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havecourage-darling · 1 year

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Employee of the Month // Eddie Munson

Prompt: enemies-to-lovers, “the employee of the month gets a free dinner to a fancy restaurant and you both fight to win it until it goes too far and oh shit, I think I love you but everything is falling apart.”

wc: 24K (don't even ask)

tags: miscommunication, cursing, misunderstandings, idiots in love being idiots in love, female reader

Masterlist

YOU groaned the second you walked into the store and heard the sounds of Nightmare on Elm Street playing on the television. “Isn’t it my turn to pick the movie?” You asked, walking past the counter and into the back. Precariously balancing your coffee and breakfast sandwich on the ledge of the lockers, you started pulling your jacket off.

“Well, if you arrived on time, your Grace, you’d have been able to,” Eddie’s grating voice filtered in through the swinging door.

Gritting your teeth, you closed your eyes and counted to ten. It’s illegal to murder. You’d go to jail. Your mother would cry if you went to trial. His body would be too heavy to drag into a ditch. The blood would stain your favorite shoes. Dustin would never forgive you. You hadn’t helped stitch his body back together only to turn around and kill him now.

“I am on time, shithead, you’re just always early,” you hissed.

“It’s been literal seconds and you two are already fighting?” Robin groaned from where she had her face buried into her elbow at the counter. You shrugged on your vest, put your backpack into the locker and slammed it shut.

“He started it,” you said defensively.

Eddie turned, hair flipping like he was some goddamn heroine in a movie, and shot you an incredulous look. “Did you not just come in, metaphorical guns blazing?”

“It’s my turn to pick the movie!” You insisted. And it was. You always picked the movie on Mondays. Always.

His brows furrowed, as if confused by your genuine anger. “Then pick the movie! The TV has an eject button or did you need me to help you learn how to use it?”

A small ember lit in your chest like it always did when you were around his infuriating presence. “Need I remind you that I’ve worked here longer than you have, Munson?” You huffed, grabbing an armful of the returns without looking and walking around the store. “Some of us graduated the first time around.”

Eddie snorted, the barb falling short. “You’ll need to find a new insult, Lightning.”

The condescending tone rung throughout the air. “Do not call me that,” you hissed, whipping your head around to glare at him.

He held up his hands and didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “I didn’t give you the nickname Superstar.”

You hated it when he called you that. It always sounded so patronizing. “Have I ever told you how much I hate you?” You grumbled, making sure to clip his shoulder with your own as you passed him.

“On a daily basis,” he retorted, whirling his arms in the air to keep his balance.

Steve sighed as he walked in and saw you both glaring at each other. “It’s been less than an hour, how are you both already arguing?”

“He started it,” you grumbled again, turning around and started to shelve the returns.

“He started it,” Eddie mimicked, yelping when Robin smacked him. You started in the far back left-hand corner and did what you always did when you were on shift with Eddie – you ignored him.

A half hour into shelving, and only midway through your coffee, you heard Steve groan loudly. Robin’s head popped out from the aisle behind you and she sighed. “Keith incoming,” she alerted you all, everyone rolling their eyes. “Oh shit, he’s coming with a suit.”

“What?” You asked, hurrying around the corner to join her. Catching sight of the senior supervisor, one of the execs in suits who show up once a few months – if that – you frowned. “You think we’re being shut down?”

“I hope not, this place is a shithole but it’s a paycheck,” Eddie grumbled, starting up the computer and pretending to look busy.

“Good morning, everyone,” Keith said, uncharacteristically polite as the entrance door swung open.

Hiding a laugh behind a cough, Robin and you nodded. Keith looked like a small child who’d gotten dressed in his parent’s working clothes.

“We’ll be in my office,” Keith said through his teeth, shooting you all a look as the suit disappeared through the door.

Robin turned to you instantly. “Oh shit, do you think we’re actually getting closed down?”

“Honestly, at this point, that job down at the grocery store is looking more appealing,” you sighed.

Steve, on the other hand, sputtered. “I don’t! This might be a shit job but I still need the money,” he huffed. “Driving you people around is expensive.”

Robin rolled her eyes and you shot him a look. “I drive the other half of your kids, so don’t even look at me.”

“They’re not my kids!”

“Well, they became mine through you so, what’s that say?” You asked, joining him behind the counter.

“That you and Robin wouldn’t leave well enough alone at the mall,” Steve huffed.

Robin whipped her head around. “If it wasn’t for us, you and Henderson wouldn’t have cracked the code!”

“I took a punch for you,” you said, elbowing him.

Steve shook his head but you saw the smile building. Much like Robin’s entrance into the party, you’d been hired at Scoops Ahoy when Starcourt opened as a part-time employee. Also, like Robin, you’d been hesitant to trust the self-proclaimed reformed Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. You’d known Robin, your next-door neighbor, for years. Despite the suspicion, you’d become pretty close friends. There was something about surviving a near apocalypse that bonded you all together. Especially considering his band of kids had welcomed you in with open arms.

“Demobats ate chunks of my skin off, you aren’t special,” said Eddie, tone – once again – grating on your skull.

Grinding your teeth, you ignored Steve’s pointed look and did what you did second best – shot him a withering glare and pretended he didn’t exist.

Unfortunately, your newfound friendships had led you back to Eddie Munson a few months ago. Despite fighting off those demented demobats with him in the Upside Down, and the way your heart had dropped to your feet when you fought to save his life, your distrust for him had only deepened.

“You both have to get over it eventually,” Steve grumbled under his breath. You reached out, quickly, and pinched his bicep. He yelped, brown eyes widening pitifully, and you glared at him.

Eddie and you hadn’t always had this…animosity. Steve had managed to break you down eventually, pulling the reason why from you after a summer party when you’d gotten plastered.

You had never thought of yourself as a spiteful person, but some things weren’t easy to get over. And what Eddie Munson had done to you was one of them. The worst part, was him acting like it had been your fault. That dumb, big-eyed, stupid son of a –

“Nice to see you all,” the suit said, coming out Keith’s office suddenly. You all mumbled incoherently, straightening when Keith glared, and watched as they walked out.

Not five minutes later, Keith sauntered back in with a smug look on his face. “Apparently, we’re the best performing Family Video in all of North Indiana.”

“Cool,” Eddie said, the nerd actually looked interested. You’d already known the store was doing better – considering Family Video was the only video store around for miles after the earthquake. The three of you had struggled enough to warrant bringing Munson into the mix.

“What does that mean?” Robin asked, always voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

Keith snorted. “That means, ducklings, we get to reap some perks.”

“Perks?” Steve asked, eyes brightening. Keith ignored him and turned to the rest of you.

“For starters, the suits are instating a best employee of the month,” he said, “excluding me of course because it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”

You coughed, putting a hand up to your chest to really sell it, and attempted to hide your laughter within the sound.

“And what do we get if we win?” Eddie asked.

Would Family Video shell anything out? You wondered. They barely managed to replace your vest for free after you’d shredded it to shit from your adventures during spring break.

Keith leaned in, failing spectacularly at building tension, and smiled. You only just barely refrained from flinching back at the sight. “Get this, the first employee of the month gets a free dinner to Osteria da Fortuna. I get a free dinner obviously, because I’m the senior manager…”

His voice trailed off in your mind, your eyes widening and back straightened. Osteria? The fancy ass Italian restaurant downtown? Holy shit, you’d been dying to go there ever since Heather went with her boyfriend and told you about the desserts. She’d said it was the best tiramisu she’d ever tasted in her life.

By the time you’d snapped out of your daydream buffet, Keith had gone into his office again.

“Oh my God, I need that dinner. It’s the only thing that’ll help recover this month – shit, this year,” you said to Robin, her eyes softening. She’d been well aware of how shitty your life had been of late. “I’ve always wanted to go there!”

“Uh, everyone wants to go there, sweetheart,” Eddie said, his voice patronizing, “it’s the best restaurant for miles.”

You glared at him but he did what he did best, continue to annoy you.

“Besides, we’ve all had a shitty year.” He flipped his stupid hair again and you clenched your hands. Why did he always have to twist your words around? You hadn’t meant that yours had been worse than anyone else’s. You were well aware of how shit of a spring break ’86 had been for a lot of you.

“How no one has ever choked you is a mystery to me,” you said, matter of fact. A brief image of your hands around his neck made you smirk.

Eddie turned to glance at you over his shoulder. “I won’t say no if you’re offering Princess,” he winked.

Your heart slammed against your ribcage. Ignoring his jab, and the sudden rage in your chest, you walked into the breakroom to grab your cold breakfast sandwich. Heating it up in the tiny microwave you grabbed your bottle of water before stalking out again.

Keith leaned against the counter, reprimanding Steve about something, and his nose twitched. Eyes drawing towards you, they narrowed and you felt nervous. Shit. Keith had never cared when you ate and worked but you definitely didn’t want to piss him off as you started the race towards that dinner.

“Holy shit I haven’t eaten since last night I’m starving,” Keith said instead of admonishing you.

The idea popped in your head and before you could think twice, you offered Keith the wrapped breakfast sandwich. “Do you want it? I’m not that hungry,” you said, begging your growling stomach to stay quiet for a while.

You saw the appreciative glint in Keith’s eyes when he took his first bite – and by the scowl on Eddie’s face, he had too.

“Thanks Lightning, you’re a lifesaver,” he said, “you always were my favorite. I’ll be back later losers.”

With a flurry, Keith was out the door and the only noise for a few moments was Freddy Kreuger killing Glen. Then, your stomach roared to life.

“Not hungry?” Eddie echoed flatly.

Robin, however, stepped in before you could start another fight. “Well played you, well played,” she said, offering you a high five.

“If I give you my entire paycheck, will you take me with you when you win?” Steve asked, eyes pleading. It didn’t take a genius to know there was no way Keith was choosing Steve.

“As if,” Robin snorted, “she’s taking me.”

You watched them bicker amicably, laughing when Steve gaped at Robin after a low blow and barely registered Eddie next to you.

“I’m gonna win the dinner,” he said, nonchalantly.

Eyes darting up to his, ignoring his cologne wafting over to you, you glared at him. “Whatever, Munson.” Jesus, is that all you could come up with? What the fuck was in that cologne?

Eddie, however, just smiled. “Let the games begin.”

Where the hell was everyone? You mused, walking into an open, but empty, store. Considering the schedule posted yesterday – Eddie, Robin, and you were set to open today.

Spinning your keys on your finger, you walked back into the locker room and tossed your stuff inside. Pulling your vest out, you shrugged it on and went to fill up your water. Once you were by the cooler you realized the back door was propped open.

What the?

You quietly stepped forward, eyes darting around looking for who was out there when you heard Keith’s voice.

“Dude, are you sure?” Keith asked, voice tinged with excitement.

Eddie’s soft voice filtered in through the crack. “Absolutely. I had extras and you know we’re cool right? I thought – why not ask Keith if he wants to take them off my hands.” Narrowing your eyes, you crossed your arms. You knew that tone – that was Eddie’s ‘I’m a bad liar but no one can tell,’ tone.

Keith stepped into view and you watched him take the Ziploc bag from Eddie’s hand. You bit your cheek to keep from cursing.

Joints.

Of course Eddie was going to start sucking up too. Because there’s no way he couldn’t let you have this – why would he? He’s been a pain in your ass from the start. What the hell could you give Keith that one upped free weed? Fuck, you needed to get creative.

There was no way in hell you were letting Munson win this fucking dinner. At this point, it was a matter of pride.

Scrambling to the front of the store, you started your morning to-do list with fervor. Robin stumbled in, looking still half asleep, she motioned to the back and you barely nodded in her direction.

A few minutes later, Eddie sauntered out. Grinding your teeth, you shifted your shoulders away from him so you didn’t have to look at him directly.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop you know,” Eddie said eventually, hopping onto the counter to your left.

You felt a flash of embarrassment at being caught but you carefully stomped it down. Without flinching, or hesitation, you lifted your eyes to his and quirked your brow. Leaning in slowly, you watched his eyes widen and his mouth part. You waited a moment to speak, eyes drawn to the way you were sure his brown ones had flashed down to your own mouth. Just a little closer, the tiny – stupidly intrusive - voice in your head echoed.

Blinking away the thought, you smirked. “It’s illegal to sell drugs, you know,” you said. Eddie gaped at you, clearly not expecting that, and huffed a moment too late.

Swiveling in your chair you turned to the computer, indicating that you were done speaking and you’d taken it as a win.

Not one to ever let you have the last word, “It wasn’t a sale, it was a gift,” he said.

You hummed, just as petty. “I’m sure Hopper would love to hear that explanation,” you said agreeably. Everyone knew that after El and Joyce, you were Hopper’s favorite.

Eddie grumbled and slinked off towards the returns. Internally pumping your fist, your win was quickly extinguished when Keith came out. “Alright I’m off until tomorrow. Don’t forget to tell Harrington to make sure the box is shut this time,” Keith said, with a weird grin on his face, and turned to Eddie. “Thanks again man, I really appreciate it.” He winked and you had to practically bite a crater into your bottom lip to keep from gagging.

“No worries,” Eddie said, smug expression radiating from the back. You could hear his stupid unsaid words. Your turn, Lightning.

You scowled. God, even imaginary him was unbearable.

“What the fuck?” You muttered to yourself as you opened up the store. “Where the hell is everyone?”

This time, the entire store was dark. You went around quickly flipping the lights on and checked the time. I’m on time, you thought, checking the backrooms. Your morning shift was scheduled as it usually was, an hour after opening, but Eddie was nowhere to be found.

Shit – that never happened. Eddie was always on time.

For a brief second, you wondered if something had happened to him. Anxious fingers already reaching for the phone, you realized you didn’t know his number. Keith would have it, right? Were you ever allowed to look at employee records? Where the hell did Keith keep employee information anyway? Spiraling, you glanced around you one more time like you’d accidentally missed him in the store.

Calm down, you told yourself, Eddie was probably just lazing around like he usually did.

He’s never been late to work, your mind reminded you, especially not your Tuesday morning shifts. Tuesdays were Steve’s day off – Robin always joined you after school at 4PM and helped you close. The both of you would bicker the entire morning about his movie pick, argue about who was shelving returns faster, and usually eventually draw a tentative truce with the shitty coffee from the kitchen.

Despite your vow to never say it out loud – you knew Eddie took work seriously. He was a massive asshole but he was weirdly earnest about this stupid video store. Yanking the phone to your ear, you dialed a number you did know quickly.

“Hello?” A groggy voice answered.

Without preamble, and with a pitch high enough to rival Robin’s, your words stumbled out your mouth. “Steve, I need you to call Eddie. It’s ten thirty and I just came in and had to open the store and he’s always here on time Steve. Always. It’s the most annoying fucking thing on the planet how punctual he is. Something had to have happened on the road or like, I don’t know but-”

“-wait, wait, I just woke up, what are you talking about?”

Annoyance surged through you. “Eddie didn’t show up for his shift!” You hissed into the phone.

“Shit, really?” Steve asked a little shocked despite the sleep clinging to his voice.

“Yes, really! I had to open the store when I showed up a few minutes ago.”

Steve suddenly went quiet. “Fuuuuck,” he said, now sounding completely awake, “is today Tuesday?”

“Yes?”

“Fuck, I totally forgot,” Steve groaned, “Munson asked me to cover his shift.”

You chose to actively ignore the relief that bloomed in your chest. “Jesus Christ Steve,” you sighed, the worry draining out of you and making you feel lightheaded.

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry! I can be there in like five minutes-” a loud crashing sound made you wince and lean away from the receiver. “Ouch,” Steve groaned pathetically.

Biting back your laughter you shook your head. Steve Harrington was undoubtedly, not a morning person. “Hey, it’s fine. Tuesday mornings aren’t exactly rush hour over here. Take the morning off, I’ll be fine until the afternoon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Harrington, I’m sure. I owe you one anyway,” you rubbed a hand down your face, suddenly exhausted.

“Thanks dude, I’ll be down in a few hours, I’ll bring you coffee,” Steve said gratefully.

“From the good place!”

Steve laughed but promised to bring you the largest cup of coffee they had.

The morning, predictably, was slow. You spent the first half of it shelving returns and the second half of it assisting the odd customer that made their way by. Right as the latest man walked out the door, you caught sight of Keith leaning against his car. Groaning, you straightened and tried to look like you weren’t bored out of your mind.

Right as he started towards the store, you watched him chuck the butt of a joint towards the side. Keith had a dumb smile on his face and yesterday’s interaction slammed into you. Scowling, you smacked the enter button on the keyboard a bit too hard.

“Morning,” Keith drawled, the scent of weed wafting over to you. Grinding your molars, you could practically see the dinner slipping from your fingers.

“Hey,” you greeted, trying and failing to sound upbeat.

“Where’s Munson? I need to thank him again for – a favor he did me,” Keith ended lamely.

You opened your mouth to let him know what had happened but you hesitated. Shit. As of last year, the suits had established a new rule about swapping shifts. They all needed the manager’s approval. If Keith was here asking for Eddie, he hadn’t approved the swap. Steve was on thin ice considering the rule was put in place because of him.

An idea sprouted in the back of your mind and you chewed on your bottom lip. Was it too far? Eddie’s smug expression taunted you for a moment before you shook your head.

“I don’t know actually, he hasn’t called and wasn’t here when I came in,” you said, making an exaggerated notion of checking your watch. Gasping a little dramatically, you put a hand up to your chest. “Oh wow, I hadn’t even realized he’s two hours late! I’ve just been so busy here with customers,” you added, smiling dutifully and completely ignoring the empty store.

A small frown formed on Keith’s face but he shot you an appraising look before nodding. “Good job, thanks for keeping us in shipshape. You’ve always been reliable.”

Shipshape? You cringed at his wide, and weirdly sincere looking smile, before offering a weak one yourself. “Yes sir.”

Yes sir? Jesus you were laying it on thick.

Keith preened at the term and sauntered out the store without another word.

You really should’ve known better than to assume Eddie wasn’t going to try and get back at you.

“Are you fucking kidding me Munson?” You screamed, kicking the front door open so hard that the frame rattled.

Eddie stood behind the counter, eyes glinting, and you could practically feel his skin underneath your hands as you smothered him with a plastic bag. Smug fucker.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you forget to see the change in schedule?” He asked with his stupid smirk on his face. Seeing red, you had a brief moment where you considered launching forward to actually kill him.

Picking a happy medium, you picked up a nearby box of Twizzlers, you launched it at his head and he ducked, shooting you an incredulous look. “I just got yelled at for thirty minutes by Keith,” you said, launching another box of candy. “I didn’t give you a fake schedule making you miss your shift, Eddie. You’re the one who swapped without telling anyone.”

“I told Steve! Who told you!” Eddie argued, eyes flashing.

Putting your hands on your hips you shot him a glare. “Yeah, which is still not allowed!”

“Oh,” Eddie said, his tone dripping with incredulity. He huffed and stomped over to you. “Get off your pedestal, Lightning, don’t act like you give a shit about store rules.”

Stepping closer, you felt your arms brush as you poked his shoulder. “I’m not saying I do, but what did you want me to do? Get you both in trouble?”

“Not lie would be a good start!” Eddie shouted, poking back at you. God, he was infuriating. And why the hell did he always smell so good? “You saw an opportunity and you went for it! I was just evening out the playing field.”

You laughed incredulously. The audacity of this idiot. “Right, and you giving him your weed was what? You being kind?”

Sputtering for a second, you crossed your arms to avoid the visceral instinct to smack him.

“Whatever, the point is we’re even now!”

Even? How the hell were you even? “Munson if you think we’re even, you’re even more of an idiot than I thought.”

At that, he raised his brow. His eyes darted over your face, a ghost of a smile twitching on his lips. “Yeah? Alright then Superstar, you want a war?”

“Bring it on,” you hissed, stomping off into the backroom.

Flipping the sign on the door around to closed, you sighed in relief when the last customer drove off.

“I’m going to go change!” Robin called out, disappearing into the backroom. Steve already had his Westley costume on, black mask and all.

With a twirl and outstretched arms, he asked you what you thought. “You look great Steve,” you said with a smile. “Is Robin Buttercup?”

Steve snorted. “No, that really wouldn’t help the dating rumors. She’s wearing something with Vickie I think,” he said. “Nina is going in the red outfit.”

A soft knock to the front door had you both scowling and you walked up to the glass intending to wave away whoever it was. “Oh, it’s Nance!” You called out. She beamed at you as you opened the door and handed you a small bag. “Ugh, thank you. You’re a life saver!”

“Of course!” She grinned, her Grease costume looking great. “Jonathan’s in the car.”

You waved towards his car and smiled when he waved back. “What are you supposed to be?” Eddie’s voice behind you practically echoed. Steve started his explanation and you rolled your eyes when you saw that he was dressed like Tommy Lee. Predictable.

“So, how’s that going?” Nancy whispered, nodding towards Eddie.

“It’s fine,” you said, avoiding her eyes and shifting your weight to your other foot.

Nancy’s eyes narrowed at him, her loyalty coming off her in waves. “It’s okay, really,” you assured her, “we have an unspoken pact not to bring it up. It makes everything easier. Besides, we all basically went to war against Vecna together.”

“Yeah,” she said, hand going up to play with her hair, “have you…told anyone else about what happened?”

Glancing back at Eddie, your eyes darted down to the bag in your hands and you shook your head. “Only Steve.”

“Why-”

“It’s mortifying, Nance. He’s made how he feels about me abundantly clear,” you said, gritting your teeth and trying to ignore the old hurt that bloomed in your chest. “I’m going to go change before we’re late, okay?”

Slipping past everyone, you found Robin messing with her hair.

“Vickie isn’t going to know what hit her,” you said, smiling when her anxious hands stilled.

“Really? I don’t look stupid?”

“Definitely not,” you assured her. “Help me into this?”

Robin grinned as you quickly changed. The one piece was easy enough to slip into. “You’re going to blow Blake’s socks off,” she said, helping you tie the back of your costume as you pulled the wrist pieces into place.

You shivered a little as you pulled the pantyhose up higher, the cool air quickly causing you to break out into goosebumps. “Remind me why we chose this again?” You asked, already shivering a little. You’d all been invited to Halloween Party by a mutual friend of yours – costumes required. It’d been a stroke of good luck that you had all been scheduled for today’s closing shift. You were actually pretty sure that Keith was still locked in his office after his impromptu visit this afternoon.

“Because Jenna’s house is going to be really hot and you said you’d rather be cold than sweating,” she reminded you, “besides, Blake said he was dressing up as Batman, right?”

You nodded, wiggling into your red boots and wincing when the zipper caught your skin.

“Maybe you’ll win the costume contest,” Robin waggled her brows and you knew she was thinking of the bottle of tequila Jenna had promised to the winners.

Blake, one of your neighbors, had asked if you had any plans for Halloween last week. He was quiet, sweet, and had eyes so blue they almost looked violet. So, you’d taken the chance and invited him along to the party. Checking the time, you winced. “Shit, he’s going to be here soon,” you pulled at the bust one more time before turning around to face Robin. “How do I look?”

Robin’s eyes widened. “Whoa, holy boobies,” she said, hand going up to your chest. You swatted her hand away and rolled your eyes.

“I’m going to assume that’s a good thing,” you laughed when she grinned mischievously. “What?”

“Oh, this night will be fun,” she said, adjusting her cape motioning towards the front door. “Please, Princess Diana of Themyscira, you first.”

Grabbing your hoodie and bag, you made sure to double check that the back doors were locked and shut off the lights. You had barely stepped out when you heard a choking sound. Glancing up, you saw everyone’s eyes on you. Feeling a little self-conscious under the attention, you froze.

“I told you,” Robin said quietly and you barely resisted the urge to turn and swat at her. Your eyes, of their own traitorous volition, shifted to Eddie. His eyes were wide, a little awed, and were trailing down your body. You couldn’t help but smirk when you realized he was checking you out.

“Holy shit, you look great,” Steve said, drawing your attention away from Eddie’s expression, his eyes on the rope you’d attached to the belt, “I’m glad the belt worked out!”

“Thanks,” you said, remembering how Steve had helped you spray paint it gold, “I owe you one.”

Everyone talked amongst themselves, double checking that they had everything before leaving. Feeling someone’s eyes on you again, you glanced up to see Eddie standing a few feet from you. “You look good,” Eddie said, his voice soft, “the costume looks just like her.”

Fighting the pleased, slightly giddy, smile that wanted to break out into your face at his compliment, you shot him a small smile instead. “Thanks, Steve and Robin helped me pick it out,” you said, eyes darting down to his chest and only now realizing that he was shirtless underneath his vest. Suddenly, you felt your mouth dry up and you crossed your arms to keep from coughing. “Uh, your costume is pretty good too.”

“Thanks,” he said, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck, “Dustin and Steve helped me paint on his tattoos.”

You couldn’t help it, your eyes glanced down at the new tattoo across his stomach. “Did Tommy Lee have a demon tattooed onto his chest?” You asked, leaning forward to get a better look. “It looks really well drawn.”

“That’s uh,” you watched, transfixed, as his Adam’s apple bobbed the closer you got, “my real tattoo actually.” His eyes caught yours and the both of you froze, having gotten much closer than you realized. For a brief, insignificant moment, you couldn’t help but think how much nicer brown was than blue.

“What the hell is going on?” Keith’s voice silenced the rest of your group.

Stepping forward, you automatically went on damage control before Steve or Robin sputtered out something that got you all more in trouble. “We’re just leaving, Keith,” you assured him, “I double checked the back and made sure everything was locked and cleaned.”

You continued to prattle on about your closing checklist, including a few admin tasks that needed his sign off on that you’d left on his desk for next week. Glancing up at him, hoping you’d saved your asses from a reprimand, you realized Keith wasn’t listening. His eyes were south of your face and you barely resisted the urge to gag on sight.

You need this job. You all need this job. Don’t break his nose, don’t do it. If you punch him, you’ll all but hand Eddie that free dinner. You’d probably break your hand. Hopper might be called. Inhale. Exhale.

Fucking pervert, your mind screamed one last time before you buried the thought and your discomfort. Using his distraction to your advantage, you crossed your arms and motioned to the front lights. “Are you okay to close the front on your own?”

At Robin’s cough, he sputtered back to life. A splotchy, disgusting, blush rose on his face and you fought the need to snap. “Of course,” Keith answered eventually, his leering grin making you immediately uncomfortable. “You always think of everything, good job. I’ll take a look at those forms on Tuesday.”

Nodding, you took a few steps back before being stopped by Keith’s voice. “You look good, by the way.”

Spine stiffening, you forced your customer service smile onto your face before nodding. “Thanks, have a good night?” Your voice sounds so fake you knew your friends could feel it radiate off of you.

“Yeah, yeah,” Keith said, gawking at you one last time before disappearing back into his office.

You spun around, ready to smile triumphantly at your friends for avoiding the lecture, when you’re thrown off by Eddie’s sour expression. What the hell crawled up his ass?

“God, I feel like I need a shower,” Nancy said, gagging. Robin and Steve shot you grateful looks, knowing that you’d taken one for the team.

The sound of the front door opening again caught everyone’s attention, your eyes all turning towards a sheepish Jonathan. “Sorry, just wanted to let you know Blake just pulled up.”

You rushed forward, looking out into the parking lot and seeing the familiar red car parked by the front doors. Smiling, you ran a nervous hand down your hair before turning to your friends.

“Meet you guys there? I think Blake wants to stop by for some burgers first,” you said, not able to keep the excitement out of your voice.

Robin rolled her eyes and pushed you towards the doors. “Yes, we’ll be fine. We’ll see you at the party, go say hi to your date, I’m sure his eyes will fall out his head when he sees you. Just like Keith’s did.” You shot her a glare and she laughed like the bully she was.

“Low blow Buckley, low blow.” You pulled the hoodie on and shot everyone one last wave before pushing the front door open.

Seeing you, Blake stumbled out his car. He was dressed as Batman, with a beaming smile, and you waved excitedly. You ran out to meet him but before you got too far, you heard Eddie grumble: “Who the hell is Blake?”

“Good morning,” Eddie said as he walked in, the bell above the door slamming against your skull. God, why the hell had you listened to Steve about the tequila last night.

Robin groaned next to you, her body slumped over and her hands on her head. “Please stop screaming.”

You caught a flash of amusement on Eddie’s face before he disappeared through the back. “This is your fault,” you mumbled to Robin, who grunted.

“Keith said that we were scheduled to have a half-day! How was I supposed to know that his idea of opening the store late the day after Halloween was going to be only two hours later?” Robin said, her skin turning green, her eyes closing as she gulped audibly.

Hands coming out to smack against her, you pointed her in the direction of the bathroom. “Don’t, please, if I hear you then I’ll start,” you said. Robin sped off towards the employee bathroom and you dropped your head back into your arms.

“Someone clearly enjoyed the party,” Eddie’s voice echoed in the quiet front room. Wincing, you turned to him and glared. He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t need to sound so smug about it.

Eddie raised his brows, as if reading your thoughts, and you huffed. “I don’t have the energy to deal with you today,” you informed him, willing the two Tylenol you’d taken earlier to start working.

