything her precious heart longs for. Fuck, having her like me is an ego boost that will probably go to my head.
No. Nope. It's already there.
The way she grins up at me, fingers cradling my face... I am fucking invincible and apparently really good in the sack.
"Didn't you say you got breakfast?"
Way to bring me down to earth.
I frown for a second, thinking of where I put the waffles, eggs, bacon, and pancakes I got at a nearby diner.
"I- Uhh..." Yeah, I have no idea. "Either it's still in the van, or I left it at the diner."
The princess starts laughing, throwing her head back into the sheets. I use that moment to gently bite her neck, licking over the bite mark with my tongue.
"In my defense, I was busy thinking about the bear and if I can pull off making a little Hellfire shirt for him," I speak against her skin.
My girl lets out a sigh. "But what will the King of Hellfire say when he finds out you're making them for non-members?"
"Frankenstein is an honorary member," I inform her, sitting back on my legs and pulling her onto my lap. "His human is the King's woman. The Princess of Hellfire."
"Shouldn't I be the Queen then?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow.
I lick my lips, pulling her face closer. "Don't get greedy, princess. Being the Queen is something that you earn."
Her lips split into a smile. "And how do I earn it?"
I place a kiss on her right cheek. "By being kind." Another on her left cheek. "By being yourself." And I place the final one on her lips. "And by staying with me for at least a month. Gonna crown you Queen as my one-month anniversary present."
"Sounds like a cop-out, so you don't have to buy me something," the princess teases.
I gasp, appalled, and push her off my lap. "You're gonna regret that one, princess." She looks at me with big eyes. "Gonna give you a 10-second headstart. Better make sure I don't get you."
While slowly standing up and moving towards the door, she grins. "What happens when you caught me?"
I slowly stand up as well. "Then I'll eat you alive, princess. Make sure you really regret being an ungrateful little slut."
Her breath hitches, and she squeals as I make a sudden move in her direction. We grin at each other, both our eyes darkening with lust, then she bolts out of her room and down the stairs.
I chase after her multiple times feeling her shirt or skin on my fingertips. She is laughing, screaming, and squirming as I finally grab her.
Placing her on the dinner table, I force her back against the cold wood while I step between her legs. "Now I got you, sweetheart," I chuckle deeply. "No point in running anymore."
I take a step back and spread her legs further for me. Kneeling between them, I bite the inside of her thigh, while I make my way to her center.
The fighting spirit has already left her. My girl whimpers as I pull her innocent little panties aside and am met with her arousal glistening in the daylight. I lick my lips before I dive in, her hands quick to grasp for my hair as she moans loudly.
*****
The Queen of Hellfire.
The Freak's girlfriend.
For many, she used to be Hawkins High's Princess, somebody they aspired to be. They don't understand what happened, why she gave up her title, and now plays with the terrifying King of Hellfire.
They don't get how he managed to get the Queen's family to approve of him, like him, so far so that they even wanted to pay for his college education. How he gratefully declined (of course) and instead got them to pay for the first of many Corroded Coffin albums.
He didn't even need to ask. He brought the Queen's smile back on her face and that is worth the world for her family.
Not that anyone in Hawkins ever understands anything. Like, how the ex-cheerleader became best friends with a bunch of nerds, Robin from band, Steve Harrington, and future star journalist Nancy Wheeler.
But as the Queen of Hellfire learned, it doesn't fucking matter what others think as long as she is happy and has the King on his knees for her, worshipping her divine form.
She's fucking mine. Forever.
Suck it, Carver.
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#eddie munson x you#eddie munson#eddie x fem!reader#eddie munson x female reader#eddie munson smut#eddie x reader#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson fanfic#eddie x y/n#eddie munson fluff#eddie munson comfort#eddie munson x y/n#eddie munson x f!reader#eddie munson x fem!reader#reader insert#eddie munson hurt/comfort#eddie munson angst#eddie munson oneshot#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things x reader#stranger things smut
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Welcome to the Fallout AU- The Neighbors
Home
*In this AU, Home is a Vault which houses and protects an entire town called The Neighborhood inside it. Thr Neighborhood consist of Nine people (minus Home themselves): Wally, YN, Julie, Poppy, Sally, Howdy, Barnaby, Eddie, and Frank.
*Home is Aware.
*Home has a Mental connection with Wally and can take control of the other's body. When Home is in control, Wallys eyes are swirls.
*Despite that, Home is a Good Guy in this AU. He just wants to protect his Friends/Residents from the Wasteland outside of His walls.
*Despite multiple attempts by numerous fractions, Home's walls have never been breached.
Frank
* 7'6"
* In charge of Research and Development
* A temporary Teacher when YN was a child
* Is married to Eddie Dear
* Has his own personal Garden
* Can play the Bass
* Weapon: A Modified Laser Gun, Enforced Military Grade Combat Knife (No one else is aware he has these)
* Frank and Eddie are Julie's adopted parents in this AU
* Has never left the Vault himself, but has plenty of surface materials and data thanks to Wally.
* Is fascinated by the Wasteland's creatures and how they've developed, especially bugs
Howdy
* 9'8"
* Runs the Vaults only store and tends to the Neighborhood's Garden
* Safeguards the Red Apples from Wally. Since Apples are extinct on the surface, the only Apples left in this AU comes from Howdy's Apple Orchard. He keeps some apples to replant therefore he has to make sure Wally doesn't steal/eat them all. (Howdy is literally protecting the Last Source of Apples from extinction)
* Howdy always has new supplies in His Story on a Daily Basic but no one is sure where he gets it from and no one really wants to question it either. Many just assume Home or Wally gives him the supplies.
