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Eddie Munson was by no means a stalker. His never-ending proximity to you was purely coincidental. Except for perhaps the strategic positioning of his car.
Eddie had become acutely aware of your existence in the fourth grade after having the pleasure of sitting two rows behind you in your shared maths class. Like most middle-school crushes, Eddie’s ever-increasing attraction towards you was not so subtly displayed in the form of incessant staring and longing gazes that—much to Eddie’s embarrassment—persisted strongly for many years.
But as middle school turned into high school and as Eddie’s hair began to grow along with his height (which apparently had no plans in slowing anytime soon) he found himself crossing paths with you more often than not. In freshman year your timetables were practically identical. In sophomore year your family had moved houses to one that just so happened to be on the same bus route as Eddie’s. And then, when Eddie finally got his licence, he quickly came to realise that the most convenient place for him to park was right next to the sporting field. It was merely a coincidence that it just so happened to mean that he also was always able to catch a glimpse of you during your track practices after school.
Whilst Eddie’s run-ins with you were never undesired and whilst they had led to a casual acquaintanceship to exist easily between the two of you, he was wholeheartedly surprised when he waltzed into his Saturday detention as usual only to find the very object of his desires sitting behind one of the desks.
Eddie halted abruptly in the doorway when he saw you, his mouth slightly agape as Dustin Henderson walked straight into his back.
“Stop being an ass, Munson. Move it.”
Dustin shoved Eddie forward as he stepped into the room, his eyes following Eddie’s. A smirk spread across Dustin’s face as he turned back to face Eddie.
“Well this detention just got a whole lot more interesting,” Dustin said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“If you say one word, I’ll murder you,” Eddie said.
Dustin only laughed as he made his way to a desk at the back of the classroom.
“I’m not joking,” Eddie continued. “I know where you live, Henderson.”
This last remark was said loud enough that it caught your attention as you lifted your gaze to meet Eddie’s.
“Are you in the habit of threatening freshman now, Munson?” you asked with a smile.
“Oh, you know me; ever the bully,” Eddie said.
And then Eddie, of course doing the only logical thing he could think of to ensure he didn’t embarrass himself in front of you any further, immediately ran the length of the classroom to where Dustin was sitting, quite unsubtly stifling a laugh.
“Is it getting hotter in here or is it just me?” Dustin questioned with a smirk.
“Oh, shut up,” Eddie replied before taking his seat and propping his feet up on the desk before him.
Dustin did not shut up and as he continued to tease Eddie two other students walked into the room. The first was Robin Buckley, another strange addition to Saturday detention that Eddie had never seen in attendance before. She walked into the classroom, spotted you and immediately took the seat next to yours. You smiled to her before the two of you began talking, and for just a moment Eddie found himself incapable of looking at anything else. The soft curve of your lips as they titled upwards, the shine in your eyes as you looked at your friend; all of it had Eddie’s breath hitching in his throat. But then Eddie’s view of you was obscured by a very tall and a very lanky figure.
Eddie looked up to find Mike Wheeler standing before him looking annoyed and altogether unhappy as he took the seat in the desk in front of Dustin and Eddie.
“This is all your fault,” Mike remarked. “I wasn’t even the one smoking in the bathroom. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Think of it like this, Wheeler,” Eddie said, taking his feet off of the desk and leaning forward. “You get to spend the next three hours in a room with two of your favourite people and then two other people that you don’t know. I mean what better way is there to spend your Saturday?”
“I literally hate you.”
Before Eddie could respond, Mrs Jones walked into the room, silencing it with her stern gaze. She took a seat behind the large desk at the front and observed the room carefully, her eyes coming to rest on Eddie.
“I’m glad to see you’re on time today, Mr Munson.”
“That’s because I was in charge of driving Henderson here. I take being a role model for the younger students very seriously,” Eddie responded, his head instantly turning towards you as you let out a stifled snort of laughter.
“Clearly,” Mrs Jones drawled sarcastically. “There’s a few new faces in here today so I suppose I’ll have to go over the rules. This detention runs for three hours and it is mandatory that you stay for the whole time. You are allowed to complete homework in this time, but any other activity is prohibited. Talking is also prohibited. If you need to ask me a question or use the bathroom than put your hand up. Do I make myself clear?”
The room responded with a series of nods.
“Good. Get to work.”
The room remained mostly silent, the only noise stemming from those who were fishing their schoolwork from their bags. Eddie, however, made no such attempt and instead replanted his feet upon the desk and leaned back in his chair.
“Did you not bring anything to do?” Mike whispered.
“There’s no need. Mrs Jones usually falls asleep about 15 minutes in. Give it some time and we’ll be able to do what we want.”
Mike rolled his eyes in response.
But then, sure enough, 15 minutes later Mrs Jones was snoring away, loud enough to catch the attention of you and Robin.