“That’s a first,” Eddie muttered, puttering around the store. “So, you seemed to have fun with Blake.”

The tone of disdain in his voice made you blink at him. From your, admittedly patchy memory – Blake had managed to get along with everyone. He was like the human version of a puppy; he made friends with everyone wherever he went.

You opened your mouth to defend him when a loud voice greeted you both. Fighting the urge to grab at your head, you pulled energy from deep – deep – within your reserves and smiled up at Keith. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck and two different colored gloves on. “Good morning, Keith,” you greeted warily. He never came in on holidays or the day after, having a Keith sighting twice this week was never good.

“I’m just passing by,” he said, eyes trailing down your body. Confused, you looked down at yourself to make sure you hadn’t accidentally tossed your cookies and hadn’t noticed. Your usual t-shirt and jeans looked in place and you only glanced back up with you heard Eddie scoff. Maybe he was just being normal gross Keith?

Keith reappeared, keys and a folder in his hand, walking back out towards the door. He stopped, eyeing the two of you before his gaze landed on you. Straightening reflexively, your spine cracked as you did. “Your costume yesterday…was really good. It helped – uh, give the store some seasonal cheer.”

Seasonal cheer? You thought, confused. Wasn’t that usually Christmas? Eddie seemed to be thinking the same as you were because his brows dipped.

The poignant silence seemed to echo and Keith cleared his throat. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you’re doing good work and…keep it up.” With another gross smile, he disappeared. Ugh, ew, you groaned.

“What the fuck?” You muttered, encounter already being pushed away by your pounding headache. Another scoff caught your attention and your eyes drew towards the source.

Eddie’s face was turned towards the horror section, his brows furrowed and expression pinched. “Do you have something you’d like to say out loud?” You snipped, not at all in the mood for his emotional whiplash.

“If I had something to say, sweetheart, I’d say it,” Eddie snapped back.

Surprised, you blinked. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Whatever,” you said, the pounding in your head getting worse.

The entire morning went along the same way, Robin dashing to the bathroom, and you barely holding it together up front with Eddie. While you were used to sparring with him, and would admittedly normally find it comforting, this was more than his usual annoyance. He seemed…genuinely angry at you and you couldn’t understand why. To be perfectly honest, the constant nausea from the moment you’d opened your eyes wasn’t really letting you care much about the why as long as he long as he left you alone for two fucking seconds.

Whatever it was, you were tired of it. “I’m taking my break,” you announced, needing space and maybe a coffee now that your stomach had started to settle.

“Uh, no you’re not,” Eddie said, stopping you from moving to the backroom for your wallet. “My break is scheduled before yours.”

How many times had you all taken a break whenever you wanted? Was he really going to be a stickler for this now? “Dude, are you serious right now?” You asked, about two seconds from whining and stomping your foot like a toddler. Holy shit, all you wanted was peace and quiet and a coffee the size of your head.

“Yeah,” Eddie grumbled, crossing his arms, “remember that time it was my break and I was about to pass out from my hangover but you just left the store-”

This again? You fumed. “I didn’t know you were hungover!” You defended yourself for the millionth time. “If you would’ve asked for help like a normal person instead of sulking, I would’ve gotten you something! Or I would’ve let you go first!”

Robin’s head popped out, eyes squinting, and a frown on her face. “Are you guys serious?”

“Ask him!” You threw your hand out towards him. “He’s the one being an asshole today, I don’t know what the hell I did!”

“Isn’t it obvious? Clearly, you’re taking the cheap shots with your fucking costume with Keith. If his eyes had gone any wider than they would’ve popped out his head,” Eddie fumed.

What? “Are you trying to say that it’s my fault Keith is a pervert?”

“No! I’m saying you’re using it to your advantage!” His words hit like a physical blow.

Robin stepped out, hands out to both of you, eyes sharp in his direction. “Dude, too far.”

Feeling like you’d been punched, and more than mildly wounded at the fact that Eddie clearly thought you were willing to lower yourself so that Keith of all people would notice, you blinked at him. In the silence, and to your utter dismay, Eddie seemed to notice that he’d actually hurt you. The apology in his eyes made you dart yours to the floor.

“I didn’t-”

“Don’t,” you said quickly. The last thing you wanted was an apology, especially from Munson. “I stopped expecting apologies from you a long time ago,” you said, not able to keep the hurt and barb out of your tone.

Eddie cleared his throat. “What the hell does that mean?”

Of course. “Right,” you snorted, hating that you’d peeled at your own scab. What the hell did you need to go through to learn your lesson with him? “I’ll be out back. You’re right, it’s your scheduled break and you can go first.”

“But-”

You made sure the door slammed as you stepped out and fought the pressure you felt behind your eyes.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, you reminded yourself. After grabbing a few tentative swings of your water, you splashed some onto your face and nodded at your reflection. You weren’t going to let Eddie get one over on you again.

When you came out a few minutes later, he was gone and Robin had an inquisitive stare.

“It’s nothing,” you said, not even believing yourself.

“Sure.”

The next time you were on shift with Eddie left you wondering if an alien had inhabited his body and was parading around as him.

“It’s weird, right? That he’s being this polite?” You asked Steve as you both got ready to leave after the morning shift. After your pseudo-fight with Eddie two days ago, he’d been stiffly polite and you didn’t know what to do with that.

Steve rolled his eyes and shot you a knowing look. “What? Do you miss the sexual tension you had during your fights?”

Sputtering, you reached out to smack him and he dodged your hands. “I’m joking!”

“I’ll choke you,” you told him.

Steve winked at you and you huffed, hurrying out towards the back exit like you did after every Thursday afternoon. Instead of your usual sight, you froze when you saw Eddie standing by the dumpster with a cigarette.

“Uh,” you said, taken aback. You thought he’d left the second it hit three considering how quickly he darted out.

“Hey?” Eddie said, making it sound like a question.

With an awkward wave, you cleared your throat and said, “Hey.”

Checking your watch, you realized you still had a few minutes but now you didn’t know what to do. Eddie, clearly feeling the tension, broke the silence. “I’m just, smoking…as the car heats up,” he motioned to his van that he kept parked out back in the employee lot. He’d gotten special permission because the van didn’t fit in the regular parking lot.

“Right,” you said, rubbing your hands together for warmth. You pulled your beanie tighter against your head and chewed on your bottom lip.

“What, uh, why do you always come out here after your shifts Thursday?”

Not able to help your smile, you saw his eyes light up with interest. Before you could answer, you heard the telltale sign of a gate being opened. With your hand, you motioned for him to follow you as you rounded the corner to the building.

As always, there was a big, furry, dopey, smile waiting for you. From this angle, you could see his golden tail wagging happily at the sight of you.

“Thought he was gonna cry when he didn’t see you,” Maggie, the owner of the bookstore and the adorable golden retriever who was currently jumping in excitement at the sight of you.

Reaching over the fence, you scratched at his ears and chin. “Hey Fitz, who’s a good boy?” Fitz leaned his big head into your palms and you looked over your shoulder at Eddie. The sight of his wide smile smacked into your chest so intensely you felt off balance. Gripping the fence, you waved for him to come over.

Fitz, sensing another potential hand for head scratches, let his tongue loll out and tilted his head in a desperate attempt to look cuter. Your heart melted at the sight and Eddie’s soft murmurs didn’t help. After a few minutes, and a lot of attention, Fitz jumped off the fence and you waved to Maggie before pulling Eddie back towards Family Video.

“The shift change today always coincides with Mags letting Fitz out for a bathroom break. It’s nice, to see them before I leave,” you shrugged, “Fitz is always happy to see me.”

“Yeah, dogs are great,” he said, “especially big ones with dopey smiles.”

You thought of Maggie’s other dog, her shy little elderly chihuahua and you grinned. “The small ones are cute too.”

“It’s definitely a blanket understanding that dogs are all great,” Eddie said, smiling.

Wait a fucking second, were you getting along with Eddie Munson? As if realizing the same thing, Eddie’s hand came up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Uh, I’m gonna go-”

“-yeah, me too, uh, bye,” you said, not letting him finish and darting back inside.

Still a little dazed by the weird, almost normal, conversation – you didn’t realize Steve is practically drooling until Robin turned to shoot you a desperate look.

“What now?” You sighed, picking your bag up.

“One of Harrington’s crushes is here,” Robin said, “he flirted, she responded, they’re going out for coffee, and he’s acting like an idiot over, what number is she again?”

“Number three, Robin, three,” he hissed.

Scrunching your nose, you turned to slap Steve in the head. “What the hell is wrong with you, are you rating girls on a scale?”

“Ouch!” Steve hissed, turning to try and discretely check to see if the blonde had noticed. “I am not rating them on a scale, they’re numbered by how often they come in. Three is three times a week!”

Oh. “Woops, thought you were being a weirdo again.”

“I’ve had considerable growth, I’ll have you know,” he said.

Robin snorted and Steve shot her a wounded look. He then turned his big brown eyes to you. “So, remember how you usually catch a ride with me today because your dad uses your car?”

With a big, dramatic, sigh you pretended to think about it. “What you’re saying is, you’d ditch your friend for a girl? Your best friend who fought Russians and Vecna with you?”

Steve’s eyes turned down, a little sheepish, and he shook his head. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do that to you. Let me go tell her-”

“Oh my God,” you shoved his shoulder, “you really do love me Harrington. I’m messing with you, go have fun. I’ll catch a ride with Robin when her mom comes by. I’m literally her neighbor.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, the light flush returning to his face.

You laughed and pointed to the door. “Go on Romeo, have fun.”

“I owe you one dude, you’re the best!” He said, straightening his jacket before running a nervous hand through his hair. Robin elbowed you and you grinned as he walked out but managed to slip on a pile of wet leaves. He recovered before she noticed but both of you couldn’t help but snort along with Robin.

She turned to you and leaned onto the counter. “You sure you want to wait? I’m on until closing.”

“Yeah,” you glanced at the low sun. While you loved the fall, you definitely weren’t keen on walking home in the dark – not after what you’d seen. Robin knew – shit, you all knew – and usually was your buddy in the system Dustin rigorously implemented. “I’ll grab a late lunch at the coffee shop and be back in an hour? Want anything?”

“Can you grab me a coffee?” She asked, eyes widening as she plead.

You grinned and squeezed her elbow before pushing the door open. “Be back soon!”

The second cup of hot coffee had quickly gone lukewarm while you walked back towards Family Video two hours later. The sidewalk was littered with fallen leaves and you stepped towards a particularly crunchy pile of leaves when you heard it.

“Lightning?” The voice called out while your foot was mid-air.

“Jesus Christ,” you clutched your chest, pulling your headphones off. Eddie looked mildly amused, head leaning out his van.

“You can call me Eddie, no need to be formal,” he said. You rolled your eyes, resisting the urge to chuck a fistful of leaves at him.

“Do you make it a habit of driving up to girls in the dark?” You asked, gazing at him. Eddie rolled his eyes and you realized. “Also, stop calling me that.”

“I’m not the one that gave you the nickname!” He said, like he always did.

You fought the urge to leave him there, not wanting to be the first to ruin the precarious peace you had. He wasn’t wrong – but it wasn’t about the nickname per say, it was the tone he used to say it. Kicking the leaves by your foot, the memory of your high school coach floated to the surface. He was kind, intense, but a huge believer of everyone on the girls’ soccer team. He’d been offered the chance to coach the boys’ varsity team but had stuck with the girls.

He'd dubbed you Lightning as a freshman, claiming that you’d win a scholarship to college with how fast you could run the field. The moniker stuck.

Eddie shifted, eyes going over your shoulder towards the store. “Why the hell are you still hanging around here? Our shift ended two hours ago. Keith isn’t around to kiss his ass,” he said, fiddling with a cigarette.

“Pot, kettle,” you said with a snort. You motioned to the store. “Robin is on until closing. Harrington had a date and I don’t have a ride. Why the hell are you still hanging around here?”

“Was at the arcade with the kids. What about you? Your legs broken?” He asked, his stupid tone rubbing you the wrong way.

You glared at him. “My house is like an hour walk away and it’s freezing outside. I’d rather not freeze to death walking in the dark by the forest.”

“Scared?” He teased, and you could see a faint smile building.

“Yeah,” you answered honestly, eyes falling to the visible scars on Eddie’s hands. You knew what hid in the shadows in Hawkins. You weren’t risking shit.

Clearly not expecting your honesty, he blinked at you. After an awkward moment, he nodded. “Alright, hop in.”

“With you?” You said eyeing his car.

Eddie rolled his eyes at you and you saw hurt flash across his face. “I know it’s not a sports car like you’re used to but-”

You held up a hand. “I drive my dad’s old car, Munson. Steve is the one with the BMW. I wasn’t doubting your car, I was doubting your driving skills.”

The defensiveness melted off to give way for comical indignation. “How dare you?” He asked.

Weighing your options, you sighed. You were pretty hungry and hadn’t wanted to spend so much money on food in the café when you knew you had perfectly good leftover pizza at home. Besides, you’d woken up early and desperately just wanted to shower and get out of your jeans. “Alright,” you said reluctantly and Eddie snorted.

“Don’t sound too excited there Lightning,” he said.

Ignoring him, you motioned to the store. “Just let me go tell Robin.” Without waiting for a response, you jogged up to the door and empty storefront. “Hey, Munson’s giving me a ride home. See you tomorrow?”

Ignoring her wiggling brows, you waved off her teasing jabs and jogged back to his van. Pulling yourself into the passenger seat, Eddie had closed his window and blasted the heating.

“Heating takes a minute to get going, you want a blanket? I’ve got some in the back,” he asked, cheeks a little flushed.

“I’m okay,” you assured him, tucking your hands under your thighs. “Thanks.”

As he nodded, pulling away from the curb, you were struck by the scent that enveloped you. It was a mix of smoke, laundry detergent, and something woodsy. Inhaling deeply, you hated how much you seemed to chase after it.

Shit, you thought, the scent was going to sink into your clothes and it’d drive you insane every time you wore this jacket. You vehemently tried to ignore the reasoning behind why it’d drive you up a wall. Nope, not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. You buried that part of you back into the dirt where it belonged.

Clearly uncomfortable with your sudden silence, Eddie hurried to put on music. “Sorry for the mess,” Eddie said, oddly earnest. He tossed a few wrappers into the back and you reached out to stop his fumbling.

“Seriously, it’s fine, my car looks the same. Well, not exactly the same but I’ve been there. I’m not…” you trailed off as Eddie headed towards the direction you’d pointed.

Eddie glanced at you, hands on the wheel. “You’re not?”

“I’m not that type of person,” you muttered, your fingers burning where they’d touched his, and stared at the window, “I wouldn’t make fun of your car.”

“Oh.”

The radio station announced a change in song and by the first few chords you’d already started bobbing your head along to the music. Your brother had been playing this non-stop all month and it’d grown on you.

She's got a smile that it seems to me

Reminds me of childhood memories

Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky

You hummed along and watched the trees flash by. Eddie cleared his throat mid-chorus and you startled. “Uh, I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“For what?” You asked, shooting him a suspicious glare. “Is this the part where you murder me and toss my body in the woods? I helped clear your name Munson. I hauled your unconscious ass through a hole in the roof of your trailer.”

Eddie, surprising you both, laughed. You blinked, unaware you were even capable of making Eddie laugh and stared at him a little disbelieving.

“No, I’m not the smartest kid in this town but even I’m not dumb enough to think I can take you on,” he said.

You grinned, feeling a little pleased at the compliment and nodded. “I’m glad you recognize my superiority.”

Snorting, Eddie shook his head and sighed. “No, I meant, about the comment I made about – about the implication that you’d dress a certain way to gain Keith’s favor.”

Completely floored at the fact that Eddie fucking Munson was actually acknowledging that he’d crossed a line and apologizing for it, you nodded dumbly. “It’s okay,” you heard yourself say faintly.

“It’s not,” he insisted, eyes a little too sincere for you as he looked over at you while at the red light. “It was uncalled for and I was annoyed you’d…gotten one over on me. It was immature and shitty and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Besides, no one wants Keith’s attention that badly. No one.”

It was quiet for a few before you broke it with a small smile. “I didn’t know you were capable of emotional maturity.”

The tension snapped when Eddie registered what you’d said with a scoff. “Ha, ha,” he said dryly.

“Thanks,” you said quietly, looking at the familiar houses as you drove past, “I appreciate it.”

Eddie nodded, his grip on the steering wheel tight. You itched to ask him something, anything, but the awkward silence had descended again.

It became suffocating the longer you sat silently but you didn’t have it in you to say anything. You thought of the tentative truce you had for the past few days, and his apology, and something soft unfurled in your chest.

Whoa, oh, oh

Sweet child o' mine

Whoa, oh, oh, oh

Sweet love of mine

The music curled around you, eyes peeking at him discretely and you couldn’t help but smile at how he mouthed the words to the music. Suddenly, an old memory steamrolled you, bubbling up unbidden.

You were so excited, you couldn’t believe you’d found the dress you wanted at such a discount – and it was the last one – in your size! Anne said it was definitely a sign. You carefully applied your mascara and the last bit of hairspray into your hair.

“Do I look dumb? I don’t want him to think I’m trying too hard,” you said, nervous beyond belief.

Anne beamed at you; eyes soft. “You look beautiful and trust me, he won’t be able to keep his eyes off of you.”

The guitar solo broke you from the memory. Oh, you were here.

“The blue one at the end?” He asked. “Robin’s is the yellow one, right?”

“Yeah,” you said, voice coming out too shaky.

Eddie shot you a confused look but your eyes darted down to your bag at your feet.

While you’d never admit it out loud - your attraction to Eddie had never fully been stomped out but…as you glanced at him from the corner of your eyes, you couldn’t help but remember.

The memory of that night slithered back to the front of your mind and your nails dug into your palms. The feeling of your dress under your fingers, the smell of hairspray, and the memory of the butterflies in your stomach.

Eddie came to a stop and you jumped out like you were a bat out of hell. Inhaling deeply, you felt your clammy hands unclench as clean air filled your lungs.

“Thanks for the ride, I owe you one,” you said, not bothering to look back.

Eddie’s confused voice followed you as you slammed the door behind you. “Oh, uh, sure-”

You jogged towards your front door, quickly shutting it and dropping your bag onto the floor. Eddie Munson was not to be trusted, you reminded yourself, watching through the blinds as he idled in your driveway before pulling out. No matter how nice he smelled or how deceptively beautiful his stupid eyes were. Those had been the same things that had pulled you in before and he – he’d…

Wiping your face with the back of your wrist, you ripped the dress off your body and climbed into your bed. Crying until your chest hurt from heaving, you still couldn’t help but wonder how you’d read him so wrong.

That’s what you’d gotten for trusting Eddie Munson and no matter what truce or bond you had, you weren’t making that mistake twice.

You had spent the entire night replaying the painful memories in your head like some sick twisted version of your own personal hell. So, when you woke up bleary eyed and cranky for your shift the next morning, you weren’t totally surprised.

“Good morning,” Eddie said, early as always, when you walked in.

Grumpy at having to work the morning shift on little to no sleep – thanks to him no less – you grumbled incoherently. A ghost of a smile flashed across Eddie’s face before he handed you a to-go cup.

Narrowing your eyes at it, you watched as his lips twitched before he wiggled the cup at you again. “It’s not poisoned, I swear. I got it from the coffee shop two streets down.”

“Oh,” you said, realizing you did know the design on the sleeve. You took it from him and sipped it cautiously. “That’s my favorite coffee shop, the baristas are so nice.”

“I know,” he said, ears turning red as he whirled around.

You blinked at him, confused. “Thanks,” you said, not sure if it was a statement or question.

He waved his hand in the air and you tossed your things into your locker. Coming back out, you hopped onto the counter and watched Eddie reshelve as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Suddenly, you realized he had put on The Breakfast Club – one of your favorites. Hadn’t he given you shit for how many times you liked to watch it?

Your eyes darted towards him to find him already watching you. “What?” He asked, startled at your sudden attention.

“Interesting movie choice,” you said, shrugging.

Eddie’s molten eyes seared you as his mouth curved into something resembling a sheepish smile. “It’s a good movie,” he said, chewing on his bottom lip.

The quiet of the store, the one only a Friday morning could conjure, echoed loudly. You both blinked at each other, unsure. You did know, however, that he was extending a metaphorical olive branch. And you didn’t want to be the asshole that rejected that. No matter how much you didn’t trust him.

“It is a good movie,” you agreed, taking a swig of your coffee and realizing that Eddie had gotten your coffee order correctly. How did he know how you liked your coffee?

Eddie’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts. “Let me guess, you’re Molly Ringwald.”

You snorted so hard, you almost felt coffee come out your nose. Thumping your chest, you coughed until it cleared. “Dude, what the hell?”

Eddie looked bewildered.

“I wish I was Molly,” you said, looking up at the television again. “I’m definitely Brian.”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t look so surprised,” you said, waving him off. “Mr. Bateman’s AP Chem lab is the reason I lost the full ride to Indie State. The only reason I kept some of it was because of the soccer scout. My mom didn’t care, she’s happy I was top of the class but, whatever. Mr. Bateman can fucking suck it.” Alright, maybe you were still a little bitter about it.

Eddie’s contemplative silence only made you more nervous.

“That’s why I’m in this shithole,” you added, picking at the coffee cup cover. “I can’t afford college yet; I’ve got money from the grants I did get – and my soccer scholarship but…I still needed some more. My mom said she’d get it somehow but, I barely see her enough as it is.”

“I didn’t know,” Eddie said quietly.

You looked at him over your shoulder and shrugged. “I know you didn’t. That’s why I like to remind you that your trailer park and my neighborhood are only a few blocks apart. I didn’t grow up like Steve. I don’t know what image you have of me but, just because I hung out with cheerleaders and jocks at the end of high school didn’t mean I had the money they did.”

Before Eddie could say anything else, you switched the subject. No matter how nice he was being, you’d learned the hard way that Eddie Munson had two sides and could flip between them with enough speed to give you whiplash.

“Let me guess, you’re Bender,” you asked, grabbing the next stack of tapes. You needed to do something or you were going to end up biting off all your nails.

Eddie sighed. “I’d like to prove you wrong and tell you definitely not but, yeah – we’re just a cliché in the end huh?”

There was something about the way he’d said it, numb – like a bunch of people had told him he wouldn’t amount to anything until he’d started to believe it himself. A flash of Bender’s face while Vernon yelled at him crossed your mind. A surprising wave of protectiveness surged in you.

“No, Eddie,” you said, finally meeting his eyes. You let your eyes roam around his wild hair, curls jutting out like they had a mind of their own, his Metallica long sleeve t-shirt was faded and looked incredibly soft underneath his Family Video vest. Why couldn’t you just let the idea of him go? A pang of old hurt shot through you. Your eyes fell back to his and you felt your stomach summersault at the look in them. “You are anything but a cliché.”

The smile that grew on Eddie’s face reminded you of a gar den. It was warm and welcoming as it split his face nearly in two. After a moment, you turned back to the computer, hands clammy, and tried hard not to focus on the new comfortable silence that had settled.

You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at how much you’d revealed with your answer but also wondered if that had been the metaphorical white flag to finally wave between you two. Either way, later on in the day when Robin skidded into the store, she shrieked.

“Did you finally kill Munson? I knew you’d crack one day.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s too quiet in here! Where’d you hide the body? Actually, don’t tell me, I don’t want to accidentally sell you out.”

Eddie walked through the swinging doors and smiled when he saw Robin. “Oh, hey, I didn’t hear the bell. How was your midterm?”

Ignoring his question, Robin looked between you two nervously. “I don’t know what’s worse, the bickering or the truce.”

Eddie leaned onto the counter and you used every ounce of willpower you had not to dart your eyes towards the exposed sliver of skin at his waist. “What’s she talking about?” Eddie asked, eyes sparkling with humor.

You eyed him, the small voice that usually warned you away from him mysteriously quiet. After a beat too long, you offered up your own white flag. “I don’t know,” you said, playing along, “you know how she is.” Surprise and relief flashed across Eddie’s face before melting into a small smirk.

People could change, you’d seen it in Steve. And while it didn’t change your opinion about the past, and what’d he’d done – you didn’t need to fight him for the rest of your lives.

Robin’s eyes almost bugged out her head. “No, no, no you can’t gang up on me! Where’s Harrington when you need him?”

Wincing as the group on stage screamed their goodbyes, you sipped your beer and wondered if you’d taken the metaphorical flag waving a bit too far.

It was a combination of Eddie’s complete one-eighty change in personality, the hopeful look in his stupid Bambi eyes, and Steve answering for you, that landed you in a crowded bar downtown waiting for Corroded Coffin to take the stage as the final act. According to Dustin, their pseudo-manager, it was a huge night for them. They were the main band, and had managed to get a full house.

“Hey everyone,” a voice echoed and your eyes shot up to the stage.

Dustin shushed everyone, Nancy and Robin sharing an eye roll – and you muffling your laugh – as he stared up at the band.

“We want to thank everyone for coming out,” Eddie said, looking completely at home up on the stage. You couldn’t help but be a little…well, shocked. He’d transformed completely as he strummed his guitar, his head banging as he made the stage his home.

It was clear now, compared to the other bands, why Corroded Coffin was the main attraction. They played well off each other, the other three members balancing out Eddie’s energy and ramping it up when they needed to.

“Now, I know you guys are here for the classics but we did get one request and I promised him I’d play it before the end of the night. So, Harrington, this one’s for you,” Eddie said with a wink.

Your group turned to gaze at Steve who grinned. At the sight of all the stares, Steve grinned sheepishly. “We made a bet last week at the store. If he lost, he had to play a pop cover,” Steve said, grinning victoriously. Despite the shift, the crowd still ate it up.

Steve pulled your hand up to his and twirled you around. Shrieking at the sudden, unexpected, movement, you laughed when Steve herded you onto the dance floor. His head bopped, one arm around yours and you jumped along to the tempo. Nancy and Jonathan joined you both, in their own world, and you opened your arms to beckon Robin over.

Soon, the set came to an end and Steve had led the group back over to the bar. A little out of breath, and sweaty, you ordered another beer and pressed the cool bottle to your cheek. “Damn Harrington, you’ve got moves,” you said, impressed.

Steve winked at you and for a brief moment you could see what girls saw in him. Robin, however, just rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. “Oh, look, it’s Eddie!” She waved, greeting him with a hug. Your little group cheered for them, offering up their congratulations. Feeling a little awkward, the peace between you two still too new, you focused on getting your pulse back to normal.

“So, I saw you dancing,” Eddie said, sliding into the bar stool next to yours.

Biting back a smile, you shrugged. “You weren’t atrocious,” you said nonchalantly.

Eddie, recognizing the compliment hidden underneath, threw his head back and laughed. “High praise from you, Lightning.” The echoes of his laughter flittered around you.

“Don’t say I never said anything nice,” you said, teasing back. The electricity between you both yawned awake and you chewed on your cheek. This new development had you avoiding Eddie recently, unsure on how to handle it. Glancing at him, you saw his stare already on you. Not wanting to flinch away like you normally did, you sipped your drink, eyes still on his. You licked at your bottom lip, catching a stray drop of beer and your stomach summersaulted when you saw his eyes follow the movement.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said quietly, almost inaudible under the music blaring from the speakers.

Not knowing what to say, you shrugged. “Technically, you didn’t invite me,” you said, “Steve just pulled me along.”

Eddie’s head reared back, his eyes flying back to yours and he only dropped his shoulders when he realized you were joking. “I’ll invite you personally next time,” he said, knocking his beer bottle with yours.

More than a little surprised, you shot him a look and he just ducked his head to smile. Your heart skipped and you wanted to reach down and beat it back into submission. This wasn’t the time to forget.

“Although, I can do you one better,” he swirled in his stool, his knees bumping into yours and leaving them there. His warmth seeped into your skin, like he was branding you, and you quirked your brow in a last-ditch effort to seem unaffected.

“Do you want to go to an afterparty? Jared, one of the guitarists, lives out by the lake and has a bonfire after. It’s got shitty alcohol but good people,” Eddie added when he saw you scrunch your nose.

Dropping your hand to his, surprising you both, you winced. “Lover’s Lake?” You asked quietly.

Understanding bled into his expression and he shook his head. “Opposite side of town, I promise,” he said, his finger tracing a small circle onto your skin. “I…can’t really go by that lake either now.”

“Are the others going?” You asked, glancing around for a familiar face.

Eddie smiled. “Why? Scared to be alone with the Satan worshippers?”

Not able to help yourself, you snorted. “Eddie, I could sucker punch you into next week without blinking,” you said.

With a dramatic gasp, hands going to his chest, you watched amusedly as Eddie sputtered. “How dare you? I fought demobats for you.”

“I’m still the better fighter,” you said, laughing when he feigned hurt.

“I can’t believe you’d say that completely true fact right to my face,” he said, huffing.

Before you could tease back, a scruffy haired guy popped up by Eddie’s shoulder. “Eddie, Mark wants to talk to you. Said something about payment and next week’s schedule.”

