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Chrissy Cunningham, Queen of Hawkins High, is everything Eddie Munson is not. She's beautiful, polite, quiet, well-behaved, and pretty much a standard America's Sweetheart. She gets good grades, volunteers at the retirement home in town, has a boyfriend who adores her and is cheer captain. He's a nerdy metalhead who harasses the popular kids and plays Dungeons & Dragons with freshmen. His frizzy, long dark hair, leather jacket and chains make a sharp contrast to her strawberry blonde ponytail and preppy cheer uniform, but it was no longer a rare sight to see the Queen and the Freak walking down the hall together, giggling as they went.
Steve Harrington was quite honestly... perplexed at the seemingly random connection between these two very different people. Sure, he didn't know either one of them all that well, but he'd been to parties with Chrissy before and Dustin and the other kids seemed to hang around Eddie a lot. They seemed like such an unlikely duo though, and everytime he saw the two of them he began to feel annoyed for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on.
It took him about a week to figure out just what it was about these two people that hadn't done anything to Steve made him so uncomfortable.
It was a Thursday afternoon in the cafeteria when Steve saw them again, Chrissy's perfectly curled hair bouncing like something straight out of a shampoo commercial and Eddie's chains rattling up a storm as he stomped behind her. Eddie smiled down at the girl, really their height difference was kind of extreme if you asked Steve, and motioned for her to enter the cafeteria before him with a small bow. She curtsied - god damned curtsied in a cafeteria - and practically skipped into the large room to find a table. Her eyes settled on the table near Steve's, the jocks, and made her way quickly over to her boyfriend, Jason Carver. Eddie pretty much disappeared back in the crowd, only popping up at his own table with Steve's nerdier, younger friends.
That's when it hits him, that must be why Eddie and Chrissy annoy him so much: Chrissy's cheating on her boyfriend and Eddie, the guy his practically adoptive brothers look up to, is screwing around with a girl in a relationship. Sure, Jason Carver can be a dick sometimes, god knows he's done his fair share of shoving kids against lockers and hurling insults at guys like Eddie, but no one deserves to be cheated on in Steve's mind. He definitely doesn't want anyone to set that sort of example for Dustin or Mike.
He feels a french fry hit the side of his face so he breaks his gaze away from where it had settled on that cloud of fluffy brown hair to look at his best friend Robin.
"Hello?" She snaps in front of his face, "Earth to Steve. Are you even listening to me?"
"Sorry-" Steve says, glancing again over at the Hellfire Club lunch table. Eddie catches his eyes this time and gives a little wave of the fingers and a smirk in Steve's direction. "Don't you find it a little weird?"
Robin looks at him with a mouthful of PB&J. She follows his line of sight and feels confused.
"Do I find what weird?" She rasps after swallowing a particularly dry chunk.
"Whatever the hell is going on with Eddie 'The Freak' Munson and Chrissy Cunningham," Steve says around a bite of sandwich, his eyes only leaving the overgrown senior to look at Hawkins High's "happiest" couple who are smiling at each other in a, in Steve's opinion, rather disgusting display of affection. "She's got a boyfriend yet she's always hanging off Munson and giggling around him."
Robin rolls her eyes at her friend's oblivious brooding. Just then their other friends, Nancy and Jonathan, joined them. The topic is forgotten as Nancy launches into a rant about whatever fresh hell was happening with the newspaper today. Steve's annoyance doesn't dissipate though, and everytime he sees Dustin laugh at one of Eddie's stupid faces he feels a twinge of unpleasant emotion rise within him.
"Alright, seriously Steve," Robin sighs, kicking him in the shin under the table, "Your glaring is getting to a whole new extreme. Whatever's going on with those two is none of your business!"
"Whatever's going on with who?" Nancy asks. Steve goes to say 'no one' right as Robin opens her big dumb to say "Eddie and Chrissy."
"Oh," says Nancy, "I'm pretty sure they're just really good friends. Maybe they grew up close or something?"
"Thank you!" Robin throws her arms out like Nancy is the first person to make any sense, which is fair considering she has to put up with Steve Harrington day in and day out. "If you're so curious, why don't you just ask them?"
