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becca-alexa · 1 year

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Ride the Lightning

Chapter Two: Run to the Hills

Read on AO3!

01 ┋ 02 ┋ 03 ┋ 04 ┋ 05 ┋ 06 ┋ 07 ┋ 08 ┋ 09 ┋ 10 ┋ 11 ┋ 12 ┋ 13

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Original Female Character

Summary: Eddie gets some news that's almost impossible to swallow, and it's made even worse now that he's involved with a certain someone.

Word Count: 4.1K

Content Warnings: [N/A]

Author's Note: Lots of eye rolling in this chapter. Honestly couldn't think of another way to express that emotion. Also, loving Wayne. He's my favorite.

Eddie hated the counselor’s office.

The quiet droning of the overhead lights irritated him, grated at him, chipped away at the little patience he had left as he tried fruitlessly to find a comfortable position to sit in; the wooden chair beneath him creaked, the sound much too loud, too jarring, and Eddie kept his gaze to the ground to avoid the chastising looks from the secretaries on either side of the room, both clacking away at their computers. He dragged a hand through his hair, swallowing a groan as it caught in a tangle, his frustrations mounting as he tried to pull it free, nearly tearing it out altogether when a familiar face appeared from one of the closed doors dotting the corridor.

“Eddie?” Ms. Kelley called out, a heavy manila folder already tucked beneath her arm, her smile bright and welcoming, warm in a way Eddie wasn’t entirely sure he deserved. He gave a meek smile back, picking up his bag as he made his way into her room, the door clicking softly shut behind him. “Sit down, please.”

Eddie looked about the room, his hands atop his lap, fingers twisting anxiously as he tried to keep his nerves at a minimum - for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what he’d done to deserve a call to the office. And, try as he might, Ms. Kelley offered no clues.

“How are you?” she asked, mindless to the utter turmoil ripping through his mind. She set the folder atop her desk, flipping through it as she added, “How have things been? Are your classes going okay?”

“M’fine.” Eddie mumbled in response, his eyes scanning the page she’d stopped at, desperate for information. “Everything’s fine. Classes are okay.”

“Great, I’m glad to hear that.” He watched as she pulled yet another folder from somewhere behind her desk, digging through it, pulling out several sheets of printed paper, not realizing his nails were leaving crescents in the arms of her chair. “You’re probably wondering why I called you in here, huh?”

Eddie tensed, and he swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Y-Yeah, you could say that.” he managed to say, blinking twice before continuing, “What’d Mr. O’Connell say I did this time?”

Ms. Kelley grinned at him, shaking her head. “Eddie,” she said, her voice too sympathetic, too kind, and he braced himself for the worst of news. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Eddie was sure he was staring at her, but he couldn’t think to do otherwise. “Then, why… why am I here?” He worried his lip between his teeth as she passed a stapled packet over to him, waiting for a moment as his eyes scanned the first page - Indiana Department of Education, it read, followed shortly thereafter by too much legal jargon for him to understand. “What is this…?”

“There have been some… revisions to the state’s guidelines.” the older woman explained, trying to keep from sounding too dire, as she - and many others - were well aware of his situation. “The minimum graduation requirement has been changed.”

Eddie swore he felt his pulse drop, the blood draining from his face, his mouth dry and chalky as he tried to think of something to say. “Changed to what?”

“You’ll need at least a ‘C-’ to pass for the year.” There was no way to soften the blow, she knew, but it ached her heart all the same to watch the young man crumble, his shoulders falling forward, head dropping into his hands, his mop of hair covering what she could only assume was a flushed face, possibly even a tear or two. “I’m sorry, Eddie-”

“What am I going to do?” He hated how he sounded so lost, so hopeless, but he couldn’t fight against the ache in his chest, the disappointment bleeding through his mind like an errant blot of ink - this was supposed to be his year, damnit-

“You still have some time. We’re only, what, a month into the school year?” Bless her heart, Ms. Kelley tried her best to keep things upbeat. Still, Eddie didn’t move to unfurl himself - if anything, his hunch worsened, his hands dragging down his face. “Look, I know it’ll be hard to bring your grades up, but it’s not impossible-”

The piercing look he gave her ended that vein of discussion.

“Okay… How about getting a tutor?” she offered, hopeful in her suggestion. “That might help?”

