#glassy eyes hazy afternoons pt4

[whoahoney]

glassy eyes, hazy afternoons pt. 4

Eddie Munson x anxious!stoner!Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Summary: Reader and Eddie navigate the complexities of interacting with a new crush at school

Content Warnings: 18+, fem!reader, adult content/language, suggestive remarks, recreational/medicinal drug use, smoking and driving (DON’T DO THAT), pining, fluff, angst, mentions of trauma, descriptions of anxiety, intrusive thoughts

A/N: This took too long for me to put together but now I know exactly where to go from here! I hope you guys love Eddie with a shy stoner reader bc it’s my favorite 🫠🤍

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Y/n felt ready to face the day Monday morning, practically beaming after the realization set in that she would get to see her friend, Eddie.

Eddie wasn’t a regular friend, she’s finding. She spent the previous night staring at the ceiling and contemplating how or if she should approach him at school.

‘Should I go tell him good morning before class? Is that too eager?’

‘What if I walk up to him and he pretends to not know me?

No, he wouldn’t do that, he’s too sweet.’

‘I mean, we trauma dumped on each other but what if he’s embarrassed?

‘Maybe I should wait for him to approach me? What if he never says anything? He did say he’d see me on Monday…’

Y/n combatted the negative thoughts whirling around her head the best she could, trying to stay logical in order to keep from getting worked up.

On her walk to school she debated on lighting a joint to take the edge off of the sour stomach ache brewing, but didn’t want to chance showing up to school and drawing more attention to herself with the smell.

Besides, she preferred to smell good especially for Eddie.

As soon as she crossed the threshold of first period, Y/n’s eyes locked with Chrissy’s and the next realization hit that she never called her friend like she promised.

Y/n scrambled to her seat, Chrissy crossed her arms and raised a knowing brow, just to make the shy girl sweat a little, “You’ve got some explaining to do, Missy!“

“I’m so sorry, Chrissy, I ended up having a pretty crazy weekend and it slipped my mind!“

Y/n’s shoulders relaxed at the sound of Chrissy’s carefree laughter. “Well maybe I’ll forgive you if your story’s good enough, tell me everything!” Chrissy propped her arms up on the small stack of books in front of her, leaning closer and resting her chin on her hand.

“So I ended up getting super stoned with Eddie after school on Friday, and I ended up going home and passing out after,”

“Wait, you and Eddie, like, hung out after you made the deal?” She whispered suggestively.

Y/n cheeks warmed up as she fumbled for the right answer. “I mean, yeah—we smoked and talked about music and stuff, you know, typical friendly topics and activities!”

Chrissy rolled her eyes and poorly suppressed a smirk as she waited for Y/n to continue. “Then my brother surprised us by coming home from college for the weekend, then he talked me into going out and we met Robin Buckley, from band? She’s really fun! ” Y/n nodded for emphasis, Chrissy mirroring her thoughtfully, trying to place the name to the face.

“And her friend Steve was so nice, he and my brother.. were fast friends!” Y/n scolded herself for including unnecessary information. Chrissy didn’t catch Y/n’s buffer and lit up at the mention of her old classmate. “Steve Harrington? I love him! He’s such a sweetie and threw the best parties.” She urged.

“They invited us to the Hideout to listen to some bands play, right? Well you’ll never guess who we saw play.” Y/n’s eyes and demeanor brightened as the story started to shift back to Eddie.

Chrissy’s eyes narrowed as she twirled the end of her blonde ponytail in thought. “I have no idea, was it someone famous?” She cocked her head in confusion.

Y/n shook her head with a smile before whispering, “Eddie! His band—“

“Corroded Coffin, holy shit! I completely forgot about them! They’ve been playing since middle school!” Chrissy whispered in excitement.

“Yes! They were really good, too! And then Eddie came over and we all hung out for a while,”

“Y/n! Thats so a date!”

“It wasn’t a date—“

“Bullshit, Y/n,” Chrissy sat up with a knowing gleam in her eye. “Did you hang out alone?” She crossed her arms against her chest again, silently challenging Y/n.

“Well, not at first, but then he asked if he could drive me home, so we—“

“He asked if he could drive you home??” She whispered urgently, an expert gossiper, the ultimate girls’ girl.

“…yes.”

“Then what happened??”

“Well, then we went to the park.” Y/n uttered, her will to share information seizing up. Chrissy’s face scrunched in non-judgmental bewilderment.

“The park?” She scratched behind her ear in thought. “The park.” Y/n confirmed. “Is there a reason you went to the park, or..?” Chrissy asked, still not understanding.

“No, we just ended up there, and then we played on the swings for a while,”

“Did he swing with you?” She asked incredulously.

“Yeah, then he jumped out of the swing and nearly scared me to death, I thought he was gonna break something! And then we went to my house—“

“—You guys hung out at your house at night??” Chrissy couldn’t help but interrupt again, she lived for stories like these, and this was much more interesting than the other encounters her friends droned on about at lunch. This was the good stuff—the romantic spontaneity and pining that existed in only movies, not the stale and repetitive plans everyone chases after and brags about on Monday.

Y/n felt the warmth of her nervous flush ascend her neck, a tight smile adorning her face and managed a nod. “And what did you do there?”

“We just smoked and listened to music…” Y/n whispered slowly to avoid chastisement from the teacher beginning the morning announcements.

“Still cute, I don’t see how you aren’t seeing everything I am! How late did he stay?” She asked passively as she copied the beginning of the hour vocabulary words from the board.

Y/n’s head was once again emptied of thoughts or ways to explain their unprompted sleepover without making it sound so much more than it felt like. “Well, that’s the thing…we kinda fell asleep.”

Chrissy’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the revelation, her mouth opening and closing like an alarmed goldfish. Before Chrissy could give her two cents, Y/n continued, “But that doesn't mean it was a date or romantic or that we did anything! Cause we didn’t.” The last part came out sounding more disappointed than she’d meant, the sadness pricked at Chrissy’s ears.

