callme-dickmaster

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case

Ch. Six - Involved

summary: police begin to question you about a party you weren't present for, but friendships have you involved now cw: this may be v long, afab! reader, minimal use of y/n, language, bullying, monsters oooo author's note: every day I struggle to find content warnings in these chapters.

Thursday, November 10th, 1983

You groaned and scrunched your eyes when you felt Dustin wriggling away from you that morning. "Dustin?" you grunted, rubbing your eyes. "I'm just going to Mike's for a bit. To...mourn?" he said. You were too tired to question the fact that he sounded unsure of what he was doing, so he was gone. A couple hours later when you couldn't fall back asleep, you groaned and checked the time.

11:32

"Fuck's sake..." you sighed, stomping into the kitchen to grab a Pop-Tart and begrudgingly driving to school. "Miss Henderson! You're very late!" the secretary squealed, writing a tardy slip. You rolled your eyes, taking the slip and walked to class.

"Hello, y/n. Nice of you to join us," Mrs. Click said, giving you a look. You put your head down and walked to your seat. You ignored Steve staring at you and started scribbling away in your notebook. "Y/n Henderson? Can you come with me, please?" the assistant principal called, standing in the doorway. You grabbed your things and followed her into the cafeteria where two police officers and your mother were sitting waiting for you.

"Hi, y/n. We just wanted to ask you a few questions..." Powell asked, giving you a small smile.

"You're not in trouble, are you, y/n?" your mother whimpered. If she had pearls, she'd be clutching them. You shrugged, "Shouldn't be..." you mumbled.

Powell shook his head, trying to reassure your mother. "No, ma'am, we just need to ask her some questions about a fellow student who may be in danger," he said. Clearly, this man had never met Claudia Henderson. You were certain that made her anxiety about your involvement spike even higher.

They took a few minutes to ask you basic questions about what you had been doing the night Barb disappeared and the day leading up to the party. "And you said that you were invited to the party?" Powell asked. You nodded, pulling a knee up to your chest. "You sure?" Callahan asked. You narrowed your eyes at him, making him back off.

"A-anyway...why didn't you attend the party?" Powell asked, "I didn't want to. I didn't like anyone that was there. And I really didn't feel like going to a party just to get picked on..." you sighed, biting your nails. The cops nodded, making notes of your responses in their notepads. You assumed Callahan's would be the dumbest of the two.

"So, if you didn't like whoever was there why would you pick up a...Nancy Wheeler?" Callahan asked, flipping through his notes.

You shrugged, "I dunno...I don't hate Nancy. Our brothers are friends, so we've known each other for a while, and she needed a ride home. I didn't think anything of it," you said. Powell nodded, "So, after you took Nancy back to yours did she say anything about the party? Anything that happened with Barbara?" he asked. You shook your head, humming a "nope."

"Nothing about why she might have left? No mention of an argument...or a Steve Harrington?" Callahan asked. You pursed your lips and shook your head again. "Nothing. She just wanted to crash at my place so her mom wouldn't get on to her," you made absolutely sure not to mention Jonathan and his pictures to keep him out of trouble. You still wanted to look out for him. You still thought of him as a friend.

"And you think that you saw some kind of bear behind the Harrington kid's house?" Powell asked.

You shrugged, "Something like that. It kinda looked like a really skinny guy in a mask. Really creepy. Me and Nancy both think that maybe whoever it is had something to do with Barb not being around." Callahan leaned his elbows on the table.

"Well, we took a look through the woods behind the house, and we didn't find anyone and there was no car either. We think Barbara came back last night and took off. Maybe ran away. Would you know anything about that?" he asked. You shrugged and shook your head, "I didn't even know Barbara until Nancy asked me for help, so...no," you said. The policemen asked more stupid questions about a party you weren't even present for and released you back to class.

"I'll see you at home, okay? I love you bunches!" your mom said, kissing your cheek. "Love you..." you sighed, walking back into your classroom.

Everyone had moved their desks together and were talking away about projects or who would be at the mall later and Steve sat alone writing in his notes. You silently sat beside him and pulled your notebook out to continue working on your half of the project.

"Um...hey," Steve said quietly.

You glanced at him and nodded, continuing to write in your book. "Did they call you to talk to the cops?" he asked. You nodded again, still trying to focus on writing.

"I wasn't even at the party so...don't know why they even wanted to talk to me," you mumbled. Steve hummed and nodded, not really sure how to talk to you. He was so used to people worshipping the ground he walked on that when he talked to you he was thrown for a loop. You clearly couldn't care less about him, and he wasn't sure if he liked that or not. Either way, he knew you weren't supposed to be on his mind like you had been.

"I mean...you and Nancy have been hanging out recently, so..." Steve trailed off. He didn't know where he was going with that, but he was curious and wanted to dig and see what changed all of a sudden that made you and Nancy best friends.

"So? That's not their business," you grumbled, your pencil lead snapping. Steve just said a quiet "yeah..." and went back to his side of the project.

"Um, would you maybe wanna come over and work on this? Together?" Steve asked hesitantly when you began packing up your things. You looked at him suspiciously, "You want me to come to your house?" you asked.

Steve stuttered and nodded, "Y-yeah! Why not?" he shrugged.

"Uh, because you're you and I'm the "spaz of Hawkins" duh," you deadpanned.

The bell rang and you took off without answering him any further which Steve took as a big fat "NO." You sighed, stomping into the school's red room and stopped when you saw Jonathan and Nancy standing in there.

"Oh! ...Hey," you said slowly. Jonathan jumped at your arrival and scrambled to cover up what they were doing. "H-hey!" he smiled nervously. You gave him a look then looked at Nancy. "What're you up to?" you asked. Nancy sighed, "I think the pictures Jonathan took at Steve's can help us find out what happened to Barb," she said.

You hummed and nodded, taking a seat at the counter you always sat at. "Cool. What is it?" you asked. "Um...w-we don't know," Jonathan said quietly. You shrugged, "I'll help you," you said. "Really?" Nancy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't have anything better to do. And...I guess we're friends now, so..." you sighed.

Nancy slowly smiled and nodded, seeming proud of herself. "Nancy thinks that thing my mom's been seeing might've taken her. She said you guys saw something at Steve's," Jonathan said, glancing between you both. You hummed and shrugged, leaning your chin on your hand. "I thought it was just some guy in a mask or something," you shrugged. "No, it sounded like an animal..." Nancy muttered.

You nodded and eyed the picture they were developing. "Maybe it's a monster," you snickered. Nancy rolled her eyes playfully and looked at the picture as it slowly developed. "That's it," Nancy said softly, seeing the creature that formed in the photo.

You leaned on the counter, looking at the photo. "That's exactly it," you nodded. "My mom...I thought she was crazy because she said th-that's not Will's body. That he's alive..." Jonathan said, staring at the picture.

You shook your head, slowly tilting the tub to look closer. "This kind of stuff isn't real..." you whispered. "I guess we were wrong about that..." Nancy mumbled. You nodded, staring down at the photo as it sat as a black square in the tub of acid.

<3

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case

Ch. Five - The Body

summary: a search for a missing friend makes you believe in monsters and a body is found cw: this may be v long, afab! reader, minimal use of y/n, bullying, language, fear of slut shaming, cutesy makeover, will died lol author's note: hullo

Wednesday, November 9th, 1983

You followed Nancy into Steve's backyard, feeling completely out of place. Nancy had you slamming on your brakes when she gasped and saw Barb's car still parked a couple houses away from Steve's. Nancy looked in the windows and you picked the lock on the trunk before popping it open. Nothing. Just a blanket and some shoes.

"Barb!" Nancy called, turning every which direction as she yelled her friend's name. She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Come on. Steve's house is down the hill," Nancy said, leading you to the house.

"Nancy!" you hissed, jogging to catch up to her. "Steve would kick my ass if he knew I was here!" you whispered. Nancy nodded, mumbling something about how they'd be quick. "Barb?" Nancy called, stepping into the trees. "Barbara?" You tried, turning in circles.

You turned to tell Nancy you would go back to wait in the car when a large creature snarled, skittering across the path and disappearing behind a bush. "Shit!" you yelped. Nancy tripped trying to run away, and both of you booked it back to your car in the street. "Did you see that?!" you screeched, starting the car but too shaken to drive. "Yeah!" Nancy cried, dropping her head into her hands.

"C-can you take me home? I-I need to tell my mom..." she stuttered, tears starting to fall. You nodded, speeding away to Nancy's house. "I hope Barb is okay," you tried, glancing at the very upset girl in your passenger seat. Nancy nodded, looking out the window. "Me too..." you pulled up outside the Wheeler home and followed Nancy inside.

"Hey! You're home early! How was the game?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, stirring something up for dinner. She looked up at the silence and dropped the spoon seeing Nancy's tear-stained cheeks and Y/n Henderson in her front entryway. "Nancy? Girls, what's the matter?" the woman asked.

"It's Barb...I think something happened. Something terrible," Nancy cried. Mrs. Wheeler came up and hugged her daughter, putting a hand on your arm and inviting you to stay for dinner. You reluctantly agreed, running out to the car to grab your bag.

When you came inside, Nancy was in full blown tears and Mrs. Wheeler was on the phone. "You alright?" you asked, sitting next to her.

Nancy shook her head, "I'm so scared to tell her what happened...I feel like she's going to be so mad," she cried. You took her hand, glancing at Mrs. Wheeler in the other room, and wrapped an arm around Nancy's shoulders.

"She'll have to get over it. It was just one night. I mean, if that's the one thing she takes away from whatever you tell her, then that's on her. Right now, we just need to focus on trying to help your friend," you said. Nancy sniffed and nodded. She was so nervous about what her mom would say. She really didn't want to be slut shamed by her own mother. You ran your hand up and down Nancy's back, screwing your mouth to the side. You really didn't have much to say, and you felt bad about it.

Mrs. Wheeler thankfully interrupted when she walked back into the room. "Okay, the Hollands are coming over after dinner. Nancy, please talk to me...what's going on?" Mrs. Wheeler asked. Nancy's eyes automatically when to the floor. "C-can we wait? Until Barb's parents get here?" Nancy stuttered. Mrs. Wheeler nodded, patting her daughter's knee before she started dinner.

Nancy led you upstairs to her room and sighed, falling back on her bed. "I'm so scared. I...I feel like I could've done something to stop this from happening," she said, dragging her hands down her face. You nodded, sitting behind her on the bed.

"Yeah...I think we should just wait until her parents come over to worry too much about it. Just be honest with them and they'll have to appreciate that at least," you said, messing with your sleeve. Nancy nodded, taking a deep breath. "Let's do something fun! Keep my mind off it," she said, sitting up and rifling around in her vanity drawers. You cocked your head to the side when she popped back up with a makeup bag in hand.

"You ever had a makeover?" Nancy smiled.

Your eyes widened and you shook your head frantically, scooting back on the bed while Nancy jumped to sit in front of you. "It'll be fun! Come on..." Nancy took out various brightly colored palettes and brushes and started playing with her makeup on your face.

"See? You look pretty. It's easier to see your eyes when you don't have all that black shit on them," Nancy giggled.

"Hey, I like that black shit," you smiled.

"Girls! Dinner!" Mrs. Wheeler called. You and Nancy both sighed, trudging downstairs for whatever home cooked American dinner Nancy's mom came up with. "Oh! Y/n! You did your makeup!" Mrs. Wheeler grinned.

You shrugged, biting into your potatoes, "Nancy did it," you smiled shyly. Mrs. Wheeler complimented you, saying you "looked beautiful" which earned another shy smile and a shrug.

Barb's parents came right as Mrs. Wheeler was finishing the dishes and Mr. Wheeler was about to doze off in his chair. Nancy took your hand, silently begging you to sit with her while they talked. You sighed and sat next to Nancy and Mrs. Holland. You held the girl's hand as she cried and told the whole story. Even when Mike came in and gave them the news that Will was dead. That he was there, and he saw them pull his body out of the quarry.

"Where's Dustin?" You asked, standing from the couch.

"I-I think h-he went home," Mike sniffled. You stuttered out something about having to leave and ran out the door to your car. You sped home and barely slammed the car door shut before you were inside.

"Dustin?! Hey! Dustin!" you yelled, running around the house trying to find him. "Y/n?" you heard your little brother say in the smallest voice you'd ever heard. You sighed in relief, running over to wrap him in a tight hug.

"Mike told me...I'm so sorry, Dustin," you whispered. Dustin gripped onto your shirt, burying his face in your neck. "C-can I sleep with you tonight?" he mumbled. You nodded, pushing back his curls, "Of course you can. Have you eaten? Do you want me to make something?" you asked.

Dustin smiled half-heartedly and nodded, going to get ready for bed while you made something quick. You slid his plate across the counter and set yours aside so you could get ready yourself.

"Ready?" you asked.

Dustin nodded, finishing the last of his late dinner. You pat his back, setting the dishes in the sink before leading him to your room. You smoothed his curls away from his face, lying next to him with a soft smile. "It sucks. I know. But he'll be okay wherever he is, okay?" you said softly.

Dustin nodded sadly, curling in close to you before eventually falling asleep. You squeezed your eyes shut and held him tightly in your arms, thankful selfishly in the back of your mind it wasn't your brother they pulled out of the water.

<3

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case

Ch. Four - Stalking

summary: creepy mistakes lead to the most unlikely of confrontations with unlikely allies cw: this may be v long, afab! reader, minimal use of y/n, bullying, language, noncon nudes, the jonathan situation, author's note: I hope you're all enjoying this story

Wednesday, November 9th, 1983

Nancy played with the hem of the shirt she borrowed from your old clothes. She was happy you had somewhat forgiven her and you could start to be friends now. "What's this song?" Nancy asked, turning up the radio. You looked at her suspiciously, "You like Iron Maiden?" you asked, glancing at the road.

Nancy shrugged, "I like this one?" she giggled.

You chuckled, "It's Run to the Hills. I-I can give you the tape if you want?" you offered, nervously tapping the steering wheel. You sighed, parking your car in the school parking lot.

"You sure you're alright being seen with me? I mean, what if people laugh?" you asked nervously. Nancy grabbed your hand with a smile, "It's okay. We're friends now. And, hey, you get a free pass to throw whatever kind of mustard...sauce mixture you want at me as paycheck," she giggled.

You smirked and rolled your eyes, clambering out of the car and stretching your ankles in your heavy shoes. Nancy waited for you to walk inside, and you walked into school together, ignoring all the stares. You were walking through the halls, talking to Nancy Wheeler of all people with a smile. You separated with a mutual "see ya!" and you sat through your first classes with a yawn.

You stomped through the halls, trying to ignore Eddie inviting you to his band's next gig and sat next to Jonathan like you did every day. "Bologna again?" he smiled, giving you his sandwich and taking yours.

You huffed and nodded, "She wants me to starve," you grumbled.

Jonathan chuckled, "Maybe she just wants to sneak some protein in your diet," he said. You rolled your eyes, mumbling "whatever" when Mr. Kaminsky waddled into the classroom. After the same excruciatingly boring class the two wandered through the halls to the yearbook red room. You munched on your lunch, Jonathan's hurry to develop the pictures going unnoticed by you.

Nicole Anderson walked into the room, greeting Jonathan with a smile. "Oh, hey..." he mumbled, snatching his pictures and saying a hurried goodbye to you. You stared at the door with a weird look but shrugged and kept eating anyway. Nicole shuffled around the room, trying to develop her own photos.

"Um, y/n?" she said, scratching her nose. You glared up at the redhead, trying to show you didn't want to be disturbed.

"D-did you see what he was doing?" Nicole asked nervously. You shrugged, shaking your head. "Why?" you asked, seeing the uneasy look on the girl's face. Nicole sighed, biting her lip and dropping a photo into the tub of developer.

"They were...weird. Like, they didn't know he was there weird. It looked like Steve Harrington's house. I know he had a party last night, so..." the girl said, swishing the liquid and watching the picture come through.

You furrowed your eyebrows, "I dunno. I never really pay attention to what he's putting up. I don't think he cares enough about Steve to do that though," you said, biting into your snack cake. Nicole frowned, hanging up her photos.

"Debbie cake?" you offered, holding the sponge cake out for the girl. Nicole smiled, taking the snack cake from you. "Well, if you really think it's them and you really think he was taking stalker pictures, I think we should tell them. I-I could tell Steve next period? We're paired up for a project," you shrugged, tossing your lunch bag as the bell rang.

Nicole nodded, gathering her things. "You're not how I though you were..." Nicole said, giving you a crooked smile. "I never am," you said, returning it with a tight-lipped smile of your own and wandered off to Mrs. Click's class. Steve was already there, sitting in his new seat next to your empty chair.

"Hi," you muttered, your voice barely audible over the chatter of the classroom. "Hey! Um, hey, listen...a-about the other day and...and the party. I feel like shit and, I don't know, it just wasn't cool..." Steve stuttered, running a hand through his hair.

You nodded and shrugged, "S'whatever. I'm used to it by now," you mumbled, pulling out your notebook. Steve pursed his lips and sighed, grabbing his notes and setting them out on the table. You both worked quietly on their parts of the project until you decided to speak up.

"Uh, Steve?" you said nervously. He hummed, looking up at you. "I need to tell you something..." you mumbled, picking at your thumb. "What's up?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

You stuttered your way through your explanation, fumbling with your fingers as you unintentionally threw Jonathan under the bus. He had a right to know. They were pictures of him and his friends in his own backyard. Even if you hated his friends, you had to admit it was pretty strange.

"And you didn't know about this?" Steve asked, running a hand through his hair. You shook your head frantically. "No! I didn't even know he was out last night! I was home all night," you exclaimed. Steve nodded with a sigh of relief. "I just needed to make sure. I know he's your friend or whatever..." he trailed off, "Thank you for telling me. How about we all talk to him together?" he offered.

You shrugged, tapping your pencil. Steve moved his desk closer to yours and leaned close, "Please?" he pleaded. You sighed, narrowing your eyes at the boy. "Fine..." you grumbled, snapping your pencil in half as the bell rang. You grabbed your stuff and reluctantly followed Steve outside, showing him to Jonathan's car. "I-it's this one..." you mumbled. Tommy, Carol, and Nicole stalked up the hill as Steve pushed himself up on the trunk. He patted the space beside him, motioning for you to sit beside him. You dropped your bag on the concrete and pulled yourself up onto the car, crossing your legs and dropping your head into your hands.

You felt weird. Sitting with Steve Harrington and his friends like they'd never done anything wrong. Like you were all of a sudden comfortable with each other.

Tommy and Carol ignored you, save for a simple nod of acknowledgement from the boy and Nicole tapped her foot impatiently. She was supposed to be cheering at the game, so you guessed she was anxious to get her uniform on and get ready.

Steve snuck small glances at you beside him, noticing little details he never saw before on you. How dark the circles under your eyes were, the fact your hair was actually brown instead of black like he thought, your chipped nail polish and hands...All distracted him from Jonathan walking up the hill to his car.

"Hey, man..." Steve greeted, hopping off the trunk. You struggled to get back on solid ground behind him, stumbling a bit and grabbing Steve's arm so you didn't face plant onto the ground. "Nicole and y/n were, uh, telling us about your work!" Steve said.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Jonathan mumbled, trying to push through them but Tommy stole his bag before he could get far. The dodgy looks and the way he was panicking over his bag made him seem way more guilty. "Oh, wow, he is totally trembling. He must really have something to hide," Steve said, digging in Jonathan's bag for the photos. They were conveniently on top of everything, and it was just as Nicole said. Pictures of Steve, Nancy, Tommy, and Carol in Steve's backyard swimming and laughing together. Some more shots of the house through the window showed Nancy and Steve talking and one of Nancy taking her shirt off.

"Jonathan..." you whispered, grabbing for a couple of the photos.

"I was looking for my brother..." Jonathan tried, every vein in his body was on fire with guilt and dread. "No, this is called stalking!" Steve said, rolling up his stack of pictures. You handed your stack to Tommy standing next to you and put a hand to your temple in complete stress. You pulled your coat around you tighter and buried your nose in your shoulder.

You didn't know what to think now. You knew Jonathan was a good guy and he would never do anything like this maliciously, but to take these kinds of pictures was way out of line. Blame it on a moment of weakness, you guessed.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked, clutching the strap of her bag as she approached.

"There's the starring lady," Tommy snickered, grinning at the girl.

Nancy furrowed her eyebrows, "What?" she asked, "This creep was spying on us last night...he was probably gonna save this one for later," Carol replied. She passed the topless photo to Nancy, her eyes widening when she fully processed that it was indeed her in the picture. You walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I had no idea...if I knew he was there..." you trailed off, taking the picture from her.

Steve took it and ripped it up along with the rest of the photos. "So...we just have to take away his toy," Steve said, tossing the ripped-up pieces in Jonathan's face.

"No. Please, not the camera!" Jonathan pleaded, trying to grab his things when Tommy stopped him. You shook your head, "Steve, c'mon...I-I don't think-," he interrupted you with a 'wait' finger. "It's okay," Steve said, holding out the camera for him, "Here you go."

Jonathan visibly deflated in relief until Steve let the camera slip from his fingers and smash onto the pavement. It hissed pitifully, earning a wince from you and Nancy. Tommy giggled dumbly, wrapping an arm around Carol as she tossed the rest of the photos at the boy scrambling for the pieces of his camera. You watched them go, turning back to look at your friend. You wanted to say something. Wanted to tell him how stupid it was to do such a thing.

"Hey, Nance! C'mon!" Steve called. Nancy hurriedly picked up the pieces of a picture of Barb and met her boyfriend at the bottom of the hill. "Y/n!" you whirled around; confusion painted all over you. "You coming?" Steve asked, his arm around Nancy.

You stuttered, looking from Jonathan to Nancy and Steve. "Come on, loser! Are you really going to blow your chance?!" Carol rolled her eyes. You pursed your lips and bowed your head. I'm the worst. You thought as you sulked over to the group who was waiting for you. Nancy took your hand and smiled softly.

You followed them inside to the hallway outside the gym, still knowing better than to look Tommy or Carol in the eye. "Lucky you weren't there, huh, weirdo?" Tommy said, nudging you. "Who knows what he would've taken of you?" he added. You shook your head, still trying to defend your friend in your mind. "He probably wouldn't..." you said, a weak smile crossing your lips as you ran to catch up to Nancy.

You decided it was best to stay next to her, actively ignoring Carol's story about how she got detention for mouthing off to Mr. Mundy. Nancy poked your arm and whispered to you slowly. "Can you drive me somewhere?" she asked. You nodded discreetly, digging in your bag for your keys. "Whoa, where you going?" Steve asked as you and Nancy walked away. "Uh- I-I totally forgot. Um..." Nancy trailed off.

"Sleepover. At my place. She left her clothes and stuff at mine last night anyways and we're supposed to get dinner, so..." you filled in, jingling your keys. Steve grabbed his jacket as he stood, scrambling to get you to stay. "The game's about to start!" he tried, "I'm sorry," Nancy sighed, pulling you along with her.

Nancy threw her bag in the car, buckling in with a huff. "Where to?" you asked, starting the car. "Steve's. I think something happened to Barb."

:)

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case

Ch. Three - Fine

summary: Jonathan returns to school and you answer a call for a ride home cw: this may be v long, afab! reader, minimal use of y/n, bullying, language, Lonnie Byers and his bad parenting author's note: hullo

Tuesday, November 8th, 1983

You stomped into school with the biggest scowl you could muster. You were still angry about the day before. You punched your locker, earning a stinging hand and snatched your books out of your locker.

"Don't! Not today, man," you snapped when Eddie trotted up to your locker. He put his hands up in surrender and back away. He knew when someone was not having it. You huffed, deciding to skip second period to avoid snapping at Carol and sat in the library to draw. It passed faster than you were used to, but that was fine as long as you didn't have to look at the back of Carol's head any more than you had to.

You made your way to the front of the school to try and use the payphone to call Jonathan and tear him a new one for missing so much school.

"Hey, y/n!" you stopped with a sigh. For fuck's sake.

"What?" you sighed, keeping your eyes to the floor. Steve jogged up to you, wearing a stupid all blue outfit. You hated blue.

"Hey, uh...I feel bad...A-about yesterday. But I'm having a party tonight and I was thinking you could come?" Steve sputtered. This boy had clearly never said a genuine apology in his life. "I could come?" you asked slowly.

