#altorprecanon

[rogueddie]

Steve nearly winces when he steps into the room, following behind Dustin and Mike. He's already wishing he'd tried to shut Lucas up as soon as he'd tried to say that "no, really, I don't mind!"

Because of course he's this unlucky. Of course his date would skip out almost last minute, of course he'd end up with no excuse to avoid helping Dustin with his stupid D&D game and of course the person who probably hates Steve most is crouched on the biggest chair like it's a throne.

Eddie Munson eyes lock on him immediately. He stares for a while, making Dustin and Mike shift awkwardly beside him.

"Absolutely not. No way." He's grinning though. His eyes narrow slightly at Steve, like he's daring him to do something.

"You asked for a sub, we delivered."

Steve simply raises an eyebrow, pointedly shifting the sheets Dustin had helped him make up. It draws Eddies attention off his face, finally. When he looks back up, he's smiling a little more genuinely.

The guys standing at his sides are still glaring, looking almost cruelly excited when Eddie stands up, meandering his way over to them.

He gently plucks the sheet out Steves hand, eyebrows slowly raising as he reads.

Everyone is waiting, eyeing Eddie impatiently. Dustin and Mike are tense, as though waiting for Eddie to blow up. The others seem to expect the same, though Steve imagines they're more excited for it.

"Why did you come?" Eddie eventually asks, still holding onto the character sheet. "What could possibly be so important about this that King Steve would miss the championship game?"

"Dustin said this one was important," Steve shrugs. Fights to keep his calm demeaner. "Something about it being the last one or something. He's been going on about this shit forever. Seemed cruel to leave him high and dry at the last leg."

"Well…" Eddie eyes the character sheet before handing it back. Looks Steve up and down, before finally grinning. His eyes crinkle at the edges. "Welcome to Hellfire, Lady Elora."

He sticks his hand out. Steve shakes it, trying not to grin back.

Even with how often Dustin has talked to him about the game, Steve is clueless. Dustin and Mike both save him from embarressment every time though, quick to argue different options in such a pointed way that he knows the others aren't fooled by.

But Steve doesn't mind, often finds himself rolling his eyes at their antics only to find Eddie eyeing him almost fondly.

He finds that he enjoys it though. He'd make the character Elora as a joke, mostly just throwing whatever seemed to fit at random. An Elf who's a ranger, chaotic neutral, swinging around a bat with nails.

He wonders if it sounds as stupid to everyone else as it does to him.

He's often lost on the story too. But Eddie is brilliant at telling it. Even when he doesn't understand what he means, he flinches when the others yell at a reveal. Anxiety bubbling up when things get tense, slowly getting more and more invested in the game. Even he can tell that they're nearing the end, the final fight.

"You're scared, you're tired, you are injured," Eddie says. "Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or do you stand your ground and fight?"

Steve already knows the answer before Dustin speaks up; "I say we fight. To the death!"

"To the death," Mike echoes, nodding.

"To the death." Steve sniffs, doesn't bother fighting the grin.

Eddie grins back at him, the others chanting the sentiment. Steve feels warm with his attention locked on him.

Steve has the first roll. He still doesn't understand the numbers, but the others cheer so he assumes it must be good. But then it goes downhill, so many bad rolls.

Everyone is too hyped up for Steve to keep up so he focuses on Eddie. He's jeering, jumping up out of his seat, encouraging the chaos and seeming to control the energy of the room. When he laughs, he sounds more like a movie villain.

And then, one of them calls time out.

They huddle into a circle, just like they did in basketball. Steve is surprised by how easily two of the older boys pull him in.

"Guys, I hate to say this but we have got to flee."

"I concur."

"Didn't we just agree 'to the death'?" Steve frowns. He's not ready to give up yet. He can feel how close they are.

"That wasn't literal!"

A hand tightens on his shoulder. "Vecna just decimated us. We can't kill him with two players."