Eddie
*7'7"
* Is Married to Frank Frankly
*In charge of the Pipboy Maintenance and Communication Systems throughout the Vault
*Eddie is from originally a Courier from outside the Vault and was found with a head wound by Wally during one of his first expeditions into the Wasteland. Because of this Eddie has a Form of Mild Amnesia and believes he has always lived inside Home with the others.
Julie
*5'8"
*In This AU, Julie is the smallest neighbor inside the vault and is Frank and Eddie's adopted daughter.
Sally
*5'9"
*In charge of Security. To be honest, this job is more for show than anything. No one has ever gotten past home and those in the Neighborhood are friends so there was no need for it. Sally chose she job because it let her dress up and put on a show everyday.
* Spends most of her free time writing scripts or in the Theater
Poppy
*7'9"
* The Chef of the Neighborhood and Vault Doctor. Poppy is much like the Mom of the Vault and tends to ensure everyone is well and feed.
Barnaby
*8'0"
* In charge of Maintenance. While Home has never been broken into and holds a whole town inside it, Home is still a vault and needs to be maintained to run at optimal percentage.
#Welcome to the Fallout#Welcome Home AU#Fallout#wally darling#frank frankly#howdy pillar#sally starlet#eddie dear#poppy partridge#barnaby b beagle#rough draft#likely to be updated
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Okay, still on my Watford School of Magicks presents Les Misérables AU bullshit. Please recall how I said — “At The End Of The Day” (hah puns!) — this fic is just Simon Snow’s gay crisis the musical. Recalling? Great.
If you have talked to me at all since Saturday, you have been forced to hear me infodump especially about the “Red/Black” scene. Now, I’ve been scouring YouTube looking at so many versions of all these songs (especially from live productions) for inspiration. However, no one quite does this particular one like the film version. The way Eddie Redmayne sings these lines like he is both surprised and confused by what he has said is so Simon Snow coded. Therefore, I want to share the clip alongside the fic version of the scene. (Just please ignore the discord notification in the middle of it from @onepintobean, it’s part of my process.)
THE GOOD STUFF IS BELOW THE CUT
I leap from my chair; it clatters behind me as I envision Agatha, or rather Cosette, “had you seen her today you might know how it feels.”
My hand flies in the air, commanding attention, “to be struck to the bone in a moment of breathless delight.” It’s love at first sight. Untouchable? Exalted? A hook in my stomach. My intestines threatening to burst. Huh?
“Had you been there today you might also have known,” I stride further across the stage and take a few steps up the stairs. Knowing, knowing... I’m leaping again, holding the railing to anchor me.
“How your world may be changed in just one burst of light,” my brain floods with images of exploding brightness, like going off, like—the Humdrum stealing Penny and I away, Agatha's hands in Baz's, “and what was right seems wrong,” Baz flinging open the Great Hall doors three weeks ago, his top lip curled, “and what was wrong seems right.”
“Red!” Dev sings.
I think about lighting a match, “I feel my soul on fire!” It’s always fire with Baz...
“Black!”
I think about searching the catacombs, “My world if h-she’s not there!” I’m all mixed up…
Niall looks at me like I’ve lost the plot as the company joins to sing the next, “Red!”
“It’s the color of desire!” And shoving him against a wall mid-fight…
“Black!”
“It’s the color of despair!” And also his stupid fucking hair that’s probably very soft…
woop woop I scheduled this post so I get to tag people first! @agni-ashes @artsyunderstudy @aristocratic-otter @bazzybelle @brilla-brilla-estrellita @cutestkilla @dragoneggos @ebbpettier @excalisbury @facewithoutheart @fatalfangirl @hushed-chorus @ivelovedhimthroughworse @larkral @martsonmars @mysterioussheep @palimpsessed @raenestee @theearlgreymage @thewholelemon @whogaveyoupermission @yellobb
#the boy is on the precipice of realization#he’s so close!!!!!#wipsday#can y’all tell I wanna be a hs theatre director
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ooo tell me more about med student steve & nurse eddie 💕💕💕
HELLO JANAI!!! this fic is the one I'm most actively writing rn (as opposed to Kas!Steve AU where i'm constantly rotating it in my brain like a rotisserie chicken, but that's for outlining/untangling knots in the plot reasons lmao) so I am Very Happy to talk about it <3
I did actually finish properly outlining this AU today too!! Unless inspiration strikes me and I write way too much for something, it looks like this fic will be 7 chapters and a short epilogue.
SO, to answer your ask I'm going to share with you what some of the other ST characters (those that I've slotted into a healthcare role, at least) are doing in this AU:
Chrissy is the ward clerk, aka the person who handles all the admin tasks, on the ward Eddie works on! They're best friends, and if there's a quiet moment (or more likely, Eddie is on break) you can usually find them talking shit together at Chrissy's desk. Chrissy is also a bi icon in this AU 🩷💜💙
Joyce is the Nurse Unit Manager of the ward - as the title implies, she's the boss of the nursing staff on the ward and in charge of things like making sure hospital policies are being followed & organizing the nursing team so all patients are adequately cared for. She is Very Overworked but she runs a tight ship!
Argyle is one of the hospital pharmacists, and Jonathan is a trainee hospital pharmacist working with him (but not directly under him as Argyle's personal trainee. That'd be a little weird, considering they're dating). Argyle is also working on a research paper about the benefits of medicinal marijuana (with hopes the team's findings will contribute to further legalisation across the country).
Jason sucks. Jason is a medical student on placement with Steve, and he's... he's what we call a gunner. In med school, gunners are students who are ambitious to a fault, potentially willing to throw other students under the bus to further their own career or academic performance, and often focus too much on the "being right"/"being The Best at medicine" aspects of being a doctor instead of prioritizing the patient and their needs. Basically, he's an out-of-touch privileged jackass who comes from a long line of doctors, and has therefore just Assimilated into the family destiny without ever thinking about what being a doctor actually means.
