e.b. neal | she/her

LOUD AND CLEAR, a Steddie fanfic by emmy_award

chapters 1 and 2 up now part of @steddiebingo round 3

rated E / AU / modern AU / rockstar!eddie / teacher!steve / slow burn / missed chances / light angst prompts -- "should I stay?" / phone / modern AU

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He woke, fuzzy, muggy, a stale taste in his mouth, to a dark room and a loud, distant pounding.

“Fuck,” Steve mumbled, lurching out of bed.

He stumbled through the dark apartment, the pounding getting louder as he got closer to the front door. “Yeah, yeah,” he yelled, “I’m coming—” He yanked open the door, chilly air flooded in, and an angry pair of eyes met his.

“Sorry,” Steve said, trying for a sheepish grin. “I sort of fell asleep—”

“Nice,” the guy bit out. He had piles of dark, frizzy hair and these huge, arresting eyes. “I thought I had the wrong address or something. My cab already left.”

“Well.” Steve looked at him, wondering how on earth to fix something he hadn’t broken. “You wanna come in?”

The guy shot him a glare. “Sure, why not?”

Steve stepped aside, let him pass, and smacked the lightswitch, bringing the apartment to life. The light showed him that the guy was tall, easily over six foot in his fuck-off boots, and he was dressed like he’d tripped and fallen out of a rock show, all denim and chains and torn fabric. His leather jacket had a screaming skull painted on the back of it, and Steve blinked a few times. Who in the fuck was this guy?

“Sorry, um.” Steve cleared his throat, scuffed a hand through his hair. A part of him still felt dead asleep, like he was dreaming. “Remind me your name?”

“Eddie,” the guy said, dropping a beaten duffel bag on the floor, followed by a large, flat, hard-shelled case. An instrument? His glare hadn’t softened — his gaze raked up and down Steve’s body, like he was sizing him for a punch. “Buckley said she had a roommate, but I was expecting another girl.”

Steve raised his eyebrows. Sure, maybe he wasn’t at his best, standing here in his pajama shorts and a shirt that had seen better days, but he didn’t deserve this. “I’m not a girl.”

i made it to finals & dug up this ask for a lil wip wednesday treat!! tysm for ur patience my love and so sorry for the delay~ @stars-of-nixie

🏃‍♀️ - im really gonna try and do a lil 10 min sprint after my 9pm class tonite!!! and a few sprints tomorrow as study breaks!!!

🧘‍♀️ - always love rereading and editing xx

🤷‍♀️ - i'm having trouble summoning the energy to resolve the antagonist plot line LOL! i definitely tripped and fell into a juicy plot beyond just the accidental marriage dynamic and listen i think it's great but also i need to stare at a wall for a day or two

📄 - here's a snippet from early ch1 <3

“What’s going on?" Phoenix says, glancing around the table. “What did I miss?” 

“Bradley and Jake went off the grid,” Payback says with a grin. “They’re trying to figure out what the hell they got into last night.”

“I lost my phone,” Hangman tells her. “And my room key. Had to crash on Rooster’s couch.” 

“And you don’t remember anything?” Phoenix flags down their server. “Man, that’s rough.”

“No,” Bradley says. “But apparently we went somewhere with you?”

“Yeah.” She nods, looks at them. “To the Spy Ninja Escape Room.”

You can hear a pin drop. A low welt of horror pools in Bradley’s gut. Even Coyote sits up. 

“I’ll have a Denver omelette, hash browns, and bacon,” Phoenix tells their server. “And a coffee.” She looks around the table. “What? It was Jake’s idea.”

Bradley finally risks a glance at Hangman, who looks like he’s seen a ghost. “What,” Hangman manages to bite out. 

“Yeah.” Phoenix steals Payback’s coffee, takes a slug. “You got a Groupon while we were at dinner, apparently.”

More silence as everyone digests this. 

“Groupon?” says Coyote, looking like Christmas has come early.