"Maybe I will!" He huffs defensively and goes back to his usual lunch past-time of staring at Eddie Munson. He's not expecting Eddie to be looking at him when he turns back, but lo and behold, Munson's eyes are on him and the man gives a little wave of his fingers and a quirk of his lips when he catches Steve looking. Steve shoves the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and thinks to himself 'fucking freak'.
He takes Robin's advice.
The next time Eddie Munson walks through the doors of Family Video Steve is ready. His curiosity is piqued and he's ready for answers.
"So," Steve starts, turning to lean against the counter so he can follow Eddie with his eyes as he weaves through the Family Video horror collection. "How's your lady doing?"
"My lady?" Eddie scoffs, looking up from The Exorcist in confusion. "Wasn't aware I had one of those."
Steve rolls his eyes. Leave it to Eddie, the guy Little Miss Perfect is cheating on the human Ken doll with, to be sarcastic and pretend he wasn't getting his rocks off with her.
"Chrissy?" Steve asks in what definitely could have been a nicer tone.
"Oh," Eddie pauses, really looking at Steve this time as he walks to the counter with his chosen film. Steve almost feels like he's being studied and he does not enjoy it. Eddie may be an outcast, but he was obviously not above judging others. "She's not my lady, just a friend."
"Sure," Steve says, dragging the word out so it's obvious he doesn't believe him, "That'll be $5."
Eddie pulled his wallet out and Steve did not let his eyes linger on the shiny rings adorning his hand as he fished out a $10 bill. He slides it across the counter until it's touching Steve's hand and slowly brings his gaze from the counter to Steve's own eyes.
"Keep the change," Eddie smirks, starting for the door before turning to look at Steve over his shoulder, "See ya around, Stevie."
Steve flushes a bit and wills his mind to stay focused for the rest of his shift, much to his own confusion.
A few weeks later Steve finds out that nearly all of his friends hang out with Eddie Munson. The kids worship him as their D&D god, that much he already knew and resented. Jonathan buys weed from the guy apparently, and says he's a cool dude outside of all the dramatics he pulls at school. Nancy had some classes with him and thinks he's nicer than people say, but she doesn't hang out with him outside of the halls of Hawkins High. Robin, the traitor, has been secretly hanging out with Eddie for at least a month. Steve only finds this out because he comes in on one of his days off to rent a movie and say hi to Robin and there on the Family Video countertop reading a magazine and gossiping with Steve's best friend is Eddie Munson himself.
He's not sure which feeling is stronger: the betrayal at all of his friends for liking this guy who doesn't seem to care about morals or the stinging fact that the only person Eddie doesn't seem to want to hang out with is Steve. He realizes he doesn't want to think about it.
"Steve!" Robin says, looking like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "I didn't expect you to be here!"
"Yeah, I was driving by and figured I'd stop in," He nods to Eddie, observing the two of them. Eddie was still sitting on the counter, legs crossed at the ankles and leaning forward over a magazine, Seventeen. The cover had some teenage heatthrob on it with big letters across the page saying How to know if a boy likes you back. Steve finds it kind of funny, considering Robin is a lesbian, but he can't say that here in front of Munson.
”Hiya Stevie,” Eddie all but purrs and Steve really does not have time to unpack the way his stomach flips when he looks up from the magazine just to find the other man staring at him. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah, welcome back big spender,” Steve scoffs, totally unaffected by that interaction. Robin whips her head to look at Eddie. The motion doesn’t go unnoticed by the two men and they both respond simultaneously, “What?”
“Eddie?” Robin doesn’t take her eyes off the man as she asks him sweetly.
“Uh, yes, Robin?” He replies, idly flipping the pages of his teen mag and swinging his feet like a little kid, which was a comical sight to Steve considering the guy wore what seemed to be the heaviest boots available and was nearing six feet tall.
“Why does Steve call you ‘Big Spender’?” Eddie’s legs instantly go still. Steve’s confused as to what the guys’ deal is, but he figures he just probably finds being around Steve as uncomfortable as Steve finds being around him.