"You too?" Dustin sounds just as annoyed as Steve feels. "Vecna only has 15 more hit points left, don't be pussies!"

"Pussies? Really? Cause we're not delusional?"

"No, no, Dustins right," Steve butts in. Barely holds back a warning to Dustin about his language; it's not the time for babysitting. "We're too close now, we can't give up!"

"HEY!" Eddie calls, easily drawing all their attention back to him. "If I may interject, gentleman… whilst I respect the passion, you'd be wise to take Garreth the Greats concern to heart. There is no shame in running. Don't try to be heroes. Not today."

Something about his smirk and stupid head tilt just makes Steve more determined. If he has to continue fighting this stupid game alone, god dammit, he will.

Steve only half pays attention to Mike talking strategy. He's already made up his mind.

"What do you say, Elora?" Dustin turns to him, looking uncertain.

"We can kill him." Steve sounds more sure than he probably has any right to be. But he is. He can feel it in his bones. They can win.

"Fuck yeah we can," he grins at Steve. The others look more uncertain. Dustin turns back to Eddie, shoulders back, chin up and looking almost proud. "Let's kill this son of a bitch!"

Dustin gets first roll and it's bad.

It's all down to Steve.

He can feel how tense everyone is. Dustin and Gareth start yelling when he takes to long. But he can't roll yet, follows his gut; he has to get this right, has to roll at the right time.

It's just like swinging a bat in baseball, he tells himself. Just gotta time it right…

He rolls.

The dice seems to move in slow motion. Steve can almost hear each time it bounces off the board. The tension is so thick that it almost chokes him, for a moment he's sure that he can't breath.

20.

There's a moment where no one reacts. Then Dustin yells, grabbing Steves arm and shaking him in his excitement. Mike, a more similar height, throws his arms around his shoulders. It's a little painful to have him shouting directly in his ear but, he too, is too excited to care.

The others have started yelling too, Eddie dramatically overacting his shock too. Steve can't help but laugh.

It takes a while for everyone to calm down. An even longer moment to stop talking enough so they can start packing their things up. Steve only brought his jacket and character sheet, so he stays stood at the end of the table to wait for the kids.

Eddie keeps glancing up at him as he packs most of the pieces away.

"Harrington," Grant grins at him. "Never thought I'd be saying this but... thanks for coming."

"Oh, uh, yeah, no problem," Steve tries to smile.

"Dude, you missed the championship game to save our asses in DnD," Gareth grins, throwing his arm over his shoulder. "Who woulda thought, though. Steve Harrington, huh?"

The other two laugh. Steve finally feels a little lighter, on safer ground.

"How the mighty have fallen, huh?" Steve tries. And they laugh, Jeff slapping him on the back.

At the doorway, he lingers for a moment, whilst everyone else starts heading down the hall.

"Thanks for letting me play," Steve says, turning to Eddie. "I know I'm not... uh..."

"Don't strain yourself," Eddie waves him off. "It's fine. The kids have raved about you enough for me to figure out that you're a good dude."

"Oh. Thanks."

"You should join their next campaign."

"I don't know. You're graduating, right?"

"Aww, you like me that much, big boy?" He puts a hand to his chest, batting his eyelashes.

But Steve remembers the rumors that went around, remembers exactly how true they were proven to be. And, well...

"What would you say if I am?" He fires back.

Eddie, true to his reputation, is never one to back down from a fight; "then I'd tell you to ask me out like you mean it."

"Alright. If you're free tomorrow, 8pm, would you wanna go on a date? With me?"

"You picking me up in your fancy car?"

"If you want."

"Yeah, I'm free."

"So... that's a yes?"

"Yes, that's a yes."

Steve can't help but fistpump, but it makes Eddie giggle, so he counts it as a win.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie fic #ficlet #altorprecanon #this thing has been in my drafts since august 2022 😭

[rogueddie]

Steve Harrington is six years old when he first speaks to Eddie Munson.