Vickie works in the hospital pathology centre - she's one of the people who picks up samples and processes them after the doctors or nurses drop them off. Every time Robin goes up there (because it's common to send the med students off to drop off the pathology samples) she is So Very Normal and makes Normal People Conversation with Vickie. Robin is so smooth, I promise.
Nancy is another medical student like Robin & Steve are, and she's currently with the consult psychiatry team with Robin. Nancy is also dating Jonathan, because Jonathan has two hands, and Nancy is very interested in the research work Argyle does. She is still Steve's ex-girlfriend in this AU - they had a poorly-thought-out brief relationship in their first year of medical school, and no one in the medical school has let them live it down.
Dr Henry Creel is the consultant doctor in charge of the Internal Medicine team Steve & Jason are currently with. As he's in charge of the team, he's the one who grades the med students and decides if they pass or fail their placement term. I'm sure nothing bad will come of this.
For reference, the "young adults" of the ST cast are in their mid-twenties in this AU. This means that those in fields like nursing or pharmacy have already graduated from college and are full-status employees in their chosen fields, while the med students of the group are still working their way through medical school (since doing a bachelor's + an MD is pretty time-consuming, and that's before you take any time off from studying after high school or between degrees). Also, Henry is Older here, since in canon he's like... what, 40 in 1986? He's at least in his fifties in this AU, since consultant doctors are rarely any younger than that (particularly if they're not brand new to the job).
Also, if I haven't said this elsewhere already, this is a modern AU! No way am I forcing myself to replace all my healthcare knowledge with healthcare knowledge from 40 years ago for this fic, it's bad enough I have to pretend to understand how the American healthcare system works lmao
Send me an ask about my WIPs!
#charlie writes things#med student steve & nurse eddie#hospital au#at the moment i think the only ones who won't make an actual appearance in the fic are argyle & jonathan#they're living their best (most peaceful) lives in pharmacy land while steve and eddie have their relationship problems#god bless <3#also i think somewhere along the line this fic accidentally became about me finding meaning in my chosen course of study#and exploring what being a doctor means to me. through the medium of steve harrington#huh.#i could unpack that in therapy but pffffft who has time for that *throws the whole suitcase away*#also NO i have no idea what robin ship i'm going with for this au ok!!!!!! i just know it's not going to be ronance#nancy already has a bf and her bf has a bf. nancy could ALSO have a gf but she doesn't have time for that in med school lmao#maybe i'll just let robin have two girlfriends.
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Scream for Me |18+| Ghostface!Steddie x Fem!Reader
((Firstly this is an AU of the SCREAM/Ghostface franchise and thus there will be blood, killing, and stalking. However, if it makes you uncomfortable for any reason then do not read. I do not condone stalking in the real since or any sort of obsession this is only fiction. However, if you have a problem also do not read this is only a creative outlet))
Warnings: this will be a continued series, this is an intro to the characters and plot, killing, stalking, mentions of killing, mean!Steve, sub!eddie
Ring! Ring!
You huff and pick up the phone. "Hello?"
A gruff voice responds, "Who's this?"
"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number. Bye." You hang up the phone and huff. Ever since the beginning of last week you'd been getting calls. All ranging from different things, to asking your name, threatening you, and it never ended. Not wanting to mention it to Eddie or Steve because tonight was a movie night, supposed to be a relaxing time filled with laughter. You also didn't want to drag your boys into problems that you very well could handle.
After all nothing would ever happen.
The fresh scent of popcorn fills the room, buttery, and perfectly roasted. "Popcorn's almost ready, Steve." You call from the kitchen voice smooth like honey and sweet. Steve had busied himself with setting up the couch for tonight's movie date, arranging pillows and blankets according to everyone's liking. Eddie was always hot and you were always cold, therefore you always ended up seated between the two. When he finished he turns to find you carrying the large bowl of popcorn into the living-room and placing it neatly in the center. Steve takes you into his arms pecking your lips softly hands rested at the dip of your hips.
He smiled down at you, "Ready for movie night?"
"I sure am." Eddie declares plopping down on his side of the couch, feet coming up to rest on the table, shoes still on. Steve looks over his shoulder and finds him deliberately ignoring one of your many rules. Being kind enough to invite them over into your own home Steve found it rude to be breaking any rules in your house.
"Eds, shoes and feet off the table." His stern tone set Eddie straight, swinging his legs off the table muttering an apology.
"It's okay Steve." You whisper softly voice soothing him as you place a kiss to his temple. He sighs arms crossing over his chest as you dote on him. Steve was in control, but there were days were he needed something else, where he could escape the pain of work and stress. Him being here with you was one way to set himself free, but there was only so much that you could handle.
"I know, baby. He just shouldn't be breakin' rules in your own home." Steve re-iterated and Eddie huffed rolling his eyes.
"I did apologize, Steve." He defended kicking his shoes off, fearing he'd go for him next on that rule, setting them aside.
"It's fine, Eddie. Steve just sit and relax.." He looks back you ready to argue, but he gives in arms falling to his sides and takes a seat on the couch. You smile in content and turn on your heels to go fetch drinks and cups from the kitchen. As you reach to open the cabinet, your eyes dart down to the counter, and in doing so notice a knife is missing from the holder. Odd, you clearly remember putting it back earlier after using it to cut tomatoes for the sandwiches during lunch. You shake it off though and make your way back into the living-room cups and bottle of soda cradled between your arms.