Eddie shook his head, sinking back against the chair. Bluntly, acidly, he said, “Can’t afford one.”

“Well, if I could find you one, free of charge, would you accept the help…?” she asked, already going through her mental rolodex of possible candidates, her chest filling with relief as Eddie nodded, his response understood yet unspoken - it wasn’t as though he had much of a choice, did he? Still, she clapped her hands together, not realizing she’d shocked him back to some semblance of sense as she rose from her seat. “Super! Let me talk to a few people, and I’ll call you back in tomorrow to press out the details, okay?”

Eddie gave a small wave as he left the room, the gazes of the secretaries boring into the back of his head as he stepped out of the office, unsure of where to go, what to do. He couldn’t think of which class he’d come from, which class he had next. What period was it? Fifth? Sixth? For the life of him, he couldn’t remember how he’d managed to get through the rest of the school day, let alone how he’d had enough of a mind to drive himself home, his thoughts a sickening pendulum’s swing between the words “C-” and “tutor”.

He didn’t acknowledge Wayne’s greetings as he pushed himself through the front door, letting the thing swing shut behind him as he dragged himself to his room, not bothering to tug off his shoes as he fell face-first onto the bed. He was tired, exhausted, drained in more ways than he could count. A tutor? Who in their right mind would want to tutor him, the resident freak of Hawkins? He didn’t want to disparage Ms. Kelley, but he seriously doubted she’d be able to find anyone willing to take on the monumental task of helping him graduate. He groaned into his pillow, pulling his blankets tight around him as he fell into a dreamless sleep, the world around him melting away, drifting into the empty comforts of his subconscious.

True to her word, and against Eddie’s wildest expectations, Ms. Kelley had pulled through - somehow, someway, she had found a student willing to tutor him- and for free, mind you.

Midway through the school day, with his metal lunchbox dangling from his limp fingers, Eddie found himself trudging through the halls, his own dead man’s walk back to that accursed office. Pushing open the heavy door, he was blessed not to have garnered the attention of the secretaries, who were both apparently busy, their faces all but pressed up against their glowing screens. He made a beeline to Ms. Kelley’s room, knocking once, cracking open the door before calling out, “Ms. Kelley? It’s me.”

“Eddie!” the woman exclaimed, her voice as bright and cheerful as ever. From where he was standing, he could hear what sounded like the scraping of a chair against the tiled floor. “Come in! Your new tutor’s already here!”

He straightened out his jacket, smoothed a shaking hand over his hair as he gripped the doorknob, taking in a calming breath as he stepped into the room - and his stomach plummeted, wrenched and twisted as he was faced with the sight of Veronica in the seat across from Ms. Kelley, an unreadable look on her face.

“I’m sure you two have already met.” the counselor chimed, motioning with her hand for Eddie to take a seat. He nodded, as did she, which only made the woman’s smile even wider as she added, “Great! So, Veronica has agreed to tutor you!”

“Fantastic.” Eddie mumbled, hoping he didn’t sound as miserable as he felt, barely catching himself as he sunk into his seat.

“Isn’t it?” In response, Eddie gave her a nod and a smile, which collapsed to the ground the instant she looked away. Ms. Kelley moved to pull Eddie’s folder from her filing cabinet, giving him a moment to collect himself - to sulk, as it so happened, at his misfortune. Stealing a look to his right, he realized that Veronica was staring holes into the wall behind the wide, cluttered desk, her hands fisted atop her knees, the hem of her skirt crushed in her grip. She looked pale, almost scared, but as the older woman turned back around, Eddie watched as the fear melted away into a warmth so radiant, it brought forth more questions than he could keep up with.

“She’s one of Hawkins High’s top students.” Ms. Kelley continued, sitting back down, her chair creaking beneath her. “With her grades, I wouldn’t be surprised if she made valedictorian!” She laughed, as did Veronica, Eddie watching the pair in thinly-veiled bewilderment. “So, about your schedule - my recommendation is that you two meet at least four times a week-”

“Four?” Eddie couldn’t help but ask, already feeling his hands begin to sweat at the thought of having to spend so much time with her, his eyes darting between the two women. “Isn’t that a lot?” Veronica, still, did not look at him; Mrs. Kelley shrugged, her smile turning sympathetic as she turned herself to face him.

