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jq37 · 20 days

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 14 Sleuthing and Scantrons

Welcome back to Fantasy High where we are back from winter break and hitting the ground running starting with our girl Kristen who just learned that the proselytizing patriarch of the Dawn clan–Bobby Dawn–is her new Cleric teacher.

Kristen decides to not make waves and just vibe out the situation. Bobby isn’t doing anything obviously out of pocket like calling people heathens, but his vibe is way preacher-y than Yolanda’s more neutral academic style and Kristen can clock that he’s giving certain kids a harder time than others (likely based on their choice of deity).

We’re still on downtime so let’s run through Kristen's tracks.

She thinks about doing a Mystery roll to learn more about Ankarna but rolls Academics first for a 19. A+.

Next, she rolls Popularity and she specifically wants to hit up Gertie. She passes with room to spare on a 21 and, amidst some awkward flirting that at least Gertie seems super into, asks her some questions about the Devil’s Honey. Gertie says that she hasn’t made a ton–just a few bottles. The nectar you need to make it is pretty rare. Her client (the trucks and thus, presumably KP) ordered two bottles right after the new year which is twice as many as she got last time. Kristen tries to get Gertie to switch the honey with a placebo but Gertie isn’t willing to lie so she settles for Gertie reporting back on if they ask for any more (which is logged into the school records anyway). With the logs, Kristen can see that the first delivery of Devil's Nectar happened a week or two after spring break last year--this is before Lucy even died.

After that she has a Relationship roll and wants to finally have that chat with her parents. On a 27 they have a reasonably cordial meeting at Krom’s Diner. Her whole fam is there–brothers and parents. Her parents are pretty happy that Bobby Dawn is the new cleric teacher (though the have a foot in mouth moment when they realize that Yolanda was murdered and not fired like they thought and that they were basically just celebrating a woman’s non-Helio sanctioned murder).Bucky’s happy to see his sister and a little bummed that he hasn’t been able to convert anyone in his party to Helioism.

She asks how her parents feel about Gal and their vibe is like, “Shrug, she’s fine.” Not Helio but she’s not infernal or anything. Kristen floats the idea of her attending church one Sunday–not to come back to the church, just to observe and for her class–but her parents are practically salivating at the opportunity to bring her back into the fold. Her mom specifically points out that it seems kismet that she, as Helio’s chosen (even if she’s not currently in the church), was the one to bring back the sun.

Bucky catches a glimpse of Kristen’s Cass shards and asks about them but, before she can tell him much, her parents cut her off and end the encounter. They tell Kristen they’ll pay for her bill so, naturally, she runs up a huge tab.

Final roll is for her campaign and she gets a Nat 20! She is absolutely crushing it–and why wouldn’t she be? She’s a world saving, total stud who rides with the coolest kid at school, a literal rockstar, and the people’s dork. And her opponent is Kipperlilly, ultimate bad vibes generator. Kristen and KP have a tense standoff where Kristen asks her what’s she’s trying to forget with the devil’s honey and KP tells her to fuck herself.

All of the Bad Kids square up, ready to throw hands on the spot but Oisin–wizard of the Rat Grinders–breaks it up. There is a long beat of the Bad Kids trying to recruit Mary Ann for reasons that are beyond me that you’ll just have to watch for yourself and the Bad Kids declare that all the RG’s are a lost cause except for her. Adaine, in an uncharacteristically un-aggro move for her–says that the wizard actually seems kind of cool and Brennan asks for a Perception check.

She rolls like trash but everyone wants to know what the cute wizard thinks about her and social engineer some romance for their girl so they pile on the buffs to turn her four into a dirty 20. With them coaxing her to pay better attention, they see that Oisin is waiting to say something to her–he casts the Message cantrip and gives her a quick, “Sorry,” to apologize for her friends’ behavior. Then their whole crew heads out. Fig reveals that she’s the one behind the entire Complicated Women Podcast. Where does your web of deceit end Figueroth???

Next up to run through tracks is Gorgug.

First track is Barb and he crushes it with a 26. Porter is so proud. A+!

Next is Artificer (Brennan only makes him roll once, not three times) and he gets a 31! He’s officially a Barbificer which means he can hold concentration on pre-cast spells while raging. Henry is super proud of him too! He gets some more cool gadgets so he’s all twins-y with Riz. Green guys with gadgets!

His next track is Mystery and here’s where things get juicy. He wants to dig into Henry’s deal and, with Flash of Genius, gets a 20. He snoops around Henry's desk before his class one day and finds a note from Ruben asking for a ride home, nothing about the Cloud Rider engine, and some Grix parts along with his notes which seem to indicate that fixing Grix isn't his top priority and he's gonna leave it until Aguefort is back. Suddenly, Gorgug hears something from outside the door--a conversation between Henry and Jace. Jace says that he got Henry's letter about Ruben and he's just there to assure him that everything is fine. Henry doesn't sound super assured and wants to have a more in depth meeting but Jace gets pretty aggro pretty quick. He says he's too busy for that and they should meet at the school year when Aguefort is back and when Henry pushes back on that, Jace Misty Steps to be all up in his face and says he should keep his fucking nose out of other people's business. Henry walks into the class, clearly shaken, and Gorgug plays dumb effectively, slipping on his headphones like he didn’t hear anything.

Finally, he rolls Owlbears and fails. Rather than push it (which would make him take his fifth token) he decides his heart isn’t in it and drops Owlbears. Fabian and Gorthalax are both disappointed, even though they understand. Riz gets promoted from off the bench to fill his spot, much to his glee. Fabian and Kristen both try to roll relaxation but they fail (which has no mechanical downside).

Speaking of Riz, let’s do his tracks next!

As always he does Academics first and rolls a 31. DC to find the Rogue Prof is 30 which means he’s right on her trail! We don’t resolve that this episode but Brennan says that he finds Eugenia Shadow’s (the teacher) death records which means that, as they suspected from episode 1 of this season, she’s almost certainly a ghost.

Extracurriculars with disadvantage is a dirty 20 so he’s still on top of those.

Third roll is a Mystery roll to try and figure out how the Rat Grinders became the Rat Grinder from the High 5 Heroes. A 23 is only enough for some basic clues which are as follows. From Gertie, he learns that part of what makes Devil’s Honey work to make you a good liar is it makes you in the moment believe what you’re saying which erases some of the tells of lying from your expression and body language. It also allows you to lie without speaking which is useful for Wizards speaking telepathically AND for its original purpose: lying in prayer. Fig thinks this could maybe be used to pray effectively through doubt. Riz also catches Jawbone (who just finished giving a muffin to a hard at work Adaine–cute!) and asks about Kipperlily and her finding the rogue teacher. Jawbone says it was all above board though she did find her crazy fast–8:01 on the first day, literally the first minute it was possible. (Adaine/Shiv remembers at this point that she has ethereal vision and can def help Riz find a ghost). Jawbone mentions that the people at the morgue are trying to do something about the runes on Lucy and Yolanda and racing the clock before rezzing them because borderline impossible--they're getting close to the one year limit with Lucy. Riz knows there’s more info he can get but it would mean stealing the file from Jawbone and listen. He’s a good guy rule follower but he’s also a Rogue baybee. Nat 20 to snatch it with Jawbone none the wiser. Brennan says that he’ll properly dig into it later but, for at a quick glance, he sees that she's been coming to the counselor since Freshman year for anger issues and that his name is in the file for some reason. Mysterious!

Fourth roll is Owlbears and, with a portent roll from Adaine, he manages to hang on and not totally flame out. I like to imagine she literally used her oracle magic to predict what was gonna happen and drilled the moves he needed to not get tackled into his head like DDR steps.

Last up is our girl Fig!

She does her Work track first and actually works on her album properly for the first time in ages. With an insane plus 20 to Performance (????) she gets an ungodly 38 and writes the most metal song ever which is an 8 minute epic about gods and devils which requires Adaine to make a magical copy of Gorgug just so he can play the drum part. It’s called Dawn of Justice and it rocks so epically hard that she is able to inadvertently magically call dibs on Ankarna. No one can rez the goddess but her. She also casts Find Greater Steed and is able to summon the horse that Ankarna used the gifted wedding bridle on So, clearly Fig took those warnings about Ankarna finding worshippers super to heart!

[Note: My notes say that the bridle was a gift from Ruvina to Cass actually, but hey. I guess when you're married what's mine is yours and all that.]

Next track is Paladin and she gets a 29. A+! While she’s working with Porter, she asks him about the Mountains of Chaos which she thinks is on another plane but he clarifies it’s just up north and parties go there to clear dungeons all the time–including the Rat Grinders many times. That’s news to me because this is the first we’re hearing of them doing anything besides stepping on rats.

Next for Fig is Mystery and she wants to use her Dream spell to visit Lola. In Lola's dream, she's remembering a email between her and Ruben about the podcast (Fig realizes she never followed up on that) and also she sees that Lola was talking to Ruben with Jace CC'd. Fig appears as herself in the dream and tries to be like, “Hey, I talked to Jace, cut me in on the plan.” Lola wants to know if she wants to go back on tour because Ruben just canceled, which surprised both me and Fig. But Fig hides it well and is like, “Yeah, Ruben just canceled, that’s why I want in.” She gets a Nat 1 Insight so Lola seems pretty clueless about a plan. When Fig floats the idea of Jace being a part of a plan to summon a god, Lola says she has no idea what she's talking about and Jace isn't a planner, he just gets in her way. But what she sees as him being a nuisance looks a lot like clues. Apparently Jace doesn't want Ruben touring and he was the one who made Ruben get Frosty Folk moved to the Thislespring Tree. Fig stores away that info and then warps the dream into something normal (by dream standards) to cover her tracks as she gets out of there.

Lastly, she wants to leave a note for Zara saying, “Hey not coming to class this week” but Brennan has her roll and apparently the note is an excellent example of attempting to get your way that Zara respects because it’s still a 34 and and A+! Our kids are doing really well!

Except, here’s the thing. They’re not actually. Or at least, Kristen isn’t. It’s mid April now, just like IRL, and grades have come out. Kristen is failing Cleric classes again. She’s expelled.

Everyone is outraged. She’s been working so hard under insanely difficult circumstances! They march to Jawbone’s office to get answers and he sees the problem. Yolanda made allowances that let her be a cleric with a dead god but Bobby got rid of that. He said no god is an automatic failure. Riz is so stressed that he elects to take a fourth stress token. Gotta respect Murph for the move but that’s crazy.