Eddie sighs, "You're a goddess, baby. Thank you." He praises watching you set each cup out and pour each of them a decent serving before screwing the cap on and setting it off to the side. Finally able to sit down between your two boys was the best feeling. Pulling the blanket over your legs and pushing play on the remote starting the movie. You scoot back and curl into Steve's side his arm moving to wrap around your waist, keeping your feet rested in Eddie's lap.
"Steve?" You whispered. He turns his head at the sound and leans closer, face now almost nose to nose with you.
"Yeah, baby?" Steve replies voice hushed as not to disturb the movie which Eddie was currently very zoned into not able to tear his eyes away.
"Did you by chance use one of the kitchen knives? One's missing." He listens to every word and sighs shaking his head.
"No, baby girl. Did you ask Eddie?" Steve pried gesturing to the other and you glance at the brunette still sucked into the screen.
"I-I don't think he did it..it was there when you got here and when he got here." You explained unknowingly working yourself up. Steve sighs and curls his arm back around you. He pulls away eyes focusing back on the television playing out the movie, of Eddie's choice, some babysitter running around and getting murdered. Horror films were such a cliché you could almost always see things coming.
As the movie played on you were rather jumpy, palms clammy, and nerves completely all over the place. Every scare, or scream got to you more than it should've. Steve seemed to notice because he'd been holding you to his side for the past 45 minutes. Something was wrong. He snatches snatches remote off the table and pressing pause. Eddie groaned about to snap at Steve when he saw your cowering form blanket pulled up all the way to your face like a scared child. "Woah, baby." His voice was gentle, shocked, but concerned.
"Baby, is this about the knife?" Steve asked causing you to let out a whimper. Eddie was unfortunately left out of the earlier conversation so he was just as baffled.
"What fucking knife Steve?" Eddie hissed now worried he'd missed something important. You lower the blanket and look between the boys. No hiding from it now, it was bothering you. It was there and you knew it was, someone had to of taken it. What if someone was hiding in the house?
"There was a knife missing in the kitchen. I-I know I'm gonna sound crazy, but I swore I'd put put it back after making your lunch. I know I did." You double over head in your palms as a sob racks through your body. Eddie looked over to Steve and they share a look of sympathy.
"Baby, it's okay. I promise you probably just left it somewhere in the house." Eddie offered and Steve glared at him. That didn't do any better because the sobs only got louder. Steve reached over and popped Eddie on the side of the head.
'Ow Fuck' Eddie mouthed back to Steve.
'Quit fucking around' Steve mouthed back. They glare at each other before you sit back up and the return to normal, watching as you brush your years away and hair back out of your face. Tear stained cheeks, eyes puffy and red.
"I'm crazy aren't I, Steve?" You whimper pitifully bottom lip quivering. Clearly this whole thing and the movie had put some ideas into your head.
"No, baby. It's just the movie is all, got all in your pretty head that someone's after you." Steve's the first to comfort you arms wrapping around your small form still shaking and reeling from the whole situation. Eddie rubbed small circle on the small of your back in attempt to add extra comfort. "Come on, sweet thing, I think it's time for bed." You nodded and Steve moves to hook one arm beneath your knees standing up and carrying you bridal style up the steps and to your room.
Once there Steve laid your tired form down, helping you get all tucked in, leaving the lamp on just in case you woke up. Couldn't leave you on the dark alone that would just make it worse. Once satisfied with your slumbering state, steady breaths and unwavering movement of your chest he took his leave, shutting the door behind him.
"Is she sleeping?" Eddie asked in a hushed voice leaning against the doorframe at the bottom of the stairs, one leg propped on the wall.
"Yeah, didn't know that would get her so worked up. Shit." Steve sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair trying to figure out the whole situation.
"I checked, definitely a knife missing, but no sign of it anywhere." Eddie shrugs and Steve nodded following him into the kitchen, as she said, one knife had indeed been missing or misplaced. There was no telling. The two decided they would check the house while you slept. Hours went by as you slept and eventually the sound of tapping brought you from your slumber.
The tapping in question was coming from the window itself, maybe it was a tree branch, or a bird trying to get in. Whatever it was the sound had gotten quite annoying and peaked your curiosity, pushing the duvet cover off, and climbing out of the bed you pad over to the window. Leaning on the ledge you look through the glass and to the left sure enough there was a tree branch scrapping the side of the window. Shutting your eyes a sigh of relief escapes you, shoulder slumping as the source had been indemnified.
When you opened your eyes, your breath hitched, there in front of the window stood a figure. Ghost like mask void of any emotions or facial features, shrouded by a dark black rob that clung to him like darkness. A scream ripped through your throat as he held up the knife, your knife. Turning to run down the stairs and into the safety of someone's arms. You bump into Eddie first as the threshold of the steps.
He studies your terrified face and frowns. "Baby, what's wrong? You okay?" Your whole body is trembling as he pulls you to his chest. His hair brushing against your cheek, head resting on his shoulder finger fiisting handfuls of his jacket.
"I-I saw... something." You stammer.
"Saw what? What did you see?" Eddie asked, voice hushed, and soothing.
"A ghost or... or a person, like a mask. They had the knife from the kitchen." Eddie laughs and pulls back looking down at you.
"We found the knife after you went to bed. It was in the dishwasher." He assures you and smiles. "If you want I can show you." You nodded wanting to put this whole knife thing to rest. Eddie ushers you into the kitchen and leaves you in the doorway waltzing over to the dishwasher and pulling it open with the grand reveal, there it was sitting in the rack with other cutlery and silverware.
"I guess I didn't remember putting it anywhere, I'm sorry, Eds. I just... ever since this whole phone stalker thing started I haven't been myself." Eddie tilted his head to the side closing the dishwasher with his hips. "I've been getting these calls, same voice, same guy."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Eddie asked eyes sad like a lost puppy. You turn to sit on one of the bar stools and he follows waiting for you to explain.