Eddie looked almost remorseful but he tapped your arm. “I’ll be right back and then we can all drive out to Jared’s.”

“You’re coming?” The newcomer asked, surprise tinting his expression.

Feeling a little defensive, you felt your shoulders rise and were suddenly almost thrown from your seat when Eddie stood up. His back was to you but you managed to catch his death glare towards his friend. You placed an stumbling, desperate, hand on his hip for balance and Eddie jumped. His eyes dropped to yours and they softened. “Sorry. Lightning, Gareth - Gareth, Lightning. I’ll be right back.”

You nodded, lifting your bottle in a semi-salute and Eddie smiled before disappearing into the crowd. Nancy, a little disheveled and out of breath, leaned against you and sighed. “It’s so loud!” She said, a little too loudly for how close to your ear she was. She swayed a little and you knew by the flush in her cheeks that she was tipsy.

“Come on Wheeler, park it,” you said, bumping her into your stool. She beamed at you, pushing hair away from her face.

“Hey, Gareth, right? You played really well.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Completely forgetting Eddie’s bandmate, you glanced at him to find him watching you. Feeling awkward again, you steadied Nancy as she chatted with the bartender. “Um, I know who you are by the way,” you said, shifting your weight. “We were in English and Biology together during junior year.”

Gareth smiled, making him look younger, and you watched him as he became a little flustered. “Yeah, you always helped me out with the pop quizzes.”

Snorting, you glanced at him. “By helping out do you mean letting you and Jeff cheat off me?”

Laughing, he nodded and you grinned. “Not a lot of people would’ve helped,” he said, “but you were always nice to us. You never let Tommy pick on us either.”

“He wasn’t as much of a bully without his leaders,” you said with a scoff, remembering Steve’s old friends. “Besides, he knew from experience not to fuck with me.”

Clearly that had been the only thing Gareth needed to break the ice because conversation flowed easily after. At one-point, mid-sentence, you glanced over at the dance floor and caught sight of Eddie.

Voice drying up, you watched as he wrapped his arms around a girl a good head shorter than him. She leaned back, eyes sparkling in clear adoration, and you felt your stomach drop to your feet. She had long, beautiful, black hair that you knew was something she was born with – hair that nice had to be genetics. Her entire outfit screamed effortless and grunge in a way you’d never in a million years be able to replicate. She looked like the girlfriend of the guitarist of a band, like someone who fit in, you thought, annoyed.

Whoa, where had that come from? You straightened, realizing you’d completely ignored Gareth. His eyes shot you a knowing look. “That’s Mark’s daughter – the owner of the bar. She’s cool-”

“-I’m sure she is. Um, I’ll be right back,” you said, rushing towards the exit. The cold November air stung as you took a shuddering breath. You watched it evaporate into the air and you frowned.

What the fuck was in the air in that place? Had you gotten jealous? Over Eddie? You shook your head, leaning against the brick wall and placing a hand to your forehead. Get it together, you scolded yourself, get it the fuck together.

“Hey.”

Nearly jumping out of your skin, you whirled around and came face to face with Eddie. He was rubbing his hands together, clearly cold. “You’re shivering,” he said as your mind whirled with an excuse to just drive home.

Before you could tell him you were fine – you hadn’t worn a thick enough coat since you knew you’d be driving to the bar – Eddie had unzipped his hoodie and wrapped it around your shoulders. Clearly, your body was certifiably insane because your arms tucked themselves into the sleeves and latched onto the warmth. Hello? You mind screamed. This is the opposite of getting it together!

“You’ll start to shiver now,” you said, brows furrowing at the sight of his thin long sleeve. Eddie just waved off your concern and tucked his hands into his jean’s pockets. His eyes were wide as you burrowed into his hoodie, his brown ones stuck on your torso. Did he want it back?

“I’ll be fine, I’ve got my leather jacket inside,” he said, voice sounding a little strangled, and his eyes darted over your head, “I just came out to see what the hell had you thinking you could pull an Irish goodbye.”

You hadn’t been aware he was watching you. Mind coming up blank, you looked down towards your hands and immediately regretted it. The motion brought your nose closer to the collar and a waft of Eddie’s stupid smell just wrapped around you. “Uh, I was just getting a bit too hot,” you lied, poorly.

“Right,” Eddie said, “so this would be the right moment to tell you Jared’s party is mostly outside?”

Well, fuck.

“Hey Munson!” A group of guys from one of the earlier bands waves towards the road. “We’re gonna go help Jared set up. You coming?”

“Yeah!” He called out waving them off and turning back to you. “I let Harrington know he could leave his car behind in the parking lot but he said he’s giving a Robin a ride. I don’t mind giving anyone a ride. Byers said he’d take the kids home with Wheeler. She’s a little-”

“-drunk already?” You finished for him with a smile. “Nancy is a certified badass in every way but her alcohol tolerance.” Wrapping your arms around yourself, you tried your best to ignore the waft of cologne that threatened to pull you under.

Eddie laughed, stupidly pretty eyes trailing down to your torso again. His cheeks flushed and you frowned. “So, you want shotgun?”

And like the complete, and absolute mess that you were, you felt yourself nod. “Sure, can’t let Steve have all the fun.”

There was absolutely no way in hell you were telling anyone how absolutely fucking freezing you were. How the fuck did everyone look warm enough? On the ride over, Eddie had the heating blasting and it still didn’t feel like enough.

As Eddie pulled the van into a spot by a house in the woods, everyone in the back piled out and you groaned internally at the gust of air that came through the open side doors.

“Here,” Eddie said, rummaging around the back and pulling out a purple blanket. He tucked it under his arm and motioned to the fire that had already been started. “It’s much warmer in front of the fire, I promise.”

Not needing to be told twice, you sped over to the empty logs by the fire and plopped down. Curling your arms around you, you let the warmth of the flames sink into your skin. “Jesus that’s good,” you said, extending a hand out towards the fire.

Something soft dropped into your lap and Eddie took a seat on the wooden log next to you. “Here, I’ve got a few blankets in the van if you want another.”

Your fingers were curled into the soft material and you blinked up at him. Eddie Munson had warm fluffy blankets in his van?

“I remember that blanket,” Gareth said as he passed you both on his way towards the food. He wiggled his brows at Eddie who looked like he was turning purple.

Car blankets…ew! “Oh my God, is this your sex blanket? Eddie, did you just offer me your hook up blanket?” You asked, staring at the purple cloth suspiciously.

Clearly not expecting that answer, he choked, eyes wildly turning to you. “No, Jesus, Lightning – no it’s not my fucking sex blanket,” he hissed, voice lowering towards the end.

You took in his mildly offended expression and snorted. “Oh, stop looking like I pissed in your cheerios, you’re telling me you’ve never hooked up with a girl in your van? With all that space?”

Eddie’s cheeks turned suspiciously pink and you couldn’t help but grin. “I haven’t hooked up with anyone on that blanket!” He insisted.

Giving it a tentative sniff, the same Eddie scent drifted out and you deemed it suitable. Wrapping the fleece around your shoulders, you tucked yourself into it and almost cried at how warm you felt. Beaming up at Eddie, you leaned your shoulder onto his. “Thank you, Munson.” Jesus, clearly the cold was interfering with your common sense.

Despite your mind screaming into the void, your heart skipped when he smiled softly. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, eyes on the fire.

“Someone’s a little cold,” a voice said, an enormous man sitting onto the log next to you. For a moment, you swore the ground shook.

“Jared,” Eddie greeted, fist bumping against his. “This is-”

“-I know who you are,” Jared said with a grin and you raised your brow. He laughed, eyes scrunching when he did. “You went to school with my little sister. She was on the junior varsity team.”

A flash of Mariah’s face came to the forefront of your mind and you grinned. Mariah had been a freshman right as you’d graduated. Her determined expression, box braids tied neatly back, and wide smile came to mind.

“No shit, I didn’t know she had a brother,” you straightened, smiling up at the giant. “She’s like five feet worth of anger and determination on the field. I helped coach the JV team my last year.”

Jared smiled, his teeth incredibly straight and white. “Yeah, she idolizes you man. Said she wanted to be just like Lightning,” he said, “she told me how you worked with her after practice to get her drills better. Thanks.”

You waved away his gratitude. “No thanks needed; she’s got a great career ahead of her. She’d get scouted in a second – last I heard she wanted to go to Brown?”

“Yeah,” Jared said, clearly proud, “she got the brains.”

“I’m assuming that means you got the brawn?” You asked. Eddie sputtered, trying and failing to hide his laugh.

Jared, amused, shook his head. “Everyone’s gotta mention it,” he said, “if you ask me what the weather is like up here, I’ll kick you out.”

“No, you won’t,” you said, burrowing back into your blanket and smirking up at the man who clearly adored his sister, “or I’ll tell Mariah and she’ll never let you live it down.”

Jared’s laughter echoed around the trees and illuminated the forest. It was the kind of laughter that you couldn’t help but join in on. “Munson, I like this one. How’d you manage to bag Lightning of all people?”

You opened your mouth to tease Eddie but instead he turned a bright red and said adamantly: “We’re not dating, we work together.”

It took everything in your soul to not let your face show how stung you were at how quickly and fervently he said that. Jesus. Alright, he didn’t want to date you – that was crystal clear. “So, you’re single?” Jared said, wiggling his brows. Having known him for exactly five minutes, you could already tell he was joking.

“Keep playing your cards right and maybe I won’t be,” you teased back.

Jared laughed, utterly delighted, and Eddie huffed. “You wouldn’t want Batman coming after you,” he said.

Completely confused, you turned to him and lowered the blanket. “What?”

“Blake?” Eddie said, tone equally confused.

“Oh,” you said, shaking your head, “he’s just a friend. He’s one of my neighbors – he just broke up with his girlfriend and didn’t want to go to the party alone. He knew I…well, I needed the night out so we decided to go together. Then we won the contest and the tequila…”

Eddie’s face went blank and Jared chuckled. “Sounded like a hell of a party.”

“It was, so was the hangover the next morning,” you said, shivering when a strong gust of wind hit you.

“Well, the weather down there looks cold if your teeth chattering is anything to go by,” Jared said, eyes mischievous. “Hey Eddie, why don’t you give her some of my special blend? It always warms people right up.”

Eddie snorted and you turned to glance at both of them. “Is that euphemism for something? Because I may not be as tall as you but I’m scrappy and I’ll kick both your asses.”

Jared’s laugh boomed again and a few people turned to glance at your curiously. “You’re funny, I really like her Munson,” he said, tone suggestive.

Not wanting to go down that particular road – something told you that an older brother like Jared would be ruthless in teasing – you hopped to your feet. “Come on Munson, let’s get this infamous drink.”

You followed Eddie’s lead towards the tables set up by the lone house near the lake. Glancing around, you watched as a few people smiled at you and greeted each other warmly. You had no idea there was such a big metalhead scene in Indiana.

“They like you,” he said, handing you a red cup filled with what smelled like paint stripper.

“A lot of people finding my presence to be scintillating, not everyone despises me the way you do,” you said, quirking a brow at him, you took a sip and almost spat it out into the dirt. What the- “Holy shit what the fuck is that?”

Eddie laughed, eyes turning towards Jared. “He makes this gross moonshine concoction that he swears is great.”

Not able to scrub the taste from your mouth, you shouted: “Jared this tastes like acetone! If I die from ingesting this shit, I’m haunting your ass!”

Jared and his bandmates laughed, waving away your grievances and you rolled your eyes. “A beer, please, I’ll even take some shitty vodka.”

Snorting, Eddie snapped the cap off your bottle with his keys and handed it to you. It was cold but you instantly swashed it around your mouth, trying to get your nerve endings to return.

“I don’t despise you,” Eddie said after he’d opened himself a beer.

“What?” You asked, practically drooling at your attempts to wash down the moonshine. God, your mouth was on fire. Eddie smiled but handed you the bag of chips he’d swiped from the table. Digging into them with gusto, you looked up at him curiously.

“I said, I don’t despise you,” he echoed quietly, his eyes darting down to his beer bottle. You froze, mid-chew and followed his eyesight. Eddie’s thumb was picking at the label relentlessly, the sticky paper peeling as his nail grated at it.

Hating the light awkwardness that had settled in, you shrugged, bumping his shoulders with your own. “High praise coming from Eddie Munson.” Your eyes flittered around the woods and you stood, nodding towards Jared. “Come on, I need to go give him more shit for that drink. I don’t know if I’ll ever taste anything normally again.”

You took off, Eddie’s footsteps and laughter following close behind.

“Did you know that the Harvest Festival opened last week?” You asked Eddie, words slurring.

Eddie nodded, the movement distracting you. “Yeah, Lightning, you’ve told me like six times tonight. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Have I?” You hiccupped, chest shuddering against your permission. “I really want to go.”

“Oh my god, me too!” Robin said, leaning her entire body weight onto your side. Falling over, you stumbled into someone’s lap.

“Liam!” You said, greeting Eddie’s newest bandmate excitedly. Oh my God, you’d found Liam!

“You did find me, I was sitting right below you though,” Liam said, amused, “you okay?”

Not moving an inch, you stretched towards the fire and nodded. “Yeah, totally!” You realized he’d been mid conversation with a blonde girl and you thrusted your hand out. “Hi!”

Her green eyes crinkled with amusement and she shook your hand. “Nice to meet you again,” she said.

“You’re so pretty,” you told her.

Her cheeks went pink and she ducked her head, her leather jacket rustling with the movement. Robin, who’d ended up sprawled next to you nodded enthusiastically. “So pretty,” she agreed. “I love your fishnet tights.”

“It works really well with the outfit,” you added. “I would date the shit out of you.”

“Me too!” Robin laughed, falling half into you.

The girl, looking pleased and amused, laughed. “Munson, I like your friends. They’re good for my ego,” she said, helping you sit back up onto the log and squeezing your shoulder.

Eddie popped out of nowhere and you squealed. “Eddie!” You wrapped your arms around his and tugged him down towards you. God, he was so warm. “Where’d you come from? Have you met Liam and his pretty girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” he said, laughing lightly, “I have met Liam and Alianna.”

“I missed you,” you said softly, leaning your head onto his shoulder and closing your eyes. The fire had begun to spin and you felt the faintest nausea roll through your belly.

A few soft fingers danced across your cheek and pushed the hair out of your face. Eddie’s big brown eyes swam into your vision, steady and a little amused, and you grinned. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he said, fingers still at your cheek, “I missed you too.”

“That’s an understatement,” Liam laughed, his eyes on the two of you, and you watched Eddie lean down to punch his shoulder.

“Shut the fuck up, she’s drunk,” Eddie hissed.

You weren’t drunk, you thought, you’d barely had a cup of that acetone. “Good,” you said when his eyes were back on yours, “I’m a very miss-able person.”

“You are,” he nodded, eyes darting away from yours and glaring towards the man at your feet. “I was gone for about five minutes and it’s because I needed to grab you two these.” With a flourish, a pair of water bottles appeared from thin air.

Stumbling up to your feet, you felt your eyes widen as you gasped. “Oh my God, you’re magic.”

“Something like that,” Eddie said, helping Robin open hers.

“Where’s Steve?” You gulped down your water and managed to spill a bit onto your chin.

“Right here. Jesus, are you two drunker than when I left fifteen minutes ago? I found a few bags in case they puke on the way home.”

“I drank Liam’s beer,” Robin declared and you cheered, liking the beaming smile she sent your way. “Holy shit. Lightning look!”

Whirling around to follow her finger, Eddie’s hand came up quickly to steady you. Not able to find what Robin was clearing gasping at, you blinked at her. “What?”

“A bunny!”

You clasped your hands in front of your chest and shrieked. “A bunny!?” You loved bunnies! And dogs. And clouds. And snow!

Steve snorted. “I highly doubt-”

“Race you!” You screamed, shaking Eddie’s hand off and darting out into the trees.

Robin’s laughter and heavy footsteps followed you but she’d quickly veered to the left. You hesitated, hearing Eddie and Steve shout out your names.

“Fuck, they’re both fast. I’m closer to Rob – just, go – she can run across the field in a minute, hurry!” Steve’s voice echoed.

You gasped. They wanted to find the bunny first. Grinning, you felt the strength in your legs as you pumped your arms and sped off through the trees. You could see the field in your mind, feel the ball at your feet and the wall of defense you needed to get through before you got the goal.

With a well-practiced kick, a zing of pain shot through your leg when the rock cracked in two against the tree a few feet ahead.

“Holy shit,” Eddie said, hand clamping down painfully tight on your wrist. “You – you run really fast.”

“I’m a center forward,” you said, still jumping up and down a little at your successful goal, “did you see that? I scored!”

Eddie blinked at you. “What the hell are you talking about? Jesus you should’ve stopped after the fourth cup.”

You pouted, crossing your arms. “Eddie, didn’t you see me score?”

“Of course I did, who’d you score against? The bunny?”

Bunny? “What bunny?” You asked, tilting your head and stumbling when the motion made the world spin.

Eddie’s arm pulled you towards him so your back was to his chest and his arms cradled you.

“It’s dizzy in the woods,” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. “You have a bunny?”

At your wide-eyed look, Eddie tossed his head back and laughed. “You’re kind of hilarious, you know that?”

Obviously. “Duh.”

“Maybe we should walk back and tell everyone how you scored,” he said gently, tugging you forward.

That was a great idea! You thought, letting Eddie tug you back towards the flickering warm light. “Can you help me take off this jacket?” You asked him, feeling warm.

“Let’s keep it on,” Eddie said quickly, “it’s cold and you could get sick.”

“But I’m hot,” you whined, stomping your foot.

Eddie groaned. “Please? For me?” Ugh, those stupid eyes.

Conceding, you resumed walking and remembered. “Hey, the quarter is almost over,” you said, “the best employee is going to be picked soon.”

“I promise to bring you back some leftovers,” Eddie teased and you grinned.

Thinking on the cake you’d been dreaming of, you nodded. “If you win, bring me some cake okay? Pinky promise?”

Surrounded by Eddie’s laughter and his fingers hooked in yours, the lights from the party still swam in your vision, the ground felt more solid beneath you.

Suddenly, a memory shoved your smile aside and you frowned.

“It was all a joke.”

Eddie wasn’t to be trusted. He’d left you. He broke promises. He wasn’t going to bring you cake.

Upset, you stopped walking and looked to him. “Why?” Because that’s all you’d ever really wanted to know. Why had he done that to you?

“Why what? Why am I half carrying you back to the clearing? Because knowing you, you’d get lost trying to drunkenly run after a bunny in the woods,” he said with a laugh.

“No,” you grunted, pulling your arm out of his. The bubbly feeling in your chest was replaced with a soft, familiar, hurt. It radiated outwards, your skin crawled with it. “Why’d you do that to me? You really…hurt my feelings.”

“What are you talking about?” He asked, ducking his head to catch your gaze.

The way he softened his tone, his eyes warm and inviting, lured you in like a moth to a flame. “I hate that I still like the sound of your voice,” you said, annoyed at yourself and scrunching your nose. “You’re so pretty and it’s not fair. In math class I’d stare at you the whole period. Did you know that you stick your tongue out when you concentrate really hard?”

“What?”

“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to kiss you.”

Looking stunned, Eddie blinked. “Am I?” He asked, looking confused and pleased. “Do you? Exactly how much have you had to drink?”

Ready to tell him all the ways you thought he was beautiful; you were interrupted by Steve’s voice. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?” He panted, out of breath. “I got Robin shoved back into my car. I think it’s best if we just crash at my place, it’s the closest. A few others need rides though.”

“I can drive her to yours,” Eddie offered quickly, hand coming up to your elbow.

Steve shrugged. “I can take her or you can just stay over too.”

Eddie frowned, looking unhappy. You poked at his cheek and giggled when he smiled down at you. “Are you…sure?”

“Dude, I helped keep your skin together while you bled out in her lap. Crashing on my sofa at almost five? in the morning,” Steve groaned and you giggled, “isn’t crossing any lines.”

Eddie turned back to you. “Come on Superstar, we’re going home,” he urged you forward. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow morning.”

“Let’s take some more of the m’shine,” you whispered to Eddie, stumbling over roots. “That stuff is good.”

His laughter echoed in your bones and you smiled up at him. “I’ll make sure to tell Jared you said that.”

Fuck, you groaned, sharp pain digging into your skull and slapping your brain like the little bitch it was. “There go my corneas,” you hissed, clutching at your head.

Where the fuck were you? You glanced around and caught sight of a snoring Robin on the bed next to you. Steve’s house.

Flashes of last night came back to you and you groaned. What in the hell had possessed you to drink a whole ass cup of moonshine? You were going to kill Steve. Just come out with us, what’s the worst that could happen?

It took you about five minutes to talk yourself up to standing. You felt like you had the equilibrium of a baby deer as you darted into the bathroom across the hall. Locking the door and hurrying over to the toilet you realized you’d managed to change into the pajama set you kept in Steve’s guest room. Smiling, a fuzzy memory bubbled up and you remembered laughing so hard you cried when Robin had gotten her head stuck in her sweatpants while trying to change.

A loud whirring sound startled you to attention. As quickly as you could, you splashed your face and brushed your teeth to get the taste of last night’s events out your mouth.

Feeling mildly better, you grimaced when the light from the hallway reawakened your migraine. Squinting your eyes, you tried to stumble towards the noise coming from the kitchen in the hopes that someone was brewing coffee.

You were a few feet away from the swinging door when you heard your name. Freezing in place, you peeked through the circular window and watched Steve hand Eddie a mug.

“I don’t know dude…” Eddie said, “she looked pretty sad but I don’t understand…she said some stuff. I just want to talk to her.”

Steve sighed. “Listen, I promised her I wouldn’t take sides but you have to give her some space. She’s not good at – this wasn’t easy for her. Working with you, you gotta understand that right?”

You winced. What the fuck Steve? What the hell was unclear about ‘don’t speak about this ever?’

“Right…” Eddie said, still sounding unsure.

“I’m not judging you, it was a long time ago now, and people change but, she’s still hurt. She tries to hide it but-”

“She’s hurt?” The indignation in Eddie’s voice confused you. What the hell did he have to be mad about?

You heard Steve’s soft laughter. “Besides, you both looked pretty cozy to me last night. I see the way you look at her. She might be blind to it, but we’re not. Dustin definitely isn’t.”

Eddie sputtered, and you heard the nerves in his tone as he stumbled over his words. The instinct to defend yourself, to deny it, was so strong you had to grab the doorknob to keep you steady. You wanted to hear what Eddie had to say. Blind to what?

“That’s-”

“Dingus!” Robin’s voice cried, “Is that coffee I smell? God my head feels like fucking lead!”

She bumped into you, jarring your heads, and you both groaned at the same time.

“Sorry,” she moaned, “I didn’t hear you come out the bathroom. My brain is pounding.”

You did your best to look like you weren’t just eavesdropping on them and waved away her apologies. Robin shoved the doors and you followed suit.

Steve grinned, his eyes teasing over his mug of coffee and you knew you were going to pay for the shit you’d given him the last time you had to pick up him from a bar.

“So, let’s recap the night, shall we?”

Robin groaned and you stood in silence, sipping at your coffee, taking each teasing jab with a smile or scowl. Eddie’s arm brushed against yours as you sat at the kitchen island next to him and you jumped. He smiled, making room for you, and you mumbled your thanks. The memory of his arms wrapping around you in the woods flashed through your mind and you stiffened. Shit. Had you said anything embarrassing? Just be normal, be cool, you snapped at yourself.

Despite everything, you still felt Eddie’s eyes on you the whole morning.

This was weird. You were being weird.

And yet…you had still shrugged Eddie’s hoodie on over your shoulders this morning. The worn material was soft and warm.

There was absolutely no reason, aside from your clear temporary insanity, for you to be wearing it. In fact, you should’ve returned it to him the next day. But here you were. In your car, panicking about Eddie seeing you in it and scrambling to take it off. You had reached for it that morning without realizing that you had a whole shift with him.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” You muttered to yourself, pulling on your outer coat on and checking your hair.

In your defense, everything between you two seemed to have shifted after that night – after the party. Despite the fact that you couldn’t remember half of the night. Eddie had done a one eighty and spent most of his time being…well…nice to you. You were both still trying to win the dinner but, it was about making yourself look good rather than making Eddie seem lacking.

It’d been a whole five days and you hadn’t had a single homicidal thought once. That had to be a record; something of that caliber had to be documented.

So, because of all this – you’d yet to give back the sweater. He hadn’t asked you for it and you’d possibly taken advantage of that. Last night, you’d had a nightmare about Homecoming and it had been enough of a wake-up call that you’d become resolute in returning it to him today.

While you’d laid down the metaphorical pitchfork, your suspicion still lingered. You couldn’t help it at this point, it was in your nature.

“Hey,” you said, walking into the store.

Eddie whipped his head around to you and smiled. “Good morning, Lightning.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled when he shot you one of his stupid soft smiles. You weren’t sure if it was guilt from hoarding his sweater or a genuine effort at peace, but you pulled out the breakfast muffins you’d baked last night. Coming out to the counter, you hopped into the high chair and placed the second muffin onto the far left.

“Would it be presumptuous of me to assume that the second one is for me?” Eddie’s voice drifted over from the sci-fi section.

“It would be actually, that’s my second helping,” you said, hiding your smile as you turned to check the returns bin.

Eddie gripped his chest and pretended like he’d been shot. “You wound me, m’lady.”

With a light laugh, you shook your head and waved to the muffin. “You never eat breakfast and I made too many of them…”

His brown eyes softened, his hand coming out to cradle the baked good in his hands. “I can’t believe I’m finally worthy of a Lightning Special.”

Quirking a brow, you watched him take a big bite. He moaned around the food, your heart tripping over itself, and shook his head. “What the hell is a Lightning Special?”

“It’s what I call whatever you’d cooked. You’d always bring Steve or Robin some extras and I’d never admit it, but they always smelled amazing.”

“I would’ve given you some if you’d asked,” you mumbled, smirking when he shot you a disbelieving look. “I don’t know why you’ve got this idea I’m a gremlin or something. I’d like to think most people think I’m polite.”

Eddie snorted and you crumpled up your napkin to chuck at him. “Eddie! Fine, see if I ever bring you something else.”

“Oh, come on,” he said, rolling his eyes when you crossed your arms. With a dramatic flourish unique to Eddie, he walked over to your chair, bowed, and pressed a hand to his heart. “I’m so sorry your highness, can you ever forgive me?”

“Buy me a coffee on break and I’ll think about it.”

With a wide grin, he snapped his fingers. “Done!”

You hopped off the chair, your stupid vest getting stuck on the arm, and stumbled forward. Eddie’s hands steadied your arms and the both of you froze. Noses a few inches apart, you blinked up at him. “I-I’m stuck,” you stuttered, wincing when you heard your own voice. Mistaking your wince for pain, Eddie’s hand darted to the garment and freed you.

“Thanks,” you said, not able to look at him in the eye. Both of you awkwardly took a few steps back – Eddie’s hand coming up to the back of his neck.

“Right, yeah, no problem,” he stammered, walking back to the discarded muffin.

Not wanting the awkwardness to linger, shit – maybe you had gotten used to the ceasefire, you reached for his forearm and were struck by how warm he was. “I promise to bring you some of the baked stuff when I make them,” you said. Eddie’s eyes softened and you watched as they dipped, for a millisecond, down to your lips. Suddenly, it felt too hard to inhale properly.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said eventually.

The bell on the door rang and you both jumped apart. “Hi, welcome to Family Video,” you both said, a touch too loud. Amused, you shot him a look that he laughed at.

“Hi! I’m looking for Eddie – oh, hey Eddie,” a soft voice said. You glanced up and realized you faintly recognized the girl standing by the doors.

Eddie’s cheeks flushed and you blinked, surprised. The girl he was dancing with at the Hideout, your mind supplied. You watched her tuck a strand of inky shiny black hair behind her ear and you fought the urge to scowl.

Without any prodding, you pointed to Keith’s office. “Oh, I totally forgot I need something from there, right now,” you said, ushering yourself into his office before anyone could say anything.

Unsure of what to do, and definitely not wanting to touch anything, you sat on the edge of the chairs by his desk. God, Keith really needed to clean this room. Ew, was that a moldy sandwich?

Keeping the door ajar, you tried your best not to listen in but your mind wouldn’t shut off.

“Gareth said you wouldn’t mind, I swear I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate,” she said, her voice too soft for you to hear anything after.

Eddie’s mumbled something. “-I owe you one.”

“Thank you so much! Can you pick me up around eight? I’ll wear the blue dress from the bar.”

“It’s a date.”

A date? Your heart stilled. Of course they were dating – she looked like his perfect match. Trying your best to ignore the sudden pressure in your chest, you looked around for something you could use as an excuse.

The bell to the front rang again and you shot up to your feet, anxiety ricocheting. Grabbing the first thing you saw, an empty folder on Keith’s desk, you walked out with your eyes on the ground.

“Oh, you just missed Clara,” Eddie said, “you met her at the bar last week.”

“Yeah?” You said, disinterested.