Steve vaguely recognized him from school, sure that he was in the year above Steve, but he thought that Eddie hadn't looked as lonely in school as he had in the public library that day.

So, determined to make a friend, he decided to go over and talk to him.

He only hesitated because Eddie looked immersed in his book- that is, until some other kids went over and bothered him. They don't do much, only seem to jeer and knock his book down as they passed by, but Eddie looked upset.

Steve got up as soon as the boys left through the doors. Eddie was clearly just trying to enjoy his book- and a big book too, Steve had thought that it must be interesting for him to be so far into it.

"Hi," Steve greets. He gave a little wave and his cutest smile- even his mom thought it was cute and she was so busy in those days that she never noticed those smaller things. "What are you- you, um, reading?"

He stared at Steve blankly for a moment, seeming confused. "Lord of the rings. Why?"

"Thought it must be… interesting. It looks so long and you've, just… you've read so much!"

"Oh. Yeah, it's pretty fun. You read a lot of fantasy?"

Steve shifted, glancing away for a moment. Uncomfortable. "I don't really… read a lot. The words get a little, uh, confusing."

"The Hobbit is a little shorter? And it's part of the same world as Lord of The Rings. There's three of these ones."

"What are they about?"

Eddie lit up. He kept the explination short, not wanting to ruin the book. He paused a lot, tongue sticking out as he tried hard to think, constantly noting that 'it will make more sense when you read it' or 'but then a thing happens, but I can't tell you because it will spoil it'.

"And the- the trees talking is, like, normal in this world?"

"Yeah! It's all great!"

Steve didn't quite understand, but he loved how Eddie made it sound.

"You still think you'll read it?"

"Maybe when I'm a- a bit older. I don't think I'll really, uh, get it? It sounds real neat though."

"Do you think it might help if I read it out to you?" Eddie's smile dropped a little when Steve hesitated. He leant close, lowering his voice. "I had to have my uncle read it out the first time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A lot of words I don't know and because he was reading them out, I could just ask him if I didn't get it. Plus, I kinda still like being read to. It's like having a personal narrator."

"Oh. And... that's ok?

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be? Uncle Wayne says it is so it must be."

"Is your uncle really smart?"

"Super smart. He knows a lot."

"Ok."

"Ok?" Eddie perked up. "You want me to read to you? Because I've been practicing doing voices and it is really fun."

Eddie flipped the book back to the start.

"I'll only read a little. Don't wanna give anything away."

Steve was fascinated. Despite how much some of the voices wavered, Steve adored them. He had to bite the inside of his cheeks at times to keep from making noise, or commenting. He hadn't wanted to interrupt Eddies flow.

It took him a while to realize that he'd stopped checking the time and, by the time he did, it was almost too late.

"Oh, damn," Steve jumped up, wincing at how it made Eddie flinch. "Sorry! I have to go, my dad- I'm sorry."

"No worries," Eddie shrugged. "Will you be here next week?"

"Yeah, should be."

"I'll wait for you here, same time."

"Gocha!"

Steve scurried out, running out the door. He ignored the yelling for him to slow down, panting by the time he jumped into the back of his dads car.

"Sorry I'm late."

His dad hummed, raising an eyebrow at him in the rear view mirror. "Good day? Make any new friends?"

"Yeah! I met Eddie and he's really nice and cool. He read me some of this big book and he wants to meet me again, next week!"

Steve hadn't noticed the way his dad winced when he went on to describe Eddie. He was too busy thinking about the next week and how excited he was to spend another afternoon with his new friend.

But, the next week, his dad dropped him off with a babysitting. He made sure to tell her that Steve was to be kept away from the public library.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie fic #ficlet #altorprecanon

[rogueddie]

One small glimpse had all it took for Eddie to be completely hooked. Just one little glimpse, just enough to get him curious, just enough to get him in the store.

