008

Never ever in this lifetime you would've thought there comes a day when Eddie Munson, the guy you thought you'd despise forever, unlocks the door of his trailer for you both to step in. Together. This whole situation is so weird. This whole evening couldn't be weirder.

You just told him a big part of your life story, including the story of how you experienced domestic abuse for the first time. You still can't process this car ride that just happened. You told him everything. No one knows that about you. Fuck, I'm so gonna regret this. You comb your fingers through your rainy-wet hair and follow him up the creaky stairs, watching his back as he fumbles with the door to finally swing it open. "So... Welcome to mi casa, I guess", he mumbles after stepping in and to the side to make space for you to follow his lead. Light switches click under his fingers, and his home opens in front of you.

You're greeted by a cozy yet slightly cramped atmosphere. The narrow hallway you're standing in leads past the shared living spaces, where you catch glimpses of a small kitchenette to your left and a compact dining area right behind its counter. "Looks... nice", you mumble while closing the front door behind you, and Eddie snorts lightly. "Wait here, I'll be back in a sec". He throws a short glance over his shoulder and you just nod, watching him head down the hallway and opening another door. Probably his bedroom. The door closes behind him, leaving you alone in this strange hallway. You sigh and take off your soaking wet jeans jacket, still freezing. "What am I doing here", you whisper, before slowly walking down the hallway to have a closer look around.Slowly, you take some steps while letting your eyes wander around. It's chaotic, but not messy. Newspapers, two coffee mugs and an empty granola bar wrapping are still sitting on the kitchen counter, some more dirty dishes are piling up in the sink next to it. The dining area, consisting of a small, black table and four mismatched chairs doesn't look like it's been used a lot. This seems to be a household where most of the eating happens either at the kitchen counter, maybe sitting on one of the barstools, or right there, on the worn-out couch across the room. Its faded upholstery bears the marks of years of use. The small coffee table in front of the couch is cluttered with magazines, some more empty snack wrappers and an assortment of remote controls, probably belonging to the battered TV across from it that's resting on a wonky looking makeshift stand. You just noticed some framed pictures standing on another side table, when the the sound of an opening door down the hall causes you to turn around. Eddie's coming back. He changed into dry clothes, a pair of black joggers and another one of those washed out band shirts he's always wearing. His curls are still damp from the rain the two of you got caught in. "Already made yourself a home, mh", he mumbles when noticing you standing in the middle of his living room, not where he left you. His eyes dart down to the wet jacket in your hand, and back up to your drenched shirt and wet hair. "Wanna borrow some of my clothes to change into something dry?", he then asks, his hand slowly pointing back to his room, where he surely has hundreds more of those shirts. You shake your head, "No, thanks, I'm- I'm fine. Maybe I should just leave. This was a stupid idea". Eddie just looks at you, kinda unphased by what you just said. "Your lips are turning blue, Sam. I'm not a doc, but I'm pretty sure your soaking wet clothes could be a reason for that". You press your lips together. They do feel cold. "Come on, let's grab you something. If you still wanna leave after changing, I'll drive you. Okay?". You look into his brown eyes, sigh and finally nod. "Okay". Why is he being so nice? He gives you a sign to follow him and walks straight back to the room he just disappeared in only moments ago, that indeed turns out to be his bedroom.

This room is a sanctuary of chaos, with clothes strewn across the floor and music equipment haphazardly scattered about. The air is thick with the scent of stale cigarette smoke as you wait in the doorframe until Eddie finishes rummaging through some drawers to find some clothes for you. His room looks exactly how you'd imagine it to. Your eyes wander over the rest of his simple furniture, consisting of a bed with messy bedsheets, a nightstand that's topped with an overflowing ashtray, some magazines and a beer can, and something that could be a desk, but it's completely covered in loose papers, tapes and other clutter. Right in the center of the wall, in front of a dirty mirror and above said messy desk, you spot what must be Eddie's most priced possession: his electric guitar. You push yourself away from the doorframe you've been leaning against and stroll through the bedroom to have a closer look and stop next to Eddie, who's now closing the drawer and confusedly watches you, with some clothes in his arm. You carefully lift your hand and caress the black strings, feeling Eddies eyes burning on you. "Careful, princess, don't break her", he mumbles, and you throw an unamused look at him. "Call me princess once more and I'll consider it". He chuckles and watches your fingertips gliding over the strings once more, before carefully touching the black wood. "She's beautiful", you mumble, "I love Warlocks". "Whoa". You take your hand back and turn around, now gazing at Eddie, who looks at you with a raised brow and an expression of surprise in his eyes. "What?". He chuckles softly, "I wasn't expecting you to be a guitar nerd". You can't help but let out a soft scoff, "A guitar nerd? Excuse me?". "Yeah", he laughs quietly and looks at the guitar behind you, "Someone who immediately recognizes the exact type, and who touches the strings with such awe is definitely a maven". "Well", you shrug and give him a small smirk, "You're not the only one having a soft spot for 'em, I guess". "Interesting", he mumbles, chocolate eyes interestedly studying you. You hold his gaze and slowly raise a brow, causing him to clear his throat and look down to the clothes he's still holding in his arm. "Here", he passes you a black hoodie and another pair of joggers, "I can't guarantee they're fresh out of the laundry, but that's the best I can do. The bathroom is next door, if you want some privacy". You thankfully take the dry clothes out his hand and look back at him, pretending to be confused by his words. "What? Oh, no, I don't care changing right here in front of you. You wouldn't mind, would you?". His brain needs a second to process what he just heard, and Eddie just stares at you with big eyes, before finally pressing out some words. "You- uhm, I-... no, of course not, I mean-...". You watch him stammering for a moment, amused by how quickly you managed to make him nervous. "I'm joking, idiot", you eventually say, "Of course I want some privacy to change. Thanks, though". You smile at him and turn around to head to the bathroom, leaving a speechless, but also kinda relieved Eddie behind.

A couple of minutes later, you unlock the bathroom door again, feeling much better now that you're out of your wet clothes, took care of that smeared mascara underneath your eyes and freshend up a little. You step into the hallway, barefoot and in Eddie's clothes, and peak into the living room area. His tall figure has sat down on the couch, a white filter loosely between his lips as he focuses on the joint he's currently rolling in his hands. The linoleum floor creaks lightly as you take another step, causing him to lift his glance and look at you. The corner of his mouth twitches lightly as he notices how big his clothes look on you, but all he does is giving you a sign to sit down with him. He takes the filter out of his mouth and carefully places it in his paper, before lifting it up to his mouth to gently lick the strip and finally seal the joint. You can't help but watch the pink tip of his tongue moistening the paper as you step closer to take a seat next to him and pull your knees up against your chest. It still feels weird to be here. Not wrong, but... just weird.