“She said to tell you that she’ll sell you her kidney if you give her the recipe for the muffins,” he said, smile growing.

Your eyes, however, darted to the muffin wrapper crumpled up on the counter. He’d given it to her? The knot in your throat grew and you nodded. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

Eddie’s brows furrowed and you just turned to the shelves. “Hot date?” You asked, like the masochist you were.

“You overheard?” Eddie asked with an anxious smile. Jesus, you cringed internally, did he need to be so in your face about it? “I’m a little nervous to go but, you know, at least this time I know I won’t be stood up. It’s all a joke anyway.”

Your blood froze. “What’d you just say?”

The front door rang again, Robin’s face coming into your peripheral as she yawned. “Hey guys,” she said, eyeing your clenched hands. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you really just say that to me?” You asked, a little disbelieving.

“Say what? That I might not be stood up?” He asked, confused.

It was getting hard to breathe, the anxiety bubbling up in your chest. You really couldn’t believe it - Eddie could be mean, rude, loud - but he was never cruel. You both had an unspoken rule never to talk about it, and he broke it.

Not able to keep the words down, they spilled out with vengeance. “Wow, you’re going to throw Homecoming back at my face now? After all this time?”

Eddie’s face morphed into confusion. “Homecoming? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Right,” you snorted, the painful memories floating to the surface. “I can’t believe I thought you’d changed. That you were actually going to be nice to me.”

“I am nice to you! What the fuck is going on?” He hissed.

Robin stepped up between you both, her hand coming up to you. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“He’s what’s wrong!” You blurted out, the tension of the last few weeks spilling out. “You know what you did to me – I thought we agreed never to talk about it. Wasn’t it embarrassing enough?”

“What I did to you?” Eddie half-shouted.

Robin shot him a hard look. “Everyone, let’s calm down for a second-”

“Good morning,” Keith’s voice boomed in the empty store. Steve walked in behind him, brows raised, as he caught onto the tension in the air.

Oblivious, Keith strode towards his office. “I just need to grab something I left. I will let you both know -- I’ve submitted my notes to the senior supervisor and we should have our first employee of the month by tomorrow!”

Feeling like you were underwater, you grounded yourself with Robin’s touch. “Hey, look at me, what happened? What did Eddie do?”

“Nothing! I’m the one who looked like an idiot that day!” Eddie hissed.

You stepped back, as if he’d struck you, and you realized Steve’s expression had turned thunderous.

“Hey, dude, that was uncalled for. I thought we talked about this,” he said, moving to stand by your side.

“Talk about what?” Robin asked again.

“Ask him,” you said, pointing to Eddie. Turning to the back room, you scrambled to get your things, tears making your vision swim.

As you stalked back out, you saw Robin holding Steve back by the arm. Bypassing them both, you turned to Eddie, anger coming off you in waves. “I can’t believe you,” you snapped at him, “you - you can’t just joke about that night. Wasn’t it enough that you just fucking left me there? You knew how much I liked you. I can’t do this anymore. Hey Keith? I don’t want the dinner. Eddie and his date deserve it.”

Without looking back, you slammed the door open and all but peeled out the parking lot. The grip on your steering wheel was so tight you were sure you’d have bruises. As you made you way home, you let your mind wander back to that night.

“Just go ask him!” Anne urged you, her eyes sparkling. “Look, he’s alone right now!”

Your fingers fluttered nervously around the hem of your shirt. “But what if he laughs at me?”

“He won’t!”

“You don’t know that!”

Anne huffed exaggeratedly. “Oh my God, just go ask him!” She shoved you into the room and darted away like the traitor she was.

Eddie looked up, surprised at the sound of someone else in the room. When he saw it was you, his smile bloomed. Your stomach fluttered, anxiety doubling. You’d only recently started talking to each other, after your biology project together last semester.

“Hey you,” Eddie said, dropping the papers in his hand onto the table. “What are you doing here?”

Sputtering, you stumbled over your words. “Hi. I – uh-”

“Are you joining the dnd club?” Eddie asked incredulously.

“No – hey, wait why’d you say it like that?” You crossed your arms, nervousness forgotten for a moment.

Eddie’s hands shot up, brows smoothing. “I didn’t say it like anything!”

“I could be here for dnd,” you insisted, not sure why you felt so indignant about it.

“Are you?” Eddie asked after a beat.

Clearing your throat, you tried to hide your embarrassment. “Well, no…”

“I knew it!” He said, grinning smugly. “What can I do for you fair maiden?”

You watched Eddie go back to setting up for his campaign. Glancing at the time, you realized if you were going to ask him – you had to ask him now. Before any of his friends showed up. Besides, if he rejected you then you had all weekend to sulk about it.

“Um, are you going to the Homecoming dance?”

Eddie snorted and your heart sunk. “It’s Sadie Hawkins this year. Who’s going to ask me?” He said, completely unselfconsciously.

“Oh.”

His eyes turned towards yours and he blinked, surprised by what he found. “Are you...wait, are you asking if I’m going or asking if I’ll go with you?”

“I-I…” You wrung your hands together, anxiety bubbling. Maybe you should just leave…you could lie and tell Anne that he said he wasn’t going. Surely the girls wouldn’t force you to try again.

Something shifted in Eddie’s gaze and you suddenly felt a surge of courage in your chest. Squaring your shoulders, you nodded to yourself.

“Eddie Munson,” you said, “will you go to the Homecoming dance with me?”

After a beat of silence, Eddie’s blank expression morphed into a wide smile. “Really?”

“I…I really like you,” you admitted, mortification softening at the sight of his grin growing even wider. “I’d like to go with you. If you want to go with me.”

Eddie blinked.

“Eddie?” You asked, stepping closer when he didn’t answer.

He jolted, as if he’d been shocked and bobbled his head furiously. “Oh, yeah – definitely, like fucking absolutely.”

You brought your hand up to hide your laughter at his half-screamed reply. “Okay, um, cool,” you said, scuffing your cleats onto the linoleum floor.

“Do you wanna meet in the parking lot?” You asked. “Before the dance?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, still staring at you a little incredulously. You smiled at him and watched as the red flush traveled down his neck.

“Okay, um, so I’ll see you later?” You asked as you heard faint footsteps coming towards the room.

Eddie straightened. “Yeah, I’ll see you Monday.”

With a grin, you waved awkwardly and darted out the room. Before you could fully let the door close, you heard Eddie’s loud ‘yessss!’

Not able to keep in your laugh, you rushed over to the doors and saw Anne leaning against the frame.

“So?” She asked, perking up.

Grinning, you threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “I owe you a milkshake.”

Anne squealed and you laughed, following her towards your bikes.

“I don’t understand, you talked to him two days ago right?” Anne asked, her hands fluttering nervously. Her date, Mark, looked just as anxious. The dance had started an hour ago and upon not seeing you inside, Anne had come looking for you.

“Yeah,” you said, swallowing around the lump in your throat. “He kissed me on the cheek and said he couldn’t wait. I told him what color my dress was going to be – h-he said his uncle told him that was important.”

“Maybe something happened,” Mark added, eyes wide. “Like an emergency?”

Not having thought of that, you straightened. Anne’s hand almost knocked you in the face as she pointed towards a couple walking towards the doors. “That’s his friend, right? The one he plays with? Go ask him! Aw shit, I forgot my bag on the table. I’ll be right back.”

You whirled around to look at where she’d pointed and hurried over to him. His date, a pretty girl in red, tugged on his hand as you made your way over.

“Hi, um, Jeff right?”

“Yeah,” he said gruffly, eyes glaring. “What do you want? He’s not here.”

Confused, you took a few steps back. “I know – I wanted to ask you if you knew where he was? I’ve been waiting-”

“He knows, okay?” Jeff said with a sneer. “He knows what you did.”

“What I did?” You asked, not sure what he was talking about. Jeff’s eyes drifted over your shoulder to where Mark stood at a distance.

Jeff’s eyes hardened. “It was all a joke – a stupid joke. I can’t believe you even showed up.”

Your heart plummeted to your feet. A joke? He’d accepted as a joke? But Eddie…he couldn’t have…

“Go back to your real date and do us a favor and stay away,” Jeff warned, walking past you and heading inside.

Frozen to the spot, you felt the tears spill over as a hand wrapped around your wrist. Anne’s frown swam into your blurry vision and she shook you. “What happened? Mark, what happened? What’d he say?”

“I need to call…I need to call your sister. Would she come pick me up?”

“Jesse? Yeah, she would. But what happened?”

Not able to speak past the lump in your throat, you burst into tears and Anne’s nervous hands fluttered over you. “Okay, okay – Mark, go call my sister. Tell her she needs to come back now.”

It was all a stupid joke. Of course, he didn’t want to come to some stupid dance. Not with you.

You called out of work for the week. At this point, you didn’t care if Keith fired you.

For the first few days, like clockwork, Steve and Robin took turns calling your house. Your sister had made it her job to speed to the phone before your mom, letting them know that you were sick and couldn’t come to the phone. She’d been too little to remember your middle school Homecoming but, you promised you’d make it up to her.

On the third day of your self-imposed quarantine, your mom brought you up some lunch midday. “You know,” she said quietly, her hand coming out to rub your calf. “The supermarket was looking for someone to work morning shifts. It’d give you enough time until you start your semester next year.”

“Thanks mom,” you said quietly, still wrapped in your comforter. “I’ll check it out.”

With a soft sigh, she pressed a kiss to your forehead and nodded. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

On the fourth day, you finally decide that you’ve moped for long enough. This was something you needed to move on from. How pathetic to still be upset over something that had happened in middle school?

Except it mattered to you, your mind added helpfully, because you really like him.

“Shut up,” you hissed at yourself.

“We didn’t say anything yet,” a voice behind you said.

Squealing in surprise, you instinctively threw the socks you’d been folding at the sound. The cotton bundles bounced off Robin’s chest and you brought your hand up to your face. “Jesus fucking Christ, you scared the shit out of me.”

Robin rolled her eyes and walked into your room like she always did. Steve, a little sheepishly, waved and sat by your desk.

“How did you get inside?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“Your mom when she was leaving for work,” Steve said, shooting Robin a look.

“I live a house down, I can see that you haven’t left yet,” Robin huffed. “Keith has us all on double shifts until you’re back Sunday, the least you could do is look happy to see us.”

“Well,” you grumbled, “I’m busy.”

“Super busy,” she said, motioning to the laundry on your bed.

“Robin…”

Her indignant expression softened. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought you both hated each other over some stupid high school clique stuff.”

“To be fair I didn’t tell anyone.”

Robin’s arm shot out too fast for Steve to avoid it. He grunted as her knuckles hit his sternum. “You told Dingus!”

“To be fair, I was drunk and a little stressed post-Vecna win,” you turned to Steve for corroboration and he nodded.

“She was,” he snorted, “she puked in my mom’s rosebush.”

A flash of that night echoed in your mind. You winced. Jesus, you really needed to stay away from tequila. “I don’t want to talk about it,” you told Robin, “I asked Keith to keep me on closings. Just for a while.”

“You both can’t avoid each other forever. Eddie-”

Not wanting to hear his name, you put up your hand. “I don’t want to talk about it!”

Robin huffed. “But he said-”

“I don’t care what he said! He can date whoever he wants to date! This is such a stupid thing to be upset over anyway. I’m over it. It’s ancient history.”

You could see Robin turn to Steve. Catching his gaze with yours, you watched his eyes soften at whatever he found. God, you must look really pathetic if Steve looked like he wanted to wrap you in a blanket and hide with you. He shook his head. “Leave it alone Rob.”

She sighed, exasperated. “We can’t let this go on like this Harrington. They have to talk it out!”

“Robin.”

She sighed and flopped down onto the bed. “Fine. You’re both idiots.”

“Thank you,” you said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Robin frowned but let you change the subject to Keith’s newest blubber.

You’d made it an entire week of shifts without running into Eddie. Robin still grumbled when his name was brought up but she kept her word and let it go. Or so you’d thought.

Honestly, you should’ve known better. She was like a dog with a bone.

“Hey,” Robin bounded up to you as you locked the front doors. “Wanna see if we can catch the last of the festival?”

Checking your watch, you frowned. “We’re not going to make it. Doesn’t it close at eleven?”

“Yeah, but some rides stay open a little later. It takes a while for everyone to clear. Besides, it’s only in town for a few more days!”

You turned to Steve, who was swinging his keys around his fingers. He shrugged, his expression a little too casual. “We could pass by on the way home. I don’t mind.” Considering he was your ride, you nodded.

“Sure?”

It took you three another thirty minutes before you were all in Steve’s BMW, cruising down towards Waverly.

The entire park was dark, only a few rides lighting up what was clearly a deserted clearing. Robin, not one to ever be deterred, hopped out the car. “I think the Ferris Wheel is still on! Let’s see if we can grab some funnel cake.”

“Go ahead, I’ll follow,” Steve said, motioning towards a quickly disappearing Robin.

Wincing at the dark. “Am I the only one who’s retained a healthy fear of what hides in the dark after all our escapades?”

Steve huffed a laugh. “I don’t think Russians are hiding in there. Go on, you’re gonna lose her,” he nodded towards a bouncing Robin.

Hopping out the car, she beamed and immediately started towards the rides.

“Robin, I think the festival is closed now,” you huffed, trying not to lose her from your sight. She barreled forward, quick, and you were struggling to keep up.

“They said some rides stay open late,” she insisted, turning a corner.

Grunting, you jogged to catch up. “Jesus, what is the hurry-” your voice trailed off as you caught sight of the only illuminated ride. Robin was standing off to the side, her expression apologetic.

Eddie stood by carousel, his hands tucked into his pockets and his shoulders up by his ears.

“No,” you said, already turning around to head back towards Steve’s car. Robin’s hand caught you quickly, her grip surprisingly tight. “Is this a prank? Do you guys think this is a joke?” You asked Robin, feeling beyond hurt this time.

“Hey, no,” she said quickly arms coming to yours. “I wouldn’t do that to you, I swear. You know me.”

You did. Robin didn’t have a mean bone in her body.

“Just, hear him out? You don’t need to forgive him but he’s got an explanation. A stupid one,” she said loudly, and you watched as Eddie winced, “but I think you need to hear it to move on from all of this.”

“Robin…”

“Yeah, I’m not buying your whole – it was middle school, I’m over it, bullshit. Please? I’m going to be over there with Steve probably eavesdropping if you need me or want to leave at any moment,” she said, “Steve said he’s open and ready to punch anyone you need him to.”

“I punch harder than Steve,” you said, crossing your arms.

“Dustin punches harder than Steve,” Robin said, “it’s the thought that counts.’

You rolled your eyes, tears building at the corners. Glancing back to Eddie, you nodded. “Okay.”

Catching sight of Gareth, he waved weakly at you. Lifting a hand back, you ignored Eddie’s hand and climb up the steep stairs by yourself. “What’s he doing here?” You asked Eddie, your first words to him since that day in at the store.

“He’s doing me a favor and keeping it open for a little while later. I know you said you had wanted to come here,” Eddie explained, nodding towards Gareth who had moved towards the control station. You climbed into a carriage instead of a horse and sat.

Eddie, for a moment, looked like he was going to sit next to you but the withering glare you sent his way gave him pause. Instead, he made his way towards the horse next to your carriage and awkwardly stood by the pole.

“How long is this ride?” You asked.

“Three minutes.”

You checked your watch. “You’ve got three minutes Munson. What the hell is so important you orchestrated all this to get me here?”

He opened his mouth and you felt your anger flare all over again. “You know you really have some nerve,” you huffed, not letting him speak.

Eddie sighed. “Lightning-”

“-don’t call me that! I can’t believe you’d-”

“-I’ve been in love with you since middle school!” He shouted over you, chest heaving.

Shocked into silence, you felt your eyes widen and watched Eddie as his skin flushed.

“You were the nicest seventh grader I had ever met,” Eddie started, his voice straining to be louder than the music. “You were the star of the soccer team, fast as lighting. Anytime someone was mean to me, or my friends, you were always the first to come to my defense. You never said anything about my nail polish, our club, about the band t-shirts, or the shaved head.”

Eddie took a deep breath. “When we were sophomores and they announced that the Homecoming was going to be a Sadie Hawkins theme, I was crushed. It was the first dance we were allowed to attend and I had spent the entire first semester determined to finally ask you to go,” he said and ran a hand through his hair.

“I thought, there’s no way you’ll ask me. We’d done that project together but after all that time, I didn’t even think you knew my name. Then, that day afterschool, you came up to me and asked me to the dance. I couldn’t believe it. I think I must’ve told Wayne about it like a hundred times that week. He’d worked a few extra shifts to get me my first suit. I wanted everything to be perfect. Then, a week before the dance, Gareth and Jeff had overheard the soccer team talking about you betting over your dates to the Homecoming dance.”

Your brows furrowed and Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’d decided I was going to confront you – because, there was no way you’d made a bet. You were nice – you wouldn’t do that. I had barely gotten to the field when I heard your friends mention how it was all a joke. ‘I can’t believe she took the bet to ask Eddie out to the dance,’ they all laughed and I got pissed. I wanted to find you and call you out on it.”

What? Why the hell would your team say that?

“Eddie, I-” He held up a hand and you frowned.

“Before I could find you, I ran into Brittney. Who, after realizing I was looking for you, told me that you’d never meant it. That it had all been a joke. So, as a completely and utterly heartbroken fifteen-year-old, I avoided you after that. You’d slipped that note into my locker about meeting me in the parking lot before the dance and I couldn’t believe you’d be so…well, cruel. I stayed home the entire night, playing video games with Gareth and Liam. You never said anything the next day after the dance, Jeff didn’t either – he says he’s sorry by the way - then you started dating the men’s soccer captain so I assumed…”

What the fuck?

“Wait Brittney?” You asked, confused, he nodded. You briefly remembered how much she’d hated you. “Brittney Johnson told you I had been joking? That bitch.” Oh my God, you were going to fucking strangle her the next time you saw her. Eddie looked more confused at your outburst but you urged him to continue.

“While I managed to avoid you successfully, you were always in my peripheral and you’re so fucking beautiful it hurt. So, when you popped up in the shack at Rick’s house with everyone else, it was just the safer option with what was going on to fall into the constant arguing. You argued back so I thought, this was safe. We could both let stupid high school shit go?

Then…well…you believed me. When I told you about Chrissy – when we went back down there, you fought next to me. You were there when I woke up,” Eddie cleared his throat, eyes flashing.

“Then the whole best employee thing happened and uh, then it became apparent to me that maybe you had a different recollection of that week.”

Holy shit. You rubbed your temple as a headache bloomed at the base of your skull. You’d realized that the ride had long been over, both of you facing the lit Ferris Wheel.

Rubbing the tension building in your temples, you nodded. “Uh yeah. My friend Molly - the only other freshman on the team, had been bet by the other junior girls on the team that she wouldn’t ask out her crush, Teddy - a junior. She asked and he accepted but everyone was worried he’d find out it was a bet because they actually liked each other. That had nothing to do with me. Brittney was a jealous bitch because I'd managed to get captain over her and she knew how much I liked you,” you thought back to all those times in the locker room you’d spent with Jessica urging you to ask Eddie to the dance. “I'm going to rake her fucking eyes out,” you said to yourself.

Eddie blinked, looking dumbstruck. “So what you’re saying is that I stood you up for no reason. Because I’m an idiot?”

“An eavesdropping idiot,” you said through a disbelieving smile. “Although, to be fair, having Brittney confirm it for you probably didn't help. You should've...come to me. I don't - I didn't think you thought I was capable of something like that.”

“Right,” Eddie said faintly.

A little hurt, you kicked at the edge of the carriage you sat in. “I wouldn’t have done something like that – to anyone. I don’t… know why you thought I would’ve. I always saw how people treated you and hated it. I never let anyone on either soccer team mess with you or your friends. Even after...I was so excited to go with you - I thought you were really cool and sweet.”

“Sweet?”

The memory of the first time you’d talked to Eddie floated up to the front of your mind. “Yeah. After what you did in seventh grade…”

“What?”

You sighed. “I tripped in gym class and smacked my head into the goal post. I was mortified but you took me to the nurse’s office and stayed with me the entire period. You told jokes and made me laugh. I don’t know, I always sought you out afterwards. Besides, you know,” you said pointedly. You didn’t want to say it – he had to know.

He took a step forward, as if that would draw it out of you. “I really don’t and even if I did, I’ve had enough assumptions to last a lifetime.”

Not able to keep it to yourself, and tired of the misunderstandings, you shrugged. “You’re beautiful Eddie, how could I not have a crush on you? I thought…you did too until I was standing at the dance, in my new dress, with your friends letting me know you weren’t coming. That you’d never taken my offer seriously. Because who would want to go with some stupid jock?”

Eddie smiled before groaning and clutching at his temple. “Oh my god, I’m a fucking idiot.”

You shrugged, the lump in your throat growing. What a fucking mess. “Listen, its history, at this point. We had a massive misunderstanding, for years, and now we’ve cleared it up. I promise to try and stay out of your way-”

“No,” Eddie said quickly, “I don’t - I like being friends.”

“Is that what we were? Have we ever been?”

Hurt flashed across his face before he ducked his head and scuffed his shoe against the metal. “Do you think we could-”

“No,” you said quickly, your walls coming back up.

You had officially given up on this. This, whatever this was, between you two was too difficult to try and make work.

“Right,” Eddie nodded, eyes on the horse to your left, “that was a stupid question, sorry.”

Feeling the urge to comfort him, you clenched your hands into fists. “I’m not - I’m just, it’s a lot to process. I need to get my head on straight for Spring semester. I’m starting school and it’s been a lot with everything going on. I just…I need time. Maybe we can be friends for once.”

Eddie nodded dumbly, his eyes following you as you stood and made your way towards the steps. You turned to him and ask. “Why the festival?”

A ghost of a smile twitched at his lips. “You said you’ve been dying to go but had closing shifts almost all month. I thought, I might as well.”

“Oh,” you said softly. “I’ll…see you later.”

“Yeah, right,” he ducked his head and waved his hand. You stumbled towards the red BMW waiting for you in the parking lot.

“So…” Steve started. He grunted when Robin smacked him. “What? We're just going to sit in silence and pretend we didn't all hear that?”

Robin turned to look at you. “I'll egg Brittney's house with you if you want.”

Steve perked up. “Holy shit yeah, her brother is a piece of shit.”

You smiled, touched by their offer. “Let's just go to your house Harrington, you promised me a movie night.”

Steve huffed. “Does this mean you two are finally going to stop attacking each other?”

“Or that maybe you'll go on a date with him?” Robin perked up.

“Robin.”

“What? Like you weren't wondering the same thing!”

“I always knew he liked you,” Steve said.

“Yeah okay,” you snorted, finally joining in the conversation.

Robin laughed with you. “I did!” He insisted. “You should see the way he looks at you. It’s like he comes alive when you walk into a room.”

Your heart stumbled and you sighed.

“Dingus! You’re not making this any easier!”

“She asked!”

You let their bickering fade into the background, your conversation with Eddie swirling around in your mind.

“So,” Steve said, dragging out the vowels.

You glanced at him from where you were using his mom’s fancy mixing bowl for the cake you were baking. El had shyly asked you for the chocolate cake you’d made last year for Max’s birthday. Not one to ever say no to El, you’d set up camp at Steve’s.

Watching him struggle to figure out what to say, you sighed.

“Spit it out, Steven.”

“That’s not my name,” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair, “now that we’ve all sort of put this whole Homecoming business behind us – I was thinking-”

Steve’s voice faded out as you thought back to the past week. It’d been incredibly awkward for the first few days, both you and Eddie avoiding each other as much as you could. On the third day, your regular shared morning shift, he’d brought you a coffee from your favorite bakery. The ice hadn’t completely melted, but it was warming up.

“Hey, are you even listening to me?”

Blinking away your busy thoughts, you shot Steve an apologetic look. “Sorry Steve, what’d you say?”

“I was saying,” he huffed, “since we’re all over this now, how’d you feel about going on a date?”

“What?” You said, completely taken aback.

Steve shrugged. “The girl I’m seeing asked me if I was interested in a double date. Her best friend, Sam I think, said he was up to it. I was going to say no but…thought maybe you’d want to?”

“I don’t know Steve,” you started.

“I just wanted to ask, especially considering that it’s been almost two years since you broke up with that meathead,” Steve snorted.

Rolling your eyes, you shot him a look over your shoulder. “You were friends with that meathead. It makes you a meathead adjacent.”

“I- don’t appreciate having my past drudge up that way,” Steve said, crossing his arms. You huffed a laugh.

“Where are you going?”

“Osteria da Fortuna,” Steve said, shrugging. “You and Eddie forfeited the dinner. I’m pretty sure it’s going to Robin who said she’d give it to me if I would go with her to a band party. I think her and Vicki might finally be going somewhere. Did she tell you about-”

You waved your wooden spoon in the air, effectively stopping Steve’s rambling. “What?” You said, some of the batter splattering onto the kitchen counter. “Did you just say Eddie forfeited the dinner?”

Steve frowned. “Yeah, like a week ago.”

“What.”

Why the hell would he do that? You know why, a tiny voice inside your head said.

With a narrowed glance in your direction, Steve groaned. “Are you really not going to give him a chance?”

Not this again. “Steven.”

“Okay, hear me out,” he put his hand up, “I know. I know you’re hurt that he thought you’d be the type of person to prank him over Homecoming. I know you’re annoyed at this whole mess that could’ve been cleared up if both of you had managed to get your heads out of your asses earlier. But you didn’t.”

“I-”

Steve waved his hand. “Eddie was…is not everyone’s favorite. You know that. You’ve seen how the people we thought were our friends treated the people they thought weren’t worth it. He was fifteen. Are you that stubborn that you’re going to hold onto this from over five years ago? We’ve been through so much since then.”

“I don’t know,” you said, uncertain.

“Don’t kill me but, I think you’re holding on to this hurt because you’ve realized it’s easier. It’s always been easier to hate him, to do your little bickering thing. It’s easier to keep him at a distance because if you never let him in close again you won’t get hurt. But it’s been this long, you’ve both dated other people, and you both haven’t moved on. What does that say?”

You frowned. “That we’re stubborn immature idiots?”

“Yes and?”

You blinked.

Steve sighed. “You’re both so obviously into each other. Even when you’d fight, it was like foreplay or something. You both believed you had the right reasons to hate the other but you’ve both been hung up on each other. That means something. That’s not nothing.”

Letting Steve’s words sink in, you realized that he was right. Even when Eddie thought you’d pranked him, he’d always stuck by you. In the Upside Down, after every earthquake, he’d reached for you – arms steadying you as you fought your panic attacks.

He’d let you use his leather jacket when you were shivering from the lake water. He made sure you went through the gate first, his steady hands on your hips as you climbed. He’d made you eat a sandwich while you were all waiting for the party to get back from the gun store.

“Coming down from adrenaline is a bitch, trust me,” he said, nudging the milkshake in your direction.

He dove for you when the bats attacked, his body curled around yours as you both tried to buy your friends more time.

You thought of Eddie in the hospital bed, your hands interlocked. The way the dread in your chest wouldn’t lift until you saw his eyes open. Until you knew he’d make it through.

Jesus Christ, you still liked him. And you were doing what you always did. You were pushing him away. Even after he’d apologized and you hadn’t. Even after everything.

“Fuck you Harrington,” you said, standing and grabbing your keys off the table.

Steve’s eyes widened at your sudden departure. “Where are you going?”

“To the store!”

Barely taking a moment to lock your car, you stomped into Family Video. As usual for Thursday mornings, it was dead. Eddie was draped across the counter as Jeff and Eddie talked to him animatedly.

Slamming the door open, all three of them jumped and turned in your direction. Dustin, seeing your thunderous expression, darted away from the counter as you stormed up to it.

“What the fuck Munson?”

Eddie blinked at you, eyes wary. “Um?”

“Why the fuck would you forfeit the dinner?” You hissed, seeing Robin’s head pop out from behind the Comedy shelves.

“Because it wasn’t right,” Eddie stammered, “I didn’t want you to give it to me.”

“Are you serious?”

Eddie’s nervous expression morphed into indignation. “What did you want me to do? Go and enjoy it when you basically handed it to me?”

Throwing an arm out, you felt a headache starting. “Isn’t that what we’ve been fighting over? For almost two months!?”

“It didn’t feel right!” Eddie insisted.

What the hell did that mean? “Munson.”

Annoyance flashed across his expression. “I’m not – I don’t – I wanted to go with you. Okay? Every time I picture the stupid fancy Italian restaurant all I do is think of you. Everything all the time always reminds me of you. It reminds me of your stupid smile, the stupid way you give me shit for everything, the way the scent of your stupid shampoo is engraved into my brain,” he shouted, “going alone would be pathetic. At least Steve will get some use out of it.”

Your brain slowed. Your shampoo? Shaking your head, you got back to the point. The idea of that dinner going to anyone but one of you felt wrong. “Go with someone else, the grunge girl.”