“He didn’t make a move?” Chrissy whispered in disbelief. Y/n shrugged her shoulder and turned back to her notebook as her eyebrows furrowed.

“I mean, I can’t be sure. There were moments I thought he was getting closer but I—“

“Closer how?!” Chrissy whispered louder than intended, which caught the teachers attention, “Ladies! I trust your conversation is stimulating, however, unless it revolves around the current vocabulary, I don’t want to hear about it.”

Chrissy and Y/n flushed and muttered soft ‘sorry’s, tabling the topic for later.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Don’t think we’re done talking about this, you owe me a phone call.” Chrissy muttered to Y/n on their way into the hall. “I’ll call you after dinner, if that’s cool?” Y/n asked as Chrissy eased in the direction of her next class, throwing up an eager thumbs up in response before disappearing amongst the swarm.

On her journey to the other side of the school, she passed the familiar faces she saw every day, most looking through her or not even at her. But she found more friendly faces today, the ones belonging to the friends she’d made Friday.

Y/n never thought of herself as someone that got excited when someone waved at her in the hall; an act so simple she’d never paid attention to it, but when Dustin and Mike passed her in the hall and sent her genuine smiles and friendly greetings, she sent a beaming smile back at them, her cheeks heating up at the flattery.

Then the same feeling happened again when Robin eagerly saved her a seat in art, her heart could’ve leapt straight out of her chest.

‘They like me! Holy shit, they really like me!’ She celebrated. ‘Maybe I am more than bearable.’

“Animals, all of them! Two people tried to take your chair even though I said it was taken, can you believe that? The audacity of humans never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, how was the rest of your weekend?” Robin asked eagerly.

“Not a lot happened after Saturday,” Y/n sighed as she dug through her bag for her sketchbook to work on the ‘Still-life of the Day’

“Sam and I watched those movies! We really liked them.” Y/n nudged Robin’s elbow with her own as Robin's face lit up at the compliment. “Ahh! That’s exactly why I do what I do.” She nodded thoughtfully.

Y/n giggled and continued, “Sam went back to college, but he’s coming back in two weeks! We should hang out again.” Robin nodded vigorously in agreement. “That’d be awesome! Steve can’t stop talking about him, he called me yesterday and couldn’t stop bringing him up! If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s got a crush—“

“Ahahahaha!” Y/n’s nervous and forced laughter fell from her unexpectedly. Robin quirked a curious eyebrow at her. “I mean, was I picking up the wrong vibe? Or was something like…happening between them?” Robin’s eyes widened with intrigue, her voice lowering in seriousness. Y/n’s vocal chords seemed to seize at the question, only a long, soft squeak emanated from her as she shook her head with eyes wide as saucers.

Robin's eyes narrowed in brief suspicion before shaking whatever thoughts she had from her head, “I could be wrong! But hey, Sam would be a lovely change from the Heidis, Heathers, and Michelles he keeps going through. I keep telling him there’s no shame in exploring! And I know Steve, he may not know it, but he was flirting, like hard core flirting, and not just flirting, but melting! Anything Sam said Steve reacted as if it was the most profound thing, and I mean Sam is funny, funny as hell! But not nearly as funny as Steve thinks he is. Do you know what I mean?”

Y/n’s chest lightened at the manner in which Robin spoke on the topic, but it wasn’t Y/n’s secret to tell, and she wouldn’t ever betray her brother no matter how trustworthy the person could be. She only nodded in response, which was enough of an answer for Robin to know her theory wasn’t so far out of left field as she initially thought.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The rest of the hour consisted of Robin talking and Y/n drawing and listening, something she was good at. Y/n wasn’t great at conversation, unless aided by Mary Jane, of course, but something the adults in her life prided her on was her ability to be a good listener. It was something she learned to enjoy depending on who she was listening to, and Robin was very fun to listen to.

“No, no, no, I’m telling you it was AWFUL, I mean, the mac and cheese was baked like a lasagna but hard as cement. I can’t not burn anything! And don’t get me started on my mother, ‘Robin Christine Buckley, do you not know how to set a timer?’ ‘Robin Christine, get your head out of the clouds!’ I mean, c’mon, woman, you’ve known me long enough to know I’m pretty incapable of keeping my feet on the ground!” Robin huffed exasperatedly as she scribbled in the messy shading of the fruit bowl she chose to replicate.

“Is your mom like that? Constantly on your ass, I mean.” Robin shrugged before glancing down at Y/n’s own work. “Holy shit! That’s so good! How did I not know you were so good at this?” Robin exclaimed, moving swiftly to peer over her shoulder at the sketch of the hanging plant that hung in the corner they faced.

“Oh, uh, thank you! I—I just trace the object with my eyes and my hand follows it on the paper, it isn’t a huge deal, I’ve had a lot of free time to try, too. It’s hard to slow down at first but something just clicked. I’m sure it’ll get easier the more you figure out how it works for you.” Y/n stumbled out, fleeing the praise with urgency. The feeling felt foreign and a little icky.

“Dude, don’t even downplay it, I love this. If you don’t think it’s good art, when Ms.Jacobs grades it, let me have it! I’ll put it up in my room so you don’t have to look at such mediocrity.” Robin said expectantly and tapped the page with her middle and index fingers.

Robin glanced up through the glass of the classroom door to see a dreamy eyed boy staring at the side of Y/n’s head with an adoring smile tugging at his lips. “Uh, I think that’s for you.” Robin nudged Y/n’s knee with her own to get her attention and then nodded softly at the door beside her.

Y/n slowly peeked through her peripheral vision to get a look at the boy that haunted her every thought since she met him. She locked eyes with him as she turned, a smile playing at her lips, though she forced it down to avoid looking eager.

