1991 Anglo American Eyewear Frog Sunglasses (via: Pinterest/archive.org)

Reblog if I can go on your page and write stupid things in your ask box whenever I'd like to.

Holier Than Thou [E. Munson]

Summary: The preacher’s daughter has always been pure and unmistakably good, but meeting the leader of the Hellfire Club may change her ways.

Warnings: Swearing, religious manipulation

-

Y/n was unlike many of the girls her age. She didn’t fool around with guys or do anything so daring as cheat on a quiz. She had never been on a date with a guy due to her father watching her like a hawk and speaking against dating. Each time Y/n would ask her father about the dating rule, he would still insist she was too young, even at the age of seventeen. Despite how simple it may seem, being the preacher’s child was difficult. Church twice a week, nightly prayers, rants fueled by fire and brimstone, and daily bible reading made life exhausting. 

Y/n set her book bag down by her chair, prepared to listen intently to the class lecture just like she listened to her father’s sermons every Sunday. Today; however, the teacher did not begin a lecture but instead began writing names on the board. Two by two, names were written next to each other. Students gossiped amongst each other about what the names meant. Perhaps they were in trouble? Or perhaps they were going to receive a new seating chart. 

Y/n was perfectly happy with where she sat; the left side of the classroom in the second row. Next to her sat Ramona Andrews, a girl with a mediocre personality but enough kindness to leave Y/n alone. Y/n didn’t want to sit next to someone who would make fun of her or try to cheat off her homework.

“These are your assigned partners for the upcoming project. I will hand out the rubric for the project at the end of class, but right now I want to explain it to you.” Mrs. Weatherall spoke, her hair done in a bun which was beginning to unravel. 

As the teacher droned on, Y/n scanned the board for her name, praying she would have a good partner. 

Darn it, She thought as she read the name next to hers.

Eddie Munson. 

Just then, a body plopped down in the seat next to hers. Eddie himself sat to face Y/n, a smug smirk on his face. 

“Looks like we’re partners.” He smiled mischievously. 

“Looks like it.” Y/n forced a small smile, trying to hide her despair.

“I had to take this class last year and I still have my project leftover from that, so we could take a look at it if you want. Use it for inspiration.” He suggested in a surprisingly helpful manner.

“Oh, uh, sure. That would be great. What did you get on it?” Y/n responded.

“I got an F, but it was a high F! Right on the cusp of being a D.” Eddie announced proudly.

“Yeah, we can look at it. Maybe use it as a guide for what not to do.” Y/n mumbled under her breath, eyes fixating on the rings he wore. 

“Was that sass? Coming from the preacher’s kid?” Eddie grinned, teasing her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, I just-” Y/n sputtered, afraid she had been unkind.

“It’s okay, Y/n. I was just teasing you. I thought it was funny.” 

“Okay.” Y/n said softly, still feeling guilty for being rude.

“Lighten up. I’m not gonna bite your head off.” Eddie twirled a pencil between his fingers, doodling a little smiley face on their rubric. 

Y/n decided to start working, and to her surprise, Eddie wanted to help. Their project required them to create a presentation on one of the scientists of the 17th century, and their contribution to the scientific community. After flipping through the textbook Y/n made the decision to present on Robert Boyle, as Eddie insisted he didn’t care who they presented on. 

Eddie would write facts and snippets of information then slide the notecards to Y/n, who would subtly correct them while he wasn’t looking. By the time the bell rang they had a stack of notecards with incorrect information on some which Y/n could not fix in time. 

“Wicked work. We make a great team.” Eddie commented as he handed her the stack of notecards.

“See you tomorrow, Eddie.” Y/n murmured as she exited the room. 

Y/n was still a bit scared of Eddie, or rather, she was scared of how enchanting he was. The little jokes he made throughout the class had her resting the urge to giggle. His hair framed his face perfectly, even if it was horrendously frizzy. His round eyes seemed to see her far better than even the eyes of god had, and she couldn’t tell if she loved it or hated it.

Eddie was quite entranced with Y/n. He had always seen her walking through the hallways, quiet as a mouse. He thought she was the most gorgeous girl he had set eyes on, but refrained from speaking to her all these years because of her father. Eddie knew the pastor disapproved of people like him; heavy metal listeners and DND players with long hair. He knew she would never go for him, but he still felt his heart beat a little faster when he thought of her.