Steve smiled and nodded, "Yeah! To the party?" he said, sounding unsure now.

You glanced behind him and saw Tommy and Carol not far behind. You gave him a blank stare, "No. Eat dirt."

Steve opened his mouth to speak but no words came out as you walked away. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Fine. Play it that way, Henderson," Steve said. He was bound and determined to get on your good side. Even if he wasn't entirely sure he was ever on it in the first place.

You continued up to the front door of the school and almost completely passed Jonathan himself hanging up posters on the bulletin board.

"Jonathan Byers! Where the hell have you been?!" You grit, hitting his arm with every word. Jonathan flinched away from you, "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I didn't call! I was looking for Will!" he said, handing you one of the missing posters. You furrowed your eyebrows, scanning the poster. Since when had Will been missing? You just saw him Sunday!

"Will is missing? Wait. What?! How long has he been gone? How did I not notice this? I'm sorry I was so mean with you just then; I had no idea!" you said, putting a hand on his arm. You looked behind Jonathan when you noticed Steve and his friends standing there watching you both. "Do you guys know anything yet?" you asked. Jonathan shook his head with a shrug.

You sighed, turning your focus to glare at Nancy walking up to you and Jonathan as she gripped her bag. "H-hey..." Nancy stuttered. Her gaze flickered from Jonathan to you and back again. "I just...I wanted to say, um...I'm sorry about everything," she said, making sure you knew she was talking to you too.

You, however, didn't care. "Thanks. Bye." You snapped, glaring as harshly as you could at the brunette. Nancy flinched but she couldn't walk away just yet. "Sorry...um, everyone's thinking about you..." she tried, "It sucks," she gave Jonathan a sad smile. You rolled your eyes, grabbing another poster from Jonathan to hang up around town.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's a smart kid," Nancy added, throwing another cautionary glance at you before the bell rang and she had to leave for a test.

"What are you doing now?" you asked.

"I-I'm about to go to my dad's to look for him," Jonathan sighed.

"I'm coming with you. Let's go," you said, pulling your bag up on your shoulder. Jonathan started to protest, but you were already out the door. "Okay then," he sighed. You were standing by his car pulling impatiently on the handle. You drove silently for a while until you couldn't stand the music he was playing anymore. You grabbed the tapes out of his backseat and rifled through them with a scowl.

"Dude, seriously? No Metallica?" you sighed, dropping a Talking Heads tape.

Jonathan chuckled, shaking his head, "No! I told you I like the calmer stuff," he replied.

You rolled your eyes, digging around for some other tape and settled on a mixtape. "Calmer stuff," you scoffed. Jonathan started up the tape which was thankfully one you could bop along to.

Both teens stopped when the first bars of Should I Stay, Or Should I Go? started. It was Will's favorite. You smiled comfortingly at Jonathan and nodded along to the song.

You stared out the window as you neared Lonnie's neighborhood. You sighed, twisting your hair around your finger while Jonathan parked a few houses down from Lonnie's. "Look, stay in the car, okay?" he said, reaching into the back for his bag.

"No way! I can help look for him. Do you think Lonnie is just going to hand him over if he is here?" you asked, staring at him with big eyes. Jonathan sighed, giving in. You climbed out of the car, staying close to Jonathan and hissing at a neighbor who looked her up and down. Jonathan gently pulled you in front of him, glaring back at the boy as you ran up to the door.

He frantically knocked on the door until a woman opened up, obnoxiously chewing her gun. "Can I help you?" she asked rudely.

"Hey. Is Lonnie around?" Jonathan asked, not really looking at her. The lady furrowed her eyebrows, "Yeah, he's out back. What do you want?" she asked.

"To look around," Jonathan said, pushing past her with you in tow. You called Will's name, opening doors and bumping into each other when Lonnie ran up and pushed Jonathan against a wall, getting a yelp from you. Jonathan shoved his father off him, "You've gotten stronger," Lonnie said, punching Jonathan's chest.

You glared daggers at him from the hall, "Jonathan this is Cynthia. Cynthia, this is Jonathan. My oldest," Lonnie said.

"Who is she?" Cynthia snipped, pointing at you. "Oh...that one. Your crazy friend," Lonnie said, "Don't call her that. Her name is y/n, Lonnie. And I'm here for Will," Jonathan said, pushing him back to run out back. Cynthia glanced from the yard to the teenager in her living room and tapped your arm.

"You want a drink or something?" she asked. You stared at her silently. "Okay..." Cynthia trailed, walking away. Jonathan eventually walked back inside, and you left quickly and quietly. Jonathan drove back into town with you sitting quietly beside him.

He drove up to your house, noticing your mom wasn't home. "She's probably out helping look for Will. I'll see you tomorrow," you said before walking inside.

No more than a minute after you walked into the house did the phone ring. "Henderson residence." you sighed. "Uh, h-hey, y/n!"

"Steve?" you frowned, "How did you get my number?" you asked. Steve shrugged on the other end, "Yellow pages." you rubbed your temples.

This guy is going to give me grey hairs.

"Okay, well, throw that page out. I don't really feel like dealing with you and your shitty friends outside of school too," you said, slamming the phone on the wall. There was no reason for King Steve Harrington to call you. Especially to call your home phone when your little brother could answer. He gets picked on enough at the middle school and high schoolers were way more ruthless than twelve-year-olds. Most twelve-year-olds.

You made a late dinner out of the food your mom left and sat in bed to try and get some homework done. A few hours in you heard the phone start ringing again. You sighed, dropping your head back on your shoulders. "Yeah?" you answered, leaned up on the wall.

"Hi! y/n, hey, it's-it's Nancy," Nancy stuttered on the other end. You sighed, letting your head hang.

"Dude, I swear to God, if this is some, like, initiation thing to mess with the weird kid to date the popular guy, don't waste your time. Just go ahead and tell them I cried like a baby, okay?" you said, going to hang up when Nancy hurriedly stopped you.

"No! No! No! It's nothing like that at all! I'm really sorry about the other day, I didn't know what I was supposed to say...I was kinda surprised is all," she mumbled.

You sat quietly for a minute, deciding to hear her out. "Well, I guess it's okay. You didn't do anything. Anyways, what do you want?" you asked, "Um, I'm at this party at Steve's...and Barb left. And I could really use a ride home? Or could I stay at yours? If you don't want to or you can't that's totally fine!" Nancy spluttered, really trying not to disturb Steve upstairs.

You sighed heavily into the receiver, also trying hard to show how much of a bother this was. "I guess... Gimme fifteen minutes," you said and hung up without waiting for an answer. Everyone knew where Steve lived, so you didn't have to ask. You slipped on some shoes and grabbed your keys before making the drive to the Harrington house. Nancy was already outside waiting. She jogged up to the car and hopped in, smiling nervously at the girl driving.

"Hey! Thank you so much! You didn't have to do this," she said. You nodded and drove off while Nancy was buckling in, "I know." Nancy pursed her lips and looked out the window. She listened to the Iron Maiden album playing quietly in the background and glanced at your white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.

"Um...hey, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I-I should have said something and defended you. I know we're not really friends, but I know you enough to be nice and keep people from treating you like that. I'm really sorry," Nancy said, twiddling her thumbs.

You shrugged, "It's really fine, Nancy. I was just pissed at everyone else, and you were just trying to help...'M sorry too..." you said, pulling into your own driveway. Nancy looked at the house in confusion.

"You can stay here tonight so you don't have to get in trouble with your mom. Just tell her you're here and you lost track of time and forgot to call," you said and got out of the car. Nancy got out and followed you inside, shutting the door softly behind her. You were sitting in your room, making sure Nancy would have enough room to sleep.

"If you don't wanna share a bed that's fine. Couch is out there if you want it," you said, pulling the blankets back and crawling into the fluffy oasis. Nancy shook her head with a small smile, "That's okay! I don't mind..." she said, taking her jacket off. "There's pajamas in the top drawer if you want them," you mumbled, starting to fall asleep. Nancy said "thanks" and changed into an oversized Def Leppard t-shirt and some shorts. She wandered into the kitchen and quickly called home.

Her mom was upset, but happy she was safe and back somewhere "on time" as Nancy used your lie. Nancy turned out the light and climbed into bed. "Night Nance..." you trailed off, "I guess you're alright," you added with a snicker. Nancy smiled, "Goodnight, y/n. Thanks."

<3

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case

Ch. Two - Fuck Steve Harrington

summary: a bad day of bullying leads to miscommunications and unwarranted anger, teeth grinding, cw: this may be v long, afab! reader, minimal use of y/n, bullying, language, taking out anger on wrong people, teeth grinding author's note: hullo

Monday, November 7, 1983

Outrage was an understatement to describe the feeling in your chest when you walked into your second period class and Jonathan was nowhere to be found. You dug your nails into the wood of the desk and ground your teeth. The girl who sat next to you cringed at the scraping sound but was too afraid to say anything.

As you ground your teeth for the millionth time that class, Carol Perkins turned around in her chair to glare at you. "Can you stop being a freak? It's so annoying," Carol huffed, turning back around.

You rolled your eyes, "Can you stop acting like a smelly cunt? It's so annoying." Carol whipped around to gape at you. You smiled and widened your eyes, trying and succeeding in creeping her out. Carol narrowed her eyes at you but turned back to face the front when the teacher snapped Carol's name with a threat of detention.

You threw your bologna at Eddie Munson and sat on the empty bleachers in the football field to eat the remnants of your lunch. "Well, well...isn't this a treat?" you rolled your eyes. Tommy and Carol walked up the loud metal steps to your lunch spot.

"Hello," you mumbled to them, taking a bite of your now plain mustard sandwich. "What'd you bring me, weirdo?" Tommy asked, snatching the bread and opening it. Him and Carol scrunched up their faces and laughed.

"Only mustard?" Carol scoffed, "What? Are you that poor you can't even afford lunch meat?" she sneered. You chuckled, opening your Star Crunch and taking a big bite. "My bologna is currently in Eddie Munson's mane. You wanna make fun of someone, go make fun of him. He gets a kick out of it," you said, smiling sarcastically at the couple.

Carol pouted, sitting next to you on the bleachers, tightly wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You tensed up, looking pleadingly at a girl sitting two rows away. The girl pursed her lips and looked to the ground, putting her headphones on. You sighed, playing with the plastic around your snack. "Now why would we make fun of you? We're buddies! Aren't we?" Carol asked, looking at her boyfriend.

Tommy hummed in fake sincerity, "Oh, hell yeah!" he said. He leaned up on the seat next to you. "We're super close..." Tommy said, pushing your sandwich mustard side down onto your face. You wrinkled your nose at the smell of the yellow sauce as Carol took the other half and smushed it into your hair.

You huffed, shoving the girl off you and grabbing your bag. You kicked Tommy in the shin to get him out of your way and glared at them. Especially the girl who ignored you.

"Great..." you sighed, picking tiny pieces of bread out of your hair as you stomped back into school with no intention of staying any longer.

"Shit!"

Steve gasped as he ran straight into you, spilling his Coke all over you and turning your clothes brown. You closed your eyes and bit your tongue to hold in the scream you wanted to let out in Steve's face.

"Whoa, y/n, what happened? I'm really sorry I-," You interrupted him with a frustrated groan. "Just shut up, Steve! God, stop pretending you care! The lunch time assault was probably all your idea anyway!" you yelled.

You tried to shove past him and the other students that had gathered around to watch you get drenched in soda.

"Hang on. What?" Steve asked, following after you.

You spun around and threw your hands up, "Let me put it in the simplest terms so you can understand: Fuck you!"

Steve stopped in his tracks, watching you leave with a defeated feeling. He couldn't figure out why you were so mad. He didn't mean to spill his drink on you, he just wasn't watching where he was going. He knew he wasn't the smartest guy in the world, let alone Hawkins, but he could put pieces together to figure out that it wasn't all his fault. And he definitely wasn't going to take the fall for it.

Nancy saw you walking by covered in yellow and brown stains before you ducked into the bathroom. She was going to ignore it since you and Nancy barely knew each other, but you'd been good to Mike and her mom loved you so she couldn't toss it aside.

"Y/n?" Nancy spoke, walking into the bathroom. You were standing at the mirror trying to strip the mustard from your hair with a paper towel.

"Hey..." you sighed. You huffed and snatched some more napkins out of the dispenser.

"Do...do you want some help?" Nancy asked. You spared her a glance and sighed. You slumped in on yourself and begrudgingly gave her the paper towel wad you had in your hand.

"Here..." Nancy laughed awkwardly, wetting them and trying to gently wipe your cheek. "What happened?" she asked, dragging the napkins through your hair.

"Your little boyfriend's stupid friends. Cornered me during lunch," you grumbled. Nancy stopped and shrugged, "Well...I mean, it wasn't Steve's fault," she chuckled. You rolled your eyes. Of course it wasn't Steve's fault. It was never Steve's fault.

"Wouldn't surprise me..." you murmured. Nancy grabbed a few more paper towels and ran them under water. "Well, just because they're friends doesn't really mean anything...he's a nice guy! He wouldn't..." Nancy tried.

You scoffed, "Sure. Just like he wouldn't help Tommy and his other douchebag basketball buddies stuff Eddie Munson into a locker. Thanks a lot, Nancy, I'll see you around," you grabbed your stuff and hightailed it out of there. You nearly sprinted out to your car, trying to avoid anyone as you climbed into your car.

You could see Steve talking to Tommy and Carol by the gym entrance. Probably laughing it up about their newest conquest. In reality, Steve was pissed. You were angry with him because Tommy and Carol were assholes.

"Dude, seriously?" Steve sighed, tapping Tommy on the shoulder.

"What?! She doesn't get to walk around like that and talk shit to Carol!" Tommy replied, tossing his arms up. Carol crossed her arms, nodding in agreement. Steve huffed, torn on what he was supposed to do. In the couple hours he'd spent one on one with you, he found out you weren't as bad as people made you out to be. You made him laugh and you actually had a lot in common. Not that he would ever tell Tommy that.

"Well, now she's pissed at me. And she's my partner for this stupid project in Mrs. Click's! Dammit!" Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. Tommy and Carol rolled their eyes.

"C'mon man. No way you feel bad for her. It's her own fault, dude! If she didn't act so weird maybe people wouldn't pick on her," Tommy said, putting his hands up in defense. He finally just shrugged, tossing an arm around Carol and leading her back into the school. Steve sighed, catching the end of your car as you drove down the street.

You were going fifteen over the speed limit to get home. Now that Dustin had his bike back, you didn't have to wait for him. You ran inside, ignoring your mother's worried squeaking at the yellow "staining" her daughter's head and slammed the bathroom door. You turned on the shower and sat on the closed toilet lid, burying your face in your hands.

Why you? What did you ever do? As you stepped into the shower and started washing your hair, you were kicking yourself in your mind. How could you let yourself think that Steve might not be who you thought he was? And how could Nancy make excuses for him? Just because he had good hair and they made out sometimes? It was obvious Nancy was just as blind as everyone else.

"Evie, honey? I-I went ahead and put out some pajamas for you. Maybe we can watch a movie before Dusty gets home? Just us two?" your mom asked, softly knocking on the door. You sniffed and said a quiet "okay..." before you wiped down the mirror and sighed at your reflection. You only had a few words swimming in your head.

Fuck Nancy. Fuck Hawkins. And fuck Steve Harrington.

<3

[callme-dickmaster]

Sweetheart Masterlist

summary: eddie munson x reader. Reader moves to Hawkins in the fall of 1984 and finds monsters are just as real as the long haired metalhead in her class.

To be completed

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19

[callme-dickmaster]

Basket Case - (Steve Harrington x reader)

Ch. One - King Steve

summary: November of 1983 in the sleepy town of Hawkins started like any other until Steve Harrington is paired with resident basket case Y/n Henderson, kids go missing, and monsters are real

cw: 18+ (minors dni) this may be v long, afab!reader, language, minimal use of y/n, bullying, (put this one in second person because I felt it fit better)

author's note: hey lol

Friday, November 4th, 1983

You weren't used to this. Being put on the spot in front of an entire class of twenty other kids just didn't happen to you. You thought at this point in your school career, the teachers would know you would either self-destruct or stutter like a moron.

"Miss Henderson? We're all waiting?" Mr. Mundy sniffed, his runny nose making you want to gag.

"U-uh...um..." you squeaked before scrunching up your face and dropping your head on the desk. Mr. Mundy sighed while the other kids in class laughed at you. "Anyway, kids, factorizing the polynomials..." the old man's voice slipped to the back of your mind while you mustered up the courage to move your head to see the board through your hair. You accidentally made eye contact with Claire Sims and immediately shifted your eyes to the tile floor.

The dismissal bell rang, and you were the first person out of the room. You stalked down the hallway with your head down and weaved through other students to get to your locker. You hissed under your breath at Eddie Munson doing whatever stupid shit he and his bandmates think is funny in the middle of the hallway next to your locker.

"Hey, y/n," Eddie smiled, leaning on the locker beside you. You smacked your hand on yours and popped it open, making Eddie flinch.

"You have any trouble today?" Eddie asked, twisting some rings on his fingers. You sighed and shook your head, yanking out your biology book and lunch bag. "Figures. Tommy and Carol skipped this morning. Gross..." Eddie wrinkled his nose. You slammed your locker shut and stomped down the hallway, leaving Eddie and his Hellfire friends where they stood.

You slipped into your next class and threw your bag on the floor beside your table and Jonathan Byers'. "Hi, y/n," Jonathan mumbled, sending you a small smile.

You glanced at him, sliding your bologna sandwich across the table to take his PB&J like you did every day. "Bologna again?" Jonathan teased, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. You sighed and nodded, "She knows I hate it. She does it just to slowly kill me from the inside out," you growled. Jonathan chuckled, putting the evil sandwich in his bag.

Mr. Kaminski shuffled into the classroom and mumbled through the lesson, avoiding eye contact with you and Jonathan like the plague until the bell dismissed you to the cafeteria. Or, in yours and Jonathan's case, to the yearbook's red room so he could develop pictures and you didn't have to sit alone. You munched on your sandwich and chips, folding your algebra homework into a fortune teller.

"Oh, hey...Will wanted me to thank you for the colored pencils. He loves them..." Jonathan spoke up, smiling at the picture he was poking with tongs. You nodded, tossed your trash, and waved at Jonathan as you walked out. Jonathan waved back and watched you walk to wherever you went after lunch.

You shuffled through the empty halls, enjoying the quiet as you followed cracks in the tile with your eyes. "Oh, God, look at her," Carol Perkins scoffed to her boyfriend and their friends stood in the main hallway. "Jesus, it's like she does it on purpose," Tommy snickered.

Steve Harrington stood up from the drinking fountain. He looked up and down the empty hall, missing you completely as you slid around the corner.

"Who?" Steve asked. Carol snorted, "That screwball loser y/n," she sneered. Steve pursed his lips and nodded, "What's she doing?" he asked the couple.

"She's just fuckin' weird. Like, why does she have to freak everyone out twenty-four-seven?" Tommy laughed. Steve rolled his eyes with a smile. He had no idea what happened to you. You used to be cool as far as he knew.

"Hey, you think Munson put a curse on her or something?" Tommy whispered to Steve. "Like, maybe she wouldn't screw him, and he cursed her for the rest of time?" Carol laughed.

Steve snorted, pulling his bag over his shoulder, "Well, we'll probably never know. I gotta go to history. I'll see you guys," he said, waving to them. Carol smiled and waved before she pulled Tommy in the direction of their next class. Steve sighed, tossing his bag on the floor and greeting his basketball buddies while Mrs. Click rummaged around at her desk for her class papers.

"Okay, everyone! Today, we're going to start on a project," Mrs. Click said to the dismay of the entire class. You straightened a bit in your seat. History was your favorite.

"Please be quiet so I can finish..." Mrs. Click sighed, "You'll be working in groups of two with one group of three. I'll be partnering you up this time. You can thank Mr. Carver for that..." she said, sending a pointed look to Jason Carver, who shrugged with a smug smile on his face. Mrs. Click sighed, sitting at her desk again to slip on her glasses and call out names.

"Okay...Jimmy and Robin..." she started. You laid your head on the desk and started scribbling a drawing of Robin Buckley sitting behind Steve Harrington. "...and Steve and Evelyn! Okay! So go ahead and get comfortable with your partners because this is where you're sitting for the rest of the semester," Mrs. Click said.

Steve couldn't fucking believe it. No way Mrs. Click just partnered him up with a spaz like you. Like, seriously? What did he ever do to her to deserve this?

"Um, hey, Steve? Can Jimmy take your spot? Everywhere else is full," Robin Buckley asked, tapping his shoulder. Steve blinked and nodded, mumbling a "yeah, sorry" before he grabbed his things and crossed the room to the empty seat beside you. You were still in your own world, scribbling away and glancing at Robin every few seconds. You licked your finger and smudged the lead around Robin's feet for shadows.

"Uh...hey..." Steve said awkwardly, sitting in his new seat. You paused, turning to look at him slowly through your hair before looking back down at your drawing. Steve sighed, pulling out his notebook. "Shit," he huffed, mad he couldn't find his pencil.

Smack!

Steve jumped and turned to the lump of black hair and clothing next to him that slammed a mechanical pencil on his desk. You slipped your hand into your pocket and pulled out another for yourself. You pumped out the lead and kept scribbling as Mrs. Click started handing out directions for the assignment. She tapped you on the shoulder and gave you two pieces of paper. You blew your bangs from your eyes and read over the outline.

Steve tapped his fingers on the desk, awkwardly watching you read over the paper. "D-do I get one? Or..." he trailed off, trying to read it. You smirked, licking a full stripe up your palm to your fingers. Then, you separated the papers and passed him the one you decided was his. Steve pursed his lips, grabbing it with as little contact as possible.

"Thanks," he mumbled. You giggled and started writing down some ideas you were already well versed in and ones you knew you could do by yourself if Steve decided he was too good to even try and do the work.

"Alright, you'll have the rest of this class period to work and until next Friday to turn this in. We'll do any presentations the following Monday. Okay, have fun," Mrs. Click said. The class started talking and scooting desks together except for one pair that sat silently while one wrote down ideas and the other watched curiously.

"U-um...I think we should do the sewing machine, the telephone, or the Model-T...I'll let you pick," you said, pushing your paper toward him so he could see your long list of project ideas, including some other things from previous subjects you thought would get some extra credit.

Steve let a smile pull at the corners of his lips before he snuck another look at you. You returned to your Robin picture and were bringing out the curls in her hair when Steve spoke again. "You're really into this stuff, huh?" he asked. You just nodded, smudging your art.

"Shit! Did you draw that?" Steve asked, scooting closer to you, which made you move a couple of inches away.

"S-sorry...did you though?" he asked again, raising his eyebrows. You hesitated but nodded, pushing it his way so he could see. "Wow...wait, that's the girl that sits behind me, right?" Steve asked, looking at the drawing up close. You nodded, picking at your fingers and biting your nails.

"I get bored when we talk about stuff I already...know about..." you mumbled, shading in Robin's shoes.

"That's really good. You should show her," Steve said. You shook your head. You would rather die than give anyone you've drawn their picture. Especially a complete stranger you only shared a class with. Steve shrugged, "I think you should, but it's your drawing," he said, looking back down at the list and circling two of the subjects you picked.

"How about these?" he asked, passing the paper back. You scratched your nail over the circles and shrugged, grabbing a highlighter and highlighting the two subjects plus an extra credit subject you thought would be good enough.

"I'll be in the library after school until four-thirty. "Don't be late, King Steve," you said before you grabbed your things and fled from your seat. Steve almost got a word in, but you were already across the room, standing in front of Robin. "Here, I drew you," you said, giving her the drawing and walking away. Robin's eyes widened, looking down at the drawing and back up at where you stood two seconds ago.

Steve sighed, tearing a page from his book and writing a note for his new obsession (Nancy Wheeler): "Meet up tonight? Pick you up at 7." He slipped the note into her locker and struggled through his last classes of the day until the final bell sounded and Steve had to sit in the library for two whole hours with you. He was a little scared to see what would happen if he didn't show.

Walking into the stuffy room, he saw you sitting at one of the round tables in the back, doodling away at another picture. "Hey," Steve said, setting his stuff down and grabbing his history books. You glanced at him, closing up your drawing and grabbing your books.