Eddie was now aware he was caught, though he really didn’t care to hide his adoration. He was simply strolling the hallway the long way around to the bathroom during a particularly boring math lecture, when he caught a glimpse of his dream girl in the art room window. He couldn’t catch a view of her drawing but even if he could he probably wouldn’t have noticed it anyway, her heavenly profile capturing his attention.

His eyes traced down her forehead and along the slope of her nose, down the curves of her lips and the round of her delicate chin. The bank of windows on the other side of the room flooded the midday light onto her, placing her golden halo back around her and made the colors of her hair dance when she’d move.

Eddie held up a hand and lightly saluted with his index finger, his smile growing the longer he got to look at her. Y/n waved shyly, biting back her own smile, which Eddie noticed immediately.

‘She’s happy to see me.’

“You totally have to tell me what happened on Saturday after you guys left.” Robin mumbled with wide eyes darting back to the door every once in a while, though Eddie either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Y/n only nodded, her eyes unmoving from Eddie. He motioned for her to ‘come outside’, and before she knew it she was out of her seat asking for a hall pass.

Her heart hammered familiarly in her throat, sweat prickled at her hairline while she geared up to talk to him, even if it was only for five minutes.

She rounded the corner to meet him by the window he spotted her though, and was met with a face full of the scent she was becoming acquainted with as she slammed into his chest. Giggles poured from them both as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on her head.

They breathed each other in, whispering quiet hellos in the stillness of the deserted hallway. They swayed slightly as she brought her arms tighter around his waist, goosebumps swarming her arms at the gentle strokes on her back. The embrace was over all too soon, Y/n stepping back to lean against the lockers to look at him properly. He rested his shoulder against the lockers lazily, his arms crossed in front of his chest, accentuating his biceps.

“How was your Sunday, sweetheart?” His words met her ears feeling like velvet. “I-It was nice! Slow.” She shrugged, “What about you?” She asked as she struggled to maintain eye contact. She was nervous but she also couldn’t decide where to look because there was so much about him she wanted to look at; the curl pattern of his hair, the shape and straightness of his teeth, the curve of his cheek when the corner of his smile dug into it.

‘He’s so so pretty.’

“Oh, you know, just one of the few times I was ready for the weekend to be over.” He spoke with nonchalance to mask his quiet nervousness, his eyes darting all across her face with intrigue.

Y/n quietly giggled as her face heated up. “I just, uh, wanted to tell you good morning,” He scratched the nape of his neck, the anxiety starting to creep up on him. She smiled and directed her attention to the floor as her throat went prickly. “Good morning, Eddie.” She managed in a whisper.

He’s not the kind of guy to go out of his way to make a girl he has a crush on feel special, not anymore at least; he’s had his hopes stepped on too many times by the girls of Hawkins over the years.

But Y/n somehow accessed this buried part of himself. Eddie dusted off his romantic charm with hesitance and then determination, setting a goal to be whatever Y/n needed him as, and to make a damn good job of it. No matter what, he was going to show her he cared.

He could feel his heart beat in his chest and worried it was visible through his Black Sabbath shirt. “Good morning…” he trailed off, noticing as she fiddled with her necklace and hid her smile behind her hand. “I was, um, also wondering if you’d wanna come sit at my table during lunch, with Hellfire? Bring Robin!” He bit back a smile as he awaited her response, as if she even needed to think about it. The only problem for Y/n was making words come out of her mouth.

‘Spit it out!’

When Eddie’s hopeful demeanor began to falter, Y/n’s words leapt from her throat to make it all better again. “Yes! Absolutely. I’ll, um, ask Robin if she wants to join, but I’ll be there. For sure.” Y/n’s throat tightened up at the thought of the verbal overkill.

‘He gets it, you’re going to sit with him. Any more of that and he’ll think you’re desperate.’

A pang of embarrassment hit her in the chest, her face threatening to screw up in discomfort, though she fought it for Eddie’s sake. “Great! Great, I’ll make sure to save you a couple seats next to me, yeah?” Eddie confirmed as he began retreating down the hall to the bathroom.

Y/n could only smile and nod, the swarm that invaded her stomach now all aflutter. He nodded back to her before tripping over his Reeboks as he tried to turn the corner backwards, not ready to tear his gaze away. His face flushed with heat as her hand flew up to her mouth while he steadied himself and shot her a thumbs up, ‘Like an idiot!’ He scolded himself as he ducked into the bathroom.

Y/n shuffled back to the art room door, not sure if she needed to squeal out of excitement or throw up from embarrassment. She decided on three deep breaths before going back in.

Robin's eyes immediately met Y/n’s as she approached the table, her quivering breath easing as she sat down and let out a quiet and long exhale. “Well? What was that about??” Robin urged quietly. “He asked us to sit with Hellfire at lunch!” Y/n responded almost immediately, Robins face jolted back with shock. “Us? He asked us?”

Y/n nodded. “What were his exact words, though?” Robin scratched her scalp with a pencil in thought, the math not adding up to her. Eddie and her were friends for a while now, but he’d never actually invited her to sit with the Hellfire club at school—not that she minded, she liked to stay clear of the cafeteria if she could.

“He said he wanted to know if I wanted to sit with him at lunch and that I should bring you too.” Y/n shrugged, a content smile resting on her face. “Aha! He didn’t ask us! He asked you!” Robin smiled in victory. Y/n blushed and rolled her eyes, a dismissive shake of her head silencing the rest of Robins teasing she had cooked up. Instead, they settled back into a comfortable silence, the scratching of graphite against copy paper the only noise between them until Robin nudged Y/n’s elbow yet again and the girl stopped focusing on the hanging Ivy to look at her.

“I’ll come if you want me to, you know.” She uttered to her quiet friend. Y/n’s brows raised as if to say ‘Really? You would?’

Robin nodded, catching Y/n’s thought without missing a beat. “I’ll be there.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Y/n clutched her tray of extra crispy chicken nuggets and soggy greens to keep herself from combusting out of nervousness. Her eyes scanned the room for any sign of Robin, hoping to walk over together. Her eyes landed on the Hellfire table, which Robin already occupied a seat at.