"Ever since last week I've been getting calls. They're all different, but it's the same voice, so it's the same guy... I think. He goes from asking my name, asking what I'm wearing, to telling me he can see me...never threatened to kill me, but he told me to be careful." Once everything is explained Eddie begins to understand why you didn't say anything. Worried they might think it was one of the jocks from school teasing you. Just didn't want to drag anyone's name through the ground and Eddie sighed.
"Princess, I appreciate the sentiment but if someone is stalking you and looking at you, that's when you involve us and the cops. I don't care who it incriminates." He demanded shrugging his shoulders. As he spoke you noticed something. Where was Steve?
"Eds, where's Steve?" You asked gently. Ignoring what he was explaining. Eddie huffed clearly annoyed, but confirmed your worry.
"He went home. Said that his dad needed him or some shit. I offered to stay here and guard the castle." He joked. You actually crack a smile and a giggle falls from your lips.
"See! There's my princess!" Eddie chirps happily and you sigh in relief.
"Eds, can we watch TV? I don't think I can sleep right now." He nodded and steps away to go set up the couch again. When you walk into the kitchen you grab your phone off the charger, just as it starts ringing. Without checking the ID you answer, "Hello?"
"Thought you could just hang up on me huh? Avoided me to be with your boyfriend?" That voice, the familiar cadence, and insulting tone. It sounded almost familiar.
Tears prick in your eyes as Eddie looks over to you. "You. I told you to stop calling me!" There was a chuckle from the other side of the line.
"Not gonna happen, sweetheart. Here's what is going to happen.." There was a brief pause, "--you better start fucking running!" The voice went silent and the call ended. You couldn't move, feet stuck, and heart pounding. The phone fell from your grasp clattering to the floor. Eddie could see your worried state and rushed over to you.
"Baby, what did he say?" He grips your shoulders and gently shakes you.
"H-He said to start running." You reply looking Eddie in the eyes, soft brown orbs staring back at you filled with concern. The room felt eerily silent.
"Why would he--" Before Eddie could even finish, the porch door flung open a dark figure stepping through it. The same ghost like mask and dark black robe hugged his figure. The masked intruder tilted his head before dashing towards the both of you.
He turned back to look and he instantly shoved your forward by the shoulders. "Shit! Shit run!" Eddie was hot on your tail running with you towards the back door. You flung it open holding it for Eddie to pass through, but when he made it the both of you shut the door on the killer. You let out a pained grunt as he pushed his weight against the door. Eddie was strong, but you weren't not as built as him. The ghost figure pushed through the door and he encouraged you to keep running down the short corridor towards the garage door. When he turned to follow you the figure caught up with Eddie grabbing him by his hair and yanking him back to his chest. When you reached the door a voice interrupted you.
"Not so fast." It was them. The same voice taunting you endlessly over the phone day and night. Making life a living hell. He held Eddie by his hair knife pressed to his throat. His Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to swallow down his nerves. "Not unless you want me to gut your little boy toy." You whimpered eyes locking with Eddie.
"No-Oh no don't hurt him." You pleaded.
"What would poor old Stevie think if he found him gutted on your floor?" He trails the knife across his neck you watching in horror.
"Eddie.." You whimpered only able to watch.
"Fuck you." Eddie sneered. At this retort from the brunette the intruder proceeded slammed his head against the doorway and Eddie groaned falling to the ground in pain. The figure stalks over to you pressing the knife to your collarbone ever so gently. He chuckles when you let out a whine. "I've never seen you this scared." He cooed down at you. Hands pressed against the door as he trapped you against it chest flushed with yours.
Eddie was still reeling from the blow he received to his head, but he was alive. You look back into the dark eyes of the mask, endless, dark and void of any emotion. "Who are you?"
"Really wanna know?" You gulp down your fear and nod slowly. One of his gloved hands moves slowly careful not to startle you and pushes back the mask revealing an all to familiar face. Soft hazel orbs followed by familiar mop of chestnut-brown hair and those perfect boyish features. He chuckled when he saw your eyes go wide.
"S-Steve..?"
"Surprise, baby." He sings hands lowering to his sides. "Although I was really hoping you'd catch on sooner. God, thought I couldn't be obvious enough." He shrugs and you look back to Eddie who's grinning still on the ground.
"Actually it was me on the phone earlier." Eddie climbs up off the floor with ease, as if it never happened. He pulls a small device from his pocket and holds it up to his mouth, "Oopsie."
"Why? All of this to kill me?" You whimper eyes glassy. Steve tilts his head to the side and Eddie chuckled.
"Kill you, no." Steve shakes his head and leans down breath ghosting across your face, "Scare you, yes." He clarified.
"We thought it would be fun if you knew what we did in our free time. What our grand plan is." You look between them.
"What plan?"
"Fucking clean this town of all the filth that's in it. Get back at everyone who's wronged us. Who has hurt you." Eddie kindly explained. Approaching behind Steve and resting his head on his shoulder.
"So why scare me?" You asked now on the verge of tears.
"Fun." Eddie replied and in anger you reached up slapping him across the face. Steve let out a chuckle.
"Told you, Eds. Our girl is feisty." Steve reprimanded him and Eddie let out a string of colorful curses.
"Ow! Shit! Jesus H. Christ!" Eddie let out a pained groan and curled away from Steve. He smirked looking down at you.
"
"This is so much easier anyways. Besides I know how much you like getting scared. Remember that time in the haunted house." Your eyes widened and he grinned. "You do remember. Gets you all worked up doesn't it?" You shamelessly nod your head and he laughed softly.