And then he'd truly seen Steve Harrington, dressed in a cute little sailors uniform. The shorts weren't anywhere near as sinful as the ones he wore in gym but... something about them being part of his uniform, something about the fact that someone is paying him to wear them, makes it seem so much more... dirty? Eddie isn't sure, something about it immediately riles him up.

They're so flattering too, somehow make his legs look better than the gym shorts did. When he turns around, bending over to grab something out of the lower cabinet...? Eddie is just glad it was loud, no one could hear the quiet noise he made.

Of course he'd teased him. How could he not? Former King of Hawkins high, reduced to serving ice cream in a slutty sailor suit.

"It's not slutty," Harrington had hissed, flushing bright red. "It's just a uniform."

"Mm, and you wear it so well."

It was just a short little visit. Got some ice cream, said a few teasing things, left within five minutes.

Eddie couldn't stop thinking about it. He'd always found Harrington attractive, who hadn't? He wasn't necessarily ashamed of that. But, even then, it had never been this bad. A fleeting thought that the guy looked good, sure. Waking up in the middle of the night, fantasizing about him in his work uniform?

A week later, he's sure that he's remembering wrong. He's probably just having a bad week, weirdly hormonal and didn't realize that he was into sailor uniforms... or something. Because there's no way Steve Harrington looked so pretty in that uniform that it warranted this much thought.

So, later in the day, he goes back to the mall. Picks up a new album first, heading inside Scoops Ahoy- he'd pass it by on the way back, it gives him the perfect excuse.

Harrington is serving, but he's turned around, talking to his co-worker. It gives Eddie an unfortunately good look at how the shorts pull a little too tight in all the right areas. It doesn't help when he shifts his stance as he talks, leaning forward a little more so his back almost arches, hips tilting to the side and-

Eddie ducks his head to stare at the album in his hand like it's the most fascinating thing in the world, shuffling so the girl in front of him still waiting at the counter blocks his view.

After he finally carries on doing his job, serves the girl so Eddie can sidle up to the counter with a smirk, he rolls his eyes. "Anymore inappropriate comments?"

"Yeah. You sure those shorts are the right size?"

Harrington frowns, looking down at said shorts. "Yeah?"

"Mhm. Sure, I believe you." Eddie glances at his co-worker.

She's a decently pretty girl, he assumes- but she's giving him a knowing look, pretends to tip her hat at him with a wink. Huh.

"Same as last time," Eddie drawls when Harrington finally stops frowning at his uniform.

He stares at him for a moment, squinting a little. He snaps his fingers when he finally remembers, grinning. It's almost criminal- to look that good on a normal day, but then also wear that sailor uniform and also be cute?

Someone up above must hate him.

"Here you go, that's $1.55."

Eddie reluctantly accepts the ice cream, hands him the money in far too many coins. It's the right order. "Is that the right amount?"

Harrington grumbles, annoyed, as he slowly starts counting each cent. Shakes his head when he's done. "5 cents short, sorry dude."

"Damn." Eddie pushes the ice cream back at him so he can dig through both pockets.

"Just- stop, here," Harrington holds the ice cream out. Eddie had very nearly wiggled out what felt like a quarter stuck in his pocket too. "You can pay me back later."

"You sure?" Eddie cautiously takes the offered ice cream. Hesitates for a moment- he's being nice, actually nice. Eddie isn't sure teasing is the best way to repay that but... he's not told Eddie to back off yet. "You just want cash or what?"

"What other type of payment is there?"

"Goods and services," Eddie wiggles his eyebrows.

Harrington splutters for a moment, flushing red again. So Eddie takes the opportunity to leave, not waiting for a response.

Whilst it's only 5 cent, Eddie has learnt the hard way that every penny counts. But he's been given the perfect excuse to come back. He's practically been invited back.

Eddie tries not to feel too giddy. Tries not to let it get to his head.