"The dude doesn't give you a 100% tip?" Steve asks, he'd thought that Eddie was just a generous tipper, but the astonished look on Robin's face tells him he's wrong. He looks back at Eddie and sees the man flushing bright red. "Real generous guy, Munson is."
"That's funny," Robin says, leaning towards Eddie with a shit-eating grin on her face, "You never tip me, Eddie."
Whatever weird reaction Eddie had to this conversation passed quickly and he just tapped Robin's nose with one of his ringed fingers before hopping off the counter and slamming the magazine down.
"That is because you, my dear Robin," Eddie smirks, "Don't provide excellent customer service like Steve here. And with that, I will see you tomorrow, told Chrissy I'd pick her up from cheer practice today."
The bell jingled as the man left the two to the rest of their shift. Steve can't help but wonder what exactly Eddie has in common with Chrissy for the two to be so close, but he isn't able to focus with Robin needling him about Eddie's last visit to the store.
He's alone in bed late one night as his thoughts started to wander. It's one of those nights where he's already half-hard for no good reason and he sneaks a hand down his boxers just to feel some relief. He doesn't think of anything particular at first, just the usual vague idea of a girl riding him, hands on his chest as her own bounces with each downward motion.
He wraps a hand around himself and grunts at the rough sensation since there's no lubrication involved, but it's good in his opinion. He thinks of those hands scratching lightly, nails short and blunt, maybe bitten down a bit. He imagines that maybe there's a cool touch of metal as her rings catch on a nipple, he always did like a girl with jewelry. Maybe she has big hands, a little calloused too, but he doesn't linger on it, too busy chasing the mounting pleasure. This fantasy is a little different than usual, for one he's actually got some more detailed imagination about the usually non-descript dream girl. Like she always has long hair, but this time it's definitely dark and curly, a bit messy if he's being honest. He imagines she's having the time of her life, bouncing on his lap and making little whimpers that would make a man cry.
He's really close so he speeds up a bit and tries to think of what she might sound like as he brings her to the edge as well. The moans in his head get deeper and deeper, driving Steve near insane until his brain goes into overdrive with the thought of her shouting "Stevie!" and coming all over his stomach.
Wait, no, he was coming all over his stomach. Girls can't come like that, he knows this, his brain knows it but his body doesn't seem to get the memo as it continues to release while Steve is having one of the most horrifying revelations of his life.
He just got off to the idea of fucking Eddie 'The Freak' Munson.
"I don't like you looking up to the guy."
Dustin groans at Steve's routine protest of Eddie Munson. Everytime Dustin asks for a ride to Hellfire Club it's always a similar conversation. This time Steve is just chauffeuring the boy from his home to the Wheelers', stopping along the way to pick up Robin as they were headed to a party at Vickie's, but somehow the topic of Eddie Munson comes up. The metalhead had a funny way of worming his way into Steve's mind and conversations lately, much to Steve's chagrin.
"I'm serious Dustin!" Steve exclaims, his eyebrows shooting to his hairline like they do when he's trying to make a point, "He's kind of shady if you ask me."
"Is this because of the fact that he likes metal?" Dustin asks, narrowing his eyes, "Because it's not satanic like everyone seems to think it is, it's just music."
"Why would I care about what music he listens to? I don't want him making you boys think it's okay to fu- mess around with people in relationships!"
"What does that have to do with Eddie?" Dustin sounds genuinely confused, and Jesus, Steve thought the kid was more observant than this but apparently he was wrong.
”He’s obviously sleeping with Chrissy Cunningham!” Steve nearly shouts at the boy who seems oblivious to his super cool Dungeon Master friend being kind of a sleaze. “Cheating is not cool, bud.”
Dustin is laughing so hard he nearly chokes on his own spit. Steve pulls to a stop at the next red light and turns to look at the boy, clearly unamused.
“What’s so funny, Henderson?”
“Shit Steve,” Dustin shakes his head with a laugh, “Eddie and Chrissy aren’t sleeping together! I mean we all think he has a crush on her, but they’re definitely not a thing.”
“How would you know?” Steve isn’t pouting, he’s not, his lower lip just happens to be jutting out a bit. It’s not a pout though, if you were to ask Steve. “You’re what- fifteen? What do you know about this kind of thing?”