"Drink?", he finally asks after twisting the end and sliding the blunt behind his ear, ready to smoke. You sigh and nod, "Definitely" and watch him standing back up and walking over to the kitchen. He opens the fridge and bends down to grab a beer, slams the door close and lifts his arm to open a cabinet above the fridge. His shirt moves up a bit as he rummages through the cupboard, revealing some skin of his lower belly, and a line of dark hair growing down from supposedly his belly button, right into the rim of his boxers. You gulp, realizing you're basically staring at his crotch and quickly look away. What the fuck, Sam? You hear him closing the cabinet again and dare to lift your glance, only to see him walking back to you, the beer and a bottle of whiskey in his hands. "You said you wanted something stronger, I hope this 3 Dollar whiskey's doing it for you", he comments the choice of drinks, shrugging lightly before placing the beverages onto the coffee table in front of you, along with an empty whiskey tumbler. "I could really need one", you sigh, the couch moves underneath you as Eddie flops back down right next to you. "Go ahead, help yourself". He grabs a remote and points it at a radio underneath the TV, and the turned down sound of some rock radio show accompanies the two of you. The can in his hand hisses, he leans back against the cushion to get comfortable and reaches behind his ear to grab the joint he just prepared. You follow his lead, pour yourself a big glass of whiskey and take a big gulp, before leaning back as well. "Clearly needed a drink", Eddie comments cheekily, as he lifts the can up to his mouth to take a sip of beer. "You have no idea". "Mhm", he hums, putting down the can and grabbing a lighter from the coffee table to light his joint, "I really don't. But, according to what you told me in the van, I can imagine you're... not having quite a blast at the moment". "That's a nice thing to call that shit show that's currently my life", you chuckle sarcastically, the cheap whiskey he gave you already warms up your belly. "Yeah, it's totally fucked up, if I'm honest. I mean, I don't know her, but your mother sounds like a total bitch if you're asking me. And don't get me started on Scott". Your lips gently rub against the cold glass of the tumbler you're still holding close to your mouth. "I never thought there comes a time where I say those words", you start, giving him a short look and watching him taking another deep puff, "But I guess you're right about her". He amusedly throws a side glance at you and leans his head back to blow some thick smoke up to the ceiling. "I really need to mark that day", he murmurs while passing the joint to you, small clouds of smoke still leaving his lips as he speaks. You carefully take it from his fingers and wrap your lips around the filter to take a drag, closing your eyes as you inhale the smoke and feel it filling up your lungs. Slowly, you let it out of your mouth again, before going in for another puff. Within seconds, you feel it fogging up your brain. "Fuck, I can't remember the last time I had good weed", you mumble to change topic, "The crusty shit I bought last week is nothing compared to this". "Where'd you buy it?". You open your eyes and pass the blunt back to Eddie, take a small sip to moisten your mouth and try remembering the name of that suspiciously looking guy. "I don't know. A guy I met at work. Bought his stash because mine was almost out. It's super dry and dusty. Absolute waste of money". "Totally. In case you ever need some good weed again - I know who's selling the best stuff around". "You do?", you ask, chuckling lightly, "Who is it?". Eddie inhales some more, puffs out some perfect smoke rings and gives you a cheeky wink. "Me".

Eddie and you finished the rest of his blunt in silence, just sitting there, passing it on and enjoying the bliss. You just poured yourself another glass, already feeling the mix of booze and weed hitting, especially after that day and how you've barely eaten anything. Eddie just got up and disappeared into the bathroom. You let your gaze slowly wander around, nipping on your drink as you notice the framed pictures you were about to take a look at earlier and put your drink down to stand up. Your legs already feel a little wobbly as you take the few steps to the side table and bend down to have a close look at the pictures. One of them shows a young Eddie, probably 10 or 11 years old, his hair buzzed and his skinny arms sticking out of a Metallica shirt, a band-aid on his knee. You smile softly and look at the next one, showing Eddie and the man you saw him at the diner with, who you thought was his dad, but after hearing Eddie calling him with a first name, you're not sure if he really is. It also shows a younger Eddie, maybe 16 years old, happily laughing into the camera as both of them show the handsign for heavy metal, the horns, while standing in front of a small stage. Whoever it is he's posing with, it's obvious he's very proud of Eddie. Your gaze wanders over to the last picture, and your smile changes. It shows a woman, not older than 30, gazing at the camera with a toddler sitting on her hip. She's beautiful. Long, dark hair is put up in a bun, a black and white bandana is wrapped around it and curly strands of hair frame her laughing face as she holds her son, who obviously inherited her dark brown eyes and curls."My mom". You wince at Eddie's voice that's suddenly very close and turn around, only to find him standing right behind you. Apparently you didn't hear him coming back. You take a breath, just about to make a stupid joke about how he didn't inherit any of her beauty, when lifting your gaze and noticing the look in his eyes. Something changed in them. And then, you catch the first glimpse of something you never thought you'd see in those eyes. Fragility. And pain. There's no need for him to say it out loud. You understand, just by reading his expressions.

"Shit. I'm- I'm sorry". That's all you're able to say. With your voice quiet, unsure how to behave. For a second, the thought of hugging him pops up in your head, but you push it aside. He sighs deeply and eventually gives you a slightly forced, crooked smirk to show you he's fine. The fragility in his eyes disappears. "It's okay. I was five when she died. Happened a long time ago". "It's still horrible and I'm sorry it happened to you", you sigh and throw another look at the picture of his mom. "Thank you, but really, I'm alright", he mumbles, and as you look back at him, you catch him glancing right at your face. Your eyes meet again, and suddenly you feel like you're drowning in those pools of dark chocolate. You notice the curve of his eyebrows, how long his lashes are and the light beard stubble on his cheeks. And as you look back up to his eyes, you catch him glancing at your lips. Oh, no. Your fogged brain suddenly realizes the tension that grew between you, and you hectically take a step back while clearing your throat.

Eddie blinks confusedly, and the moment is over.