Eddie looked like he wanted to throw something at you. Livid, his eyes flashed. “She doesn’t matter. That ‘date’ we were going on was her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. She was invited and didn’t want to go alone.”

Ignoring the way that made your heart flip, you crossed your arms and gave into the petty feeling swelling in your chest. “Well, I saw you two at the bar. Clearly, there’s something there.”

Eddie’s hands shot up into the air, exasperated. “I wanted to make you jealous! She knew, she was in on it. That night at the bar, she was teasing me about how into you I was – because even she could tell. Everyone else besides you is painfully insignificant. Okay? You’re the only one that matters. Since I was twelve. I’m pretty sure the reason me and Amy broke up junior year is because even she could tell I was gone on you. Give me more than a week to try and get over that.”

Taken aback by his sudden confession, and unable to ignore that, your arms dropped to your sides. “Are you…trying to get over me?”

Eddie shot you contemptuous look. “Well, considering that I didn’t realize I was the asshole that stood you up all those years ago and you’ve hated me since then and the likelihood of you ever loving me back is close to nothing, yeah, Lightning, I’m trying to get over you. So, excuse me, if I don’t want to go to a stupid fucking restaurant and think of you the entire time.” His chest heaved like he’d just run a race and all you could think of is how much you wanted to kiss him.

“You love me?” You echoed, like a broken record.

“Oh my god, is that all you heard?” Eddie started a verbal rampage, his arms flinging around for emphasis. As you watched his animated speech, you realize how stupid this whole thing was. Steve was right. You were so used to being guarded, to the traumatic events that seemed to never end after Starcourt, that you were pushing away something important. Something that could good, and you were risking it over your own stupid fear.

This was it, you thought, the second chance you’d always secretly hoped you’d get despite your anger and hurt. You weren’t going to let this one slip away too.

Before Eddie could start on another tirade, you grabbed the edges of his vest, hauled him across the counter, and towards you.

For a beat, you could feel his confusion radiating off of him. You pulled him tighter to you, your tongue tracing the seam of his lips. As if struck, he surged forward to meet you, his own arms coming up to your forearms. He whined as you softly bit into his bottom lip before pulling back.

“Fucking finally!” Dustin cheered. Jeff shushed him.

Eddie, on the other hand, looked dazed as his eyes darted around your face. “Please tell me you aren’t messing with me.”

“I don’t know about love just yet,” you said quietly, “but, take me to dinner and we’ll talk.”

Eddie blinked twice before a slow grin grew on his face. “Italian restaurant? Tonight at eight? I heard some place called Osteria something is meant to be great.”

“I thought you forfeited it to Keith,” you said, laughing when he vaulted over the counter and settled his arms around your waist. He pulled you into another kiss and, this time, snipped at your lip. You couldn’t hold back the shiver it caused. The mischievous glint in his eyes let you know that he’d noticed. “Shut up.”

“I’ll give it back to you two!” Robin said eagerly, her eyes lighting up.

Eddie, without taking his eyes off of you, pointed in Robin’s general direction. “I’m naming my first born after you Buckley.”

Robin snorted. “Hear that, Lightning? Your first kid’s my namesake.”

Eddie flushed, his neck turning a little splotchy. “That’s not what I meant.”

With a swift, quick kiss, you couldn’t help but place a second kiss to his neck. You watched in fascination as his jaw clenched. “I mean, there’s no harm in practicing,” you teased, smiling when Eddie groaned and dropped his forehead to your shoulder.

“You’re killing me Superstar.” Eddie lifted his head after a beat, his eyes catching yours. “So, what do you say?”

You watched his eyes dart around your face, as if committing this moment to memory, and you let your own hand trail a line across his stubble. He leaned into your touch, his lips coming to kiss your palm. Your heart fluttered, threatening to break free from your chest. Steve was never going to let you live this down. But, as Eddie ducked down to catch your gaze, you raised yourself up higher to catch his lips a third time. That was going to get addicting quick.

“It’s a date, Munson.”

AN: I am so sorry the ending is so weak lmao but I had the first 75% of it in my drafts for months. It was starting to haunt me.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson

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desert-fern · 8 months

Text

Pairing: Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw X Fem!Reader

Summary: You’ve had Rooster’s eye since he first met you, the only problem? You were in a relationship. But when you come to the Hard Deck newly single, looking to have a good time, your ex reappears. Things get heated, what’s a man to do other than shoot his shot (and maybe throw a few punches)?

Warnings: swearing, cheating (not from our main characters), confrontation about cheating, physical fights (it is a bar fight after all), reader is a quippy little shit. Lmk if I missed anything.

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N: hey all! Welcome to my second ever Rooster oneshot and my entry for @roosterforme’s Rocktober event! This piece is inspired by Van Halen’s Jump and is my excuse to write a bar fight.

===

Friday nights out with Mason sucked. Well, the drinks were always good at the Hard Deck, the other Navy men who frequented on Fridays were very pleasing to look at, the only shitty thing was, well, Mason. He would ditch you multiple times throughout the night, spending hours chatting with people he saw at work all day while you sat awkwardly in your seat people-watching.

Needless to say, you didn’t like those Friday nights very much. The nights where it was just the two of you were wonderful; you had his undivided attention and it was just easy. Your boyfriend would be all over you, smothering you with affection and it was so unlike the pilot you had come to know.

Mason just became a completely different person when he went out to the Navy bars with you. Maybe it was your fault, you weren’t really the kind of person who liked going out, so you couldn’t really blame him if he ditched you.

That was reasonable right?

Those were your thoughts as you sat at the bar, sipping on your water watching Mason and his group of friends chat with a group of girls. “You doing okay?” A voice next to you asked.

You turned, catching sight of what was probably the prettiest man you’d ever seen. Tall with tan skin just the right side of sunburnt, his whiskey coloured eyes were watching you over a pair of aviators perched on the edge of his nose. You swallowed, watching as his biceps moved, straining against the white and yellow printed Hawaiian shirt. “Yeah,” you croaked out, wincing at the sound. “Uh, yes. I’m alright, thanks.”

He smiled at you, his mustache crinkling just a little and you had to take a sip of your drink to try and keep your composure. “Glad to hear it. I’m Bradley, most people around here call me Rooster though.”

“Good to meet you, Bradley,” you replied, smiling back at him. You introduced yourself and couldn’t help but grin when he repeated your name back to you, loving the way it rolled off his tongue.

“Are you here with anyone?”

You nodded, smiling sadly. “I am. My boyfriend is over- well he was over there. I don’t know where he went,” you said after a minute. “But I don’t mind a little conversation.”

Bradley grinned. “Glad to hear it. So, at the risk of sounding like a sleaze, you come here often?” You could hear the humour in his tone and it made you laugh.

“I do, but it’s really not my scene.”

“Not a fan of the Navy?”

You shook your head. “That’s not it, my boyfriend is a pilot for the Navy. I’m just not really one for crowds,” you admitted. Your job as a nurse brought you close to a lot of people and sometimes, all you wanted was just to cuddle up on the couch with Mason and watch a movie. However, your boyfriend was much more of a social butterfly than you were and you often went along with what he wanted for the sake of not arguing.

But Friday nights were ‘for the boys’ so you often got dragged along to the bar whether or not you wanted to go.

“Did you want to step outside? I’d hate for my gorgeous but taken conversation partner to be uncomfortable,” Bradley said, shooting you a sly wink that had warmth blooming in your cheeks.

“Does that line often work for you?” You teased, enjoying how his blush grew.

He took a swig of his beer, rolling the bottle between his palms on the bar top before replying. “Wasn’t a line, sweetheart. You’re taken, but I can’t understand how he could so easily leave someone like you sitting all alone.”

You had to bite your lip to stifle the grin that threatened to grow larger the longer you sat chatting with Bradley. A reply was half way out of your mouth when a hand gripped your arm and you heard Mason’s voice next to your head. “Piss off Bradshaw, she’s taken.”

“Maso-” you started, but Bradley took a step back from you. You hadn’t noticed how close the two of you had been, practically sharing the same breath, but now, it was like someone had doused you with ice cold water. “We were just-”

“I don’t care,” your boyfriend growled. “Stay the fuck away from him.”

“Why?” You demanded. “You fucking ditch me at the bar YOU wanted to go to and expect me to not talk to anyone? Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“Cannon…” Bradley muttered. “Of fucking course.”

Mason turned to look at you and you had never seen this kind of look in his eyes before. He looked dangerous, a wildness seemed to have taken over his entire being and you were scared. “Don’t embarrass me,” he hissed softly, his grip tightening around your arm.

Bradley must have seen the look of shock in your eyes because he stepped in. “Cannon, man, we were just talking. Let her go.”

Your arm was released and you finally took notice of his dishevelled appearance, a stone plunging your stomach down, down, down. You had known. Smelt the perfume that was not yours, you never wore it because Mason had claimed it gave him a headache. You had turned a blind eye to the random scratches, the strange bruises, even the lipstick on his shirts. You had willingly chosen to push your doubts aside for the sake of living the same boring life you had lived for the better part of two years.

But not anymore.

Pushing your doubt down, you let him lead you out of the bar, making the short trip to your car. You drove in a stony silence, ignoring every criticism Mason threw your way. But you said nothing, at this moment, you weren’t his girlfriend but his DD, and you thought long and hard about what you wanted from your life. If you were honest with yourself, it wasn’t Mason.

You wanted the simple life you had before he’d stumbled into your life with all the grace of a drunk elephant, a fairly apt description for Mason as a person.

He had made it fucking transparent that the last two years were a waste of your time. Mason’s friend, Max or Nuke as he was known to your boyfriend, lived a few blocks away from the bar, it was his house where you dropped him off, all but pushing him out of the car. “Don’t call me,” you snapped, watching his face go from confused to angry. “We’re done. I’m bringing your shit here tomorrow.”

The drive back to your place was strangely quiet. No drunk ranting, no criticising your shyness in the bar, none of that. It was like you pulled the bag off your head, unknowing that it was suffocating you and now you were finally breathing fresh air again. You thought back to Bradley, his strong arms, the ease with which he’d carried himself and the pink hue of his cheeks when you’d teased him back.

He was different.

And maybe you deserved different, but maybe that was your newly-single brain getting ahead of itself. All you knew is that your heart felt lighter as you climbed the stairs to your apartment, it was freeing and constricting all at once.

Inside, you ignored your phone buzzing incessantly. You plugged your phone in, ignoring the flash of angry messages that appeared as quickly as you could blink. You groaned, watching as Mason’s name popped up on your phone, this time calling you, but it disappeared just as fast, clearly he hadn’t meant to call you. It took less than 10 seconds for you to power your phone off, the screen going black as your eyes finally gained a reprieve from the onslaught of angry, hateful messages directed at you.

Mason could sober up before you had any type of conversation with him, not that you would be doing so for a long time, but still. He ran a short fuse, blowing up so quickly over the smallest things. You figured you were saving yourself the headache of not engaging, so you began to grab his things, throwing them in a pile in the living room.

Somewhere between cleaning out his clothes and throwing his knick knacks into the living room, you felt a tear run down your cheek. “He doesn’t deserve these tears,” you muttered angrily, swiping them away. “He didn’t deserve you.”

===

A few months later, you let your friend and coworker bully you into going out with her. You had often told Blair about your people watching at the Navy Bar and it had only taken one mention of it from you and she had been obsessed with the idea.

Now that you were single, for a whole three months, as Blair had ever so helpfully pointed out, she had decided that it was time for you to get back out there.

So here she was standing in your bedroom, clothing scattered around her as she pulled shirt after dress out of your closet. “Why have I never seen any of these before?! This shirt would look so hot on you!”

Shaking your head, you had to say that you didn’t know. “I just never felt comfortable wearing it around Mason’s friends and-”

“And you two never went out without at least one of his douchey friends.” Blair finished for you, giving you a look. “I swear, hon, his cock must have been huge for you to put up with his BS for as long as you did.”

You snorted. “That’s the sad part…”

“No! He was a fuckhead who cheated, a selfish bastard, and he had a micropeen?!” Blair exclaimed, whirling around to look at you. “Why were you with him to begin with? And don’t say that he was different when you first met. Mason wasn’t smart enough to hide all of that.”

The room was silent for a beat before the both of you burst into laughter. “I don’t even know why I said yes when he asked me out!”

“Girl! Me neither!”

You’d doubled over, clutching at your stomach as you laughed. It had morphed into a cackle of a sound, filling the room with raucous noise that had Blair laughing harder.

Tears streamed down your faces as you both tried your hardest to calm your breathing. “Here,” Blair said breathlessly. “Wear this.” She threw a pair of tight, high waisted blue denim shorts at you, a pair that you had bought once and quickly forgot about. Which was a shame, because these shorts in particular had two star-shaped cutouts filled in with red fabric on the ass.

You paled a little, thinking about what would happen if Mason had seen these shorts. “You broke up with him,” the little voice in your head chided. “Who gives a shit what Mason would’ve thought. You’d look hot.” So you grabbed them and a black tank top, changing quickly before Blair wrangled you into getting your makeup done.

The little voice in your head had been right, you did look hot. You could feel eyes on you from the moment you and Blair walked into the Hard Deck and while you wanted to run and hide, the thought of proving Mason wrong kept you motivated to at least have some semblance of fun. And that’s exactly what you did. You found yourself chatting up at the bar with another aviator who’d introduced himself as Fanboy. “You look familiar,” he’d said when he came up to the bar to buy another round for his group in the back of the room.

“She used to come here with her ex-boyfriend,” Blair chimed in, shooting you a wink before she slipped away to join the crowd around what looked like an intense darts game.

Fanboy - Mickey - had paused a little at her words before turning back to you. He’d asked you about your job, seeming very interested when you took the time to explain what you did. It was one of the best conversations you’d had in a while, both parties very interested in what the other had to say.

You didn’t know how long you’d been chatting when a dark haired woman in jeans and a plain t-shirt appeared by Mickey’s side. “So this is where our drinks went,” she teased, watching you both flush. “Why don’t you invite her over to the table, that way Jake stops whining about a pretty redhead picking Javy over him.”

He turned back to you. “Did you want to come hang with the rest of the group?” You must have hesitated because he quickly backtracked. “Or I can go run these over to them and I’ll come back.”

“No, it’s fine. Lead the way,” you told him, grabbing your drink. “Who picked this song?” You mumbled under your breath, wrinkling your nose at the Motley Crüe song blaring out of the juke box set against the side of the bar.

The woman snorted. “That would be Jake. Tall, blonde, dumb as he is tall. I’m sure you know the type.”

Biting back a laugh, you nodded. “Though if he’s a pilot like most of the people here, he can’t be that dumb.”

“Only when it comes to emotions.”

Ahh. One of those. You wove through the crowd, dodging groups of college aged girls all trying their hand at snaring a Navy man for a night.

Mickey stopped, dropping the drinks on a table nearby. “Finally! What took you so long, Nerd-Boy?” A tall Black man chided teasingly.

“Shut it, Lay-Back,” Mickey quipped back and you had to bite your cheek to hide your laugh at the banter that erupted on your arrival. “I was preoccupied.”

The woman behind you snagged a beer and flopped onto a stool near the edge of the pool table. “Guys come on. If you keep this up, he’ll never be post-occupied.”

“Nix c’mon!”

“That was awful.”

You watched their joking with interest, keen on figuring out their dynamic. No one seemed to act better than anyone else, namely the pilots who you learned were Phoenix, Payback, Coyote (or Javy to Blair who was leaning against his chest), and then Hangman AKA the ‘dumb as he is tall’ Jake. It was refreshing to see a group of people who had the same job as Nathan and his asshole friends, but who were the most welcoming people you’d met in a while.

“So,” Payback said, turning the conversation away from that morning’s hop. “What possessed you to follow Fanboy of all people?”

You swallowed harshly, feeling their attention turn to you. “He actually asked me questions about myself rather than try and slide into my shorts for a night.”

A few “ooohs” rose out of the crowd, the pilots around you chuckling at how quickly you’d lambasted Payback for his bad question. You just shrugged and took a sip of your drink, ignoring the little whoop Blair had let out.

“Well, well, well,” Jake suddenly said, smirking at something behind you. “Looks like Birdbrain finally decided to grace us with his presence.”

You turned and nearly gasped. The man behind you gave you a crooked smile before replying. “I was a little busy.”

“Rooster,” you breathed, finding yourself suddenly very shy. He looked the same as he did the night you had met, maybe better because now you were single, but regardless. “Hi.”

“Hey.” He was watching you closely, brown eyes flicking back and forth over you as you averted your eyes. “Haven’t seen you around lately. Everything okay?”

You nodded, meeting his eyes and promptly feeling your face turn a brilliant red under his gaze. “Yeah uh… I’ve been busy at work.”

Bradley moved to stand beside you, grabbing the lone bottle on the counter and taking a swig. “You’re a nurse, right? Long shifts?”

“Something like that,” you mumbled, narrowing your eyes at Blair who was making a kissy face in your direction. “Just had a lot on my mind lately, plus crowds…”

“...aren’t your thing,” he finished for you, laughing at your reaction to the woman under Javy’s arm.

Your eyes shot up to meet his, your mouth falling agape at his words. “You remembered.”

“That I did, sweetheart.”

A flush spread up your neck. Somehow it had been easier to flirt when you weren’t single and now you felt like a goldfish that someone had plucked out of the water. Completely out of your element and you felt like dying at your uncertainty. “Lucky me,” you breathed, sipping your drink. “A man like you remembering little ole me? That never happens.”

“How could I not, sweetheart?” The grin on Bradley’s face sent butterflies racing through your stomach, the charm just radiating off of him. “You made quite the impression.”

You gave him a flat look. “My social awkwardness was enough to catch your eye? Nice try, Bradley, but I’m not buying it,” you replied teasingly, watching his eyes light up. “That poor attempt at a line doesn’t work on me anyways.”

“Who said it was a line?”

A loud smacking noise had you and Bradley jolting away from one another, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that there were other people in the room besides the two of you. “Finally!” Phoenix said, rolling her eyes. “There are other people here besides you two, ya know.”

“Sorry…”

“Sorry Nix. Couldn’t help myself,” Bradley said, sheepishly. A hand came up to tuck his sunglasses in the collar of his shirt and you couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t changed from your memory. Still kind, still handsome as all hell, still dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt. This one had white and orangey coloured flowers against a creamy light yellow fabric. But it was him and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since you’d met.

Despite that, you let yourself get dragged into a game of pool, pairing up with Phoenix against Bob and Mickey. You hadn’t played in a long time, so you weren’t great, but everyone else was sort of around your skill level so it wound up being more fun than you’d thought. “Okay, so after that show of mediocrity, anything will look good,” Hangman said loudly, clapping his hands and snatching a pool cue off the wall.

“Just means that we set the average. If you lose, you’ll land among us,” you snarked back, grinning widely at him. “No pressure.”

A hand on your lower back startled you and you spun around only to come face to chest with Bradley’s sunglasses. “Hear that? You got a lot riding on this one, Bagman,” he jeered over your head, shooting you a wink after. “You wanna take him on with me?”

“I’m not…”

“It’s just for fun, sweetheart. No pressure at all.”

“Sure. Why not?”

And you were off. Round and round the table you went, watching Jake and Bradley duke it out over the velvety table. But when it finally came time for your turn, you had to lean over the table far more than you had initially wanted, giving the pilots and Bradley behind you a good look at your ass in those shorts. You could feel his gaze on the red stars neatly framing your hips in the colour, and you preened a little.

A solid hit with your cue, you stood up, watching the white ball shoot towards a purpley coloured one and send it careening into the pocket. “Yes!” you whooped, jumping up in your excitement, bumping into Bradley behind you. “Oops.”

“All good sweetheart. No harm done,” the lazy smile on his face had your knees buckling and you quickly grabbed the pool table, using it to steady yourself. “Besides, I’m tougher than I look.”

You laughed, the sound mixing with the general din of the bar and you watched as Bradley’s eyes filled with the same mirth that was bubbling inside of you. “Self-burns are rare to witness,” you teased, grinning wider at the look that skittered across his face.

“I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

“Yup.”

He groaned jokingly, his lips twisting into a devilish smile that sent heat racing down your spine to pool between your thighs. “Damn it. I was hoping to play it cool.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but shut it quickly when Jake started complaining about the pair of you taking too long and Bradley stepped up to play his turn. You watched the two of them keep at it, playing as though neither you nor Mickey were there. “I’m going to grab another drink, did you want anything?” you asked, setting your cue against the wall.

“Nah, I’m good. Before you go, I’m guessing you’re more into him than me?” Mickey saw the surprise cascade over your face. “It’s okay! I just want to know if I should get my hopes up.”

“I’m sorry Mickey, that really wasn’t fair to you at all,” you apologized. “I do have another friend that I think would be perfect for you, but I am sorry for wasting your night.”

“Hey. It’s fine. Seriously,” he added when catching your unconvinced look. “I still won. Rooster finally shut up about the pretty girl he met a while back that was dating this douche we have to work with. You did us all a favour.” Mickey gave you a kind smile, before turning back to the game and leaving you standing in shock at how calmly he’d handled the rejection.

But you didn’t dwell on it long. You needed another drink; the first one long gone by now. Penny had just handed it over when a voice from behind you caused the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end. “So this is where I find you, you fucking cunt.”

Only one voice sounded like that and it belonged to your ex.

Fucking Mason.

You groaned, turning around with your new drink in hand. “Can I help you?” A few of the people next to you, two men and a woman dressed in civvies, dropped their own conversation, listening intently on the drama that was sure to unfold. “I was fairly certain I told you not to contact me in any way.”

“You fucking abandoned me at Nuke’s place! Didn’t even have the courtesy to call him!” Mason growled, stepping closer to you. “I had to explain what happened like a fucking loser!” You could smell the alcohol on him. He reeked of it, his sweater wafting vodka-flavoured fumes in your direction each time he moved. Biting your tongue, you shifted in place, keeping your body close to the bar and watching for Nuke or another of Mason’s cronies to make an appearance.

Normally by now, you’d be trying to placate him, telling him not to make a scene and to lower his tone. Tonight however, you couldn’t find it within you to care. If he yelled and threw a tantrum, that was on him, not you. “How is any of that my problem, Mason? You cheated, and had been doing so for months as I later learned. You literally fucked around and found out.”

Mason’s face turned a shade of purple you’d never seen before. There was madness in his eyes and you finally learned why they had called him ‘Cannon’. He was unstable, quick to anger, and once set off, nothing could be taken back. “How can you be so unaffected?! I was the best thing that ever happened to you! No one loved you. If it weren’t for me, you’d still be the same ugly bitch I met two years ago.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mason,” you told him calmly. You had no idea if the whole bar had gone quiet; all you could hear was your frantic heartbeat thrumming like a butterfly’s wings. “You were a stepping stone to who I really am. If I meant so little to you, then why not love me and leave me like you did to all those girls you had in between?”

You paused, drawing in a sharp breath and trying to ground yourself in the moment. Trying to force yourself to pause, to centre yourself. “I’ll tell you why. It was never me who needed you. You needed me.” Taking a step forwards, you forced your eyes to meet his own, taking stock of the wildness that raged unhindered in the deep blue of his irises. “Your game wasn’t fun unless I had no idea. You needed me to make you feel good about yourself. By all means, live in your delusion, but let’s not kid ourselves and say that this break up was my fault.”

Mason let out an unintelligible noise, his hand flying out and slapping you. The sound echoed through the room, snapping your head to the side. “You whore!”

It took you not even ten seconds to right yourself and punch him back, your fist slamming into his nose with a sickening crunch. Blood stained your knuckles and you watched his face contort in pain as his nose began to bleed and he let out a shout of pain. “If anyone’s the whore it’s you, Mason. You got laid more times by women other than me so often your body count is higher than a fucking motel bed.”

He lunged for you, anger staining his face a brilliant scarlet that matched your shorts, but was blocked by one of the men who had been standing next to you. Mason’s fist thudded against this man’s arm, shock evident on his face.

A few seconds passed. No one moved. Mason was still held by this other man, who was both taller and wider than him. You stood against the bar watching it all slowly tick down. “5, 4, 3,” you thought to yourself, noticing how some of the men in the room looked twitchy. “2, 1.”

Just as the opening notes of Van Halen’s Jump blared through the jukebox, the man holding Mason swung, clipping him in the jaw and sending him sprawling back into another man, who spilled his drink all over himself. He whirled around, shoving your ex away and yelling at him.

Shouts erupted, fists began flying as the bar dissolved into complete chaos as small fights broke out. People jumped out of the way and you heard a few glasses smash against the floor. You heard Jake’s loud “What the fuck?!” over the din as he waded through the fight, dodging a rogue fist that went for his stomach.

The Navy personnel were trying to stay out of it. The Daggers at the back were standing in barely concealed shock as a girl shrieked like a banshee and came running at you. She grabbed your hair, yanking you away from the bar with a surprisingly strong grip. “Fuck you!” You yelled as you kicked a leg out to trip her.

She fell, hauling you to the ground with her. You landed on top of her, prying your hair from her fist, feeling some strands get ripped out as you tried to stand up. Wrenching yourself from her grasp, you backed up, tucking yourself against the bar once again. You saw Mason get shoved back from a group of men, his hands coming up to swing at his attacker, but fail and get punched in the face for his trouble.

Rooster saw the red flash of your shorts through a hole in the crowd and immediately pushed his way through the people, ignoring Phoenix’s hand trying to hold him back. He couldn’t see you anymore; he saw Cannon swinging wildly nearby and his heart sank, praying that it wasn’t you.

It wasn’t. Thankfully.

His focus was diverted when a punch went wide, slamming into his mid-back and making him stumble forwards a step. Bradley whirled around, glowering at the man, a young pilot on base, until he raised his hands in surrender. “Go home,” he snapped, watching the younger man blink in what looked like fear before backing up against the wall and staying out of the way.

Bradley pushed his way over to where he last saw you, but found nothing. You had vanished and the bodies thudding into one another, smashing glasses, and shouts did nothing to help him find you. He was tall enough to see over most of the crowd, but unfortunately it gave him no advantage in trying to find you. Half the girls in the bar were dressed like you and unless he could see your face or your ass, he would come up empty every time.

“Get the fuck off of me!” You screeched loudly, slamming your hand against a man’s throat when he groped you. He started wheezing, anger in his eyes as he tried to catch his breath, still advancing on you all the while.

A hand grabbed the man’s shoulder and you caught a glimpse of Rooster’s mustached face over his shoulder. “Get lost.”

The man in front of you turned around, eyes widening a little when he saw Bradley behind him. “I was just-”

“I don’t care what you were doing.” The chill in Rooster’s voice sent shivers down your spine and you could see that the man in front of you was scared shitless. “She told you to fuck off.”

Under Bradley’s firm gaze, the other man ducked his head and hurried off into the crowd, tossing a half-hearted apology your way. “What the fuck happened?”

You opened your mouth to reply but quickly shut it having seen Mason run up behind him, a beer glass in hand. “Behind you!”

He turned quickly, catching a glimpse of Mason who froze in his tracks. You couldn’t see what happened next, but you did see Bradley’s head snap to the side and next thing you knew Mason hit the floor with a crash. “Fucking coward. Starting a bar fight because you cheated on your girlfriend and she called you out.”

He crouched down, mouth close to Mason’s face and hissed out “You’re fucking lucky that there’s witnesses and that your ex-girlfriend is watching this whole thing, otherwise I’d make sure you looked as small as you made her feel.”

Unable to watch more of this, you stepped forwards, letting your hand fall on his shoulder. Bradley’s head turned, his eyes softening as he took you in. “He’s not worth it,” you mumbled, barely audible over the noise in the bar. “Let Penny ring the bell and let him get his ass beat tomorrow in training.”

Bradley stood, towering over Mason before kicking his leg and turning to pull you into his arms. “You okay?”

“Ish… my cheek hurts. Fucker got me good.” You cast a look over his face, smoothing your thumb over his jaw, prodding gently at the red mark that had started blooming from Mason’s fist. “Are you okay?”

“Fine now.” He brushed your concern off, a small smile beginning to form as he saw the concern in your eyes. Even after a bar fight that you had inadvertently started, you were still concerned for him. You had faced your ex head on and he’d laid his hands on you. Sure you’d hit him back, but he’d still drawn blood when your teeth had smacked against your lip.

But here you were, in his arms, asking him to follow your finger so you knew that he really was okay. Cannon hadn’t deserved you and Bradley had thought of no one but you since you’d agreed to chat with him that one night months ago.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” he finally said, catching your hand in his own. “Trust me. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Your heart stuttered from its steady pace. The sincerity in his brown eyes gave you pause because you couldn’t believe that this man, another Navy pilot, could be so different from your ex. “I know,” you whispered. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I nearly had to call an ambulance because my fuckhead of an ex tried to knock you out.”

Bradley snorted, shaking his head at your scathing words. “I liked ‘fuckhead’ better than Cannon anyways.”

“Seriously? That’s what you took away from this?”

He shot you a lopsided grin, the end of his mustache tilting a little with the expression. “I’m pretty sure I got you in all of this, sweetheart. Best prize I ever won.”