"Knew it." His hand came to grab you by the hair guiding you out of the garage and towards the kitchen. "Now we're gonna play another game. It's called cat and mouse." Steve let go of you and watched as there was not a minute that passed before you took off running.
"Atta girl." Steve cheered turning to Eddie who was still in shock from the slap to his face. "Eddie get off your ass." Steve snapped grabbing him by the collar and shoving him forward.
TAGLIST: (LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA BE ADDED)
@carol-munson @rollergirlworld
#eddie munson#eddie munson x reader#steve harrington x reader#stranger things x fem!reader#steddie x reader#steddie x you#18 +#steddie x fem!reader#ghostface steddie#poly!ghostface#steddie x y/n#poly!ghostface steddie#ghostface x reader#joesph quinn as ghostface would end me personally
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Bug's RWBY Worldbuilding Series 2:
Have been cooking up ideas in my head about Aura/Semblances/Dust/Magic, and clarifications and differentiation for each.
So finally, Part 2, Dust, which will also need its own sub-parts. First, an overview of what it actually *is*, and then we'll get to the rest.
Part 1: Aura
Part 1-B: Active Aura
Part 2: Dust, A General Overview <- You are here.
Dust in this AU is now not some mysterious independent entity, it's a transmutation of minerals caused by a build-up of condensed Aura, to put it simply.
To be more detailed, it's a very slow accumulation of "spent" or "background" Aura within the mineral substrate. That's Aura after it radiates away from living things and loses most of its energy to "cooling". This Aura is very persistent in the atmosphere. Its rate of energy loss eventually hits equilibrium with the energy the system gains as new Aura is released, which creates a sort of constant, low level "background radiation" of Aura across the entire world.
This Aura need not be sourced from those with "active" Aura, as every living thing produces Aura particles, and "active" Aura is only the same thing on a much more energetic wavelength.
In essence, compared to normal light terminology, most lifeforms are infrared, and "active" Aura is like jumping up to ultraviolet. Meanwhile, "spent" Aura drops down to something like a radio wave.
To condense, it then needs a pre-existing, compatible mineral or Dust deposit that will slowly attract it and accumulate it, eventually being transmuted into Dust and then transmuting more pre-existing, surrounding mass into new Dust. Because the particles are ubiquitous, but individually extremely weak, this is the main reason that Dust accumulation takes a long time. ""Renewable"", but on a rather impractically slow scale.
A pre-existing deposit steadily increases in mass faster, proportional to available outer surface area, but for each given bit of surface area, maximum accretion rate is only about 1 cm of further buildup per century.
Minerals associated with biological sources also seem to be the most "compatible" with the initial transmutation into Dust, but in practice, this does not mean that limestone deposits become giant Dust expanses, or that all coal is replaced with Dust, or that nobody in Remnant knows what diatomaceous earth is.
That's because the invisible, uneven "pull" of so many different Dust deposits creates an endless "tug-of-war" that keeps background Aura constantly in flux, instead of always being free to settle and accumulate. Therefore, areas can be considered "saturated" with all the Dust they can form long, long before a full conversion.
This phenomenon on a worldwide scale also contributes to background Aura creating vast, worldwide "currents", "eddies", and "jetstreams", which also leads to different areas having different thresholds at which they become "saturated", and these thresholds being subject to gradual change over time.
Continuous Aura circulation is also the main reason why someone will not accumulate Dust in their bones as they age.
However, ancient remains can transmute, inspiring a great deal of this Remnant's spirituality and mythology. Stories of clams that develop "Dust pearls" are a dime a dozen, as well as tales of legendary creatures and nature spirits born with Dust for bones.
Beyond remains, perhaps there is a grain of truth to this...
Beautiful as they are, "Dust fossils" are only a rare minority of all fossils found. Not only can they become the nucleus of further Dust growth and become indistinguishable from regular Dust deposits, but many fossils end up in areas that are already too "saturated" with other deposits.
However, what kind of Dust you get can be rather complicated. It depends on the environment, depth/elevation, surrounding mineral strata, and the contributing Aura, meaning that it also depends a lot on the local *and* historical ecosystem of an area.
So, yes, because it's cold, modern Solitas is currently forming a lot of Ice Dust, but it ends up being much more dynamic and complicated than "Solitas cold, so just Ice Dust".
#rwde#mainly just to be safe#Bug's RWBY Worldbuilding Series#rwby worldbuilding#rwby#for some reason tumblr doesn't remember and autocomplete the specific tag i use for this so that's Fun
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Intro post (expect edits later)
/Hello everyone, I don't fully know how to word the information and lore for this AU of mine yet unfortunately, so here's a summary for now.
Summary: Everyone in the neighborhood and the factory is part of the Beta Welcome Home cast, therefore, we do not have any known Eddie or Sally yet. Eddie moves into this neighborhood later. Conveniently after Sunny goes ''missing''. But basically, the show got cancelled and the puppets all got thrown out of the studio. This led to them running away, which caused the public to take note of them being alive and such, thus making them have to flee a lot before finally finding a good empty area surrounded by a lot of grass. From there overtime, they have started building a neighborhood similar to the one they had in the studio. However, the neighborhood didn't have any color. The puppets no longer had any color at all. They felt hopeless, some felt bitter and betrayed, some lost all motivation to carry on. The lack of color was taking quite a toll on these puppets. As if things weren't bad enough, rainstorms and such were pretty common with sunny days hardly ever occurring. Julie during all this ended up temporarily leaving town in order to find her siblings a new place to live. They had no desire to stay in such a crowded neighborhood, being used to only having a dark quiet cave all to themselves. As they were searching, they ran across an old looking facility, Julie immediately seemed drawn to this facility for whatever reason, instantly going inside, making her siblings worry about her being in a place that's potentially falling apart and running inside after her. She found a note on the ground basically explaining what this factory was and what it could do. It could extract color from others while also restoring color to the surrounding area. The neighborhood was just close enough to the factory despite having some distance between it and the factory to fall under this category. Not only that, but it mentioned something about weather control as well. Julie was instantly excited, begging her siblings and Howdy once she went back to the neighborhood to help her fix this factory and get it running again, while Wally was sketchy of the factory from the beginning. However, it wouldn't be long before Julie realized what exactly had to be done, while this whole idea disturbed her at first, she was desperate to bring back color and happiness. She thought long and hard about what color the neighborhood should regain first. She settled on red. Sometime later in the neighborhood, Poppy was declared missing. most of the neighbors not knowing of her whereabouts at all. But Julie knows. Howdy knows. Her siblings know. Poppy had to unfortunately be grinded up to restore the color red.