-

Y/n shivered as she walked through the parking lot, the brisk air nipping at her skin. She got frustrated with herself for not bringing a warm jacket. Her house was a ten minute walk from the school, and she began to walk begrudgingly when a large van pulled up beside her. Loud music rang out from inside and in the driver’s seat sat the one and only Eddie Munson. 

“Do you need a ride?” He offered.

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I don’t want to inconvenience you. It’s only a ten minute walk.” Y/n replied, despite truly wanting to get in. The cold air still stirred around her, penetrating her cardigan.

“It’s not an inconvenience, and you’re shivering. Come on, I don’t want to be responsible for you getting hypothermia.”

Y/n contemplated her options for a few seconds, then opened the door and hopped into the passengers seat. It was warm in the van and Eddie turned down the music as she entered. 

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“It’s the least I could do. You’re the one helping me get a good grade on this project.”

“You’re helping. You’re doing a good part of the work.” Y/n replied, admiring the way his rings glinted in the light.

“You’re the one correcting my work.” 

“You saw that?” Y/n cringed internally, wishing he hadn’t seen it.

“Yep. You write pretty fast, but you’re not as discreet as you think you are.” Eddie smirked.

“What’s this song?” Y/n asked after a moment of silence. 

“This song, my dear, is Highway to Hell by ACDC.” Eddie tapped the radio.

“Oh.” Y/n was clearly taken aback by the name, not expecting to hear a song with such a name.

“Why do you ask?” Eddie wondered.

“I don’t know. Kinda catchy I guess.” Y/n mumbled the last part, ashamed to admit that she enjoyed the song. Songs like that were never allowed in her house. When they did play music, it was gospel music and light-hearted tunes from years ago. 

“What was that last part?” Eddie questioned.

“I said it was kinda catchy.” Y/n repeated, her head hung abashedly.

“No way. No fucking way! The preacher’s kid likes Highway to Hell?” Eddie laughed in disbelief.

“I never said I liked it.” Y/n protested, but Eddie wouldn’t have it.

“You didn’t have to say that. You said it was catchy, which means you like it.” Eddie smiled widely. 

“Please don’t tell anyone, Eddie.” Y/n pleaded, horrified that her father would find out.

“Oh, I’m gonna tell everyone, princess.” Eddie leaned closer to her as he smirked evilly. He noticed her eyes getting wide with anxiety, her eyebrows furrowed in distress at his words. “I’m kidding, Y/n. No one will know. Our secret, okay?” Eddie soothed Y/n, holding out his pinky to her.

“Promise?” Y/n looked up at him with big doe eyes, still rattled from the image of her father finding out that she liked such a vulgar song.

“Promise.” Eddie spoke. With that, Y/n took his pinky in hers, holding it there for a few seconds before releasing it. 

“Thanks again for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Y/n said as she got out of the van which was parked haphazardly in front of her house.

“If I decide to come to class tomorrow.” Eddie spoke, making Y/n give him a slightly agitated look. “I’ll be there tomorrow, Y/n.” Eddie sighed, detesting the idea of going to school. 

-

Y/n quietly shut the door to her house, setting her book bag down by the coat rack which stood next to the door. 

“Who drove you home?” Her father asked harshly as he rounded the corner.

“Just someone from school.” Y/n murmured, eyes looking at the floor to avoid her father’s iron gaze. 

“Who from school? I want a name.”

“Melissa. Melissa Hart.” Y/n felt bad for lying, but she knew he would never approve of someone like Eddie driving her home. “She’s in my English class.”

“Very well then. I’ve heard she’s a kind girl. Her mother comes in to pray on Sundays.” He commented, his eyes still boring into her.

“She is very nice.” Y/n desperately tried to end the conversation, wanting nothing more than to escape upstairs. At last, her father left the room and she darted to her bedroom. Y/n slumped down on her bed, her conscience beginning to gnaw at her for lying to her father. She had to, she told herself. She had to or her father would have gone berserk for no reason. Still, despite her guilt she could not shake the interest that she had in Eddie Munson. 

from Tiny Beautiful Things, adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos. 

hey! if you're taking requests, would you consider writing something for eddie munson? something with a little mutual pining??

