time after time

Eddie kept approaching, eyes squinting to try to get a better look at the girl, because his mind had raised the question of why someone would be there alone. And he finally got a better image when she stepped under the light.

Eddie recognized her. He knew the girl. He knew her full name, where she lived, the little bakery her mother owned, the table she was always at in the cafeteria, and all the classes they took together. She was one of the people he’d known since middle school. The secret that he’d always keep to only himself and would never say out loud was that he’d had a crush on her when he was thirteen.

Her dress was in a soft shade of light blue. The hem of her wavy skirt fell just above her ankle; the sleeves of her top were in short puffs and the sweetheart neckline exposed her collarbone. She let her hair down, just natural, with a floral headpiece on the left side. She looked nice. Very nice. Nicer than everyone he’d seen tonight.

Maybe this was the time for Eddie to admit that that crush from when he was thirteen had never really gone. Maybe it was the reason why all this time he still liked to steal glances at her in class or at the cafeteria, or why he’d hope that she’d be there every time he walked past her mom’s bakery.

She didn’t seem to notice his presence, because she continued to just walk back and forth with arms folded in front of her chest. As Eddie slowly stepped closer, he started to hear little hums; she was humming a song, staring down at her shiny pointy heels. She was clearly in her own world.

Eddie could’ve left. He could just turn around and look for some other place, but his feet only brought him closer until he eventually stopped. Before he even knew what he was doing, he’d already greeted her.

“Hey,” Eddie said, his voice was calm and low, trying not to scare the girl. But she still jumped on her feet, heels swiftly whirling around on concrete—she almost lost her balance.

“Whoa, careful,” Eddie said, inching towards her, ready to catch her just in case she really lost her balance. But she managed to get it back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just me. Munson.”

“Oh, Eddie,” she breathed, one hand against her chest, as colors started coming back to her face because she’d lost it for a second from the shock. “Sorry, I thought—” She gulped. “I thought you were like a shadow or something. You’re wearing all black.”

“Ha. Yeah,” he chortled. His hands went to the hem of his suit and tugged in down to straighten it. “You’ll never see me wear a suit in any other color.”

Her lips curved into a shy smile before she dropped her gaze, and that was when the awkwardness started to settle in.

“Uh— Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” Eddie said, thinking that he must’ve invaded her space. “I’ll go and look for another place to—”

“No, no, no,” she cut him off, shaking her hand and meeting his gaze again. “You’re not bothering me. I mean, it’s the schoolyard, you’re welcome to be here.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Too much space and air for myself anyway,” she shrugged.

Eddie chuckled, and he didn’t even know why, but his heart fluttered when his chuckle seemed to bring back the small smile on her face.

“So… You’re here for some fresh air?” Eddie asked as he sat down on one of the benches.

“Yeah,” she nodded. She turned in her heels, her back now facing Eddie, and took a deep breath. Her eyes looked out to the court in the distance. Eddie waited for more answers but there was only silence.

“Isn’t your date… Gonna be looking for you?” He asked carefully as he stared at her figure. He couldn’t help but to notice how the light blue dress wrapped perfectly around her body. She looked so pretty—the thought crossed his mind, but Eddie bit the inside of his mouth to shake it away.

“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t have a date.”

“Really?”

She scoffed and looked at him over her shoulder, and Eddie regretted blurting the response so quickly. “Is it so hard to believe, Munson?” he asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Eddie answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “It’s more like a compliment.” He gave her a half shrug. “You’re quite popular. You’re in the school choir, you’re smart, you’re… Blessed with good genes. There’s no way no one asked you to be their date.”

It was rather dark but it wasn’t that hard for Eddie to notice that she was blushing; he could see by how her lips were curling, trying to fight a smile from breaking out.

“Well, a few boys did. But, I said no. ‘Cause I was actually planning not to come.”

Eddie’s face crinkled in confusion. A girl like her not wanting to go to prom? He expected her to be excited about prom, the popular kids usually would be. There must be something wrong. Was it why she was out here looking for some fresh air while her friends were having fun inside?

“Why?” Eddie felt like he was asking too many questions, but he was honestly dying to know.

She let out a sigh. It sounded like a heavy one. Just like that, Eddie knew that there was definitely something bothering her mind.

She looked up to the sky this time. Eddie could only see the side of her face, slightly covered with her hair. “Do you think it’s silly to feel scared because high school is gonna be over?” She finally said after a moment of silence.

Yes. That was Eddie’s initial thought. Don’t forget the part where he couldn’t wait about leaving high school. He was going to finally get his freedom, he could do whatever he wanted. There was nothing to be scared about, everything was going to be great—Eddie didn’t know how, he just believed it. But he didn’t say yes out loud; he didn’t say anything at all.

“It’s like… You’ve spent so many years in the same place, with these same people, doing things you know. And suddenly, you’re out there. And your friends are moving away,” she said. The hint of sadness and fear in her voice couldn’t go unnoticeable. “But you stay here. And somehow you know that when you see them again, they might not be the same. Things might not be the same.”

