Work Text:
Great.
Perhaps you should have listened to your father when he urged you to bring an umbrella with you to school- or taken the jacket with the hood. You'd even declined the ride he offered you this morning and after school, choosing to instead walk through the beautiful sunny morning, pulling your headphones over your head and plugging them into your walkman, letting the music carry you to school. You didn't think too much of today- you were mostly looking forward to the weekend. Your dad promised a road trip up to visit your aunt and uncle which gave you a chance to be away from your work for a day or two.
As the day went on, you could see the black clouds forming during lunch, and by the final period, all you could focus on was the heavy rainfall outside.
It was pounding against the roof above you, hitting the windows and the glass, soaking into the earth and causing the familiar scent to flood in through the slightly open windows. There were twenty minutes until the end of class, and all you could see outside was the stretch of grey. There was no chance it would be clearing up soon. Not at all...
This is your fault. It is one hundred per cent, unequivocally your fault... You glance down at the art project you put in the large folder next to your leg, leaning against the table leg of your desk and nudging your large sketchbook, pages half full with your latest art project and others stained with blended colours and scribbled pencils and pen ink. It was inevitable that it'd get wet, and your weeks of hard work would melt together and smudge.
Fuck man... Why weren't you blessed with the gift of fortune?? If you had seen that it was going to rain so heavily, you would have at least brought a waterproof bag. You would have asked your dad to come to pick you up after school so you wouldn't get soaked... Maybe you could have watched the weather with him and known. Maybe you should have listened to him. You sighed dropping your pen as you heard the ring of the bell and packing up your things slowly.
You walked to your locker and frowned at the jean jacket waiting for you there. You scowled, knowing it stood no chance and would get drenched in the rain. Glancing at the objects inside, you mentally checked off which classes you had homework to do or classwork to finish, placing those books into your bag as well. You carefully wrapped the wires of your headphones around your walkman, setting it at the bottom of your bag and praying it would work by the time you got home. And if it broke, no doubt you'd have to spend your hard-earned money on a new one- which sucked. You were saving up for a radio player.
It was a Friday. That meant you couldn't wait out the rain- you could already hear Mrs Dearn yelling at the loitering students to get out and go home, along with a non-enthusiastic 'enjoy your weekend's. You huffed, closing your backpack and setting it down to put the jacket on before you grabbed your backpack and slowly walked through the halls, making sure to take the longest way to waste as much time.
The library was closed. There goes your plan to pick up something to read while you waited. Perhaps someone could be lenient and let you in if you explained you didn't want to get soaked, but you remembered Mrs Taylor was on maternity leave... Great.
By now, you were the only one in the school, and you awkwardly nodded to the teachers you passed, who locked their classrooms for the weekend, wishing them quiet 'good weekends'. Finally, you made it to the exit. You walked outside, standing under the roof in front of the large double doors and looking out over the Hawkins parking lot. It was nearly empty, apart from a few cars left behind. All the school busses were gone, and the dry patches left behind by the cars were quickly dampened by the rain. Great. You could have caught the bus if you were smart. You were fucked,
"You alright?" You jumped slightly at the sudden voice behind you, and you sharply turned your head. Someone was behind you, watching your curiously with a slight smile. He was wearing a sleeveless jean jacket, with a second leather jacket underneath, but you could only see the sleeves. There were a few pins on the jean jacket, but you found you couldn't entirely read what they said as the bright grey and black cloudy sky was reflecting off of them. His shirt had some sort of demon creature on it, and read 'Hellfire club'. There were some other characters on it but they were covered by the two jackets. There was a chain attached to two belt loops of his pants. His hair was long and wavy. He had so many rings on his hands, along with a bracelet around his arm. It reminded you of a smaller dog collar. For a moment, you just blinked at him,
"Oh- Oh yeah I'm fine," You said, nodding, "Just... I was hoping to wait out this rain here," You said, wincing as you looked to the sky. Warm and cold tones of grey mixed with one another. The distant rumbles of thunder crushed any hope you may have had in the rain slowing or stopping. Shit,
"Looks like you're gonna be waiting for a long time... It's supposed to rain all day today and tomorrow," He said, moving to stand next to you rather than behind you,
"Are you kidding me?" You asked surprised, glancing from him to the rain. You sighed,
"Yeah so... You'll be waiting a while," He said, "But hey, having a sleepover at the school doesn't sound all bad,"
"Uhuh. Where would I even sleep?" you said, unable to hide your annoyance,
"On the tables, under the tables..." He said, and as you looked up at him you frowned. He smiled at you and you felt your heart flutter. His eyes were... So warm and brown... And he seemed sweet- like he was genuinely trying to cheer you up,
"I don't..." You swallowed, "I don't have a pillow or blankets," You answered, and smiled slightly at him,
"Just use your backpack. And your jacket. Or you could always rip down one of the stage curtains and use that," He offered playfully, and you laughed softly,
"Yeah. Doesn't sound bad when you put it like that," You said, tucking your hair behind your ear and sighing, "Thing is, I kinda already ate my lunch... And I think they lock the cafeteria so... I'd probably starve,"
"Yeah, there's that..." He sighed, "Then again, you could always convert to cannibalism," At this comment, you laughed loudly,
"What?"
