eddie munson my beloved

“Edward Munson.”

Eddie could hear his friends screaming and whooping as he climbed the stairs to the stage. Hellfire were there, of course they were, and so were Steve, Nancy, and Robin. His uncle was among the cheers too, holding a firm and proud smile as he reached the final step. Eddie had in fact not totally bombed Ms. O’Donnell’s final to the surprise of most of the Hellfire Club, which finally meant he was eligible for graduation. He’d told everyone that it was his year. 

Eddie strutted along the stage with a smirk on his face while he remembered what he had said to his friends just a few weeks ago. 

“I’m gonna walk that stage next month, I’m gonna look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I’m gonna flip him the bird, I’m gonna snatch that diploma and I’m gonna run like hell outta here!”

So that’s exactly what he did. 

As Principal Higgins started to hand Eddie his diploma and reached out to shake his hand, Eddie did one of two things. First he grinned down at the shorter man, before taking one of his hands and flipping him off. That made some of the people in the first few rows of the crowd produce an echoing laugh that tittered through the auditorium for a few seconds. Eddie then snatched the diploma and ran off stage laughing as he jumped down the last few steps. 

It’s not like they could take the diploma off him now anyhow. 

Eddie was tempted to not go back to his seat and actually run like hell out of there, but a few Hellfire friends were graduating too and damn him if he didn’t support his friends. The rest of the ceremony was tedious, Eddie was near the middle of the graduating class so he fiddled with his rings while people walked the stage and only looking up while it was his friends being handed their diplomas. 

When the final person had walked the stage, Principal Higgins asked the graduating class to stand up. 

“You may now move your tassels from the right to the left, as you are now graduates of Hawkins Highschool.” 

The cheers and arounds that erupted in the auditorium were cacophonous. Friends grabbed friends and hugged, some shouted "we did it", and Eddie? He took this opportunity to actually run. He ran to his uncle, seated with all of his non-graduating friends, and laughed as they all hugged and congratulated him.