She was listening intently to a story Eddie’s friend Gareth was telling, fiddling with her milk carton absentmindedly. Y/n then noticed the empty seat between Robin and Eddie, whose eyes searched the room much like Y/n had been previously. He anxiously nibbled on his cashews, ready to see her again even though it had only been an hour since their hallway rendezvous.

“What’s his deal?” Mike asked Dustin regarding Eddie. Dustin shrugged his shoulders and gave a simple answer about ‘Eddie being Eddie’. Robin spotted Y/n before Eddie was able to and stood to eagerly wave her over. “Y/n/n! Over here!” Her thousand watt smile beamed at her from across the room, her volume catching a few looks from surrounding tables, though Robin didn’t notice.

Y/n felt a tense but genuine smile take over and let out a big exhale on her way over at a determined pace. She kept her eyes on the floor in front of her, terrified at the idea of tripping for all to see. Eddie's shoulders relaxed at the sight of her quiet beauty rushing over to the table, hair whipping so delicately around her he wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it. Her glittering eyes flickered up from the floor to him, her heart delighted in the grin he wore for her.

Eddie pulled out her chair, his eyes never leaving her now that he had her in his vicinity. “Hey, guys.” She sighed contently as she plopped down in her seat. Robin scooted closer to Y/n, as did Eddie, which the Hellfire club took note of.

“Hi,” Eddie said softly, internally willing her eyes to move to his so he could indulge in the crystalline colors of her irises. She obliged him by turning, a matching smile rising at the sight of his own. “Hi.” She echoed just as softly.

‘Yeah, you said that.’

Y/n shook the thought from her head, breaking the spell they both briefly fell under. Eddie cleared his throat and stood behind his chair to introduce the members of the club Y/n didn’t know yet. “These guys also happen to be the rest of Corroded Coffin.” Eddie nodded proudly as the three boys greeted Y/n.

“We’d love to have you ladies sit in on a campaign sometime— if that’s something you’re interested in! You totally don’t have to, if that isn’t your kind of thing, I didn’t even ask if you knew anything about—“

“DnD, right?” Y/n interrupted, Eddie’s eyes widening with pleasant surprise as he took his seat again, taking the opportunity to scoot closer to her without drawing much attention. “You ever play before?” He asked with intrigue.

Y/n shook her head, “I’ve only read about it, not like propaganda or anything, but I did get my hands on a manual one time and read through a few campaigns. It’s been a while though.” She shrugged and pushed her mushy green beans around her plate with her plastic fork.

Eddie was beaming, he could work with that. “Does that mean you’d wanna check out a session? Or am I completely misreading this?” He asked. Y/n softly giggled and nodded, “When and where, Munson.” She shrugged again.

‘That was good, but stop moving your shoulders, you look like an idiot.’

‘Shut up.’

“Thursday after school in the drama room, ‘til about nine-ish.” He replied almost instantly, knocking his knuckles on the table nervously. Y/n and Robin exchanged wide eyed glances before the latter nodded. “We’ll be there.” Y/n nodded in confirmation.

Eddie's heart all but leapt out of his chest, “Do we bring snacks?” Y/n asked, wondering if this is an opportunity to bake something sweet. Before Eddie could respond, the table erupted with agreement and eager nods:

“Newbies actually bring snacks for the session, it’s tradition, really—“

“Uh, yeah! Of course they’re supposed to bring snacks!”

“Totally—by the way I’m allergic to nuts.”

Eddie shook his head incredulously and went to stop the boys from messing with her any further until he spotted her laughing and rolling her eyes playfully, “I definitely don’t believe you guys, but I’ll bring something anyway, I don’t mind.” She shrugged again, his eyes moving to the way it shifted her light jacket that lazily hung off her shoulder, her hair a mesh over the silver glint of the chain she wore around her neck.

How jealous he was of that chain.

His eyes scanned the skin of her exposed shoulder, so soft and so touchable…

“I dunno, what do you think, Ed?” Y/n asked Eddie for his opinion between brownies and cookies, or even some sort of crumble cake, but Eddie had no idea where the conversation arrived since he fell under her spell again.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” He asked quietly, biting his lip. “Desserts! What do you think; cookies, brownies, or a cake for Thursday?”

Something about the question lit Eddie’s heart on fire; maybe it was the fact she wanted to bake for him, or maybe it was hearing her talk about future plans like they’d hung out millions of times before. Whatever it was, Eddie knew he couldn’t wait to try anything she brought. “I’m a cookie guy, myself, but I have a serious sweet tooth. I’ll devour anything you put in front of me.” He said lowly, not meaning for the double entendre to slip, though it was definitely caught by Y/n, whose breath hitched at the phrasing.

“I just might have to bring some options, huh?” She said after a shallow breath. Eddie loved the familiar shyness taking over her that he’s missed since Saturday night. Her cheeks flushed pink at his chuckle. “Here, you don’t need to eat this garbage, you like cashews?” He asked quietly, dragging her tray away and sliding his bag of cashews over.

She happily accepted a couple from the bag, leaning her back against the seat and bringing her leg up to her chest, finally relaxed. His heart swelled at the thought of her being comfortable here with him.

Eddie spent the rest of lunch with his hand propping up his chin and the hand closest to Y/n was left on his knee that was so close to touching hers she thought she might die. He listened to her converse with Robin, making minimum interruptions in order to drink up anything the girl gave out. She mirrored him, having her hand closest to him on her knee, the proximity of their fingers already enough to feel the magnetic pull towards one another.

‘Just one touch, a light graze…’

‘No, weirdo, that’s too much.’ His brain berated him, not knowing Y/n was burdened with the same thoughts circulating her head.

‘I could just reach over and lock pinkies with him, friends who touch do that, right?’

‘Who even says we’re friends that touch?’

‘You slept in the same bed with him, interlocking pinkies is okay!’