Eddie dropped his gaze to the ground, to the tip of his shoes—he still couldn’t believe he’d let his uncle talk him into wearing dress shoes. Her words lingered in his mind; he let the silence take over again as he pondered on her words. 

“So… You didn’t want to go to prom because… It’s reminding you that high school is gonna be over?”

“Yeah. Basically.”

“Well, uh… Honestly, I can’t really relate with you,” Eddie finally began, giving her a regretful look when she turned around. “I’m just excited to start a new life. Feel like the world has been waiting for Eddie Munson to… Rock ‘em,” he said, punching his fist to the air, earning a little chortle from her.

“What’s the plan?”

She suddenly walked closer to Eddie and Eddie felt his heart starting to race. His gaze followed her as she sat next to him, close enough for him to smell the sweet scent of her perfume, which might have stopped his heart for a second.

“My plan? Uh– Get a job,” he looked away when he realized that her eyes were preying him for more answers. Not in a judging or malicious way, of course, but he suddenly felt a little bit shy from the way she was staring at him. “I don’t know, just learn new things out there.”

“You’re not going to college?”

“Maybe I will, one day, who knows,” Eddie shrugged. “But if I have the funds I’d probably use it on my band rather than college, you know, maybe we can make music and play somewhere else other than The Hideout. That’s the dream.”

“The Garden,” she mentioned. “That’s the dream, right?”

Eddie’s heart jumped. She had a small smirk on her face when he looked back at her. He was genuinely surprised that she knew about that, and every crease on his face showed it—the exact reason why she continued to explain before he even asked about it. He was still stunned that she knew about his big, probably unrealistic dream of playing at Madison Square Garden.

“Back in middle school, you and Corroded Coffin were about to go on stage for the talent show,” she said, trying to get Eddie to remember. “Well, I was managing the stage with Mrs. Wilson, so I was there, and you gave this speech to your bandmates about how you guys were gonna make it the most metal performance Hawkins Middle would ever see.” Eddie swore her eyes were sparkling as she told the story, like it was a memory she cherished. “And you said something like… ‘It’s not exactly The Garden, but we gotta start somewhere’ or something like that.”

Eddie chortled, his lips forming a grin. A ridiculously stupid but joyous grin. He did remember that she’d been there that day, standing by the stage through their whole performance. He still had this image stored in his head, of how she’d smiled and clapped for them when not a lot of other students did.

“Wow, you— You remember that?” He beamed.

“I’ll never forget.” She smiled. “That was a pretty cool performance, honestly.”

“Thanks. Uh— Yeah, that’s uh, that’s the dream,” he nodded. “And, how about you? What’s your plan?”

She sighed again, this one sounded less heavy even though her smile still faltered a bit. “Stay here. Help my mom run the bakery. Go to college, I uh— I got accepted to Hawkins College. I’m taking Business.”

“That’s amazing. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a deep nod. “I don’t really know what the dream is, though, I still have to figure that out.” She shrugged as she hugged herself, ran her hands up and down her arms, protecting herself from the small night breeze. “But I guess I’m not mad if I’ll end up making bread like my mum.”

Eddie wasted no time on taking his jacket suit off as he once again noticed her shivering. “No, Eddie, I’m fine—” She tried to refuse when she realized that Eddie was trying to put his jacket on her but he insisted, wrapping the jacket safely around her shoulder. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled and she returned it with the same gesture, before both of them looked away, a sense of warmth wrapping their hearts.

The silence seeped in again. They could hear music coming from the gym, being a nice background for the little moment they were sharing right now. Eddie had sat closer to her from his effort of giving her the jacket—their knees nearly touched and Eddie smelled her perfume again. He felt his heart pounding rather hard on his chest. Weird but comfortable.

“I guess change can be scary, huh?” Eddie softly mumbled as he traced his thumb on his rings. He kept thinking about her words and the more he thought about it, the more he understood. He rubbed his palms on his thighs before standing up.

“And that’s life. But, uh… Maybe we can focus more on the exciting parts?” He suggested, raising his eyebrows at her who was looking up at him attentively. “Like how you’re gonna meet new people and smash Business school, hey— Maybe you are gonna make bread. But, like, way more bread, because you’re gonna open up two, three other stores. Maybe even expand it out of Hawkins.”

She smiled ear to ear and Eddie couldn’t lie, he felt proud for being able to make her smile like that. She’d looked so worried earlier, even sad, but he could barely see those again in her face.

“Yeah… Yeah, that sounds… Good.” She giggles. “Oh my God, you…” She trailed off. Eddie could see her face illuminated by the dim garden lamp and his heart clenched because the way she looked at him, it was almost like she was admiring him. “You never changed.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. "I thought you’ve become this… This mean and scary guy.”