*comes out of hiding, writes an eddie fic, disappears again*

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader word count: 2.7k summary: during a heat wave, you find yourself at eddie's trailer. turns out the two of you aren't as over one another as it would seem. warnings: (+18 MINORS DNI): mature themes, adult language, drug use / mentions of drug use, sexual tension & implied smut, use of pet names (princess), allusions to battling addiction, parental issues (deadbeat dad), a little angst, a little fluff - unedited - pls let me know if i missed anything!

The summer season this year was a lot hotter compared to last.

Starting as soon as mid-May, it brought with it harsh humidity, sweltering sun, and a drought comparable to the 1936 North American heat wave. It was the sort of hot weather that could quite possibly boil the blood of those who did not or could not find a way to cool down. And the news reported it was unfortunately only supposed to get worse.

You, like pretty much everyone in Hawkins, found the heat unbearable.

A week ago you sat in your room with the blinds closed, but sadly now that wasn’t an option because the air conditioning at your house broke and your dad was too conked out on the sofa to even look at it. Normally you would call someone to fix it instead and that is what you wanted to do this morning, however when you reached into your wallet you were greeted with a big fat nothing. 

Actually, no. There was a note.

‘Add it to my tab. Love, dad.’ — Well, that explained where he got the money to get himself in the state he was in.

At that point in the afternoon, anywhere you could have remotely hidden from the sun was unattainable, especially and most regrettably the community pool which was overcrowded with stupid little kids. That is why you ended up where you did. Definitely not where you wanted to be, but in your own defence you were on the verge of a heat stroke and not thinking clearly. 

With your index finger bent ever so slightly, you knocked three times on the trailer door. 

You could hear a slight commotion inside, from abrupt coughing to shuffling footsteps and random clanking. When the door swung open, you caught a whiff of the reason why.

“y/n—” Eddie choked out, clearly surprised to see it was you standing on his doorstep. Surprised yet oh so very relieved.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Eddie stepped to the side, allowing you to squeeze past. His gaze stuck to your frame, following you around his living room until you reached the rattling A/C unit at the window. 

“I- eh, I’m sorry about the smell,” he uttered, running a hand through his hair, “I-I wasn’t expecting company.”

You hummed in response. Or perhaps you said it was okay. Eddie couldn’t really tell since his mind was working a little slower than usual (due to the activity he was partaking in not even a minute ago).

Although, he was alert enough to note how your whole body gradually relaxed as the somewhat fresh air blew against your skin. All of a sudden, and only for a split second, you looked incredibly at peace. 

Eddie bit on the inside of his cheek, fighting back a smile. “You okay there, princess?”

Wait. Princess? Princess… What the fuck? He shut his eyes momentarily and clenched his jaw, hating his big mouth for letting the word slip. Like, yeah, he still thought about you sometimes, but it’s not what he called you anymore. It wasn’t his nickname to use anymore.

“Mhmm, better now,” you mumbled, seemingly unfazed by the moniker (you could argue the heat messed with your receptiveness), before shifting in your spot to look at the curly haired teen. “So much better.”

With the A/C now behind you, there was a slow gust of wind blowing through your top. The nickname debacle running through Eddie’s mind faded as quickly as it occured. Fuck— princess. How in the hall was he going to concentrate now?

“Good, goodie, good.” He bopped his head and licked his lips.

Oh sweet lord. He was doomed.

“Sooo… to what do I owe the pleasure?” Eddie inquired, plopping down on the couch.

You couldn’t help but notice how his t-shirt raised in the process, revealing his lower abdomen. It was your turn to crumble. God he was always so fucking hot. With his impeccable facial structure, perfect smile, big doey eyes that literally made you melt, long fingers, soft touch—

You cleared your throat, eyes lingering a little too long on his exposed stomach. 

He noticed. He liked it. Fuck. Not surprisingly Eddie always liked that kind of attention from you, and he secretly thought it was a real shame he was no longer on the receiving end of it. Not as often as he used to be anyway.