The hours flew by faster than you both thought they would. Steve thought your constant silence would drive him crazy, but the moments he did get you to talk were nice. You always seemed to want to say more and talk about whatever was on your mind, but you stopped yourself every time. You were only afraid of getting made fun of. You didn't like Steve very much, and you knew who he was. Acting all nice and pretending he cared about what you had to say wasn't enough for you to even begin to trust him. He was an asshole, and that was all he would ever be to you. Nothing more.

"So, do you wanna...work on it Monday? Or..." Steve asked, standing with you.

You shrugged, "That's fine. I don't think going to your house would do much good anyway, so, yeah, that's cool," you said, checking your watch and making your way to the exit. Steve furrowed his eyebrows and scrambled to catch up to you. "W-why would you think that?" he asked, glancing up and down the hallway.

You rolled your eyes, clutching your books to your chest, "For the exact same reason you're looking around making sure nobody can see us talking," you said, pushing open the door to the parking lot.

Steve sighed and closed his eyes. He'd been caught. He didn't know why he cared so much if people saw. It's not like he would immediately be labeled a loser if someone saw him hanging out with you. He didn't want his rep taking any hits...like an asshole...But it's not like he wanted to be friends with you anyway, so it didn't matter in the first place.

"Look, I gotta go get my brother. See you Monday, Harrington," you said, turning on your heel and walking into the parking lot. Steve sighed, spinning his keys on his finger and going to his own car. He sat in the driver's seat, watching you climb into your green Chevelle and toss your bag in the back seat.

Steve shook his head to snap himself out of whatever the hell was wrong with his brain and drove home. You sighed, thankful Dustin's bike was coming out of the shop the next day, and you wouldn't have to drive him around anymore. You loved your brother, but he was a pain in the ass.

"Dustin! C'mon!" you called, rolling your window down. Dustin held up a "wait" finger to his friends and ran to the car. "Hey, can we take the rest of the party home too?" he asked. You sighed, giving him a look. Dustin pouted, pulling the best puppy dog eyes he could. "Fine. Are they going to their homes, or are you guys keeping me up all night?" you asked as Dustin hopped in the passenger seat. The other three party members shoved their bikes into the trunk and squeezed into the back.

"Thanks, y/n!" Will said, buckling in. "Yeah, thank you!" Lucas and Mike said. You sighed and nodded, starting your tape and driving off.

love you <3

[callme-dickmaster]

tragic day for the weird girls of the world. we love you shelly.

[callme-dickmaster]

I’m up thinking so here’s something I jus thought of that I might write someday. I got wayyyy to into it and it’s kinda lame but whatever

In another world Will never went missing and Mike and his friends never had to go to Murkwood to find that scared little girl with a number on her arm. Jonathan never got to know Nancy or get just tipsy enough at Murray’s house that he slept with her. Joyce never cried over her missing son because he came right back home on Monday after school. Her fiancée Bob is starting to fit right in with Jonathan now that they can talk about cameras together. Hopper never had a chance to fix his problems because he never got the people he really needed in his life so he is still a drunk chief just trying to survive with a shitty cabin in the woods no one but a fugitive child with superpowers stays in with no one else but her knowing. Steve never got that summer job at Scoops Ahoy and Robin did indeed end up slinging ice cream with another schmuck from the basketball team who bullied her relentlessly until she ends up working at Family Video on her own to escape. Billy ran away to California after one too many slaps from his father. Max is still coming to terms with the crush she has on the cute boy on the basketball team she befriended eighth grade Halloween. Nancy and Barb are trying to plan their college dorm decorations while Steve has started interning under his dad. He loves his girlfriend by the way. Even if she got a little too drunk at a Halloween party and tried to dance on a table. And then there’s Eddie. Eddie Munson. You know him right? Yeah everyone does he’s the one that ditched Hawkins once he graduated to become a rockstar. He’s trying I promise! He just has to get out of the Guitar Center he works at first… And the shitty apartment him, Jeff, and Gareth share. There are no Demogorgons, there is no Mind Flayer, no Vecna, because it’s all just a silly campaign that high school senior Will Byers came up with for his last Hellfire campaign before he graduates. Before his best friend and huge crush Mike goes away to college. And before Dustin and Will decide which dorm hall they want to stay in. And before Lucas goes off on his own scholarship. He does feel however, that the story he writes for his last big campaign feels a little too real. And just a bit too close to home.

[callme-dickmaster]

CUTE DATE IDEA: go to a medieval torture museum and tell each other which devices you would put each other in

[callme-dickmaster]

Show me

Please

ok

[callme-dickmaster]

New name yall

Siouxsiesiouxtryhard is no more 😩

[callme-dickmaster]

captain’s log comic pages (updated as we go)

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[callme-dickmaster]

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart | Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader | 18+

Summary: You and Eddie have both had crap luck on dates lately, nothing that can't be fixed with a strawberry milkshake. However, he gets asked out on a date and it goes well...until it turns your life on its head and he forgets how to pick up the phone. You don't even care that he's dating someone else you just want your best friend back.

Warnings: idiots in love, best friends to lovers, ANGST, brief EddiexChrissy, ooc Chrissy, attempted SA, bestfriend!Steve, and needy, desperate smut that makes it all worth it.

Thanks to @forget-you-morelike-fuck-you for editing bestie

I’m astounded at the response to the preview I posted last week. Thank you so much for the love, I hope you enjoy all 40k

-

As you pull up to the little house at the end of the street, you look over to the sweet boy with blonde hair and green eyes nervously, curtaining a strand of hair behind one ear. He shoots you a smirk, white pearly teeth peeking from behind pretty pink lips. The date has gone phenomenally well, the conversation over dinner was easy and your date even easier on the eyes. You smooth your hands over the dress you’re wearing, picking at imaginary lint as you’re entirely unsure of what to say next.

Daniel, your date, leans onto the center console, the scent of his minty breath roping you in. “So, dinner was like, forty dollars.”

Your brows pinch together, the topic of conversation coming from left field.

“And the flowers were about twenty.” He says, his voice hinting at a subtext lost on you.

You think back to the flowers, a cascade of spring colours that drenched you in their floral scent. They sit on your dresser in a vase, waiting eagerly for you to come home.

“Okay…?” You ask, unsure of what he’s getting at.

Daniel sighs, suddenly the frustration you didn’t see before is clear on his face. “Well, I think I deserve some compensation for the princess treatment, don’t you think?”

He’s raising his brow suggestively, and the atmosphere in the car turns thick as you realize what he’s referring to. You feel so stupid. Suddenly the smirk on his face isn’t sweet, it’s sleazy. The cologne he’s wearing isn’t earthy, it’s gross. He’s not a good guy, and you feel foolish for thinking otherwise.

You think fast, lowering your eyelashes in a feigned blush. “Actually, I think it deserves just a little more than that. Be right back, I’m going to grab a condom.” You wink as you get out, the cherry on top.

Daniel lights right up, apparently not expecting his ridiculous method to work. The sound of him undoing his belt makes you nearly gag as you run in the front door.

Your dad, the sweetheart of a single father he is, welcomes you with a kind smile until he sees your crestfallen face. “You okay?”

“No,” you choke back, tears threatening to fall down your cheeks. “He’s demanding I repay him for dinner.”

“Repay?” You tilt your head, inferring what it means. “Oh. Fucking twerp. You need me to–”

“Can I have 60 bucks?” You interrupt him, avoiding his angry eyes.

He melts. “Sure.”

You walk back out the door, head held high right to the little corvette that sits at the end with the cheeky asshole sitting contently, waiting for his treat. The window is still open from earlier in the night, which works right in your favor.

“Here,” you toss the bills at him, allowing a small smile to grace your face at his confusion. “Since you’re so worried about being paid.”

As soon as he understands what you’re telling him, his face curves into a scowl, embarrassed, but too proud to say so. “Like I wanted to do it with Eddie Munson’s slut anyway!”

Halfway back up to the house, you turn back to the car as the engine growls into the night. How does that make sense? you wonder. Why am I being called a slut when I refused to put out?

The front door to your house slams shut again, and your dad receives the message that you would not like to talk about it. “Ed called just now, by the way,” he mentions as you reach the top of the stairs. Your pause in gait tells him you heard him, but you don’t respond because you can hear the smirk he wears, as much as you repeatedly tell him that Eddie is just a friend.

The flowers you thought so fondly of now have a looming presence in your room, like a dark shadow menacingly waiting in the corner. You ignore them as you lift the pastel phone to your ear, dialing the number you know by heart.

He picks up on the first ring. “Hi, sweetheart.” Relief washes over you, instant and comforting.

“Hey, Eds. How was your date?” You and he had the same plans tonight, you just hope it turned out better for him.

“It sucked,” he sighs, sounding like he’s rummaging through his messy chest of drawers. “She didn’t want a date, I guess.”

“Well what did she want?” You ask, going through your own drawers for something comfier to wear.

“Uh, to be shown a good time,” he answers dryly, the sound of rummaging coming to a sudden stop. “Heard the rumors of Munson’s magic fingers and apparently only wanted that.”

Yikes, you think. Eddie’s had many hook ups in the back of his van, but as of late he’s finding himself defeated when they don’t want him, just what he can do for them. Your heart hurt for him last week when he admitted they rarely, if ever, reciprocated.

You didn’t think it’d be an appropriate moment to tell him you would happily reciprocate for him.

“That’s extremely shitty. Guess it’s not all that different from my date though, who expected payback from spending a lousy sixty bucks.”

“Payback?”

“Asked me to suck his dick and pointed to it,” you say, a million times more bluntly than you could to your dad.

“I knew that Daniel guy was an asshole,” he mutters, mostly to himself. “I think our shitty dates deserve each other.”

You laugh, holding the PJs you plan on wearing as you sit cross legged on your bed. “To be honest, I don’t think Daniel would’ve been all that great in bed anyway.”

“I could’ve told you that. He looks like he would call thirty seconds a long time,” Eddie laughs. “Sit tight, princess, I think we’ve earned pancake night at Benny’s.”

“C’mon, I was just about to get comfy!” You whine.

“Nah, wear the pretty dress. It deserves to see a strawberry milkshake, don’t you agree?”

Honestly, a milkshake night with your best friend is exactly what you need. “Sure. See you in twenty?”

“Eh, ten.”

You throw out the flowers, tossing the vase full of water into the kitchen sink, shrugging when your dad gives you an apologetic look. You certainly are already over it, just another asshole in Hawkins, who would’ve thought? When the loud music from Eddie’s stereo pulls up, your dad nods in understanding, telling you to have fun as you leave through the front door.

The date night dress you wear is a summer dress that sits just above your knees, held together by spaghetti straps decorated with pretty blue florals. It's a dress you go to for formal events, and even saw a dance or two back in high school. Of course, you had to dust it off for the cute boy in your Psych class who ended up being a complete dickwad.

The fabric of Eddie’s beat up van is familiar. So familiar that you could argue his passenger seat has a permanent indent from your ass. Eddie has, in fact, pointed it out from one night stoned in the back with him, giggling as you vehemently denied it. At your sudden quiet shut down stature, he patted your ass gently, claiming that he didn’t want any other person’s ass planted on his seat except yours.

That conversation, as hazy as it was, stayed in your mind for days after the fact.

Eddie’s dressed in his own version of a date night outfit, tight jeans exposing his knees with jagged rips under a leather jacket and plain black t-shirt. He’s gorgeous, tauntingly so. It’s not much different from an ordinary outfit, but the faint smell of fresh laundry detergent and his best cologne is the best evidence he’s all dressed up.

The loud music speaks for him, loudly, pulling off before your seatbelt is even clicked into place.

The path from your house to Benny’s is well trekked by you and Eddie on late nights when you should’ve been doing homework but ended up goofing off instead. Martha, a waitress that’s been working there well over twenty years, smiles with smeared red lipstick and too much blue eyeshadow.

You walk in stride with each other, straight to the corner booth as the husk of 20 years of chain smoking barks over the gentle music, “Hey, you two! Eddie, are you finally taking this girl of yours on a date?”

Shut up, you silently beg her, avoiding either of their eyes as you stare at your lap, seemingly fixated on a loose thread at the hem of your dress.

“Oh, I’m not that lucky,” Eddie winks, throwing his arm behind you on the back of the booth. “We’re just recovering after shitty dates.”

“One day, you two,” she muses, tapping her pen rhythmically on her little notepad. It’s never been the same notepad twice, always decorated with a little cartoon sticker on the front. You’re tempted to run to the dollar store and grab her a larger one, but a part of you thinks she thrives on her many little notepads. “Alright, a large strawberry milkshake with two straws, pancakes with extra strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries on top, and waffles loaded with whipped cream and sprinkles. Correct?”

You nod in unison, both aware that she insists you will collectively rot the teeth out from your gums if you insist on overdosing with sugar every damn time you waltz in late at night. She’s given up offering other menu items, having ordered extra strawberries just to make up for your love of the fruit.

Less than five minutes later, following the blissful sound of a blender, the milkshake is wordlessly dropped off at the table, closer to you as even Martha knows you will be drinking 75% of it. The sweet, pinky taste flows easily down your throat, humming softly as you dip into the whipped cream with a finger. “Best milkshake in town,” You assert.

“I wouldn’t know,” Eddie answers, smirking, “you never let us get a milkshake from anywhere else!”

You giggle, licking some of the whipped cream that found a home in the corner of your mouth. “I could never! It would be like cheating! This milkshake would just know,” you drop your voice to a whisper, “it would smell the other milkshakes on me!”

“We couldn’t have that,” Eddie grins, grabbing the large glass to take a sip. “Sorry your date was such a jerk.”

You shrug, already having gotten over it. You’ll just need to sit on the other side of the lecture hall from now on. “He seemed so nice.”

“No offense, sweetheart, but I could’ve told you that Daniel Moore was a shitty person,” Eddie finishes another sip of the milkshake, making a large dip in the glass as the pink slush is pulled up the straw. “He likes to instigate.”

You rest your chin on your elbow, sad the milkshake is already nearly gone. “I had just hoped he would’ve matured by now…”

“In seven months?” Eddie asks you incredulously, raising his brows past his curly bangs. His expression quickly turns curious, tilting his head at you.

“What?”

“So, you’re willing to bet that Daniel Moore has improved just based on personal speculation alone but you’re not willing to believe me when I say Steve Harrington is no longer a douche?”

You roll your eyes. God, you should’ve seen this one coming. “That’s different! I only heard about Daniel. Steve Harrington actually sat back and laughed when Tommy asked–”

“You out as a joke, yeah, I know, I’ve heard it before,” Eddie mumbles, grinning at your shocked expression. “Well, that was like what, three years ago?”

“I still can’t believe you’re friends with Steve Harrington now, of all people! Listen, I know he’s also Dustin’s friend, but I find it hard to believe that you guys even have something in common,” You shrug.

“I still can’t believe you refuse to give him another chance!” Eddie playfully retorts, licking some of the whipped cream that still sits on the rim of the glass. “He’s in your Sociology class, isn’t he?”

Yeah, and he seems to insist on forcing his friendship on you, too, no matter how much you resist it. If you found friendship in Eddie, it seems reasonable to find friendship with Steve, too. Yet, there’s a little part that remembers the cruel laughter, his carelessness with others’ lives, and it ripples down your spine in a violent shudder.

You haven’t gotten rid of the notion of being his friend completely, but it’s just not the right time for you, yet.

You shrug. The topic has too much nuance for a nice dinner with your best friend. Just in time, Martha wordlessly drops off the two plates, the smile that spreads across your face is effortless. Zachary, the night chef must’ve heard about the shitty night and added extra for you, because the mountain of strawberries on the table is huge, even for your standards.

Eddie smirks, reading your mind. “You gonna finish all those?”

“Absolutely!”

-

Eddie sits on one side of the open courtyard, flicking off ashes from his cigarette as he waits for you to get out of class. He mentally reflects on his crazy afternoon, taking another long, much needed drag. The car with the million symptoms was one thing, but the proposition he got right before, he couldn’t wrap his head around it.

It’s been 13 days since Daniel, four awkward classes of avoiding his glare, and you’ve decided to give up on boys completely. The one you want doesn’t want you, and the dates you’re going on don’t seem to do well no matter who you say yes to. The two offers you’ve gotten in the last week were therefore denied, realizing that even if they are cute, you don’t want to lead anyone on when your heart belongs to someone else.

Before the aforementioned date, you were practically begging for someone to ask you out, but for some inexplicable reason, now you’re getting offers left and right. Somehow people just know when you’re playing hard to get.

At least Eddie’s dates seem to be going terribly for him, as well. That’s one thing you can thankfully count on.

The puff of smoke that leaves his lips as you approach him should not be as gorgeous as it is. It’s practically unfair. “Hey, Eds.”

He flicks the filter, killing it on the cement table he sits at as he blows out one more puff. “Hey, sweetheart.”

Just from that particular look in his eye, you can tell something is on his mind. “You okay, there, Munson?”

He smirks, effortlessly standing up. “I suppose. I’m not sure how to react. Or how you’ll react.”

Your brows meet your hairline, watching his mind move at a million miles per hour. “Ok, Eddie, this better be about a new class of creatures in DnD, or something, because you’re scaring me.”

He smiles, nodding his head over to the halls that lead toward the front door of the campus. “Someone asked me out on a date, earlier, today.”

Your brows furrow, biting back the jealousy that eats at your chest. Every little part of you holds back the monster that threatens to claw its way out, to snarl and hiss at every girl that even so much as looks at him wrong. It’s hard to bite it back, to choke on it purposely, but if you must, you will.

It tastes like venom as you swallow it back down. “Oh, who?”

A faint pink spreads across Eddie’s cheeks, much to your dismay. Not once, in your fuck, what, seven, eight years, of friendship have you ever managed to see Eddie blush. (Just once but it was when you nearly walked in on him jerking himself off a few short years ago.) “Who?”

“Um Chrissy. Chrissy Cunningham?”

Your jaw drops, but your gut falls through the floor. You swear you hear it smash through the tiled floors and fall into the depths of hell.

“She asked you out?”

“Hey! Don’t act so surprised! A cheerleader could like me!”

That was the last thing on your mind. Of course a cheerleader could like Eddie, they’d be stupid not to. No. Every other girl that Eddie has either slept with, or gone on a date with brought no worry to your head, competition, per se. But a girl like Chrissy, one with pretty blonde curls, adorable smile and a sweet disposition, it’s like your worst nightmare come true.

Thanks to living in such a small town, you can recall 99% of the names that Eddie had told you, whether they be hookups or a date. Most of them didn’t intimidate you, only because, selfishly, you could nitpick at things you think wouldn’t work out with Eddie. Whether they were too vapid, too shallow, had none of the same interests as him, only shallowly liked him for his looks, or was a bully…you had something to give great comfort to you to prevent that little jealousy monster from clawing its way out.

This time, your brain wracked itself for some sort of answer. Some sort of flaw in the Queen of Hawkins High that could settle this uneasiness that has taken over your mind. Nothing. Nothing.

“I’m not surprised a cheerleader could like you, I’m surprised that Chrissy Cunningham asked you out,” you answer candidly, walking in step with him to where you supposed was his van. “I’m guessing you said yes?”

“I’d be crazy not to!” Eddie answered sheepishly, tugging at the sleeves of his leather jacket. “I’m taking her out on Friday night.”

“Ah, you’ll tell Steve to take Creeper off hold for us, then?” You try to keep your tone nonchalant, but bitter jealousy coats your tongue.

Eddie stops mid stride, faltering, his brows pinched as he gives you those big brown eyes. “Shit. It totally slipped my mind.”

This is also new. Even as his dates would happen, any previously made plans with him were always a priority. You just hope this doesn’t become a new habit of his.

“We’ll do it on Saturday, yeah?”

You nod, giving him the comfort you suddenly find yourself craving. From the pep in his step, the rosiness of his cheeks, the warm glint in his eyes, you can tell that he’s truly excited. As a best friend, you try to be happy for him, however hard it is to make the smile on your face even remotely convincing.

Eddie curls his arm around your shoulder, tugging you along with him for what will probably be another afternoon in his room, clouded by a haze of weed.

You smoke more than usual, if anything to allow his excitement and plans for his big date in two days to buzz into the background, the bong hit rippling through your lungs as a punishment for yourself.

-

A weight on your bed suddenly dips down and you sit up quickly to face Eddie sitting on the corner of your mattress with a small smile on his face. Your headphones, still playing the obnoxiously loud music that drowned out his knocks, fall off your head as you sit up. You press the STOP button, clicking loudly in the silence as you stare at your best friend.

The anxiety of his date has eaten you all night long, the only thing strong enough to distract it being music loud enough to hurt your eardrums. You always feel some sort of anxiety, but tonight was even worse, eating at your brain in fear of how painful it might be to be third wheeling with him after being his #1 for so long.

For once, you can’t tell how it went. A slimy, selfish part of you is hoping he shares bad news. His smile breaks. Into a bigger, much brighter beam. Damn.

“How did it go?” You ask, already knowing the answer.

Eddie slams himself onto the bed next to you, hiding his eyes with his hands with his dimples deep, his pearly whites exposed. “Fuck, it was the best date I’ve ever had.”

Your heart shatters. “That good?”

“God, she’s– much better than I thought she could’ve been,” Eddie answers, peeking out from behind his hands. “It’s fucking crazy.”

Of course Chrissy Cunningham, a known sweetheart, is everything he’s ever dreamed of. Of course she lived up to his expectations. Just your luck. “I’m just jealous of your remarkable turn in luck, I guess.”

Eddie chuckles, turning onto his stomach to face you as he kicks his feet. “You’ll have your turn, baby.”

The pet name stings in the worst way. Instead, you raise your brow at him. “Look at you lookin’ like a schoolgirl with a crush. Pretty boy doesn’t even need makeup with all that blush.”

He rolls his eyes, pinching you on the shin. “You’re such a shithead.”

“Yeah, well you still choose to hang out with me anyway, so, that’s on you.” It takes everything in you to ask the following question, “So, tell me about your date, will ya?”

He does. He rattles on and on about how pretty she is, how easy the conversation was, how much she surprised him, how the night ended with a kiss that had Eddie giggling. He lays next to you, leather jacket put aside on the corner chair and boots next to your bunny slippers at the end of your bed. Your small twin mattress has you close in proximity, your side in direct contact with him as he rests his head on his hands.

“She’s such a cool girl, you know?”

You’re half asleep by now, allowing the exhaustion to overwhelm the slight ache in your chest. It zaps through your heart, overwhelms your senses and makes you dizzy. Your eyes flutter shut, but Eddie keeps talking softly next to you.

“Why were you blasting your 8-track, anyway?”

The question harshly yanks you out of the haze, failing to think of something that doesn’t seem completely false. You wish you were a better liar. “Just stressed out about your date.”

He gives you a strange look, eyebrows tilted. “Hmm?”

“We both haven’t had a very good track record, lately, and if things won’t turn around for me, then at least they should do one of us a favor.” Not, not the truth, but definitely an over exaggerated version of it.

“You’re so good to me, you know?” Eddie asks, intertwining his hand with yours. “Wasting your anxiety on me.”

The rings are harsh against your skin, squeezing your fingers tightly. The physical hurt is almost comforting in direct contrast to your emotional hurt.

His scent is comforting, as it lures you like the pied piper into the land of sleep. It’s about another twenty minutes until he realizes there are soft snores coming from you. He doesn’t care to drive all the way home, despite it only being a five minute drive away.

He falls asleep to your comforting breaths, allowing your hand to remain engulfed in his.

-

The loud ringing of your phone jerks you awake, quickly crawling to the side of your bed as you grab it from the dock housed on the floor.

“Hello?” Sleep sits deep in your voice, spelling out clearly to your caller that you just woke up.

It just occurs to you that you could’ve just allowed your dad to answer it.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Eddie’s voice is chipper, alarmingly so since you’re not even awake yet.

“You sound way too awake for someone that didn’t believe in waking up before 1pm,” you quip, rubbing your eyes sleepily.

“Ha,” he deadpans, yet it's clear he’s smiling. “Chris wants to meet you. I mean, I know you’ve already met her, but you know, as my girlfriend?”

Ugh. It’s been a harrowing three weeks. “Yeah, sure. What did you want to do with her?”

“I thought we could introduce her to pancake night,” Eddie sheepishly answers, like he knows you would be hesitant to invite someone into your holy ritual.

Yeah. You don’t want to invite her. But…you asked for patience last month and it seemed that the universe has answered with a lovesick Eddie Munson.

