SidneyT0506

The sun was shining high in the August air, the heat mixed with all the physical activity you and your family had been doing making you exhausted. Taking a break, you watch from the front porch as Chrissy and your parents close the trunk to Jason’s car, packed to the brim with her things and ready to join her on her college journey. Jason talks with your parents a bit as you watch Chrissy begin to cry. You weren’t ready to not have your big sister in your life every day, hours away cheering from some collegiate team as she pretends to study for a future career. You knew your sister, but maybe college would be different. Regardless, it was still a sad day for the Cunningham household.

Jason and Chrissy applied to the same colleges, and he had head up weeks ago to bond with his basketball teammates and sign the lease agreement on their apartment, that way your parents wouldn’t have to make the journey with Chrissy on the road to go help set things up. Their plan was to fly out tomorrow to help the both of them unpack the rest of their things and get them as settled as possible before coming back home to you. You didn’t want to go if you were going to be honest, saving yourself some pain if you just say goodbye now. Plus, you wanted your parents to be able to spend some time with their first born and favorite child before she left the nest.

Chrissy starts walking up to you and you rise to your feet, looking down as she meets you on the porch of your childhood home. She nudges you in the stomach and you look up at her, tears in her eyes with her mascara running a bit. You feel your lip quivering and quickly pull her into a hug, your grip on her strong and crying into her shoulder as she does the same.

“I’m gonna miss you, you know,” you tell her. She pulls back from your hug and wipes her nose and tears on her sleeve, flashing you a smile.

“I’m gonna miss you too. You can come visit anytime you want, we’ll have a spare room and a couch,” she tells you. You smile at her and she wraps her arm around your shoulder as you head towards Jason’s car. Down the road, you hear the booming of loud music carry down your street, the all familiar van that belonged to Eddie Munson, the town outcast…the man who stole your heart.

You’ve had a crush on Eddie for the longest time, ever since your freshman year at Hawkins High. He was a junior and led the Hellfire club, which was never your particular interest but you thought about joining it to get closer to the metalhead. You found yourself attending his gigs at the Hideout every Tuesday, cheering on his band from the very small crowd. The feelings you felt towards him were deep, always smiling in his presence and adoring his little quirks and his eccentric theatrics. 

The only problem with being in love with the Eddie Munson was that he did not reciprocate your feelings. His eyes were set on another member of the Cunningham family. Your sister, Chrissy.

He let it slip to you one night when you two were quite drunk that he’s had a thing for Chrissy since middle school, adoring her tooth-filled smile and strawberry blonde ponytail, being able to spot her from a mile away and always lighting up when she walked in the room. To say it hurt was an understatement, as you’ve always been compared to your sister in every aspect of your life. You both had struggled with your weight as children, with Chrissy being able to lose it faster than you did, and boy did she make that known to you.

You weren’t a cheerleader like Chrissy, settling for joining the newspaper, debate club, and Hellfire rather than trying to force yourself into the jock crowd like your sister. Sure, they would try to let you in and welcome you to the best of their abilities if you chose to go that route in your high school career, but you decided the life of academia mixed with fun was more your speed. AP classes, state-wide competitions, hell, you thought about running for class president, but decided against it when Nancy Wheeler offered you the spot as lead editor for the school paper. But that achievement was overshadowed when you walked through the door after Chrissy beat you home, announcing her full-ride cheer scholarship to an amazing school hours away.

The love you felt for Chrissy was real, truly. You both would spend a lot of time with one another when you weren’t focussed on your extra circulars and personal lives. But there would always be that small part of you that would never be able to truly be separate from her. Both your parents comparing you to her, and you expected it more than ever as you enter your senior year. 

With a slam of his van door, Eddie walks out with a small box in his hand, a smile smeared on his face as he approaches the two of you.

“Well hello Cunninghams,” he greets you. Blushing, you wave at him and break away from Chrissy, going in for the first hug. The cigarette smell and cheap beer linger on him from the night before, soothing your nerves a bit with his signature Eddie scent. You pull back and go closer to Chrissy, trying to continue the facade of keeping your feelings to yourself and yourself only. You watch as he turns to Chrissy, his smile widening as they go in for a hug.

“I got you something,” Eddie tells her, holding out his arm. Her eyes brighten and she takes the box. 

“What is it?” She asks.

“It’s a surprise, so don’t open it around anyone, okay? Especially that dickhead of a boy-“

“You want something, freak?” You turn and see Jason standing there a few feet away. Eddie backs up a few steps, not wanting to start anything.

“Relax Jason, you know we’re friends,” Chrissy tells him, walking closer to him and wrapping her arms around his torso. You were never a fan of Jason, your feelings for Eddie aside. He was rude to everyone who was different from him, except you, only because you’re related to his girlfriend. Chrissy was protective of you and he knew that, so he always put on his best behavior in front of you and your parents. But you saw the way he treated the rest of the Hellfire members at school and basically anyone who wasn’t a jock or sort-of popular. It made your blood boil having to interact with this two-face prick, but you knew Chrissy really liked him for some reason, so swallowing your pride for the sake of her happiness was something you could manage. 