“Who says you won me?” You shot back, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break free under the teasing look Bradley was giving you. You had found yourself doing that all night, every comment, each passing look you’d been given had filled you up with giddiness.

“I do, if you’ll have me, that is.” A hand brushed hair over your ear and you couldn’t contain the shiver that the gesture elicited. “If not, then I hope you let me try and win you over.”

You couldn’t hide the smile that erupted at his words. The bar fight continued in small pockets around the room, but right now with Bradley’s hand resting just above the swell of your ass as you curled into his side, you found a peace you didn’t know you needed.

Looking up, you pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “All good things require a leap of faith, right?” He nodded, smiling down at you. “Might as well jump if you’re there to catch me.”

===

A/N: So there we have it! Rocktober is checked off my WIP list now! Now to make sure I don’t start anything new 😂 Big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 for punching the shit out of my imposter syndrome and being the best beta-reader a girl could ask for!

Tagging: @roosterforme @startrekfangirl2233 @cassiemitchell @sarahsmi13s @cherrycola27 @multifandomlover4life @horseshoegirl @bobgasm @thedroneranger @beyondthesefourwalls @dcyllom

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#fern writes #top gun rocktober #rocktober #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw fanfiction

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indyanapolis898 · 5 months

Text

Away

mcu!peter parker x f!reader

Synopsis: Peter wonders why you didn't come over or answer your phone one night, so he decides to talk it out with you in your room.

🕸 ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩🕸

Peter slid the window up quietly, climbing onto the ceiling with grace. Dropping onto the floor, he looked around, seeing the room was void of people- one person in particular. His girlfriend, Y/N L/N, should've been in his room.

"Y/N?" He whispered. No response.

He invited you for dinner with him and May, yet, you weren't there. He dropped his suit and changed into a crewneck and jeans.

"May?"

"Oh! Pete, you're back?" May called out from the other room. Her footsteps approached Peter's door.

"Yup," he pursed his lips into a smile and nodded.

"I didn't hear you come in. I must've been deep into the movie I was watching. It's a really good action movie I think you'd like, Pete."

"Yeah, I'll see it with you another time. Uh, did Y/N happen to come here already?"

May furrowed her brows as if she was thinking. "Mmm, no. She was supposed to for dinner, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe something got in the way. I-I'll call her."

"OK, I'll go start on dinner, though."

Peter shut his door, dialing your number. It rang until it hit your voicemail. That worried the high schooler. You usually answered, especially on a night when you two had plans. Except, that was usually- before the past two weeks. You were becoming late to answering texts and calls, but this was the first time you ditched on plans.

He sat on the edge of his bed, his phone and hands on his lap. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how off you'd been acting.

Did he do something? Did you do something?

Maybe he was overthinking. He probably was.

Peter dialed your number once again, listening to it go to voicemail. He shot you a quick text and decided to let the matter rest until you answered.

He lay on his bed, phone at his side, waiting for a buzz. He'd occasionally hear one, yet it was usually for some dumb app.

After ten minutes of lying and thinking, a few knocks were heard at his room door. Peter shot up, hoping it was you. You had just been late, and your phone was dead on the way to his apartment, right?

He groaned and deflated when he saw it was just Aunt May.

"Wow. You're happy to see me," May said facetiously with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Peter shot a guilty smile. "I was hoping it was Y/N."

"Yeah, that's why I'm knocking. She called me and said she wasn't feeling good. Sorry, hun. Update me on how she feels throughout the week."

"Right," Peter nodded. "I will, thanks, May."

"Dinner's ready if you want it."

"I'm actually not very hungry," Peter looked down to the ground. "I'm gonna sleep... long day at school."

"Yeah, get some sleep, sweetie," May nodded with a knowing look, understanding he was upset about you.

***

Spider-Man peered through the window, sticking to the side of your building. He supposed he was being quite creepy, but he desperately wanted to talk to you.

Your blinds were close except for the kink that had always been there. It was mostly dark in your room except for the faint glow of a phone in your bed. He could see your barely illuminated face.

Peter took a deep breath in and knocked lightly at your window. He could see you look up, slightly startled, until you spotted him at the window.

You looked upset at the sight, reluctantly sliding out of your bed to your window. You unlocked the window, bringing it up.

"Peter!" You hissed in a quieter voice. "What are you doing here?" Your face was red up close, and it looked like you'd been crying.

"I- I mean, you weren't replying to your phone, and you didn't come over, so I-"

"So you came to my apartment while my parents are home, and you're in your suit!" You whisper-yelled.

"Well- I- yes," Peter answered in disappointment and shame.

"Peter, you can't be here. Please go."

Peter's heart broke at that. "W-why? I don't get it... I do my best to be a good boyfriend. I thought I did enough?"

You broke down into silent tears. Peter climbed into the room and pulled you into a hug- you embraced it.

"Please, Y/N/N, tell me what's wrong."

"I just-" You say through tears. "My parents say that you barely spend time with me, and they just talk bad about you, and that hurts. A-and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how busy you always are, and the times you aren't out being Spider-Man, you're thinking about Spider-Man work."

"Oh," Peter breathed out. He pulled his mask off, letting it fall to the floor.

"I'd never agree with any of the bad things they said about you- it's just so hard to have your family bash your boyfriend. Sometimes I wonder if they know best."

"I don't know what they said... but I promise I can do better because you're right, and they're right. I haven't given you my all."

"Don't get me wrong- being Spider-Man is so important, and what you do is incredible. I just can't continue a relationship with two different people- it's taking a toll on me. And as much as it pains me... if we need to break up so you can continue being Spider-Man full time, then it's for the best," you choked up more tears. "But I don't wanna break up, Peter."

Peter felt his throat close up. "I don't wanna break up either. I can't ever quit being Spider-Man, but I can be a better Peter. You deserve more, and I'm so sorry. Give me one more chance, and I promise I'll make more time for you."

You hug him tighter. "I trust you. I don't ever want to guilt you, Peter. I'm sorry for pulling away over the past few weeks. I guess it's just been a lot on my mind."

"It's ok. I should be sorry. And, Y/N/N, if you ever need to tell me something important, I promise you can."

You nod. "I know. I guess I thought you'd be upset if you thought I was trying to make you quit your work or break up."

"I would never think that. We're strong- we can make things work."

You chuckle, breaking away from his embrace to sit on your bed. "I'm exhausted now, but at least I feel better."

"I'm glad I came here. I should go, though."

You yawned. "No, don't go. Will you sleep next to me?"

Peter grinned. "What about your parents?"

"Just sneak out before seven."

"Can do," Peter grinned, slipping under the sheets of your bed- wrapping his arms around you as you both drifted off to sleep, knowing things would be okay.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x fem!reader #mcu peter parker #mcu peter x reader #tom holland #tom holland peter parker #female reader #angst with a happy ending #fanfic #spider man #spiderman #spider-man #x reader #x female reader #peter parker x female reader #marvel mcu #fluff

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neonghostlights · 1 year

Text

Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Actress!Reader

★ Summary: It’s the ‘90s in LA and you and your best friend Eddie have both made it big. The following is a series of Interviews, News Reports and One Shots showing you and Eddie’s story throughout the years.

★ Chapter Summary: Eddie drags you onto a late night talk show.

★ Word count: 3.1k

★ Warnings: brief mention of throwing up (doesn't happen just mentioned), Anxiety, Stage Fright, Panic Attacks, Reader is wearing a dress and heels, If I missed anything please let me know 18+only, Minors DNI

Series Masterlist

Chapter one: Flashbacks

June 1990

You adjusted the microphone clipped to your chest one more time before you heard your name announced through the loud speaker.

“Have fun!” The nice lady with the clipboard and earpiece chirped at you before she gave your back a gentle shove to get moving. You hobbled forward, legs shaking from the rush of anxiety. Is this how Eddie feels before he performs for thousands of people? It can’t be the same.

Loud upbeat jazz music played from the live band on the corner of the stage to make your entrance more dramatic. Like you were supposed to be someone important.

Times like these made you thankful that you chose to be a screen actor and not a stage actor. You couldn’t handle the pressure of the live crowd. All of those expectant eyes staring at you and taking in your every move, just waiting for you to mess up somehow.

It was different when it was just you and crew on a movie set. You could mess up and have the chance to redo things. No one judged you for forgetting a line or giggling during a difficult scene. A good director would just call cut and start over.

Real life wasn’t so forgiving.

One foot in front of the other, your heels clicked across the polished floor as you made your way onto the stage where Eddie and the host stood and waited for you with smiles on their faces.

Eddie had a hand out to you to help you to your seat. He wore his tight leather pants and a billowy black shirt that was unbuttoned down his chest, showing off pale skin and tattoos. His thick black boots pulled the look all together. You thought he looked like some sort of rugged rocker pirate.

He looked much more relaxed like this compared to you, who got shoved into a tight dress and heels despite your protesting.

This is what stars do. These are the sacrifices you have to make.

When Eddie called you and begged you to come onto this late night show with him, you initially laughed and told him to shove it where the sun doesn't shine. This wasn’t your first talk show, having done a few when you first started taking off a couple of years ago after landing your breakout role. But you have avoided doing anything like this ever since then. Every time you stepped out under the lights and saw the live audience your stomach shriveled up.

How ironic was it to be an actress with crippling stage fright.

It wasn’t only the crowd that got to you. The hosts always had a way to make these things feel like normal conversations when really they wanted to sensationalize everything. A seemingly innocent question could start a forest fire that would have tabloids and paparazzi chasing you down for weeks or even in unlucky cases, years.

Eddie caught your eye as you approached the chair beside him. He gave you a small wink and greeted you like he hadn’t just been offering to hold a trash can for you to puke into in your dressing room.

“I already talked to Margie about it. She thinks it’s a great idea,” he had said smugly on the phone when he called to talk you into doing this.

“Who gave you my manager's number and why do you think you can call her whenever you want?” You had asked him, pissed off that he had thought to go around you. He knew once he involved Margie you would have a hard time getting out of it.

“Margie gave me her number a while ago.” You could imagine him waving his hand in the air like it didn’t matter. “I knew it would come in handy one day.”

And he was right, of course. Margie insisted that it would be great to go on the talk show and rub elbows. Let Eddie charm the fans while talking up your upcoming movie and his upcoming album and tour.

“The press loves to see you two together!” Margie had reminded you when she left you with no choice but to come to this tonight.

The host, Johnny Flick, waited behind his large desk with a bright smile, leaning over it to shake your hand. His teeth were unnaturally white. His hair bleached and combed back into a high pompadour.

You thought it was kind of funny that he used a desk for live TV interviews like these. Almost like he was a judge presiding over his court.

“Welcome! Welcome!” He greeted you as you sat in the cushioned chair beside Eddie. Johnny adjusted the large microphone that sat in front of him so it was closer to his mouth.

The crowd applauded and cheered even louder as you gave them a little wave. The sound was a deafening roar, making your ears rumble. At least the girls weren’t letting out high pitched squeals for you like they did when Eddie sauntered up to his seat before you.

“Hi, Johnny,” you said sweetly, flashing him your best smile.

Fake it till you make it.

The crowd hushed to allow the interview to get started.

“Let me tell you, I am so happy you decided to join us tonight!” Johnny said enthusiastically, eliciting another cheer from the crowd.

“Happy to be here,” you smiled back while mentally calling Eddie every bad name in the book.

“Glad to hear it! Now, I’m going to jump right into it. I heard through the grapevine that you and Eddie have quite the history together! Is that right?” Johnny asked with a salacious smile and a wink.

There it was. Fishing for information. Anything to get their show more ratings. Twist and turn things to make them more scandalous than they actually are.

He didn’t even bother asking how you were. He just jumped right into the juicy stuff.

Eddie sat forward, his charming smirk on display. The one that had anyone and everyone dropping their panties in a heartbeat.You thought you heard a girl gasp loudly from the front row. You fought the urge to roll your eyes at the theatrics of it all.

You were immune to Eddie’s shenanigans.

“You’re looking at the longest relationship I’ve ever been in,” Eddie crooned from beside you.

He was really dialing it up tonight. His rockstar persona was in full force that had every eye focused on him. You were thankful though because you knew what he was doing. Getting the attention off of you. You wondered at what point he felt bad about forcing your hand to be on the show with him. Was it during your first panic attack of the night or the second?

“Is that so?” Johnny questioned, taken off guard while he glanced down at the cheat sheet of notes in front of him.

You thought you heard someone break out in tears at the thought of Eddie not being single.

You sighed. “We’ve been best friends for about twelve years,” you spoke up before a riot could start, a smile still plastered to your face. How long would you have to smile like this before it became permanently stuck onto your face?

It wasn’t the first time you had to clarify that you and Eddie were just friends. And it wouldn’t be the last.

“Twelve years! That’s amazing. I know of marriages that don’t last that long,” Johnny exclaimed. The audience gave a well timed laugh. You wondered if there was an illuminated sign that told them when to laugh like in the movies.

You remembered that day from twelve years ago well. The day you approached the skinny kid with a buzz cut and big brown eyes that sat out on the trailer steps across from where you lived with your grandmother. You noticed everyday the first couple of weeks he moved in he would only play by himself. You would strain your ears trying to hear the fantasy stories he would mutter to himself while drawing in his notebook or playing with dragon figurines.

One day you approached him and asked him to tell you some of the stories about the dragons. The both of you had been inseparable ever since.

So when Eddie thought he could travel to LA to make a name for himself, it was a no brainer for you to follow.

Once the laughter died down Johnny spoke again, “And how did you two both manage to make it big?”

“Well,” Eddie said, taking the reins for you once again. “I had a hard time graduating highschool so when I wanted to come out to California to start over, I begged my best friend here to come with me to keep me out of trouble,” he said with a chuckle, his eyes softening at the memory. You could tell he was picturing the time he got on both knees and held onto your ankles, crying and pleading for you to come with him so he wouldn’t have to come out here alone. Even though all of Corroded Coffin was coming with him. Of course he always left that part out of the retelling of the story. “We both got lucky I guess. Corroded Coffin landed a record deal within the first year and a month after that she landed her first big role. It was just dumb luck.”

You smiled and nodded along. You wondered how long you could get away with just doing that.

Margie liked to call you ‘the most introverted celebrity’ she had ever met. You couldn’t find it in yourself to be offended. It was the truth. You attended the red carpets and movie premiers just to go home as soon as possible and curl up on your couch alone.

“No way that was just luck! You are both way too talented for that!” Johnny said loudly. The crowd murmured enthusiastically in agreement.

“I think she’s the more talented one out of the two of us. Did you see that she has a new movie coming out in a few weeks? It’s going to be great,” Eddie said as he knocked a knuckle against your shoulder.

“Yes! And we will show the trailer for that in just a bit! Now do you have any embarrassing stories from when you were younger?” Johnny asked, leaning in close to you and Eddie like he was a friend to you both.

“I left my notebook full of embarrassing stories about Eddie somewhere at home,” you tried to deflect with a laugh.

“Oh, come on! Let’s hear one! Eddie, do you have any embarrassing stories to share?” Jonny pushed with a big smile.

The crowd cheered in agreement.

“I’ll tell you one,” Eddie announced from beside you. “One time she had to come rescue me from prom because my date was actually a prank. I got so embarrassed that I hid in the bathroom for at least an hour.”

The crowd awed at his story. You apologized in your mind for all the mean words you had mentally thrown at him earlier. He could have easily told him the thousands of the stories he had of you. But instead, he chose to pick on himself.

“It’s true,” you nodded with a sad smile. “I had to go into the mens bathroom and everything to drag him out.”

To this day, you still had a vow to beat up Jenny Johnson if you ever saw her again.

What he wasn’t telling them was that after you showed up to rescue him, he pulled you out onto the dance floor for just one dance.

Neither of you were telling that it happened to be a slow song by the time you made it to the dance floor. And you definitely weren’t going to share how neither of you had brought up the kiss since it happened five years ago.

“That’s a good friend!” Johnny proclaimed, pulling you out of the memory.

“The best,” Eddie agreed softly, drawing your attention over to him.

He smiled at you, not the panty dropping smirk he reserved for everyone else, but instead his actual smile. The kind of smile that had the corner of his eyes crinkling. You smiled back, your real smile too.

For a moment you almost forgot that you had cameras practically in your face, broadcasting every facial expression and answer live to the people at home. The audience disappeared into the void. It was just you and your best friend. Just you and Eddie.

“So, any other special relationships we should know about?” Johnny asked, you could see the lines where his spray tan streaked on his neck as he turned to you.

You were used to this question. Margie, along with your publicist, drilled it into you at this point in your career where you were still up and rising to keep the answer to this question vague. You had to seem available in order to draw people in.

“Oh, nothing serious,” you smiled widely back at Johnny like you were letting him in on a secret.

“And what about you Eddie? Anything serious for you right now?”

Eddie turned to the crowd and flashed them a toothy grin. More girls screamed. The Bermuda Triangle stopped being weird. World Peace was declared.

“You know I’m not ready to settle down,” he said seductively. “If someone special decides to speak up then maybe I’ll change my mind.”

There was the chatter of a bunch of audience members talking over each other, trying to see who could be the loudest to get Eddie’s attention.

The back of your neck had an uncomfortable chill. It wasn’t a secret that Eddie had really enjoyed his time being single and famous. He had taken the chance to enjoy all of the perks of being a sex symbol.

Or at least that’s what you had seen in the gossip columns that you shamelessly still read. Eddie never once flaunted that part of his life in front of you. He shielded you from all of the dirty parts of rock’n’roll.

“And with that we’re going to head to commercial break where we get to see that trailer we promised you and when we come back Corroded Coffin is going to play us something from their new album Red Distortion!”

The crowd cheered as you and Eddie gave the cameras a wave before they zoomed away from you. Once you were in the clear, you stood to exit the stage while the band rushed together to prepare for the performance part.

Margie waited for you at the stage exit. “You did great,” she said, her red lipstick cracking on her lips. An assistant from the sound crew unhooked you from your mic expertly.

“I’m so ready to go home,” you murmured to her as you stood and waited for the break to be over and for Eddie to start playing. If it wasn’t for that, you would already be in a car by now heading back to your condo.

Margie chattered in your ear with a hushed tone. Something about numbers and ratings that you didn’t have the mental capacity to retain at the moment.

The break passed by quickly, and before you knew it Eddie was strumming on his guitar for the opening of his new song Numb.

Moments like these reminded you of when you used to sit front row at The Hideout. You would sing along loudly to every song Eddie would play, even if you were the only one watching them. Eddie’s eyes would always focus on you while he sang, like it was just the two of you there. He called you his best fan ever even though at one point you were probably his only one.

Eddie’s eyes flicked over to where you stood backstage, like he could feel your stare. He gave you a playful wink that you rolled your eyes at before he faced the audience again.

Even though you hated the crowds, you still loved your job. When you came out here with Eddie you never planned on getting into acting. It was never something you had imagined doing even when you were younger. You never did theater or drama in school, for obvious reasons. But one day while with Eddie at the recording studio one of the guys there knew someone who was looking for a new and unheard actress for his up and coming movie. And you happened to fit the description. Since then, your career took off beside Eddie’s.

It sure did beat working at the gas station like you did when you were in Hawkins.

Before you knew it, Eddie was barreling towards you with his guitar slung on his back.

“You did great!” Margie cooed at Eddie, taking the time to smooth the top of her short hair.

Eddie ignored her. “Yeah, this sucks,” he said as he threw an arm around you, the smell of his spicy cologne hitting your nose. You leaned into him, hoping to take some pressure off your feet as he led you back towards the back door. Margie followed along, her shoes loudly clicking across the floor as she tried to keep up. You felt bad that she was carrying your purse on top of her own things, but it was safer to fight off the crowds when you had both hands free.

“I’ll understand if you never forgive me, sweetheart. But hopefully taking you out on a late night food run will make it up to you?” Eddie asked, eyes pleading. He knew how miserable you were. He had never been to something like this with you before so you didn’t think he had believed you when you told him how much you hated them.

You bet he believed you now.

You sighed like you were thinking about it. “I mean, gracing you with my presence is the least I can do since you’ll be on tour soon,” you said lightheartedly.

Eddie plucked the side of your face. He knew how much you both missed each other when he was away. This wasn’t the first tour he had been on and it wouldn’t be the last. He was just as grumbly when you were the one having to travel away from LA to film. You were never gone for six months straight like he was about to be though.

Security flanked you, preparing for the crowd and chaos that was about to transpire.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Eddie said as he pulled you close protectively and led you out of the back of the studio where the fans and flashing lights awaited.

#eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x fem! reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munon x reader #rockstar!eddie munson x actress!reader #eddie munson best friend #eddie munson bestfriends to lovers #rockstar!eddie munson #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson au #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson series #eddie munson #eddie stranger things

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fantasylandbitch · 1 year

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Summary: You've been friends with Tara since you guys met in college just as you were graduating several months ago, and you haven't been separated since. Throughout the 4 months, you've been introduced to the "core four" such as the twins Mindy and Chad, and to Sam who is learning to be comfortable around you and is slowly catching feelings for her little sister's best friend with a little competition from Ethan and Quinn.

After work, you drive over to their apartment to see if Tara needs help with homework and to enjoy your friend's company only to find out that Tara went to a party and you get pulled into their nightmare.

It sort of follows the Scream 6 movie and this is my first time making a fan fic and one-shot series so bear with me.

Warnings: Long story, Cussing, Fluff,

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

After work, you go to your friend Tara and Sam's apartment which they share with their friends Mindy, Anika, Chad, Ethan, and Quinn.

Upon going into the apartment you hear some music before unlocking the door with a spare key that Tara gave you. "Hey Tara I'm home! Need help with homework by chance?" you say walking into their space as you put your bag down near the couch knowing Sam wouldn't be at the apartment for a few hours. "Hello!?" you yell into the apartment wondering where the music was coming from but before you can investigate Quinn opens her bedroom door revealing that she was naked. When you heard the door open you briefly looked in her direction before finding the ceiling interesting to look at.

"Oh heeey y/n" she coos at you eyeing you like a piece of meat.

And you reply with a "Heey Quinn, funny seeing you here" you say now looking towards the dining room.

"Aww is that the best you can come up with?" she says as she reaches for her robe while undressing you with her eyes and you sigh "Wanna join me in the bedroom?" she asks boldly as you cross your arms.

"Very funny, I respect your sex-positive way of life but no thank you...I'm good" you say as you slowly look at her dead in the eye and her brow goes up.

"Your loss, y/n" she ends and before she could close the door to continue her activity, you ask her a question.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Tara is would you?" she stops the door from closing with a sigh before telling you where she is.

You run to your car putting on your seat belt before pressing the ignition and before you turn onto the street you look both ways before driving away. "Why would she go to some frat party?" you say annoyed while parking your car after 20 minutes of getting there. Then you walk into the building before you catch sight of the stairs and groan, 'I hate stairs' you think to yourself before walking up the stairs to find the door to the frat party, and before you go in you take a breath. When you finally open the door to enter the party your senses are immediately flooded with the smell of booze, sweat, and the sound of horrible music but before you could get caught up in the environment you form a plan and you decided that you would look for Chad. While walking through the crowd of people you scan their faces and as soon as you started your anxiety was building up, it felt like you were walking for hours even though a minute had gone by, before your eyes finally landed on Chad while he was talking to Ethan, your anxiety suddenly dissipating from your body, "Thank god I found you guys!" you say allowed catching their attention.

"Y/n! Nice of you to join us! How have you been?!" Chad says over the music and you yell back.

"Good! Have you seen Tara?!" Chad shakes his head saying.

"I saw her last with my sister!" making you nod so you go find Mindy when you catch Anika smiling and waving you over.

"Hey ladies! Do you know where Tara is!?" and Mindy nods "Yeah she said she went to get another drink!" as she yells over the music.

Then you turn around to find her, thinking she might be in the kitchen only to hear a commotion near the stairs where you saw Chad last, and when you got closer you started getting protective. You notice the way the frat guy is holding Tara and how Chad is trying to get Tara from him, and then the frat guy says something to Chad something you can't quite hear before Chad pulls the frat guy onto the main level shoving him and the frat guy doing the same back and you decided while pumped with adrenaline to punch the frat guy in Chad's defense making him bleed.

Then the frat guy shoves you onto the stairs near Tara where there was also glass bottles and in the process your hand breaks one of them, some of the glass shards getting into your skin.

And before Chad can react you hear Sam "Chad Chad" she says stopping him before facing the frat guy and continuing her thoughts "Just going to tase you in the balls real quick" she says tasing the frat guy in the balls "Don't ever lay your hands on my sister" she ends before looking at you sternly and then she leaves with Tara, Chad, and Ethan while Mindy and Anika helped you up as you guys followed suit.

While you guys walked out together you realized that your night was going to be stressful especially how Sam looked at you with disappointment before getting her sister. Then the idea of hearing the Carpenter sisters arguing caused you to drag behind the group not wanting to be a part of it and it didn't go unnoticed by Mindy and Anika.

They've known you for a few months now, thanks to Tara, and had noticed how you would quietly remove yourself from the group in an attempt to preserve your energy when anyone in their close nit group would argue. Mindy would sometimes be surprised at how receptive you were to everyone's emotions when you did step away while Anika on the other hand saw your kind heart when you volunteered to take her to her date night with Mindy, and nearly punched a guy for almost slurring at them and your ability to pay attention to detail, your kindness, and loyalty to your friends is why they love you. But what they didn't know is that you were super anxious about arguments and are still trying to come off the adrenaline high from earlier.

Then the Carpenter sisters had blown up at each other, pissed beyond belief while their friends watch it all unfold and when Sam was done yelling at her sister, she turns her anger towards you.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she yells causing you to stop in your tracks as your muscles tense up.

"Listen Sam I was tr-" You were going to explain yourself but she kept coming at you.

"You didn't do shit! You put my sister in harm's way y/n!!!"

You try to step up to gain the upper hand but words were getting caught in your throat "No I didn't, listen-" before Sam shot you the most insulting one yet.

"God you're such a shitty friend, from now on stay away from my sister" she says banishing you from seeing Tara ever again.

You two stared at each other for a moment blood still boiling and it took everything in Sam to turn away and not berate you further, but you knew, you had have known that she was being protective after Tara told you everything about what happened in Woodsboro, so you stayed behind as your friends try to catch up with Tara. Then you walk to your car and it took you a moment to process everything that was said before you hit the wheel in frustration and you then turn your car on to drive away. While you drive away in the same direction as your friends you notice some girls looking at their phones and then pointing at Sam so you brake in the middle of the street watching your side mirror as the girls throw their drinks at Sam so you backed your car up fast, and before Sam can react you turn your wheel and backed up on to the curb almost hitting the girls who through their drinks, causing said girls to walk faster before sprinting while your friends became speechless as you lowered your passenger window. "Get in the car," you say seriously as Mindy and Anika took not a single second to get into your Pathfinder, as they're not used to seeing you this pissed, and as soon they got in, Ethan and Chad followed suit leaving the Carpenter sisters by themselves.

"I get the passenger seat," Tara says walking to the passenger door.

While Sam took the backseat behind the driver, and with a huff, you looked both ways before driving away not noticing Sam staring at you through the whole ride home, as she was trying to gauge your feelings while she was starting to feel bad about what she said to you. After leaving the scene you drive the gang back to their apartment where you were able to park directly in front of the apartment which lightens your mood a bit, soon turning your car off while everyone got out, everyone except you, Tara, and Sam.

"Thanks for the drive y/n, wanna come up?" Tara says to you.

While Sam uses the rearview mirror to look at you, wanting to say something but she doesn't, and you look over at Tara briefly before connecting eyes with Sam in the mirror, and then looking down at your lap and answering her "Not tonight Tara but I do appreciate the offer. Maybe next time" you say as she nodded.

"Okay well have a safe drive home okay?" now it was your turn.

You nodded before she got out and Sam followed after sighing, soon disappearing into the apartment building. But just as you were about to turn your car on you realize that you didn't have your bag with you "Shiiiit" you say to yourself before looking at their apartment building with a groan, getting out of your car to go to retrieve your bag. "Here we go again," you say to the stairs, and with a huff, you begin the climb, when you finally get to their floor you hear a commotion on the other side, so you gently knock waiting for someone on the other side to open the door for you.

That someone is Ethan, "Hey y/n what can I help you with?" he says leaning on the door frame casually with a light smirk, blocking you from coming in.

But before you can say anything you hear a groan behind him. Then Mindy's question makes him jump "Who's at the door?" she asks walking over to see who's holding Ethan up before sitting down "Hey you".

"I was just coming up to retrieve my bag," you say as Ethan steps out of the way checking you out as you walk away from him.

"Oh yeah? What's keeping you from staying the night?" she asks studying you while you scan the room for your bag when your eyes finally land on it in the dining room.

"Other than work nothing else, why?" you say in an attempt to keep the conversation away from the core problem.

But Mindy persists as she gets up from her spot next to Anika on the couch to come over to you, fully aware of your schedule "Mind telling me what's up? You seem...I don't think nervy might be the right word for you" Mindy says trying to find a better word when Anika chimes.