“The air con at my place broke overnight and, well, I don’t know, I just couldn’t think of anywhere else to go,” you admitted, meeting his big curious eyes.

He extended an arm to gesture around the trailer.

“Mi casa es su casa.”

You smiled at him. “Thanks, Munson.”

Anytime… princess, he thought. Or wait, did he say that out loud? Lord. He needed to get a grip. There was nothing there, with you, not anymore.

Honestly, the situation between the two of you was odd to say the least.

Simply put, the curly haired teen used to be your dealer. Well, actually, your dad’s dealer. You did the grunt work while your old man reaped the benefits. It was a strange arrangement, even for Eddie’s standards, but you clearly had your reasons and he wasn’t one to pry. You appreciated that about him. He kept his nose out of other people’s business. These days in Hawkins, it was hard to come by folks that stuck to their own shit.

You actually ended up appreciating a lot of things about Eddie. And the feeling was definitely mutual.

The secret meet ups in the woods or at his trailer blossomed into a friendship, then into something more, and then into complete shit. Moral of the story, never do your dad’s dealer - that’s what you would say. Eddie, on the other hand, has very little regrets. The only one being letting you move on so easily.

You ran a hand across your forehead, wiping away any reminiscent of sweat. Bopping your head back slightly, lips ajar, the cool air from the A/C doing wonders for your sticky skin.

Eddie watched you attentively. With every passing second he felt less aware of his surroundings, completely losing himself in you as his mind now raced with thoughts, (memories), too filthy to say aloud.

Once upon a time he would have been able to leap across the room and plaster his lips against yourss then lick the trickling sweat down your neck, down, down, down, as your fingers tangled themselves amongst his curls, tugging lightly when his tounge reached— Fuck, he wanted to scream.

“Can I ask you something?”

Yes, yes, thank you. Eddie straightened his form on the sofa, trying to look as normal as possible, right arm landing across the cushions. 

“Anything, princess.”

Princess.

“Did you sell stuff to my dad recently?”

The question caught him off guard. Shit, maybe silence was better.

He cleared his throat. “Uhm, not since you asked me not to.”

“Oh,” you hastily exhaled a sigh of relief. 

There was a brief moment of silence during which you moved away from the window and glided across the room to sit next to him. Sinking into the spot, your head unintentionally rested against Eddie’s arm. The sudden contact caused his heart to skip a beat, but he couldn’t think about that right now.

“Is he—” Eddie began but you knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Yeah,” you cut off and looked up at him, “hence the broken unit at my place.”

His brown locks bounced lightly as he nodded, a little slower than intended because the scent of whatever perfume you had put on that morning just hit him. Combined with the heat (and also the drugs), well, full transparency, it took all the power he had not to lean across and kiss you.

Bad timing, bad timing, bad timing.

“You know, I-I could take a look at it for you,” Eddie offered, trying to literally think about anything different to how close you currently were, “if you’d like?”

“No way,” you protested, “You’re in no state right now. Plus I’d have no way to pay you for your troubles since dad took the cash out of my wallet.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I am in tip top shape,” Eddie defended and you couldn’t help but scoff.

“Munson, you are one joint away from—”

He lifted his left hand, almost pressing a finger to your lips. “Unless you’re about to say - Munson, you are one joing away from a killer nap - I don’t want to hear it.”

You laughed while rolling your eyes. “That only proves my point.”

He pressed his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “Cheeky one, aren’t ya? I invite you into my home, let you use my air conditioning, and in return you just poke fun at me. I’ll be honest, princess, that’s a little rude.”

With that, he hopped up onto his feet and stumbled towards the fridge. You sat up a little wanting to make a snarky comment in response, but as you watched him manoeuvre around the small open kitchen, no words came to mind.

You watched as he reached for two glasses and inspected them under the minimal natural light to determine whether they were clean enough to drink from. Watched as he swayed on his heel, turning towards the fridge. Watched as he leaned slightly on the door of the appliance, head inside the cool interior, rummaging for something to drink.

A smile circled your lips. There was no denying that Eddie had this calming aura about him. Everything he did, even the smallest and most menial tasks, were soothing your soul. Once upon a time you would have thought this was love.

“Eddie?” 