"So, that's your dad?", you ask, pointing at the other picture showing him and the older man. Eddie shakes his head. "Nope". The p plops over his lips. "That's my uncle. He's the one I'm living with". "Oh", you slowly nod and secretly curse yourself for, after remembering him of his dead mom, now unknowingly stirring the no-dad-pot. "Sorry", you sigh nervously and look back at him, before walking back to the couch to sit back down, "God, I'm awful. I should just shut up, everything I ask or point out leads from one uncomfortable topic right to another". Eddie amusedly chuckles and shakes his head, "You're not, don't worry. It's just another fucked up family story. Everyone who lives in this trailer park has one. You're only allowed to move here if you meet that shitty criteria". You sigh, lift your glass and empty your whiskey. This shit really tastes disgusting. "Agree", you then murmur, "At least mine's fucked up too, and I live here as well. Oh, wait. No, I used to live here, before I ran away. Now, I'm basically homeless. So, guess there is a pattern". "The second time I'm right today. I'm on a roll". "I'm as surprised as you are", you chuckle and look at his grinning face as he sits down next to you. A pair of dark eyebrows wiggles in your direction, "You're into it, aren't you". "Absolutely not. You're making a fool of yourself, Munson". His eyes shine amusedly as he grabs a pack of Marlboro from the coffee table to slide one between his teeth. "So you're not into smart guys, mh? At least that explains why a girl like you dates a douchebag like Hargrove". You roll your eyes. The old Eddie Munson has just returned to the conversation. "I'm not having this talk with you. I might be sitting on your couch, drinking your whiskey and smoking your weed while wearing your clothes after telling you my very depressing family story and choosing you as the first person to tell about my father, Eddie Munson, but we're no friends. That's none of your business if or who I'm dating". Short chuckles leave his throat as he listens to you, agreeing with what you just said. He turns in his seat to face you, your thighs now touching on the small two-seater couch.

"Yeah, we surely aren't friends, Sam", he then murmurs, his voice low. His eyes lock with yours again, he slowly blows out the smoke of his cigarette, smugly smirking at you. Suddenly, you remember bits of Friday night that were blurred from all the booze you had in your system. You two flirted. Something happened between you. He's flirting with me. Again.Oh god, we are flirting again.

And, I like it?

You hectically push yourself up from the couch cushions, Eddie's confused eyes follow you. "I should leave. Thanks for taking me in, but this... wasn't a good idea. I- I should go". You turn around and walk down the hall to grab your clothes from the bathroom. "Right now?", Eddie asks in an unsure tone while standing up as well, "I mean, sure, whatever you want. I promised I'll drive you". "No, it's- it's okay, I'll just walk". "You'll walk? I thought you aren't staying at Forest Hills". You hear his voice down the hall as you step into the small bathroom and lock the door. "You know it's still pouring outside right?". His voice echoes through the thin bathroom door. You sigh to yourself and bend down to grab the wet pile of clothes you left in there to change back into them. Suddenly, you're feeling stressed. You quickly take off his borrowed hoodie and joggers, throw them onto a closed laundry basket and pull a disgusted face, when jumping into your damp jeans and shirt. The cold fabric presses against your warmed up skin and makes you shiver lightly. "I'll just- I don't know, take a cap or whatever, I-", you stammer as you open the door to walk back into the hallway, looking down your body to close the button of your jeans and almost running into Eddie, who's standing in the middle of the hallway. You stop inches away from him, and suddenly feel his hand on your shoulder. This is the first time he really touches you. You freeze. Carefully, he makes you pause for a second and waits until you look at him. Warm brown eyes wander over your face, checking on you."What's going on, huh? One second you're chilling on my couch, fooling around and having a drink, and the next you're jumping up to leave as fast as possible? Did I say something wrong? I mean you were the one starting with that no friends shit, I was just playing along, I didn't mean to be rude or whatever". You stare at him, unable to give him an honest answer, since you're also not having it. You just felt the urge to leave. It's not like he or his behavior towards you made you uncomfortable. It's more like you started to feel too comfortable with him. All of a sudden. "I just noticed the time", you lie, "I have to go. Sorry". You step away from him and continue your walk up to the front door to get your shoes. Your skin feels warm where he touched your shoulder. He sighs behind you, steps follow you down the hall. "Okay, I'll drive you". "No, it's fine-". "I said I'll drive you. I brought you here, the least thing I can do is bringing you where you really wanna be right now". You suppress a sigh and just nod, step into your shoes and grab your jacket to put on. Eddie also slides his arms into a dark jeans jacket, grabs his keys from a small shelf and opens the door for you. The sound of heavy rain hits you, along with a chilly breeze that immediately blows into the trailer and around your bodies. You're starting to freeze before even leaving the warmth of his home. Great. Eddie clears his throat with the door handle already in his hand, waiting for you to step through the doorframe to lock it behind you.

"So", he asks after the two of you hurried through the rain and got into his van, "Where can I drop you off for the night? Staying at a friend's house?". You slide a strand of hair out of your face and wipe your wet hands on your jeans. "No. You know the motel on Cornwallis?". "The motel out of town? That's where you're staying? And you said you'll walk there?". He looks at you while raising a brow. You shrug your shoulders, "Yeah. For this night, I do". "And what about the next night?". You sigh deeply. "I don't know, Eddie. I don't know where I'm staying. Maybe I'll sleep in my car again. Maybe I'll find someone whose couch I can crash on. I'll figure it out". Your voice sounded more pissed than you wanted it to. Eddie just nods and slides his key into the ignition lock. The engine starts, and the van slowly rolls down the gravel road leading out of Forest Hills. Both windshield wipers are running on their highest speed, but it's still hard to see anything through the window with all that water coming down from the dark sky. You secretly squint at him. Both his hands are firmly holding the steering wheel, his eyes are pinned to the street, brows lightly furrowed in concentration. Minutes of silence go by, and the van is now slowly driving down the country road, its headlights parting the pitch black night around you.