She reminded herself. Before she could make her move, the bell sent a grating trill through the room, collective groans sounded throughout the space as the lovebirds jolted away from one another at the alarm.

“Ah, shit, I gotta run, I can’t be late to O’Donnell’s again!” Robin cried as she picked up her bag and raced out of the cafeteria. Eddie chuckled, knowing the feeling all too well.

Gareth, Jeff, and Grant quickly cleared their trays, leaving the two almost completely alone, a few stragglers loitered about. “What do you have next?” Eddie asked as he picked up their bags, slinging his over his shoulder and holding hers by the top down by his side, then reached over for his lunchbox.

“Thanks,” Y/n said reaching for her bag as Eddie simultaneously moved away, their game of chase in the park invading her mind immediately, the butterflies starting their slow eruption. “Eddie, I can carry my bag, you’re gonna make us late!” She giggled lightly, moving for the bag again, only to be met with a clumsy spin move to the door closest to their table. “Sorry, can’t hear you, I’m busy walking to history with both of my backpacks.” He called over his shoulder at the dumbstruck girl sporting an incredulous smile on her lips.

Y/n jogged to catch up to him in the hallway. “You have Ms. Lyon this period?” She asked, sneakily grabbing for the bag straps, but failing to detach it from his grip.

“In fact, I do. You probably haven’t seen me there before because I sneak in the back when I’m late, which is often. Other times I just skip all together because lately I’ve been using my lunch break to hotbox the van, you know? But then I don’t wanna show up smelling like skunk cause then what? The cops show up and drag me outta here with a laundry list of reasons,” he chuckled darkly, “Yeah, I’ll take a tardy or an absence over jail time.” He scoffed quietly, his confidence wavering.

‘Way to make yourself sound like a loser, you dumb fuck.’ His brain echoed.

“No, no, I get it! This morning I really wanted to smoke a jay on the walk over but I didn’t want to smell because—“ she stopped herself when she figured out she wasn’t headed in the same direction he was. “Because… then I’d smell like shit all day and I can’t be that kid.” She joked and tried to ignore the pounding in her chest.

Eddie let out a hearty laugh, “Well, if it makes you feel better you’ve never smelled like weed, and I know for a fact you hotboxed your brother’s bronco before the Hideout. I can smell that shit from, like, a mile away, you know, I’m a hound for the ganja. But, uh, yeah, you never smell like a stoner.” He shook his head at himself as they arrived at the classroom right as the tardy bell rang, taking the last two seats in the back of the room side by side, the bank of windows in the room shining on her like they did in art, and he had the best seat to watch.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Eddie debated the rest of the day on whether or not he should ask Y/n to hang out after school. He craved that alone time they had on Saturday under the stars, or the time they shared in the woods when they met.

But he couldn’t bring himself to a solid decision by the time the final bell rang. He sprung out of his seat and walked to her locker, determined to at least tell her bye. Dustin tried to flag him down on his way past, though Eddie didn’t spare the boy a glance, only a wave over the shoulder and offering a “Can’t talk right now, bud, I’ll catch you later!”

Eddie sped around the corner and weaved through the bodies of his slow moving peers with urgency. He spotted her as soon as he arrived at her hallway, admiring her in her natural state. She exchanged books in her locker, grabbing her worn novel from English and sticking it in her bag, along with her flat and stiff sketchbook, which was a deep orange that made his heart tingle.

Y/n closed her door and spotted Eddie as she turned. Her resting bitch face lit up like a birthday cake with sixteen candles on top at the sight of him making his way to her.

‘Did he come find me or was he just passing through?’

‘Maybe it's a coincidence.’

“Fancy meeting you here.” He said with charm, you wouldn’t think he was internally cringing at himself, but he was.

‘Yeah, no shit, you go to the same school and you literally sought her out, freak.’

“Very fancy, indeed.” She leant against her locker, an attempt at nonchalance. “What are you up to after school?” She asked, ready to hear him talk about anything.

“Oh, just, a little band practice for a few hours at Gareth’s,” Eddie glanced around at the emptying hallway, hoping he wasn’t being a bother or keeping her from anything. “What about you? What do you got going on?”

“At some point I gotta go grocery shopping with my dad, but then after that I’m probably just gonna sit in my room and rot for a bit til the moon comes out.” Her eyes twinkled at the mention of the moon and bit her lip tenderly, remembering the way Eddie looked on the roof under the light of the moon.

Saturday seemed like ages ago, their time in Y/n’s special place felt as if the world was free of other people and it was all left for the two of them. They both ached for time like that again.

“Sounds like a pretty solid plan. I might have to have a look at the moon, myself, tonight.” He said, shoving his hands in his pockets and easing towards the exit nearest to the parking lot. Y/n walked with him, her chest warming at the sentiment.

“Is that so? Do you look at the moon often?” She quipped, asking out of both genuine curiosity and for the sake of banter. “Only here recently.” He smiled, leaning his full weight against the door to open it for her, causing the door to swing open abruptly and slam against the pale brick harder than necessary, though it didn’t faze Eddie, who seemed to have chaos follow wherever he went.

If he was the chaos, Y/n didn’t know, nor did she care. If he was chaos then she was absolutely, a thousand percent into chaos.

She giggled as he strode up to her and snatched her bag from her shoulder, yet again. “Eddie! Why? What are you doing??” She couldn’t help but laugh as he jogged to his van ahead in the mostly clear parking lot. “Gotta get you in my van somehow!” He slowed his strides to a walk and turned around to hold up her bag with an ornery smile fixed on his face, his tongue running over his teeth in anticipation.

“Is this the part where I just say ‘screw the bag’ and run? ‘Cause I’m seeing some red flags here.” She laughed as she came closer to the door he leaned against. “And yet here you are.” He joked, though the timber of his voice was more prominent in his delivery, sending a shiver down the back of Y/n’s neck.