“Should we wake her up?” Robin asked you.
“Don’t you dare!” Eddie interjected before you could respond. “These detentions are only bearable when she’s asleep. Trust me.” Eddie, slightly embarrassed from his outburst, averted his gaze from yours.
“Seems like you have a lot of experience with Saturday detentions.”
Eddie glanced back towards you, a smirk now plastered to his features. “Oh, trust me, I’m the school’s resident expert, baby.”
The last word slipped from Eddie’s mouth seemingly of its own volition, Eddie’s eyes going wide as he registered what he had just called you. Mike and Dustin quietly snorted as they watched Eddie’s discomfort with great pleasure.
You didn’t respond, instead turning your head so that you were facing Robin once more. Eddie could have sworn he saw a hint of a blush creep onto your cheeks but instantly disregarded it as a trick of the lights.
“You should go and talk to her,” Dustin whispered.
“And what the hell would I say?” Eddie scoffed.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something along the lines of ‘Hi, I’m Eddie and I’ve been pining after you since the fourth gr-”
“Charming,” Eddie said.
“He’s right though,” Mike chimed in. “Not about the pining stuff. But you’re never going to get anywhere by never speaking to her.”
“Oh, sorry, my bad. I didn’t realise I was in the presence of the school’s Casanovas.”
“We both have girlfriends, actually,” Mike said.
Eddie laughed loudly. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“We do!” Dustin proclaimed. “My girlfriend just doesn’t live in Hawkins so-”
“So she’s not real?” Eddie interjected.
Dustin punched Eddie in the shoulder. Eddie, dramatic as ever, flung himself from his chair and wailed in pain.
“Stop being a prick,” Dustin said.
“Ohh, Dustin, I’ve failed you as a mentor.” Eddie brought the back of his hand to lay on his forehead. “Resorting to violence. Goodness, what shall become of you?”
“My girlfriend is real, unlike yours,” Dustin said.
Eddie gasped. “How you wound me, good sir!”
“Well maybe if you stop being such a pus-” Dustin began before he was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly.
Eddie, Dustin and Mike turned their gaze upwards to where you were standing before them.
“Sorry for interrupting,” you began. “But you said yourself that this detention will go a whole lot better if Mrs Jones is asleep and you guys are being kind of loud.”
Eddie, who was still lying upon the ground as he looked up at you, unceremoniously scrambled onto his feet, quickly brushing down his hellfire shirt as he looked towards you.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry,” Eddie said. “Mrs Jones literally sleeps like the dead, so we don’t really have anything to worry about. Here, watch this.”
Eddie leaned over to where Dustin’s notebook lay atop his desk, grabbed it and tore a page off which earned him a cry of protest from the boy. Unperturbed, Eddie crumpled up the piece of paper and swiftly threw it at the woman sleeping at the head of the room. Several gasps of shock erupted from the room as everyone watched the paper sail through the air and hit Mrs Jones on the shoulder. Nobody moved.
Mrs Jones stirred slightly in her chair, but remained undisturbed.
“Are you crazy?” You said to Eddie in an aggravated whisper.
“Like I said, pretty much nothing wakes her up,” Eddie replied.
“Well, I’d rather not risk it if that’s alright with you.” And then you were turning around and walking back to Robin.
“What are you doing?” Dustin whispered. “Keep the conversation going!”
Eddie turned back to glance at you just as you resumed your conversation with Robin. He took his seat once more before loudly clearing his throat.
“So what brings you lovely ladies to my second home?”
Instead of answering, you glanced towards Robin as the two of you seemingly had a conversation with your eyes.
“There was…um,” you began.
“We had a disagreement with another student at the basketball game last week,” Robin finished.
“Hmmm,” Eddie replied. “Doesn’t sound like a good enough reason for Saturday detention. But whatever. Keep your secrets.”
Robin looked somewhat relieved at Eddie’s words.
“What about you guys?” you questioned.
“Oh well I’m a regular attendant here. But this time specifically was ‘cause I got caught smoking in the bathroom.”
“Well then why are Dustin and Mike here?”
Eddie furrowed his brows, unsure how it was that you knew the two boys.
“Dustin and I went into the bathroom to actually do our business,” Mike responded. “And then the next thing we know Eddie has a cigarette in his mouth and Mr Smith is yelling at us.”
“I always knew Mr Smith was a perv,” Eddie began. “I’d watch yourself in the bathroom, ladies. You never know where he might strike next.”
“Noted,” Robin responded as a laugh escaped your lips. Eddie found himself captivated by the sound, unable to tear his gaze away from you.
The conversation had seemingly come to a close much to Eddie’s dismay. But just as he was scanning his brain for any half decent conversation starters, you spoke once more.
“You guys wouldn’t happen to know where I can get any food around here? I had to sneak out of the house early this morning so my mom wouldn’t ask me where I was going.”