[Note: This doesn’t become relevant in this ep but it’s mentioned around here so I just wanna say, Riz hasn’t had a chance to dig into KP’s file yet but there’s something about her going to a cemetery in Ashgrove which he connects to the ghost Rogue teacher. Also, they all share the info they learned in downtime.]

ANYWAY, the Bad Kids are ready to throw hands once again and head for Bobby Dawn’s classroom, but Kristen has them all wait in the hall while she confronts him and she tries a novel tactic. She goes in crying. She claims that her Cass shards have been destroyed and that she’s lost and directionless. She gets a 26 on her Deception and Adaine, with all the quiet confidence of the elven Oracle, says that Bobby gets a 1 on his Insight roll. Kristen says she’s ready to come back to the fold and allows Bobby to pray with her but when she asks about the paperwork to get her reinstated at school, he’s not interested in that. He believes that she’s sincere but he’s not gonna break rules or make allowances for her. Kristen gets the sense that he actively wants her to be expelled for some reason and he got what he wanted.

Her friends are outside, practically salivating as they get ready to kick some Foghorn Leghorn ass, but Jawbone shows up and says that they qualify for The Last Standard–aka the Last Stand Exam–and they all decide that that’s a better first option than murdering ANOTHER faculty member. As Kristen leaves, Bobby Dawn gives her a bit of advice that seems to point to her falling in line and being Helio’s chosen again and Kristen calls him a control freak and says he’ll never win–which is a satisfying way to leave a room but a waste of a great Deception roll! The other kids cast various spells on him so he smells like shit the rest of the day because they’re all loyal, petty gremlins.

Jawbone explains what exactly the Last Stand is. It’s an endurance test that replicates the conditions of a desperate last stand. They’ll have to answer questions while waves and waves of monsters try to kill them. Adaine and Riz are the only ones excited about the questions. There will be 12 questions (two for each of them) and a proctor. They lose 30 points (Out of 100) if the proctor (who is some rando named Gavin Pundle) dies. There will be a cleric on hand to rez them if they die but it’s more like when they die. We don’t learn this until later but this isn’t an exam where you’re not expected to TPK. But hypothetically you could stay up the whole time because there’s a limited amount of monsters. Also, it’s not like you die, you're out. Kristen can still rez her friends. It’s just a TPK that ends it all. And one more piece of info I’m gonna give you early to keep the rules together. The questions they have to answer are not rolls. They are timed questions/challenges that the actual at the table players have to answer in real life. But they do have a lifetime. Remember how Gorgug won a mysterious academic resource for getting double Nat 20s in his classes earlier in the year? Well that gets the party a stamp that they can use on two of their questions before the time runs out to skip it without penalty. OK, that’s everything! Got it? Good. The Bad Kids get a good night’s sleep and the next day, it’s time for the Last Stand!

The Last Stand is held in some kind of extra dimensional pocket dimension full of illusory, cheering Agueforts. Buddy Dawn is the volunteer cleric on duty and the group seems wary of him even though he’s taken a divine oath that will strip him of his magic if he fails to rez them.

Because the Bad Kids are doing so well in school, they get a grace period to set up a bunch of buffs and readied actions and stuff. You already know the drill–I’m not gonna do a play by play of every single spell, buff, and attack for this fight but I’ll give highlights. Kristen casts Death Ward on the proctor (great forethought) and Adaine summons Moggy the Doggy to protect him. Fabian has the Hangman and summons some rats (Adaine is happy that Fabian is using her present). Adaine summons the Dry Guys and does Mirror Image. Fig disguises herself as the Proctor, summons Ankarna’s fiery steed as well as spirit guardians, and does Armor of Ayda on herself and her mount. Riz has his Mage Hand out. I’m sure I’m missing stuff but the point is, they’re buffed as hell and ready to go. They pump themselves up with a Hoot Growl chant and then it’s off to the races!

The first wave of monsters includes an otyugh, a gorgon, a steel bull, a hydra, skeletons, and three ochre jellies. Brennan tells them that they’re literally at adventuring school so it’s not meta gaming to know things like you have to cauterize a Hyrdra’s neck lest two more heads grow in its place or that jellies are weak to fire.

Highlights!

Riz does CRAZY damage with all his rogue stuff. Adaine and Gorgug do a cool tag team where he cuts a Hydra head off by boomeranging its head off with an ax before she cauterizes it with a Chromatic Orb. Emily/Fig throws away her dice cause she’s rolling SO BAD.

At the top of the next round, Riz gets the first folder with a test question. There is one marked Investigation and one marked History. He grabs the Investigation and Brennan hands him an actual Scantron (everyone hated that) with the phrase “Bony Girth” written on it before turning over an hourglass. They’re allowed to work together on these and we get to see some teamwork in action. Ally and Murph both realize right away that it’s an anagram. Murph gets the word Night and Ally hits him and says, “Night Yorb!” A “Correct” stamp graphic hits the dome. They got one!

Fabian goes for a folder as well and his choices are Athletics and Common. He goes for Athletics but the desk turns out to be a mimic and attacks him. He just tanks the damage because he doesn’t have the time to fight it. This is a multiple choice question about who the Owlbears’ rival team is. They're between the Buccaneers and the Hellions. Siobhan thinks it’s the Buccaneers since Bastion City is right nearby but realizes that Lou is correct when he says that that’s actually the professional team that Ragh is trying out for, not their high school team. Lou says Hudol Hellions and that’s another one in the bag!

More highlights!

Fabian makes quick work of the Hydra, doing a ton of fancy Fighter moves to cleave the rest of its heads and then sending in the Hangman in dog form to fire breath all the neck stumps. Fig Fireballs the otyugh and two of the jellies! Gorgug gets TWO NAT 20s in a row plus another hit to get the bull from 100% to bloodied.

And to close out the episode, Kristen sends a quick prayer up to Cass and then does Turn Undead, destroying all the skeletons on the field. Whatever else happens in this fight, you can’t deny that the Bad Kids are off to an amazing start. Let’s hope they can keep the momentum going as we head into the second half of the Last Stand, next week!

Detention

Bobby Dawn for Failing Kristen

I knew I wouldn’t need to wait long to put him on my shit list. He can absolutely go to hell for saying that letting Kristen remain in class was “against the rules” somehow. That’s a simple exercise of discretion! And if anything, isn’t it more impressive that Kristen is still running circles around other clerics with a dead(ish) god? That her god is still able to communicate with her in this state? ALSO, if we’re getting technical, Cass isn’t actually dead! We've established that. She’s, as Miracle Max said, only mostly dead which is still partially alive! I know this needed to happen to force the Last Stand but he can still jump into a lake. I hate that, even when she's actually earnestly and effectively applying herself, Kristen is getting smacked down by the system.

(Also, I have to assume Helio died for three days at some point and came back since he’s basically frat bro corn Jesus. Gods die and come back! It’s a thing! It’s a thing that they do!)

Honor Roll

All of the Bad Kids for Loyalty and Badassery

I really couldn’t pick this week so I decided to just give it to all of them. I tried to do a more in depth recap this week to really highlight the coolness of everyone. I think they have especially good team synergy this week from trying to help Adaine get her kisses in to being ready to throw down for Kristen. And everyone got at least one major piece of Mystery info in their downtime rolls. Not to mention how strong they came out for the first part of the Last Stand. I’m just super impressed and I love them individually and as a unit!

Random Thoughts

OK so obviously the biggest red flag right now is Jace. As I pointed out in the last recap, he was there talking to Kalina in the conversation Ragh saw and now we have two more suspicious actions from him. Now I’m questioning his other actions too. Like, making Riz a part of the interim staff. Was that in order to make sure he fell under the staff category for an ulterior motive bylaws related reason? And is he fully working with The Rat Grinders? He’s a sorc but what origin? What if he’s divine soul and wrapped into this god stuff somehow?

(This could be nothing but the other big loose end besides the above that’s been stuck in my craw in Soph year is Sandra-Lynn talking about a couple that made things hard for her and I’ve always wondered if Jace was involved there.)

Handing a Nat 1 portent roll to your DM must feel like doing drugs.

Kipperlily had had rage issues since Freshman year, huh? Does that mean she’s been in league with the corrupted Ankarna since then or just a really easy target? And why would Riz’s name be in her file? I so badly want to know what else is in that file. Brennan, I know you need to control the pacing of the story to some degree but in no world does Riz see his name in that file and go, “Welp I’ll check that out later.” Absolutely not.

Also, two more Rat Grinder points. KP ordered the honey BEFORE Lucy died? That’s suspicious. And Porter confirmed that they’ve been to the Mountains of Chaos many times which means our understanding of their activities has been off. Like, I suppose it’s obvious that they must have been doing more than literally just stepping on rats because we know they’re making moves, but this seems a bit out of left field. Though it does answer the question of what they likely did for their Sophomore Year quest because that’s been incongruent. Multiple times is also pretty suspicious. That points to going there for a specific reason. Also, that’s where the celestial gods were traveling en route to Cass’s wedding. Maybe there’s a connection there. Were they searching for Ankarna’s name?

Maybe I’m just being paranoid and I know Riz literally tattooed Night Yorb stuff onto his body of his own free will but a part of me wonders whether a part of that wasn’t a bit of Sol/Helio manipulation trying to get Kristen back as a cleric. Like, her mom is right. Her bringing back the sun could have been a dramatic prodigal daughter moment.

Buddy mentioned Bucky being “led astray” a few eps ago and I’m really curious to know exactly what that means because he seemed to be mostly in good little paladin mode this ep besides some slight curiosity about Kristen’s shards.

In addition to the moment with Bobby Dawn, Kristen tipped her hand AGAIN In this ep to when she revealed that she knew about the Devil’s Honey. Like, girl. I know you love a dramatic mic drop but keep some secrets, damn!

Curious about what was written on the physical note that Emily gave Brennan when she said she was skipping Zara’s class.

Where did Ally’s “girl Winnie the Pooh” bit come from? It was so confident and out of nowhere that I burst out laughing.

Brennan has been doing such a great job with battle eps this season. We’ve had back to back bangers with really creative mechanics. I can’t wait to see what the other questions are! (This is why I always say I identify with Adaine and Riz most of the BKs)

“The Last Stand” and “Dawn of Justice” are both subtitles of superhero movies. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s just weird that it happened twice. Two nickels and all.