Disclaimer: THIS ISN'T MEANT TO COPY RF WALLY IN ANY WAY I NEVER EVEN KNEW THE LORE FOR RF WALLY AND THAT AU TECHNICALLY GOT DISCONTINUED SO I AM ALLOWED TO DO THIS
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ST3 AU where Billy lives and becomes like Will....kind of
Okay, so I had this idea and I'm going to try and write it out as truthfully as possible. If anyone has a problem with any part of it, please GENTLY let me know(ie don't be an asshole, I'm not doing it intentionally) and I will change it accordingly. I would really like to keep the idea though, but if it upsets too many people, I'll take it down.
So, Billy lives after ST3 and because Neil decided to swan off or whatever, Steve offers his house for Billy to heal in whenever he gets out of the hospital.
His time in the hospital is long but he's eventually released into Steve's care, because Max and Susan live in a two bedroom trailer at the trailer park, he's trying to be nicer to Max anyways and Susan can't really afford anything better than that, so he stays with Steve.
Everything seems normal until, one night Steve hears screaming coming from Billy's room and runs in with his bat to find Billy curled up in the closet, crying into his knees.
He looks different, somehow, and he's acting childish even for Billy and Steve is trying to calm him down and Billy introduces himself.
"I'm William. What's your name? Why do you have a bat with spikes in it? Are you okay?"
Over the next year, Steve learns-and therefore the entire party learns-that Billy's brain fractured when he was possessed by the mind flayer and he's got multiple personalities. (I know it's Dissociative Identity Disorder but this is also the 80s).
There's Billy, the host personality.
William the eight year old who just wants to spend all his time swimming in Steve's pool. Steve has to constantly reapply his sunscreen so he doesn't get sun poisoning and he has to make sure William doesn't run into danger headfirst.
Pidge is an older woman, as far as Steve can tell. She's his Nan's age and she only comes out when Billy is anxious about something but feels safe enough that he just need to mother someone. She bakes a lot of cookies and is obsessed with the party.
Bill is one smooth motherfucker and he is constantly trying to get into Steve's pants and has very nearly talked Steve into hot, kinky sex before Steve snapped out of the haze he was in and turned him down. For now. After he's talked to Billy about all of this.
They only find out that Billy has powers when Vecna starts attacking people in ST4.
He's already torn up about Chrissy and he's worried sick about Eddie, because in his repeat of his senior year, he'd become friends with both of them and suddenly Chrissy is in the hospital in a coma and Eddie is missing, everyone blaming him for Chrissy's attack.
They find out about Thirteen because Vecna is attacking them and Billy is with Dustin and Eddie. Eddie makes a break to be a hero and Billy drops back into the Upside Down, furious. He's already stressed because Max is being used as bait and now Eddie is doing exactly what Steve told him not to do.
All Eddie knows it that he's being attacked by a flock of demobats and suddenly, they're gone.
He looks up to see Billy standing there, eyes somehow both dead and murderous at the same time and Dustin is flat on his ass, staring up at Billy in horror.
"What...just happened?" Eddie asks Dustin as the three of them make their way back to the trailer and Dustin stutters out.
"I'm not sure exactly. One second Billy was running towards you the next he's standing there with a hand out and the demobats imploded."
"Imploded?"
"I think? It looked like something swallowed them up and they were just gone."
So, yeah. Billy has a superpowered identity called Thirteen whose power is like a black hole.
He has DID. He has superpowers. He bonds with El. He falls in love with Steve(who loves him back.).
(Neil didn't swan off. He showed up to Billy's hospital room and, with only a hiccup of flickering light, vanished into the void when he was met with Thirteen instead of his "weak, crybaby son")
#stranger things#steve harrington#billy hargrove#harringrove#jonathan byers#nancy wheeler#robin buckley#eddie munson#chrissy cunningham#max mayfield#dustin henderson#dissociative identity disorder#superpowers
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Getting a look at your WIP folder is so interesting!
I couldn't decide if I wanted to ask about the LARP AU one or one of the philias or Hell Patrol 3 and therefore decided on "per our stoned conversation" solely because it sounds really really fun 😊
Hellooo! I tried to post this twice already and it wouldn't save so I hope this time works <3
This is a recent WIP, started in October just to have something to stretch my writing muscles (and so honestly the whole beginning scene doesn't make sense for the rest of it. Lots of editing to do!) and then I just started to absolutely love it. So this is definitely one of those ones that'll be posted.... one day LMAO
Under the cut - Rated M - Steddie
WIP Folder Ask Game
Eddie's spine does something where he curls in on himself for a second before he seems to pick himself up like he's got a puppet string attached to his head, and he nods.
"Right, that," he says, a visible swallow highlighting his throat. "Sooo…"
Steve waits, blinking slowly at him.