(God. The way his name fell from your lips was heavenly.)

“Yes, princess?”

Fuck sake. He really needed to put an end to that shit.

“Why did you stop selling to my dad?”

His head popped up at the question, attention once again landing on you. “I already told you. You asked me not to.”

You lifted your legs off the floor and onto the couch, bringing your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. “Right, but, well, I guess what I want to know is why did you listen? Like, we weren’t anything at that point and I would’ve thought business is business, or whatnot.”

Eddie swallowed his breath. Partially because of where this conversation was heading, however primarily because you pretty much just flashed him. Holy shit. Unintentionally, obviously, but he saw your panties clear as day. Dark green. Lacy. New. Hot. 

Nope. No. Fuck. Fuck.

What was going on with him? Navigating his thoughts this whole afternoon was considerably harder than one of his D&D quests. He could have sworn he was over you, and then you waltzed in here with your short skirt and sweet voice, he was hooked yet again.

Well, one could argue that for a blissful moment Eddie forgot the circumstances of your relationship, hence the trouble in differentiating in how he should and shouldn’t act around you right now. Because you weren’t really exes, you have to officially call yourselves something while you’re seeing each other to classify as an ‘ex’. You weren’t really friends, not anymore. Maybe just acquaintances or two individuals with a past.

God, he was an idiot. The two of you had so much potential. Why did he ever let it get to this point?

“I mean you don’t have to tell me,” you babbled, breaking him away from his thoughts.

Eddie straightened his form and closed the fridge, a chilled bottle of Coca Cola in his hand. He proceeded to then split the contents between the two glasses before making his way back towards the couch. He gave you one glass, making sure to alter his fingers when you reached over to ensure there was no accidental touch (because he simply wouldn’t be able to handle that right now).

He once again made himself comfortable beside you and took a big gulp of the drink, smacking his lips in the process.

Eventually, he looked at you again. “The truth?” 

You nodded an unspoken ‘please’ and Eddie clicked his tongue in response before nodding slowly.

“The day you asked me, you just looked really defeated, you know?”, he began, “Tired and upset. I’ve never seen you like that before so I figured it must’ve been important that you asked and that I listened.”

He shrugged before continuing. “Couple days later your dad came to the trailer, he was definitely on something, and kinda seemed like he hadn’t slept in days, so I told him supply was low and he never came around again.”

Pause. 

“I-I just pictured your face from when we last spoke and it hurt, you know?” 

At that point, the two of you were clinging onto your drinks and staring blankly ahead. He wondered if he perhaps said too much and you wondered whether he would’ve been as honest if he wasn’t high.

Mostly however, mostly you were glad Eddie still gave you reasons to appreciate him more.

“He’s on probation,” you stated eventually, “That’s why I always got the drugs for him. If he got caught… I know he’s no exemplary father figure but he’s still my dad, and he can’t be my dad if he’s rotting in jail.”

Eddie glanced at you. “I didn’t know.”

“Not exactly something I advertise,” you pointed out and took a sip of your drink. Swallowing the fizzy gulp, you shrugged. “Sure, life is shit, and then you die.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh. One of those loud, genuine, and hearty chuckles. He didn’t mean for it to happen, truly, and again he blamed the devout friend still actively seeping through his system.

‘Life is shit, and then you die’, he swore that quote was going to be his next tattoo. Might even ask you to design it. He figured you’d like that. Brand him as your own. That’s all he ever wanted to be. Yours.

He thought he could only hope there was still a chance, but judging by how a smile broke your features as he laughed, and any tension you were feeling about the conversation you were having melted away, he had nothing to worry about. It was in your eyes, in the way your whole face changed from concern to joy. You wanted to be his too.

SImply a matter of time for forgiveness to kick in.

“You know,” Eddie began as the laughter died down, “I’m glad your A/C broke.” 

On instinct, you smacked his arm. “Hey!”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me, princess!” Eddie exclaimed. “You’re seriously not even a little bit glad you ended up here today?!”

You shook your head dramatically and teased, “You’ll never hear those words from me, Munson.”

He scoffed and waved his arm, pointing to the door. “Then off you go, please, go back to your stuffy home while I enjoy a killer nap in my cool and cosy bed.”