"Sorry", you finally mumble, "I didn't mean to be rude. I know this is usually a thing going on between us, and I normally don't care if someone thinks I'm rude. But... you really helped me tonight, and I don't wanna seem ungrateful". Eddie lets out a long exhale.  "You tried helping me with my car, brought me to your home and sort of gave me shelter. I'm sorry if I seemed rude, it's just... I'm very stressed", you continue, "And probably anxious. At least today, you're not the reason for my misery. So, sorry if I snapped". "Whoa", he chuckles softly and gives you a short glance before focusing back on the road and joking, "You apologized for telling me off? Who are you? I feel like I don't know you at all". You scoff and roll your eyes, "You do not know me at all, Munson". "You're not as mysterious as you think you might be, Carter". He shoots you another cheeky glance, smirking and biting on his bottom lip, "You're an open book to me". "Oh, yeah, dream on", you laugh and shake your head while leaning back in your seat, not noticing how your laugh makes him smile softly or how you immediately relaxed again, now that things are sorted out between you.

The rain has finally stopped when Eddie's van stops at the motel parking lot twenty minutes later. You hear the engines being turned off and open your seatbelt, before turning to your driver. In the darkness that grew inside his vehicle, you both look at each other. "Thanks, again". He just nods and gives you a crooked smile. Your voice turns daringly as you give him a serious glance, "And if you ever decide to tell anyone what happened today, I will deny it and hurt you really, really bad. Got it? This never happened. I have a reputation to uphold". Eddie chuckles amusedly and scratches his chin, "What exactly are you talking about, mh? How ridiculously tiny you looked in my clothes? Or how you apologized for being rude, mh?". You raise a brow and open your mouth to tell him off, when his upper body suddenly leans over the handbrake and his eyes look right into yours, his face now only inches away from yours as he mumbles his next words, "Or don't you want anybody to know we flirted?". His voice got darker. You stare at him. This smug confidence he's looking at you with makes you want to punch him right into his face. He knows he hit the bullseye. You look away from him and grab your bag, your hand reaches over to the door handle as you simply say, "We weren't". "Look at me and say it again". You freeze at his commanding tone.

Is he for real? He really wants to play that game?

You inhale slowly, let go of the doorhandle to turn and face thedriver seat, seductively gazing at Eddie, who still winningly smirks at you. You lean forward just like he did and stop only inches away from his face, maintaining an intense eye contact with him before shortly letting your glance drop down to his lips and hearing his breath hitching in his throat. You slowly start to smirk at him and gaze back into his eyes. "You think that was me flirting?", you mumble before letting out a small, amused scoff. "You're cute for really believing that. Hate to break it to you, but that was nothing". Eddie, who seemed to lost his confidence for a second, clears his throat. "So you think I'm cute, mh?". "No", you sweetly smile at him, break the eye contact and back up, "Not at all". Your hand reaches over once more, and you push the passenger door open. "Thanks for driving me, though". You slide down the seat and turn to him once more. He has leaned back in his seat, his hand slides in his pocket to grab his cigarettes. "No problem", he mumbles after sliding one between his lips, "I can pick you u-". Mid sentence, he stops and looks at something behind you, just when you hear the crunching sound of car tires on gravel, along with loud rock music. Bright headlights are shining against your back and the side of the van. You don't have to turn around to know whose car it is that's parking behind you. Seconds later, a door slams close, and heavy steps slowly come closer. Dark eyes glance back at you and the door you're still holding open. Something in them has changed. "Gotta go, my work here is done", Eddie then says, his tone cold, giving you a sign to close the door and step away from the van. You confusedly nod and grab the metal frame to slam it close when hearing him adding, "And your boyfriend's waiting for you anyways. Bye". You frown and slowly step back to do as he says and close the door. And without even looking at you one last time, Eddie starts the engine and drives off. What the fuck?

"What's that Munson freak doing here with you?". You sigh as you pass by Billy and his confused face, heading for your motel room. All you want is a burning hot shower, something to snack on and ten hours of sleep. The last hours drained you. "He drove me here. My car broke down and, lucky for me I guess, he was there and jumped in". You're not in the mood to mention the fact you stayed at his place afterwards. Billy's heavy steps follow you up the creaky stairs leading to your motel room on the first floor. You hear his voice behind you while pulling the key out of your jeans to unlock the door. "Did he say or do something weird? I just had someone telling me about this weird, satanic cult he's leading". "A cult?", you snort lightly and push the door open, "People are probably overreacting. They tend to do so, especially in small towns like this one, Billy". The two of you step through the doorframe, and as you kick away your shoes, you catch a glimpse of Billy's frowning face. "You're defending him". "What?", you laugh dryly and take off your wet jacket, "I'm not defending him. It's just something I don't believe in, like, in general. And now, stop it, okay? Or I'll start to believe you're being jealous". You take a few steps into the room to grab some fresh clothes out or your bag, when Billy's hands grab your hips to pull you back into his arms. "Jealous?", he mumbles close to your ear, "Me? Because of some random freak like Munson?". His breath tickles your skin, and you feel his thumb caressing your belly through your shirt. "Why would I", he continues in a dark tone, "He's the one who drove you home, I get it. But I'm the one whose name you're moaning tonight. And, clearly, we're not dating, so there's no reason to be jealous anyways". You chuckle lightly and turn around to look into his face. "Exactly, we're not dating", you slide your arms around his neck and press a soft kiss on his lips, drawing a small smirk on them as you pull back, "And I'll think about the moaning-your-name-thing, okay? First, I really need a shower". Billy's hands rest on your lower back. Blue eyes wander over your face, you can literally see him thinking. He's about to say something, but then decides to not to. Instead, he kisses you again while gliding one hand on your butt. "Can I join?". Your smirking lips gently press on his, "I need a boiling hot one, think you can handle that?". A soft chuckle leaves his lips. "Whatever we're doing in there, it's totally worth the second degree burns I'm probably getting".