“I’m sorry, Eddie, but the next few months will be crucial to whether or not you graduate - quite frankly, the more help you can get, the better.”

And, to that, Eddie conceded, nodding as he fell back into his chair; Mrs. Kelley passed him a sheet of paper, on which he scribbled down his address and phone number, swapping it for one with Veronica’s - it surely didn’t help that he recognized the script from the cassette he still had in his bedroom, and he had to force the rising heat away from his face.

“Now, I would say that you two should get started as soon as possible.” the counselor said, pulling Eddie out of his own spiraling thoughts. “Maybe even today?”

“Yeah, I…” Veronica said, finally turning toward him, her verdant eyes wide behind her wireframe glasses. “I can do today.” She looked at him once, their eyes meeting for a single moment, yet it was enough to leave Eddie more confused than ever; he barely caught onto Ms. Kelley speaking to him.

“Eddie? Does that work for you?”

He nodded, mumbling, “Sure, today’s fine.”

“Great! So everything’s settled.” the cheerful counselor exclaimed with a clap of her hands, rising from her seat - the subtle cue for the pair to return to class. “Best of luck to you two!” And, as quickly as their meeting had begun, they suddenly found themselves alone in the empty hallway, neither sure of what to do, nor where to go. Letting out a heavy breath, Eddie turned to face Veronica, hands fisted in his pockets as he tried to gather the will to speak.

“Look, I-”

“Your place or mine?” He was surprised she’d cut him off, and even more so as she continued. “I would prefer yours, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s…” He pulled a hand through his hair, kicked at the back of his foot - anything to keep from lingering on how unsettled he was. “That’s fine. My place works.” he replied, all while his thoughts were blaring the polar opposite. She nodded, her eyes flicking to his once more, their gazes lingering, caught, only to be broken by the piercing ring of the bell. Veronica was the first to look away, adjusting the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder as she walked away without a word, disappearing into the flood of students pouring into the hall, leaving Eddie alone to stare after her.

“I’ve gone insane.” Veronica muttered to herself to what felt to be the millionth time, her arms sore from dragging her bicycle up the unpaved hill leading to the trailer park, the road too muddied from rains brought in by a sudden cold front to traverse on two wheels. “Absolutely crazy.” She was freezing, her shoes sopping wet and slick with mud; she couldn’t feel her feet, let alone her hands, both aching bitterly, painfully. As the warm glow of the trailer park lights came into view, she could have wept with relief, using the last of her waning strength to push herself over the final crest, finally reaching the entrance to the park.

It didn’t take much effort to find Eddie’s trailer - even if she hadn’t been given his address, the dubious-looking van and the distant shriek of rock music would’ve been enough. Leaning her bicycle against the miniscule railing, Veronica all but dragged herself up the trio of steps leading to the front door.

“Munson?” she called out, ringing the doorbell, waiting a moment for an answer. “Hello? Munson, are you home?” Hearing nothing but Eddie’s music - louder now, somehow more obnoxious - she began to bang on the door, her frustrations besting her rational thinking. “Munson! Munson, open the door! I know you’re in there!” She continued to pound her fist against the metal thing, her voice only growing louder. “Munson, I swear to God! It’s cold as Hell out here! Open the damn-”

“May I help you, lil’ lady…?”

Veronica gaped at the older man, her hand still raised, eyes wide as she tried to think of something to say, the vivid flush spreading across her face be damned. “I-I…” She stammered, blinked, then took in a steadying breath before beginning again. “I’m Veronica Windsor.” she said, much calmer this time, her lifted hand now extended in greeting. “I’m Eddie’s tutor. Is he home?”

Wayne gave the young woman a curious look, but shook her hand nonetheless, silently impressed by the solidness of her grip; he stepped aside, letting her into their humble abode - and away from the biting chill.

“Name’s ‘Wayne’, by the way. I’m Eddie’s uncle.” the older man said, trying to ease the silence, surprised to find himself blushing to the tips of his ears from the smile Veronica gave him. He shook his head, running a hand over what was left of his hair as took a step toward the short corridor behind him. “Let me get’m for you.” he said, leaving Veronica alone at the door.

Wayne moved faster than he normally would have down the hall, putting more weight than he probably should have on the aged door to his nephew’s bedroom as he swung it open, startling the young man from his guitar playing. “Y’got a gal out here askin’ for you, says she’s your tutor. Didn’t you hear her screamin’ up the dead?”