“I don’t see why not,” you lie, finding it rolls off the tongue much easier than it used to.

“You’re the best! I’ll see after you study in the library, yeah?” He knows your schedule. On Thursdays after the morning Sociology class, you opt to crawl up into a small corner and hermit yourself with snacks and a pile of books to get the work that needs to be done finished.

In high school, you could get away with doing minimum work and passing, but with your dad paying and barely able to afford it even with his second job, it sent the need to do your work to the best of your ability for once. You owed him at least that much from all the calls of missed classes for four years straight.

“Sure.”

As you stretch while hanging up the phone, you glance over to the alarm clock to see the time and it lurches you forward in bed to scramble for clothes, textbooks, and scattered papers as your lecture starts in less than twenty minutes. You’re usually already sitting in the seat by then.

On your way out the door, your dad is surprised you’re still home, offering to drive you. You don’t want to burden him even more than you already have, so you insist you can ride your bike and still get there on time. Well, at least you hope you can.

The bike rack is nearly full when you get to the college, six or seven locks messily put around the poles, most bikes already fallen over. You jam your bike in between two of them, hurriedly wrangling the annoying coil of sturdy cable between what you’re sure is entangled in someone else’s lock, too. Whatever, they should’ve been more organized.

The clock on the wall tells you class started three minutes ago and your heart falls to your stomach, knowing the professor is a stickler for punctuality. His words falter as soon as you enter the hall, the heavy door echoing its creak against the walls. He graciously allows you to sit and get situated before he continues. He makes examples of every late student, and you figured you would never be in his laser eyed focus. Well, before your alarm decided not to go off.

The last chair available is the corner chair in the front row, the one spot in class you love to avoid. It’s too close for comfort, a place he often chooses for students to answer his questions even if they don’t raise their hand.

That, and it’s right beside Steve Harrington.

His fingers raise from the desk as a greeting, sharing a sweet smile as you start to collect your textbook and notes. You awkwardly smile back at him, your attention snapped back to the professor as he pointedly talks right at your desk in his lecture. Fuck, this’ll be annoying.

By the time the three hour lecture ends, your hand hurts from the amount of notes you wrote down, one side covered in graphite from smudging the paper. Your stomach grumbles, asking loudly for lunch after neglecting to eat breakfast as usual.

Unbeknownst to you, Steve follows a step behind. “That lecture was brutal,” You hear from behind you. You toss your head over your shoulder to glance back at him before turning back around.

“I guess.” You say awkwardly. Here we go again.

“Out of curiosity, how are Eddie and his new girlfriend doing? Chrissy Cunningham, huh? I cannot say I saw that coming.”

Neither did you. “They’re doing great, from what I hear. Haven’t really met her, yet,” you answer, heading straight to the small cafe that has a home in the heart of the campus. “Listen, Steve, I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“Why not? You don’t think he’s happy with her, or something?”

You stop midstep, turning to face him. “It’s not that. I just don’t have the capacity for it, ok?”

“You like him,” Steve accuses, his brows meeting his hairline.

Your jaw drops, stuttering through an empty sentence. “I do not like him!”

“Really?” Steve laughs, crossing his arms as he watches you build a brick wall around yourself. “So you not wanting to talk about his new girlfriend has nothing to do with the way your face fell when I asked about it?”

How the hell did Steve Harrington pick up on it so fast, of all people?

“Even if I did, why the hell would I want to talk about it with someone I don’t even know?” You sigh, looking wistfully over to the cafe. “Besides, I’m not even caffeinated yet.”

Steve rolls his eyes, nodding towards the said cafe. “Here, if I treat you to some coffee will you talk to me about it?”

“If you add a wrap to the deal, then I’ll think about it,” You say dryly, pulling a laugh from him.

The barista, a student who you’ve gotten to know is somehow managing to do pre-law and work part time smiles nicely.

“I’ll get a vanilla latte with nonfat milk and an extra pump of vanilla, please.”

Steve raises his brow at you before making his own order, “I’ll get a medium black coffee with room for creamer, please, and whatever this lady wants from the menu.”

You scan until you reach the egg omelet wrap with mushroom, bell peppers, and tomatoes. “The loaded omelet wrap.”

After Steve pays he meets you on the handout counter. “Why nonfat milk and the extra pump of vanilla?”

“If I get nonfat then I can replace the sugar with the extra vanilla.”

“Pretty sure that’s not how that works.”

You pick up the cup as it lands on the counter, wincing at the temperature on your tongue. “It works.”

Steve grabs his, shaking his head as he makes his way over to pour some creamer in.

The wrap is soon presented as well, steaming in its cardboard sleeve as the scent alone pools on your tongue with saliva. The only thing that got you through that lecture was just the thought of lunch.

Steve meets you at a two-top by the window, setting his own bag down as he sits right across from you.

The omelet, much too hot to eat, sits waiting for you on the chestnut brown table as you sip on the latte. The latte is much too hot as well, but you’ve never had enough patience to wait for that caffeine kick. If you weren’t so afraid of your professor’s wrath you would’ve shown up another ten minutes late with a coffee cup in hand.

Steve allows you and himself a few minutes of quiet before he speaks. “So, why don’t you tell him?”

You cough mid sip, mentally apologizing to your lungs for allowing non-oxygen to make its way in. “I’m sorry?”

“Stop pretending. Eddie was dead on when he said you were a bad liar,” Steve says, grinning with stupid smirk on his face.

“Why have you and Eddie talked about me?” You ask, narrowing your glance towards him.

“Are you kidding? You’re all he talks about,” Steve shrugs, so nonchalant that you have no choice but to believe him. “Kind of annoying, actually.”

“Why?”

“I have to hear about how great of a friend this girl is but also how she can’t stand me.”

You huff in laughter at how distraught he genuinely seems by it, his face contorted into someone who definitely isn’t used to rejection. You cock an eyebrow at him. “Can you exactly blame me?”

“Yes! I can! Everybody loves me!” Steve rolls his eyes playfully, and damn it if you can’t help but find it mildly amusing.

“Hate to break it to you, there, sweetheart, but the people who were picked on by you don’t exactly crave to be around your oh-so-wonderful presence.”

He squints, crossing his arms as he leans forward. “Picked on? I mean that’s a little harsh, considering–”

“Fine, yes, you didn’t exactly jeer, or outright bully even, but you watched and laughed along and sometimes that feels even worse,” you admit, feeling suddenly small under his gaze. “Tommy and Carol said shit, that’s just what they did… But sitting back and watching sometimes is just as bad. You were nice, sometimes, I guess. But the fact that you had that capacity for kindness and chose against it just spoke volumes.”

“I met them in seventh grade. They weren’t as bad back then, mostly just somewhat belligerent. They got worse over time, but we all had terrible home lives, it was like we were the only ones that got what that was like…and somewhere along the way, I forgot that just because we had an excuse didn’t mean they had the right.”

“I guess that makes sense,” you answer, glancing at the omelet, debating taking your first steaming bite. “I mean, I’m not condoning it, but sometimes loyalty can be blinding.”

“I’m not that douche, anymore. I got that knocked out of me when I was seventeen. Literally. Now I spend most of my free time with a high school junior,” he laughs, taking another large sip of his coffee.

“Aah, Dustin,” you hum, thinking of the many instances where he had tried to convince you of what Steve had just told you. What made you so insistent on denying believing in either of your friends seems to dissipate, however, just in the friendliness that Steve radiates alone. Damn his charisma. “Would you believe me if I said he vouched for you many times?”

“The kid loves me, what can I say?” He shrugs, not hiding his laughter. “Now. Back to you. Why not tell him?”

No use in hiding it. If Steve can bare his soul in the middle of the day at a damn cafe just to get you to trust him, you suppose you owed him the same. “‘Cause he doesn’t feel the same,” you answer, starting to peel open the snack from the hunger pang. “Why make it weird when there’s nothing that could come from it?” You shrug, looking down sheepishly as the weight of your words sink into your heart like a stone.

“Doesn’t like you. Are you sure about that?” Steve asks, licking his lips.

You hesitate. “Is this a trick question?”

“Nope. I just wonder if you truly believe it, or if you’re too scared to let yourself have something you’ve wanted for so long.”

“Where do you get off on acting like you’re some sort of expert on this?” You ask, folding your arms across your chest. The question rings out from the mere fact that he is dead on the nose. He couldn’t be any more right. The very idea that Eddie had even an inkling of what you had for him scares you to death. You would rather keep him as a friend and lie in wait than lose him from a great love and not have him at all.

“I’m more observant than most people give me credit for,” he admits, twirling his almost empty coffee cup. “I’ve heard countless hours of Eddie talking about you, yet I haven’t heard him speak once about Chrissy. That says a lot, don’t you think?”

“Well, me neither, and I’m his best friend. Don’t get down on your luck.”

“You are both idiots. Just tell him. Seriously. I’m sick of you both acting like a pair of love sick fools.”

“You seem to be very convinced of something that is not real,” you tell him, garbled from the bite of omelet you’re in the middle of swallowing. “If you keep this energy up when you’re studying, you would probably do pretty well for yourself.”

“Fine. Remain in denial. I don’t care. You can destroy yourself from the inside. Who cares? Just, let me in. I need someone to help me with these assignments. They are mind numbingly dull.” He throws his hands up like he’s admitting defeat.

“You need a study buddy?” You laugh, hiding the food that sits in between bites. “I suppose that could be arranged.”

“Sweet. Now are you gonna treat me to a coffee every now and then, or?”

“I have a single father, not an unlimited credit card from Daddy’s big business, Steve Harrington.” You say matter-of-factly, jabbing your finger towards him accusingly.

“Oh, so I have to provide the newly released movies and buy the coffee, I see how it is.”

“Privilege breeds responsibility, Stevie. I don’t make the rules.” You give him a half smirk. As you look at him, you’re finally seeing the person you thought could see all those years ago behind the mask of his terrible friends. Steve’s ambush would be the best thing to come out of the next few weeks.

Because it turned into hell.

-

As your hair runs wild behind you, there’s a grand attempt to allow yourself to let the wind distract you from the sinking feeling in your gut. It grows bigger and bigger, until it becomes unbearable as you reach the gravel lining the trailer park. You allow your bike to fall heavily on the trailer, taking a moment to collect your courage before knocking on Eddie’s front door.

It feels weird knocking. You can’t even recall the last time you did. But, you refuse to overstep any boundaries that might not be communicated yet. Being on Chrissy’s good side will make your life a lot easier.

Eddie answers the door, out of breath and sweating with wild eyes and even crazier hair. “Hey!”

“Hey,” you greet, stepping in right behind him. You blink, taking in the pristine surroundings. It’s like stepping into an alternate dimension, one where Eddie and Wayne regularly cleaned their trailer and preferred the smell of lavender over stale beer and greasy pizza boxes. The kitchen is spotless, the living room has a lit candle sitting on the coffee table, and the shelves containing the million mugs were dusted. “Who are you and what the hell did you do with my best friend?” You laugh.

He chuckles sheepishly, crossing his arms in front of his chest as protection. “Uh, is it too much?”

“Better warn her now so she doesn’t get used to cleanliness,” you answer, watching as the surfaces around you sparkle and shine.

“Ha, ha. I have to get dressed. I have some snacks on the kitchen counter. You mind starting the popcorn?” Eddie doesn’t bother waiting for you to answer, already walking to his room.

You get a glimpse of his bedroom as he shuts the door behind him, smirking at the clothes still scattered on his floor. At least one part of this little haven of yours remains normal.

The popcorn shakes in your hold as you continually stir it on the stove to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the thin aluminum bottom and burning. Just as the first batch of kernels reach their limit, a knock from the front door hits, each one feeling like a crack in any normalcy you’ve ever had.

Things will never feel the same ever again. Not after tonight. On your way to open the door you try to tell yourself that it can be a good thing.

Right?

The door opens to the once head cheerleader of Hawkins High, wearing a pink dress that fits her tiny frame nicely with blonde curls and bangs that beautifully frame her face. Her hands are folded behind her back, standing meekly in white sneakers and long lashes and blue eyeshadow. It’s hard not to be envious of how pretty she is.

It’s clear she’s not expecting you to open the door. “Hey! Sorry, Eddie’s just in his room. He should be out any minute.”

“Oh. Ok,” she enters as you back up, wringing her hands together, probably out of anxiety. “What movie did he rent?”

“You know, I was so busy making fun of him for cleaning up for once I didn’t bother to ask,” you admit, hoping to make the atmosphere just a little bit lighter.

She looks around the place, seemingly taking it in. “Hmm,” she hums, walking over to the couch. “It’s cute when they try so hard.”

“Sure,” you answer, walking back to the kitchen, hoping the popcorn isn’t irredeemably burnt. “Do you want butter on the popcorn?”

“Yes please!”

You’re in the middle of mentally begging Eddie to come out already while the butter melts in the microwave, the hum of the microwave loud in the silence.

“Okay! I’m ready!” Eddie announces, opening the bedroom door with a flourish. “Sorry for the wait!”

As he gets to the couch behind Chrissy, he wraps her in a big hug and plants kisses all over her neck. “How you doin’, sweetheart?”

You hold back the nausea as you pour the hot butter all over the popcorn in the large plastic bowl. You find it ironic that this is the same bowl you’ve held back Eddie’s hair over as he hurled into it. You just hope Wayne thoroughly cleaned it.

“Popcorn is ready, can y’all help me bring the chips and candy?” You ask, shaking the bowl to coat the butter over each kernel.

“We can do that,” Eddie answers, grabbing Chrissy’s hand as they walk to the kitchen.

“How can I help?” Chrissy asks, arms open as she looks around a kitchen she has no familiarity with.

“Um there’s some soda in the fridge, grab me and Ed a Coke, and you can grab yourself whatever you want,” you answer, pointing to the twenty year old fridge in the corner.

“Hand me some,” you command, holding a single hand for one of the many bags of snacks Eddie juggles.

The popcorn and a couple dozen little bags land on the coffee table in front of a blank tv screen. Chrissy sits with a soft grunt in between the two of you, cradling the cans of coke and sprite in her tiny arms.

She distributes the cans, handing them over to you and him. Eddie squats in front of the TV, pressing play on the tape which he apparently already prepared to watch. His plaid boxers peek out of his jeans, sitting above the studded belt as he adjusts volume and picture.

You share a smile with the blonde, opening your can and wincing at the loud hiss. You keep thinking about the days you and Chrissy will look back on how awkward this was. How the first days of this trio were so weird, and off putting, and how she thought you were a bitch when she met you.

Where she’s a friend.

You have to try.

“What are we watching?”

Eddie turns around slowly, that over exaggerated smile on his face that tells you he’s up to nothing but trouble. “Oh just a little somethin’”

“Oh god,” you wince, knowing that look on his face. You lean into her, whispering, “Hope you like horror.”

Chrissy turns to you with wide eyes and a queasy smile. “Not really.”

“Oh, this one is a classic,” Eddie promises, animatedly using his hands as he crouch-walks back next to her. “If any movie can turn someone into a horror fan, it’s this one.”

As soon as the music starts playing you recognize it. It’s a tune you’ve heard many times in his living room, subjected to it too many times if you had anything to say about it. Of course, you’ll watch it with him every time, regardless.

“Halloween? Seriously? The serial killer stalking the babysitter? You couldn’t think of anything else?” You roll your eyes. He could probably do a whole reenactment of the movie word for word if he tried.

“It’s a classic for a reason, sweetheart,” Eddie tells you, grabbing the bowl straight away. Of course, he will rip through the popcorn, he always does.

You feel Chrissy tense up, not that you can blame her. You suppose a talk about proper pet names will be necessary.

Each bag of snacks is eventually opened because you can’t stick to one bag long enough to finish it even if you tried. You get bored of the same taste too often. You have your favorite few, fuzzy peaches, M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, Swedish fish, and last and most controversially, at least where Eddie’s concerned, salt and vinegar chips.

He always has his own snacks at his disposal from nights of having the munchies, always on a dollar store run for said snacks. At each movie night he restocks, both yours and his alike, and suddenly you realize you will need to remember Chrissy’s too, if you’re going to be cordial.

With each bloody death that splatters the walls on screen, Chrissy grows closer and closer to Eddie. There’s a part of you that has considered using scary movies to cuddle up to him, but you’re just not genuinely scared of them enough to consider it. The ruse would’ve faded eventually. You try not to let the jealousy eat you up from the inside, no matter how much it burns your skin.

His arm wraps around her, petting her shoulder gently as she whimpers at the slash of his knife. “It’s corn syrup. Totally fake. You can tell by the color, it’s way too bright.”

Towards the end, the loud, chirpy, nauseating sound of kissing fills your ears. Your eyes can’t help it, they move towards the noise and immediately regret it. Oh god, they’re kissing. If you can even call that kissing. He’s practically engulfed her mouth.

Surely, with the company they have, they’ll stop, right? Their heads will remember and sheepishly get the fuck off each other? Right?

Two scenes and what feels like forever, later, you realize how wrong you are. “I’m glad you two are crazy for each other, really I am, but can we please wait until I’m gone?” You give an awkward laugh to try to stifle the discomfort coursing through your veins.

Eddie makes a surprised sound, almost like he completely forgot you were there. “Shit–sorry.”

Chrissy doesn’t make any apologies, in fact, you miss the way she rolls her eyes against his chest. She wanted to keep going, hoping you would take her hint to get lost.

Before long, the end of the movie finally arrives, the end credits rolling with that famous piano tune. Chrissy has practically stitched herself to Eddie’s side, her arms wrapped around his waist. The popcorn bowl is nearly full. All that work on it for nothing.

You sigh, about to claim that it’s your cue to leave when–

“I’m thinking we should show Chrissy one of our pancake nights, don’t ya think?”

No. You don’t want that. From the way Chrissy completely tenses up, neither does she. But for his sake, you both reluctantly agree.

Hawkins looks a lot different from Eddie’s backseat.

As the ring of the bell against the glass door announces your arrival, Martha’s head snapping up from the magazine she’s buried her nose in. “Hey you two, I was wondering when I would see you again!”

You and Eddie walk directly to the corner booth, as per usual, Chrissy trailing a half step behind him with her left hand intertwined with his right. Before Martha walks up to the booth, she starts the blender, the sound oddly comforting for how uneasy you feel.

“Well, looks like we got ourselves a little straggler! What’s your name darlin’?” She asks, the notebook she now holds a dark purple instead of the red she had last time.

Chrissy stares blankly at her, curling back into him. You don’t remember her being this shy in High School.

“This is Chrissy,” Eddie introduces her, giving her a fond look. “She’s my girlfriend.”

Martha’s penciled brows raise straight to her ruby red hair, the chewing gum loud in her silence. Her surprise only lasts two seconds, shifting into hospitality for the new member. “Welcome to these two’s many, many nights spent here at Benny’s. In fact, could you make them come a little less often. We’re starting to get annoyed at them.” She jokes, throwing a wink at you.

You laugh with Eddie, taking note of the fact that Chrissy is still silent.

“Alright, well I already know what these two want, did you need a second to look over the menu?”

She nods.

“Alright, well, I’ll be right back with your milkshake.”

“Can you make it one medium, one large with two straws?” You ask Martha, sure it would get more awkward if she brought one for you and Eddie to share.

“Oh, sure,” she answers, her voice unusually soft.

Less than five minutes later she returns with two milkshakes and a menu.

“Oh,” Chrissy comments, looking curiously at the pink ice cream drink in front of her. “I don’t really like strawberry. Can I get vanilla instead?”

Your forehead meets the table, punishing yourself. “Shit. I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think to ask.” Eddie apologizes.

“It’s fine.” Chrissy smiles sweetly at him.

“Oh, you gotta eat breakfast, it’s tradition,” Eddie mutters, switching her page to the all day breakfast menu.

“Hmm,” she responds, pointing to one of the menu options. “I think I’ll get the poached egg with the avocado toast.”

“Alright. Should be out quickly,” Martha answers, grabbing the milkshake from them.

“How often do you guys come here?” Chrissy asks, turning her face to Eddie.

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Probably more often than we should. Like when shit goes sideways, or we need a hit of sugar, or when we just feel like bugging Miss Martha, over there.”

“When did you start coming?”

“My junior year,” you answer, smiling at the memory, “his second attempt at senior year, we both didn’t want to go to the stupid school dance, so we decided to get dressed up and come here, instead.”

“Why didn’t you want to go?”

Eddie shrugs, petting her shoulder with his thumb. “We thought it was dumb. Then, we ened up coming back when both of us failed this one really important bio test. Then, by the third time she remembered our orders and had the blender going by the time we sat down.”

Eddie asks how your day was, so you inform him you managed to have a civilized conversation with Steve Harrington. You have an audience for the conversation, one member animatedly interested, the other politely listening.

Polite is definitely the way to describe it, no spark in her eye. At least, not the one she wears when she listens to her boyfriend speak. In fact, you can practically see them glaze over.

Just as you nearly avoid explaining the main topic of the awkward conversation, Martha comes back over with two plates, one for you, one for Chrissy. It’s only half a moment until she’s back with the new milkshake and third plate.

The mountain of strawberries is bigger than average this time, this larger size becoming something you might get used to if the staff continues to spoil you like this. You take another flick of whipped cream from the top of the milkshake, suddenly realizing you’ve barely taken a sip the entire time. Damn, it’s usually half gone by the time you get your food.

“Do you guys order the same thing everytime?” Chrissy asks, looking at both of your plates.

“Yup!” You exclaim, spreading the strawberry sauce around your plate.

Her blonde brows furrow. “Maybe it’s not good to eat this much sugar every time you guys come here,” she comments, cutting at her squishy green toast. It doesn’t look appetizing to you in the least.

“It’s not like we come here every night,” Eddie laughs, spreading his sprinkled whip around the fluffy waffle. “It’s fine to indulge every now and then, you know?”

“Maybe you guys should try something a little healthier?” Chrissy asks, her voice having what you think is a little bit of a bite in it.

“People don’t exactly come here to eat healthy, Chrissy,” you laugh, thinking of the menu item called Heart Attack Jack, which is a burger doused in American Cheese with layers of bacon and a bucket of grease. It’s not going to be a soccer mom’s number one choice for health.

“You don’t have to bite my head off, it was just a suggestion,” Chrissy mutters, curling into herself.

“I-I didn’t,” you reply, very surprised at her knee jerk reaction. “I’m just saying, if we wanted to go somewhere to eat healthy, we probably wouldn’t pick a greasy diner in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Honestly, I’m not sure anywhere in Hawkins really has the healthiest choice.”

“Chris, what she’s trying to say is that eating a crap load of sugar is just tradition at this point,” Eddie says, intertwining her hand with his. “It’s a part of our ritual. You don’t have to eat like us if you don’t want to, we just thought you’d want to be included.”

“It’s just a lot of sugar, is all.” She’s barely taken a chunk out of her food, resembling a bunny in the very small, very tiny bites she continues to take. “Maybe I won’t join you guys next time. I don’t really understand the point.” She says sheepishly.

In the depths of your soul, you feel at that moment you would probably never get along with her, have given up hope on her completely. It wouldn’t be for a handful of weeks until you acknowledge that you had sound reasoning.

The bill is paid, money hitting the table on your and Eddie’s parts, the vanilla milkshake just barely touched. If you knew she wasn’t gonna drink it you would’ve doubled down on the strawberry, Eddie hates vanilla.

As you walk out to the van, trailing behind them as he wraps his arm around her shoulders, you find yourself at an impasse. “Eddie, can you give me a ride home?” Chrissy asks. She moves on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Maybe I can ride you before you drop me off?”

The pancakes you wolfed down churn back up your throat, threatening to make their second appearance for the night.

Eddie’s cheeks flush, his eyes wide as he tugs her in. Guess that answers that question. “Um, do you need a ride?” He asks you, almost avoiding your eyes.

Chrissy’s death stare is plain as day, silently warning you not to take it. Fine, you didn’t want to sit in the van with these two, anyway.

“No, it’s fine. I can grab my bike from the back.”

Chrissy beams, her curls bouncing as she jogs to the passenger seat. You hope your ass imprint is uncomfortable for her.

Eddie returns with the bike, putting it gently down in front of you. “Hey, Ed?”

“Hmm?”

“Might want to teach your girlfriend how to whisper,” you tell him, grabbing the handles from him. “It’s not considered a whisper when everyone in a ten foot radius can hear!” It comes out harsher than you intend it, but with how horribly tonight has gone, you can’t bring yourself to want to apologize.