Saved this for last–yessssss Oisin. Be apologetic about your friends being weird. Take the extra time to personally apologize to Adaine and only Adaine while her friends to air traffic control signals to get her to pay attention to you. Very happy that everyone at the table seems to be as invested in making this happen as I am (and that Adaine volunteered that she thought Oisin could maybe be cool even when she could have demurred or said nothing or been really harsh like she usually is with the Ratgrinders). I especially love Fig being like, “We’re trying to make this romance happen!” Like, hey girl I got me my wizard paramour, let’s get you yours. Get you a ride or die friend like that.

One last thing! It’s my birthday on Friday and, to celebrate, I made my thesis visual novel free on itch.io for the weekend. It’s called A Tale of Two Sisters and it’s very meta and fairy tale-y and sincere. I put a lot of hard work into it and, if you enjoy my recaps, I’d appreciate you checking it out and leaving a review. Again, it’s totally free for the weekend! I have another game on there that you can check out but that one's free all the time.

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #Ha! this is the earliest I've ever gotten a recap up!#I can't believe I don't get paid for this #like 4k+ words #the report card

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writers-hes · 1 year

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Brown Sugar (e. munson x reader)

Two kids made it out of Hawkins but both came back, seeking comfort and rest only to find each other again. (friends to lovers, mutual pining, rockstar!eddie, baker!reader)

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On August 22, 1986, Eddie Munson left Hawkins, Indiana without a goodbye and a plan.

It was inevitable, really. He graduated high school months ago (it was his year after all) and saved up enough money from his drug dealings to escape the hellhole he called Hawkins in his beat-up van with nowhere to go. He decided that he had enough money for gas, food, and living expenses for a month in New York. All by himself, where the culture is. He found a pretty cheap hostel off the contact book and they were more than willing to give Eddie a discount and an allowance if he helped around the maintenance of the property. It was more than enough for him who just wanted out.

But a month turned into another week, and then another, and then a month. That month turned into months, until Eddie found a stable job as a tattoo artist in Brooklyn, sidelining with his band, Corroded Coffin, in a grunge-y bar in Manhattan, New York. He met his friends there, Gareth being one of his closest confidants. He wrote songs for the band—strumming his guitar with mindless melodies and playing the antique piano with chords. They started singing their own songs, more people coming into the bar until they landed a record deal with one of the most prominent record labels in Hollywood. They signed immediately with Eddie as their frontman. It was a pretty good deal, Eddie had creative control of the direction of the band and with the uprising of the grunge culture, it seemed like Eddie’s dreams had finally come true.

Sure, overly-conservatives called his music the devil’s music. Some people even suggested that he was a part of a secret society for the rich and famous. There was another rumor that he skyrocketed to fame because of a famous relative. None of it was true but it’s not like he minded. One thing that was good about being the resident Freak of Hawkins was not minding what everyone else thought of him. Devil music? Sure. Trailer trash? Nothing he’s ever heard before. It’s all water off a duck’s back—hey, that sounded like a good song title.

Another good thing that came out of his career was finally getting a house for his uncle back in Hawkins. It wasn’t the biggest but it was enough; a two-storey house in Lucas Sinclair’s street. Wayne never thought that there would be a day that he’d finally live in a house but his boy did it. Damn right, he did.

The band started with an extended play. It was a five-song album that contained their famous songs in Manhattan. Cinders by Corroded Coffin was a hit; a rock EP with different musical styles—pop rock, metal, ballad rock, classic rock, and contemporary. It showcased the talent and the potential that Corroded Coffin was and soon, Eddie found himself in North American tours that extended to Europe.

It was no surprise when, after two hectic years, Eddie Munson went back to Hawkins, Indiana for a break. Being on tour was tiring. Sure, everything paid off and he was more than happy but after a world tour, award shows, and a hit album, Eddie needed a break. Something to ground himself and what could offer that but his hometown, Hawkins? Everybody assumed that he was from New York anyway; always so secretive with his past and his private life—no one would suspect that the most sought-after rock vocalist was back home with an oversized hoodie and boxers, getting yelled at by his Uncle Wayne for not visiting enough.

Honeysuckle Rose by Thelonius Monk plays through the speaker of your bakery. It was rather a slow day and you busied yourself with an Italian buttercream for a cake order tomorrow. Steve Harrington just landed some corporate deal and needed a cake to express his gratitude to his staff. You didn’t know what his work was but if it meant that he would be more than willing to spend so much money for a ‘thank you’ cake, then you wouldn’t mind. The shop smelled like vanilla—not the fake vanilla essence that you get from the store but of a special order Tahitian vanilla paste that was so hard to come by in Hawkins. You smiled at the satisfaction. This was the life that you always wanted, a slow life filled with sweets and nothing else.

You looked around, muffins and macarons lined the display. Your French butter croissants were sold out just before lunch, a few pain au chocolats and kouign amanns here and there. You made it. You fulfilled your dreams and so did everyone else. Should you hire a staff and start serving coffee too? Einspänner, americano… You hummed lightly at the thought, it would be nice but tedious. You pride yourself in small batches of everything you have after all.

The bell by the door frame rings, indicating a new customer. You looked up from your station and smiled. It was Robin Buckley, another Hawkins High alumni.

“Hey, sorry but do you have cupcakes? Like, a lot of cupcakes,” she asked. She was trying to catch her breath and you watched her calm down.

“Um, I could check the back,” you replied before wiping your hands on your apron. Your memory recalled six cupcakes in the fridge. The genoise cake was flavored with coffee and hazelnut. A caramel buttercream would do good for the topping and you were lucky that you had caramel to incorporate into the vanilla buttercream you always had. You emerged from the backroom with six cupcakes and Robin almost swooned. She could smell the coffee from where she was, the glass panel be damned. “I have six coffee and hazelnut cupcakes. Would you like them? It would take me fifteen to thirty minutes to ice them,”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” she said. “May I sit?”

“Of course. Let me just wash my hands and get everything for your cupcakes,” you said before disappearing back to retrieve your tools. Robin watched as you neatly laid down a jar of caramel, a bowl of vanilla buttercream, and what looked like sprinkles.

“You’re from Hawkins High, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded, without looking at her. You were busy setting your commercial grade stand mixer. “Do you want a pain au chocolat or a muffin? I baked them this morning. On the house,” you offered.

“Really?” she asked, looking at the display. Now that she really looked at it, everything seemed good. Sure, you were known back in Hawkins High as the baker girl who always had her cookies sold out but what you have now was like, light years away from your cookies. “Can I get a white chocolate and raspberry muffin?”

“Sure,” you replied before getting the requested muffin with a pair of tongs. “Do you want me to heat it up?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m really hungry and well, our friend just got back from the city after two years of little communication and I decided to get him cupcakes as a welcoming gift,” she said, standing up to take the muffin from you. “Oh, wow. This is really good,” she complimented with a mouthful of muffin. You laughed before going back to your job. You took a spatula and plopped a generous amount of caramel buttercream on the cupcakes before doing a swirl and then topping it with chocolate shavings.

“How have you been?” you asked, trying to make a light conversation. You never really talked to Robin in High School. After graduating, you kind of just left Hawkins to study in a culinary school outside Indiana.

“Good,” she replied. “Just started college since I took some time off but I’m taking Gender Studies in Indianapolis. What about you?”

“Oh, I finished my course and started my bakery,” you said. Robin could sense the pride that you held. Everybody knew that you were offered a scholarship at a prestigious culinary school and that you took it. It was the first time you got out of your comfort zone, the second was opening up your sweet shop, nobody knew what the next one would be. “Kind of lucky that Hawkins seems to like what I offer,”

“I mean, after you left Hawkins High, bake sales were never the same,” Robin laments. “Steve refused to buy other people’s cookies when he found out that you left but you’re here now.”

“I’m here now,” you repeated, finishing the cupcakes wordlessly. “I’m about finished with the cupcakes. Do you want a gift box for it?”

“Yes, please,” she replied. You nodded and told her the total price of her order and she gave you her payment.

“Let me just go to the back and fix everything,” you said. You washed your hands and carefully placed the cupcakes in a special gift box with your shop’s logo and phone number. You took another white chocolate and raspberry muffin and a salted strawberry cookie.

“Here you go, Robin,” you said, extending her a paper bag and the box of your cupcake. Robin looked at what’s inside the bag and she smiled.

“Free treats? Sweet,” she said. “Thank you!”

“Thank you!” you told her watching her away from the store and going back to tending Steve’s cake order.

“I’m here!” Robin announced, opening the door of the new Munson household. It was decorated nicely, Wayne’s mug collection the centrepiece of the dining room, while the walls of the living room were lined with pictures of Eddie, Wayne, and their friends.

“Welcome back, Robin,” Wayne replied. “How was your day?”

“Well, I got cupcakes for Eddie from this bakery in town. Hey, Steve, remember the girl with the best cookies from high school? She owns the place and she gave me a muffin and a cookie,” she rambled, going deeper into the house to see everyone there. Eddie ordered lots of pizza and soda for everyone while everybody else got small bits of what they considered as welcoming gifts. “Hi, Eddie! Welcome back. This is for you,” she said, before hugging him.

“Thanks, Robs,” he replied. Robin took him in—all tattoos and long hair. He looked older now but happier. Definitely happier. Eddie looked at the box and saw the cupcakes. “You know, I think I know her…the baker, I mean. She used to give me free cookies back in high school,”

“Yeah! Well, she has this shop now and she’s doing good,” Robin replied, sitting beside Steve.

“Anyway, how have you been? We were all shocked to know that you weren’t coming back after a month and the next thing we knew, people were lining up in the record store beside Family Video for a copy of your CD,” Steve asked. There was bitterness in his voice and Eddie understood. He knew that Steve was happy for him, though. He even attended one of his shows in Manhattan when they were small and then went to two shows after the release of the album. Eddie even brought him to his apartment, reliving what Hawkins used to be over scotch and beer. They had little correspondence over the years but that didn’t change the fact that Steve and Eddie were still close. They were just too busy growing up with their growing pains but it was alright.

“Really good but also, really tired.” Eddie replied. “Management gave us a four-month break before we go back to L.A. to write and record songs. We’re planning to release an album next year. But yeah, I decided to come back home for the break. It's been two years since I stepped foot in Hawkins and the first thing I hear is Wayne asking if I got him mugs from the cities I’ve been in,” he teased.

“Well, Wayne’s collection is as impressive as ever,” Nancy added. She has been talking mindlessly to Robin about her journalism classes, the two girls already concocting a plan to collaborate on a research paper.

“Thank you, Nancy,” Wayne said. Knocks at the door startled the group and in went a gaggle of children who all raced to Eddie, save for the lone adult in the group named Jonathan Byers.

“There’s this asshole,” That was Dustin.

“Hey, Eddie,” Max.

