Summary: You return to Hawkins after being away for four years, and you're surprised to see how much Eddie Munson has changed.
(Reader is 17, Eddie is 18 here!)
You left Hawkins four years ago.
Your proud family decided to make the most of your middle school graduation milestone and move out to a different area.
You vividly remember when you unfortunately had to tell your best friend Eddie.
"What?! The fair maiden is leaving before we voyage on the trek of cliques and strict teachers?"
"I don't want to, but yeah. Hate to miss out on the arena of hell."
Eddie takes off his black guitar pick and hands it to you.
"Here. So you don't forget about me."
"Your lucky guitar pick?"
"I've got another one at home. It's replaceable unlike you."
You and Eddie shared a farewell hug before you had to leave, and you even gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Plans don't always go as expected, so your family is back in Hawkins for your senior year of high school.
Over the years, you and Eddie promised to call each other at least once a week. But of course, life sometimes has other plans.
However, you are still somewhat confident about your relationship with Eddie and hope that he feels the same.
The night before your first day, you decide to call Eddie and see what's up.
The phone rings a few times, and you assume that he's not home or just not interested to talk to anyone. You're about to give up until you hear someone pick up.
"Whoa, hey." His voice softens. "What made you call?"
"I'm back in Hawkins." You smile.
"Holy shit, this is the best news I've gotten in a while."
"How's life after high school?"
"I wouldn't know, to be honest. But I can feel it. This is my year."
"You've been saying that since we were kids." You snort.
"Details, details. So, I'll see you tomorrow? I'm the leader of Hellfire Club and Corroded Coffin. I sit with those freaks at lunch and we talk about being the outcasts of society."
"Sure, Eddie. You and I are used to being those, anyway."
"Nice to see the years haven't changed you."
"I can say the same for you. Catch you tomorrow."
You try to calm your first day butterflies, but it's hard when you're wondering what your best friend looks like after so many years. You eventually ponder yourself into sleep.
___________________________________________________
Your first day is pretty much going as expected. Cliques crowding the hallway, teachers assigning introductory assignments, you name it.
You get to your last class before lunch as early as you can to claim a seat that's as far away from the front as possible.
It's quiet when just you and the teacher are there, that is until you hear a few rowdy male voices chattering over each other in the hallway.
One walks, then another guy, and then one who really stands out.
A leather jacket with a vest.
Black ripped jeans with a chain.
A chain bracelet on his right wrist.
A black watch on his left one.
"Easy boys, I know lunch is soon but calm down." The teacher commands.
The guy gives her a salute. "Yes, ma'am."
He scans around the classroom, and comes up to you.
"Whoa, you're finally in the flesh." He beckons one of his friends to sit in front of him, and the other to sit in front of you.
You frown at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think I-"
"Nice joke. It's me, Eddie."
Your eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. There's no way in hell the dorky guy you knew ended up looking like this.
"No way. When did you get-?"
Eddie tilts his head in confusion.
Eddie chuckles. "I decided the buzz wasn't going to work out with my manly features."
"You've still got some maturing to do." You tease, which makes his friends cackle.
"Bullying me already, huh? Where's the hug and formalities?"
"Nothing has ever been formal with us, Munson."
When more students settle in and class eventually starts, it's incredibly hard to keep your eyes away from Eddie. At some points in the class, you feel his eyes burning into you. You only muster up the courage to reciprocate it once, but he quickly looks at the board again as if he's shy.
"Okay, class. Make sure to take home the syllabus and bring it back at least before the end of the week."
Everyone scrambles to head to lunch.
"Finally, you get to sit with the freaks." Eddie grins.
After getting lunch you head to his table. He damn near trips over himself to get up and hold your chair out for you.
"Of course, fair maiden."
For now, it's just you and him at the table. You don't even start eating because you're subconsciously trying to appear as poised as possible, which was something you've never done in front of him before.
"You seem nervous." He says, snacking on a pretzel.
"Just wondering how you grew up so much."
"I can say the same for you." You go silent because you're shy and unsure what to say.
"You know..." His voice softens. "You don't have to be nervous. I'm still the same freak you've always known."
You can't figure out why the hell you're nervous no matter what he says.
"Sorry. Maybe it's just first day jitters. And we did speak through a phone for most of the time we were away."