‘God, I hope you don’t know about this kind of thing’ goes unspoken, but it floats around Steve’s mind. He puts the car into park on the street in front of Robin's while they wait for the girl.
“Have you seen Eddie? And Chrissy’s boyfriend?” Dustin asks with an incredulous tone, like Steve is the dumbest person he knows, which could be the case. Robin's front door opens and she comes stumbling down the walk, shoving her work vest into her overnight bag. “Do you think Eddie would A) still be alive if Chrissy was cheating on Jason with him? And B) be as pissy and bitchy as he is if he were sucking face with Chrissy Goddamn Cunningham?”
“Okay, first of all, language, Jesus,” Steve rolls his eyes at Dustin's defiant gesture of sticking his tongue out at the older teen, "And second of all, even if they aren't sleeping together he's definitely toeing the line of what's okay to do with another guy's girlfriend! And Chrissy doesn't seem to be stopping it at all."
Robin apparently catches this as she climbs into the back seat and rolls her eyes at Steve.
"Careful Steve," She says in a sing-song tone, one she only uses when he's said something annoying or douchey, "Your jealousy is starting to sound an awful lot like misogyny."
"What-" He sputters, whipping around in his seat to face his friend who is just casually putting on mascara, "I'm not jealous! What would I have to be jealous of?"
"I don't know Steve, you tell me," Robin just pins him with a cryptic look, like she knows what he ate for breakfast and what he dreamed about last night just from staring into his soul. "Now can we go? The party starts in an hour and I still want to grab a burger first."
"Can I come with you guys? Please?" Dustin whines and Steve and Robin simultaneously let out a loud and firm 'No!'. "You two are no fun."
The three of them bickered the rest of the journey to the Wheeler residence. Steve was already beginning to regret taking Robin up on the party invitation, but he couldn't let her go alone, so he sucks it up and hopes his least favorite dealer wouldn't be there.
Of course he's not in luck and Eddie is one of the first people to greet him as he enters the extravagant home, Vickie must have money, he thinks.
"Stevie!" Eddie slurs a little, obviously on his second or third drink of the night. "What a surprise to see you here, thought you didn't party anymore."
"I figured I would grace everyone with my presence for once," Steve says, unable to step out of the way before Eddie slung an arm around his shoulder, "Business as usual?"
The metalhead shakes his hand in front of him in a so-so gesture. Steve tries his best not to notice the heavy scent of weed and cheap cologne that mixes with the tropical scent of whatever Eddie's drinking. It really shouldn't make his head swim like it does.
"I'm actually friends with Vickie, band geeks, y'know?" He says before noticing the girl to Steve's right. His face lights up and he lets go of Steve in order to pick Robin up and spin her around. She giggles like a little kid and it would make Steve smile if he wasn't so skeeved out by Eddie Munson treating every girl like a plaything. "Buckley! You made it, shit, did you bring King Steve?"
She nods and laughs with the man, and he squeezes her one last time before setting her down again. He's trying so hard not to think of his little fantasy from the other night, but Eddie is making it hard- no pun intended- in his tight black jeans and black band tee that has the sides cut so low that Steve can see the man's surprisingly slim waist and the elastic band of his boxers. To his horror Eddie catches him staring and winks at him. He can't handle the feeling in his stomach, so he mumbles out an excuse to Robin and rushes to the kitchen to get himself a drink.
Unfortunately for him, the first people to greet him in the kitchen are Jason Carver and Chrissy Cunningham. He tries to push down the ugly feeling he's been getting around Chrissy, at the very least for appearances. It obviously doesn't work because as he squeezes past the two to mix a drink that's definitely more vodka than soda Chrissy reaches out to gently touch his shoulder. He spins around and vaguely registers here question 'Steve? Are you okay? You look a little green.'
"Yeah, yeah," Steve gulps down some of the burning drink, "I'm fine."
"C'mon Chris, you saw him come in, the fag probably passed something on to him," Jason's lips curl into a cold grin. Steve can't even figure out what Jason's talking about but he just nods slightly when the guy continues, "Steve, buddy, you've gotta be careful around the queers, you know they're all carrying something, right?"