“Eddie!” Lucas and Mike.

“Hi,” El, Will, and Jonathan.

“Hey, guys!” Eddie smiled, standing up from the La-Z Boy. “How are you?”

Dustin tackled him into a hug. “You shouldn’t leave like that again, you hear me, asshole? Seriously, I was biking to and from the trailer park to see if you’d be back until you called to tell me that you’d be gone indefinitely,”

“Sorry, Dustin,” Eddie apologized, ruffling his curly hair. He meant it and he knew the bearing of being Dustin’s friend. “I know I shouldn’t have done that but it worked out well, huh?”

“Yeah,” Dustin nodded, breaking away from Eddie. Mike and the rest gave him half hugs while Max opted for a small wave. “We’re at the cool table now because I’ve been telling them that my friends, Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson will beat the shit out of them if they make fun of any of us,” he snickered, earning eye rolls from the two men whom he considered as his older brothers. Thankfully, Dustin’s anger for Eddie seemed to dissipate.

“How long are you here for, neighbor?” Lucas asked. He was even taller now and Eddie couldn’t quite believe it.

“Four months,” Eddie replied. “I’ll be here for four months.”

Four months was enough time, the group decided. The rest of the night was spent with soda, beer, pizza, and other junk food. It felt just like the old times, the kids taking digs at Eddie and Steve, Nancy and Jonathan curled in a corner, and Robin splayed out on top of her friends. Wayne took pictures of them together to hang on the wall. Jonathan said he’ll develop them.

“Yeah, do you think I can order single origin coffee beans and some coffee syrups? Your catalogue said that you offered coffee supplies? Yeah, I’ll have caramel, dark chocolate, and vanilla syrups with that too,” you said over the phone. An impulsive thought from last week turned into reality—you bought a commercial espresso machine and hung a “HIRING” sign on the glass door of your shop. “Next week? Okay, that’s fine. Thanks,” you said before hanging up.

The coffee supplies scattered across your workspace were free samples and you sighed, trying to make a coffee menu. Some people already applied for the job but nobody could quite make the cut yet. Nobody had the precision that you were looking for. The shop was quite hectic today and you really needed another helping hand. With baking, inventory, cleaning up, and everything else, your business was wearing you to the bone. You wouldn’t have it any other way; your business was slowly expanding, it’s just that help could really come in handy.

“Hey, can I get a dozen assorted cookies?” a voice asked and you turned.

“Oh, my God,” you gasped. “Eddie Munson from middle school, right?” Eddie smiled, glad that you remembered him. How could you not? You were hopelessly crushing on the boy since you laid your eyes on him in middle school. You may or may not have given him a batch of special cookies during bake sales to convey your feelings but you were so positive that he didn’t catch it. He’d always run off with a quick ‘thanks’ or a ‘see you later.’

“The one and only,” he replied. “How have you been?”

“Good…great,” you replied, heart beating loudly. You were so sure that you buried your crush after you graduated high school but it seemed like your heart had other plans. “You?”

“Great,” he replied as he watched you pick different flavors of cookies—chocolate chip, smores, cheesecake, tiramisu, salted strawberry, butterscotch, double chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter marble, chocolate crinkle, cashew raspberry, whoopie pie, and tagalongs.

“It’s been a while,” you replied, bagging the cookies in individual parchment paper before placing them in a box. Just like how you used to in high school.

“Years,” he said. “I went to your graduation but you already left. Wanted to say thank you for the cookies,” he revealed, making you pause for a moment. “and for being the single person in all of Indiana who gave me the time of day,”

“You did?” you asked, tying the box with a ribbon. “I didn’t go because it was the orientation week for the culinary school I went to. Here,” you handed him the box.

“How much?”

“It’s on the house. Let’s keep the tradition going with free cookies,” you smiled, looking at Eddie’s brown sugar eyes, sickly and sweet.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Don’t worry about it,” But you did have to worry about it because Eddie was here and as long as he visited, he’d get free cookies from you and you would probably run out of business but it was Eddie. Any rational thought was out of the window as soon as you saw him. He was more handsome now, bigger arms from playing the guitar, long hair more kept in place but still wild enough to be signature Eddie. There was a slight stubble growing on his chin, more confidence, more everything in the best way possible. He’d be the death of you, you realize.

“Come on. I have to pay for all the cookies you gave me back then,” he said. Eddie didn’t think he’d have this opportunity again but he did. Just like back then, he felt his heart thumpthumpthumping so fast that it was ringing in his ears. His palms were sweaty but if he was nervous, he made sure to show no indication of it. He coughed to clear his throat. “What if…what if I take you out sometime? Like, a friendly dinner?”

Friendly dinner. God, a friendly dinner with your long-time crush, surely you’d manage.

“Okay,” you smiled.

“What time are you free?” he asked.

“Not today…I have to test these coffee stuff because I’m adding coffee to the menu,” you said sadly but Eddie only beamed.

“You close at six p.m., right? I’ll be here with dinner and you can ask me for my opinions on coffee,” he said.

“You won’t sleep,” you warned him, a soft smile on your face.

“I don’t sleep anyway, sweetheart,” he said. “So, Italian? Chinese?”

“Any is okay,” you said. Eddie left with a wink after that and you had to physically catch your breath. Meanwhile, Eddie was freaking out. No greasy food in Hawkins was enough for you. Eddie knew from the get-go that you enjoyed—deserved fancy things and who knew fancy things like the back of his hand? Steve Harrington.

“Do you know any five star restaurant with take-out?” Eddie asked, alerting Steve in his office.

“What?” Steve asked.

“I went to the bakery because the cupcakes Robin got were delicious and I was supposed to buy cookies but she was there and she gave me cookies and I said I’ll take her for a friendly dinner,” Eddie rambled making Steve laugh loudly. Eddie was sure that Steve was probably wiping his eyes from the tears leaking out because how could a famous rock star be so nervous to ask a small-town girl for a date? “Shut the fuck up, Harrington,”

“Okay, okay!” Steve chuckled before telling Eddie about an Italian restaurant in town. It wasn’t the fanciest but the owners were Italian and they served the best risotto and pasta ever. Eddie took note of that, ending the call and then calling the restaurant for pick-up, ordering what seemed to be whatever the owner recommended and then setting up a delivery at his home at around 5:30 in the afternoon.

Eddie paced. He could’ve asked for a different day for that dinner but he couldn’t resist. What if this was the last opportunity for him to see you again? What if you had a boyfriend who wasn’t fine with a possible friendship with him? He looked at the wine collection that he had built for possible guests—Christ, who would’ve thought Eddie was ever going to have a wine collection? He sounded like a proper douchebag right now but all is well because he saw a bottle of red wine that he had many moons ago in Europe for a meeting with a designer. It was so impressive that Eddie bought some back home in America and sent some to his uncle in Hawkins. He took it and set it on the counter. Wayne was at work right now and Eddie was left alone. Should he change his outfit? Or would it be too forward if he showed up in a suit?

An angel in the form of Max Mayfield enters your shop, an envelope in hand.

“Hey, I’m Max Mayfield. I saw that you were hiring and well, I, uh, wanted to apply,” she said, unsure. You smiled warmly at her and told her to sit on any chair seat, asking her if she wanted anything to which she replied with a short, “Nothing.”

You sat in front of her before reading the resume that she gave you. Maxine Mayfield, student of Hawkins High, skills, etcetera, etcetera.

“Do you know what you’re applying for?” you asked her. “Before we go into the application process, I’d like to inform you about the responsibilities. You’ll have to man the coffee bar, help out with baking, inventory, and the cashbox. You’d also have to help me clean up but other than that, everything’s all me. Sometimes, I’ll ask you to do something of course but I promise it’s nothing too tiresome. The business has been expanding and I just really need help with maintaining the place,” you said. Max listened attentively, taking mental notes of what it would be like to work here. Robin offered her a job at Family Video and Steve told her that she could probably intern at his work. He was employed in some big-shot accounting firm in Hawkins while taking over his dad’s real estate business slowly but Max wanted to make it on her own. No help from anyone or anything.

“That’s fine with me,” she said.

“Okay? You’ll receive training from me and you get free pastries as long as you work here. We have lots of surplus baked goods from orders and whatnot. You can also have free coffee using the espresso machine, I’d have to teach you how to use that, too.” you said. One thing you learned from interning at a patisserie in New Jersey was how there will always be surplus. At the end of the day, you’d have to throw out anything that didn’t sell and it always felt wasteful. You didn’t like wasting food but surplus was inevitable; so you opted for ‘free tastes’ and freebies for big batch orders. Two-day old breads were turned into bread pudding or croutons that you sold. Extra cakes were turned into cake jars or cake pops. Leftover macarons were used as cake decor and so on. Cookies and cupcakes were your bestsellers.

“Does that mean I’m hired?” she asked and you nodded.

“Yeah,” you nodded. Out of all the applicants, it seems as though Max was the best one. You were happy you held out, Max seems responsible and intelligent. You were sure that you could rely on her. You told her about her salary which was more than what she thought she’d and she smiled. She could probably help with the bills at home and have enough for her allowance. “You start on Monday. The shop is usually closed on Sunday but Sundays are prep days. It’s the day I fix everything before another week. Saturday is inventory day, so I’ll show you that too. Just come here on Monday so we could start with training. Don’t worry, your training is paid. Just don’t forget to clock in and clock out. Standard working hours. Nine to five,”

“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll see you on Sunday at nine,”

You nodded and stood up. “Good to meet you, Max,” you said, shaking her hand.

“Nice meeting you too. Thank you, by the way,” she said, waving her hand goodbye before leaving.

Eddie was sure that coffee and wine would not mix well together. He walked inside your shop at 6:05 p.m., ignoring the ‘CLOSED’ sign. You emerged from the back room with a tray of coffee supplies when you smiled at him.

“Sorry, I was late. How was the rest of your day?” he asked, wine and bags of food in his hands.

“Good,” you nodded. “You were just in time. The last customer just left. Where do you want to have dinner? Here or in the backroom? You can come in, let me just set up the coffee bar, so we could start after eating,”

Eddie nodded, pushing the barricade open before setting the food in the backroom. Your backroom was so unlike the one in Family Video where he used to waste the day away. Yours was a professional culinary kitchen—commercial stand mixers, ovens, a big refrigerator, a freezer, an island and a sink in the center with bar stools on the side. The place was pristine—spotless, even. Everything was so modern and just amazing but it still felt homey. There was a small room deep into the back where he could peek a computer, bag, and a shelf of notebooks and cookbooks.