Watching Chrissy place Eddie’s gift in the car, you turn to him and nudge him in the stomach, pulling him back from whatever reality he fixated on as he stared at Chrissy. He looks down at you and smiles, using your shoulder to prop himself up. The height difference between the two of you killed you every time, and he made sure to poke fun at it any chance he got.

“Are we still on for tomorrow, movie night at your place?” You ask him.

“Of course sweetheart. I’m running to Family Video to pick up the goods later, and to talk to Harrington about something.”

“Good. Not sure how I feel about staying home late at night alone since Mom and Dad will be up with Chrissy. They’ve never left me alone before,” you explain to him.

“Well you’re 18 now, so that just means they trust you more. Plus with your sister with you a majority of the time, you’ve never really had to stay by yourself,” he tells you, offering some reassurance. 

“That’s true I suppose. Guess it’s something I’m going to have to start getting used to.”

You look up at him and your eyes make contact for a brief moment, allowing the air working its way out to hitch in your throat. Those big brown eyes were always a weakness of yours, it was your favorite quality about him, other than his nurturing side.

“We should probably get going, Chris,” Jason says loud enough for everyone to hear. You break away from Eddie and watch as Chrissy makes her rounds of goodbye between some friends that had been there already and you and your family. You give her a squeeze and feel your tears brim your eyes once more. Pulling away, she makes her way to Eddie, a sad expression on his face as his towering figure envelops her in a hug. Your smile twitches for a moment, seeing how sad Eddie was to say goodbye, still not having told her how he really felt, but also because of all the emotions you knew he was bottling up inside continued to make the hopes of ever being with him grow less and less.

Hoping in the passenger seat, Chrissy turns and waves at everyone as Jason starts the car, rolling down the road of your neighborhood and driving off into the distance, off to start their newest chapter. With a sigh, you turn back to Eddie, who still has a mopey look on his face.

“I should probably get going myself. Promised Henderson I’d hang out with him today at the arcade,” he tells you, his hands digging into the front pockets of his ripped up black jeans as he relaxes his shoulders. You flash him a small smile, internally basking in how good he looked when he seemed a bit more relaxed.

“Okay Eds, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” You ask. He simply nods and scurries off to his van, starting the engine and the booming sound of Metallica flooding your street. You wave at him as he speeds off, waiting to wipe the smile off your face until after you’ve spun around and close the front door of your house behind you.

Knocking on the door to his trailer, you swing back and forth on the tips of your converse covered toes, swinging the six pack you picked up on the way a bit, but not too much. You were wearing a knee length black dress with long flowing sleeves, wanting to feel a bit pretty during your errands you ran earlier after dropping your parents off at the airport. Picking up some groceries for the days you’d be alone, running the Family Video to say hi to Steve and Robin and pick a movie to watch, in case Eddie picked something you ended up not liking, and a few more places around town, you thought why not look good doing so? 

The noise of tumbling around from inside Eddie’s trailer concerns you a bit, before being met face to face with your favorite metalhead as he swung open the door. His hair was disheveled and a bottle of beer rested in his hands.

“Welcome back to my castle,” he slightly slurs out, his form scooting slightly to make room for you to pass through the threshold. 

“Looks like you started without me,” you say, taking in his surroundings. A few empty beer bottles were scattered around his kitchen and living room and papers were thrown around everywhere. 

“If it helps, some are from last night,” he hiccups, carefully working his way back to the couch and plopping himself down. You let out a small sigh, placing your six pack down and grabbing a bottle for yourself after fishing out a few of the movies you rented earlier.

“I know you went to Family Video yesterday, but I brought back up movies just in case,” you tell him, waving around the tapes and placing them on the coffee table, seating yourself next to him. You watch him run his hand through his hair as his face scrunches.

“Oh nooo. I forgot to go, I’m sorry Y/N,” he whines out. You chuckle and place your hand on his knee for reassurance. 

“Relax, Eds. That’s why I always come prepared,” you say, rising from your spot. You go through the tapes and pick one, crouching by his television set and popping it into the VCR.

“You’re the best, you know that? Like the best best, ever,” he lets out, his voice all happy and cheerful, making you laugh to yourself. Turning back, you sit back down and pop open your beer and bringing the glass bottle to your lips as you chug some of the malty concoction. 

About two hours into your movie night, the two of you just put in your second film and you were one and a half bottles of beer in, while Eddie was working on finishing his third since you’ve been there. He had a buzz for sure, but he has a high tolerance, but in regards for alcohol and weed. Your head rests against his very broad shoulder, as it usually does when you’ve been drinking during your movie nights.