She let out a nervous huff as she smiled down at the ground, pushing a loose piece of gravel around with her shoe. “Here I am.” He smiled as he caught the pink flushing her face.

He opened the driver’s side door and tossed the bags in, leaning over farther to set his lunchbox on top. “Care for a ride home?” Eddie gestured to the open door behind him, inviting her to climb in. Y/n’s face lit up at the offer and nodded eagerly, “That would be really nice, thank you.” She said softly and approached the open door. Eddie held his hand out to help her step in and she accepted it immediately.

The magnetic pull between them was present, inviting the butterflies that had been stewing all day to surge down through their veins and rush to each other despite the barrier of skin separating them from reuniting. Eddie squeezed her hand softly, sending an extra jolt of affection to her heart. As she settled into the passenger seat, her fingers slipped from his, the electricity disconnecting at the loss of touch.

Eddie loved seeing her in his van next to him, and he hoped someday soon he’d be able to reach over and hold her hand the whole ride home— or even in her hair, or cradling her cheek, resting on her shoulder, maybe stroking the nape of her pretty little neck.

The butterflies that previously tingled in his hands quickly shot down south, the sensation reminding Eddie to take some deep breaths and center himself before he had an embarrassing situation on his hands.

Y/n pulled her bag from the floor between them and dug around for her empty cassette case that held a shorter spliff—half tobacco and half herb. She touched the end to the tip of her nose and breathed in the earthy scent. “Care to spark up with me? I don’t have any gas money to offer.” She shrugged.

Eddie swung his door shut and turned to see his angel in his preferred state: one leg folded up against her chest, her basic jacket hanging off one shoulder, her hair careless and free around her, and a toke ready to be taken between her fingers. He felt like she was a gift, though he knew explicitly she didn’t belong to him.

“I’d love nothing more, princess.”

‘That damn nickname again.’ Y/n almost keeled over. No one had ever made her feel like a princess before. Important, yes; her father and brother always made her feel important, but never special like Eddie did.

Y/n suppressed a giggle, already feeling unbearably corny as it is. If her brother could see her today, she wouldn’t be able to live it down.

‘But then again, I could also never let him live Steve down, the giggly fuck.’

Before she could let the inexplicable laughter slip, she stuck the spliff in her mouth and dug around for her still missing orange lighter. The engine purred as Eddie started the ignition, the girl patting herself down repeatedly then searching the pockets of her bag again. “Still can’t find it, huh?” Eddie said with a tsk, reaching into his jacket pocket and retrieving the zippo that’s come to her rescue a few times before.

Eddie could see the flame reflected in her corneas as he flicked it to life, the depth of her irises even more prominent now. Her eyes crinkled at the sides when her mouth formed a small smile around the rolled paper between her lips. She leaned forward to inhale the flame into the toke, his focus unmoving from her mouth.

‘Okay, see, this is exactly what we’re not supposed to be doing!’

Eddie reminded himself, quickly snapping the top closed. The space filled with two generous clouds before she handed it over to Eddie, who plucked it expertly from her grasp and stuck it in his mouth as he shifted gears and pulled out of the parking lot with a lurch.

Y/n loved the way he looked with a smoke hanging out of his mouth while his hands were busy. Eddie blew the smoke out from the corner of his mouth and made a prompt move to crank the window down a little.

“You wanna pick something to listen to?” He asked as he turned to join the flow of traffic. Eddie then handed the joint back over for her to stick in her mouth as she dug around in the glovebox, carding through the newly familiar cases and titles. She secretly hoped she’d come across another unlikely album of his.

Which is kind of what happened.

She took two heavy pulls from the spliff, leaving the rest for Eddie. She filled her lungs ‘til they burned and then exhaled as the dizzying buzz washed over her head. That’s when she saw her girl Joan Jett at the back of the glove box.

“Eddie, my boy, you never cease to surprise me!” She said amusedly, his face flushing at the return of her ease in conversation. He loved it when she let go. He was so wrapped up at the sound of her calling him ‘her boy’, he didn’t even know what she was talking about, so he offered a quiet “Yeah,” and half a shrug, his attention trained on the road ahead.

“Joan Jett? I love her. She’s everything I wish I could be.” She said easily as she ejected his Black Sabbath cassette and started her pick. I Hate Myself for Loving You started, the familiar drum beat leading the intro making her immediately bob her head in time. Before Eddie could ask what she meant, she launched into rockstar mode, using the cassette case as her microphone and imitating Joan.

Eddie found it hard to focus on the last couple of turns to her neighborhood, completely entranced by how free she seemed at this moment.

“Midnight, gettin’ uptight, where are you,” She sang into her make-do mic with wide eyes and her hair shaking around her, Eddie thanked the powers that be that he was pulling into the spot by the curb he occupied the last time he was here, now able to throw it in park and face her while he smoked the rest of the spliff. His eyes turned hungry on her again while watching her perform for him.

Y/n noticed her fathers car wasn’t in the driveway from his day shift today. His schedule had been hectic since he’d been taking any extra shifts they allowed him to, sometimes working the day, others the night, which is why most of the time he took Friday afternoon, evening, and night to catch up on sleep.

But today's Monday, so he should be coming home from work in about a half hour, which elated Y/n that she’d have this time to spend with Eddie to herself.

Her eyes went back to Eddie, who watched her intently. She cranked up the volume and her energy, his smile broadening at her antics. “Hey, Jack, it’s a fact they’re talkin’ in town, I turn my back and now you’re messing around, I’m not gettin’ jealous, don’t like looking like a clown!”

Eddie couldn’t help but join her for the chorus, which made her scream in amusement and excitement. “I think of you every night and day, you took my heart and you took my pride away…”

“I hate myself for loving you! Can’t break free from the things that you do! I wanna walk but I run back to you, that’s why I hate myself for loving you!” They sang to one another, feeling closer to Saturday than they did earlier at school.