"Jason!" Chrissy scolds her boyfriend, pushing at him gently despite the look of genuine anger on her face, "Stop saying that kind of thing about him!"
"It's not like it isn't true, you know he's a faggot." Steve really can't piece together who they seem to be talking about and from where he's standing he can see Eddie turn to look at them, face bright and smile wide. The smile falls when he sees Jason next to himself and Chrissy, but he starts walking towards the three of them anyway, pushing past annoyed party goers.
"I gotta go," Steve rushes out and spins to escape through the French doors leading into the backyard. In the cool night air he begins to feel a bit better, but he's still shaking ever so slightly when he lifts his cup to his lips. With his luck he figures its only a matter of time before Eddie follows him out here.
Another shadow falls over his own. He's surprised to see that it's shorter than him by almost a foot, the small girl next to him rocking gently on the balls of her feet.
"I'm sorry about Jason," Chrissy says quietly.
"What are you apologizing for? I have no idea what he was even talking about." Steve mutters.
"He doesn't like that I'm friends with Eddie," she starts and Steve really tried to hold his scoff in, but he's drained most of his drink and is beginning to feel the effects. "What?"
"I can't imagine why he doesn't like the two of you hanging all over each other." Steve rolls his eyes, "He's probably insecure and uncomfortable with the fact that Eddie can't keep his hands off you. I know I was pretty annoyed when Nancy and Jonathon were so close while we were dating."
Chrissy is looking at him like he's grown a second head, then her mouth forms a perfect 'o' like she suddenly understands. God, Hawkins is just full of oblivious people apparently, Steve thinks. She begins to giggle.
"So that's what you mean when you said you had no idea what Jason was talking about." She says it like everything makes so much sense all of the sudden, "I promise you, Eddie and I aren't like that. His intentions are pure, plus he's kind of like a brother to me. He likes someone else too."
Steve highly doubts that Eddie feels the same, but before he can protest she's patting him on the arm and suggesting Steve just talk to the man. She's gone after that and Steve finds a few empty lawn chairs to collapse into away from the small crowd of high-schoolers outside. He's trying his best to piece all of this together. Jason doesn't like Eddie for obvious reasons, Chrissy doesn't see Eddie as more than a friend and Eddie apparently has a crush on someone who isn't Chrissy.
And Steve...
Steve likes Eddie. More than he should, more than a boy is allowed to like another boy, but he can't keep denying that what he's been feeling is jealousy. The realization makes him feel a little sick, but that could also be the alcohol burning in his stomach.
And of course because the universe doesn't seem to let him catch a break, Eddie sits down in the lawn chair next to him. They sit in silence as Eddie lights up a joint, inhaling the smoke before offering it to Steve. The younger man coughs as soon as the smoke hits his lungs, much to Eddie's amusement. He flips the man off as he passes the joint back over.
"Fuck off man," Steve continues to cough, it's been a while since he's smoked, but if he's going to have any sort of conversation with Eddie Munson tonight he figures he'll need to relax a bit. "What're you doing out here?"
"Could ask you the same thing, big boy," Eddie bumps their knees together, sending Steve's stomach into somersaults again. "Chrissy said you were out here, figured I'd keep my favorite jock some company."
"I thought Sinclair was part of your little club," Steve chuckles, his head feeling lighter with every second that passes, "I'll tell him he's been demoted, man."
"Nah," Eddie smiles and Steve can't look away from it because it's just so blindingly carefree. "It can be our little secret, how about that?"
Steve struggles to say anything, his throat feels tight and he's vaguely aware that he's shaking again the next time he brings the joint to his lips.
"Chrissy said she cleared some stuff up with you?" Eddie asks. Steve's really going to lose it one of these days with all these cryptic things people keep saying around him. He wishes everyone would just come out and say what they really mean. "I meant it when I said there's nothing going on between Chrissy and I. She's like my little sister."
Steve nods, trying to figure out why they're even having this conversation. A loud cheer from inside the house grabs everyone's attention and some kid from the Student Council is shouting about a party game. Soon enough, Steve and Eddie are the only people left outside. The last thing he wanted tonight was to be alone with Eddie Munson, especially now that he's come to terms with his own feelings towards the man who seems to be a total babe magnet.