Not wanting to be the first to break during this little charade, you handed him the half-drank Coca Cola glass and stood up. Your skirt capered with every step, Eddie’s eyes burning into the back of your legs. Was he really about to let you walk out of here?

“Always a pleasure, Eds.”

(The answer was no).

“Wait, wait, wait.” He hastily placed the glasses on the floor, almost causing a massive spillage, and hurried towards you.

“You don’t gotta say anything,” he chimed, stopping right in front of you, “In fact, my bed, as you already know or at least hopefully remember, is big enough for the two of us—”

The air suddenly felt tighter, as if the unit at the window suddenly stopped working, even though you could still very much hear it rattling.

“— And I am known to make exceptions,” Eddie noted before leaning in a tad bit closer with a sudden boost of confidence, “for the right people.”

For a split second, his gaze shifted to your lips and everything faded into the background. The sound of your heart thumping overpowered the surroundings and all you could think was how if he kissed you right now, you wouldn’t even be mad.

Instead his fingers grazed briefly against yours.

“Let’s go take a killer nap, princess.”

-

main masterlist | add yourself to a tag-list

so not ready to turn 20 in ten days

wish i had a friend in this town

one of the most important things, perhaps the most important thing I have learned in my life is that nice people can fuck each other up in monstrous ways. people can be bone deep kind and loving and self reflective and still lash out under pressure. people can be earnestly neighbourly and charitable and hospitable and generous and still find themselves in situations where they become selfish. people can be well meaning and easygoing and gregarious and hold deep seated opinions that turn them into vicious little bullies under the right conditions. nobody is just one thing, and nobody stays one way. every person is a kaleidoscope and they will surprise you. you will surprise yourself. it's not a warning and it's not a judgement and it's not an excuse, and it's certainly not a reason to stop trying or to stop trusting. it is just a fact.

Dreamers — Eddie Munson

eddie munson masterlist

summary: after returning from the upsidedown and almost dying to do so, eddie needs to tell you how he feels

a/n: i don’t know what this is, i just know it’s not good. but it’s written so might as well put it out lmao

content: mentions of eddie’s near death, fluff, gender neutral reader, reader has a sibling, uh acquaintances to lovers (if that’s a trope)

“Y/N Y/L/N!” You didn’t notice the shout from behind you, too entranced by your Walkman to hear. You just kept walking on your normal route home. But you didn’t make it far before a soft tap on your shoulder and an even softer “Hey” brought you back to reality. It was, however, not a very soft transition, the sudden touch causing you to jump away and pull your headphones off,

“Holy fucking shit,” your eyes moved up from their gaze on the sidewalk to see who your “attacker” was and let out a sigh of relief, “Munson. Jesus fucking Christ, you scared the shit out of me. Do not sneak up on people when they’re walking alone.” He took a small step back from you and scratched at the back of his neck as he avoided your eyes,

“Yeah, that was an oversight on my part. But, to be fair, I did shout your name a bunch. It’s not my fault you weren’t listening.”

You sighed and looked him over, noticing the slight heave of his chest that he tried to steady and the small beads of sweat pricking at his nose. It was summer, but Eddie refused to wear anything besides a t-shirt, long jeans, and at least one jacket. It also probably didn’t help that running was never really his thing. And he just got out of the hospital.

“Sorry.” He scoffed,

“Nothing to be sorry about, babes. It’s good you carry your music with you. You know, to stay safe.”

“Uh-no. No, I don’t know. If anything you just proved my parents right, it makes me vulnerable to kidnappings.”

They especially were worried about you being kidnapped by Eddie. While he might’ve technically been cleared by the police, murder accusations tend to linger. Especially when devil-talk was used to fear monger the overwhelmingly Christian town of Hawkins Indiana.

But you knew Eddie. Not well, but you knew he was just another kid like you, someone who dreaded school and never really fit in. He was no murderer, no kidnapper, just a bit eccentric at most.

“Right.” He felt like an idiot. Of course you didn’t know music was the only thing that could save you from a Vecna attack. You didn’t even know who Vecna was. He wasn’t even sure he knew who Vecna — Harry? 001? — was outside of his D&D campaign. “I’m not trying to kidnap you.”