Tuesday, 07:43Hawkins High

You try to ignore all the eyes that are basically staring at you as Billy and you get out of his car together. Girls lean to each other, whispering while eyeing you up and down as you slide your bag on your shoulder and close the passenger door. Billy casually walks around his car, sliding his keys into the pocket of his blue jeans and winking at you over the rim of his sunglasses. The gossiping around you continues, you can hear their franticly whispering voices getting louder in disbelief as he walks up to you. What is he doing with her? You give him a soft smile and glance over his shoulder, right across the busy parking lot to see after your own car, which you had to leave behind yesterday evening. It's parked just where you left it, waiting for you to find a cheap solution to fix whatever's been causing it to break down. You shortly gaze at the crowds of students moving towards you, away from their cars and heading for the highschool building behind you. Some of them chatting, others quickly having a to-go breakfast. And no one looking pretty excited to be here. Just when you're about to turn around and head to the building yourself, you spot a familiar face along them. Eddie. His eyes are already on you, looking right at you as he walks up to where you're standing. Something in his gaze feels... off. You don't know how to react, and simply look right back at him. You remember the way your eyes locked with each other yesterday, how he smirked at something you said. The way he-- "Ready to go?". Billy's voice rips you out of your trance. You break the eye contact with Eddie and turn your head, confusedly blinking. "Uh, yeah, yeah sure", you mumble and give him a small smile. The bruises his father left on his face changed colors over night. But, let's say how it is - not even those bruises are doing any harm to his attractiveness. A big hand slides around your hip, Billy flashes you a bright smile while chewing on his gum as the two of you start to move towards the building as well. "You look good in those jeans by the way", he mumbles cheekily, his hand still on your hip. You chuckle and look at him walking next to you, "Stop staring at my ass, pervert. We're on school property, there are kids around". He chuckles raspy and throws a side glance at you as you step through the widely opened front door, letting the stream of students drag you with them into the long hallway. "I stare at your ass whenever I feel like it", he murmurs, before lowering his hand to gently slap it down on your right butt cheek. You amusedly roll your eyes at him and move out of his arm to grab some books out of your locker before heading to your first class. "Behave yourself, Hargrove", you smirk at him, "I'll see you later". "Yeah", Billy takes off his sunglasses and winks at you once more, "Can't wait", before turning the other way and walking away. You chuckle lightly, follow a stream of students further down the hall and quickly open your locker, scanning the pile of books for the one you need for your upcoming English class. You just spotted it hidden under some loose papers, when a familiar voice catches your attention.

"Oh my god, oh my god, ooooh my god", you hear Robin's hysterical voice coming closer, "Sam, I'm so sorry, oh god, I feel awful". You slide your textbook under your arm and slam the locker door close, lifting your eyes to watch Robin basically running up to you and eventually stopping, even kinda out of breath. "I don't know how to ever apologize, GOD, I'm so sorry! I'm the worst friend ever, I forgot about you! The second I got home yesterday I realized, but it was too late. I would totally understand if you'd never talk to me again, even if you'd hate me now. But, I want you to know I feel so terrible, I- I-...", she stammers frantically, her body vibrating in nervousness and excitement. "Robs", you calmly place your hand on her arm, "It's okay. That happens, and I'm not mad at you, okay? Relax, take a deep breath. I repeat, I am not mad at you", you say in a soothing voice, before adding, "Well, maybe I'm a little mad, but that's nothing a coffee on you won't make up". Robin sighs in relief and exhaustedly leans against the closed locker she's standing in front of, "Thanks for not being mad. I'm still so sorry, I got distracted and completely forgot". "Distracted, mh?", you ask, wiggling your brows, "By who?". The relieved smile on her face drops, and she nervously scratches her arm. She's clearly uncomfortable. You lift your hand to deescalate. "You know what? How about we meet for coffee later, and you'll tell me in private. If you feel like it", you quickly suggest, and Robin happily accepts. "I'd love to. And, it's on me, for sure". The bell rings. Only two minutes until start of first period. "I gotta go", you apologizing look at her while taking a few steps down the hall, "See you at lunch?".

"Okay, class", your social studies teacher chirps up front, "Today, we're going to explore the causes of the American Civil War and its impact on our nation's history". You suppress a deep sigh and lean back in the wooden chair you just sat in. Third period just started. You barely listen to her asking class to open the textbooks, grab your pen to play around with and slowly look through the class room ahead of you. Most of the attending students do as your teacher said, the rustling sound of books being pulled out of backpacks and thrown onto the wooden tabletops fills the room. Pages are being turned. You look down on your own textbook and slowly open it to turn to the mentioned page, as least to pretend you're participating in the lesson. But, instead of listening, you can't help but overthink your life. Again. Billy checked you out of the motel this morning. It was a short-term solution to stay there for two nights, but you both don't make enough money in your part-time jobs to make it a long-term one. So, now you're back right where you started. Basically homeless. And, on top of that, now with a car that's not working. You thought you'd hit rock bottom four days ago already, after leaving Scott's trailer and sleeping in said car. But, no. This is rock bottom."Samantha". You blink and lift your head. Your teacher looks at you with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She obviously asked you a question. And you didn't listen. "Uhm, sorry?". She sighs deeply, "Would you mind paying attention to my class?". "Yes, sorry, Misses Richards". She gives you another long look, finally nods and turns back to the other side of the class to continue talking about the war, or whatever. You put your chin into your hand and watch her wandering through the rows of students, when the door behind her slowly opens. She stops mid sentence and surprisedly raises a brow, as a messy head pokes through the gap. "Mr Munson. Class started almost 15 minutes ago". Eddie flashes her an apologizing smile, his tall body quickly moves through the door. "Sorry, there was an... emergency". "An emergency?", your teacher asks, and he nods. "Yeah", he mumbles while giving her a telling glance, "A teenage one. Believe me, you don't wanna know the details". Some of your classmates chuckle quietly. He's obviously messing with her. Mrs Richards sighs deeply and nods over to an empty seat. Right next to yours. Your eyes follow him as he moves through the room, throws his backpack under the desk and finally sits down in his seat. The metal chain hanging on two of his belt loops scratches over the cheap wood as he adjusts his body and leans back. He hasn't looked at you once. Fine. You roll your eyes and focus back on your teacher who walked back to the front to write some key notes on the blackboard. That's when a familiar scent tickles your nose. You frown and sniffle quietly, before throwing another glance at Eddie who's leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed in front of his chest, pretending to listen. You lean a little closer to get a better look and assure yourself once more before coming to a conclusion.

This man's high as a kite.

The scent of weed still lingers in his clothes, making it pretty obvious what his emergency really consisted of. You throw another short glance at his side profile, thinking back to last night when the two of you happened to spend some time together. You'd never admit it, but it did bring you some joy, being with him. But his weird behavior today makes it pretty clear he's not thinking the same.

"... in pairs of two".