He seems nervous, had seemed straight up anxious on the phone, but given how Steve's lived through so much bullshit he's not about to start getting nervous himself unless there's a good reason for it.
The sudden realization that no matter what, he trusts Eddie - even if he knows the guy's a good liar - glimmers up in his chest like he's put some heavy metal fairy dust in there.
It's as thrilling as it is a big fucking relief.
"So," Eddie coughs awkwardly, scratching lightly at the corner of his mouth. "Do you remember the last time we got high? And how we both got really fucked up and it was all really cool and fun but there was… we had some uh… Conversations…"
Ohhh, okay. He's got this.
Steve tilts his head at him, the way he knows drives women crazy when he's being sweet even as he's offering them something that's probably the most sexually adventurous they'll ever get.
"Yeah, I remember," he says, his smile real but carefully practiced anyway. "Is this about the existential crisis thing? Or is it about the weird sex stuff thing?"
Eddie stares blankly at him, the little furrow coming back.
"What existential crisis thing? Am I forgetting a whole…" he waves his hand around, abrupt and a little agitated. "A whole crisis?"
Steve shakes his head, his smile breaking out it's perfected prison as he can't help but laugh. Eddie's cute in a way that forces him to be honest.
"Maybe? It wasn't really a crisis and more like wondering about space and stuff," he says, downplaying the extremely intense discussion they had about humanity and aliens and time. "It doesn't matter, what's up with the sex talk? If it was too much I can like, tone it down."
He's got the feeling that usually precedes a three-pointer, or the knowledge he just swam his fastest lap, two things he hasn't accomplished in ages, and it's good, it tells him that Eddie is so not bringing this up to tell Steve he was being too much.
Still, it's an easy offer and an easy out. Steve hopes he doesn't take it, but as much as he likes watching him squirm, he doesn't want him to be like legit uncomfortable.
"No it was…" Eddie sighs, looking up at the ceiling. "Good. It was really good."
Steve's heart skips through a sunny meadow.
"Yeah? I thought so too," he says, sitting up on his elbows, letting his shirt pull tightly over his chest. "I told you some things that I've only ever kept in my head."
Eddie's nerves disintegrate like sugar in water, the puppetmaster above him loosening the tight strings that held him tense.
"Yeah," he breathes, smiling down at him. "I've been thinking about it."
Steve could take a bite out of him; though judging by the new things he learned about him, that's more Eddie's thing. Maybe both of them could have it as a thing, he'd have to try it out.
"What've you been thinking?" He asks, satisfaction dripping hot under his skin. "Anything in particular?"
Eddie nods, his eyes catching on Steve's chest where his nipples push against the fabric of his shirt. Steve watches him lose himself for a moment, another heavy swallow breaking him out of his little trance, his eyes snapping back up to meet Steve's.
"Uh, yes," he chokes out, swallowing again. "A few things, and maybe we could talk about them all, but there's definitely something I… I honestly can't stop wondering about."
Steve's grateful that a "sorry" doesn't slip out of Eddie's mouth at all, because the last thing he wants is for either of them to get into the habit of apologizing to each other for shit that doesn't need it, but Eddie does seem like he's close to it.
"Tell me," he whispers, letting his hips tilt out casually as he adjusts the way he's laying.
Maybe the way he looks up at him through his eyelashes and smiles is laying it on thick, but it works. He knows it does, because Eddie's thighs tense up as his breath catches. It's nice that this works on men too, because he thinks if Eddie pulled it with him he'd be the one trying to be subtle as he clenched his fists at his sides, cheeks getting a little redder.
"I-I… Jesus Christ, okay," he says, tilting his head back with his eyes closed. "You said uh, you said you want to be used, like in a specific way, I…"
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Did Steve still take up some sort of role with the nightclub in this au? Bc if so I can just imagine him trying to do his job and then Eddie is there hovering in various forms like as a mist
Also imagining Eddie like pining for Steve's attention the same way nandor is for Guillermo this season while Steve Nancy and Robin desperately try to hide his transition is just a stage for so many hijinks
Also also do u think Eddie and Robin have little cat fights because even though Robin obviously doesn't want steve romantically or sexually she is still monopolizing Steve's time. Like do they have to have a custody agreement
sorry idk how i missed this! but yeah, i think that’s how him and nancy get so close & why she’d decide to turn him in the au… partially because of robin—and that’s a great cover for her not to have to acknowledge their friendship 😂—and partially because they get closer (& i think guillermo and nadja make an amazing unstoppable duo; we deserve MORE!!!!). BUT guillermo does the accounting & i don’t see that for steve. i think he’d take on either a more behind the scenes role doing some weird hunter security (but like, obvi the patrons don’t know that) OR nancy decides to go a weird direction w the nightclub & have exclusively human service staff & therefore makes steve bartend one night a week 😂 i like the second option bevause i think it opens way more opportunity for eddie to get jealous of the other vampires hitting on HIS familiar smh
yes, i’m LIVING for nandor’s desperation this season (THE NEWS EPISODE???? WHERE HE KEEPS ASKING WHERE GUILLERMO IS???? I AM OBSESSED!!!!!!!)
yeah, i kinda envision the eddie/robin friendship (do they have a platonic besties name yet lol) like the nandor/laszlo friendship where they are besties because they live in the same house and are vampires and are so dumb & funny, but there’s still that underlying jealousy between them and tension/rivalry. and i just love the idea that not only does robin monopolize steve’s time (their platonic soulmates in every universe, even one’s where robins a vampire and steve’s a human 😭), she also is constantly instigating eddie’s jealous spirals abt other vampires, abt nancy (she knows they would never lol), ABT ARGYLE???? omg i love it. she would be laughing at the steam coming out of eddie’s ears lmfao
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