Eddie’s face paled, stomach tightening, and he scrambled to put his sweetheart back in her place against the wall. “Shit, I forgot she was coming-”

“Well, hurry it up. Left the poor girl waitin’ out in the cold.” Wayne said with a shake of his head, with no bite to be found in his words as he watched Eddie run to pull on a pair of sweatpants before all but tumbling through the door. “Just remember your manners, son.”

Eddie fell out into the trailer’s living room, hands frantic as he knotted the drawstring to his bottoms, his voice catching in his throat as he caught sight of Veronica admiring his uncle’s collection of trucker hats, her face… relaxed? Calm? It took him a moment to remember why she was even there, and he cleared his throat to announce himself.

Veronica turned sharply at the noise, seeing Eddie standing beside his uncle. “Munson.” she said, giving him a leveling look.

“Windsor.” he replied, his voice reverting to a distinct sharpness reserved only for her.

“Ed…” the older man warned, giving his nephew’s shoulder a telling squeeze.

Eddie shook his head, a hand rubbing the back of his neck at his uncle’s tone. “Sorry, I…” He looked at Veronica, who was clearly feeling out of place in the unfamiliar home. “Hey.”

“Hi.” she said back, her tone a bit softer, more mellow, than before…

…And Wayne was left to stare between them, the silence stifling, his gaze darting from one uncomfortable expression to the other, his eyes rolling at whatever youthful nonsense these kids had obviously gotten themselves tangled into. “Well, as much as I’d like to be part of this swell conversation, I gotta get goin’.” His smooth voice, loud and even, broke through whatever trance the two had found themselves in; they both turned to look at Wayne, watching as he moved to grab his jacket and cap from a peg near the door. “You’ll be alright by yourself?”

Eddie gave his uncle an unimpressed stare, his voice droll as he replied, “We’ll be fine, Uncle Wayne.”

He slid on his jacket, turning to their guest before tipping his hat. “Pleasure to meet you, lil’ lady.” Then, to Eddie’s utter shock, the man winked, pulling a shy smile and a wave from her as he shut the door behind him, leaving them alone - that devilish bastard.

Veronica desperately searched for a way to break through the unsettling quiet between them. “Your… uh… Your uncle seems nice.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, shaking his head, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “Yeah, he sure is something.” He watched as she looked around the room, arms folded against her chest, hands tucked against her sides as she searched for a place to sit. “C’mere, let me just get my stuff and we can start.” he said, pulling out one of the stools beneath the kitchen counter for her. She nodded, her gaze following him out, and she scrambled to her seat; tucking her knees up, she tried to rub some warmth back into herself, still chilled from being outside for so long.

“You okay?” Eddie asked, returning with an armful of books and a sandwich baggie he used to hold his pens.

Veronica nodded again, her hands still working over her bare skin. “Just cold.” she murmured, still not looking up, missing the sight of his face heating with embarrassment at having left her outside for so long. He walked over to the couch and pulled at one of the blankets thrown over it, handing it to her, barely acknowledging her thanks as he took the stool beside her.

“Alright, Teach - shall we dance?”

“This is hopeless.”

Veronica couldn’t help but roll her eyes as his head fell to the linoleum counter with a shallow thud, his groan of frustration nearly mirroring her own. He dragged his hands over his face, scratched at the dusting of stubble along his jaw. “Come on, Munson-”

“I can’t do this.” he said, glancing up at the clock, his morale crumbling to the ground as he realized they’d already been at it for four hours and had barely made a dent in the material. “None of this is making any sense.”

“Here, look-”

“I’m not going to get this.” He ran his hands through his hair, turning his head to look at her, a desperate - pleading - look in his eyes. “I can’t do this.” he said, his voice small, quaking; Veronica reached a hand out to him but he pulled away, curling into himself, hiding from her. “Nobody really expects the freak to finish, right? What’s another year of school, anyway?” His words finished out with a bitter laugh, the contrast jarring with how broken he felt himself to be - and Veronica was stunned, having never seen him so unsure of himself, so… sad.

With an audible smack, Veronica’s hands met the paling sides of his face, pulling his head up, her eyes clear as they stared into his. “Look here, Munson - you listen to me, and you listen well, because I’m only going to say this once.” Her voice was piercing, direct, and Eddie found that he couldn’t ignore the way it echoed through his chest even if he’d wanted to. “You are not an idiot. You are not stupid, or slow, or a freak, or whatever else this nowhere town of below-average nobodies thinks you are.”