"Desperate times..." He trailed off, gesturing with his hands and you laughed again,
"I'm not eating my arms," You said, feeling happier than you had before. At least there was him to entertain you,
"So you'd rather die in a classroom and have them find your rotting corpse just... There?" He asked,
"No you didn't let me finish- I wouldn't eat my arms raw. I'd rather cook it and season it correctly," You elaborate, to which he laughed and nodded,
"Right,"
"Come on, you expect that in two days, I'll be that desperate I'd want to eat human flesh?" He shrugged,
"Dunno. You look the type to eat human flesh," You laughed again,
"What does that even mean?" You asked between laughs, shaking your head. As you calmed, you found a smile found it way onto your lips and wouldn't leave, "Besides- isn't there like a thing in your head that stops you from causing yourself to bite off your skin?" You said,
"I would have no idea. I also don't think flesh is that nutritious..." He thought for a moment, "Does flesh have any nutrients?
"I honestly have no clue," You said, glancing up at him. He nodded. At some point, he must have reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. There were only a few cars left, and you glanced out over the parking lot to try and guess which one was his as the rain filled the silence between you,
"My name's Eddie, by the way," He said. You turned to look back at him,
"Eddie..." You repeated and glanced down at his hand that he'd outstretched for you to take. His hands were rough, but the way his larger, warmer one gripped your smaller, colder one gave you a strong feeling of comfort. You shook his hand once, but when his grip remained tight, you felt confused. Suddenly, eyes widened as he leaned down slightly, bringing your hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it,
"You paint?" He asked nonchalantly, as if the interaction hadn't left your face heating up breath hitching in your throat. He let moved your hand slightly, fingers skimming over the smudges of brown and green on your hands,
"Eddie Munson?" You asked, to which he nodded with a smile, "Of course- I knew you were familiar to me," You said, reluctantly letting go of his hand. He tilted his head slightly as an indication for you to elaborate, "I've seen you around, well, mostly heard you. You're really loud you know?" You said playfully,
"Really?" He asked, exaggerating his volume, "I hadn't realised!" You laughed again,
"I also saw you in the yearbook," You said, "Hellfire club?"
"It's my pride and joy," You could tell from the way he beamed,
"Mhm," You hummed, glancing up at the persistent rain. With a small sigh, you let your shoulders droop,
"You paint?" He asked again, and you glanced up at him,
"I what?"