“Hi, sorry,” you said, wiping your hands on the apron before discarding it entirely in the bin. “I’m done! Let me just get our dessert,”

“Our dessert?” Eddie laughed. “I thought this was my treat,”

“I know but it wouldn’t hurt to have some creme brulee, right?” you asked before sitting in front of him. You watched Eddie take out the food that he got for you, Steve’s recommendations of risotto, ravioli, and prosciutto and arugula pizza. He also brought with him what looked like expensive wine. “I don’t have wine glasses for the both of us but I have these mugs,” you told him, showing him kitsch bunny mugs with strawberries and flowers.

“That’s fine with me,” he said. “Let’s eat?” Eddie couldn’t describe it but it felt like God was playing soulful piano somewhere in the universe for the two of you. There was a gentle smile as you helped yourself with a serving of everything; splitting the plates between the two of you. Eddie poured wine on your bunny mugs, completely comfortable silence blanketing the back room.

“I was so surprised when I heard your voice on the radio,” you told him. “I mean, always knew you’d make it out of Hawkins but I didn’t even know that you left. I just didn’t see you anymore when I came back,”

“What did you think?” Eddie asked. For some reason, he was so nervous about what you could possibly think of him and his band. Maybe because he wanted to impress you so much because you were the only person who was kind enough to listen to him and lend him a drawing pencil when he was sketching the logo for Hellfire Club.

“I always knew you could sing and I don’t like rock at all that much,” you said bluntly, swallowing a large gulp of wine. “But you made it likeable for me. I’m not really all that informed in music but I don’t know. I really like it,” you said. Maybe it was one of the best records you’ve heard because it was Eddie and in your eyes, Eddie could do no wrong; but in all honesty, it was good. “I’ve collected your albums since,”

“You did, huh?” he asked, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

“Yeah,” you nodded shyly. “I have to at least support a fellow Hawkins citizen for patriotism and all that, right? Need an autograph to show my friends,” Eddie nodded and you fell into an easy conversation. This was probably the longest time that you’d ever spent with each other; save for when you both sat beside each other during your classes. He told you about the world; the places he’s been in and what life must have felt like for him. Eddie Munson was one who’d always seize the moment and capture an opportunity—it was how he got his success.

“I was drunk out of my mind in Malibu when this actress came to me and said that she would love to have a tattoo of some lame drawing that I had,” he said. “I was drunk but I was no quitter; so, I took out my tattoo gun and tattooed a lame flower with like, four petals on her thigh. She was pretty drunk too, I guess because she called me the morning after asking why she had an ugly tattoo on her thigh.” He laughed and you chuckled at his theatrics. You, on the other hand, were tied down to this place. You left Hawkins for five years and then came back because you were so comfortable in it. It was your home—rolling hills, crunch leaves, bikes, and living life in slow-motion.

“Wait, you were in New Jersey for a year?” Eddie asked. “That’s a short travel from New York. I would’ve visited you and we’d be the kids who saw something more outside Hawkins,”

“Yeah, but we never really stayed in touch or talked outside school,” you told him. “I was too busy chasing scholarships and college and everything else that I never really had time for friends or anything like that,”

“But it worked out well for the two of us, right?” he asked. “And well, we’re out of school now, maybe it’s time for the two of us to go way past cookies and small waves,” he said, leaning forward in the chair; closer to you.

“I guess so.” you said. “So, we’re friends now?”

“This is a friendly dinner, after all,” Eddie replied, a toothy grin decorating his handsome features. He’d be the death of you, you realized. The crush that you tried so hard to bury was back and bigger. It clawed in your chest like a monster asking for your attention. It warmed your heart and you were sure that a few more smiles that lit up the place would melt your heart; coating his hands like honey because of this sickly sweet feeling.

Maybe it was the coffee that Eddie tasted but he was laid in his bed, wide awake. His thoughts were racing at least a hundred miles per hour and he was so, so, so, convinced that it was coffee. Coffee that you made. It’s why he was thinking of you and of going back to your shop and asking for more or else he’d have withdrawals. Maybe it was the sugar rush from the custardy creme brulee. Maybe it was the vanilla smell that wafted in the air. Maybe it was John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things playing on the speakers. Maybe it was something else entirely but one thing was for sure, he has to see you again. He doesn’t know when but it has to be soon.

“Eddie, you’ve been smiling on your glass like a goddamn fool for minutes now,” Steve called. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, snapping back to reality. Robin and Steve sat across from him. He asked if they could all get together for drinks after work in his house and they both agreed.

“How was your friendly dinner?” Steve asked, a knowing smile on his lips. Robin’s eyes almost fell out of its sockets. Eddie Munson was dating?

“With who?” Robin asked, looking around for some clues when her eyes landed on a familiar box that looked entirely similar to the one she brought the other day. “Oh my God!”

“Right?” Steve asked, eyebrow raising. “He calls me during work hours and asks me for five star restaurants that serve take-out for a friendly dinner. Must’ve been so good for Eddie to smile like that at a glass of bourbon,”

“Shut it, Harrington,” he groaned, running a hand through his face. “I don’t know what this is yet, alright? But whatever it is you’re insinuating isn’t fucking real,”

“Okay, pretty boy. No need to get your panties in a twist,” Steve teased, holding his hands up in surrender. “Just make sure you get me some of the mini tres leches cake when you visit her next time,”

“You know, I heard from Nancy who heard it from Mike that Max was going to start working there on Sunday,” Robin said. “I don’t really know what to do with that information but you might, Eddie,”

“Nope,” Eddie said, shaking his head in artificial nonchalance. “Steve might,”

“Not me,” Steve said. “I’m not the one who called a friend for five-star lunch takeouts,” he replied, earning a laugh from Robin.

“Fuck you, Harrington. Your ass is grass when it’s your turn,” Eddie grumbled before downing his drink.

Turns out, Eddie knew exactly what to do with that information because on Saturday lunch, Eddie strolls around with the kids except for Max, who was busy extracting espresso.

“What can I help—“ Max greeted before seeing her friends. She groaned, they were her friends and she loves them but they could be a handful sometimes. It was even worse because Steve was there with his shiny credit card, telling everyone to get whatever they wanted. “Ugh, guys? Really? My workplace?”

“Eddie told us that he’d get us everything we wanted from this place,” Mike said. “And I’m not one to say no to grace,”

“Fine, what do you want?” Max asked, pulling out her paper and pen. She wrote their orders; coffees and an assortment of pastries for everyone.

“Get some for yourself too, Max,” Eddie replied. “Just swipe my card,”

“No, thanks. I get everything here for free. Employee’s perks,” she boasts. “If you’re looking for my boss, she’s currently outside with her friend having lunch,” She smirked at Eddie’s obvious disappointment. “Sorry, Eddie. If you want, I can pass her a message,”

“No, that’s fine,” Eddie said. “Hey, hey! Dustin, stop hitting Will!”

Max only laughed before swiping Eddie’s card and tending to the orders.

It was always chaotic when the kids all got together. Sure, they were probably as old as Eddie once was but in his eyes, the gang were still children. No amount of facial hair and genes would change that. He was busy talking to Dustin when he heard you laugh, and everything in his mind suddenly went thump, thump, thum, thump. Everything was suddenly even more chaotic than the party because why did Eddie suddenly close his mouth when he was in the middle of telling Dustin about his adventures? Dustin looked up to see what Eddie was pitifully looking at. You and another man. A friend? That’s what Max said, right?

“Eddie!” you greeted, a smile on your lips. “It’s nice to see you here,”

“Hey,” he smiled tightly, eyeing the man behind you. Was that your boyfriend? “Haven’t seen you in a while,”

“You saw me last week,” you replied. “But yeah, it’s been awhile. How are you?”

“Just taking the kids out for lunch,” he said. “Max apparently works here now too so, thought that it would be nice to visit,”

“Oh, yeah! Um, Max, you can take a break and hang out with them. I’ll take care of the rest, don’t worry,” you said, walking towards the cashier with Alex behind you.

“Are you sure?” Max asked and you assured her that it was fine. That it was her break time anyway. She smiled gratefully before stalking towards her friends with a croissant sandwich you made her last night. Eddie was preoccupied, distracted as he listened to Dustin complain about how hard it was to be away from his girlfriend. He was straining his ear to get some information on this guy you’re suddenly with.

“Hey, Alex, can you tend to the customer while I prepare the pick-up for today?” you asked.

“Sure,” was this asshole’s reply, as if you deserved a one-word reply.

“Thanks,” you smiled before disappearing into the backroom.

“What can I get for you today?” Alex asked, notepad and pen in hand. Eddie watched as Alex nodded, suggesting flavors and other products to a customer. This was what you probably wanted, right? You mentioned how you loved the slow-paced life in Hawkins. It was the reason why you returned, dreams and goals in hand.

“That’s Alex. They met in culinary school and he was in Indianapolis when he decided to come visit her in Hawkins,” Max said, wiping her mouth with a paper towel. “Don’t worry about him. They’re literally just friends,”

“I wasn’t asking,” was Eddie’s defensive reply, making Max frown.

“But I think he has a crush on her,” Max said, to get back at Eddie’s rude remark. She was just trying to help flesh out something that was so obvious. “I mean, who would drive from Indianapolis to Hawkins for lunch, right? He even got her stuff from his hometown. Stuff she said she misses but it’s not like you were asking, right?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nodded warily. “Not like I was asking,”

Eddie went back home that day, annoyed. It wasn’t because of Max’s snarky reply or anything. He just couldn’t place what it was. Maybe because he went there to see you and he didn’t. Or maybe he felt guilty. He didn’t know what it was but he was positive that there was something. Eddie knew that talking to Steve would probably result in some bullshit explanation like feelings. Steve was too much of a hopeless romantic to actually say a rational explanation for his troubles.

“Ugh,” Eddie groaned into his pillow before swiftly standing up. “What the hell,”

Eddie trudged down to the living room. Wayne was about to come home any minute now and he at least needed to prepare for dinner. He wasn’t the best cook so he decided to take his dear, old Uncle to a nice dinner in the city. Eddie looked around and a surge of gratefulness passed him. Who would’ve thought that Hawkins’ Freak would be able to afford a house for his uncle? That he could eat out three times a day, everyday and not think about how to pay for all of it? Who would’ve thought that he could afford things that seemed like literal lightyears away?

“Do you and Eddie have something?” Max asked, wiping the kitchen island. Alex, who was washing the trays, stilled and looked at you.