“Oh, fuck,” Eddie swears, the pink in his cheeks now from embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t mention it,” you insist, dismissing it. You had a feeling she said it loud enough for you to hear on purpose, anyway. “Just use protection, ok? We don’t need any more Munsons in this world running around, creating chaos.”

If you got Chrissy pregnant I would actually be sick, is what you mean.

“Shut up,” Eddie laughs, wrapping you in a hug over the bike. “See you next time, slugger.”

That was when you changed from sweetheart to slugger.

-

There’s no whiplash like discovering your best friend is a completely different person when he’s in a relationship. On one hand, phone calls with him are as ordinary as always, teasing and jeering and flush with the familiarity of a best friend.

On the other hand, when you meet with him and his girlfriend, he seems to dampen his wild personality and slice it into ribbons for her sake. It kills you.

Reruns play on the small tv, old cartoons Wayne recorded for a rambunctious little kid in his mix. You’ve watched them enough to know some of them by heart, especially your favorite gags.

Eddie sits in the corner of the couch, curled up with Chrissy on his lap as they talk quietly. They’re low enough you can barely make out what they’re saying, but from the giggles alone, you have no interest in the nausea it would give you.

She was already in his lap when you got there, a sarcastic comment choked back having something to do with maybe getting off, opting to sit on the other end.

“Oh, Ed, the movie is next Friday,” you remind him, taking another sip of the ice cold coke in front of you.

“Remind me what that was?” Eddie asks you, peering his chin over Chrissy’s head.

You narrow your eyes, scoffing in incredulousness. “Uh, hello? I did not wait in line for hours for the Princess Bride just for you to forget!”

“OH, fuck I didn’t realize that was coming up so quickly!” Eddie exclaims, a wild look in his eyes. “Well, shit I’ll make sure to free my oh-so-busy schedule!”

“Sweet.”

“Oh, I totally wanted to see that movie!” Chrissy chirps, sitting up in Eddie’s lap. “Are there any more tickets for the night you guys are going for?”

“It’s been sold out for weeks,” you shrug, chomping on a potato chip. “I stood in line for like six hours that morning.”

“Oh,” she mutters, curling into him.

You wish you could say it doesn’t give you great pleasure to know she won’t be able to crash your movie night.

“You think, uh,” she starts, turning around to face you. “You think I could have your ticket and Eddie could take me?”

You scoff, bewildered that this even crossed her mind. “I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, I really wanted to see it and it doesn’t really make sense for you two to go out for a date, now that he’s dating me…”

“I think you forgot the part where I stood in line for six hours to get these tickets,” you reply, trying to catch Eddie’s eyes. He’s avoiding you.

“And I’m sure we’ll all go next time!” She offers as an almost smug smile plays at her lips.

She can’t be serious. After watching her face, you realize she is fully expecting you to give up your ticket so she can go with him. Guess that Iron Maiden concert coming up this summer is off the table, too, you think, rubbing your eyes tiredly.

You look at him, waiting for him to say something to indicate how ridiculous his girlfriend is being, to stand up for you.

Oh. He’s not going to.

“I really don’t see the big deal.” Chrissy scoffs.

Of course you don’t. “I’m sorry, but I’m not giving you my damn ticket!” you snap. “If you really don’t want Eddie to come with me that badly then I can get Steve to take me.”

Which is ridiculous, Eddie was the one who wanted to see this movie in the first place. It looked like it was about adventure, something Eddie loves in movies. You decided then sure, since his birthday is right after the movie comes out, you’ll stand in line for the tickets then treat him to a fun movie night.

If Chrissy is uncomfortable with that, then that’s her prerogative, but she can choose something else to do with her boyfriend since she wants to so badly. You won’t let her walk all over you.

Chrissy doesn’t answer, but she’s clearly upset by yours. “It’s alright, babe,” Eddie hums, tugging her up against his chest so she curls into him. “I can wait until it comes out. We’ll just rent it, yeah?”

You’re not sure which makes you more nauseous, the fact that he just made a plan with her that won’t come to fruition for six months, or that he had nothing to say in the conversation.

You’ve never felt so unwelcome on his couch. “I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you later.”

Whatever comes out of Eddie’s mouth then falls on deaf ears as you fight the tears that irrationally threaten to spill over your water line. They’re stupid, your emotions are stupid, the movie is stupid.

-

Steve sits on the other side of the light brown table in the library, hunched over some notes as you explain the concept to him once more.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous, I’m going to forget this as soon as we learn it,” Steve whines, rubbing his eyes.

“Well you’re only taking Sociology because you haven’t claimed a major yet and sociology is required in most degrees.”

“That’s true,” he smirks, stretching his arms. “This still is all starting to look like gibberish. I get it, we live in a society in which the rules are not in our favor, why does that have to be studied to this intent?”

You shrug. “It’s fascinating.”

“To who?”

You roll your eyes, wondering how he grew on you like a weed. “Alright, we’ll take a break, then.”

“Any plans upcoming for next Wednesday?”

“Uh, no, at least not that I’m aware of,” you answer, putting your highlighter down. “We were supposed to see the movie for it, but, well you know how that turned out.”

“I’m sure there’s something he’s planning,” Steve assures, tapping his pencil rhythmically. “It’s not like him to not make a spectacle of his birthday.”

That, you agree with.

“Dustin said he hasn’t heard anything about it, either. He almost planned a surprise party for him. You think he’s just taking it easy this year?”

You doubt it, he’s turning 21, after all. Not like hasn’t been going to bars since he was fifteen, but now at least he’d be able to go into a major city with his real ID without getting flagged. Last year he prattled on about plans for this one, how he was gonna have a big rager at Steve’s and drop a whole paycheck on kegs.

You’re sure if he was going to do anything in those next two days, then he would’ve told you by now.

That Wednesday morning, you rise early to the sound of your alarm.

The kitchen counter is already filled with the ingredients you need, preparing for a labor of love. You hook your Walkman to your jeans, listening to the music blaring in your ears as you add one ingredient at a time, watching the batter slowly come to shape.

It’s familiar, your mom’s famous homemade recipe for cake batter. After missing her many cakes and the familiarity of her food, you finally searched for the cards containing her neat print, clearly and concisely telling the reader what her recipes needed.

It became your favorite thing to do when you missed her.

As you pour the batter into each divet in the tray, you recall the first time you thought to make a birthday cupcake for Eddie.

Neither of you cared much for first period, so it was easy to catch him before he woke up. That day you presented a vanilla cupcake with a swirl of black and blue frosting. You learned that morning he hates vanilla.

Every other instance of making him a cupcake has been a litany of flavors, but never vanilla.

As they bake, you whip up the frosting with a hand mixer, hoping the low hum doesn’t wake your father. He works so hard already. Red food coloring turns it from white, the process all too satisfying.

A plastic sandwich bag with the corner cut off is always just enough for you to pipe frosting on, the skilled hand you’ve trained after trial and error working fast.

Your dad always knows on February 19th he will wake up to 11 cupcakes on a big plate.

The pastry sits in a comically large container as you borrow your dads truck, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon as you climb the stairs to the Munson’s front door.

You balance the cupcake in your hand as you head straight down the hall towards Eddie’s room. The sounds filling the trailer take a moment to register, for some reason not realizing how quiet it should be on an early weekday morning. The only sounds should be that of an early bird or newspaper hitting the front door.

Dread finds home in your stomach, as if on a very instinctual level you realize what you’re hearing. Though for some crazy, masochistic reason, those instincts wanted to be sure.

His door, wide open, reveals him hunched over Chrissy with the blanket barely covering his broad shoulders as he’s rocking. He’s rocking…and oh, you can hear her, too.

She’s moaning, whining, clawing her nails up his back like a leech, or worse, a tick, digging itself in and refusing to give up the tight hold they have on their victim.

Your mind goes empty, numb, until you hear her faintly wish him a happy birthday. You blink yourself out of the trance, blindly stumbling back into the fresh air of the living room. The cupcake lands on the kitchen counter on your way out the door, not caring as it slams behind you, definitely alerting Eddie and Chrissy of the third unknown presence in the trailer.

You couldn’t find it in yourself to even care about it, the queasiness deep rooted in your stomach threatening to make itself known on the outside plants.

You have a class in less than an hour, something you need to continue into the second year of your Communications degree, but not something that requires brain power.

The simple question of how you managed to ride your bike all the way to the campus, take notes in your class and blindly walk over to the library will always escape you. You somehow watch yourself go through the motions until you meet Steve at the cafe.

The moment he sees you, he knows something is wrong just by the deadened stare that’s taken over your face.

When you break down into tears, he brings you to his house, letting you finally admit to him what you’ve been afraid to admit to yourself.

You’re in love with your best friend. And while you’re doing your best to be happy for him, your poor heart can’t handle it.

-

The cupcake isn’t mentioned until you call him two days later, still heartbroken, but missing his voice. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, despite the great ache that makes each and every day fuzzy.

Usually, more than half the cupcakes get eaten by him, which is why a dozen are made each year. There’s still more than half left, the very sight of the cupcakes depleting your appetite as his continued absence carves a bigger and bigger hole in you.

He answers on the fifth ring, sounding as if he’s in the middle of rummaging through items in some way, slightly out of breath. “Hey, Chris, sorry I can’t find–”

You swallow the pain. Maybe the lump of pain swallowed in your stomach will finally evict itself like the contents of stomachs should. Yet, the more you throw it up, the more it seems to gather. How does that work? “It’s me.” You say dryly, tiredly.

“Shit,” he breathes, the background noise coming to a sudden halt. “Hey, you.”

“Hey. How was the cupcake?”

“The mysterious appearing pastry was delicious as always, slugger.” Slugger. “What-what time did you drop it off?”

You know that he knows that you heard something. He doesn’t know how much you heard, but he knows the slam of his front door was you.

“I didn’t hear much. Just enough to know you had already received your birthday present for the year,” the attempt at humor doesn’t hit you very well. You’re not sure how it’s received, but Eddie laughs regardless.

“Sorry about that, she slept over the night before unplanned. I should’ve remembered your yearly morning cupcake.”

“Should’ve remembered you have a girlfriend,” you answer, wishing you had that better judgment. “Did you do anything for your birthday?”

“Chris took me out for dinner with her parents.” Honestly, that sounds like it was for her more than it was for him.

“Sounds fun,” you deadpan, earning earnest chuckles from him.

“They’re an acquired taste,” Eddie offers, allowing your slight criticism of his birthday party.

“You sure you still don’t want to go to Indianapolis and bar hop?” You can’t help but ask. It’s like you can hear his reluctance to accept the celebration he got.

“Nah. Besides, we can’t risk your fake ID, after all.” He pauses, an understated sigh passing through his breath. “How has school been?”

Small talk is not often something that passes through a conversation between you two. You’re aware of it, he’s aware of it, and it turns the conversation into something almost jilted.

“I miss you,” you admit, lying back on your bed.

“I miss you,” he parrots, soft and sweet.

“Can we do something? Just you and me?”

He chuckles, low and under his breath. “Sure. Pancake night. Just you, me, and Martha’s perfume.”

…that never happened.

-

The less you see Eddie, the more you end up hanging out with Steve. He seems to want to introduce you to his own best friend, but your admission of not wanting to be a third wheel again gets him to drop it. You can’t help but notice the only times you speak to Eddie are when you call him. He hasn’t called you since asking for Chrissy to join pancake night.

That alone wouldn’t entirely convince you to not call him anymore. The jilted conversations always ending with promises of time with one another never coming to fruition. It’s the equivalent of being skinned alive, one strip at a time.

Steve has watched the circles under your eyes darken, the enthusiasm in class deplete, and the lust for life dissolve before his very eyes. To say he’s pissed at his friend is to understate it, he’s ready to tell you to give up on him and forget he exists.

Yet, Steve knows how unlike Eddie it all is. Dustin has complained he hasn’t been called back for a long time, Gareth reached out to you asking if you’d heard from Eddie lately as they haven’t rehearsed for a while. He garners more concern than anger at times.

Steve’s living room has become a new choice of hang out space, but the unnatural cleanliness of the house, the lack of cologne that both Eddie and Wayne use, the familiarity of eight years of friendship, it gives this unrelenting feeling of emptiness. It’s worth trying to fill it with edibles and weed.

It doesn’t seem to work, but you’ve become more open, more free willing with him as a direct result. He doesn’t favor horror movies like you and Eddie, but you find common ground in action and slapstick comedy, instead. Anything but romcoms, you implore. Anything even close to resembling romance is rejected.

Steve spills the latest he heard from Hawkins’ elite country club group, a bunch of ladies with nothing better to do with their afternoons than spread rumors about the population as a whole and judge them for it. Steve knows for a fact which members of the country club have side women, bringing them in hours after walking in with their own wives.

It’s so nice to be concerned with the lives of others and to not care about yours falling apart at the seams. Well, really it's being ripped apart by Chrissy Cunningham’s greedy little claws.

Ironically enough, you get paired up with Steve for a major assignment in Soc class, one required to analyze social constructs that have been deep dived in class. Another little gift of irony is you were given Social Stratification, which is the hierarchical arrangement of individuals or groups within a society based on various factors such as wealth, power, and prestige.

Being from two very different classes, you and Steve find yourself uniquely qualified to discuss the topic.

It provides opportunities to hang out together, distracted by the collective want to not work at all, but driven by an looming due date. Your mind wanders to Eddie non stop, wondering how he is, if he’s ok, if work is still giving him a hard time, did he finally get the belt he was needing, if Wayne was taking it easier.

Your fingers itch for the phone to call and ask, always haunted by the memory of each phone call, the polite conversation and empty promises. You crave to remember what it was like before.

Steve seems to act as your voice of reason, disencouraging you every time you mention wanting to call him. He sympathizes, of course, but he recalls the last time you called him and the aftermath following it.

When the assignment is finally in the last stages, making final edits to clear up any loss in conciseness, the final second guesses if the point has been made clear, you sit on the floor of Steve’s room cross legged, going cross eyed as you reread it, again.

“I can’t wait for this thing to be handed in,” you groan, throwing your pen at him.

“I think we earned a celebration,” he sighs, throwing the pen back to you. “On Friday, after we finally hand over this paper to this asshole, I am throwing a big ass party in your honor.”

“A party will not make me feel better,” you reprimand, glancing at him under your brows.

“No, but a good excuse to drink the pain away, might,” he grins, leaning forward on his stomach and kicking his legs animatedly. He looks so innocent, as if he doesn’t have his own agenda. You’ve come to know him well enough that he really doesn’t. “C’mon. Let loose with me just for one night!”

You reluctantly agree to it after he pulls out his dumb puppy eyes.

News of Steve’s party spreads fast across campus, and you find yourself curiously excited for it when you usually dread dancing with complete strangers. The strangers at this point make it better, not needing to concern yourself with anything other than how the alcohol burns.

Your dad drives you to the party, the rain heavy on the pavement making it hard to bike in such weather. He’s noticed the way you’ve shut down a little bit as of lately, more than happy to bring you to a party if it means putting some life back into the eyes of his one and only daughter.

When you enter the door with slightly damp hair just from the walk from the truck, the party is already in full swing, music overtly loud, bodies bumping and dancing, empty cups already scattered on dusty surfaces.

As soon as you see Steve, he waves you over, talking to Robin, who he’s introduced you to. She became your friend the same way he became your did; ambush. Turns out, Robin is really cool. She hands you a beer, winking as you tilt your eyebrow out of skepticism.

“Beer, really?” You ask over the music, turning the bottle around in your hand.

“You’re drinking to forget, right?” She asks, an air of wisdom in her scratchy voice. “Then what does it matter what it tastes like?”

Well, you guess she’s right. You grab another from the fridge while you’re at it before they lead you to a couch. It’s surrounded by a crowd of people you mostly have never met before, more than happy to laugh with them at the particularly stupid topics of conversation.

You’re already pretty buzzed less than an hour spent at the party, having asked Steve to get you a third bottle. “Might wanna slow down, sweets.”

“I’m drinking to forget, remember?” You ask him, winking cheekily.

Time starts to meld together as the bottle gets emptier and emptier. Robin grabs you by the hand to dance with her and Steve in a circle, top 40 pop acting as a soundtrack while you forget any goddamn trouble that might have plagued you.

You’re chatting about some mindless gossip when something tells you to turn your head towards the door. The door opens to Eddie and Chrissy, holding hands as they look around the party that got even rowdier since your arrival.

Eddie’s eyes meet yours, frozen in place as the emptiness his absence has left consumes you.

“Oh shit,” Robin mutters right next to you, but you don’t answer it as you stumble your way into the kitchen.

The internal debate on whether you need to drink water or more alcohol is roaring, so you drown it with more alcohol. Maybe you can shut it up. It’s too fucking loud. The ajar door opens and closes, a presence in the kitchen you don’t bother acknowledging. You don’t smell Eddie’s cologne, the momentary disappointment flooding your senses that he saw you and didn’t even bother talking to you.

Another sip. Another gulp. Make it go away.

“I was wondering when I would run into you,” it’s not Eddie, or Steve. Confusion takes over you as you wonder which male voice in your life you’re forgetting, turning to face the culprit.

Daniel.

“Here I am, I guess,” you mutter, taking another swig. “What exactly do you want?”

“Retribution.”

“Huh?”

He laughs, cruel and blunt. “I’m here for what I’m owed, sweetheart. I don’t get told no. Girls don’t say no to me. So, I think I’m owed some payback for the humiliation you put me through.”

What the fuck?

The laughter that leaves your throat is loud and abrupt, clearly not what he’s expecting. “Oh my fucking god, you’re just delusional. Girls don’t owe you shit for buying them dinner! You ask us out for a date, that’s on you, bud!”

“I don’t fucking think so,” he growls, slinking in closer. You can smell his breath, he’s clearly been drinking. “I will get what I want, I always do.”

Panic floods your brain, suddenly realizing he’s being dead serious. “Wait–” you protest as he leans in, the wall and your back colliding harshly. “Wait, no–”

“All you had to do was blow me, baby,” he chides, as if he’s reprimanding a small child. His hand harshly wraps around your waist, preventing you from weaving from between him and the wall. “Now look what you made me do.”

You try to push him off, panic continuing to push up your throat as he proves himself much stronger than you. Oh god, am I about to get raped in Steve’s kitchen?

His hand feels slimy as it pushes past your shirt, sending a jolt of shivers down your body. You’re shaking from fear, one cheek against the wall as you continue to resist him. “Stop– Daniel, please stop–” Your voice is frantic, eyes wide in terror as you try to push his hands away.

The harsh laughter directed at your pleas are cut off, an incredibly familiar voice slicing the air with malice. “She said stop.”

The heat you were surrounded by is thrown off, leaving the cold air behind Daniel to overwhelm you as he’s thrown onto the floor.

Blows of fists on flesh fill the room, watching in horror as Eddie has him pinned, delivering blow after blow to his face. You only see a portion of Eddie, his dark jeans and leather jacket as he hunches over his victim and blindingly delivers one punch after the other. Daniel has stopped fighting back, just a limp set of limbs as it jumps from each hit.

When Eddie has shown no signs of letting up you’re forced to jump into action, stumbling as you run into his line of eyesight. “Eddie, stop! You’re going to kill him!” You plead.

The sounds of brutal fists on soft flesh die immediately, Eddie huffing as he rises to his feet. “You okay?”

You blink as his hands frame your cheeks, petting them softly with his hands. A tear falls, splashing his hand. His concern is comforting, but the direct juxtaposition of his concern from the silence he’s fed you the last few weeks washes over you, confusing every emotion that has been hurting.

Despite the sweet shine in his eyes as they watch you, you back from his hold in a jerk reaction. “Didn’t know you still cared about me.”

He wears the hurt from this statement on his sleeve. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You wander back over to the fridge, grabbing a beer from the second six pack you’re working through. You pop it open from the mounted bottle opener, taking a handful of sips. “You’re kidding me, right? You haven’t called me in weeks. Weeks.”

He stands there, blankly watching.

“I might be more forgiving if it weren’t for Dustin and Gareth and hell, Steve also saying the same thing. None of them have heard from you. You went from calling at least once a week to radio silence! I wanted to get along with Chrissy. I really did. I started all the conversations, offering snacks, asking questions about her, letting her set her boundaries, but she had something to say about everything we did together!”

Eddie stutters, blinking as he watches you talk. He doesn’t try to talk, doesn’t try to defend himself. You don’t give him the chance.

“She clearly doesn’t respect you, otherwise you would still be my best friend and I would remember the last time we had a normal fucking conversation. I get wanting boundaries, but at this point, I don’t think she even wants you to have friends! Is that what you want? A girl who makes you make yourself smaller for her sake and isolate completely? Really? Because that’s what you have. No horror movies? No more junk food? No heavy metal music? She’s making you shrink yourself so she deems you desirable! Fucking– I can’t watch it anymore.”

“Wait, what do you mean–” he’s interrupted by the door closing, a yelp filling the room as Chrissy runs to him.

“What happened to your fists?” You glance down to them, seeing bruises lining his knuckles.

“Nothing, it’s fine. I’m fine,” he assures her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Alright. Well. I meant exactly what I said. I can’t do this one sided friendship thing with you anymore,” you take another swig, wondering how the bottle was already so light. “I can’t. Call me when you find my best friend, because I haven’t seen him in three months.”

You leave the room, ignoring the calls from his mouth that suffocate you. As you stumble into the living room, you catch Steve’s eye right away, chin trembling. The hot tears that trail down your face have already drenched your cheeks by the time you realize it’s even happening, choking on the emotion that drowns you.

Steve guides you into the guest bathroom, closing the door as he watches you attempt to stop the sobs long enough to tell him what happened.

“I think–” you hiccup, sniffling loudly, “I think I just lost my best friend–” tears rattle through you once again, just saying it out loud feels like lightning in its startling ability to shatter you once more.

By the time the sobs diminish again, you’re sat on the floor by the tub, head sitting in his lap as he pets your hair. You sit up suddenly, mid hiccup as you give Steve an odd look.

He almost asks if you’re okay when you spill over his lap, whimpering between gasps as you know what you’re doing, the toilet only a foot away, but it continues to explode from your stomach.

“I’m so sorry,” you explain, tears falling again, as he sits in shock.

He grins sadly, undoing his belt. “It’s fine, sweetheart.”

He finds someone, Robin, to grab him a second pair of pants, ditching the ruined pair in the bathtub.

The dry heaving seems to stop the tears, now staring blankly with a wet face and lashes that stick together. Steve brings you upstairs, wrapping his arm around your waist as he brings you to his bedroom.

As your head hits his pillow your eyes fall closed, mumbling something about fucking up, about three months ago.

Steve locks his door from any stragglers, walking down each step to find a particular metal head to give him a piece of his mind.

From how your sobs shook your body, he might give him the whole thing.

-

The light cascading through the blinds hurts, like a dagger through your brain as you take in your surroundings. You don’t know how you got into Steve’s room under his blanket.

As soon as you sit up, the pain stabs you, pushing you back down. Ow. You don’t even attempt to get up again until the urge to pee hits you, when it’s too much to ignore. You rub your eye, tip toeing to try to get back under the dark blue comforter decorating Steve’s bed.

On the corner of the bed Steve sits, one foot resting on the other knee as he holds a jade green drink. “How badly does your head hurt?”

You wince at the volume of his voice, placing your hands over your eyes. “Not great.”

He winces sympathetically, offering the smoothie. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Blurry images flash through your mind, the kitchen, Daniel, half of the second case gone. You attempt to remember past that point but it comes up blank. “I remember running into Daniel.”

As you sip on the surprisingly delicious hangover smoothie, Steve watches you, wearing a clear expression of concern.

“Anything after that?”

You can tell he’s egging you on, digging for something with an unprecedented seriousness in his tone. But there’s no memory after that. You gingerly shake your head, which sends more needles of pain through your skull.

“Why?” You ask weakly. Steve pauses, ruffling a hand through his hair as he releases a long sigh.

“You really don’t, huh?” Steve asks, one last attempt. “Maybe it’s good you drank as much as you did, then.”

“Steve, you’re scaring me.” Images of worst case scenarios course through your mind. What did you do?

Steve pats the spot on the bed next to you, double checking you don’t feel the urge to throw up. You don’t.