“There’s a vending machine a few hallways down. It doesn’t have the best selection, but I’ve figured out where to hit it to get free food.”
Dustin elbowed Eddie in the ribs.
“D-do you want me to show you where it is?” Eddie hastily added.
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks,” you responded as you rose from your seat.
Eddie stood up, sending a glare towards Dustin and Mike before following you from the room. His heartbeat began to grow considerably faster the further that he got from the classroom and the closer he got to you. For most of the walk, he tried to keep his gaze fixated on the hallway before him, but occasionally found his gaze slipping to look at you as you walked. You were shorter than Eddie realised now that he was standing right next to you, the thought causing an image to pop into his head of you having to stand up on the tips of your toes to kiss him. A heat crept up Eddie’s neck as he turned away to avoid you from seeing it.
“That was pretty stupid, you know,” you broke the silence.
“W-what?” Eddie asked, somewhat confused.
“Smoking in the bathroom,” you clarified. “I mean you were bound to get caught. Surely there are more secluded places in the school that are better suited to smoking.”
“I’m sure there is,” Eddie responded. “But the thing that makes smoking cool is having people actually see you do it.”
You laughed. “I suppose that only really works if people actually think smoking is cool.”
Eddie gasped. “Are you saying that I am destroying my lungs for nothing?”
You laughed again and this time Eddie couldn’t help his gaze from slipping towards you. A lull occurred in the conversation just as you reached the vending machine.
“There you are, m’lady. Your very own Michelin star restaurant,” Eddie said.
You looked towards the machine as you pulled a few dollars from your pocket.
“What are you doing?” Eddie questioned.
“Um…getting a snack,” you responded.
“You know, I wasn’t lying when I said I knew exactly where to punch it get free food.”
You stepped back and gestured towards the machine. “Well then be my guest.”
Eddie stepped up to the side of the machine and swiftly lifted his leg, kicking it square in the middle. Nothing happened at first, but after a few more kicks a Kit-Kat bar and a packet of chips fell from the machine’s clutches.
“That was the most graceful thing I’ve ever seen,” you said.
This time it was Eddie’s turn to laugh as he bowed deeply before you. You laughed before reaching in and extracting the items, throwing the Kit-Kat to Eddie who hastily tried to catch it. Instead of beginning your walk back to the classroom as Eddie had expected you to do, you walked to the lockers that sat adjacent from the vending machine, let out a sigh and slid down the lockers until you were sitting upon the floor. Eddie, not quite knowing what to do, joined you.
“Can I ask you a question?” you enquired, turning to look towards Eddie.
“Y-yeah, sure,” Eddie stumbled, caught off guard by your unwavering gaze. Your eyes were beautiful, he realised, so big and attentive in a way that made him feel so seen.
“How have you survived all…” you waved at the hallways around you, “this?”
Eddie laughed. “Honestly? It beats me. Sometimes I just think about getting in my van and driving until I run out of gas.”
“That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” you said. “We could drive until we reach the ocean. You know I’ve never seen the ocean?”
We.
“To be honest, it’s not all that great,” Eddie said. “I’ve only been a few times but it was always hot and crowded and the sand just gets everywhere.”
You laughed softly.
“Can I ask you a question now?” Eddie asked.
“I suppose,” you said with a grin.
“Why did you get detention?”
“Has that really been annoying you this whole time?” you questioned with a laugh.
“It’s literally the only thing I’ve been thinking about.”
You chuckled lightly. “Well, Robin wasn’t completely wrong. At the basketball game last week there was this guy that came up to her and started making some advances towards her. Robin…wasn’t interested but he wasn’t getting the hint so when he started getting handsy with her I punched him in the throat.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide.
“And then I kicked him in the balls.”
Eddie gasped. “Y/N L/N! Resorting to violence! What would the children think?”
You laughed and Eddie’s breath caught slightly in his throat before he continued.
“I can’t believe my hatred for sports has let me down. I would have paid all the money in the world to have seen that.”
“Yeah well the teachers weren’t so impressed. I thought I’d get suspended, to be honest.”
“You shouldn’t have been punished at all. You were defending your friend!” Eddie exclaimed.
“Yeah well unfortunately Mrs Click didn’t see it like that. Do you remember how we had her for history in freshman year and she came into class that one time with-”
“-toilet paper stuck to her shoe!” Eddie finished for you. “That was honestly the funniest thing I had ever seen at the time.”
“Yeah, didn’t you get detention for laughing so hard?”
“Yes!”
And then the both of you were bursting out laughing, still sitting side by side as you leant against the lockers. The empty hallway echoed your laughter for some time.
A silence lingered between you then.
“I can’t believe you remember me,” Eddie whispered. You looked up at him quickly, your gaze locking onto his.