Beneath you, you feel Eddie shift a bit, turning to look his way and seeing his eyes on you, face mere inches from yours. You give him a small smile and turn your attention back to the movie, before feeling his ring clad fingers brush against the warmth of your cheek, turning your head back to him. You watch his eyes move from your own down to your lips, slowly inching closer to you until his lips were latched to yours. Your inebriated was causing you to just sit there, allowing his lips to move against yours. The alcohol was strong on his breath, but his lips were soft and now tasted like your cherry lip gloss. You felt like you couldn’t process what was happening for a moment.

Until you felt Eddie lean further into the kiss, his actions becoming a bit rougher and more intense. That’s when it hit you that this was actually happening. 

“Eddie, what the hell?” You ask, pulling away from him as you scoot away from him on the couch. The buzz you were feeling moments before quickly dissipates as you look to Eddie with confusion written across your features. His face scrunches in confusion, matching your own as he leans up on his elbows to look at you.

“What do you mean? I was kissing you. You know what that is, right?” He asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes, silly. I just…where’s this coming from?” You ask.

“Why does it matter? Can’t I just kiss you?” He leans towards you again, but you put your hand out against his chest to stop him.

“Stop, please. I’m just confused. You’ve always had a thing for Chrissy,” you explain, your heart banging against your chest. Sure, you have dreamed about this situation countless times, but never did you think it’d happen so out of the blue. Where was this coming from?

“Well she’s gone with Jason, so what does that matter?” He huffs out, his arms slinging up as he speaks. You could feel your heart slowing cracking at the sight of him so upset at the mention of your sister. He still liked her, it was totally obvious. Some small part of you was beginning to think he never would stop. So why was he trying to kiss you?

“I know, but-“

“Look, do you not want this, Y/N? I’m putting myself out there and you’re just dodging around it,” he asks, turning his entire body towards you to gauge a reaction from you. Playing with your hands in your lap, your eyes make friends with the couch beneath you, not wanting to look up and see Eddie’s disappointed look.

“You don’t get it,” you whisper.

“What was that? I can’t hear you.”

“I said you don’t get it,” you tell him louder, rising off the couch and walking a few feet away from him, beginning to pace around his living room. “I have been second best to Chrissy my entire life. I’m not a good enough daughter, not a good enough popular student, hell there’s a lot more. So you sitting here and trying to get with me after years of pining after Chrissy is physically hurting me Eddie. I’m not going to be the girl you settle for because you can’t have her,” you explain to him, your arms failing about as you try to get through to him. His face is emotionless as you speak, the gears turning in his head trying to form a coherent thought due to his drunken state.

“It hurts even more knowing that I’ve been in love with you for years,” you let out softly. 

“Wait what?” He whispers, standing on his own feet and trying to come closer to you. You take a few steps back, not knowing if you could trust yourself if you got too close to Eddie. You were vulnerable and putting your heart on the line, plus you have alcohol in your system, causing all inhibitions sober you would normaly have go flying out the window.

“Don’t act like you’ve never noticed the way I’ve look at you. I’m sure the Hellfire boys will know exactly what I’m talking about. Hell, I feel like I’m so bad at hiding my true feelings about you that even Chrissy herself knows!” you scream. You didn’t know what you were saying, the words just pouring from your lips as you spoke.

“Chrissy, I mean Y/N shit. Please let’s just sit down and-“

Are you fucking serious? You scoff at the mention of your sister’s name, your heart dropping into your stomach as you turn from him, swallowing the sob that so badly wanted to escape pass your lips.

“You know what? I don’t think I want to be here right now. I need some time away from you Eddie, I can’t talk or even think about this anymore right now,” you tell him, gathering your things and stuffing them in the small bag you carried with you. 

“You were the one who said you didn’t want to be alone tonight,” Eddie points out. He had a point, but you couldn’t have seen this happening tonight, so given the circumstances, you’d overcome that barrier sooner rather than later. You continue gathering your things, ejected the movie from the VCR and shoving it in your bag then slinging it over your shoulder.

“I think I’ll manage,” you spit out, your voice filled with venom. You see Eddie frown out of the corner of your eye, fighting the urge to lunge at you and hold you tight in his arms in an attempt to keep you from leaving. But even he knew you were hard headed and stubborn, having your mind made up and not thinking otherwise. 

“Y-you’ve been drinking, Y/N, you can’t drive like this, I won’t let you,” he says, moving slightly closer to you. He runs his fingers through his hair hurriedly, brushing his bangs back as a sign that he was getting overwhelmingly nervous. You turn back to look at him, the tears in your eyes on the brink of falling.

“Then I’ll walk. Goodbye Eddie,” you say, taking a few steps towards the door and passing through it while slamming it behind you in one fell swoop, leaving Eddie stunned by your confession and your actions. What the hell just happened?