“Windsor-”

She ignored him, pressing on. “I don’t know why you’ve repeated your senior year so many times, and quite frankly, I don’t care. But, unless you want to prove them all right and make it three-for-three with a one-way ticket to night school, you need to graduate - and you will.” She finally let go of him, not realizing she’d been squeezing him a smidge too tightly in her fervor to get her point across. He could only blink at her, doe-eyes wide, mouth hanging open as he tried to think of something to do, something to say.

“If nobody’s ever given you the swift kick in the ass you need to push yourself, consider this it. Now, we are going to sit here, and we are going to go through this lesson step by Goddamned step until you understand it.” She punctuated her words with a finger pressed to the page she’d been trying fruitlessly to explain to him. Narrowing her gaze, she asked, “Have I made myself clear?”

Eddie nodded - rather foolishly, he’d later recall - finally admitting to himself that he was more than slightly intimidated by her. He cleared his throat, tried to find his voice. “Y-Yeah, you… uh… You have.”

“Good.”

Together, they worked through the problems on the page at a pace more suited to him; Eddie finally began to understand the complicated equations, his confidence growing, blooming with each correct answer. And, after two more hours had passed, they'd finished nearly all of the questions, with a few left unanswered for him to try and solve on his own.

Then, blaringly, offensively, the alarm on Veronica's wrist watch began to sound, her head shooting up from where it'd been ducked close to Eddie's, her eyes wide, glasses nearly slipping off her face as she pushed herself away from the counter. "Shit, my curfew-"

"Need a ride?" Eddie asked, already tapping at his pockets, searching for his keys.

She froze, turning to look at him. “No, I… I brought my bike-”

“Stick it in the back of the van.” he said without preamble, meeting her confused look with an exasperated one of his own. “What? C’mon, it’ll be faster.”

Eddie slowly rolled to a stop at the end of the block, shutting his lights off as he tugged roughly on the hand brake, neither moving, neither breathing as they each tried to think of something to say. With his hands still wrapped to the point of soreness around the steering wheel, Eddie fought to keep from gnawing on his lip as he admitted, “I-I needed that, by the way.” Veronica turned to look at him, but he kept his gaze firmly on the road beyond the windshield. “The pep talk. Sometimes, I just… I get too much into my own head, y’know?”

Veronica’s expression gentled - and if he’d been looking at her, he’d have noticed how warm her eyes became as they settled on his face. “I know.”

He turned at the softness of her voice, but she’d already looked away, fumbling for her keys somewhere inside of her bag. “So, you’ll be back tomorrow?” he couldn’t help but ask, praying he didn’t sound too hopeful - or, worse, desperate.

“I will - and if you leave me waiting out in the cold again, I will be throwing a very large rock through your window.” Her response was blunt, clearly a warning, yet it somehow managed to pull a smile from him - a genuine smile, one that reached his twinkling eyes and crinkled the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll break out the broom, then.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” she said, and shut the door behind her, the slam sending a jolt of surprise through him; he craned his head around, watching as she opened the back doors to retrieve her bike. Just as he’d reached across the seat to lock it, the hunk of metal swung back open, and he thanked the gods above that the scalding flush on his face was hidden by the shadows as Veronica’s face was suddenly inches from his. “...Goodnight, Munson.”

Eddie blinked, his thoughts taking a moment to settle themselves before he answered simply, “‘Night, Windsor.”

And he stayed at the corner, watching as she opened her front door, returning the wave she gave him with an awkward one of his own as her porch light flickered off.

#ride the lightning #AAAAAAAAAA chapter two babyyyyyy #i love sassy wayne #i'm pretending season 4 didn't happen the way it did and all the babes are alive and well #also i tried looking up what the minimum graduation requirements were in 1986 indiana but couldn't find anything so i'm making it up #but don't tell anyone it's a secret #eddie munson #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x original character #fluff #slow burn #enemies to lovers #also the 'shall we dance' line is a reference to the song from The King and I #because wayne is secretly a rodgers and hammerstein fan #and he would absolutely have a tape or two of theirs lying around the trailer #becca.fic #stranger things

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