Eddie chortled, brushing his knuckles to the tip of his nose. “I thought you’ve become too popular to talk to me.” But apparently she was still all the same. Still the kind and shy girl he’d first talked to on the first day of middle school.

She made a face, nose all scrunched up in a cute way, before shaking her head. “It’s been so long since the last time we talked.”

“Yeah, way too long. I don’t even remember when, honestly,” Eddie agreed.

Eddie actually regretted that now. They’d taken so many classes together, had all the opportunities, but they’d never really spoken to each other, didn’t even know how or why they’d create a distance between them. They’d used to hang out back in middle school, not frequently, but enough to call each other friends. Maybe it was because she belonged to the more popular side and he was more of an outcast. If high school had been kinder, they’d probably have the courage to stay friends. What would people say if they saw the pretty, smart, popular girl hanging out with Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson? Eddie had just been saving her the trouble, really.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Eddie said suddenly, pointing his finger up, catching her attention again.

“Hear what?”

“The music. That’s our cue.”

The pop dance music had died down. It had been replaced with a slow, melancholic, romantic music. But she furrowed her eyebrows, not really understanding what he meant by ‘that’s our cue’.

“I know we both don’t really want to be here right now, but…” Eddie slowly stepped closer to her. “I guess one last high school dance won’t hurt?”

Eddie extended his hand. This was a crazy thing he was doing. A couple of hours ago he didn’t even want to leave his house but now he was offering her a dance? What the hell happened? But all he knew was that he was trying to give her the last dance she deserved. He knew how busy being in a school choir was and getting into Hawkins College wouldn’t have been easy too, she must’ve worked herself for it, not to mention that she did all that while helping her mom in the bakery. What she deserved was a nice prom memory that Eddie hoped she could cherish.

Eddie’s heart soared when she took his hand with a smile. She gave his suit jacket back to him, saying that he needed to look perfect for their dance, so Eddie took it and wore it again.

But then he tensed for a second, when he realized that he’d never really learned how to dance; he never planned to have one. He didn’t quite know what to do. And she must’ve noticed it because she let out a small giggle, which made him slightly embarrassed. With an understanding look, she grabbed his other hand and rested both hands on her waist, before she put her hands on his shoulders—he softened up instantly.

They started swaying to the faint music. They stared deep into each other’s eyes and in that moment, Eddie realized how pretty she actually was. That wasn’t a brand new thought, he’d been thinking about that since he was thirteen. But he’d never seen her up close like this. Eddie was fighting all the voices in his head that kept telling him that it was okay to shift his gaze down to her lips for a second. “Don’t do something crazy,” he repeated the words in his mind. Because they’d been having a good time so far, this was probably the revival of their friendship, and Eddie wouldn’t let himself ruin that.

“Eddie?” she whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Please never change. Keep being Eddie.”

He slightly raised his eyebrows, feeling quite surprised by her words—he quickly figured that maybe she thought it would be easier or at least comforting if something or someone she knew stayed the same while everything around them changed.

“Okay,” he replied. That was a promise. “You too.” That was all he managed to say, because he could feel one of her hands starting to play with the ends of his curls and that easily made his heartbeat accelerate even more.

“Okay.”

And then she did it. She shifted her gaze to his lips, before looking back at his eyes, but shifted it down to his lips again.

Without a warning, she tiptoed, eyes fluttering close, and brushed her lips against Eddie’s. She kissed him.

Eddie froze as his stomach did the most sickening twist he’d ever felt, his heart felt like it was running up and down his chest, thumping loud in his ears. His eyes fluttered close too as he mustered all the courage he had to answer the kiss.

It was short and sweet. When Eddie opened his eyes again, he found her looking completely flushed, cheeks all red, chest heaving up and down rhythmically; his own breath was just as heavy. He couldn’t read her, he didn’t know what she was thinking. His fear from earlier instantly came back, about this nice moment being ruined. Eddie was pretty sure she kissed him first. Did she regret doing that? 

But then the corners of her lips started twitching, and her lips slowly formed a smile. A genuine shy and happy smile. Eddie let out a sigh of relief as he found himself mirroring her smile, realizing that they hadn’t ruined the moment, they’d actually just made it better.

As she kept the smile on her face, her hands traveled down to wrap around his middle, and she leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. Eddie circled her hands around her back, pulling her closer as they started swaying to the music again.

He had no idea what was happening. He had no idea what the kiss meant, why she’d done it—did she like him? Attracted to him? Or had a crush on him like how he’d always had on her? But Eddie didn’t need the answer now. He just wanted to appreciate the moment because this… This felt nice. Having her in his arms as they slow dance, it was actually really nice.

Eddie had to admit… Prom wasn’t so bad after all.

—

there you go! my second eddie fic!

i honestly really enjoyed writing it and loved how it turned out. hope you enjoyed it too. likes, reblogs, comments, and any feedback will be much appreciated. thank you so much!<3