"Do you paint?" He asked. He was repeating himself,
"Oh- shit, yeah. Yeah, I paint. I make art and I'm in the art club," You said, indicating your sketchbook. You had doodled a large rose- which sometimes looked too much like a head of lettuce- on the cover when you first got it, and some of the outlined petals peaked out from where you had the book pressed to your chest,
"Oh, shit- can I see some of your work?" You glanced down at the book in your hands and reluctantly handed it over to him. You watched as his hand carefully supported the back of the book, while his fingers moved to slide over the pages. Usually, you were afraid other people would mess up your sketchbook by folding the corners, or being too aggressive and ripping the pages, but the way he was delicately flipping the paper caused your heart to beat a little faster. His rings and slender fingers moved smoothly and precisely; his gaze was interested, lingering on the pages and savouring the work before him, and his lips were parted slightly. It really surprised you how gentle he was, with how animated and mean he sometimes came off as, "Wow... Your crazy talented..." He flicked it closed again, squinting to read your name from the top left corner of the cover page, and saying it out loud as he handed it back to you. You smiled,
"Hah... Thanks," You said timidly. Taking compliments for artwork you felt was never perfect enough was difficult for you, but you truly felt like he meant it, "It's kind of a shame that it's all gonna get ruined now..." You sighed, sliding your hand over the rose before looking at the rain sadly. It was indented because of the pencil you used to draw it. You could feel the minuscule dents beneath the pads of your fingers,
"You mean you don't have a ride home?" He asked. He sounded concerned. Glancing up, you saw his smile was gone, and he instead had a worried expression on his face. A small frown and a small wrinkle in his brow,
"Oh- yeah. I... I didn't know it was gonna rain so much and I forgot to ask my dad if he could pick me up before I left..." You explained. With a sigh, you carefully, moved, shrugging the bag off your shoulders and cushioning its fall on your shoes as you set it down. You took off your jacket, "I was thinking of just wrapping it up and making a run for it but-" You wrapped the book in the jacket, "-I live pretty far away... It's a thirty-minute walk... But I bet you I could make it in about fifteen... As long as I don't slip," You tried to joke; his expression remained the same, "Uh... It might not get as ruined if I... The jacket," You said half-heartedly, lifting the bundle in your arms, trying to explain what you were doing. You remained quiet as he looked down at his hands, "Welp, I guess I'll get going...!" You said, bending down to pick up the bag and moving it over your shoulders, "I'll see you..."
Eddie had removed the jean jacket and walked closer to you, moving it over your head,
"My car is that one," He pointed, and you found it hard to focus now that he was so close to you. You tried to follow where he was pointing, but once again found yourself distracted. He smelled very nice, surprisingly. Faintly of sweat but not like the gross basketball players you somehow got sat next to, and faintly of cigarette smoke. It was oddly pleasant. You could feel the warmth radiating off of his body and seeping into your skin. The kind gesture shocked you, along with the strange intimacy of the situation, and for a moment you just blinked, until he said your name again, "I can just drive you home," He said, and you nodded your head slightly, looking up at his brown eyes, "We're gonna run, alright?" He said, and you nodded again, pulling the wrapped book closer to your chest. As he counted down and the two of you ran to his car.
A part of you felt like a child again, excitedly jumping through the puddles on your street and racing through the wet grass in your raincoat and giggling happily. Your brain found itself consumed by all the pleasant memories- to all the nights you'd fall asleep on a road trip home and wake up to the rain pattering on the metal roof, lulling you to sleep along with the soft rock song playing on the radio. You loved the rain when you were safely protected from it... Perhaps that's why you found yourself laughing softly to yourself as you ran together.
Once you got to the car, Eddie left you with his jacket over your head, and you can feel the heavy raindrops thundering against the material. When you hear him open the other door, you quickly get in too, shutting the door and pulling your bag off your shoulders, setting it near your feet so you can sit comfortably. Your both breathing heavily as you get seated, and you're laughing to yourself softly. You felt the strong urge to just pull the jacket he had given you over yourself for warmth but didn't want to seem weird. Instead, you carefully removed it, looking over the back of the jacket,
"D&D?" You asked, running a hand over the wet material,
"Yeah! Dungeons and Dragons, it's a game," He said enthusiastically, taking it from you as you held it out for him, "Thanks," He said shifting around in his seat and placing it in the backseat, "That's what we play in Hellfire," He said,
"Huh," You hummed. The van faintly smelled like weed- you were acutely aware of Eddies... Business ventures but chose not to question it, "I've never actually played it before," You admitted as he started the car. You jumped slightly as some loud metal song suddenly blasted from the radio. He quickly reached out to turn it all the way down. You could still hear the song playing quietly,
"Ahah- sorry about that," He smiled, putting the keys in the ignition to start the car, "I don't get a lot of guests," He said playfully, and pulled out of the parking lot,
"That's fine. I don't mind it was just super loud and I got startled," You said, unwrapping your jacket from the book and putting it on, before moving to put your seatbelt on. You told him where you lived and he began to drive you there, "Thanks for offering to drive me, Eddie," You smiled, "You're a real lifesaver," You added, opening your bag to pull your walkman out and look over it,
"No problem!" He said. "What tapes do you have?" He asked curiously. You glanced back at him and noticed him watching you with your walkman,
"Oh- this one was a birthday gift from my dad," You smiled fondly, moving your finger over the inscription he had written, "I've got The Eagles, AC/DC, a lot of Metalica-"
"You listen to metal?" He asked surprised,
"Yeah. I mean, I was basically forced to by him," You laughed softly, "He really liked that music, meaning he played it all the time around me- he liked it loud," You explained, "He got me my first walkman when we moved here as a moving in present. Made the tape for my birthday and it's the only thing I listen to,"
"You've got good taste," He complimented, and you blushed with a small nod, putting the objects back in your bag and closing it. They weren't wet- they were still working. That was a relief. You wouldn't have to buy a new walkman... Next, you moved to check over your sketchbook. Your jacket had some large splotches of raindrops, but other than that, your book was dry. You smiled to yourself, beginning to slowly flick through the pages "Any damage?" He asked, glancing over at you,
"Nope," You said happily, shutting the book, "Thank you so much... I've been working really hard on this for the last few months and need the B-,"
"They're giving you a B- for that?" He asked surprised,
"Well yeah, I haven't finished my project yet," You explained, "Still have to finish three big paintings and a few sketches and smaller watercolours in here," You tapped your book,
"Huh..." He hummed, "Well, I'd like to see it when you're done," He said. You looked at him wide-eyed,
"Really?" You asked,
"Uhuh. I appreciate a fellow creative," He said playfully, waving his hand,
"Creative?"