He holds out exactly three days. Three days of absolute hell! He can barely concentrate half the time, mind constantly wondering back to Harrington in that stupid uniform. The way he'd blushed, again, so easily. Seemed to almost welcome the teasing, too. At least, he didn't seem put off by it. It's almost too good to be true.

He'd been busy all day though. Band practice had run later than they'd planned and everyone else had things they needed to get to afterwards as well. It didn't go well for anyone.

Eddie is lucky he arrives at the mall in time, the stores only just starting to pack up for the evening. Most stores are completely empty- including Scoops Ahoy.

But it's completely empty. Not even Steve or a different employee stand at the counter, or shuffle around the tables cleaning up. For a moment, Eddie is sure that they must have closed up early and he really has arrived too late.

But then the 'staff only' door swings open, Harrington shuffling out. He freezes moments after he steps out, just as surprised to see Eddie.

"Hey," he eventually says. He even gives Eddie a little wave. "Sorry, uh, didn't expect anyone else in. Most of the ice cream is, uh, packed up. I don't... we might still have yours?"

"It's ok if you don't," Eddie offers, sauntering over to the counter. "I'll take a recommendation."

Harrington nods, shuffling over to start rooting through... things. Eddie isn't sure. He keeps up his bad habit of just bending over instead of crouching though. Eddie isn't sure whether he's happy about that or not. It is a nice view.

"We have, uh, the U.S.S Butterscotch ice cream? It's the closest we have available."

"That's fine. As long as it's not vanilla. How much is it?"

"Oh, right, sorry. It's $1.99."

Eddie roots through his pockets, dumping his change on the counter first. He's pretty sure he doesn't have enough- and he's right, he's just about 34 cent short.

"Shit. You got anything cheaper?"

But Harrington shakes his head again, already pulling out the scooper. "Just pay me back. It's fine."

Eddie raises his eyebrows. One time, 5 cents, isn't anything to take note of. A second time, now adding up to 39 cents?

"What if I can't afford to?"

Again, he shrugs off the question. "You're the one who suggested goods and services."

"You know what I was implying with that, right?"

He shrugs again, but he keeps his head down, focusing on fiddling with the ice cream scooper. He's blushing.

Eddie leans forward, onto his elbows, tilting his head. He pats the counter. "Come here then."

"What?" Steve tries to ask. But Eddie just pats the counter again. So Steve steps a little closer, leans on his palms though, keeping straight and upright. "What?"

Eddie looks over him for a moment, considering... it'd be worth the punch, he decides.

He grabs the little red tie of Steve's uniform, pulling him down. He leans up to meet him halfway, unable to hold in his pleased hum when Steve tilts his head to the side as he allows Eddie to pull him down.

His mouth opens just as easily when Eddie immediately deepens the kiss. The noise he makes when Eddie nips at his lower lip too- so high, needy. Irresistible. He just has to bury his hands in his hair, holding his head still so Eddie can take what he wants. Rewards Steve with a little tug on his hair.

He's panting when Eddie finally lets him go, blushing all the way down his neck, eyes a little glassy.

"That enough, sailor?"

Steve blinks at him for a moment, looking a little out of it.

"Steve."

"Oh, uh, yeah... right, yeah, that- yeah. I'll just, um. I'll get your order."

This time, Eddie let's his eyes linger. Doesn't bother hiding it when Steve looks back round, feeling almost gleeful at how Steve almost seems to preen.

... can you tell that I've been thinking about this post too much?

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve x eddie #steddie fic #ficlet #scoops ahoy #altorprecanon

[rogueddie]

Steve is never mean to Eddie or really joins in when his friends mock him. He pointedly looks away, like he always does, forcing a laugh if someone specifically addresses him. Which makes Eddie hate him a little but also... fascinated. And when he starts looking, he notices the same with others. Steve never joins in unless pressed to.

So, with patience and a little stalking, Eddie manages to find Steve alone. He's so curious. He needs to know; "why don't you join in?"