Eddie shook his head and took the last drag of the spliff roach before smothering it in the ashtray under the radio. He pulled out his carton of Marlboros, offering one out to her. She happily took it from him as he brought out the zippo again, lighting it for her like the gentleman he was.

“So, like, does your guys’ dad know you smoke?” He asked as she breathed life into the stick. Before responding she tilted her head back and forth in thought, shrugging her shoulders as she exhaled,

“That’s a great question, actually. I honestly can’t tell. We haven’t had an official conversation about it all, which I don’t see coming, ever. But the old man smokes cigarettes, so this is pretty easy to get away with,” she took another drag to collect her thoughts, Eddie flicked his ashes out the window and turned the music down slightly.

“The weed though, I’m not sure if I just do a good enough job hiding it or if he doesn’t notice. Cause I know there’s been many a time we’ve shown up at home smelling like we’ve been ambushed by a gang of skunks. But he always knew where we were going and what was happening at these parties, like, he was the only parent that knew where his kids were. I go back and forth between him not minding and him being disappointed, you know? It isn’t like he hasn’t touched the stuff. But I’m sure it’d scare him ‘cause of my mom.” She stopped and took two deep draws to silence the intrusive thoughts invading her mind after bringing up her mother.

‘Way to ruin it, dumbass. It’s not time for you to talk about your mommy-issues.’ Y/n scrunched her brows at the thought and turned to look out the window. The only sounds filling the space between the two were the muffled engine and the quiet sounds of Joan fading with the end of the song.

A silence took over; Y/n busy berating herself as Eddie searched for the right words to connect with her. Right when Y/n was about to abandon ship and tell Eddie she’d see him tomorrow, he spoke up. “I get that,” he said as she clutched the door handle. Her eyes met his, that earnest gleam evident in his stare.

“That’s exactly how it is for me and Wayne. He didn’t know about the cigarettes for a long time, but by the time he figured it out I was pretty well grown and had my own pocket money to buy them, so he just kinda let it go. But, uh, when he found out about the weed and my… business endeavors… he was pretty worked up.” He nodded, a severe grimace falling over his features.

“What happened?” Y/n asked.

“Word spreads, you know? But, uh, he went to pack some lunch for me—something he hadn’t done in a long time because I told him he didn’t need to anymore, and he found everything.” Eddie ran his hands over his face as he relived the memory.

“He was more scared than anything, I think. Scared that I was going down the same road as my parents. He was like ‘Is this really the way you want your life to go, Tim?’ and that just…killed me.” Eddie shook his head at himself.

Y/n didn’t know who Tim was, but she could only assume it was Eddie’s father. “What was in there? Was it just weed?” She asked. Eddie didn’t look at her and could only shake his head no with tense disappointment in himself.

“Wayne’s my dad’s older brother, they were thick as thieves growing up… until the war then Wayne had to go be a badass in the jungle for a couple years. And I think that really fucked with my dad. That’s when he started dabbling with pot and psychedelics, met my mom, and then finally they decided it was time to take the next step in their relationship and try some crazy addictive shit together… aaand you know the rest of the story.” He waved off the rest of the story dismissively, trying to put up a nonchalant front for armor.

They shared more silence, this one much more comfortable for Y/n; Eddie, not so much. “What did you have? At the time, I mean.” She asked softly, silently wondering how far his adventures with drugs have taken him.

Eddie took a nervous peek at her. “You asking if I sell crack, sweetheart?” A mischievous smile hiding at the corners of his lips. Y/n rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but laugh. As if on cue, her fathers station wagon pulled into the driveway.

“There’s the old man, now.” She said quietly, tapping her finger on the window where her fathers head popped up out of the car. Johnny wore a curious expression on his face in regard to the van on the other side of the yard, but quickly dropped it and headed inside, shuffling his feet tiredly.

“Huh, you’re right, Sam looks just like him.” Eddie nodded, recalling how she described her dad from before. “But I definitely see how you belong to him, too.” He smiled genuinely and met her eye, successfully pulling a smile from her in return.

Y/n pulled her lip between her teeth, never hearing anyone compare her to her father even if it was a remark as simple as that. “Why you always gotta do that, huh?” She laughed as she swung the door open and hopped down to retrieve her bag from the floorboard. “Do what?” He asked incredulously, placing a hand against his chest in faux offense.

Y/n rolled her eyes again, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll see you later, Eddie. Thanks for the ride, my feet really appreciate it.” She joked as she threw her cigarette butt on the ground and squashed it with her red converse. “Y’know, the trailer park’s right over there?” He asked suddenly before she shut the door, her head cocking in confusion.

“Where I live, it isn’t far, like, at all,” Y/n nodded though had no idea where he was trying to go with this, “W-What I’m trying to get at is, I cou—I could give you a ride, to or from! Or both, both makes more sense, obviously, but… ball’s in your court.” He cringed at the basketball reference and his fumbling. He could pass it off on being blazed, right?

Y/n’s smile stretched back across her face and she laughed adorably at his fluster. “I’d really love that, Eddie.” She fidgeted with the straps on her bag and looked back at the ground briefly to stop herself from smiling like a maniac, but she couldn’t help it. The boy did things to her.

“Great! Awesome. It also gives me an excuse to get to school on time, so…my first two teachers will thank you.” He relaxed at her smile, wishing their time together wasn’t coming to an end.

“Does, uh, 7:30 work for you?” She asked, peeking up from her hands to see a blanched Eddie sitting before her, “Th-That’s what time you go to school? Shit, yeah! That works for me.” He nodded in surprise, he’s gonna have to get some batteries for his alarm clock if he’s gonna get up at 7:15 from now on.

“We can leave later! I’m used to walking so it won’t take long for us to get there anyway, really.”