"I'm a fan of the arts. Music, mainly. I play guitar with my band," He said proudly,
"You've got D&D and a band?" You asked with a smile,
"Yeah- maybe you'd want to come and hear us play," He said. As you stopped at a red light, he leaned to the side and grabbed a sharpie. Uncapping it, he indicated for you to bring your hand forward, glancing between the traffic lights and your hand as he wrote something on it. The pen tickled your skin, and the ink spread between the cracks and grooves, "There. It's called 'The Hideout'. You can read that, right?" You twisted your hand to look at the crudely written words on your hand and smiled softly, gently blowing on the ink to get it to dry faster as you nodded. You could make out 'The Hideout', 'Tuesday', '6 pm'. You took the sharpie from him as he handed it back to you once the light turned green and he made a turn.
"Thanks. I'll come by," You said, glancing over at him, "That is if you're any good," You teased,
"Believe it or not, we do get a crowd..." He held up a finger with a small grin, "Sure it's like five people but that's still a crowd," He said,
"I'll try stopping by. It is a school night, but I'll try," You promised, looking over the writing on your hand again,
"Glad to hear," He said, "Is this it?" You heard him ask as the car slowed. ,
"Just there, by that black car- yeah this one," You tapped his window with your nail and undid the seatbelt, "Thank you so much, Eddie," You said again, looking up at him, "You really saved me here,"
"No problem, dear, I'm at your service," He said, and you heard the click of the door lock unlocking. You smiled softly, looking back at him,
"I'll be sure to see you around? Tuesday, right?" You said, taking a quick glance at your hand. When you looked up, he nodded, his smile widening. You turned again to leave, reaching for the door handle,
"Hey before you uh- go," He said, making you turn to look at him, "Just... Which art classroom are you in?"
"Oh, it's Mr Traves' room, uh- 190 B?" You said, thinking, "Yeah. It's right across from the big Tigers Mural," You added,
"Got it," He'd grabbed the sharpie and quickly wrote it on his own hand, "I'll swing by on Monday,"
"I'm there fourth period and I stay for lunch," You added, "I get pretty focused and kinda black out everything around me, so just tap me on the shoulder when you come in. It's really nice that Mr Traves lets us listen to our own music- well, it's either that or the radio, but I don't mind," You rambled,
"Nice," He smiled, "See you later,"
"Have a good weekend Eddie," You smiled, bringing your book close to your chest and grabbing your bag. You opened the door and ducked under the large tree in your backyard, before hopping onto the porch and sighing underneath the small roof. Turning your head, you noticed he hadn't moved in the car, watching you as you went home. You waved your hand reassuringly, and he waved back as you pulled your keys out of your jacket pocket and entered your home.
In the distance, you heard the music sharply increase and his car driving off. You leaned against your door with a wide smile that wouldn't leave your lips.
Eddie Munson was probably the kindest person you had ever met at Hawkins... His happiness was infectious, and in the short time you knew each other, you could somehow tell he had made a lasting impact on you...
He did end up visiting your art classroom, and you ended up coming to watch his band play. Then you started spending more and more time with one another. It surprised you to think now, how angry you had been at yourself and the rain. If only you could have seen into the future that day, maybe you'd be happy at the sight of those dark clouds and all the rain... If you had known the rain would bring you and Eddie so close together, you wished it was always raining.