Steve frowns at him, confused. He looks around like expects his friends to be there. He looks a little lost. "What?"

"When your friends decide to be assholes," Eddie raises an eyebrow, leaning against the wall. "You never join in unless they push. Why?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm... curious. Bullying is their main hobby and you seem to hate it. But you keep hanging around them. Popularity mean that much?"

Steve glares at him, crossing his arms. "Maybe it does. You wouldn't understand that though, would you?"

"Ouch," Eddie snickers. He puts a hand to his heart like he's wounded. "But no, I wouldn't. Don't really want to. Seems boring, hanging around a bunch of people who all want to be like everyone else."

"Right. Whatever, man."

"Hey, woah," Eddie quickly jumps forward, blocking the door. "You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't ask one."

"Why don't you join in?"

Steve tries to stare him down, but Eddie doesn't back down. He eventually sighs, putting his hands on his hips.

"Why would I? You haven't done anything wrong to me."

"I haven't done anything wrong to your friends."

"That's nothing to do with me."

Before Eddie can try to press him for a clearer answer, someone pushes the door open behind him. They sneer at him, shoving him out of the way. Steve takes the opportunity to squeeze past them, through the door.

The conversation only leaves Eddie more curious, especially with how Steve seems to back off even more. He starts telling his friends to back off when they start to cross whatever line Steve has made up in his head. Eddie once saw Steve gently smack Tommys chest when he was snickering at the older Byers kid, who was putting up a missing poster for his kid brother.

It's weird to think that Steve listened. It's weirder to realize that, maybe, Steve feels stuck with the friends he has. Eddie knows that no one else would willingly hang out with, not now.

Not even him. Steve had looked at him one day, his popular circle abandoned him after some fight that left him bruised. Eddie had turned away, turned his back on him, focusing back on the conversation, focusing back on their next campaign.

He sometimes wonders what would have happened, what would have changed, if he'd let Steve reach out to him that day.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve x eddie #steddie fic #ficlet #s1 steve and eddie superiority #altorprecanon

[rogueddie]

Steve couldn't stop thinking about Eddie.

Ever since the boathouse, when Eddie had slammed him against the wall with a broken bottle pressed against his neck. He's looked so angry, yet desperate- scared. But, fuck, Steve couldn't stop noticing how pretty he was.

His hair was a mess, yet it only served to frame his face. He'd pushed Steve so easily, none of Steves efforts able to stop him. And Steve hadn't understood why that was on his mind, why he was focused on how strong the guy was, why it made his stomach flip.

And then later, when they'd come with a supply run. His eyes, so openly curious, turned to Steve. He finally understood what people meant when they talk about 'puppy dog eyes'. He looked… small. Soft.

Steve felt so confused- Eddie Munson, a metalhead, and Steve was wondering if his hair was as soft as it looked. He wanted to know what would happen if he pulled it. Wanted to see what Eddie would do.

It was worse in the upside down. Nancy was looking at him like she was interested in him again. There was tension so thick that Steve was sure he could grab it and he wasn't interested. He wanted Eddie to look at him.

He should want Nancy, he should want the pretty girl he'd planned on marrying. Yet he couldn't stop himself from looking down at Eddies lips, wondering if they'd feel as full as they looked.

But Steve Harrington is straight. He was certain. It's always been an undisputable fact; Steve loves girls. He's always loved girls. Sure, he'd sometimes appreciate how attractive a guy is, but he's sure that other guys do the same... right?

Despite the confusion, with Nancy giving him those looks again, he has to try. So Steve tried to make sure Nancy understood that he wasn't the same asshole he was in high school. He tried not to think about whether Eddie would agree.

When they returned from the Creel house, Vecna assumedly still alive (somehow), Eddie is outside. He's- not walking, more stumbling- back towards the trailer. He's alive.

The relief of seeing both him and Dustin ok is overwhelming (although it's a little worry that Dustin is limping but he decides to worry about that later). Eddie even grins when he spots them.

