Chapter Text
Eddie had told you to meet him at the usual spot, a picnic table out behind the school, on a well-beaten, yet somehow forgotten, path. You'd cut your English class to meet him, knowing he was missing the same class, and you had opened the encounter with a quote from the book that was currently assigned: Brave New World.
"If one's different, one's bound to be lonely." You declared as you approached the table. Eddie was already sitting on the bench, black lunchbox in front of him, tearing apart a leaf. At your introduction, his eyes flit over to you, eyebrows pulled up in confusion, dark eyes amused.
You realized too late that you were a massive, fucking dork. You had just quoted your assigned reading to your fucking dealer. The silence that had followed had nearly consumed you, and you were about to turn heel and run–just sprint back to the safety of the high school when he finally spoke.
"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger." He quoted back, standing from his seat, and closing the short distance between you. His boots crunched the pine needles as he approached, and your mouth dried as his voice dropped the closer he got. "I want freedom, I want goodness…I want sin." He came to a stop right in front of you, so close you could smell him, the smoke and musk that was all Eddie, and he cocked his head to the side, dark eyes raking over your face and then further still.
You felt self-conscious, heat rising up your neck, while simultaneously sinking lower in your gut. You wondered if he noticed the band t-shirt you'd thrown in this morning was the same one you had worn a few days before, or if he noticed that your flannel was fraying in places. You had a laundry list of flaws, working your way down them quickly, before you noticed he was speaking again.
"What?" You managed, literally shaking your head to clear the unwanted thoughts swirling there. Eddie merely smiled, his dark eyes softening as he searched your face.
"I asked how you liked the book. You know, for Ms. Stevenson's." The smile he gave you nearly knocked you out; the bright, white spectacle splitting his face in two and bringing such incomprehensible warmth to his dark eyes.
"Huxley is a genius. Are you kidding? How did I like it? I checked out 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 at the library. I'm obsessed with this sort of apocalyptic, dystopian future world. I mean, if you think for even one second that this isn't possible, that the government couldn't effectively stag–oh gosh, sorry." You apologized quickly, cutting yourself off immediately. Your mother had warned you that you would turn off everyone if you kept rambling anytime anyone asked you about something you liked.
You sheepishly met Eddie's eyes, expecting him to look annoyed or confused, but you were met with excitement, his eyes visibly darkened and a knowing smirk dancing on his lips.
"Why would you apologize? Or stop? I was right there with you, Savage." His smirk is contagious. You bit your lip at the nickname, plucked from the mind of Huxley. You were excited to have found a common point of interest between yourself and Eddie, beyond the weed.
"I didn't think you'd be interested." You deflect, heading to the picnic table, to put some distance between you and Eddie, who was looking better and better the longer you chatted. You reprimanded yourself, knowing it would be unwise to get involved with him. His reputation was all bullshit conjured up by whatever sports team, heartthrob was popular at the moment; but there was a dangerous undercurrent with Eddie. He may not have been sacrificing virgins, but you knew enough to know that a man who looked like that certainly had seen his share of action.
Normally, your deals were quick. In the middle of the day, between classes, underhanded passes in the hall. Today, you had too much time to admire the curls that tangled around his face, the soft pink of his lips that were curling up into a soft smile. Today, you had too much time to think about what he’d look like smiling down at you while murmuring in your ear.
"I always read the sci-fi ones, Savage. It's everything else that I'm shit with." Eddie mused, perching on the opposite side of the table; either gracious enough to ignore your internal battle, or oblivious enough not to notice.
"Oh, come on, Eddie. You can't expect me to believe that you're just naturally so bad." You argued, the words coming out braver than you felt. You were swept up by the confidence of them, trying to ignore how they tore from you, as if each syllable was barbed.
"What? Am I supposed to believe that you're naturally so good?" He countered easily, an eyebrow glancing upwards to prove his point. With his head cocked to the side, his hair swept off his neck, and you wanted to lurch forward and take the skin for yourself. The unforgiving heat of early afternoon had sweat beading on your forehead.
You considered it for a moment. You didn't have to study, but you weren't inherently good.
You weren't on track to be Valedictorian or anything, but you were a decent student. You rarely needed to study on your own, since you usually had a good grasp on most of the topics. But you had never considered tutoring to be within your wheelhouse.
That's if he was talking about your academic prowess, though you had your doubts. You felt it was more likely he was alluding to morality. Were you really such a “good girl?” You were buying drugs from him, afterall. It was hard to read him, though. His defenses were too high to breach in one sitting. But you could see the beginnings of cracks, the places where you could slip in, and find yourself behind Eddie "the Freak" Munson's cold exterior.
Before your mind had caught up, before you even realized what you were saying the words floated into the space between you and Eddie, simmering in the hot September air, drying up as they reached the planks of the picnic table.
"I could just teach you."
Eddie cut his eyes at you quickly, tracing the contours of your face with his sharp glare. If he liked what he saw, it wasn't reflected in his dark stare.
"Why?"
"Why not? You clearly could use a little extra help."
"What's that supposed to fucking mean?"
"You really wanna go for a three-peat of your senior year?"
"No. But why would you help me? What's in it for you?"
"I don't know…uhm…" You glanced around the small table, hoping for inspiration, when your eyes landed on his black, metal lunchbox. "Discounted weed?" You licked your lips in thought, figured that would be an even enough trade. You worked part time as a carhop, and you blew through your tips every week restocking from Eddie.
He hummed for a moment, the noise dying in the back of his throat, somewhere between a groan and a snorted laugh.
You could almost see the gears turning in his mind, spinning out scenario after scenario of how this could be a trap, or how it could go wrong. You were thinking about your own worst-case scenarios, wondering how closely they matched with his. He barked out a dry laugh, drawing your attention once again.
