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"Hey," You say, arms folded as you stared at Eddie in his old bedroom, hand outstretched to grab his guitar. Your sudden voice makes him jump, like a startled cat. When he realises it's only you, his wide eyes relax, though his shoulders are still tense beneath his new battle vest,
"Hi," He breathes, "Can you... Not do that?" He asks, chuckling nervously as he glances down. You narrow your eyes and glanced over your shoulder at the group in the living room of the trailer. The setting sun casts bright oranges to the familiar place, though you don't feel the usual happiness. Seeing everyone ready for battle and the hanging sheets as a gateway between this world and the one beneath-yet-somehow-above-it sends a chill through your bones. Steve, ever the mother, is checking in on the kids gathered there, and you can't look long. They're so young and they're been dealing with this for how long? Three years? You're quick to reach for the door handle "What are-" He starts once you close the door,
"Can we talk?" You cut him off sharply, taking a step forward. You needed to get this out before anything goes wrong.
These past few days had been... Insane. When you returned home after what you thought was a fairly successful campaign, following the addition of the fair Lady Applejack, you didn't think the evening would end with you being violently awoken by a rattled Eddie, shaking and panicking and unable to breathe because 'Chrissy Cunningham's bones snapped and she died' in his trailer. You let him stay the rest of the night, his head in your lap as you caressed his hair to try and calm him down. Before the sun could rise higher in the sky, you'd packed a bag and ran away together, hiding out in the woods. You couldn't just leave him alone on this- something about seeing Eddie, the usually confident and terrifying, to those who didn't know him, metalhead, so scared and distant... It made you worry for him,
"Talk..." He says slowly. The guitar's likely left his mind by now. He won't look you in the eyes either, he's busy picking at a loose muddy-green thread, "Uh, sure, but you're gonna have to make it snappy," He says, turning his head to the side and eyeing the window, "We've kinda got the world to save," He glances back at you briefly, avoiding your face. He looks behind you at the door, the slight smile that came with the statement fading quickly as the severity of... This hits him,
"Alright," Your eyes bore into his face. He's looking down again, more focused on his hands than you but still listening. There's a slight tremor to them- it hadn't left since he had clambered through your window days ago, "S-"
"You know I can't stay," He interrupts quickly. You only blink,
"What?" Your brows furrow as you stare at him,
"I-" He inhales deeply, glancing at his floor nervously and balling his fists so his knuckles go white, "I'm done... Running. From everything in my life" He says. His tone is mixed with passion and fear- it's clear he wants to help but he's terrified. It's as if he's trying to convince himself more than you, "Nothing you'll say will... Will make me want to stay behind... I'm in too deep, right?" He laughed to himself quietly, "I'm a murderer," He sounds dejected, accepting this fate, "And... If this will somehow... Redeem me in the eyes of Hawkins then... Then I should try," He said, looking at you, "But no more running," He finishes, shaking his head. There's a serious expression on his face; something tells you he won't budge on this. The Munson's stubbornness- a curse they all bear. Though you don't want to see him leave, in fear something will happen to you, you can't help but smile as you walk closer to him,
"Okay?" You say softly. Maybe he was expecting you to cry and scream and cling to his shirt for him not to go. He's surprised; to be honest you're surprised? Why aren't you screaming and crying? You saw what those bats did to Steve's neck, "I wasn't going to ask you to run away with me but... It's good to see you're standing up for yourself, Eds," your voice is soft. You're keeping quiet in case the others can hear you. You stop near him and move to sit on his bed, eyes fixed on him,
"Then...?" He's confused, his wide-eyed expression quickly morphing to confusion as he looks at you, "The wh-"
"I came to..." You interrupt him, "Not to say goodbye... Because you are coming back from... The upside down?" You try, uncertain with the new terminology. With a sigh, you continue, "I came to wish you good luck," You tell him as he sits beside you, "Give those bats hell for me, babe," You tell him playfully, earning a slight, breathy laugh,
"Thanks..." He says quietly. His eyes finally meet yours, gaze warm and full of reassurance. You watch him for a moment longer before glancing down at your hands,
"Here," You tell him, shifting so you're facing him on the bed and reaching to twist a ring off of your finger, "I uh... You gave me this ring a few years ago as a promise," You say softly, holding it up to show him, "A promice that you love me... A promise that one day, we'll get out of this shitty town and we'll live a better life together," You smile fondly at the metal band in your fingers, turning it over. It's slightly thicker than the other rings adorning your fingers, with a clumsily carved heart in the inner band, along with E and your initial. Hidden from the world, only for you to see if you take it off and for you to know of its place when you'd slip it on. He had made it himself for your first anniversary in shop class. You had found it so sweet of him that you still kept it and wore it all these years later, "So I am gonna give it back to you-" You tell him, reaching to take his hand in yours and speaking quickly as he opens his mouth, brow furrowing in protest, "-As a promise to me... That you'll come back to me," The final word coming out shaky as tears fill your eyes. The spill over your cheeks quickly, running down as you place the ring back in his hand, though his arms are quick to wrap around you tightly, holding you as you cry into his shoulder, "Because you will come back," You say. You don't even question it. You don't want to question it, look into any other possibility than the one where Eddie will come back alive and as a hero,
"Yeah," His own response is shaky and breathy. From how he slightly shakes in the tight embrace, he's likely crying too, "I'll come back to you," You hear it. The words you were looking for. As he pulls away, his empty hand finds itself on your cheek, gently whipping it dry and catching another tear that slips down onto your damp, stinging asking. You faintly hear the door open behind you,
"Eddie, we have to go, like... Now," Steve's voice says from behind you. You're quick to fix yourself- he lets his hand fall from your face as you quickly wipe it dry. Eddie stands to grab his guitar and slings it over his shoulder,
"Wait," You mumble, taking hold of his hands and checking the rings. You smile slightly- the band is on his ring finger. He manoeuvres his hand to squeeze yours, "Please, Eddie," You whisper as you squeeze back, holding his gaze,
"I'll try my best," He says, leaning forward to kiss you. It's gentle, so soft you don't want him to leave. The shuffling from the direction of the door, followed by the sound of receding footsteps and a few 'eughs' from the spying kids brings you back. You'd laugh at their reactions but the weight of imminent danger dampers your humour. Eddie's pulling away all too quickly and resting his forehead against yours, "I'll come back to you," He whispers it, only you can hear it. And though it does nothing to help the pit of dread carving its way through your stomach, you feel slight relief in your shoulders. They were tensed before. As he pulls back to look at you, he gives you a last, reassuring smile, before turning his back to walk through the bedroom door,
"Give 'em hell, Eds," You repeat, voice a whisper as you follow a distance behind him, joining the group and eyeing the crack to the other dimension in the ceiling.