Your teachers words caught your attention. You lift your head. "You're getting paired up as follows: rows one and two... and... three and four", she continues, while pointing at the four rows of students that are lined up in front of her, "You will team up with the student right next to you". Within a second, murmuring starts around you, students raise their hands to ask for changes of their assigned team partner. "And no", Mrs Richards shouts against the growing sound level, "No changing or mixing up the teams. I understand you want to team up with your friends, but for this project, you're teaming up with whoever sits next to you. As I just said". She sits down at her own desk and grabs a notebook. "I'm writing down the teams. So, again - no switching". Another wave of disappointed groans echoes through the rows of students around you. Your teacher just shrugs and stands back up to continue giving you details. "Every project will be about a notable figure from the Civil War era, such as Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, or Harriet Tubman. Research their life and contributions to the war effort and create biographical posters or presentations to share with the class. Presentations start beginning of next week. I will hand out everyone's topic in a minute".

Amazing.

You sigh and turn your upper body to look back at Eddie, who has just been declared your partner for this school project. The sound of chatting students rises around you as everyone comes together in their groups. Mrs Richards gets up as well to walk up to every team and hand them a handout with all needed information. You frown. Eddie hasn't changed his position. His arms are still crossed in front of his chest, and he's still gazing through the room as if nothing happened. "Hello?". You raise a brow and lean closer. "Eddie?". No reaction. Is this man for real? You sigh deeply, lift your hand and move it into his sight, snapping your fingers, annoyedly hissing his name. "Edward, would you stop ignoring me?". As you snap your fingers, he finally blinks and takes a deep breath, his head flies around as he throws a confused look at you. Seems like you just woke him up from whatever universe he was just in. The white in his eyes has a pink undertone. Whatever he smoked before that class really hit in. "What, Samantha?", he asks back, annoyedly using your full name as well. "Didn't you listen?", you snap back, "We got paired up for this stupid project. So, whatever childish game you decided to play today, with all the ignoring and stuff, you gotta pause it". Eddie just gazes at you, processing what you just said a little slower than he usually does. "My what? I'm not ignoring you", he finally hisses back, obviously pissed, "I just didn't feel like talking to you, that's it. Ignoring you, what am I, a 13-year-old girl?". You scoff loudly and lean back in your seat, "Whatever. Sorry to disappoint you, but you gotta talk to me because I'm not willing to fail this project, you got me?". His dark eyebrow slowly rises, "What, suddenly became a dweeb? Since when do you care about your grades, mh?". You laugh dryly and quickly look him up and down as he casually adjusts in his seat, smirking teasingly. "Well, some of us plan on graduating one day. Not everyone finds great joy in rerunning every year like you do, Munson". Something in his eyes changes, his smirk dies as he stares at you with a firm look. "This", he eventually mumbles with a clenched jaw, while pointing his finger between the two of you, "brings me no joy at all, Sam. None. Zero. Abso-fucking-lutely no joy. At all". You stare in his eyes. Great. You talked for two minutes, and you're already arguing again. What an amazing start.

"So", your teacher interrupts the weird angry eye contact you and Eddie are still locked in as she steps at his table, "Samantha and Eddie...". "It's Sam" you automatically mumble and interrupt her. "Excuse me", she clears his throat, "Sam and Eddie", she then continues, while pulling a sheet of paper out of a pile in her hands, "The topic for your group will be... Abraham Lincoln". You two just share a look, while your teacher places the sheet on Eddie's desk. "I hope you two take this seriously. Both of you could really need a good grade. Really". She gives both of you a telling glance, turns around and takes a few steps to get to the next group. You roll your eyes. "Okay", Eddie sighs deeply and looks at you, "I think I could make some time right after school. What about you?". "Yeah", you exhale loudly, "I'm free until 5:30". "And then what, mh?", he mumbles with a crooked smirk, "Plans with your loverboy?". You sweetly smile back at him, lean closer and grab the paper from his desk. His dark eyes follow you. "You gotta be more specific which one you're talking about", you purr back before leaning back in your seat and shrugging lightly while adding, "But the answer's none of your business anyways".

End of last period

Finally. You let out a long sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose as the sounds of your classmates packing up their things grow around you. Last period was awful, your head hammers from all the Spanish your teacher spoke with you, of which you honestly barely understood any. You're tired, fucked up a surprise test right after lunch and are definitely not in the mood for all the things that are still on your agenda for today. Especially, spending more time with Eddie if he's still in such an annoyed mood like he was that morning.You rescheduled your plans with Robin during lunch because of the project you and Eddie have to work on today. Of course, you'd rather sit at the local cafe, sipping on a coffee and finally getting the chance to talk with her about everything that happened throughout the last days. All the fucked up shit about your family and what happened with you father, this weird relationship-like behavior Billy shows towards you, or those flirty moments you had with Eddie. Well. You're still unsure if you're telling her about Eddie, to be honest.

Is there something to tell, anyways? Probably not.

Gravel crunches under your feet as you're walking over the emptying school parking lot, heading for your car with a cold can of soda and a chocolate bar in your hand. You threw all your unnecessary school stuff into your locker, spent your last cash on some sugary snacks and decided to enjoy at least a few minutes of sunlight on your face before heading back inside to spend the next two hours in that dusty school library. Teamed up with Eddie for that stupid social studies presentation. Ugh. You reach your car, that sadly hasn't magically fixed itself over night, waiting for you just where you left it last night. Or, let's say how it is - where it broke down and decided to simply not move another inch. Billy said he'd have a look at it, but he's having some sports ECAs this afternoon. So, all you can do is sit in it and worry about how to pay for it being fixed. You unlock it, throw your bag and snacks on the passenger seat and throw a short look over the parking lot before falling into the drivers seat. Most of the students that left the class rooms with you have left already. Another car passes you by. No teacher's in sight, so, although it's technically not allowed to smoke here since this still counts as school property, you decide to not give a shit and lean back in your seat, leaving the door open and putting your feet up against the metal door frame. Your lighter clicks as you hold its flame to the end of your cigarette, taking a quick puff while watching the end lighting up.