He doesn't stop to think.

As soon as he's close enough, Steve grabbed Eddie by his jacket and kissed him. He didn't have time to panic about Eddie being disgusted either because he almost immediately started kissing him back, grabbing onto him just as tight.

"We should've done that sooner," Steve jokes when they finally pull away from each other.

Eddie just laughed, resting their foreheads together. "We'll just have to make up for it."

Steve decides the panic and crisis can wait. He can figure that out later. It doesn't seem to matter that much anyway- not when Eddie is leaning in, ignoring Robin and Dustins complaints.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve x eddie #steddie fic #ficlet #altorprecanon

[rogueddie]

The first time Steve noticed Eddie Munson was when he was still a freshman.

He'd only been in high school for little more than a month. Still fresh faced and struggling to find where he fits in the new school. He had only just managed to stick with Tina. Even then, she had wanted to keep her distance- she didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea.

Eddie was loud and hard to miss. A sophomore with curly hair, just a little too long, ripped jeans and equally black band tops. He stood out in a crowd, even when he stood on the ground.

He wasn't on the ground the first time Steve saw him, he was on a table in the cafeteria. He was saying something about jocks, assholes and how useless the American system is. He looked over at the table Steve was sat out with a grin that looked almost cruel.

Steve was surprised by how much he wanted to be seen.

The moment passed. Someone at his table yelling and Eddie laughing, jumping down after flipping them off.

Steve would only see Eddie in the cafeteria. He wouldn't always jump on the tables but he always seemed to be jumping out of his seat. His hands always seemed to be flying around, always pulling an odd face.

Steve found him fascinating. He was so shameless. If Eddie wanted to do something, he did.

If Steve wanted to do something, he'd be shut down. He reluctantly followed Tina into her new friendship group. He somehow ended up friends with Tommy, someone more obsessed with looking cool than actually being cool.

But it got Steve whatever he wanted, to an extent. If he liked a girl, she would be happy to date him. If he wanted to try out baseball, the couch would get a good word and get him put on the team. If he wanted someone to hang out with while his parents abandoned him again, Tommy would throw a party.

By the time Steve got to senior year, he was over his infatuation. He'd forced himself to believe that it wasn't a crush, he didn't like Eddie like that. Something about him was different and Steve thought that was interesting, there wasn't anything else to it.

But Eddie hadn't graduated. Eddie was still in senior year. Eddie was still fascinating, he drew in Steve's attention the same way he always had.

Eddie was in some of the same classes as him.

Steve tried to bury those feelings down again, ignore them. It was a passing memory, nostalgia maybe. Eddie was familiar and nothing else.

Steve was sat near Eddie in Chemistry. They weren't sat next to each other, not by a long shot, but he was close enough to be distracting. Steve couldn't seem to help glancing over at him, curious. But sometimes Eddie would catch him looking.

Eddie had never really done or said anything, so Steve assumed that it was fine. Until, of course, Eddie decided one day that he'd had enough. He'd cornered Steve just before class, one of the rare moments Steve was alone.

"Hey," Eddie looked at him like he was dirt. "Stop fucking staring at me. If you and your friends want to find something to laugh at, fine. Don't look down on me for being an idiot when you jackasses wouldn't have a chance of graduating without special help."

He didn't give Steve a chance to respond, to explain, immediately turning heel and striding into class.

Steve isn't sure what his explanation would be though. He doesn't really know why he has been staring. There's just something about him that draws Steve in- though he doubts Eddie would believe that. Not when he jumps to the assumption that Steve is only looking so he has something to make fun of.

Steve tries to shrug it off, tries to go about the rest of his day as normal. Tries to go about the rest of his year as normal. He isn't sure why, even after he graduates, he's still thinking about Eddie Munson.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #ficlet #steddie fic #steve fell first but eddie fell harder* #steve x eddie #altorprecanon