He ran his fingers through his hair, and winced when his rings caught the knots, before bringing a few strands to his mouth–another nervous tic of his, you supposed.
“Fuck, fine!” He finally spits out, the exclamation closer to a question than a statement. He turns away from you, and slugs the closest tree. His fist is just shy of the bark when he relaxes, barely grazing his knuckles across the surface. He shakes his shoulders as he repeats the motion with his other arm.
“Fine.” You answer, not moving from your spot at the table. As long as you’ve known Eddie, he struggled to sit still, but you’d never seen him so worked up–so anxious.
“Fine.” He mutters again, still punching the tree.
“We can start this afternoon, I’m off for once.” You begin, standing. You’d been out here too long, and you couldn’t afford to miss your next section. Neither could Eddie.
“Meet me in the parking lot, after the last period.” He grunts out, finally facing you. His eyes are dark again, flitting over every detail of you, like he’s trying to etch this moment in his mind.
“Yep.” You agree, knowing he could drive you both, saving you the trouble of walking. You walked a few steps away from the clearing, away from him, when you thought better of it. “Oh and Eddie?” You called, looking over your shoulder. His eyes flicked up to your face, and you almost lost your confidence, knowing he had been checking out your ass.
“Hmm?” He mused, raising an eyebrow at you, before his tongue darted out to wet his lower lip.
“Don’t skip any more classes.” You urged, before turning on your heel and leaving for good. Heat engulfed your chest and neck, and when you sat down in your next class, you could still feel Eddie’s dark gaze on you.
You sat your tray down at your usual table, and slipped into the seat. Meeting Eddie during the second period had been a mistake, you’d barely been able to concentrate during your third period, and you’d grabbed your lunch in a complete daze. If you could make it through the last two periods of the day, it’d be a miracle. You were engulfed with thoughts of Eddie, consumed by how his brown eyes had easily shifted into something darker. You couldn’t stop imagining your own hands carded through his brown curls, delighting in what sounds you could draw from him when you tugged through the knots.
It wasn’t the first time you’d thought about Eddie in compromising situations. It was, however, the first time you’d considered those thoughts outside of the safety of your room, late at night.
“Earth to Space Cadet.” Robin greeted, snapping her fingers in front of your face, after putting her own tray down. You startled and offered her a weak smile, and picked at your nails.
“How’s Scoops?” You asked, deflecting her curious eyes with your own question.
“Eh, same as usual. How about Parker’s?” You shrugged, taking a bite of the questionable pizza you had grabbed for lunch.
“Tips are good enough. If only you skated, we could work together.” You teased, batting your eyelashes at her.
“We wouldn’t get anything done, dork.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes. You settled in an easy quiet while you ate, until a large commotion drew both of your attention to the other side of the cafeteria.
“Just The Freak, I think.” Robin muttered, eyes landing back on her meal. You were even more concerned now, trying to see through the wall of people. “Are you worried about Eddie?” Robin asked, narrowing her eyes at you. You blinked, searching for a non-incriminating answer. Of course, she saw through you.
“You don’t!” You frowned, and looked back at the crowd.
“Well, he’s no Tammy Thompson, that’s for sure.” You murmur, trying to deflect, but Robin’s quicker than you are.
“Dude! You’re into Eddie Munson? Isn’t he like 30?” She laughed behind her milk carton, and you rolled your eyes.
“Shut up.” You grumbled. “It’s only his second senior year.”
“Only?” She laughed, and you pressed your face in your hands.
“It’s not like that, Robin.” You groaned, the words weak even to your ears. “I just agreed to tutor him, that’s all. It’s for a discount on weed.” You admit, hoping that she’ll ease up with that information. She hummed, but didn’t push any further. This conversation was far from over, you could tell.
“What do you think that’s about anyway?” You asked, biting into the now cold slice. She shrugged.
“There was a new kid, your class. Maybe he’s making himself a name?” You shrugged back, wiping your mouth with a napkin, and standing.
“I gotta swing by the library before my next class. See you tomorrow?” She nodded and you headed off, swinging your backpack onto your shoulder and training your eyes ahead of you. You wouldn’t look at the crowd, and you wouldn’t look for anyone in particular.
You threw the remains of your lunch away before stacking your tray at the counter, and headed out of the cafeteria. You looked down at your shoe, noticing that the knot had begun to loosen and decided to fix it quickly.
In the second that it took you to look down and back up again, you managed to crash into someone, and knock their stack of papers out of their hands.
“God! Could you watch where you’re going?” Nancy cried, throwing her hands up defensively.
“Sorry!” You apologized quickly, kneeling to help pick up the scattered papers. She relaxed when she noticed you.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. Are you okay?” She asked, a sheepish smile on her face. You nodded.
“Fine, you?” She nodded, before sighing loudly.
“It’s not a problem. I’m just stressed, I have this party tomorrow with Steve.” She told you, chuckling nervously.
“Oh, for Halloween?” You asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy. Nancy Wheeler was your cousin, and your mom never let you forget how perfect she was. Modest, beautiful, smart, and tenacious–all the things you aren’t. Of course, Steve Harrington would love her. Who wouldn’t?
“Yeah, I’m just nervous I think.” She whispered to the ground, and you swallowed the heavy feeling in your chest.
“You’ll be fine, Nance.” You assured her, bumping her shoulder with your fist. She smiled in return.
“You’re right. Thanks for the help. Are you coming over soon?” She asked, standing up and taking the stack of papers back from you.
“My mom hasn’t been feeling the best, but maybe I’ll stop by alone.” You explained, hoping she wouldn’t press for details. She didn’t.
“That’d be great. Bye!” You waved back, and bit your lip.
Perfect Nancy was worried about her perfect relationship, what a joke, you thought bitterly. You sank to your knee and retied your shoe, before continuing your journey to the library.