"It felt like the phone wasn't even there for most of the time, at least to me." Eddie admits.
"Now that I'm hearing that out loud...I feel the same, too."
You look down at your plate, and notice Eddie looking at your neck.
You look down and take the guitar pick out of your shirt.
"Oh...yeah. I probably wouldn't be able to breathe without this thing."
Eddie laughs. "I thought you would've forgotten about it. Maybe even about me."
___________________________________________________
The first three months of school are going relatively well.
You're still nervous around Eddie, but you can finally eat lunch in front of him. (Also because he threatens to feed you in front of everyone if you don't.)
Eddie even added two freshmen to the group, and one junior. Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, and Gareth.
At a band practice you couldn't make it to because you have homework, Eddie's flipping his mind inside out.
"Before I saw her again, I never looked at her like that out of respect for the friendship! But now...shit. She looks incredible."
"Why don't you just ask her out on a date?" Gareth asks, which makes Eddie look at him with a bored face.
"Thanks, Gareth. I should've thought of that sooner. Literal rich boy jocks are asking her out!"
"She probably still wouldn't pick me, anyway. She's too... She's too good for me."
"Do you know this, or are you assuming this?" Jeff asks.
"I'm not exactly the boyfriend type. I don't have anything to offer her right now." Eddie scratches the back of his neck.
"It would be better if you just told her instead of assuming what she wants. Besides, you guys have a history. You should be able to talk to her."
Eddie huffs, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Damn it, I hate when you geeks are smarter than me."
"So, you gonna tell her?"
Eddie looks around at all his friends.
"Fine. But if I make a total fool of myself, you'll all never see me again."
Gareth rolls his eyes. "Bullshit, we'd still look for you.
___________________________________________________
After the usual chaotic Tuesday Hellfire Club meeting, you're left alone with Eddie to help him clean up.
"I expect mess from freshmen, but not your old friends." You laugh, chucking a soda can into the garbage.
Eddie's cleaning up the board, and his forehead is sweating from being nervous alone. You notice he hasn't spoken a word since everyone else left.
"You haven't said a word in 5 minutes, Munson. Something must be wrong."
"No, nothing's wrong just...can we talk?"
You stop what you're doing. He sounds serious.
"...What do you think of me?"
"Just your best friend? Anything...else?"
Honestly, there's so much you want to say. But you don't because you're just as scared to make a fool of yourself as he is.
"Do you ever think about me in other ways?"
You look down at your feet because of the confrontational situation.
"Eddie, where is this coming from-"
"When I wake up, my first thought is your face. Or you in general, I should say. Honestly? I get excited to come to school because of you. You make things feel easier."
"...I have something to confess."
You finally look at him. "I'm listening."
"When I first saw you again after all this time I thought you looked good. Not- not that I ever thought you were ugly!- I just... You look nice after all this time. And I...would like to go on somewhere with you."
"I see. Who else is coming?"
You're so oblivious he wants to slap himself.
"Only you. A date. The... romantic kind."
You space out before realizing he's standing there again.
"Oh! Um... I would... I would like that."
"I am, you knucklehead. It's just... What I have to tell you is embarrassing."
One of Eddie's brows arches.
"When I first saw you again... I thought you looked... hot. And I um... Still do."
You swallow the lump in your throat before going around and pretending to look for things to clean up.
Eddie's face goes red. You think he's hot.
"Oh shit." He says, sounding like he's on the verge of hyperventilation. Then, his high and mighty Dungeon Master ego kicks in, and he grins. "Oh."
You hear the smirk in his voice. "It's not funny, Eddie. I'm gonna kick you in your-"
You turn around to see he's behind you with his hands behind his back, swaying himself like a shy child.
"It's not polite for friends to keep secrets from each other, you know."
"Who ever said we were friends?" You joke, which makes him playfully clutch his heart.
"Keep talking, and I'll make it worse."
He makes a playful zipper gesture across his lips.
You mentally prepare yourself for what you're about to do.
Then, you lunge forward a couple inches to hold his cheek and give him a quick peck.
Eddie's entire body locks up, even when you've pulled away.
"Oh...wow- fucking hell-" He says, his voice reaching a high that it hasn't sense before puberty.
"Just to clear up any confusion." You say before going back to cleaning up the room again.
Eddie watches you with a grin on his face again.
You've still got it, Munson.