“How could I not remember you? You were the funniest guy I knew in middle school and then in high school we had all the same classes for a while and then we caught the same bus. Oh! And I always see you walking to your car after school since I have practice on the track field.”
Eddie was stunned into silence. Never before had he been so noticed, so seen, by anyone who wasn’t out to tease or taunt him. It made a warm feeling erupt within his chest as he looked at you. It made him want to reach out and wrap his arms around you. It made him want to cry. But Eddie refrained from doing any of those things, instead simply opting to continue looking at you.
You had a curious look in your eyes now, as if you were trying to read Eddie’s mind. Your head was cocked slightly to one side, your hair framing your face in just the right way so that it had Eddie itching to reach out and run his fingers through it. For just a second, Eddie swore that he saw your gaze flick down to his lips, your faces somehow having inched closer.
“I always look for you, you know. At practice,” you whispered. And then, as if just having realised what you had said, a vibrant blush crept up your cheeks.
“I always…” Eddie hesitated. “I always park my van near the tracks so I can see you.”
Your eyebrows raised slightly at his comment. The two of you lingered mere inches away from each other now, seemingly suspended in space as neither of you leant any closer. Eddie raised his eyes to meet yours, his breath instantly hitching in his throat.
“I wish we had stayed better friends,” you whispered once more.
“I don’t.”
Your brows furrowed this time, and Eddie could see the slight pain his words had elicited within you. He hastily spoke once more to clarify.
“Because friends,” Eddie hesitated once more. “Friends don’t get to do this.”
And then he was kissing you, closing the remaining distance until his lips finally crashed onto yours. There was no hesitation in your response as you instantly pushed back into him. The kiss was fast and hungry, the both of you not being able to get enough of the other as you panted into Eddie’s mouth and he moaned into yours. Eddie’s hands came to rest upon your waist as your own travelled upwards, one running through Eddie’s hair as the other rested on his shoulder. He tasted like chocolate, intermingling with the salt from the chips you had eaten. It was a delicious combination.
In the end both of you pulled away hesitantly, not wanting the moment to end but desperately needing to breath. The hallway was filled with the sounds of your panting, both of you never tearing your gaze away from the other. Lazily, Eddie brought one hand up to brush at your cheek, the skin so very soft under his touch.
“I’ve wanted to do that for…forever,” Eddie whispered.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the fourth grade,” you whispered back.
And then Eddie was smiling so widely that you couldn’t help but smile back.
The two of you remained like that for some time until finally you begrudgingly got to your feet.
“Come on then,” you said. “The others are probably wondering where we are.”
“Noooo,” Eddie whined.
You smiled, reaching your hands down to help him up. Eddie took your hands in his but instead of pulling himself up he instead pulled you down until you practically fell on top of him. You couldn’t help but laugh as Eddie began showering you in kisses as he wrapped his arms around your waist to keep you locked against him.
“We can’t go,” Eddie said.
“Why not?”
Eddie’s smile faltered. “Because I’m scared if we go I’ll wake up from a dream.”
You leaned in and planted a long kiss to Eddie’s lips once more. One of his hands came to rest on the back of your neck but you pulled away before he could deepen the kiss.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” you asked.
Eddie furrowed his brows. “Nothing. Why-”
“Well if we go now, I’ll spend all day tomorrow with you.”
Eddie thought over the proposition.
“Promise?” he questioned.
“Promise,” you said.
And then his grip was loosening from your waist, allowing you to stand once more. This time, when you leaned down to help Eddie up, he grabbed your hands once more and unfolded himself so that he was standing beside you. He let go of one of your hands but continued to grip the other as the two of you made your way back to class.
Halfway through your journey, you turned to Eddie with a wicked grin.
“What?” Eddie asked, not being able to stop the smile that crept up into his lips as he looked down at you.
“Race you back to class!” you announced before you pushed him backwards and began sprinting down the hallway.
“You little cheat!” Eddie called after having righted himself enough to begin his chase after you. You laughed as he closed the distance between you, managing to stay just out of his grasp until you finally reached the classroom. You skidded to a halt in the doorway, Eddie nearly barrelling into you.
“That was no fair you-” Eddie began before he noticed that the smile had been wiped from your features, your gaze fixated on something in the classroom. As Eddie turned to follow your gaze he had to refrain from letting out a groan as he came face to face with a very awake Mrs Jones.
“Did I not make it explicitly clear that you needed to ask permission before leaving?” Mrs Jones chastised.
You and Eddie remained silent.
“Well, since you both haven’t understood the meaning of this detention you can join me next Saturday as well.”
Eddie was about to groan in protest when he thought better of it.
“Take your seats right now before I give you any more detentions.”
The two of you did as she said, making your way back into the classroom
“So it’s a date?” Eddie quickly whispered
“Of course,” you whispered back with a smile.