Images of last night come back to your mind as you let your gaze wander over the sun bleached hood of your father's Ford, inhaling the smoke. How the rain poured down on you as you leaned over the opened hood, tried to fix whatever caused your car to make those gurgling sounds before breaking down with absolutely no knowledge of mechanics. The tears that mixed with the rain when you realized you had no fucking clue what to do. And then, Eddie. Showing up like a fucking knight in a leather jacket.  Raindrops ran down his face as the two of you stood there, in front of your opened hood, both drenched. If this wouldn't be your real fucked up life, this would be one of the most cliché opening scenes to a very cheap and schmaltzy movie. If it was one of those movies, you would have ended up kissing or making love, what - gladly - didn't happen at his place after he offered to take you home to borrow some dry clothes and warm up. While letting out a small sigh, you let your eyes fall close and turn your face to the sun to shine right down on it. What a weird, weird evening that was. Your lips wrap around the cigarette once more, and as you're sitting there, in your car with the sun shining on your face, warming up your skin and tickling your nose, you finally relax a little. You lose some of that tension that's been sitting in your muscles for the last days. Without anyone around, you finish your cig in peace and quiet. Just you and your thoughts, the sun on your face and the taste of tobacco lingering on your tongue. Until...

a shadow rises behind your closed eyelids, covering the sun and causing you to frown your brows while opening your eyes. "Hey, partner". Eddie's standing right in front of your opened door, smirking in that special cheeky way. He seems more relaxed again than this morning. Thank God. "Ugh. You're blocking my sun, Munson. Go away", you mumble grumpily, reaching over to the passenger seat to grab the diet coke you bought and open it. "What, is my shining beauty not enough for you?", he jokes, while wiggling his brows. You pull a disgusted face and put your legs down before taking a big sip of your fizzing beverage and feeling the cold, sugary liquid running down your throat. "Ew, disgusting. But love your confidence, though. Even if it's completely unfounded". Eddie chuckles at your words and puts his crossed arms on the metal frame of your opened car door, leaning on it and watching you with amused eyes as you roll yours in return and lift your can up to your lips to take another sip. "Bet there's more than that you love about me, don't you, Sam?".

Wha- Excuse me? What the fuck is going on?

You scoff loudly, grab your bag and get out of your seat to stand up. His tall figure stands right in front of you, leaning at your door and smirking down on you as you gaze at him, laughing dryly at what must've obviously been a bad joke. "Yeah", you laugh again, "Like the sound you do when you finally shut up, Edward. That's what I love most". You gaze right into his face, a sweet smile on your lips while gliding your bag on your shoulder. The corner of his mouth twitches, laugh lines form around his dark brown eyes when another dark chuckle rolls over his lips. "Good one", he then admits, his voice raspy and close. "Oh, I know. But it's just the truth", you comment, a winning look on your face as you give him a little sign to step away from your car. He nods and takes two steps back, giving you some space to grab the handle. "So", you sigh deeply as you close the door and lock your car, "However, as much as I enjoy roasting you... We should get going. I'm pretty busy today". You turn around and look at him. Suddenly, his body language changed. His cheeky, flirty behavior vanished, the warmth in his eyes disappeared. He just nods, "Yeah, you mentioned. Let's go", and turns around, leaving you confused as hell and following him. This man really seems to be the kind of mood swings.

As you two walk back to the school building in total silence, you can't help but wonder why Eddie suddenly turned so cold again. Just like yesterday, when he dropped you off at the motel after staying at his place. But it made sense back then. Somehow, at least. Billy showed up, and they both clearly despise each other. So, his reaction kinda was relatable. But now? You have no idea. And the fact you can't stop wondering about it, bothers you even more.

As you push open the heavy wooden doors of the high school library, you're greeted by the familiar scent of old books and polished wood, mixing into the dusty, thick air. Sunlight filters through the tall dirty windows, casting a warm glow over the rows of bookshelves that line the room. Each shelf is packed with volumes on a wide range of subjects, from history and literature to science and mathematics. Dust particles fly around, and you can feel them tickling your nose already as the door falls close behind you. Eddie gives you a short look, your eyes meet for the split of a second before he continues his walk, with you  walking right behind him. You make your way past the rude looking librarian who's sitting behind her desk and labeling some books, and head towards the study tables located at the other end of the room.

You look around, not really hiding what you're thinking of this place. It's the first time you're in here, and it's just as boring as you imagined it to be. And, as empty. The only other human being you're spotting while following Eddie up to the wooden table is a girl with glasses, looking as cliché as possible while reading a book in one of the armchairs, her nose basically buried between its pages.

"Okay", you sigh and pull the crumpled worksheet your teacher gave you earlier out at class before carelessly dropping your bag to the floor, "Let's see". You lean against the edge of the study table, your eyes quickly skimming through the instructions on how your presentation should be done and what topics necessarily need to be mentioned while your other hand lifts your half emptied soda up to your mouth. Eddie flops down on a chair to your right, playing with his rings and avoiding looking at you. "She wants us to talk about his early life, political career, the final presidency and his assassination. For... ugh, at least 15 minutes, including some visual aids and a Q&A afterwards". You groan annoyedly and lift your gaze from the paper to look at Eddie. "Should we just split it and put the parts together at the end? Or like... hello?". You snap your fingers to get his attention. Chocolate eyes confusedly lift their gaze and blink at you. "Mh?", he hums, as if he just woke up from a trance. You angrily furrow your brows. "Would you mind listening? I told you I don't wanna fuck this up. This is a team effort, okay?". Eddie sighs and scratches his stubbly chin. "Relax, princess", he mumbles, "I just zoned out for a second. What'd you say?". His tall body adjusts in his seat as he throws a stern look at you. You roll your eyes and take a seat next to him. "I asked if we should split it up to work on it separately, and just put everything together at the end". You turn your head to look at him, meeting his eyes, waiting for a response. You lock eyes with each other for a moment. Something in his gaze softens for the split of a second, but then, he clears his throat and looks away. "Yeah", he mumbles, "Whatever". "Whatever?", you confusedly raise a brow, "Don't you ever wanna finish school? You need some better grades for that, you know that, right? So maybe participate a little more, Eddie". "Wow", he laughs dryly and stands up, "Thanks for telling me, what a mind-blowing idea! I never thought about that. You need good grades to graduate? Maybe I should try this way, after failing so many others". His voice is dripping in sarcasm. You roll your eyes and sigh, while grabbing the spreadsheet once more to throw another gaze at it. "This leads to absolutely nothing, I got it", you mumble as you count the topics to see if it's an even number to split. "I'm doing my part, and you're doing whatever you want with yours. I just hope Mrs Richardson grades us separately, but I guess that's the risk I'm taking. Plus, I don't have to spend more time with you and those weird mood swings you're having, so that's definitely a win for me". "The fuck are you talking about, I'm not having any mood swings". You don't even look up at him, grab your bag and reach inside to find a pen. "Okay, fine", you just mumble as you choose the topics you're planning on taking responsibility for, avoiding to look at him. "No, tell me, what are you talking about". You sigh and drop the paper, "Nothing, okay? It's fine, let's just please get this over with, take your part and leave me alone". You look up at him. He's still standing next to the chair he stood up from. Dark eyes stare back at you. "Leave you alone? That's what you want?". No. "Yeah. I mean, what the fuck is going on with you? First you're joking and fooling around at my car, and suddenly you're bitchy and mad at me for some reason. I thought were-". "Friends?", he ends your sentence, laughing dryly, "You made it very clear we're no friends, Sam. That's what you told me last night, several times". "Yeah, I know", you hiss back, "I just thought we're both grown up enough to just work on a fucking school project together. And don't talk about last night like that, you make it sound like we had a fucking one night stand". Eddie scoffs dryly, "Thank God no one's in earshot. Just imagine anyone would think that, right? I mean, you have a reputation to lose, don't you. Or, no, wait - wouldn't that perfectly fit your reputation, Sam? Another careless fuck with a random guy?".