“Nah, no, no, no, the lady says 7:30, 7:30 it will be.” He held up his hands in finality. Y/n pressed her lips into a playfully annoyed line and shook her head at him once more. “You are…”

“A freak?” He asked with a wrinkled nose and teasing tone. Y/n rolled her eyes and scoffed at his self deprecation. “Bye, Eddie.” She said softly before shutting the door firmly and turning around, taking extra care to pay attention to her footing to avoid tripping in front of him.

Eddie watched her walk all the way to her house until she disappeared onto the front porch. He sighed, letting out a prolonged and aggravated grumble and pressing his forehead to the top of the steering wheel.

How can a girl make him so comfortable and nervous and excited and tense all at the same time???

Y/n shared the same thoughts as she closed the door behind her, leaning back onto the pane of glass with a long exhale.

‘That was so great and so stupid, what the fuck.’ She tilted her head back with a thud and a grimace, the embarrassment physically painful.

‘He obviously wants to see you again or he wouldn’t have offered the ride.’

‘He could’ve just offered because he’s nice, not because he wanted to.’ She sighed, her bully hitting her where it hurts.

‘You aren’t anything special, you know.’ Her voice echoed.

Before she could spiral too far, her dad rounded the corner to view his quietly distressed daughter. “You okay, kiddo? Your head hurt or something?” He asked as he slowly approached and set a hand on top of her head tenderly.

Y/n opened her eyes and shook her head assuringly, “No, no, I’m good. Just taking a minute in the quiet, you know?” Her heart’s pace picked up at the thought of the rather loud aroma wafting off her clothes.

Johnny removed the hand from her head and unhooked the keys from their place by the door with the mail and his grocery list written in his small print. He picked up his wire rimmed glasses that were identical to Sam and Y/n’s own— which Y/n refused to wear because of the comments she used to receive in middle school.

‘Sure, when they wear them they look ‘scholarly’ but when I wear them I look like a dweeb.’ She’d thought all those years.

“Who gave you the ride?” Her dad asked as he slipped the eyeglasses onto his face, “Just a friend from school, one from the group Sam and I hung out with Saturday night.” She explained while they walked outside and locked the front door.

“Oh, that Steve fella?” He asked over his shoulder before opening his door to the car. Y/n stifled a laugh, “Uh, no, uh, Steve’s not in high school, he graduated last year— like Sam.” She recovered.

She flipped down into the plush seat of the wagon, her father buckling up and starting the engine. He dialed the radio knob to his personal favorite station that played mostly jam bands like the Grateful Dead.

The prolonged guitar solo of Althea drifted through the speakers quietly at first and then louder as Johnny adjusted the volume. Though Johnny was a quiet guy, he preferred his music loud, much like his daughter.

“Was this friend…friendly?” He asked, eyeing her without suspicion, a hidden curiosity unfolding across his features. Y/n felt the familiar heat creep up her cheeks and avoided eye contact. “Wh-What do you even mean, ‘friendly’?” She dodged.

Johnny rolled his eyes and shifted the car into reverse. “You know, friendlier than the average run of the mill friend? Not be confused with a best friend?” He asked without looking at her this time, hoping she wouldn’t need too much prying to share her thoughts.

Y/n suppressed a smile and looked out the window and gave a shrug. “He’s a good friend. A nice friend… I might join a club at school with him and a few others, by the way.”

Johnny raised an eyebrow and quickly looked over to search her face. He wanted her to talk about the boy on her own terms, even if it made him a little nervous. “A club? Wow… I knew you had it in you, kiddo. What kind of a club?”

Y/n exhaled in relief that he wasn’t going to press her, she leaned back and turned to look at him as he turned back onto the road her and Eddie had just traveled down not long before. “Y-you ever heard of the game dungeons and dragons?”

Johnny smirked, recalling the days of the 70s in the short time he had between his adolescence and fatherhood, some of his friends’ younger siblings had started playing the game, which they all got picked on relentlessly for being geeky. He only nodded his head in response.

“They have a club at school that plays every week, and my friend Robin and I got invited to sit in on a session and see what we think. So I'll be home late on Thursday, if that’s alright with you.”

Johnny purses his lips to give the impression he had to think about it pretty hard, “Depends…” he shrugged, his sarcasm not registering with his daughter just yet. “Oh, uh, on what?” She was taken aback by his hesitance, accustomed to his approval.

“Nothin’, just… is your good, nice friend gonna bring you home?” He looked over at her trying his best to maintain a straight face. Y/n’s flush returned to her face full force this time as she rolled her eyes and hid behind her hands, dramatically throwing her head back against the seat and letting an irritated groan loose. “Oh my god.” She shook her head and let her fingers slide down the front of her face, pulling the skin under her eyes and cheeks with it.

Johnny let out a quiet laugh, his eyes shining and wrinkling at the sides in the way both of his children did. “Just want you to get home safe is all, you want me to pick you up? Come inside and introduce myself?” He asked, his poker face beginning to falter at his daughter’s undoing.

“No no no! That’s fine, Eddie told me he’s gonna pick me up for school tomorrow so I’m sure a ride back from Hellfire wouldn’t be a big deal either.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair, scratching at the roots.

“Oh, so the good, nice friend is called Eddie, huh? And Hellfire? What a name. Sounds like fun, really. I’m, uh, glad you’re getting involved again, Y/n/n. I was worried the move would be too much, you know? But I’m really proud of you.” He nodded at the road. Johnny wasn’t the best with feelings or talks about them, he hadn’t any idea about the few encounters Y/n had with guys from her old town, so her being around a new male friend that made her obviously nervous was new territory for him.

He didn’t want her to feel underprepared, but had faith she would come to him if she needed anything no matter how big or small. Johnny just wished he could express it. Y/n smiled at her lap, the simple words from her father meaning the world. “Thanks, pop.”

Johnny smiled and reached over to pat her shoulder. They arrived at the Big Buy, Y/n following her father and suddenly feeling much smaller than she was by trailing after him like a duckling.

“So, you slay any dragons in this game?”

“Dad, it’s literally called Dungeons and Dragons, what do you think?”

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