"Apprehensive baby" and Mindy snaps her fingers.

"Thanks baby, yeah apprehensive" she says when you hear Tara, Chad, and Quinn join the living room waving at them as they did.

But before you can answer her you started to feel a stinging sensation in your hand but you ignore it, "I'm still a bit shaken up from everything that happened earlier. I just want to go home and sleep it off" you say to Mindy when she notices that your hand is bleeding.

"Not like that you aren't. Hey Sam!" she calls, as the older Carpenter sister got out of her bedroom.

"Yeah what's wrong?" she says as her eyes scan the room before settling on your figure when Mindy walks over to her whispering something about your hand and how it happened. Then Sam disappears from the room to get a med kit before offering you a seat in the dining room so she can properly take care of you while Tara comes over to lightly talk shit to her sister which you respond to.

"Ease up on your sister Tara she was just looking out for you" making Tara talk back to you.

"I was doing just fine!" she says annoyed.

And you reply with the same energy"Taara 'doing just fine' does not mean abandoning yourself and letting some guy take advantage of you!" And she was about to get in your face when you got up and Sam was going to defend you but Mindy stops her.

"Hey Tara, come help me make dessert" she says "Anika you too baby we could use the help."

Then you felt a soft hand caress your own making you flinch "Easy y/n, I just want to examine your hand" Sam says leading you to take a seat with her as she examines your left hand and arm just in case, "Relax for me y/n, good girl" she continues causing you to hide your blush. Then Sam pulls your attention back to her "Thank you by the way" you hear her say which is something you know might be hard for her.

"I um..you're welcome" you respond to her nervously and she looks up at you with a smile, while you started playing with the right side of her pant leg rubbing small circles into it. And while Sam was trying to find a way to fix your hand, you took the time to admire her as you looked at her features watching as her lashes flicker across your hand before your eyes moved looking down at her toned arms, but your thoughts bring your eyes back to her face. And you sat there wondering how long did she have to be strong, protective, and fearless? How long has she endured solitude by herself while constantly looking over her shoulder since Woodsboro? And before your brain can process what was happening you say "Sam" you started as she looks up at you and before you can say anything else Anika calls everyone to the table and Mindy sounds off.

"Dessert is ready!" she says happily as the smell of apple pie spreads throughout the apartment and before you can move to a different seat Sam gets up to get you water and painkillers while throwing out the glass shards she pulled from your hand.

"Here's some water and painkillers, make sure you take them," she says handing the cup and two pills to you, and as you take the painkillers with the water you noticed Sam had wrapped your hand up.

"How did you-" You started as Sam was going to sit next to you when Quinn takes her seat, so Sam was going sit on your left but it almost seems like the world was against her because Ethan sat next to you.

With a light groan, she sat on the other side of the table next to Mindy who was facing in you're direction where you were slightly amused but in a tired way but you woke up a little when Tara and Anika brought over some bowls and utensils so you guys can dig in.

"Hey Sam" Sam turns her head in Chad's direction as he cuts the pie.

"What's up?" she says to him as you watch their interaction.

"Did you know that before you arrived at the party our y/n clocked the frat guy with a right hook?" he asks and you hide behind your hands as Sam looks at you surprised, seeing that your right hand is a bit swollen.

"Is that why his nose was bleeding?" and he nodded with a smile.

When Mindy chimes in "can we talk about how you backed up on to the curb"

And Tara joined in "Yeah I thought that was pretty badass," she says as you sunk deeper into the chair from embarrassment.

"Yeah y/n I was surprised at how pissed you were," Ethan says as the bowls of apple pie were being passed out so you sat up and grabbed one.

After taking your first bite, you hummed with a smile before replying "That wasn't my proudest moment I could have killed someone" you say messaging your eyes to prevent yourself from crying as you feel bad for showing that side of yourself before going back to eating.

"Here an ice bag for your hand," Anika says handing you the ice bag while she takes a seat next to Tara at the table and after you were done with your bowl you take it along with the ice bag to the kitchen sink to clean.

Then Sam came over with her bowl brushing against your right arm letting you know that she was there "I can clean it for you, here" she says taking your bowl.

"Thank you" you say before leaning against the counter and watching your friends from afar when you take a deep breath. As you took a deep breath in, Sam watches you and does the same as she gets done cleaning the bowls before talking to you about earlier that night.

"Y/n I'm sorry that I yelled at you earlier" she says pausing thinking about the events.

"It's okay I know you didn't mean it" you reply looking over at her tiredly but she feels like you're not getting it and just as you are about to return to the table Sam traps you between the counter and herself and you laugh nervously."Samantha Carpenter," you say her full name grabbing Tara's attention from the table as she noticed how close you two are in the kitchen as she was happy to know that her sister can talk to you to but if she didn't know any better she would have thought you guys were trying to mess around in the kitchen. Sam's mouth hung open a little not expecting you to use her full name, "I am aware that you were upset that Tara was at a party intoxicated mind you, and that you felt that it was my idea to take her" She nodded and you continued "You must not know me then, I hate parties like that and I worked up the courage to get your sister out of there or tried to anyway" you say with a sigh looking away from her "I may be Tara's friend but even I can't tell her what to do and I think you should let her spread her wings a little." Now it was Sam's turn to take a deep breath, taking in what you were saying and you added "Pequeño" you say using your pointer finger and thumb to show her what you mean making her smile.

"Are you planning to stay the night?" Sam asks, hoping you will say yes and she watches you as you think about it, noticing how long your lashes are and how your e/c eyes underneath them are intriguing as she held herself back from wanting to kiss your lips but to her nothing beats your kind and understanding personality.

"Sure why not," you say looking up at her and she looks at you with content wondering how she can be so lucky to be graced by you.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 (Chapter 9 Coming Soon)

Pequeño means small, little, and short in Spanish depending on how you use it.

I plan to make more for this series because I'm having too much fun letting my brain run wild. Also, constructive criticism is welcomed as I've never done something this in-depth before.

But again look out for more and I'll make sure to link the chapters. I also made a fan playlist if you guys want to check it out, I'll leave a link below if you want to read along with it.

Scream 6 : A Love so Understanding Playlist

#sam carpenter x reader #sam carpenter imagine #sam carpenter #a fantasylandbitch presents a story #a fantasylandbitch presents a story: scream6 #core 4 #sam carpenter x y/n #autistic!reader

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biblio-smia · 9 months

Text

halloween horrors [ethan landry x reader]

pairing: ethan landry x gender neutral reader

summary: celebrating halloween with ethan <3

masterlist | requests are open!

Ethan wasn't much of a partier.

You found this out when you'd met him, ironically, at a party. It had been late August then, the first party of the semester to celebrate the end of the first week.

You remember being reluctant to go. Now you were grateful you bit your tongue and went — going to that party was the catalyst in your relationship with Ethan.

You learned, very early on, that Ethan being at that party was a once-in-a-blue-moon spectacle, one that Chad was fully at fault for. Ethan had been shy even with a shot of alcohol in him, but was even worse without. This fact didn't bother you too much; less nights out meant more nights in, where you and Ethan could savor each other's presence in private.

This, however, led to a little hiccup when considering how you would celebrate Halloween.

It was your first big holiday as a couple and you were already going crazy with potential game plans. A party was a no-go, no matter how your friends begged. They tried to hold the idea of a matching couple costume over your heads, but you turned them down. Ethan even tried to offer a 30-minute-max appearance, but you assured him he didn't have to. You wanted this night for yourselves.

Ethan was an angel in letting you plan, offering you ideas here and there. You'd ask him for feedback from time to time, but he was no real help; he nodded at any idea you had with a grin.

"Okay, okay. How about a night in, with a movie marathon, and snacks—"

"Matching pajamas?" Ethan offered. "You know, instead of a couple costume—"

You laughed at the suggestion. Not in a mean way, but in a you're-absolutely-adorable way, making sure to express this sentiment with a kiss to Ethan's cheek.

"Matching pajamas it is."

"I think you just planned my perfect night," Ethan mumbles against your skin, soft touches sweet like candy.

Ethan probably would have called any night spent with you a perfect night, even if it included a party. But you didn't fight the compliment, letting Ethan press kisses of gratitude against your lips for the time being.

「 … 」

Halloween was here. Your heart beat rapidly throughout your morning class, fingers tapping as you waited impatiently for noon to come. Elation propelled you through setting up your apartment for Ethan's arrival at 6 (though Ethan was always early, especially when it was a date).

Snacks were set up in Halloween-themed bowls and plates, decorations strung up in every corner.

You went all out. Ethan arrived with a bright smile, bringing more food although you’d told him not to worry. Though you couldn’t help your smile as you saw the themed food that fit right in.

Ethan greeted you with a kiss first and foremost, before even setting his things down. The kiss he gave you was his way inside your apartment, rocking you back without you realizing. Ethan shut the door behind him and made his way to your living room to set everything down.

“Woah,” he breathed out, taking his first good look around. He’d helped you put a few things here and there up, but you’d worked hard since he’d last seen your place. Ethan grinned at your effort. “Everything looks amazing. This better stay up until at least December.”

You laughed at that, helping Ethan set up the food alongside all the other snacks and treats you’d decorated.

“Next time I’m helping,” Ethan said sternly, admiring all the work you put into some ghost-shaped cookies.

“Not with any of the food,” you teased.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Okay, it was not my fault you don’t label your measuring spoons.”

“Baby, it has labels engraved on them.”

“Well, I couldn’t read them.”

You laughed and shook your head.

“Hey, no more making fun of me or I won’t show you what I got,” Ethan threatened, motioning towards the bags.

“Okay, fine,” you grinned, watching Ethan squint his eyes at you. “I’m not laughing! Show me.”

“I think I need to be bribed.”

“Oh, my god,” you sighed in fake annoyance before leaning in to kiss Ethan. He separated with a satisfied smile you tried not to mirror.

“I guess I can show you now,” Ethan grinned, pulling out his things excitedly.

“Okay, first I got these ghost napkins,” Ethan paused which each item, making sure to show them off properly. “And then I got our pajamas…”

You smiled giddily as Ethan pulled them out, already ecstatic to cuddle up and eat while watching horror movies.

“And I saw this and thought it’d be perfect,” Ethan began suspensefully, reaching into the biggest bag and pulling out a cartoon throw blanket.

“Oh my god, that is perfect.”

“Well, I didn’t want you getting cold.”

You laughed and got up to get changed, leaving Ethan to set up the food he’d brought. You came back to a slightly disheveled Ethan.

“I think I bought too much.”

You laughed. “Well, everyone else went out to that party tonight, and you know how Chad gets when he’s drunk. We’ll just give them our leftovers.”

Ethan laughed before picking up his set of pajamas to get dressed.

You waited patiently but Ethan was out in no time, smiling at the sight of your matching outfits.

“You’re a genius for this,” Ethan insisted as he sat down next to you, waiting to see what options you two had for tonight.

“I know,” you smiled proudly, watching as Ethan pulled out his phone to take a picture of you. Well, pictures.

“Ethan!” You laughed when he wouldn’t stop clicking the shutter button.

“Wait, wait, one more,” Ethan insisted, turning his head to kiss your cheek as you laughed.

“You’re crooked,” you laughed, straightening Ethan’s phone.

Ethan didn’t stop pressing kisses against your cheek or clicking the camera button, capturing dozens of photos of you laughing.

Finally, you gave in to Ethan’s lips and met him in a kiss, leaving Ethan with the best photo of the night (which would quickly become his lock screen).

That satisfied Ethan, a stupid grin on his face (and yours) as the two of you turned your attention back to the TV, quickly settling on Halloween to watch first, duh.

After a few slashers and a lot of snacks, Ethan was tucked into the corner of the couch, propped up on a pillow with an arm around you laying against his chest.

“Top 10 final girls,” Ethan declared as the credits of Ready or Not began to play.

“Top 5,” you corrected, picking up the remote to search for your next movie. “Ooh, how about The Conjuring?”

Ethan stiffened under you and you were momentarily worried you’d tired his arm out until you glanced at his face - pale and rigid.

You tried not to smile as you continued scrolling over titles. “The Exorcist? Paranormal Activity? The Grudge?”

“Could we just stick to slashers?” Ethan asked weakly and you couldn’t help but laugh. You could feel his heart beating quicker in his chest. You turned a little to face him with a smile.

“There’s no way you’re willing to sit through hours of slashers but you can’t watch ghost movies.”

“Hey, I’m not afraid of what I can see,” Ethan defended.

“I’ll cover your eyes at the scary parts.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll probably scare me more than the movie.”

You laughed again, running a hand through Ethan’s hair. “Okay, okay. How about Paranormal Activity? Nothing happens for like, the first hour.”

Ethan reluctantly agreed, but only as long as you cuddled him. It was a pretty fair trade-off.

The two of you sat up, Ethan nervously snacking as the movie tensed.

You really resisted from scaring him.

Instead you held his hand and let him hide his face in your shoulder once it got scary towards the end.

“See? Not that bad, right?” You asked gently as the credits started to roll.

“Horrible,” Ethan disagreed, keeping his head on you shoulder even though the movie ended.

“I think you just pretended for the cuddles.”

“Maybe,” Ethan mused. “Okay, it wasn’t that bad,” he admitted.

You grinned at your accomplishment, playfully pushing Ethan’s head off and back towards the couch.

“You made me move from my very comfortable position,” you complained as you settled on top of Ethan, back in his arms.

“Well, it was my turn.”

You leaned down for a kiss, smiling as you received it.

Your hand came up to Ethan’s chest, just above his heart. “Was it really that scary?”

“No, that’s just because of you,” Ethan said smoothly.

You snorted. “Cornball.”

“You like it.”

“I guess.”

Ethan kissed you again, wrapping his strong arms around you.

“You should sleep over tonight,” you whispered against Ethan’s lips.

“You don’t mind?”

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I did.”

Ethan smiled. “Okay.”

He had class tomorrow, but he didn’t care. Being with you was worth it.

“We should clean up,” Ethan mumbled softly. “Drop by my room and get clothes. And give Chad that food. He should be back by now.”

“You want me in bed that bad?”

“Well, I need your cuddles or I’m going to get nightmares and it’ll be your fault.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you rolled your eyes, carefully getting off Ethan and letting him get up after you. Even as the night dwindled down, the two of you smiled so much your cheeks hurt. Between the shared kisses, warm hugs and the smell of pumpkin in the air, this Halloween was the most perfect one you’d experienced — until next year, probably.

#ethan landry x reader #ethan landry #ethan landry x you #scream x reader #ethan landry fluff #scream #scream 6 #ethan landry fanfiction #scream vi #v + ethan #v writes #heads up for the worst title i have possibly ever come up with

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flanaganfilm · 1 year

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Mike, can you tell us your experience premiering Oculus at tiff 2013? I recently saw Perri Nemiroff’s interview with you (looking like a baby btw- so young) and it made me think about what your mindset must have been as in getting yo experience the launch of your career, post Absentia, at one of the most prestigious festivals.

Oh, I remember that very well... a lot changed in a very short amount of time. And I think I know the interview you're talking about, I keep trying to link to it here but it doesn't take...

So there are few things to point out about Oculus and about what was happening in my life at the time. When Oculus got greenlit, I was working full time as a reality television editor. I used to sneak out of my job at lunch to go to "doctor's appointments" whenever I had to come for production meetings or casting sessions (they started to think there was something really, really wrong with my health).

Making the movie was an amazing learning experience - it was my first "real" movie, and full of lessons. It was the first collaboration with people who would become pillars of my career moving forward, like producer Trevor Macy (who is now my partner at Intrepid Pictures and who has produced everything I've ever made since) and my DP Michael Fimognari, who is one of the most important collaborators of my life. It was also the first time I worked with a young actress named Kate Siegel, who played the spooky ghost in the mirror.

We went into TIFF with distribution already in place. FilmDistrict had committed to the project during the Cannes market before we shot the movie, so we thought we were set. It was going to be my big theatrical debut.

Just before we premiered at TIFF, FilmDistrict abruptly and bafflingly dropped the film. I still don't really know why. They had committed to a worldwide theatrical release for the movie, but for reasons that were never made entirely clear to me, they dropped us just before the festival. Suddenly the whole enterprise was in jeopardy, and I didn't know if anyone would pick the movie back up.

I was absolutely terrified.

Being my first "real" movie, I didn't really know how this world worked and couldn't understand why our distributor didn't want to release it. We'd made the movie they had been excited about, they seemed to really like it, and we'd done everything they asked - it was a shock to the system. So when we rolled into tiff, we were homeless and trying not to let FilmDistrict's abrupt change of heart poison our chances of another sale.

I had never been to TIFF before but heard about Midnight Madness, which had seen huge sales from Cabin Fever and Insidious. Bidding wars had broken out while the films were still screening. But being part of the program was absolutely no guarantee of distribution - in fact, this might be the highest this movie would ever rise.

Trevor Macy and I went to the world premiere of The Green Inferno, which was playing the night before we played, and the audience was ROWDY. Like, shouting and hollering throughout the movie. We looked at each other with wide, nervous eyes - if this was the Midnight Madness audience, they were going to hate our movie the next day. We were considerably slower, ponderous, and atmospheric in a room that seemed to demand visceral, overt entertainment. I left the screening feeling dejected and a little doomed. Trevor was more upbeat, citing conversations he'd had with the programmer, Colin Geddes, who assured us he'd put our movie in the best possible spot for its success.

Our screening was September 9th, 2013 at midnight. I was petrified, and we were sold out. I remember walking into the theater feeling like this was the most important screening of my life. I wasn't alone, thank goodness. Trevor Macy, Michael Fimognari, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty were on hand. The film seemed to play well. It was the opposite of the screening the night before, which Colin had told us would happen - "watch," he had said. "The Saturday night slot is the big crazy one. You guys are Sunday, and it's going to be completely different. They'll plug right in."

He was right. You could hear a pin drop for most of the first half, and then there were moments of scattered applause that picked up as the film progressed. By the end, people were jumping in their seats and cheering for young Tim and Kaylee. There was an audible gasp when the anchor swung. And the applause at the credits seemed heartfelt and loud.

Most of that is a blur for me. I found this grainy pic from the Q&A after the film. I still had no idea how it had gone, or what was going to come out of it. I remember having hard time putting words together, and I vividly recall feeling like I sounded like an absolute moron whenever I talked, and trying to pass the microphone over to the actors as often as I could.

It's tough to see everyone in the pic, but from left to right it is Colin Geddes, Michael Fimognari, myself, Trevor Macy, Katee Sackhoff, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty.

When I stepped out of the theater, though, I became aware that everything had changed. I was immediately surrounded by people who had seen the film, suddenly shaking a ton of hands and realizing that it had been a hit. I walked into the theater by myself, utterly anonymous, and feeling every bit like an imposter. But everything was different when I walked out. I remember someone from the press talking about it years later, and saying "I was there that night - you walked into the theater with nothing, and walked out with a career."

People were asking me to sign stuff. That had never happened in my life. People wanted to get pictures. It was SO. FUCKING. WEIRD. Someone snapped a picture during that little whirlwind, and you can see it on my (young, skinny, hopelessly naive) face - an overall bewilderment, a gentle disbelief that this was happening:

I loved my experience at TIFF. And it absolutely started everything. Relativity, Blumhouse, and WWE Films joined forces to make an offer on the movie at the festival, and we left with a theatrical distribution deal. My career had officially begun. Now, I wouldn't feel like it had for several more years - I remained in fight/flight/survival mode well through Gerald's Game - but in retrospect, yes, that's when it happened.

Thank you for asking this question, it's been a while since I've looked back at this period of my life. It kinda makes me want to watch that movie again. It has been a LONG time, and I owe it a lot.

Maybe everything.

#oculus #tiff #toronto film festival #midnight madness #I cannot and will not accept that this was only ten years ago

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yandere-writer-momo · 1 year

Text

I’ve decided to share some of my original work on here. Here is my 32 page horror one shot from Halloween 2022. It’s about a werebear

Revenant Part 1

This is a mature story for 18+.

Triggers: Gore, mentions of Stockholm syndrome, slight noncon, masturbation, and sex.

Totally unrelated but when I thought of a bear, my mind instantly went to The Revenant. Hence the title. There are a few tributes to that movie but the plot line is nowhere near the same!

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Crack!

Loud whacking noises rung throughout the forest, while sweat ran down a brawny man’s back. Dark eyebrows furrowed together in utmost concentration for the task at hand. To collect as much wood as he could before winter came.

Large, calloused hands tightly grasped the sharp axe. The sharp metal shining brightly in the sun light, like a star in the night sky.

With a precise swing, the axe easily cut into the tree like a knife cutting into tender flesh.

Winter would be approaching soon. And Björn had to be prepared for the cold since he knew there would be too much competition in the forest for food and dry wood later on.

A large flock of crows flew above his head, causing Björn to snap his head up in concern. Honey brown eyes began to study the now silent forest with caution. Something, or someone, has disturbed his forest.

There were no trespassing signs all over the outer perimeter of his forest, so who on earth was brave enough to enter?

Björn tightly grasped his axe before heading into the direction where the crows had flown from. He was going to have to scare the intruder or intruders off. Björn just hoped he wouldn’t have to use any force.

The further Björn went, the less trees there were… the less life. Björn hummed to himself in confusion. Why would someone trespass into the barren part of the forest? There wasn’t many resources out here or even wild game that roamed those parts.

When Björn was in the clearing, fresh tire marks from a carriage stood out to him. Had someone strayed off the path outside of the woods and wondered into this section of the forest? Yet the horse footprints that surrounded the tire tracks told s different story, causing Björn to sigh. Another case of someone being chased off course by bandits.

Björn strapped his ax to his back, continuing his way through the desolate area. He needed to be sure that there were no bandits on his land. Those scoundrels were always pouching animals here, limiting the resources for the ones who lived in the forest. Björn’s kind especially.

Björn soon came to a shallow swimming hole. His honey brown eyes scouting the area for any trespassers. Yet he didn’t see anyone or anything.

Björn was about to leave until the strong smell of iron hit him. Brown eyes wildly glancing around in horror. Had a body been dumped here?

And that was when Björn saw her. A small figure laying halfway in a shallow grave. The dirt covering her lower half in a natural blanket. Dried blood pooled around her head like a morbid angel.

Björn slid down the slope to get down to the water hole to her. Tan hands frantically searching for a pulse. His breath hitching in his throat when he felt the faintest of pulses.

Björn slowly moved her (hair color) hair from her face, his brown eyes studying her pretty face in awe.

Had his prayers to the gods been answered? Had they finally sent him a companion after all these long, lonely years?

A soft groan of pain left the woman’s lips, Björn quickly snapped from his musings. First, he needed to take her back to his cabin.

Strong tan arms carefully lifted the woman up, his brown eyes observing the locket held loosely in her dirt covered hands. The picture of a handsome man with long, silver colored hair staring back at him, as if mocking Björn that the woman he held belonged to another.

Björn snatched the locket from her hand, flinging it far into the muddy banks of the swimming hole. She wouldn’t need that strange man anymore. She had Björn now and he would protect her better than whoever that was could. He was sure she’d learn to love him. Time was on his side, especially with the rapidly approaching winter.

Björn cradled the woman in his arms, read to take the two of them on the journey home. The open locket facing Björn, foreshadowing something ominous was coming.

“We found her carriage, your grace.” A scruffy man bowed to the ethereal looking lord, brown eyes nervously scanning the ground in fear. “And we were able to capture a few of the bandits, but she was nowhere to be found-“

A loud slam rung through the room, the prince slamming his pale fists against his throne’s arm. Icy blue eyes glaring at the men in the room in anger. They had one job, to find his fiancée. To find his (your name).

“Your grace. One of the bandits said they dumped her in the forest-“ Balder wildly swung his head around, stormy blue eyes staring at the nervous subject who had interrupted his conversation. (Your name) couldn’t be dead could she? His ray of sunshine, his entire world… she couldn’t be gone. They had been promised to be together since they were children and they had always been inseparable… Balder would know if something bad happened to her, he truly believed their souls were bound.

“Kill all of those bandits and hand their bodies up at the gates. The people need to know not to mess with the Vetle family.”

“We shall go searching then. Prepare the hounds.” Balder opened up the locket around his neck that held a picture of a beautiful (hair color) girl. His icy blue eyes full of determination.

“Don’t worry. I’ll find you.”

Björn gently wiped away the dirt on the young woman’s face with a cloth. Brown eyes memorizing every detail on her pretty face. To the shape of her nose to the plumpness of her lips… Björn wondered if her lips would fit perfectly against his own… Björn shook his head clear from his perverted thoughts, despite his itching to kiss her, he knew it was improper since they were strangers.

Björn glanced her direction again, his eyes studying the way her lashes lightly fluttered when he brought the warm rag to her face or how she pursed her lips ever so slightly in pain.

“You’re safe now.” Björn whispered, eyes softening at her. “I’ll take care of you.”

Björn rose from his seat beside the bed. A giddy feeling consuming his chest. He should probably get to work on building a bigger bed so the two of them could lay together… he’s never laid with a woman before so this was all so new to him.

Brown eyes gazed at all the books he had on shelves, a smile crawling on his scarred lips. He wondered if she loved romance novels. Those books were his only companion in this desolate forest… the only things that kept him from completely falling off the deep end from his unending loneliness.

Björn was determined to show her that he could be a good mate. He’s take care of her throughout the winter as well. He just had to gather even more food and wood now, maybe even some pelts.

Björn gave one last look to the sleeping woman on his bed before ultimately deciding to try to find her the softest pelts he could find. He wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.

A hum left his throat at the thought of her being so thrilled to have new blankets. Maybe he should also go catch her some fish or even some sort of water fowl to make her a soup? Would she like a man who is a good provider?

Björn wandered through the forest, his brown eyes scanning for any elk or deer. Maybe even a moose would do… Björn just wanted to make her happy.

They were going to be a family after all.

A week had gone by and Björn was proud of his work. His companion no longer made pained expressions and her lashes would flutter whenever he’d run his large hands through her soft hair.

Just thinking about her made Björn giddy. The rugged man wished she’d open her eyes soon so she could see her future mate. He just hoped he was attractive enough for her…

Today was another day of gathering for him. He was hoping to get some more nuts and berries to preserve for the winter. Björn was proud of his jam making abilities and he was happy to finally have someone to show them off to.

Björn continued his was through the dense forest, brown eyes lighting up when he saw some blackberry bushes.

Björn reached a tan hand out to one of the berries before placing one in his mouth. A smile lighting up on his face when the soft flesh melted on his tongue. They were sweet with a slight tart kick to them… perfect for jam.

Björn began to pick the berries, carefully placing them into a cloth pouch. He’d try to leave a few behind for any other creature that may stumble across this find, but now Björn had another mouth to feed.

Loud flapping noises filled the forest air, a large flock of bird flying across the sky, causing Björn to freeze in his tracks. Björn took a deep breath before allowing his ears to shift into that of a grizzly bear’s. Small round ears now resting at the top of his unkempt head. The ears twitching as they began to pick up the sound of hooves and dogs barking.

Either there were bandits in his forest now or a search party has come for his companion.

Björn growled, his brown eyes flashing a bright gold. He wasn’t going to let his companion go. His unending loneliness was finally quenched and he would rather die than be alone any longer.

Björn set his axe and blackberry pouch against a tree before shedding his clothes. Dark, brown fur beginning to sprout on every part of his body, his face slowly elongating into a snout. Large paws soon replacing his hands and feet, Björn hunching his back, his body beginning to elongate and expand. A giant grizzly bear soon standing where Björn once was.

The giant grizzly bear stood up on its hind legs before releasing a loud roar. A few barks leaving it’s throat before it charged in the direction of the dogs.

Björn wasn’t going to let anyone disrupt his chance at a family.

Balder lead a handful of men into the forest, icy blue eyes nervously glancing around. It was deathly silent, the only sounds being their horses trotting and the dogs barking… yet Balder couldn’t calm his nerves. The forest was never this quiet. It was almost unnerving.

The birds were not chirping and there were no animals rustling through the trees… did they know something he didn’t?

There were a few decayed signs outside the perimeter of the forest, but they were so old that they were not legible… Balder sighed in frustration. There were so many signs to not continue this journey but there was a possibility (your name) was here… and she was worth any journey.

“The dogs picked up a scent!” One man shouted from the front of the group, the dogs heading deeper into the forest. “The lady could be alive!”

Balder felt his horse slow down, it’s head staring at the left of the forest, as if it knew something was there that he didn’t. A whiny leaving the white horse’s mouth. The horse rearing it’s head in fear.

Balder grasped the reigns of his horse, his blue eyes narrowing at the forest. Something was in the woods. Something that could be dangerous…

Balder steadied his horse. A pale hand grasped at the threaded locket around his neck tightly. He had promised (your name) that he would always protect her… he swore he would save her. No matter what… Balder loved her… he would do anything for her.

Balder took a deep breath before guiding his horse into the forest, following his men into the brush. There were only four of his most loyal men and five hounds… Balder was sure they would all be fine.