“Wait, that was Eddie Munson? The Eddie Munson? Rockstar Eddie?” Alex asked. “The same Eddie that you’ve been pining for since middle school?” Now, Max didn’t mean to, but she struck gold. She saw how Eddie was giving Alex the stink eye. Sure, she lied but she got good results. The ends justify the means, after all.

“Alex!” you hissed from the pantry area. “You didn’t hear anything, Max,”

“Oh, I heard everything. You’ve been crushing on Eddie since middle school,” she teased.

“Looks like the feelings are reciprocated, I can feel his eyes burn holes on my body,” Alex added. “Does he know you’re single?”

“Why does it matter?” you asked, moving onto the chocolate chips.

“Because you like him,” Max said, an all-knowing tone in her voice. “And he probably likes you back too,”

“I agree with Red over here,” Alex said. “You have to tell me everything, Max. I won’t be here again after a long time but I expect a weekly newsletter all about her and Eddie Munson,”

“Oh, God,” you groaned. You were lucky that you were facing away from them because they would easily see how bashful you were being. “You get together for a day and you’re all ganging up against me,”

“All towards the same goal,” Alex said. “How about we leave this place and have some Chinese food, huh? I’m sick of cleaning and quite frankly, I am not paid enough for this. Besides, it’s my last night,”

“Hey! I let you crash in my spare bedroom for free,” you complained.

“And I have to listen about your crush every night. So, really, I’m doing more work,” he countered. “Seriously, Red, we have to get her drunk tonight and you will see—he’s all she talks about. You know, when he first released his EP, she lined up at the record store to get it. I didn’t know why she suddenly wanted to listen to rock until I found out that Eddie Munson was the frontman of Corroded Coffin,”

“She’s still under twenty-one, Alex,” you reminded him. “What kind of boss would I be if I get drunk in front of my newbie?”

“I mean, Steve and Robin get drunk around us all the time,” Max said, shrugging slightly to show that she doesn’t care but she does. She really wants to see you talk about Eddie because you were so guarded especially when it came to your emotions. Sure, she felt at ease with you; welcoming smiles and warm words but she doesn’t know anything about you.

“See? It’s fine. Besides, it’s Sunday tomorrow. You deserve a hangover,”

“He said,” you hiccuped over bottles of beer and plates of Chinese food. “that he went to my graduation to congratulate me and say thank you for the cookies but I wasn’t in Hawkins anymore,”

“And then what?” Alex asked, equally drunk as you. Max had no way to go back home especially with two drunk adults in her presence but there were two things that she was sure of—one, you and Alex treated each other like siblings and two, you have a big crush on Eddie that you tried to bury.

“And then nothing,” you said, eyes clouded from the alcohol in your system. “We never talked again and he left Hawkins but we’re…” you tasted the word on your tongue, bitterness coating it and you weren’t sure if it was the shots of baijiu that you had or the word itself but either way, you found yourself reaching for the water to down it. “friends. We’re friends,”

“Eugh,” Alex expressed, an unpleasant look on his face. “That’s really…not cool. Hey, Maxie, what word is not cool?”

“Don’t call me that,” she said with a smile on her face. “Uncool?”

“Yeah, uncool. Not rad. Un-rad,” he said. “Oh, God, how are we going to take you home? Do you know how to drive?”

“No,” Max half-lied. Well, technically she knew the basics but after almost slamming Steve’s BMW into the curb, she decided to stay off the steering wheel and have someone drive. “I can call my friend, Lucas, and have him take us,”

“Oh, Lucas Sinclair?” you teased. “You’re out here—hiccup—teasing me when you have love problems of your own?” Alex looks at Max with a raised eyebrow.

“Now, who’s this Luke Sinclair and why do you know his home number?” Alex asked, an accusatory finger waving in the air.

“Guys!” Max scolded. “I’ll call him, okay? Don’t leave,”

“Okay, mom,” you both groaned before falling into messy laughter, finding it funny that you called your junior your mother.

“Hey, Eddie?” Lucas knocked. “Open up!”

Lucas hears a light jog towards the door that soon opened.

“What, Sinclair?” Eddie asked, a hand on his hip.

“Max called me and well, yourgirlfriendgotreallydrunk and now needs a ride home,” Lucas said. Eddie furrowed his brows.

“Wait, what? My girlfriend?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah. Max’s boss? She told me that you’re her boyfriend and well, I know how to drive but my parents are not at home and therefore, I have no car and no way of getting there so I came here to ask if you can lend me your really, cool, brand new van so I can drive to where they are and get them home?” Lucas rambled, his hands doing all the work to convince Eddie.

“Fine, fine. Let me get the keys and you can sit shotgun,” Eddie said, disappearing into the house. “Big rockstar but still a fucking babysitter for these nutjobs,” he complained, meaning for Lucas to hear all of it but Lucas only chuckled.

You were laughing with Alex when you saw a familiar figure in a pair of Ray Bans and a hoodie. He followed who looked like Max’s boyfriend and you smiled.

“Hello, Max’s boyfriend!” you greeted, earning a look of horror from the redhead. Lucas was obviously thrown off guard, a stuttering mess before you.

“She’s not my-uh, girlfriend,” Lucas defended, earning a glare from Max. “But I’m with—“

“Edward, Edison, Eduardo?” Alex asked, raising from his hunched over figure.

“All right,” Eddie clapped his hands. “Let’s go. Up, up, up,” he commanded before walking to you. “You think you can walk to the van, sugar?” he asked and you looked at him, his eyes pleading.

“Brown sugar,” you mumbled. Eddie tilted his head to the side slightly, to ask you what you meant. “Your eyes shine like brown sugar.”

You groaned, the sun hitting your eyes. You had more than to drink last night and you were pretty sure you couldn’t remember anything. How you and Alex laid sprawled on the couch was a mystery but you had to call Max to check if she was okay. You could remember fragments of last night; calling Max ‘mom’, telling them about your stupid crush…Eddie. Oh, God. Eddie was there last night.

Your head pounded and you looked at your coffee table with two glasses of water and a bottle of aspirin for your headache. You reach for it, downing the glass of water with a tablet of the medicine before preparing a bowl of ice cold water to dunk your head into. Wiping your face with a paper towel after you were sure that you were somehow awake, you called Max’s phone number.

“Hello?” she asks from the other side.

“Hey, Max,” you said.

“Oh, hello, Mrs. Munson,” she teased, making your face warm up. Somehow, that teasing brought everything back, ice cold water be damned.

“Max!” you groaned and she laughed. “I just wanted to call if you were okay? I’m sorry Alex and I got drunk last night,”

“Yeah, I’m good. Eddie and Lucas brought me back after we made sure that you were alright. It’s a good thing you gave me your address for emergencies. Are you feeling alright?” she asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “My head hurts but it’s fine. Um, I’m really sorry for being irresponsible last night. I promise I’m not like that everytime I grab dinner. But yeah. Take the day off so you could rest,”

“Okay,” Max agreed. “Thank you. Call me if you need anything?”

“Sure, Max,” you said. “Alex is leaving today. I think he wants to say goodbye to you but I’ll make him drive to you instead. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Max replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The call ended and now you are thinking about your next set of problems—what did you say last night and did you embarrass yourself in front of Eddie Munson?

Eddie blushes at the sign of brown sugar, a bashful smile tugging on his lips.

“What’s gotten into you?” Wayne asked over breakfast. Eddie sighs happily and looks at his uncle.

“Nothing. Just…brown sugar is such a gift, huh?” Eddie asked. Reaching for the small jar of brown sugar for their coffee. Wayne looks at his nephew questioningly before going back to his breakfast. If breakfast meant Eddie talking nonsense, he’d rather have it in silence.

Eddie couldn’t forget last night. His eyes shone like brown sugar? That sounds like something right out of a love song. He couldn’t stop thinking about you—giggling at something Lucas said about irresponsible adults, head on Max’s shoulders, and you even touched him slightly on his shoulders when you saw him at the restaurant. Then, when he took you home, he saw the vinyl collection beside your television, all his records littering the area because it meant that you listened to his songs religiously. It didn’t help that you were smiling so prettily at him, so sweet and beautiful despite the chaos that Alex was causing in the backdrop. He had to look for a spare blanket but it was okay. You pouted when he tucked you in your couch but blew him a drunken kiss nonetheless. He was full-on grinning on the jar of brown sugar now, unbeknownst to him, his uncle was watching.

But what he couldn’t explain was how bright the stars were last night when you were leaning towards him closer, laughing at some stupid shit he said. How he always had to look for an excuse to come to your shop. How he doesn’t even have your number yet and how badly he wants to call you with no inhibitions and hesitations. He wanted them all and he didn’t care if he was being greedy. Christ, if he could put you in his pocket forever, he would.

“Fuck,” Eddie muttered. He’s caught the bug.

Sunday afternoon and Alex has left. You were in your shop alone, visibly stressed. Alex told you about how Eddie tucked you in and what the fuck—how were you supposed to recover from that? That only proved how sweet he really is. But it’s not like you needed any convincing. Eddie in high school was sweet to you but Eddie now was way sweeter and it was giving you such a rush.

You needed—really needed to be distracted with something else because this crush is clawing its way out, manifesting into more physical forms and you were scared that you wouldn’t be able to hide it anymore. Max caught on it quickly. You wanted to stay away from Eddie but how could you, really? He’s like a flame pulling you closer and closer. The sun to your Icarus until you fall.

Only, you were hoping that you stick your landing.

Lingering questions were stuck in his mind. If what he felt was true, would you accept him? What if he was reading in between the lines and that there was nothing actually there? Was he forcing something to happen? He couldn’t stop thinking about you; about high school, about the possibility of something happening.

“Steve, I’m telling you this girl…I just can’t fucking—I don’t know,” Eddie muttered. It was Sunday lunch with Steve. “It’s like, it’s like she’s all I think about and I’m not even sure what’s gotten into me,”

Steve Harrington was having a fun time watching his friend fall before him. He doesn’t even realize it and Steve won’t say anything. He’d rather bear witness to when Eddie’s eyes widen in shock, when the truth settles on him. So, rather than telling Eddie what he so desperately felt, Steve took a bite of his sandwich.

“Like, like, Alex was there, right? Her friend and I got so angry because he gave her a one-worded reply. The thing is, she doesn’t even deserve that. Yeah? Sure? Say your words big guy. You know? But I felt so stupid because when I got there last night, it was so obvious that they were only friends. Like, platonic with a capital ‘P’,” Eddie rambled. “And she’s always been so kind to me in high school. Way kinder that you ever were, by the way,” Eddie added, shooting Steve a pointed look.