His words feel like he slapped you right across the face.

You lift your gaze and stare at him while slowly standing up from your seat. "Fuck you", you hiss through clenched teeth as you step on your toes to move your face closer up to his, "I don't know what's causing you to behave like a fucking asshole now, Munson. All I did was trying to work on that fucking project I unfortunately got paired up with you for, only to - what, mh? To hear you slut shaming me? Have you lost your fucking mind?". You stare right into his eyes. Anger burns in your chest, you still can't believe what he just said to you. "You have no fucking right to say such things about me, you hear me? No fucking right. I date, like, love and fuck whoever I want, okay?", you continue in a hissed, daring voice. "So, fuck you. Fuck this project, fuck this grade. I'm done. Whatever this weird thing was that's been going on between us, it's over. No enemies, no friends. No in between. Nothing. Don't talk to me again". For a second, you keep on staring right into his dark eyes. He hurt you. His words really hurt you. You feel this familiar stinging sensation in your eyes and quickly turn around to grab your bag and the piece of paper, leaving Eddie behind, who sighs deeply and closes his eyes while rubbing his face and cursing under his breath. "Fuck".

You almost made it to the front door leading out of the library when feeling your eyes overflowing already. Tears start to run down your face. Shit. You're embarrassed because you couldn't hold them back any longer and scared somebody might see you cry and, instead of leaving like you wanted to, take a turn and slip between two tall shelves filled with books. You just need a second to calm down again. The titles blur as you navigate the narrow space, letting out a muffled sob while hectically wiping away your tears. Each step echoes softly on the carpeted floor. You reach the end of the aisle, a secluded corner where no one can see you and lean against the shelf. This whole argument with Eddie still feels so unreal, you need a second to process everything. What did you do to make him say such things to you? After last night, how he helped you, listened to your problems and showed you this other side of him, you really weren't expecting him to now insult you like that.   Normally you wouldn't care if anyone thinks bad about you. But what he just did, somehow really hurt you. You sigh and close your eyes, feeling more and more silent tears running down your face.

Breathe in, and out. It's okay.

"Sam"

You open your eyes and turn your head to look up the aisle. Eddie slowly walks up to you, attentively watching your reaction with his hands lifted in defense, showing his palms and ringed fingers. You don't even try to hide your tears while watching him coming closer, and  hiss just one word in his direction. "Don't"He immediately stops, still a couple of feet away from you. His eyes look almost as sad as yours as he glances over to you. "I'm sorry". You can't help but let out a short, contemptuous laugh. "Go and fuck yourself, Eddie. I told you to not talk to me again". "Please". He slowly starts to continue his walk up to you. His eyes wander over your wet face and up to your red eyes, and two steps later, he's standing in front of you. "I said go away". He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, "No, I... need to apologize first. You don't have to forgive me, I-". "I won't". Slowly, he nods his head. "Okay", he then mumbles, "But I have to say it anyways. I'm terribly sorry. I really am". You cross your arms in front of your chest and raise a brow at him. Eddie's dark brown eyes glance down to you. "I don't know why I said that. I just... did it. Without thinking about it. It's not what I'm really thinking of you.  Believe me". "I don't care what you think of me, Eddie. Think whatever you wanna think. Say whatever you wanna say. But leave me the fuck alone, okay?".

Seconds of silence go by after you let out your cold answer.

"Yes, you do care about it", he eventually says, "It hurt you. I hurt you. I saw it in your eyes. I regretted it the second it came out of my mouth. Fuck, I fucking made you cry, Sam. I can't believe I did that, I don't know what got into me". You shake your head, pull your eyes away from him and bend down to grab the bag you carelessly dropped, giving him the sign you're leaving now and this talk is over. "You're just one of many people, Eddie. I'm used to being insulted or shamed for what I do, wear or say. What you said is what you truly think of me, and that's fine. As I said, I don't care. I just had a... weak moment. That's all". You turn to your side and take a few steps to finally leave and be alone.

"You know that's not what I'm really thinking of you, Sam. How I feel about you".

His words make you stop and turn back around. You're so done with this, and explode. "No, Eddie, I honestly have no clue because your behavior towards me changes every minute. One second, you're provoking me, are a pain in the ass and just annoy me with everything you say. God, you're so annoying! But the next second, you help me out, take me in and give me some of your clothes because mine are drenched. You listen to my problems, make me tell you about my past and make sure I'm okay, only to ignore me the next morning. You fucking flirt with me and take only hours after that to come to the point where you insult me, Eddie. So, no. I have no idea what you really think or feel. I have no fucking idea"

While listening to your raging words, Eddie's tall figure took the few steps that were separating you two. You just took a second to take a breath and open your mouth to continue telling him off, when his hand suddenly slides around your neck to pull your face close. You're only able to let out a surprised gasp, before feeling his lips pressing on yours. For only a couple of seconds, he kisses you. Presses his warm lips on yours. Soft, and light. Until they leave again, just as quickly as they appeared.

Leaving nothing but a tingly feel.

His hand lets go of your neck. Dark brown eyes softly look at you. "Maybe that makes it a little clearer", he whispers, his lips still so close to yours you can  feel his breath on your skin. Your heart pounds in your chest.

Oh god. What just happened?

You gulp and stumble back. "I- I gotta go".