“Daniel tried to force himself on you.” He’s gentle, compassionate in his admission as he watches your reaction.

Huh. “How far did he–” you stutter, breath hitching as you bite back the sobs that suddenly threaten to rake through your body.

“He was interrupted before he even got that far,” he comforts you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder as he caresses it. “Eddie sort of bashed his face in.”

Now that you think about it, the memory of Eddie hunched over Daniel as he delivered blow after blow to his nose, his cheekbone, his eyebrow. You didn’t see the final result of Eddie’s defense, but the bruised knuckles you vaguely recall spell out how brutal the retaliation was.

Eddie.

“What–” you pause, stuttering through your breaths, “what happened after that?”

“You yelled at Eddie. Berated him. I think you even told him you didn’t want to be his friend anymore. At least, that’s what I gathered from what you told me,” he admits.

Your blood grows cold. From the weeks of silence, the jilted conversations, the slow resentment that bloomed through your stomach for him. The ache already hurt just from the absence of your best friend, but it was good for you. Fuck, this hurt.

“Is that all?”

He laughs, pulling your head into his neck. “Just that you can’t hold back your liquor.”

That’s why your breath tastes like vomit.

From the extra strength tylenol he gives you, the rest of the morning is spent helping Steve tidy up the trash around his house. Only after spending twenty minutes in the kitchen on his hands and knees scrubbing up the red stains does he allow you to help him. You only catch a glimpse of the paper towel soaked in dried blood and bleach when throwing out red solo cups, a small hint of the mess Eddie made of Daniel.

The thought of his name is a self betrayal, and you work faster once it crosses your mind.

Once the place is clean, you allow Steve to drive you home at his insistence, repeatedly asking when he pulls up to your house that you’re sure you’re okay.

Your dad is at work, not there to ask any questions you wanted to avoid from the previous night, namely why your eyes are swollen from tears. The blinds in your room fall with a trill resembling a xylophone, blocking the sun from your intense migraine.

For the first time in weeks, you’re stirred awake from sleep from the ringing of the phone on the floor that has been pushed under the bed. You let it ring.

Just as sleep pulls you back in, you’re abruptly startled as the phone alerts you again. You roll over, ignoring it as you wrap your head in your hands, curling into the pillow. No one has to get a hold of you that badly.

This person does, it seems, as they call you again. You groan, crawling over the edge as you grab the phone from your receiver. “Hello?”

You refuse the want to chew them out, to take your emotions and friendship breakup out on the person who has interrupted your sleep.

“It’s me.”

You lurch forward in your bed, still tethered to the receiver by the tightly coiled wire as it forces the receiver to scuff against the hardwood floor. Eddie.

-

Eddie’s sat on his couch, limply resting his head on the couch arm as the shrill voice of the main character complains over a problem that could be solved if she had just told someone. His hand rests on his eyes, shielding himself from the light to prevent the headache he can feel coming on. He’s given up on suggesting other movies by now, but she somehow seems to only play the movies that get on every last nerve.

He would probably be more willing to watch the romcoms in question if they weren’t the bottom of the pack. Last time Eddie even suggested a romcom he actually doesn’t completely hate he had to hear about it for an agonizing twenty minutes. Fine. She could watch her movie, he can practice on his guitar, right?

You would think.

So he dissociates and focuses on the gentle petting of his calf as he rests his leg on her lap. His mind floats to his best friend, how much he misses the smell of your shampoo, or when you make fun of the cheesier horror movies he loves to watch. If Chrissy wouldn’t make a near temper tantrum every time your name is mentioned in conversation, he would’ve called you weeks ago. He missed your voice.

Chrissy continues to insist that you like him, that you’re trying to steal him from her. It turned into many fights where Eddie felt like he was losing his mind, insisting he just wanted to see his best friend. There is a stubborn, immovable force still holding hope that something will just click one day and realize just how wrong she is. There’s a little nagging part of him, eating at his brain, warning that it probably won’t ever come true.

The possibility is almost too much for him to mentally handle, because when it blows up in his face and you decide not to forgive his radio silence, he doesn’t think he will be able to handle the absence in his life. So he procrastinates the detonation.

“I’m surprised you’re not going to Steve’s party,” Chrissy chirps, interrupting Eddie’s disarray.

Eddie blinks, trying to recall any mention of a party that might’ve slipped his mind. That might’ve been the reason for his ignorance if he could remember the last time he even spoke to Steve. He’s sure Chrissy knows that.

“I didn’t even know he was having one.”

She grabs at the extra material of his jeans, pulling his attention. “Did you want to go?”

He mentally rattles through the mechanics of going to Steve’s stupidly large house, knowing damn well his distance has managed to drive you straight into the arms of someone new, even if it’s only platonic. You’ll be there, the chance much more likely than not.

He wants to see your face, even if it’s in passing. He wonders if Chrissy sees you there if she’ll decide to leave early or just avoid you altogether. But it’s just the chance that drives him to agree.

By the time he gets there, vehicles have already littered the streets surrounding his house, some even audaciously blocking his neighbor’s driveways. Chrissy’s hand is in his as he walks in, anxiously looking around the party for you.

He peers into the living room, to the couch containing members of some of Steve’s closer acquaintances and it wasn’t long until he saw you, sitting right next to Robin holding the bottleneck of a beer bottle.

Your eyes are already on his, wide and still as you stare at him. You’re even prettier than he remembered, any polaroid he’s ever had of you does absolutely no justice to your radiant smile or vibrant eyes.

Fine, you’re staring at him like you would rather be anywhere else for the moment, panic flooding your features, but it’s a breath of fresh air for him compared to his last few suffocating weeks. As you stumble to your feet, Eddie tricks himself into believing that you’ve gotten up to talk to him until you pass the front entrance straight into the kitchen.

He supposes he deserves that, fading as Chrissy tugs him to the dance floor. His hands find her hips, allowing himself to get lost in the relentlessly catchy pop tune. He can’t help but allow his eyes to float back over to the couch every now and then, something in him carnally needing making sure that you’re safe.

Alarm bells go off, goosebumps trailing over his skin as something in him screams that you’re in danger. You could very much just be avoiding him, which he wouldn’t blame you for, not for one moment, but he wouldn’t forgive himself if he found out his worry had any footing.

“Babe, I’m gonna grab a drink,” he mutters, blankly kissing her sweet scented blonde hair before his long legs take him to the kitchen.

His stomach drops as your voice fills the kitchen, asking the asshole with wandering hands to stop as he forces himself on you.

The next thing he knows, Daniel is under him, his back slammed on the floor with a face scrunched up in pain as Eddie’s fists are flying. His fists, his jeans, the floor, the whining little shit’s face, it all gets painted with blood.

Eddie doesn’t realize when the pair of arms stop trying to push him off, or when the green eyes no longer stare at him in horror, shut from the trauma of one blunt hit after the other. He just continually bashes his face in for even daring to attempt to force himself on the woman he loves.

Fuck this guy. Fuck him.

Eddie’s blind with rage, but he’s also blind with his own regret.

Your voice cuts through the anger, a warning that seeps in his brain like a sponge. If he keeps hitting him like this he will end up taking his life.

He stands up, facing your trembling form as you seem to be in shock. You melt in his hold, tears spilling over his hands as he caresses you, doing his very best to take care of you. He knows the answer when he asks, but he has to hear it from you.

Finally, the words seem to sober you from wanting his comfort to the hurt that you’ve felt from his silence. You lurch yourself from him, staggering blindly to the fridge as you grab another beer. The scent was harsh on your breath, the sight of you glugging back as much as you can sends jolts through his system.

Then you tell him everything. And he deserves it. He wants so badly to tell you how badly he wanted to call you, but the excuses sound lame even in his own mind.

When you tell him you’re done is when he finally snaps out of his own trance. He knows what you mean, but surely, you don’t really mean it? Before he can ask, Chrissy comes into the picture, doting over his bruised knuckles, ignoring you completely as she asks what happened. He’s fine. He’s not, but he’ll say anything to get back to what you were just saying.

Choked back sobs escape as you tell him with absolute finality that you are done, tripping over your own feet when you leave through the kitchen door.

No, this has gone too far. Eddie hasn’t had a single drop of alcohol but feels as if he’s wasted from stumbling after you, blocked by his girlfriend.

That conversation goes as well as can be expected.

In the hours following, he doesn’t seem to find you anywhere. But without Chrissy trailing after him, he finds himself free to converse with friends he’d missed, meeting their snide remarks of coming back to the land of the living with grace. Eddie stays for hours, half heartedly partaking in any conversation he finds himself witness to just in case you make another appearance.

Steve walks down the stairs after what feels like forever, wearing a grim look on his face. Eddie approaches him. “Hey have you seen–”

“She’s upstairs,” Steve answers, sighing. “Passed out. She’ll wake up tomorrow morning.”

“Is she okay?”

“Didn’t choke on her own vomit, at least,” Steve quips, his voice harsh. “Physically, she’s okay.”

Steve moves to walk around Eddie, seemingly done with the conversation.

“Physically?”

Steve sighs, angry, frustrated. “She just sobbed on the bathroom floor for an hour and a half, Ed. I literally watched her heart break! Safe to say, I don’t think she’s doing so well emotionally.”

“Fuck,” Eddie mutters, feeling hopeless, like he should’ve been there to take care of you instead of being the cause of your suffering. “Steve, I–”

“Listen, Eddie. I just heard a bunch of shit from her that I’m not even sure she knows that she said. Other than her I guess telling you to fuck off, what else happened?”

Eddie gulps, not exactly wrapping his own mind around it, yet. “I found Daniel Moore trying to force himself on her.”

“Jesus,” Steve mutters, passing Eddie straight into the kitchen.

“Steve–” Eddie tries to stop him, or warn him at least, wondering how no one else has seen him, yet. There is almost no reason for most to make their way into the kitchen as the drinks station is in the living room, but usually a straggler or two, especially couples would make their own way in. He’s definitely not up and partying from the blood that seeped through the shirt he was wearing…

Should Eddie have called the ambulance?

“What the fuck–” Steve barks, taking in the crumpled form before him. “Jesus, Eddie, what happened?”

“You listen to your best friend beg someone to stop assaulting them and not beat the shit out of him?” Eddie retaliates, watching as Steve double checks to make sure he’s still breathing.

“Well, now I gotta get him out of here before someone has you fucking arrested,” Steve mutters, wracking his brain through old morally questionable friends of his that would help with no questions asked. Fuck. He has a few favors to call in. “Where’s Chrissy gone?”

“How the fuck should I know?” Eddie spits.

“Considering she has control over who you’re allowed to spend time with, probably somewhere nearby with binoculars,” Steve mutters, a fragment of seriousness in the joke.

“Well, not anymore,” Eddie shrugs, feeling surprisingly pragmatic about it.

“Oh.” Took you long enough, Steve thinks. “I’m gonna get him out of here, but I suggest you do the same.”

“Can I stay? I wanna be here when she wakes up.” His eyes pleading to Steve.

Steve’s brows raise. “Respectfully Eddie, I don’t think she really wants to see you.”

“I haven’t been able to tell her anything for weeks, I’m staying!” he insists, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

Steve shakes his head, leaning on the counter. God, he wished he hadn’t invited a few dozen people to come to his house for the night. “God, you’re an idiot.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re an idiot. You’re both idiots, but, man I think you’re the bigger one.” Steve walks around the kitchen island, getting unreasonably close to him. “I don’t know if you’re blind, or just selectively ignorant. She loves you, dude! She was willing to support you getting a girlfriend, but then you just shut her out. It’s gonna take more than an apology to be back in her good graces. When she wakes up with a killer hangover, I think the last person she’ll want to see is you. God, if one of you just made the jump years ago this never would’ve happened!”

Eddie’s heart drops at Steve’s angry words, refusing to believe any of his feelings for his best friend are reciprocated. “Sure, because three months of friendship tell you everything you need to know about a person.”

Steve chuckles, walking over the snoring asshole as he steps out to the living room. “I would have to be blind not to see it. She talked about you one time about this stupid fucking movie she watched with you and I could tell. Rather than telling your girlfriend that you have a best friend and she has to get over it, you shut her out. For weeks. And left someone else to pick up the pieces.”

“Steve, I know. I know I was being an ass–”

“Then why didn’t you stop? Why didn’t you give her a call? You had to know she wasn’t going to forgive you so easily–”

“Of course I fucking knew that, Steve! Why do you think I put off letting it explode in my face?”

“Because you’re an idiot! She loved you. She loves you! If you can’t see that then I really don’t know what to tell you. Listen, if you call her tomorrow, I’m not all that sure what would happen. It’s gonna be a while before she’s ready to forgive, bud. For now. Maybe you should go.”

-

“Oh,” you sigh, hugging your knees into your chest, feeling small. A war rages in your mind. You were hurt enough by him to break your friendship off with him, but you don’t even remember it. The other side of you just wants to be close to him again, willing to sink into the apologies that he owes you and happily accept them.

But you shouldn’t. And you know you shouldn’t.

“Do you wanna come over for a movie?”

You want to come over and watch a movie so badly, it wraps around you and constricts your airflow. “Will she be there?”

“No. Just me and you. I promise,” Eddie swears, voice low enough that it resembles a whisper. “She won’t be, uh, crashing our movie nights anymore.”

You diminish the pulse of hope that threatens to bloom. “What do you mean?”

Eddie sighs. “I was hoping to tell you in person, but we broke up last night…come over, I’ll tell you more. I just need my best friend…and a horror movie…and junk food, god, I miss junk food.”

You miss him so much it hurts. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

The bike ride sends pulses through your head, worsening the ache of the hangover. If the pain isn’t gone by tomorrow, you might just ask someone to shoot an arrow through your head to put you out of your misery.

It’s been more than long enough since the last time you were on his front door step, nervous as you hesitate to knock. Eddie’s footsteps are rapid and loud as soon as your knuckles hit the door, the opening to him, wide eyes, graphic t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. He appears unlike himself, almost tired. You wonder if you noticed it last night.

Before either one of you says a word, he tugs you in, wrapping his arms around you in an embrace in his scent. Overwhelming emotion takes over, his shirt absorbing the tears that fall. He feels like home, every part of him. His scent, the muscles flexing under your grasp, his steady breaths.

“I missed you,” he mutters, his voice low, choked, even.

Then why didn’t you call me? “Me too–” you whimper, squeezing onto him even tighter. You sniffle, curling your head into his neck.

The hug lasts forever, or at least long enough for your arms to become numb.

Your butt lands on the couch, the spot that was once permanently marked by you now weirdly lumpy from the lack of use. Did Chrissy know she was allowed to sit in her own seat on the odd occasion? On the coffee table, Eddie has already prepared the popcorn and your favorite snacks, only your favorite snacks. Three movies are laid out, all awaiting their turn in the VCR.

“What’s this?�� You ask, rubbing your nose from the snot.

“Uh, three movies. Pick one.”

You read the titles, Back to the Future, Friday the 13th, and Labyrinth. “What happened to wanting to watch horror movies?”

“I have a lot of sucking up to do before I get to be picky with our movie night,” Eddie answers, his voice gentle and careful. “Pick one.”

If he says so, then you’ll have to pick your favorite, rather than his favorite. “Alright, then, Labyrinth it is. David Bowie in leather pants, here I come!”

As the movie plays, a teenage girl desperate to find her brother, you sink into the comfort of the ratty old couch. Through Eddie, you found out that the rattiest couches are actually the most comfy. The more tears and rips, the better. Eddie stands up, running to the kitchen to grab fresh cans of soda from the fridge.

He sits back down, handing you a Diet Coke while popping open his own. Two things you notice when he sits. One, he’s remarkably close, his ass nearly planted in between the cushions. Two–

“Since when did you start drinking diet coke?” You ask him, wincing at the aftertaste.

“Since Chrissy was such a stickler for sugar,” he answers casually, grabbing a bite of the popcorn.

His simple tone, emotionless and understated, squeezes your heart. “What happened with her, anyway?”

Chrissy blocked him, staring at him with wide eyes as she held his shoulders. “What–what is going on?”

“I need a minute,” he stuttered, attempting to walk around her.

“Did you do that?” Chrissy asked, pointing to the lifeless piece of shit on the floor.

“Chris, it’s really not a good time, right now. I will tell you later, I promise. I’ll be right back.” Eddie promised.

She blocked him again, hands pushing on his broad shoulders. “You’re not seriously thinking of going after her, are you?”

“Chrissy, she’s my best friend! That creep just tried– I have to go check up on her, make sure she’s okay!”

“You mean the girl who is pathetically in love with you?” Chrissy asked, belligerent and full of sass. “Sure, go and give her more false hope! She was practically all over you at the diner, mooning over you, desperate to take you out on a date, I mean, don’t give her fucking hope!”

Eddie sighed, rubbing his face angrily. “I don’t know how many times I need to fucking tell you, Chris. She is just my friend. She was being nice, trying to include you. I’m so fucking tired of this conversation!”

“So am I!” Chrissy crossed her arms, popping her hip out. It was times like these Eddie was absolutely sure of why Chrissy and Jason dated for so long. “You know what? Fine. Me or her.”

“What?” Eddie was unsure if she was being serious.

“Pick! Me or her? Because when you pick me maybe then she’ll get the fucking hint!”

It was the easiest decision he’s ever made in his life. “Her.”

Eddie finishes explaining it, mostly nixxing the parts where she berated you or talked shit. You just needed to know the part where she practically had a temper tantrum.

“Wow,” you mutter, remembering how you called Chrissy sweet when they first started dating. “And…you, you picked me?”

“Of course I did.” Eddie pops a kernel into his mouth, leaning back into the couch. His body heat is warm, his scent intoxicating. “You’re my best friend.”

“You haven’t called in weeks, Eddie.” It comes out quietly, the hurt overflowing in your body and pouring out your mouth. “I thought you had a new best girl.”

Eddie sighs, grabbing your hand. “If I could take back the last three months, I would. I-I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“I missed you so fucking badly,” you admit, focusing on how your hand feels intertwined with his.

“I missed you. I know– I fucked up, but believe me when I say, I missed you so fucking much.”

On one hand, it’s hard to believe him. It seemed like it was so easy for him to cut you off. On the other, the glint in his eyes, his thumb caressing the back of your hand, gentle and unequivocally vulnerable.

Eddie leans forward, connecting his forehead to yours. “I will make it up to you, I promise.”

“You have a lot of making up to do, mister,” you inform him, pulling away from him to lightly nudge his hair.

“And a million strawberry mountains covered in strawberry sauce,” he answers, kissing your forehead softly.

“You really had me worried,” you admit, taking a good look at his face. “I believe you when you say that you missed me, but Eds, you hurt me. I want to trust you, but–”

His movement is swift as he grabs your face with his hands, pulling you in close. “I know, baby, I know.” The pet name takes your breath away, music to your unsuspecting ears. The name wraps itself around your like a warm hug, melting all those months of worry and panic away. “I’m so fucking sorry, if I could just–”

Maybe it wasn’t the right timing, months of silence, unanswered questions, hurt, but all that just conveniently disappears the moment his lips touch yours. You startle, jerking backwards as you look at him curiously, looking for something that’ll tell you he’s not kissing you out of pity, or obligation.

You’re met with the exact way that he always looks at you, but this time, it’s radiant. How did you miss it this whole time? You smile, wrapping your hand behind his neck as you tug him in, entangling his lips with yours and chasing that emotion that ran through you the first time.

Eddie meets your kiss with enthusiasm, grinning madly as he pulls you in closer, your body flush against his as he pulls you down with him.

It’s maddeningly enchanting, the way you can taste his minty breath and his hums against your lips, buzzing and tickling. His tongue sweeps along your bottom lip, pulling a gasp as you happily meet his with yours. Your skin feels electric as his hand sneaks under your shirt, as if he’s just getting the feel of you.

You sigh, curling your arm around his neck to pull him impossibly closer. His kisses trail along your jawline, down your neck, pressing sweet kisses down your jugular. “You taste like strawberries,” he mutters, audibly smiling. “I should’ve known, all those damn strawberries you eat.”

“Before we go any further,” you gasp, clutching at his t-shirt, “and believe me, I want to, you owe me a proper date.”

“Taking you out for a date, baby?” He places more rapid kisses on your neck, letting himself absorb your laughter. “God, I’m lucky.”

-

You’ve learned one thing for absolute certainty, Eddie Munson knows how to grovel. Between the many kisses you’ve shared that night you tell Eddie with surety that just because he knows how to kiss doesn’t mean he’s suddenly forgiven. Eddie relishes in that, grinning just because you’re kissing him.

The previous night he was losing his mind at his ex-girlfriend’s terrible movie choices, and you, his best friend, the person who has always known him best, you’re finally here kissing him. You could ask him to write a 1000-page apology letter entirely in rhymes or haikus and he would do it heartbeat, but all he’s required to do is prove it?

He’s more than willing.

When the date is proposed, he swears he would love to take you anywhere. He provides a list, with all of the restaurants you know he can’t afford. When you ask him and inquire about such, he shrugs casually. There’s a silent question there, wondering if Chrissy had even considered his wallet size before their date nights.

Instead, you answer with, “Our first date should be the diner, no?”

You’ve never been so nervous before, looking through your small arsenal of date night dresses. He’s seen all of them, whether from a school dance or the aftermath of a date gone sour. One dress catches your attention, at the very back of your closet covered in plastic, just waiting for the right time.

White, with blue flowers hand embroidered on the bodice, a sweetheart neckline and bubble gum pink ribbons tied together as the straps. Periwinkle blue that bleeds into mint green leaves along the hemline, fanned out into a hoopskirt. You’ve stared at this dress when it sat in your mom’s closet, asking when it might be your turn to finally wear it.

The dress fits you like a glove, looking remarkably close to the photo on the easel downstairs, a first date 25 years ago that ended up being one of your favorite bedtime stories.

As you finally make your way down the stairs, hair half up in curls in a ribbon matching the ones on the dress, your dad looks at you with pride and glossy eyes. Whispered words of the resemblance as he hugs you, eyes too tired for a man in his forties from loss and stress, a whiff of gratitude hits you.

It’s a warm spring evening, no need for a coat as the van pulls up with the usual melodies of heavy metal and drumming. You make your way down the sidewalk to his passenger side, butterflies erupting as you open the door.

The volume is turned down to a background noise, the heavy metal feeling oddly out of place at such a low volume. “Hi, sunshine.”

You grab his hand, petting at his calloused skin. “Hi.”

You feel his eyes on you, taking in the dress that is on its first night out in decades. “I don’t know how you show up looking this good and expect me to act normal.”

You grin, pressing a kiss to his shoulder and sniffing at the leather. He can’t say shit like that and expect you to go on like normal. “C’mon. I haven’t had a strawberry milkshake in ages.”

You open the window just a crack, appreciating the scent of fresh grass in the spring. New beginnings, fresh starts, rebirth. It seems oddly poetic.

He pulls up to the diner, bright neon lights against an evening sunset. It looks as if it’s painted, yellow into orange into blue. A lonely diner isolated sitting against a watercolor sky, but one of your favorite places in the world.

The bell ringing feels like an old song you haven’t heard in years, bringing some bittersweet nostalgia.

Martha perks up, the diner even deader than normal with only a lone man sitting on a bar chair holding a milkshake like a beer. The comparison sends a gag reflex through your body, never wanting to even smell another beer in your lifetime. As you sit next to Eddie, in such close proximity that the other side of the booth is useless, Martha appears with a cheeky smile on her face.

“If you two aren’t on a date, I’ll eat my notebook,” she sighs, hands on her hips as if she’s chastising two kids.

You and Eddie glance to one another, debating on fucking with her. It’s all the approval she needs.

“Finally! If you came in my diner again with those puppy dog eyes of yours I would’ve about had it with you two. Now, are you getting your regulars again?”

Eddie’s arm curls around your shoulders, his thumb petting the bare skin of your shoulder. “I’m disappointed you haven’t already brought the milkshake, Martha.”

“Smartasses. The both of you!” She walks off, a brand new pep in her step.

His thumb turns under your chin, pulling your face towards his. “C’mere. I need to make up for the times I just wanted to kiss those pretty lips in this booth of ours.”

“Why didn’t you?” You ask him, breathless as you stare at his eyes.

“I didn’t think the prettiest girl I know would want to kiss a goofball like me,” he chuckles, self deprecating and vulnerable.

You shake your head sadly, sighing happily. “You are so wrong.”