“Cookies?”

“Not just cookies! She helped me whenever I got lost in a lesson, always pointing me to which part to read. Lent me her pencil and always gave me smiles. Like, who does that?” Eddie asked. “And last night, I was in her house and saw her vinyl collection. Corroded Coffin was littered, Steve. The EP was on the vinyl player itself. That must mean something right? But like, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being stupid,”

“Is that her?” Steve asked, looking at something in the distance. Eddie’s head whipped to where Steve was looking and you weren’t there. Steve, on the other hand, was laughing so loudly. There was nothing to look for, obviously. They were in an empty parking lot after all. It was obviously a ploy. “Eh, looked like her,”

“Fuck you, Harrington. I swear to God,” Eddie groaned, his head falling on his hands. This feeling was so unfamiliar for him and he doesn’t know how to fucking—process everything. Steve was obviously useless for the advice that he was trying to seek but he didn’t even know what he wanted from the boy right in front of him.

“Look,” Steve said, swallowing his food. “Maybe…just maybe, Eddie Munson has a crush,”

Eddie peeks from his caging hands and then looks at Eddie. Reality hits him like a bucket of ice cold water on his face. Steve watches in amusement when Eddie opens his mouth only to close it again. He can see the gears in Eddie’s head working, knees jumping at high speed.

“I need to smoke,” Eddie suddenly said, lighting a cigarette from his pocket. He needs something to calm him down because what the fuck—what Steve said made so much sense. He had a big crush on you and he felt so childish; like he was in middle school again because if there’s something Eddie wants, he’d do anything to fucking do it. If there’s someone Eddie wants, he’d do anything to make sure that all their attention was on him.

“Can’t believe it took you some advice from old Steve Harrington to realize your feelings,” Steve boasts. “But hey, best man, right?”

On Monday morning, Eddie found himself knocking on your shop’s glass door hours before you even opened. You looked up from your coffee and your newspaper, surprised. He smiled once your eyes settled on him and you felt that warm, fuzzy feeling again. How was this gorgeous boy giving his smiles away for free? You stood up from your chair and walked over to unlock the door.

“Sorry, we aren’t open yet,” you said but opening the door wider for him to enter.

“I know,” he replied. “I’m not here for the pastries. I’m actually here for you,”

And oh my, God. Maybe you suppressed that feeling before—successfully; but Eddie went out of his way to come here for you. That ought to rattle the cage of butterflies in your stomach, right?

“Really? What for?” you asked. “Can I interest you in some coffee?”

“No, thanks. I just came here to see you. No other reason,” he said, sitting on your chair and reading over the news. “But I just wanted to ask how you were? I hope you didn’t sport a bad hangover yesterday, sugar.”

You didn’t actually. A headache in the form of the unknown has come to haunt you instead. Alex was pestering you about Eddie all day and you still couldn’t remember what you said to him. You didn’t like knowing but you didn’t want to ask Eddie, either.

“Nothing bad, really. Max said you took us home? Thank you for that,” you smiled, sitting in front of him and reaching for your coffee. “Um, look, if I said anything embarrassing that night, please forget it. I didn’t mean it.” Eddie’s smile only got bigger, if anything.

“Sure,” he nodded. “You didn’t really say or do anything,” he lied. How could he tell you that brown sugar can put him on his knees now? That would be embarrassing now, would it? Besides, you can say what you like—drunk words are still sober thoughts.

“Thanks,” you said, nodding. “I have to thank you for it sometime.”

“Think of that as a payment for your cookies,” he said. “No need to owe me. Besides, is this friendship really built on favors?”

“No, of course not,” you said before thinking. “but Eddie, if you ever need anything, just don’t hesitate to ask me for it, okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “The same goes for you…Actually, I came here for something,”

“What is it?”

“I want to take you out on a date. Can I?” he asked. “Wait, hold on, bad wording. I would really, really love it if you’d let me take you out on a date. Would you let me?”

There it was. The question you’ve been dying for since high school. But how could you word that you were scared things would go well and he’d have to leave Hawkins and then you? That this was a big step for you because you wanted it so badly but you didn’t want to fuck it up because you really, really wanted Eddie Munson in your life forever? But what if this is your last chance to have a date with him? What if he finds someone more interesting than you and—

“Look, you don’t have to answer now,” he chuckled. “I can see the gears turning inside your head but just tell me, would there be like, a small sliver of ‘yes’ inside your head?”

“Yes,” you said without a second thought.

“Well, I’ll take that sliver of hope and have you focus on me until you say yes to our date,” he said; a statement bold and free of any doubts. Prepare to be sick of me,”

You were tired today. You had bespoke cake orders and God forbid, your client wanted to change everything last minute. Sure, she was willing to pay but the cake has been done. You didn’t have time and quite frankly, you were too stressed to even do anything. Maybe you’ll have cup ramen tonight. You didn’t even have the energy to wash the dishes.

You were on your way out to buy cup ramen at the nearest convenience store when Eddie jogs up to you. You looked at him, surprised. He could see the bags under your eyes and he just wanted to make it all go away.

“Hey, Eddie,” you smiled.

“Tired?” he asked and you nodded, scrunching your face in frustration; not wanting to let any of your anger out because what the fuck—that customer was so fucking rude to you for what? It was a long day and you just wanted to go home and curl up but no, she had the gall to demand good service because she was paying for it anyway. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. What happened?”

“I’m so tired,” you told him, visibly deflating and Eddie puts you on steady, hands on your arms. You lean into him and he accepts the close proximity. “Oh, God. Want to take a break for a while. Like, five minutes,”

Eddie nodded. “Do you want to go somewhere? Have you eaten?”

“No, I’m on my way to the store to get some cup ramen,” you admitted, hating the way you might seem to Eddie right now.

“No, that’s not going to happen,” he said. “Let’s go back in and I’ll order something for us, hm?”

“But the dishes…I have to clean the kitchen so I can start…”

“It’s okay. I’ll do the dishes while you rest before you do your big girl thing, okay? Let’s go back. Cup ramen won’t give you any nutritional value,” he says and you don’t hear any sort of chiding or mocking. He was genuinely concerned because you look so…drained. You allowed him to lead you back, his hand on the small of your back. You sat in silence as you listened to Eddie call for pizza.

“So, what happened today?” he asked, sitting beside you. He wasn’t teetering around anymore.

“There’s this customer and she’s like, I don’t know. Her husband is like a big time financial analyst and she asked me to bake a cake for her daughter. I did. I finished it, you know? Just like how she and I designed it. The birthday is tomorrow at noon and I’m not even halfway done with it. I can’t fuck up because I’m just starting my business and I’m so tired,” you choked, trying to keep your emotions at bay. “The kitchen is so fucking dirty and I’m not yet done. So behind schedule and I hate it,”

“It’s okay, honey,” Eddie smiles and you believe him. He had that effect on you. “After we have our meal, I’ll help you out to the best of my abilities. Won’t leave you until we’re both done,”

“Really?” you asked, peering up at him.

“Really, really,”

“Thank you, Eddie. I really appreciate it,” you said, laying your head down on his shoulder in exhaustion. He lets you but he was praying that you couldn’t hear how fast his heart was beating right now and you were praying for the same thing.

“I’m telling you. We had a moment,” Eddie said. “Like, she was so tired and she let me help her,”

“You’re so whipped,” Robin commented, scrunching her face in mock disgust.

“She laid her head on my shoulder. She made the first move and she said my eyes are like brown sugar.” Eddie shares. “Mark my words, Robin. I will be making her mine,”

“First of all, ew,” Robin said. “If there’s anything I learned in my gender class, women don’t belong to men. Okay? So, don’t say that and second of all, ew! We’ve been here in your house for like an hour and we haven’t heard anything other than your sweet, sweet girl,”

“You know what I mean,” Eddie said. “Steve knows what I mean,”

“Yeah but I’m having fun being single right now but yeah,” Steve nodded. “But…how sure are you that she’s into you?”

“I’m not sure but I can just like, feel it, you know?” Eddie asked.

“But you’re oblivious. You didn’t even give her a second thought back in high school,” Steve said but Eddie shook his head.

“You’re wrong,” Eddie replied. “This girl was the nicest to me. Of course, I’d remember her. It’s not like fear or disgust or anything. She’s just really…genuine.”

“Oh, God,” Robbin groaned. “You’re such a sap, Eddie.”

“Brown sugar, Robin! Come on, say it with me. Brown sugar,”

“Brown sugar.”

“Hello,” Eddie greets, leaning on your kitchen island. He has access to the back door now, that’s how close you’ve gotten since that night. Well, he was always there every night to help you out for prep work and orders. He’d wash the dirty trays, wipe the KitchenAid clean, and measure out ingredients. He’d help with the things that Max wasn’t able to finish too, surprising Max in the morning because who cleaned the nozzle for the espresso machine and why is everything refilled?

“Eddie,” you smile at him. It was another of those nights when Eddie decided to drop by. He’d always go in with a smile, sometimes with milkshakes and fries; sometimes with screw-top red wine. You didn’t mind at all—Eddie became a part of your daily routine somehow and he was always a joy to be around with. On his second night, you told him how he didn’t have to come back and help; that you were capable and he knows. He says he just wants to lift the weight off your shoulders. So, in your office, you keep a white board with the scribbling: Eddie’s Tasks. You thought Max didn’t notice it but with the big Corroded Coffin sticker on the corner begging for her attention, she did. Eddie checked his whiteboard, seeing that he only needed to mix your custom sprinkle mix. More blues than reds, less oranges than yellows, lots of pink, purple, and white. A little green. He watched as you silently worked on your station. He saw how you hid whatever you were making from him. He didn’t mind, he knows you’ll show it to him sometime.

“Eddie, can you do something for me, please? ” you asked. You felt bad for asking him for favors but this was something that you needed to do alone.

“Sure, sweetheart. What do you want?” he asked, shaking the big box of sprinkles.

“Can you come over here, please?” you asked sweetly and he found himself gravitating to you. You show him a tray of cookies he’s never seen before.

“A new flavor?” he asked. “Do you need me to take a taste test?” He picks up a cookie and you watch his reaction; his eyes doubling in size because these were so good. The best, even. “Wow, honey. I think this is the best one yet,”

“Really? I’m glad. I’m planning to give it to this boy I like,” you told him and he falters. “He’s in a band, likes red and black together. Do you think he’ll like it?”

Eddie caught on, pursing his lips.

“Yeah, of course. He’d be a fool not to,”

“Hey, Eddie, I made these for you,” you admitted and Eddie could feel himself blushing. “Red and black cookies. Do you think Corroded Coffin Cookies sound nice?”