Oh how he wished he could hit his head into the pavement. But, he was pretty sure that would just make everything worse.

“I appreciate that.” It wasn’t the most reassuring sentence, but it calmed his nerves nonetheless. He hasn’t seen you since before the whole Vecna mess and had no clue what you’d think of him now. You were always friendly with him before but a nagging voice in his head told him that it was more out of pity than anything else. “Is there… something you wanted?” His eyes widened and he stood up straighter,

“Yeah! Yeah, there is.”

Steve’s voice rang out in his mind, Just tell them. Worst thing that could happen is that they don’t feel the same. Eddie argued with that, because that was the worst thing that could happen to Steve The Hair Harrington, not Eddie The Freak Munson. What could happen is that you laugh in his face, sneer at him, accuse him of trying to persuade to join a cult. Besides, Steve was pretty used to rejection at this point. Eddie never told anyone that he likes them.

But he almost died. He almost died knowing that he never even tried to tell you how he felt. And you deserved to know that someone loved you as strongly as he did because this godforsaken school couldn’t see what was special about you. You were never really there, always consumed by music or a book, a lot of the times, both. He didn’t think you heard what they called you. A nerd who didn’t have a life, someone who couldn’t make friends, an antisocial loser. But one day while you were sitting at the edge of Hellfire’s lunch table, far from the group and head in a book, some asshole walked past and scoffed at the sight of you,

“Can’t even make friends with the freaks.”

He saw your body lightly shake, thinking that you were about to cry but instead you lifted your head, watching the person walk away and laughing. Someone just insulted you yet you laughed at them. You were laughing to yourself and it was one of the best things Eddie’s ever heard. If only Henderson could’ve shut up for a second so he could hear better.

Yeah, you were something special. A dreamer, Eddie thought. Eddie was too, just in a different way. He constantly dreamt about leaving this town and getting as far away as possible. But your dreams were already taking you away. Sure, you were here, but mentally you were in whatever world you wanted.

You deserved to know these things. And what he considered a selfish part of him also just wanted to get it off his chest, maybe even hear that you felt the same way.

“What is it?”

“I, uh, I wanted to tell you that…” You’ve never seen him for a loss of words. You placed a hand on his shoulder and caught his eyes with yours,

“Hey, it’s okay. If you don’t wanna say it, don’t feel pressured t—”

“I really like you,” he blurted it out, immediately feeling much better. It didn’t matter what happened next anymore, he got to say it. You blinked a few times, questioning your ears before you asked,

“Say that again? Didn’t quite catch it.”

Okay, so maybe it did matter what happened next.

Somehow any confidence evaporated from his body.

“Can you help me?” You knew that wasn’t it. He drastically changed his sentence. You didn’t doubt yourself any longer. You knew what he said. “I want to tell you about my planned D&D campaign, see what you think. You seem like you’d be really good with that,” his eyes flickered to your school bag, knowing that it held at least two fiction books in there, one just incase you finished the first. You smiled,

“Yeah. I’d love too. It’s pretty cool, you know. Being Dungeon Master. You’re like an author of your own chose your adventure story.”

He nodded, not sure what to say to that. You pulled a pen out from your bag, taking his hand into yours and looking to his eyes. He gave you another nod, a smaller one this time. You wrote your number on the back of his hand,

“It’s normally busy after school — my sibling’s got too many friends to count — but try whenever.” When you let go, he looked at his hand, immediately skipping over the seven digits to the words written underneath. I really like you.

Those words were seemingly weaved into his soul now.

Now it was your turn to be shy, not even waiting to cap your own before staring to walk backwards,

“Talk to you later.” He nodded, only looking up to catch you right before turning around,

“Yeah, later.”

Soon, his dreams would change. And they’d come true too, a future full of rock and tours and you, by his side with matching tattoos of “I really like you,” his almost exactly like it was in pen and yours with a wonderfully sharp scrawl.

———

likes and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

taglist info

During band introductions Elvis accidentally knocks over his Gatorade by pulling on the microphone cord. Las Vegas, Nevada. August 12, 1970. Dinner show

did that elvis fic called tempt by the hour just completely disappear? i wanted to reread it and i can’t find it anywhere