His chuckles are interrupted by your kiss, clutching onto the cotton t-shirt clinging onto his chest. It’s like you to forget how to breathe, taking the moment to take a deep breath before kissing him deeper, harder.

Your tongues meet, wrapping together with his and leaning forward to be as close to him as possible. His hand lands on your thigh, petting it roughly as he teases you. You hated yourself, hated how you told him you wanted to wait, because it’s becoming too much. The need for him sits deep in your stomach and begs you for any resolve from his teasing hands.

His kisses keep you only so satiated, whimpering by the time your make out sessions are done and ready to beg him to touch you already.

The glass of pinky sweetness hits the table, interrupting his electric lips on yours. “If you two do it, at least have the decency to take it to the bathroom like every other patron.”

You yelp, avoiding Martha’s eyes as Eddie tugs you in against his chest, kissing your temple. “Yes ma’am,” Eddie obeys, saluting with two fingers. Two, very distracting fingers.

You take a sip, humming. After weeks, you will proudly proclaim that this is still the best milkshake in town.

Eddie kisses your cheek, pulling you even closer. “If you lick that whipped cream off your finger, so help me god.”

It’s a habit of yours, one you’ve done at least once a visit just to get a taste of it before it sinks into the milkshake. The numerous times you’ve done it sinks in, unknowingly teasing him. “Something wrong with tasting whipped cream, Eds?”

“When you do it with that tongue of yours, yes,” he mutters, nipping on your jawline.

“Why don’t you have a taste,” you hum, taking a scoop with your pinky, licking it up.

Eddie pulls you in, humming as his tongue reaches out for yours to grab a taste of the cream melting fast in your mouth. He pulls back all too soon, eyes fluttering shut as he tuts his tongue. “Mmm. Yum. Thanks, baby.”

The milkshake is nearly gone by the time Martha rolls around again, pancakes and waffles in hand, interrupting soft conversation and sweet nothings.

He finally tries a taste of your pancakes, eating from the fork you offer him. His face winces, screwing up as he chews on it. “That strawberry sauce is sweet, ain’t it?”

“A little sour, I guess, but it’s my favorite. The fresh strawberries are a nice little addition.” You tell him, cutting up the pancakes.

“I’ll stick to my sprinkles,” Eddie mutters, dipping a piece of the big fluffy waffle in the whip. “They are the best.”

“I have a question,” you mutter, relishing in the taste of the sweet strawberry sauce. “How-how long have you liked me? Was it more recent, or have you liked me for years?”

Eddie smirks, placing a stand of hair over your shoulder. “Years.” He chokes back the correction of the word like, cause it’s so much more. “The first time I saw you, you were giving one of the football dicks hell for picking on one of the scrawny little freshmen. And I mean, berating him. You’re shy, baby, but not when it comes to others.” He pauses, chewing thoughtfully. “I knew from that moment.”

Oh. It was a handful of months before you found yourself sitting by the hellfire table, shaking your head at their antics. Plus, Gareth was just plain wrong in his opinion, you shook your head disapprovingly as you dug your nose in the book. Eddie caught on to it, demanding you join their group and inform him of how wrong he was. You did. You didn’t realize how charming Eddie was, how welcoming and genuinely kind.

It took your breath away, especially how gorgeous he was. The crush was kindled from then on, only being nurtured as you continued to debate him and his friends on their nerd culture.

Eddie followed up with the same question, asking how long ago for you, too. You tell him that very story, of how he enamored you just from being around him.

“You know, by then I was already head over heels for you,” he admits casually, sipping the last of the milkshake. “Something about sticking it to the man just does that to a guy.”

“Those dimples of yours are a weapon.” You admit in kind, and he laughs. You drop your jaw incredulously. “They’re a weapon! You think your hands are the only things those girls call magic?”

Eddie leans in, hot breath on your ear sending ripples down your neck. “And have you thought about these magic hands of mine, sweetheart?”

You gulp, licking your lips as your heart races in your chest. “Maybe...” You say softly.

He hums, tentatively kissing your skin. He really shouldn’t be doing this in a public space, you think, attempting not to wiggle at the uncomfortable feeling of arousal pooling in your panties. “I can’t wait to show you just how magic they are.”

You hold back a whimper, choking on it as your eyes flutter shut at his tentative kisses.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” You nod, watching as he places the right amount of bills with a decent tip for Martha.

On your way out the door, Martha shouts her goodbyes, happily yelling out her congratulations as the glass door slams behind you. Eddie’s lips find a home on the back of your hand, holding it as he kisses loudly, tickling the skin.

The trailer sits alone in the park, all lights off as he pulls up. With the turn of a key, his arm wraps around your waist as you walk in sync. It’s familiar as you help him turn on the lights, domestic, even. His jacket is off, tossed on the couch as he tugs you by the hand towards his room.

You’ve thought about it so many times, whisking away into his room with him to devour him completely. Usually it occurs when you’re mad stoned, happy and horny, but too blizted to make a move.

Your hands curtain the back of his neck, thumbs petting the nape of his neck and tangling themselves in his curls, rubbing in small circles. His lips connect to yours, stumbling over dirty laundry as he guides you to his bed. “Hmm, strawberries.”

He yelps as lands on his back, laughing as you collide with an oof. The playful moment is quickly replaced with intensity, staring down into his brown eyes, darkened by desire. Across the years of being his friend, he’s darkened his eyes in many moments, right before he decides to pin you down and tickle you senseless or when you talk down on yourself.

There were moments when his intense gaze took you aback, mostly when you innocently used too much enthusiasm in eating ice cream or put your hair up in a ponytail.

Or when you wore a sundress that sat a bit too high on your thigh.

All these moments suddenly make sense, filling you with a gust of emotion as you grab at him, tugging him harshly for a kiss much more powerful than you knew you had in you. He gasps into it, deep and desperate against your lips as you pull him closer. One of his hands travels downward, hiking under your skirt and grabbing at your thigh, your knee pulled up against his stomach.

Eddie turns you over on your back, hands grabbing at the skin harshly, his rings pressing at your skin hard enough to create an indent. Your leg wrapped around his waist tugs him down, his chest landing on yours.

“Question, my love,” Eddie mutters, words intertwined with his kisses. “Why the hell haven’t I seen this dress until now, it’s…oh my god.”

You grin against his lips, pushing your hands past his cotton shirt. “Waiting for a special occasion.”

“You telling me I could’ve seen this ages ago, baby?” He gasps, wrapping your tongue against his, delicate but enough to make you mewl into his mouth.

“Probably.”

He nips your lip, a punishment for your cheekiness. “It’ll look better on the floor.”

Your hips grind up, meeting the bulge in his pants just right. “You can’t say stuff like that–” you gasp, arms wrapping around his neck to hold on to him pathetically.

“You have no idea the things I’ve wanted to say to you.” His hand travels further up, passing the waistline of your panties and spreading on the skin of your tummy. “All the things I’ve held back…”

The admission is thrilling and terrifying, giving you almost everything you’ve ever wanted.

Now if you could get that bike you wanted for Christmas when you were twelve…

“Can you tell me now?” you ask, smiling up at his pretty, bewildered face.

“Hmm, patience,” he tuts, using his hand to explore. “Right now I just really want to touch your pussy, please, baby, please.”

It’s your turn for bewilderment. He’s acting like touching you is this great honor, instead of a means to an end like anyone else you’ve slept with. “Uh, yeah, I want that. I really, really want that.”

Eddie sighs, using his traveling hand and dipping it under the waistband of your panties. As his best friend, you’ve gotten so comfortable around him, arguably too much. Late nights in his room with a t-shirt and panties as his room fills with smoke. Eddie is only human, appreciating them too much as as you sat cross legged with the strip just a tad too thin for what it was supposed to cover.

This particular pair is decorated in lace up the front, a sheer lace for the bum, a light blue to match the flowers. His fingers latch to your pussy, delicately moving them up and down the folds.

“Oh my god,” he sighs, playing with the slick and spreading it. “You’re so wet, all this…all this for me?”

He adds more pressure, rubbing small circles and watching you throw your head back and melt in the heat that spreads across your thighs and takes form in a tremble, in a shake. “F-feels good.”

“Yeah?” he asks, placing his thumb on your clit and rotating it in tiny circles. “You like the way I play with your pussy, baby?”

You frantically nod, grinding up against him. “Need..need more. Please? More?”

“What does more mean?” He leans in, decorating your neck with sucks and bites and licks. “You want me to lick it, baby? You need my fingers, you already beggin’ for my cock? C’mon my girl, use your words.”

You might just beg for his cock, but you don’t want it to be over so quickly. “Want–want your fingers, Eds.”

He giggles, planting a nice wet kiss on your lips. “That’s my girl.” He doesn’t wait a second, curling one finger past your entrance and pumping it slowly, building a slow momentum that pulls at your stomach. He sighs, husky and deep, “Fuck, it’s so tight.”

He removes his finger without warning, not commenting on the moan in disappointment that escapes your mouth. He sits up, grabbing at the waistline as he tugs them down your legs, slowly, carefully, savoring in the moment. He lifts up the skirt, exposing the landing strip that sits waiting for his eyes.

“Did you decorate your pussy just for me? It looks so pretty… Thank you, baby girl,” Eddie is borderline emotional in his gratitude, showering you with praises.

Your legs attempt to close back together in embarrassment from his intense stare. He notices it, pushing your legs back down. “Do me a favor, won’t you? Keep these legs open while I eat your pussy.”

You drench your thighs, turned on even from the mere idea of being with him. “Mmkay.”

“You–” he gasps, delicately licking at the mound. “You taste so good. Wanted to bury my face in this little cunt for so long.”

His hands lift your thighs up and over his shoulder. His mouth tells you he knows exactly what he’s doing, listening to the cues you give him through your quivers and whines. The dress is completely covering his face, hiding the man that is eating you out, slowly and carefully, as if wanting to taste every drop of arousal you feed him.

Before long, your legs start shaking in his hold from the pleasure that has your hands tangled in your hair, eyes squeezed tight as he pulls whine after whine from you. One finger slides right back in, facing no resistance, sucking on your clit simultaneously. That arches your back and curls your toes, gasping from his build up, his words, god just from the years of mental torture.

You cum against his lips without warning, for him or yourself, twitching around his fingers and crying out his name.

He coaxes you through it, kissing your pretty pussy lips gently until your legs stop convulsing. Sweat beads on your forehead, spreading on your back and neck and making the thick fabric of the dress too hot. You untie each ribbon, desperately grabbing at the neckline to pull it up and off.

He kisses up your torso, laughing as you get stuck with the dress half off. One heel digs in his back in retaliation, whining as you gesture to him to help you. “I’m sorry, you’re just so cute.” Eddie giggles.

You whine, kicking your legs for him to hurry up. Your hair is stuck in your dress. It lifts over your head, a light bra covering your tits acting as a tease for him. The dress lands on the floor, nice and splayed out as it’s done its purpose.

You roll your eyes, tugging him in for a desperate kiss by the neck, wandering hands moving south to tug at his t-shirt. “Wanna see you, too,” you confess, helping him rid of his shirt. “Show me those tattoos.”

“You like the tatties?” You nod enthusiastically although you know he’s just teasing you. “Oh, I bet ya do. Probably ogled them while I wasn’t lookin’ huh?”

With a chest like his, you don’t imagine he could blame you. You let your eyes speak for you, raking over his covered chest and openly staring. “Wanna suck your cock.” You look up at him with big doe eyes, silently begging.

Eddie’s eyes widen at your admission, groaning as you start to undo his jeans. “Fuck, I don’t know if I’ll last that long…I need to be buried in you, wanna feel that pussy around my cock.”

You gulp, wrapping your legs around his torso so his jeans meet your pussy, probably drenching a wet spot on the front. “Me too…but I remember you said you didn’t really get reciprocated very much.” You inhale, gathering courage. “I remember thinking how I’d love to spend hours with your cock down my throat.”

Eddie keels over you, curling his face in your neck as he whimpers. “You were holding that back from me?” He punches the mattress right next to your head, a mild temper tantrum. “What other depraved thoughts have you been hiding from me?”

“You want me to tell you, or show you?” You’re not sure where this surge of confidence is coming from, but you’re running with it, especially if it means you can hear him make that sound again.

“Sh-show me- want you to show–” he nods, whimpering into your neck and shuddering.

“Mmkay,” you muse, smirking at just how easily the shoe falls on the other foot. “Get on your back.”

He complies promptly, wrapping his arm around the small of your back and turning the two of you over. You straddle him, grabbing at his chest carefully as you plant kisses all the way down his lean torso. You bring teeth into the mix, sucking and biting and marking your territory.

You’ve been itching to do so since he showed up one morning with bruises decorating his neck, claiming his hookup got a little too eager.

I'll show you eager, you begrudgingly think, wishing that all the boys were teasing him from bruises you gave him, instead. God, there was one planted on his collarbone that was excessively large, annoyingly so.

You mark your way down his chest, his stomach, lapping greedily at his treasure trail as he whimpers at your enthusiasm. This is power, you think to yourself, wondering what other noises you could conjure from him. As your mouth moves, so do your hands, undoing his belt slowly, taking your time as you unzip his fly.

The evidence of his arousal is strikingly clear, his boxers bulging out of the open fly and begging for your attention. While your subtle glances downward gave you an inkling of his size, his hardened cock presenting itself to you, even disguised in its plaid wrapping, had you letting out a gasp in unbridled lust.

You wrap your hand around it, gleaming as he hisses, a hushed swear passing through his lips. You watch his face, observing him as you place your lips on the covered shaft, just letting him feel the heat of your breath on it. “Oh, fuck–” Eddie chokes, letting out harsh shudders.

The sight of his face is borderline angelic, all of his walls down as he focuses on you. You can’t help but smile at that, at how you desperately wished for nights like these, only paying attention to one another. You poke your tongue out, drenching the cotton fabric with your spit, working your way down the length.

At his little whines, you finally curl his fingers under his waistband, drooling at the taut cock that pops out, giving you a friendly hello, swaying from the spring. You smile ear to ear, delicately wrapping your hand around the base.

You kiss the tip, lapping at the pearl of precum that gives the clear indication of his arousal, as if his hard on wasn’t enough. “Mmm,” you hum at the salty taste, leaning in to suck every last drop from his flushed tip.

You let the saliva that has pooled on the surface of your tongue drool onto his cock, spreading it down the shaft, absorbing the moan he rewards you with. “Shit, that feels–oh my god.”

You smile with pride, finally taking him into your mouth, enthusiastically bobbing up and down on his length. Your eyes remain on his, watching him as his face melts, committing it to memory.

“Oh, Jesus,” he swears, hips rutting up, clawing further into your mouth. You take him in further, gagging on it as you wrap your tongue around it experimentally, choking loudly and purposely. “Ch-choke on it, yeah, ch-ohmy god, just like that–”

Your hand moves in rhythm with your mouth, slobbery sounds of spit on flesh, his and yours, deliciously wet. He tenses up beneath you, whines growing more desperate, moans huskier, deeper. It’s a marvelous melody, one no composer could make even if they tried their hardest.

“St-st-stop,” he stutters, curling over himself, writhing under you. “Stop–I-I’m gonna cum.”

Reluctantly you listen, lifting your head off him with a pop and cheekily smiling at his heaving chest. You crawl upward, yelping as he wraps his arm around the small of your back and tugs you in for a kiss, more powerful, wrapped in an unnamed emotion you couldn’t possibly let yourself be delusional enough to define as. The one hand crawled up your back undoes the clasp of your bra, tugging it off your arms and flinging it across the room.

“Gimme those tits,” Eddie sighs, kneading them in his hands and toying with the flesh and nips. “Oh, they’re so pretty, baby. I love them, I‘ve wanted to play with them for so long.”

Eddie’s legs move under you, kicking off his jeans while holding you close to his chest. You sit up, tugging him up with you as you hover just over him.

His skin directly on yours, close and toe curling as you straddle his lap, arms wrapped around his neck as you stare into his eyes. There’s a glow in them, eyebrows relaxed as he holds your hips, staring up at you with such enamour. “Want your cock,” it’s only a whisper, but loud in the intimacy between you two. “I want you.”

His brows furrow, only a moment. The thought passes through him quick as a flash, but you see it.

“What was that?”

He smiles, relieved and tender. “I’ve wanted you for so long.” He leans in, pressing kisses on your clavicle, your neck, your shoulder, the swell of your breast. “Not-not just like this. I mean, fuck, I wanted it, so, so bad. But…I’ve wanted you, wanted your late nights and early mornings, to help you when you need to study, wash the dishes…sorry, I’m rambling.”

You pet his cheek, shaking your head. “No. Keep going.”

“I mean, we’ve always sort of had that, you know? It was just torture, not kissing you stupid whenever I wanted…because I wanted to. I wanted to, so much, baby. I love you. So much. You’re my best friend, my person, and I just love you so fucking much.”

A breath of a laugh passes through your lips, attempting to absorb what he had just told you. “Really?”

You smile, holding him tightly as you kiss him, sighing happily as he confirms, nodding frantically. The head brushes against your entrance, pulling a whine from you. “Eds, I-I love you, too.” The kisses get more fierce, Eddie clinging onto you harder and nearly attacking your lips. “But…if you don’t fuck me soon I might actually lose my mind,” You giggle.

He laughs, combing his fingers through your hair, away from your face, from the sweat. He slaps his cock against your clit, teasing you with his head. “Of course, baby, you wanna ride me, hmm? Hop up and down on my big fat cock?”

You nod, biting your bottom lip, hissing when he pushes his head in, watching as your jaw drops. “Oh, look at you, I knew you could take it like a good girl.”

You choke back a whine, swallowing hard as his words have such a strong effect on you. ‘Fuck, f-feels so good.” You stop, mewling as the burn of his girth becomes too much.

“Don’t rush yourself, baby, it’s okay.” He puts his hands on your hips, digging into the soft flesh. “So nice and tight, fuck.” His eyes practically roll to the back of his head.

You sink further, taking him deeper as the burn bleeds into bliss and back to burning again. “Jesus, s’good.”

“Mm, almost there, baby.”

“Move, please. Eds. Need-need you to move.”

Eddie chuckles, large hands holding your back. He lifts his hips, slowly filling you to the hilt and bringing it back out, one hand landing by his side to use it for leverage. You chirp out his name, mewling as he slowly rocks his hips. “Love the way you say my name,” he gasps.

You start rocking, slowly lifting your hips as you assist him. “You gonna make me scream it?”

“If that’s a challenge, then I will happily accept,” Eddie growls, gripping onto your hips harder and pulling you down so the union of where your bodies meet hurts in the best way. “Wonder when those legs will give up, hm?”

“I’ve thought about riding you on the couch too many times to give up easily,” you admit, giggling at his wicked grin.

“Oh, have you now? Been wearing those little panties just so I’d snap and ravish you, hmm?” He asks, hair wild as he watches you bounce on him.

“Maybe,” you admit, though that was mostly just out of comfort and trust of your best friend. “You have stronger will power than I thought you would.”

“Hmm, you think too much of me, baby,” Eddie mutters, framing your face with his hand and pulling you in for a kiss.

Admittedly, your legs are growing tired, but you soldier on, connecting your forehead with his desperately and watching his eyes glaze over. Your head already feels hazy, heat building in your stomach as you rapidly climb towards your climax. “You getting close? About to cum on my cock?”

You nod, startling in your movement as he starts to move you quicker with just the tightening of his grip on your hips. “Eds,” You whimper as he rubs his thumb on your clit, rapid movements as he hurdles you towards your orgasm, your cunt tightening around him as your eyes roll back.

“Lemme feel you squeeze my cock, baby, wanna feel you cum all over it.” Almost as he demands it into existence, you finish with a start, twisting your toes together and hunching over his shoulder while he rolls his hips, gasping and whining and mewling. “Oh, that’s my girl. Here, bet those legs’re gettin’ tired, hmm?”

You nod, giddily giggling as he maneuvers you on your back. “God, I love you. I really really do. I don’t–I don’t know what the fuck I’ve been thinking–”

You slap your hand on his mouth, giggling at his wide eyes. “Sorry, but…shut up. Rail me. Destroy me. We have time for all that later, now quit getting all emotional on me.” You take your hand off his mouth and pat his cheek. “Be a good boy and make me scream your name, won’t you?”

He chuckles deeply, his jaw dropping as he nips on the palm of your hand. “‘Be a good boy,’ hmm? Yes, ma’am.”

Okay, this turns you on too much not to eventually dissect it, but Eddie’s hips start moving, harsh and raw and brutal, just as you asked for. With each collision of his hips comes a whimper from the force, each one louder than the last.

His head curls down into your neck, sinking his teeth into your skin as he sucks and bites and laps his tongue over the pain. “Look at your neck, all marked up. All mine,” He rasps.

“All yours,” you whisper, choking on the emotion that fills your throat.

“My good girl who loves to get fucked hard, hmm?” He chuckles, curling his arms tightly around you. “Oh, listen to those pretty little noises you’re making, so pathetic for me, oh fuck.”

“Ed-keep-oh-oh–” you gasp, whining higher and higher.

“Yeah, just like that. Pathetic little princess.”

Your legs wrap around his waist, pulling him in close, skin to skin, all sticky and sweaty as the smell of sex fills the air.

“You’re moaning like a desperate little slut but you’re not screaming my name, yet. Can’t wait for it. Hmm? Why you makin’ me wait?”

“Maybe you’re not hitting hard enough,” you gasp, a smile spreading across your face.

Eddie’s eyes widen, lifting his body off yours quickly. “Oh yeah? Hands n’ knees. Turn around.” He sends a jolt of fear through you, eyes widening as move into a crawl position. “That’s a girl.”

His hands tighten on your hips, lining himself up and pushing in all within the span of 3 seconds. He’s relentless with it, lurching forward as he grabs a fistful of your hair. “C’mon, I can’t hear you.” He taunts you, pulling deliciously at your scalp.

He starts moving faster and harder, clumsily planting his lips on your back, messily trying to take any claim he can on you. One hand slaps your ass, Eddie hums, appreciating the print of his hand on your skin. Moans pass through your lips, the loud ones that Eddie was asking of you. HIs name is added into the mix, cross eyed and desperate as he somehow increases his force.

“There we are. Where do ya want me to cum, baby, I’m so fuckin’ close.”

“Cum–cum in me, Eds. Fill me up.”

“Fuck-you, y’sure?”

“Fill. Me up.” You say again, getting your point across.

“Oh fuck–” he stutters, jaggedly rutting into you as he bends over you, filling you up with sticky white ropes. “You feel that, baby? Fuck. You feel all full?”

Eddie releases the hold on your hair as you fall forward, breathing heavily as you collect yourself. He pulls himself out, collapsing right next to you. His arms easily wrap around your back, pulling you in against his chest. You curl into him, sighing happily as you listen to his racing heart.

You lay like that for a while, listening to his breathing even out as he pets your hair gently. He plants a kiss on your forehead, humming. “Why did that take us so long to do?” You ask, still trying to regain control over your breathing.

“Hmm?” He pulls away, processing your question. “Oh, I don’t know. We’re idiots.”

You tug him back in, feeling sleepy as you smile against his chest. “Yeah. Big, big idiots. I love you, idiot.”

He hums, pulling you in tighter. “Love you too, ya idiot.”

It’s strange. You thought it would change everything if he were to finally be yours. It doesn’t change anything, banter traded as always, only with a caressing hand that tugs you in for a kiss when he teases you. Hormones go wild, finding resolve in one another as movies are no longer watched, just a nice background noise.

-

Thank you so much for reading, remember replies and reblogs are the best way to support fic writers on tumblr

Taglist For I Can Do It With A Broken Heart:

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bold means it wouldnt let me tag you so I DM'd you in private to you know.

[callme-dickmaster]

pleaseeee do a part two of the body piercer johnnie x fem reader 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Come Over

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*

Summary: You finally decide to make good on the phone number that Johnnie gave you during your piercing session. Part 2 to this fic <3

Pairing: Body piercer!Johnnie x feminine reader

Warnings: Smut, hooking up, non established relationship, mentions of genital piercing, oral (m receiving), face fucking, making out

Word Count: 1010

A/N: Thank you for the request! So sorry it took me so long to get out :)

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*

It had been two weeks since you had met Johnnie and received his phone number, but you had yet to text or call him. It wasn’ that you didn’t want to, rather, you were just rather worried about how hooking up with him would work, especially considering your new piercing that was still healing. 