"She's not really my type anyway," Eddie says, not moving his knee from where it rests against the other man's. "But I'm sure you've gathered that much already."
"Not really, I'm honestly still not convinced you're not screwing," Steve mutters, trying to seem more comfortable than he is with Eddie pressed up against him close enough that that stupidly intoxicating scent is invading his senses again, "I'll bite though, what's your type then?"
Eddie's face looks a bit confused, but he shakes it off with a giggle as he takes another hit and mumbles something that sounds like 'here goes nothing'.
"Definitely brunettes, but like a light brown, y'know?" Eddie asks and he finds himself nodding, the man continues, "Athletic for sure, good with kids, stubborn, just a little jealous, great hair, and taller than me. Pretty but dumb."
"You're going to have a hard time finding a girl taller than you, Munson," Steve laughs, "You want an Amazon type, huh?"
"Did I mention pretty and stupid? I'm talking like totally fucking oblivious," Eddie smiles, leaning over the arm rest of his chair so his long dark hair hangs in his face and Steve can smell the alcohol on his breath. If Eddie doesn't back up he's going to make Steve cross-eyed. "So oblivious they wouldn't even realize how cute I think they are. So oblivious he doesn't even realize I'm talking about him right now."
Eddie glances down at Steve's lips and it all clicks into place at once. His heart is beating so fast it's going to burst out of his chest, he's sure of it, and how cliché would that be, to die while the boy he likes leans in to kiss him. The blood is rushing in his ears and he really can't move, can't comprehend that this is happening, especially since he didn't even know he wanted it to happen until today. Soft lips pull back and he knows he's fucked this all up because Eddie is looking at him with panic written on his face.
"Oh god," He says, starting to stand so he can leave, "I'm sorry, I totally misjudged that. I'm so fucking sorry- can we just forget this happened?"
Eddie is scrambling to get away, but Steve musters up enough strength to reach out and grab the boy's wrist before he can walk away.
"Eddie, wait." Steve breathes out, pulling himself into a standing position. Eddie's face is still etched with worry. "I've never kissed a guy before, I was just surprised is all."
Eddie nods, his shoulders dropping a bit as he relaxes into Steve's touch.
"Can we try that again?" Steve asks quietly, with a small smile. Eddie's on him in seconds, his ringed hands holding his face gently as he presses their lips together over and over again. Steve can't get enough of the taste that's so uniquely Eddie- weed, whiskey and a slight aftertaste of mint. He lets go of the other man's wrist so he can wrap his arms around his shoulders, pulling him as close as possible. Eddie finally breaks the kiss and Steve can see he's grinning like an idiot.
"As much as I love this," Eddie looks around, thankfully they're still alone outside, but there's no saying how long it will be that way, "We should probably not do this out here."
Steve nods, pulling away reluctantly from the metalhead's embrace. He's not sure what to do now that they've parted, but Eddie holds up a set of keys and jingles them in front of Steve.
"You wanna get out of here?" Steve is nodding in agreement as soon as the question leaves Eddie's mouth. They make their way back through the party and Steve asks Robin if she's good to get a ride home to which she blushes and says that she's crashing with Vickie tonight. Steve grins at her, ready to congratulate her when she spots the man behind him. Her eyes go wide and she grins right back at him, just giving him a 'Go get him tiger! Be safe!' as she shoves him away.
They're passing a cigarette back in forth on Eddie's mattress later that night when Steve begins to laugh. Eddie turns on his side to face him and Steve can't help but be in awe of the man's beauty, with his pale skin and stark black tattoos that stand out against it.
"What's so funny?" Eddie asks quietly, reaching out to stroke the side of Steve's face.
"I think I owe Chrissy Cunningham an apology," He giggles, turning to face Eddie so they're chest to chest, feet tangling together under the sheets, "Maybe even a thank you."
Eddie rolls his eyes but leans in to kiss the goofy grin off of Steve's face anyway. They fall asleep like that, tangled up and hearts beating in tandem.