The group of men headed deeper into the forest. The dogs leading them deeper and deeper into this labyrinth of a forest. Balder could feel the hairs on his neck stand up in fear.

Yet Balder had no idea why he was so scared. He’s been in plenty of forests and even a few wars. There had to be something here… and whatever it was, it definitely didn’t want them there.

A whine soon left one of the dogs before the others begin to tuck their tails between their legs. The other dogs soon whining and barking, the dogs attempting to backtrack despite their master ushering them forward.

“You stupid dogs! What are you doing-“ a terrifying growl filled the air. The horses crying out, each one rearing back in fear while the dogs ran off. The men all glancing around in fear.

“W-what was that?” The youngest of the men whimpered, the young boy unsheathing his sword.

The other men unsheathed their swords as well, the men forming a circle with their horses. The men struggling to keep their horses still, since the horses continued to try to get away.

“What is wrong with these horses-“ Before the guard could even get a word in, a giant grizzly bear had barreled into the group, easily knocking the men to the ground. The horses bucked their riders off in fear, desperate cries leaving their throats.

Ear piercing screams leaving the man’s throat as the bear proceeded to maul him. Blood splattering everywhere while the man’s comrades could only watch in horror as their comrade was being torn limb from limb by a monster of a bear.

The horses cried before fleeing into the deep forest, leaving the men to fend for their own.

Balder rose up to his feet, clutching his sword tightly. Two of his men bravely tried to save their comrade. Only for the bear to lose interest in the dead man, it’s large body easily swiping the men off to the side. One of the men screaming in pain, his leg now bent in the opposite direction.

The bear roared, grabbing the man with the broken leg with its strong jaws before harshly slamming him into the ground. While the other desperately tried to save his friend, only for his throat to be sliced open by the bear’s sharp claws. Blood spraying all over the bear’s face like a loose faucet. The bear then slamming the man in its jaws onto the ground again until his neck broke.

A deep, guttural growl left the grizzly’s body, it’s golden eyes making eye contact with Balder. It’s scarred face throwing Balder off guard. That was no ordinary bear. That bear was a monster.

Balder swore the monster smirked at him before it went to finish off his comrades, almost like it was checking if they were dead for sure. Balder froze in fear. His men lay still on the ground, only for this monster of a creature to continue tearing them apart.

“Lord Balder! Hurry! We have to go!” The young guard shouted, the young boy crying as he tried to pull his master away from the scene. It appeared they were the only two still alive. “We can’t die here. We have to save lady (your name)! Hurry-“

The bear launched itself at the boy, the boy screaming while the bear latched its jaws around his left arm. Sharp teeth tearing off his arm with ease. Blood spraying all over Balder’s face.

The prince quickly snapping to his senses. Preparing his sword, Balder swung his sword at the bear, the sharp metal slicing into the bear’s side. A loud roar leaving the bear’s throat.

The grizzly rose to its hind legs, forgetting about the young guard who cradled his torn appendage in fear. The young guard tried to father himself, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small dagger to try to protect himself.

The grizzly’s golden eyes narrowed at Balder. A growl leaving it’s throat, it’s large body easily towering over Balder. But the bear seemed to be telling Balder to fight it. To kill it.

The prince gulped before bravely charging at the bear, Balder couldn’t die here. He had to save (your name)… he had to see her again. Balder had so much to live for.

The bear easily swatted Balder off to the side. The prince flying into the air from the force of the blow, his back slamming into a tree. A crack ringing in Balder’s ears. Balder knew his rib’s were now broken from that monster’s strength.

Blue eyes glanced off to the side, his broadsword laying a few feet from him. The prince slowly crawling towards his sword, trying his best not to alert the monster of his actions.

The bear then turned its attention back to the young guard. The young guard beginning to cry, causing the bear to release a few barks, as if it was laughing at Balder and his men. Were their lives just a game to this monster?

The grizzly placed it’s paws on the young man’s head. The young man desperately trying to fend off the bear with his small dagger, ultimately begging the monster for his life. But the monster ruthlessly crush his head in instead by putting down its full weight. Blood and skull fragments now covering the bear’s front paws.

Balder began to cry, the injured prince desperately trying to crawl faster to his sword. He couldn’t die here. He wouldn’t die here. He prayed to the gods, to any god, that would let him survive this hell. To let him save his fiancée. To just see her one last time… to see his (your name)…

The bear began to bark again, laughing at Balder’s struggle. The bear slowly approaching Balder, the bear huffing in triumph. The grizzly placed a paw on Balder’s forearm, stopping him just shy of a foot from his sword. Balder was so close, he was so close yet so far…

Balder glanced up at the bear, it’s scarred face gazing at Balder in sadistic glee. With a loud snap, Balder felt his forearm snap under the full weight of the bear. A pained scream leaving Balder’s throat, the bear soon moving it’s attention to Balder’s legs.

The bear placed a paw on each femur before giving them the same treatment as Balder’s right forearm. Loud crunching noises echoing throughout the forest.

“You son of a-“ the bear’s jaw was soon around Balder’s right shoulder, agonizing screams leaving the blonde’s throat as the grizzly bear began to shake him like a rag doll.

The grizzly dragging Balder’s body over to a tree, the grizzly slamming the prince into the tree over and over and over again. Until the prince went completely limp.

A satisfied growl left the bear’s throat. The bear dropping Balder’s body to the forest floor, golden eyes studying its handy work.

Body parts and blood lay all around the bear. The grizzly glancing around for somewhere to put all the parts.

A small cave soon sticking out to him. The bear growling before getting to work.

Balder’s blue eyes gazed dully at his comrades’ bodies. A single finger twitching before he went completely still.

Björn washed away the blood off his body. The dark haired man gazing at his reflection in distaste. Would his new companion like his rugged appearance?

His face and body was covered in so many scars. Ranging from other animals and even some from the men he’s killed over the years. Björn hummed at the new scar already forming on his side from Balder’s sword.

Björn was just lucky werebears healed faster than average humans. He wouldn’t want to have to wait a long time to recover when he had his beautiful companion to take care of. A beautiful noble lady…

“(Your name)…” Björn whispered her name, trying to familiarize the name on his lips. A smile crawling on his face. He knew he’d have to wait until she woke up so he could call her by her name. It was only proper for her to tell him her name herself.

Björn ran a hand threw his long beard before pulling out a dagger he had stolen off one of the men he just killed. Maybe he should trim it down like that blonde fellow’s?

Björn continued to study his reflection. Ultimately he decided to trim his beard down and clean his long hair as much as he could. He wanted to look presentable to his companion.

Plus he now had some lovely horse hides to give her. Björn really hoped she liked them.

Björn brushed his fingers threw his companion’s hair, his brown eyes softening at her calm expression.

A few weeks have passed, he had noticed her leaning into his touch now. The action causing Björn’s heart to soar.

Björn placed a gently kiss to (your name)’s forehead, desperately trying to hold back from his desire to kiss her plump lips. He wanted to properly introduce himself before he took their relationship to the next level.

Björn rose from his chair from beside the bed, a hum leaving his throat as he stirred the turkey soup he had made in a cauldron over his fireplace. (Your name) seemed to really enjoy the soups he made, which in turn made Björn happy.

A rustling noise soon caught Björn’s attention, the wooden spoon in his hand almost falling into the cauldron at the sight before him. (Your name) was awake and sitting up.

“H-hello?” (Your name) softly whispered, her voice hoarse from not using it in a few weeks. “Have you been the one taking care of me?”

Björn quickly took the spoon out of the soup, placing it on the small wooden dining table he had before making his way over to the young woman.

Björn sat on his knees, his large hands holding her much smaller hands in his. Björn’s honey colored eyes studying her beautiful (eye color) orbs in awe.

“Y-yes… I’m so glad you’re awake…” Björn nervously replied, a rosy blush coating his rugged features. “I don’t want you to over exert yourself. If you need to rest you can…”

“Ah, but I feel like I’ve been here for such a long time…” (your name) replied softly, her (eye color) eyes glancing into Björn’s brown ones. “I don’t want to be anymore of a burden to you.”

“You could never be a burden to me.” Björn smiled at (your name), the male practically melting under her gaze. “You can stay as long as you have to…”

“You’re very kind.” (Your name) gave his hands a gentle squeeze, Björn trying his best not to cry in joy. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you… mister?”

“Björn. My name is Björn Danner.” Björn brightly smiled at (your name). “What is your name?”

“My name is (your full name).”

“You have a very beautiful name.” A chuckle left (your name)’s throat. The young woman gave Björn a smile so charming that it made his knees feel like jelly.

“Thank you, Björn.” Björn shakily rose to his feet before motioning his hand towards the various books decorating the shelves in his cabin.

“If you’re feeling better, you can read a book if you’d like or…” Björn flushed before composing himself to continue speaking, “I could read a book to you…”

“Thank you but I’m okay for now. I think I may need some more rest for now.” (Your name) politely replied. “Thank you, Björn.”

“Would you like some soup? I just caught some turkey and I dried out the rest of it for winter.”

“For winter?” (Your name) softly muttered. A frown was now prominent on her face. “I… I need to go home before then… I was supposed to be getting married awhile ago…”

Björn clenched his fists before relaxing. He had already taken care of that situation.

“Winter will be here in a week or two already… I don’t know if you’ll have the strength to be able to make it back home quite yet.” Björn did his best to keep his composure, brown eyes shining softly at (your name). “I’m sure it’ll be safer once winter is over to head back.”

(Your name) furrowed her brows in concern. She really missed her fiancé, Balder. He was a wonderful man who treated her so well. Balder would do anything for her… which is why she was wondering why he hasn’t left to look for her yet.

Balder was the type of man who would send out a search party if she didn’t reply to his letters in a day. So she couldn’t imagine what he could be going through right now… (your name) just hoped Balder was happy whenever he was.

(Eye color) orbs gazed out the window, a frown gracing (your name)’s lips. Was Balder safe?

Balder couldn’t understand how he was still alive… or how he could still even walk.

Balder stared at his body in wonder at the faded wounds he received from that monstrous grizzly. It was almost as if his body was regenerating itself even faster.

Balder began to notice a change in his body as well. He was growing more body hair, his hunger was unending, he was stronger, more muscular, and he was even faster than he used to be.

Something abnormal was definitely going on, but the lord just couldn’t figure out what it was…

Balder grasped the golden locket around his neck with a smile on his face. The gods had answered his prayers about not dying so now he just had to find his beloved.

The blonde continued making his way through the maze of the forest. The insatiable hunger returning to him again. Perhaps he would go find something to eat?

Balder quickened his pace, unaware that his shadow was now that of a large bear.

Living with Björn wasn’t so bad. (Your name) was slowly getting accustomed to her caretaker and his particular quirks.

“Would you like some jam on your bread, darling?” (Your name) glanced at the rugged man. She wondered how he got all of his scars. Was he a mercenary if some sort? Yet she doubt he possibly could be one, his docile demeanor did not give her any sense of danger.

“Björn. Just call me by my name please.” (Your name) constantly had to remind her caretaker to not call her pet names. She knew he must’ve been alone for a long time and he more than likely became extremely attached to her, but he could not keep her here.

“Oh, I did it again… I apologize.” Björn but his lip, trying his best not to get frustrated that (your name) didn’t like his nicknames. She’s been with him for a few more weeks now maybe the Stockholm hasn’t set in yet?

“Ah. It’s snowing outside, Björn!” (Your name) gazed at the snow in awe. Where she came from, it hardly ever snowed. It was mostly just rain.

Björn’s cheeks flushed a rosy red, his honey colored eyes memorizing the way (your name)’s face lit up at the snow.

“I should bring some wood in to start a fire with. It’ll get pretty chilly soon.” Björn rose up from his chair, a soft hand grasping the sleeve of his shirt. Björn’s breath hitched, the male trying his hardest not to melt at the touch. Something below his belt twitching in excitement at the simple touch.

“Please be safe, Björn.” Björn gulped, nodding his head since he couldn’t get his words out.

The brawny male quickly shutting the front door, Björn shaking from the interaction.

Björn nervously shifted his legs, a soft moan leaving his throat when the fabric rubbed against his member just right.

“Ah.” Björn placed a hand over his mouth, the man quickly moving away from the cabin to the large wood storage. Björn opening the door to it, shallow breaths escaping his throat. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment at how turned on he was from such a little touch.

Björn glanced around the wood storage room, the man’s eyes glancing at a chair he had in the corner of the room. His large hand shakily holding his clothed member in embarrassment.

Should he take care of his problem before returning? Björn glanced down, gulping at the sight of his noticeable erection. Björn sighed before slowly pulling down his pants, the large member springing up from its tight confinement. The light pink head already slightly leaking precum.

Björn shakily placed a hand on his shaft, his breath hitching at the touch. He didn’t understand why he was so sensitive right now. Was it because she touched him?

Björn slowly began to move his hand up and down, eyes closing as he began to imagine (your name)’s hand in his stead. Would she ever want to touch him like this? Could she even take him?

Björn slowly began to pick up his pace, his thoughts racing in his head. Would she let him be inside of her? Would she let him give her his everything? His love? His seed? His offspring?

Björn’s mind raced to (your name) rubbing a swollen stomach, the mental image of itself sending Björn over the edge. His hot semen spilling all over his hand and onto the dirt floor. Björn tried to calm his heartbeat.

He was so embarrassed that he thought such filthy thoughts of her when she didn’t even return a fraction of the magnitude of his feelings for her. Maybe (your name) was the reason he was slowly being driven insane. No. Björn had no right to blame her. He was the one with no self control.

Björn cleaned himself up so he could return to the task at hand. He needed to make sure his darling was warm. Björn was sure she’d slowly give into his subtle advances.

Balder gazed at his blood soaked hands. A shaky breath leaving his throat in shock. What had he done?

Balder gazed at the full grown moose that laid mauled before him. It’s throat ripped out by some sort of savage animal.

Had the grizzly done this? No… it wasn’t the grizzly. Balder felt that hunger again, his blue eyes widening as white fur began to sprout from his arms. Tears falling down Balder’s face in realization.

Balder was now a monster as well except… he was much larger than that grizzly.

Balder threw his head back, a loud growl leaving his throat before his face morphed into that of a polar bear. The only human part of him remaining was the locket around his neck. The soft fabric of the string stretching enough to accommodate his neck for now, but at the rate he was growing, he was going to need to store it somewhere.

Balder knew he now stood a chance against that monster if he wanted to find (your name). All he needed to do now is learn how to control himself. He didn’t want to ever hurt (your name)… never.

Björn rose up from his bed, his ears shifting to be above his head in alarm. There weren’t supposed to be any other bears in his forest. Not ones like him at least.

Björn contained the growl in his throat, his honey eyes glancing at the form of (your name) sleeping softly beside him in the corner of the large bed he made for the two of them.

Björn rubbed his hand through her head, (your name) unconsciously leaning into the warm touch. A smile crawling on Björn’s lips.

He would check it out tomorrow. For now, he didn’t want to alarm (your name) of any danger.

Björn bravely shifted his body to wrap around (your name)’s, the young woman unconsciously leaning into his warm embrace. A smile dawning on Björn’s face when (your name)’s shirt fell slightly to the side, revealing the soft skin of her shoulder to him.

“You’re my family now, (your name)…” Björn muttered to himself, the rugged man placing his lips on her exposed shoulder. His teeth lightly grazed the skin before he stopped himself. “I’ll protect you.”

(Your name) felt disgusted with herself for enjoying Björn’s touch. She was an engaged woman and here she was letting this man kiss her shoulder while she was ‘asleep.’

(Your name) glanced at the sleeping Björn. Her eyes studying the various scars on his face. The slash across his nose and lip being the most prominent. She had to admit, Björn was actually really good looking.

His medium length, chocolate hair was a little wavy and he had a nice full beard. He was definitely her type even if he was a little rough around the edges.

(Your name) placed her hand on Björn’s cheek, the man’s honey colored eyes snapping open immediately. (Your name) tried to pull her hand back, but Björn grasped her hand.

“Can you… touch me more?” Björn whispered so softly, as if he would break if he spoke any louder. “I… please.”

(Your name) sat herself up, both of her hands gently tracing over the scars on Björn’s face. A few soft moans escaping his lips. The man sitting up now before taking off his shirt.

(Your name) gasped at the various scars and burns that littered his muscular body. Björn smiling softly at (your name) in an attempt to reassure her.

“They don’t hurt anymore if you were wondering.” Björn grasped (your name)’s hands in his, a smile sitting on his lips. “I’m very strong.”

(Your name) furrowed her brows. How could Björn say that? she could tell he’s been through so much.

“Björn…” Björn perked up at his name, brown eyes focused only on (your name). There was nothing more important to Björn than this very moment. “Can I lay on your chest?”

Björn blinked, trying his best to process that. The man quickly lay on his back, his hand patting his chest. Motioning for her to rest her head.

(Your name) stifled a giggle at his cuteness. It was strange to describe Björn as cute but there was no other word she could think of to describe how adorable he could be at times.

(Your name) gently laid her head on his chest. Her left hand lazily tracing circles on his prickly chest.

“Good night, Björn.”

“Good night, darling.” (Your name) couldn’t find it in herself to correct him on his pet names anymore.

Björn was so giddy. He felt over the moon at the progress he was making with his relationship with (your name). She no longer corrected him when he called her darling and now she touched him.

“Do you want any fish, darling?” Björn asked, a pretty smile resting on (your name)’s face.

“Okay, Björn. Thank you, I really appreciate you.” Björn swooned.

“Ah, of course!” Björn cursed himself for being so awkward. A small giggle leaving (your name). Björn was so cute. “I’ll go get some for you.”

“Pease be safe, Björn!” Björn smiled at (your name).

“Of course. I have you to come home to now, darling.” Björn winked at (your name), causing a blush to flush her cheeks since he caught her off guard.

“I guess I’d miss you if something happened to you.” (Your name) fiddled with her hands. “I guess I’ve come to like you, Bjorn.”

Björn smiled before heading out to door. (Your name) frowning at herself while her heart skipped beats in her chest.

Why on earth was she falling for Björn when she still had Balder?

Balder tightly grasped the locket he had found beside a frozen swimming hole. Tears falling down his face.

She was here… it might’ve been a long time ago, but Balder was completely sure she was once here.

Balder tightly pressed the numerous animal pelts he had collected over the last week onto his pale body for warmth. Icy blue eyes glancing the area for any other sign that (your name) could be around.

Balder was starting to get frustrated with his search. He felt as if he was running circles in this frosted forest from hell. It was impossible to know your way around here and he had been here almost a month.

Not to mention, he had no control over when he was a bear or when he was a man.

Balder huffed before making his way back up the watering hole. He was going to continue his search. No matter how long it took. He wouldn’t give up hope in finding (your name).

But for now, he’d go to the cave where his dead men resided with him. Their corpses were a reminder of what he must do. Balder wanted to save (your name) first and then come back for his dead men once him and her were home.

For now, that cold cave was his shelter. His makeshift home.

Björn sighed at the sight of carnage he found. Various carcasses of moose and elk lay around the forest. This was definitely the work of a new werebear.

Björn was careless. He should’ve made sure he killed all of those men before throwing them in the cave. Better yet, he should’ve destroyed all of their carcasses.

New werebears were dangerous because they didn’t know how to control their animalistic urges or even when they shifted. Not to mention the insatiable hunger.

Björn was going to have to hunt this other werebear down before he disrupted the natural resources even more. Werebears are meant to be born, not created due to their destructive nature.

And at the way this one tore apart the moose and elks, Björn knew this was the work of a polar bear.

Björn growled softly at the thought of that other bear finding his home and hurting (your name).

Like hell Björn would let that happen. He wouldn’t let anyone disturb his family.

Björn continued his trek through the forest to get to the river. He was going to catch some fish for (your name) and make sure he covered their scent as much as possible.

He didn’t want to run into this bear quite yet. Björn needed time to prepare, time to put on more mass, and mod importantly, time to get (your name) to never leave him.

(Your name) happily ate the trout Björn had prepared for the two of them. Björn sitting in front of her with his hands on either side of his face, his honey eyes admiring her.

“Björn… how long have you been here?” Björn froze at the question, a sad smile stretching on his lips. Björn sat upright, placing his hands down on the table.

“Most of my life.” Björn replied. “My parents left me here when I was very, very young.” (Your name) frowned, pausing her meal to place a comforting hand on his right hand. How could a family abandon their child in the forest like this?

“It must’ve been so lonely…” (your name) whispered, her eyes gazing softly into Björn’s.

“I have you now though.” Björn smiled softly. “You’re the first person I’ve ever talked this much to… I really enjoy having you around… I… I don’t know if I could go through that again if you left.”

(Your name) bit her lip. Björn was such a sweet man. He didn’t deserve to be here all alone in the middle of nowhere… it wasn’t fair.

“Well, my fiancé hasn’t searched for me or he might’ve found my carriage and presumed I’m dead at this point…” (your name) muttered, Björn’s eyes shining at her words. “At this rate I might not have anywhere else to go.”

“Then you can stay here. I can take care of you… of us.” Björn excitedly exclaimed before composing himself. “Ah. I didn’t mean to jump the gun. I just really enjoy your company.”

“I enjoy your company too… honey.” (Your name) tested out the pet name she had been thinking of for Björn. He’s been calling her darling for a little over a month or two now, so isn’t it fair that she give him a pet name as well? Ways it strange how she was warming up to the idea of being with Björn?

He was so patient and caring… he always listened to her. He was even more attentive to her than Balder was… it was astounding how such a loving man existed.

Björn’s whole face turned a bright, cherry red.

“Ah… honey?” Björn nervously fiddled with his fingers, the rugged man trying his best not to dissolve into a puddle of goo in his seat. “I… I like it.”

(Your name) giggled, her eyes softening at her companion. She could definitely get used to living with Björn. He was so soft and sweet… like a teddy bear.

“I’m glad you like the nickname…” (your name) smiled softly, her lashes fluttering against her soft skin like the wings of a butterfly. “I… I mean it when I say I enjoy your company. You’re very sweet to me. Even when I can be a little cold at times.”

Björn heart soared higher than an eagle in the sky. She was starting to give into him… but he knew he was going to have to keep being patient if he wanted her to fall for him completely.

“And I enjoy your company, darling.” Björn opened his arms to her, (your name) happily accepting the hug Björn wanted to give her. “So very much.”

A wicked smile crawled in Björn’s lips, his honey colored eyes flashing a gold. Björn was so happy she was starting to see things his way. It really saved him the trouble from having to go to the extremes.

Today was the first day (your name) had been outside since she’s found herself under Björn’s care for the last half of the year. A thoughtfully made fur coat of various animal pelts wrapped around her small figure like a warm hug.

“Honey. Please wait for me. My little legs can’t keep up with your long ones.” Björn chuckled at (your name) before slowing himself down. A soft smile resting on his face as he gazed lovingly at his future mate.

“I’m sorry, darling. I guess I got a little too excited to show you around.” Björn gestured at the beautiful frozen forest. The trees appearing as if they were covered in iridescent crystals. “Right now it’s a winter wonderland.”

(Your name) stared at the view in awe. Björn was right. The forest was very beautiful…

Soft snowflakes slowly began to fall from the sky, their small, fluffy white bodies landing on (your name)’s head like tiny frozen kisses.

A giggle left (your name)’s throat, which in turn cause Björn to admire her happy face.

“I’ll show you where the river is. If we ever get separated for any reason, meet me at the river.” Björn warned her, a stern look on his face. “There’s been a recent disturbance in the forest, so if you happen to run into a bear or a wolf, scream for me and I’ll come.”

“But you wouldn’t ever let anything happen to me.” (Your name) smiled at Björn, taking his large hand in hers. “I trust you, Björn.”

Björn gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She was right. He wouldn’t ever let anything happen to her.

The two continued their trek around the forest until they came to the raging river. The two stopping for a break on the rocky bank.

“I’m going to go on ahead and cut a hole so we can catch some fish. The ice has a tendency to be thin in some areas so I don’t want you to fall through. The current is incredibly strong here so you could easily be swept under and drown.” Björn stated, the giant male motioning for (your name) to sit on a rock. “Stay right here, okay darling?”

(Your name) nodded her head, placing herself on a large rock while Björn got to work. (Eye color) eyes observing Björn slowly treading through the ice, careful not to step on one thin pieces.

(Your name) then glanced around the clearing, her brow furrowing at the quietness of the forest. Shouldn’t there be at least a few birds or any sort of animals making the slightest bit of noise? They all couldn’t be in hibernation or migrated could they?

(Your name) pulled her fur coat closer to herself, trying to shrug off the bad feeling she had. Having Björn there made her feel slightly safer, but she had a gut feeling that someone’s eyes were watching her.

(Your name) glanced one last time over to the forest, a chill running down her spine at what she saw.

There was a giant polar bear to the left and he looked ready to charge at them…

“Björn!” (Your name) shouted, immediately alarming the rugged male, his eyes turning to her direction.

“Darling? What’s the matter?” Björn sucked in a deep breath, his eyes following her shaky hand pointing into the forest. Honey colored eyes meeting icy eyes for the first time in months.

Of course that noble bastard was a werebear now. Björn easily recognized this scent. The polar bear released a loud growl, the humongous white bear slowly making its way towards the pair. It’s sharp teeth flashing in the sunlight, attempting to entice Björn to fight him.

“Run (your name).” Björn commanded, the male carefully, but swiftly made his way back to the rocky bank. “Run and don’t look back. I will find you.”

“But Björn-“ Björn shook his head at (your name), his eyes pleading with her.

“Go down the river. I will find you, I swear.” (Your name) meekly nodded before taking off. The young woman sparing one last glance, concern laced on her face.

“Please be safe, Björn.” (Your name) then fled down the river, Björn quickly shedding his clothes, much to the confusion of the the polar bear.

A loud growl left the polar bear’s throat. Balder had finally found (your name) so why did she run? Was it because she thought he was a monster?

Balder tried to chase after (your name), only for a familiar grizzly to stand in his way. Realization hitting Balder. Björn was the one who took his fiancée, Björn was the one who made him a monster.

A loud roar left Balder, his anger and hatred laced in his battle cry. He wasn’t going to let this beast stand between him and reuniting with his love.

Björn snarled at Balder, the two bears circling each other. A deadly dance about to begin.

Balder was the first to charge, his larger body easily shoving Björn to the ground. The grizzly jumping back up to its feet, it’s sharp claws easily swiping into the polar bear’s side.

Blood dripped from the wound, the polar bear hissing in pain. Balder quickly tackled Björn to the ground. Sharp teeth digging into the back of Björn’s neck, the grizzly desperately trying to get out of Balder’s hold.

Balder was then flipped over, blood dripping from his jaws. Icy blue orbs glaring at the golden eyes of the scarred grizzly. He couldn’t believe his life came to this. To fighting a bear to save his fiancée.

Balder roared, only for his face to be slashed from a powerful swipe from Björn’s claws. Balder was seething in rage. The hunger slowly beginning to hit him again.

Björn huffed, his eyes glancing at the ice. An epiphany hitting him. Björn could tell Balder had little to no control over his bear urges, so why not take advantage of Balder thinking like a bear?

Björn bolted towards the ice covered river. The polar bear growling in anger, immediately giving chase. He wanted to end this. He wanted to devour Björn for taking everything from him.

Björn began to dodge certain parts in the ice, careful not to alert Balder in what he was trying to do.

Balder slowed down, his icy eyes widening as the ice began to crack under him. Balder froze in place, the grizzly bear giving him a toothy grin.

A loud cry escaped the polar bears lips before he plunged into the icy river. The current sweeping him underneath the ice caps. Clawed paws desperately trying to swim to the top, only for the thick ice to prevent him from escaping.

Björn shook his head, carefully making his way back to his clothes.

That should hold his opponent off for awhile while he went to find (your name). Possibly even get rid of him already if he didn’t know how to swim.

Finding (Your name) was his priority right now at the moment. She couldn’t have gotten that far…

(Your name) tried catching her breath, her hands resting on her knees. She had ran the fastest she could to get away from the bear. Tears gathering in her eyes in fear.

She really hoped Björn was okay. A shudder left her throat at the thought of Björn being dead.

(Your name) glanced around the forest, clutching onto her coat for warmth. It was slowly starting to get colder. The chilly air nipping at her cheeks in the way dogs nipped at the feet of sheep.

(Eye color) eyes shifted to the thick brush, a small cave now visible to her.

Björn should be able to find her if she went into that cave right? (Your name) took a deep breath before making her way towards the cave.

A strong gust of wind nearly knocking her over, the snowfall steadily becoming heavier by the minute.

(Your name) trudged through the snow, standing just shy of a foot from the cave. A vile smell filling her nostrils, causing (your name) to gag. She’s never inhaled such a foul smell before.

(Your name) placed an arm over her nose, bravely pushing forward into the cave. The snowfall now turning into a blizzard.

Here’s part 2:

#yandere fic #yandere male #Yandere #yandere x you #yandere fantasy #Yandere werebear #yandere monster #female reader #yandere imagine #yandere x reader #yandere monster x reader

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