You were sitting on your couch, having a quiet Friday night. In an unusual turn of events, you didn’t have anywhere to go or anything to do. And so, you decided to text the number on the business card Johnnie had given you, figuring your lack of plans would give you time to think through each response. 

You: hey johnnie…it’s y/n. i hope you remember me lol :)

Anxiously chewing your thumbnail, you watched as typing bubbles appeared on the screen, and then disappeared. This continued for a good five minutes, until you finally received a reply that made you smile. You barely knew Johnnie, despite your rather intimate appointment, but he came across as so loving and sweet. 

Johnnie: of course i do :) what r u up to?

You: nothing really…it’s actually surprising for a friday night lol

Johnnie: oh same 

Johnnie: hey i hope this isn’t too weird but i have a question :p

You: go on!

Johnnie: would u wanna come over? it’s okay if not!!

Your heart dropped, not in a nervous way, of course, but more in an almost excited way. You didn’t think Johnnie was the type to move fast, even with hookups, but apparently he was. You quickly shot back an enthusiastic yes, only for Johnnie to reply immediately with the address. You thanked your lucky stars that you had shaved and done all your other body care earlier in the day. 

Johnnie’s apartment was a surprisingly close walk to your own. He lived in a nice, modern area of LA, which kind of surprised you for a guy like him. You would’ve thought he lived in some sort of Gothic mansion. But as you rang the doorbell, you realized that whatever tattoo and piercing gigs Johnnie was getting paid extremely well. The raven haired boy immediately opened the door, a smile on his face. 

“Hey! Come on in!” Johnnie greeted you like an old friend, or dare you think, girlfriend, as you stepped inside the apartment with butterflies in your tummy. “Do you want something to drink?”

You shook your head softly, simply just admiring how beautiful Johhnie was. You couldn’t deny it any longer; he was gorgeous, almost akin in a way to the night sky that shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his apartment. Johnnie cracked open his own Dr. Pepper with an amused look in his blue eyes. 

“So, how’s the piercing healing?” he asked with a smirk. 

You blushed, shifting your weight from foot to foot. “Oh, um, it’s healing great…you did a really great job.” You whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear as you became suddenly shy. 

Johnnie smirked, coming around the island and staring you and up down. “Did you come dressed up for a reason?” he asked, eyeing the short miniskirt and corset top you had changed into. 

“Maybe I did.” You purred playfully. 

Before you knew it, you and Johnnie were kissing, hands tugging at each other’s hair and clothes. You tangled your hands in Johnnie’s black hair as he kissed you, his lip rings brushing against your skin. You let out a soft moan at his pleasures as he slowly pushed you onto the couch, fisting your hair.

“Just because your pretty little pussy isn’t healed yet doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.” Johnnie explained with a smirk, undoing his studded belt and shoving down his black jeans and boxers. 

You felt your mouth run dry as you stared at his hard-on, the tip already glistening with pre cum. Johnnie was huge. You were quite unsure how you were going to fit all of him into your mouth, and you definitely knew that you wouldn’t be able to take him with your rather new Christina piercing. You scooted closer to him, beginning to suck and lick Johnnie’s cock as he moaned, thrusting closer to you. 

Eventually, you took him into your mouth from tip to hilt, adjusting your jaw so that you could take all of him. You moaned around his dick as you sucked him off, thrusting your head forwards and backwards as you gripped Johnnie’s hips. He was boldly face fucking you, hands tangled in your hair as he threw his head back moaning. 

“Oh my god…oh my god, Y/N. That feels so fucking good,” Johnnie panted as his orgasm continued to build. “Fucking hell, ‘m gonna cum.” he whined. 

That just motivated you more, and you took his dick further into your mouth, staring up at Johnnie with wide doe eyes as the combination of your drool, lip gloss, and his pre cum dripped down your chin. Finally, Johnnie couldn’t hold it in anymore, letting out little whimpers and grunts. 

“I’m gonna cum…” he panted. “You better swallow it, too.”

Just as he spoke, Johnnie came down your throat, letting out a heavy moan as he did so. You slid off of his dick with pop, licking your lips as you swallowed his load. The raven haired boy collapsed beside you on the couch, pants still around his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. After a moment, Johnnie stared at you, eyeliner running from his blue eyes and down his face from the mixture of sweat and tears that had collected during your blowjob. 

“I am so fucking glad you came to get that piercing.” he told you huskily, leaning in and beginning to suck on the spot behind your ear. 

You moaned, maneuvering yourself so that you could kiss Johnnie. You had never experienced anything like him before, but you couldn’t say that you were mad about it. You kissed him back just as heavily, feeling the coolness of his piercings against your skin. “Me fucking too.” You smiled.  

tags ♡: @aemrsy @jake-and-johnnies-slut @mattsfavwh3re @suyqa @chrissturnswife @mbsbaby @stingerayyy2 @strnlvr @sunsetsturniolos @mimi-luvzyu @mayhem-72 @faygo-frog @oobleoob @idek3000hi @runasvengence

note ♡: if you'd like to be added to my taglist, click here <3

[callme-dickmaster]

okay so this is like actually dirty asf but it’s like jake and Johnnie ANDD reader and they basically play truth or strip and then one thing leads to another and then uhm.. yeah!

Truth Or Strip Johnnie x Jake x Fem Reader Smut below the cut

"How many orgasms have you faked?" Jake says with an arrogant chuckle, and you and Johnnie gaze at him, somewhat surprised that he'd start the game with a question like that.

"Jake, you can't start with that!" You stare, and he giggles and leans back, drink in hand, his face scrunched up. Johnnie smacks Jake's leg and makes a tiny laugh, making you feel even more anxious.

"Okay, okay. "Johnnie, you start then." Jake addresses Johnnie.

Johnnie pauses for a moment, glancing idly at the floor that the three of you are seated on. All of you were already tipsy, and Jake was the genius who recommended that you play truth or strip instead of the usual drinking games.

"Fine," Johnnie finally says, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Truth or strip: have you ever cheated on a partner?" You feel a rush of nerves as you wonder how this game will unfold. Jake chuckles nervously, avoiding eye contact as he contemplates his response. Johnnie's mischievous glint grows more pronounced, adding to the tension in the room.

"I have never cheated on anyone; how dare you suggest that?" Jake jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your turn." Johnnie says, referring to you as you sit crosslegged on the floor, fully clothed.

"Truth or strip: what's your favorite position?" You ask Johnnie, and he blushes and hides his face in his hand. Jake giggles and gawks at Johnnie.

"How can you say that, but I can't?" Jake remarks, faking offense. You giggle and shrug at him before both of you wait for Johnnie to respond.

"I don't want to answer that." Johnnie says it quietly and shyly. You and Jake exchange mischievous glances before Jake speaks up, "Alright, then you know what that means—strip!" Johnnie rolls his eyes. "Come on, Johnnie, don't be a party pooper," you tease, trying to coax him into playing along. Jake adds, "We won't judge, promise." Johnnie hesitates for a moment before finally giving in with a reluctant smile.

"Fine, but only if you two promise not to laugh," Johnnie says, his cheeks turning slightly pink. You and Jake nod eagerly, excited for the game to begin. As Johnnie starts to remove his shirt, you can't help but notice how adorable he looks when he's embarrassed. Jake nudges you with a grin, silently sharing the same thought.

You admire his tattoos; he looks so good, which is unfair. He notices you watching him, and he bites back an embarrassed grin. Johnnie quickly diverts his attention to the game, trying to hide his blush. You and Jake exchange knowing glances, enjoying the playful atmosphere.

"Jake, it's your go." Jake chuckles and thinks of a question, focused on the game. Johnnie watches intently, still blushing slightly as the game continues.

"Truth or strip: are you more dominant or submissive?" Jake asks as he turns his head to look at you, waiting for your response with a mischievous glint in his eyes. You feel a rush of excitement at the question, wondering how you should answer or strip.

The tension in the room rises as you contemplate your response, aware of the playful challenge presented by Jake's question. You take a deep breath, ready to reveal a side of yourself you may not have shared before.

"I think I'm a bit of both, depending on the situation," you reply with a coy smile, feeling a mix of nerves and anticipation as you wait for Jake's reaction. Jake chuckles, his eyes narrowing as he considers your response. "Interesting," he says, his tone suggestive.

"Okay, it's my go," Johnnie says, eager to keep the game going and shift the focus away from your revealing answer. The attention shifts to Johnnie, leaving you curious about what he will ask next.

"Jake, Truth or strip: What's the craziest place you've ever had sex?" Johnnie asks with a mischievous glint in his eye. Jake's eyebrows shoot up in surprise before he laughs and leans back against the couch behind him, clearly enjoying the game.

"Well, that's a tough one," Jake replies, his smile widening as he begins to recount the wild story.

"Probably the time I hooked up in a public restroom at a music festival. It was risky, but definitely memorable." The group listens intently as Jake continues to share the details of his steamy rendezvous, adding an exciting twist to the game.

"Jesus." You mutter under your breath, blushing just as much as Johnnie is.

"You guys aren't going to get me naked, sorry." Jake jokes, You giggle and try to ignore the tremor of arosual that drifted down your body at his words. "Maybe next time," Johnnie teases, breaking the tension in the room.

"Johnnie, Truth or strip: do you manscape?" You ask cockily, earning a laugh from the group. Johnnie grins mischievously before responding, "I'll never tell."

"I think Johnnie just wants to get naked." You add that as he starts to unbutton his jeans, he laughs and hooks his fingers in the waistband of his jeans, tugging them down his legs as best he can.

"We all know the curtains don't match the drapes anyway." Jake laughs, earning a playful shove from Johnnie.

The room erupts in laughter as Johnnie playfully flips off Jake, revealing a pair of brightly colored boxers. "At least I keep it interesting," Johnnie retorts with a wink. As the laughter dies down, you can't help but feel just a little bit turned on.

"Jake, who would you rather sleep with, me or her?" Johnnie says, referring to you. You feel a rush of excitement as all eyes turn to you, waiting for Jake's response. The tension in the room suddenly feels palpable, making your heart race with anticipation.

"Um." Jake says, all confidence suddenly disappearing from his voice. You can't help but wonder what Jake's answer will be, feeling a mix of nerves and curiosity. The room falls silent as everyone waits for Jake's decision, the air thick with anticipation.

Jake sighs and starts to take his shirt off. You look at him with a mix of curiosity and desire; you don't know when, but the air shifted from a playful one to more of an exciting and tempting one. As Jake reveals his toned physique, you can't help but feel a surge of lust towards him. The room seems to buzz with electric energy, intensifying the moment even more.

"Okay, well now I feel overdressed." You joke, trying to ease your feelings. Jake chuckles, his eyes meeting yours with a mischievous glint. The tension in the room eases slightly as he responds, "Maybe you should join us then."

You give a coy laugh and look at Johnnie, who is watching the interaction with a smirk, clearly enjoying the dynamic between you and Jake. His presence adds another layer of excitement to the already charged atmosphere. You can sense the flirty competition between the two men, heightening your desire even further. The air crackles with anticipation as you consider your next move.

You take a sip of your forgotten drink by your hand, feeling emboldened by the attention from both Jake and Johnnie. "I think I just might," you say with a sly smile as your fingers start to travel towards the bottom of your shirt, slowly teasing the fabric upwards. The tension in the room escalates as both men's eyes follow your every move, eagerly anticipating what comes next.

"Dude, I don't even want to play anymore." Jake whispers, unable to tear his gaze away from you. Johnnie chuckles nervously, shifting in his seat as he watches you with a mixture of desire and uncertainty. Your heart races with excitement at the power you hold over them, knowing that the night is far from over.

You pull your shirt off completely, revealing a lacy black bra underneath. The room falls silent as the men's eyes widen in anticipation, unsure of what to expect next. You bite back a smile as you see them staring at your body, feeling a rush of confidence and control.

You see Johnnie shift his body, covering himself with his hands as he tries to hide his growing arousal. The tension in the room is obvious, and you revel in the sense of dominance and allure that surrounds you.

"I can't fucking do this." Jake blurts out, and before you can process what he meant by that, he's crawling over to you and pressing his lips against yours, his hands gripping your waist tightly. You respond eagerly to his unexpected move, reveling in the sudden shift in power dynamics. Johnnie watches in stunned silence as you and Jake continue to kiss passionately.

As you deepen the kiss, you feel a rush of desire and excitement coursing through your veins. The room seems to fade away as you lose yourself in the heat of the moment with Jake. The intensity of the kiss leaves you breathless, and you can't help but wonder where this newfound connection with Jake will lead. The sound of Johnnie clearing his throat brings you back to reality, causing a wave of guilt to wash over you.

You quickly pull away from Jake, feeling a mix of confusion and apprehension. Johnnie's presence serves as a stark reminder of the complicated situation you find yourself in, leaving you unsure of how to navigate the feelings swirling inside you. You crawl over to Johnnie, place your hand on his cheek, and let your thumb rest on his cheekbone, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath your touch. His eyes search yours, silently pleading for reassurance, as you struggle to push aside the lingering thoughts of Jake. Despite the turmoil in your heart, you know that Johnnie deserves your full attention and honesty in this moment.

"Can I kiss you?" You ask quietly, your voice barely above a whisper. His eyes soften, a small smile playing on his lips as he nods in response, understanding the vulnerability behind your question. With a deep breath, you lean in and press your lips against his.

The kiss is gentle and tentative, but it quickly deepens as you both lose yourselves in the moment. Johnnie's hand finds its way to the small of your back, pulling you closer as the world fades away around you. The connection between you two feels electric, igniting a fire within you that you never knew existed. In that moment, everything else fades away as you savor the taste of his lips and the warmth of his touch.

As you pull away, you can see the desire in Johnnie's eyes, mirroring your own. The intensity of the moment leaves you both breathless. You're not sure what Jake's doing behind you; all you can hear is heavy breathing from the three of you. As you try to catch your breath, you feel a rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins, heightening the intensity of the moment even further. The anticipation of what might happen next sends shivers down your spine.

"This is the hottest thing I've ever seen in my whole life." Jake says from behind you. You huff a laugh and smile as you turn back to face him, his eyes filled with desire and a mischievous glint. You can't help but feel a surge of excitement at the unknown possibilities that lie ahead.

"Kiss me." You reply, closing the distance between you two as you lean in for a passionate kiss. The heat between you intensifies, igniting a fire that promises to consume you both in its flames. As you deepen the kiss, you feel a rush of adrenaline and anticipation for what the night may hold. The chemistry between you and Jake is undeniable, creating a magnetic pull that seems to draw you closer together with each passing moment.

As you finally break apart, breathless and exhilarated, you can't help but wonder what other surprises the night has in store. The sparks between you and Jake are undeniable, leaving you eager to explore where this newfound connection may lead.

"You guys, like, wanna take this back to the bedroom?" Johnnie says it awkwardly, breaking the tension and making you all laugh. The playful suggestion adds a sense of lightheartedness to the moment, leaving you feeling even more connected to Jake and excited for what's to come.

"Yeah, let's go." As you follow Jake and Johnnie to the bedroom, anticipation and desire swirl within you, heightening the electricity between you three. The night is filled with promise and possibility as you eagerly await what the future holds for this budding relationship.

You all settled on the bed; you sandwhiched in the middle of the two of them , feeling a rush of excitement and nervousness at the same time. Jake's hand finds yours, intertwining your fingers as he looks at you with a soft, reassuring smile. Johnnie's arm drapes over your waist, pulling you in closer as he plants a gentle kiss on your cheek. The room is filled with a sense of intimacy and closeness, and you can't help but feel grateful for this moment and the connection you share with these two incredible people.

As Johnnie's lips touch your neck, you lean in to kiss Jake. The kiss sends shivers down your spine as you groan softly into Jake's lips. You become engrossed in the passion and desire that surround you and relish the sensation of being valued and desired by both Johnnie and Jake.

You take Jake's hand and place it on the crotch of your pants that you were still in, bucking up into the friction as Johnnie watches with a hungry gaze. The intensity of the moment leaves you breathless, leaving you feeling an overwhelming sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Jake's fingers put pressure on your clothed clitoral area, panties wet from your arousal as Johnnie moves closer, his hands trailing up your body. The room fills with the sound of heavy breathing and the scent of desire, creating a heady atmosphere that heightens your senses even further.

Johnnie's lip piercings stand out coldly on your neck, skin warm and wet from his mouth as Jake's tongue starts to explore your mouth, sending shivers down your spine. You find yourself lost in the passion of the moment, completely surrendering to the pleasure that consumes you.

As the intensity builds, you feel a wave of ecstasy wash over you, completely losing yourself in the moment. The sensation of their touch combined with their overwhelming desire leaves you breathless and craving more. You pull back from the air, your heart racing and your body tingling with anticipation for what comes next. The chemistry between the three of you is undeniable, creating an electric energy that fuels your desire even further.

"One of you, please fuck me." You whine before turning your head to meet Johnnies, who is already moving towards you with a hungry look in his eyes. The anticipation of what's to come sends a shiver down your spine, making you eager for the next wave of pleasure to crash over you.

As he leans in to kiss you, you can feel the intensity building between you, igniting a fire within that threatens to consume you both. The touch of his lips against yours sends a surge of desire through your body, heightening the anticipation for what is about to unfold. Jake's hand still teases you through your clothes as you grind into him.

Jake starts to take his jeans off hastily, and there is a sense of urgency in his movements that matches your own growing desire. With each kiss and each touch, you feel yourself getting lost in the moment with Jake and Johnnie. There's an electric energy in the air as you both give in to the overwhelming desire that threatens to consume you both, lost in a wave of pleasure that seems never-ending.

You and Johnnie pull back, breathless and eager for more, as you both lock eyes and silently communicate your mutual hunger for each other. The room feels charged with tension, anticipation, and a shared understanding of what is to come next. Your hands find the hem of his boxers, and he lifts his hips up as you start to pull down his boxers, revealing his hardened length, ready and waiting for you.

Your hand grasps Johnnie's cock, feeling the heat and hardness of him in your palm, aching to feel him inside you. Johnnie's breath hitches as you begin to stroke him, both of you on the edge of losing control in the heat of the moment. The air is heavy with desire as you lock eyes, the intensity between you growing with each passing second. You can't help but lean in closer, craving the taste of him on your lips.

You dart your tongue out against the head of Johnnie's cock, sending a shiver down his spine as he lets out a low groan of pleasure. The anticipation builds as you slowly take him into your mouth, savoring every moment of his throbbing hardness. His hands tangle in your hair, urging you on as you expertly work him with your mouth. The room is filled with the sound of his ragged breathing and the sensation of his body trembling beneath your touch.

He mewls as your nose reaches the small patch of blonde hair, his hips bucking involuntarily as he struggles to maintain control. The taste of his skin lingers on your tongue, driving you to take him deeper, desperate to please him in every way possible. His moans grow louder, echoing off the walls as you continue to pleasure him with your mouth. The intensity of his reactions only spurs you on, determined to bring him to the brink of ecstasy.

"C-close." He groans out, and you swirl your head around his length a few times before slowly pulling back, inch by inch. His hands grip the sheets tightly as he arches his back, on the verge of release. You look up at him with a mischievous smile, knowing you've pushed him to the edge.

"Don't be greedy; Jake needs some attention too." With a hoarse voice, you speak as you turn to face Jake, who has been waiting patiently for his turn. You bite your lip as you witness Jake touching his own cock with his hand.

You can't help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought of pleasing both of them. As you move towards Jake, you can feel the anticipation building in the room, creating an electrifying atmosphere. You duck your head down, grinning as you take Jake's cock in your hand, eager to fulfill both of their desires.

You lick the tip of his cock, tasting the pearl of precome that had beaded on the head, savoring the salty flavor before taking him fully into your mouth. The room is filled with the sound of his pleasure, fueling your own desire to please them both. You struggle a bit to adjust to his size, but the challenge only excites you further, pushing you to take him deeper and show them both just how much you can handle. Jake's moans grow louder, his hands gripping the sheets as you work your magic, determined to leave them both completely satisfied.

One of Jake's hands finds its way to your hair, tangling in the strands as he guides you with a gentle pressure, encouraging you to continue. You whine on his cock from the sensation of his fingers tugging at your hair, intensifying the pleasure for both of you.

His hips begin to buck slightly, matching the rhythm of your movements as you continue to pleasure him. The sound of his moans and the feeling of his fingers in your hair only fuel your desire to please him even more. You feel your folds get soaked; you're so desperate for friction that you'd grind against the blankets if you could.

After a few more seconds of letting Jake fuck into your mouth, you start to pull back , allowing him to slide out of your mouth with a wet pop. You look up at him with a mischievous smile, eager to see what other pleasures you can explore together.

"Jake, fuck me, Johnnie, let me suck you off." You gasp out, your voice filled with need and anticipation. The hunger in his eyes tells you that he's more than willing to fulfill your desires, making you shiver with excitement.

The three of you get up and start to position yourselves. Jake's hands find your hips as he starts to pull off your pants, revealing your pants, and Johnnie eagerly moves closer to you, his fingers tracing along your face as you stare up at him. You feel a rush of desire as their hands and lips explore your body, igniting a fire within you that cannot be contained. The room fills with the sounds of pleasure as you give in to the intoxicating experience.

Your pants come off in a swift motion, and you feel their warm breath on your skin as they continue to worship every inch of your body. The anticipation builds as you surrender to the passion that consumes you. Jake's lips kiss down the hooks of your spine slowly, sending shivers down your body. You can't help but arch your back in response to his touch, feeling completely lost in the moment.

"So wet for us." He whispers, and you whine before his lips find your folds, sending a jolt of electricity through your body. His tongue licks along your wetness; you whine and stare up at Johnnie, waiting for him.

He grabs his cock and angles it for your lips; your tongue finds his head once again, and you eagerly take him into your mouth, savoring the taste of him. The feeling of being completely filled by both of them overwhelms you, and you surrender to the passion that consumes you. Jake keeps kissing your pussycat as he grabs your thighs.

You moan in pleasure as Johnnie thrusts into your mouth, the combination of sensations driving you wild with desire. Jake's tongue on your folds only adds to the intensity of the moment, making you feel completely lost in ecstasy. Jake's lips disappear for a second, and you whine at the loss of contact, but then you feel him repositioning himself between your legs, ready to take you to the next level of pleasure. You can't help but arch your back in anticipation, eager for what comes next.

You whine on Johnnies cock, Jake pushes inside your warmth slowly and teasingly, sending shivers down your spine as you're overwhelmed by the dual sensations. Your body trembles with anticipation, craving more of the intense pleasure that Johnnie and Jake are providing. You feel Jake's cock slide inside you, filling you completely and sending you into a state of pure bliss. The room is filled with the sounds of your muffled moans and the rhythmic movement of bodies coming together in perfect harmony.

As Johnnie and Jake continue to move in sync, you feel a wave of ecstasy building within you, ready to crash over you at any moment. The intensity of the moment leaves you breathless, lost in the pleasure that consumes your every sense. You surrender yourself fully to the overwhelming sensations, allowing yourself to be carried away by the euphoria of the moment. Every touch and every movement only heightens your arousal, pushing you closer to the edge of release. The room seems to disappear around you as you focus solely on the connection between you and your partners, lost in the passion of the moment. You let go of any inhibitions, embracing the raw desire that courses through your veins, driving you towards an explosive climax.

You whine and moan in ecstasy, unable to contain the overwhelming pleasure that courses through your body. Every nerve ending tingles with anticipation as you reach the peak of sensation, completely consumed by the intensity of the moment. Johnnie curses and bucks his cock into your throat, his hands gripping your hair tightly as he loses control, his release filling your mouth with a bittersweet taste. You swallow eagerly, savoring his taste.

Jake still fucks into your overstimulated core, his movements becoming more urgent and erratic as he chases his own release. The room is filled with the sounds of your shared passion, a symphony of pleasure that echoes off the walls. As Jake reaches his climax, he lets out a guttural groan and collapses against you, spent and satisfied. You revel in the aftermath, feeling a sense of connection and intimacy that lingers long after the physical sensations fade.

The warmth of his body against yours is comforting, a reminder of the bond you share. You both lay there in silence, basking in the post-coital glow, knowing that this moment will be etched in your memory forever.

Who knew drinking with your closest friends would be this fun?

A/N: Sorry anon if this sucks!! <3