“It does but you might have to take it up to the intellectual property office for a trademark,” he jests and you laugh.

“I’m glad I don’t have to do any of that, then. It’s for you only.” you said, emphasizing the word.

“Made this for me? All for me?” he asked, his body trapping you on the counter. Both of his arms were on either side of your body and you put the tray away carefully. Closer and closer.

“Yeah. 62% and 72% dark chocolate couverture, smoked flakey salt, raspberry sauce, and freeze dried strawberries.” you said. You look up at him to kiss his cheek and he laughs, not sure what to do. Is this really real?

“Thank you, darling,” he said, voice deeper and softer. “How can I repay you?”

“How about you take me out on that date?” A/N: Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think! I have a universe all laid out for Steve’s story too. There will be a part two and Steve’s story but that really depends on the response on this fic (aka if it flops or not hehe).

TAGLIST: @rayodesol97 @moistmocca @munsonology @sadbitchfangirl @bebe0701 @tayhar811 @aol19 @eddiesprincess86 @undeadgirlsworld @rosemarythl @rosemary_thl @eddiethesexy @sister-cirice @weaslyslut01 @himynameisjeff @captainweirdo42 @alyisdead

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson #rockstar!eddie #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson oneshot #fluff #angst #friends to lovers #stranger things

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bronx-bomber87 · 11 months

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Mid Week Review. Was able to watch the ep last night and jot down my thoughts. After this one only have 5 left in S1. Wild. Off we go.

1x15 Manhunt

The cold open is too funny. The "commercial" is hilarious LOL Poor Lucy struggled the most in it with her lines. They all find out they were pranked and it wasn't real. Lucy looking back and getting that reaction from Tim. I am dying haha Lucy is so embarrassed and slightly mortified. Not Tim he’s having a good time with this haha

Once again enjoying himself far too much at her displeasure hehe Who is this man? Not the Tim she had in very beginning that's for sure. Making jokes, being a goober, and laughing with the other T.O.'s having a grand old time. She really did this to herself ha I love it so much. I mean look at this man and his beautiful smile. He is having a blast and it shows. Truly a wonder to behold I gotta say.

Ep kicks off strong. There is a prison escape from a transport bus so Tim and Lucy are on the hunt. They round up one guy right away. Make quite the entrance saying there is only 6 left. I love this shot for the height difference between them. Always loved their tall/small thing. Makes me happy. I can't really explain why other than it does.

Afterwards they are assigned inside the search grid canvassing neighborhoods and such. Telling people who are out to stay indoors for now. They run into a little neighborhood militia not long after. They say they’re defending their neighborhood. The body language they both give to these dopes LOL. It's too damn good. If they could eye roll any harder with how they react to them they would haha These idiots try and do a citizens arrest for a gardener. Tim and Lucy both lay into them like a tag team. Getting them to back off and beat it. So fun to watch honestly.

Tim ends it with telling them if they see them out again they’ll get arrested. Cracks me up Lucy calls him on what the codes he used to scare them. She just can't help herself. Tim making jokes and being a sassy pants with her I adore it. Her little smile at him when he says ‘They don’t know that.’ it’s a theme in this one for Lucy. Just looking at Tim with smiles/heart eyes. I’m here for it.

Feds are involved much to Tim's dismay. Using their tactics to locate the remaining escaped prisoners. Everyone splits off after their debrief with them. Lucy and Tim go back to station to meet up with an informant of Tim’s. Says he'll know about one of the escaped convicts. Used to be in the gang the 54 who this prisoner is currently affiliated with. As they're walking up to meet his informant Lucy is asking about predictive analytics. It was brought up earlier in their meeting and Tim disagreed with its method.

So of course Lucy is going to probe more about it. Tim explains how it’s not as good as hitting the streets. That Feds rather use a computer than scuff their loafers. He’s so passionate about what he does and how he does things in patrol. Just look at her face above while he’s explaining why his way better than the fed's computer. She knows it’s something he’ll fiercely defend. Something he takes seriously and a little personally.

It’s why when Lucy tries to play devils advocate on the subject he asks her who’s side she’s on? Clearly not pleased with her defending this computer vs what he considers real police work. Lucy has learned where to pick her battles with Tim. She knows when to push something and when not to. This was not one of them. Lucy is adorable and says she didn’t know there were sides...but she’s on his definitely his LOL damn they cute.

Lucy instantly likes Deacon because he’s apart of Tim’s past. Something she has very little insight into other than Isabel. So she’s all over it when Deacon tells her he knew Tim when he was a rookie. Tim isn't loving this conversation. Its like the sign at the zoo. 'Don't feed the animals.' How Tim is feeling with this interaction haha He's putting up a sign says 'Don't feed Lucy details.' haha Deacon tells Tim that he likes her. Tim rolls his eyes and says he’s ‘Thrilled.’ You know you are sir. He’s proud of Lucy and the fact she's his rookie. Don't lie Timothy. Deacon continues by saying every time he see's Tim it's like a time machine for him.

I do adore Tim’s reaction when Deacon says only thing that's changed is the lines on his face. He's slightly offended by this. I love the way he looks at Lucy. Like checking in she still thinks he’s a handsome man. It’s ok love, you very much are. Just look at the heart eyes she’s giving you. Case and point above and below.

Also Lucy, girl you are at work. Put those things away madam haha She’s as transparent as glass and makes my heart happy. If her goal is to hide her attraction/admiration she is failing pretty hard lmao Like an open book this one. I do think she is really enjoying this guy razzing him so much. Just like Tim at the beginning of the episode she is relishing in his discomfort. What a pair these two.

Tim has a small talk with Angela before they leave. Asking if he’s changed at all since she’s met him. He's clearly more shaken up from his convo with Deacon then he originally lead on. Angela makes a crack and says he’s gotten more annoying. Ha poor Tim. He asks her to be more serious. She replies the Isabel situation changed him. He asks her if its for the better or not? Breaks my heart he doesn’t see the changes in himself. But he is seeing/sensing he needs to change something up though. Angela's reply to this all is the best part. This line right here is my fav of the scene.

Since he met Lucy Chen, Angela. Ever since he met her. Does things he never did before. Like this introspection. Before he would've shrugged that convo off. Buried it deep inside like he did everything else before. Put it in a little box never to be opened again. With her influence in his life he takes that convo little more to heart. Tim has no idea the amount he’s changed just from knowing her. The small things that if you’re not paying attention you’d miss. S1 has been incredible growth for his character.

I do love Angela's last shot at him as Tim and Lucy are leaving. That sweet little smile he gives when he hears Angela’s reply. I’ve always loved their friendship. She truly is one of his best friends. This scene is a good display of that. Of them being close. Being serious when needed but mainly giving each other shit haha Lucy looks confused but not unhappy he’s happy.

Tim and Lucy arrive at the house of Tim's informant. He’s currently protecting the prisoner they talked about. Unfortunately the gang he’s pissed off is waiting for them upon arrival. Nolan’s situation with his fugitive has taken most of their resources. So it’s just them against a whole gang to protect his informant and the prisoner. Lucy starts to get nervous when the gang begins wrecking their shop. Tim makes a joke it'll be a lot of paperwork for her. Lucy doesn't bite at the joke. You can see how nervous she is. She asks if at some point they give the 54 what they want. Weighing one life against the lives of many. Do they need to make that hard call?

Tim's reply is excellent. That strong sense of justice shining through in this moment. He can see Lucy isn't comfortable with their odds at all. Has to remind her like he did back in 1x11. That this is their job. What they signed up for. He's doing what he does best with her. Being her pillar while also injecting logic into the scenario they are currently in. He can sense her unease and is trying to alleviate it.

What I love most about this scene is Tim’s moral compass and bravery. It’s something Lucy most definitely likes as well. Also what she needs at this point in time. She's in awe of him when she says You’re willing to die for that guy? It’s in her inflection. She’s so impressed he would be willing to lay down his life for him. His reply to her cements this even further. The way he delivers his line. Phew lord. I think Lucy just fell a little more in love with him right here. She already been giving him heart eyes all day. This increased them ten fold. The way he stands up and lets Lucy see that confidence. How he refuses to let the 54 shake his resolve. He won’t let fear dictate what he knows is right.

The awe struck wonder in her eyes for him. My goodness. Earlier Angela brought up how Tim has grown since Isabel. This is further proof of that. He won’t ever allow fear to let him do something he would be ashamed of in the light of day. Amazing how much he's grown since that moment in 1x07. When his moral compass is on fire like it is right now, I think Lucy’s respect/admiration (and honestly her attraction) grows the most for Tim.

She’s getting a peak into Tim at his core. Who he is as a person. You can tell she very much likes what she sees. Nothing more attractive than a man with a plan and strong in his convictions IMO. Also who is confident in what he’s doing. Lucy needs to see that right now as she is rattled by the uneven numbers in their situation.

Deacon decides to go out and talk to them. They start to beat him up. Tim tells Lucy to stay inside. To protect their prisoner at all costs no matter what happens to him. Tim goes out to reason with the gang. To take the heat off Deacon and onto himself. Eventually the calvary shows up for them. Tim gets to look like a bad ass when they do. The way he says he’s never alone or out numbered. *fans self* always love me some confident Tim. I’ll take that all damn day.

This look between them speaks volumes. It shows the trust and bond that’s been built between them. She was worried and rightfully so but he kept her calm. He was steadfast for them both and she trusted in that. Leaned on him. She knew he would get them out of this situation and he did. That nod of his is Tim’s way of acknowledging all that. Thanking her for trusting him. That beautiful unspoken connection is on full display in this moment. Lucy is beaming from that nod. I love them so much. The ep ends for them there as far as scenes together go.

Tim's final scene is in Grey's office. That introspection Tim does leads him to decide to go for Sergeant. Says he's ready to take that next step. Grey asks what took him so long haha Lets him know it's going to require a lot of studying to prep. I LOVE this. We all know what moment this leads to. The impact Lucy has on his life is so immense. Lead him down this path. Makes me happy.

Always thank you all for your likes/comments/reblogs. These reviews are so fun for me to do. Even more so knowing others are enjoying it as well. See you all in 1x16 :)

#Caitlin rewatches The Rookie #chenford #chenford hiatus #summer rewatch #waiting on s6 #s1 #1x15 Manhunt #the rookie #tim x lucy #tim bradford #lucy chen #lucy x tim #eric winter #melissa o'neil #otp: doing my job #tim bradford x lucy chen

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