Chapter Text
Eddie drags his finger along the top of the desk, his eyes flittering to the large clock on the wall. 2:48, he groans, and drops his face to the desk. How can it only be 18 minutes since he got here?
Detention isn’t new for him, Mrs. Click definitely seeming to have it out for him this year, but always it went by faster than this. Of course, there’s usually someone he can talk to when the teacher on duty decides they really don’t care about the punishment so talking is the least of their worries.
There’s also the one time offering Mr. Brown a joint worked out in his favor. The man ending detention early to go enjoy himself.
But, alas, Eddie doesn’t have his hand dandy lunchbox with him today. Well, he did. But after the fight with Tommy H., it was taken by the bastard and Eddie got the wonderful reward of wasting 2 hours of his own time trapped in this room of silence.
Not that he minded silence, he needed it when he planned the most killer campaigns, but considering all his D&D books were in the van outside silence is just a killer.
Eddie turns his head to the side, seeing the empty classroom, aside from the teacher who he doesn’t know posted at the door.
How is it possible he’s the only one in here?
Eddie closes his eyes, hoping to get away with a nap to kill time before he hears footsteps approach.
“Glad to see you could join us, Mr. Harrington.”
Eddie’s eyes fly open at the mention of Hawkins royalty, and he sees the King himself rolling his eyes at the teacher and making his way into the classroom.
He’s dressed in his normal prep shit, tight light wash jeans, a blue polo. But his outfit isn’t what’s the most interesting. No. Eddie notices a smattering of red on the polo, the way his clothes are disheveled, even his hair seems unmanageable. It’s out of character for Steve, Eddie thinks, as even after Byers and more recently Hargrove rearranged his face, Steve never looked this unkempt.
Their eyes meet for a moment, Eddie noticing a small gash above his left eye and the skin beginning to purple. Seems Eddie’s not the only one holding fight clubs in the hallway. Though, he’s positive Steve started his fight. The other senior might not have been as big of an asshole as Tommy or Billy, but he certainly wasn’t much better.
Something flashes over Steve’s face before he looks away and sits at a desk near the door.
The teacher follows Steve in. Looking every bit the crypt keeper, issuing a series of threats that Eddie contemplates the legality of before stomping out and shutting the door behind her.
Eddie tries to ignore Steve, really, he does. But when he can’t seem to get enough mental stimulation out of tapping Black Sabbath or Dio beats into his desk, he figures annoying Steve where he couldn’t physically hurt him has it’s advantages.
He noisily gets up from the desk, truly making a spectacle of himself before closing in and plopping heavily into the seat in front of Steve.
Steve’s face pinches in confusion and he goes to speak, but Eddie cuts him off.
“King Steve, how gracious of you to join the lowlifes such as myself in detention,” Eddie starts, earning an eye roll from Steve.
“Not king anymore and it’s not like I chose this,” he grumbles crossing his arms, a light pout pulling at his lips.
Eddie will deny it to anyone, but the way Steve’s lips downturn, the huffiness in his voice, matched with those big eyes, is undeniably cute. But everyone in Hawkins wants King Steve…well, everyone other than Nancy Wheeler which is a chain of events Eddie’s sure he doesn’t truly understand.
But this is Steve Harrington. King Steve who’s only nice to those in his court and Eddie is far from the other’s court as could possibly be.
“Why do I find it hard to believe you didn’t start your fight?” Eddie asks, arching an eyebrow and tilting his head to the side.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t want to start a fight but Tommy was sayin’ shit about y…” Steve starts but again, Eddie cuts him off.
“Jeez, you meatheads really don’t know how to use your words, huh, Harrington? Makes sense, can’t be both pretty and smart.”
Steve’s mouth snaps shut at Eddie remark and his eyes widen for half a second before Eddie realizes he’d called him pretty. Also called him stupid, but calling him pretty could definitely get his world rocked and not in the good way.
After all, being gay in Hawkins is what got him in detention in the first place. Tommy H whipping slurs at him like he had any goddamn right and Eddie not reacting to them escalated things.
Eddie feels himself tense as Steve sits up straighter and his face becomes unreadable. Eddie could run, though that teacher is definitely going to let Steve wail on him more because of who he is before stopping it. His stomach still hurts from Tommy…he doesn’t want to add to it.
But seeing as there isn’t really a choice, Eddie just closes his eyes and prepares himself for another beating. Another talk with his Uncle, another night reminding himself that leaving Hawkins couldn’t come soon enough.
“Uh, thanks,” Steve says awkwardly, “I…think? Though, you did call me dumb so…that’s y’know, shitty.”
Surprise hits Eddie like a 50 lb brick. His eyes fly open to see Steve, using his hands not to beat Eddie’s face in but to fix his hair.
Eddie doesn’t know what to say. Steve Harrington being nice to the freak? Taking a backhanded compliment and not using it as justification to fight? Eddie’s world feels like it’s tilting.
They sit in silence, Steve finally fixing his hair enough to satisfy himself before clearing his throat and making eye contact again.
Eddie can feel his heart begin pounding in his chest, though for a very different way than a moment ago. “I implied it, so, maybe not as bad as straight up calling you an idiot.”
Steve snorts tilting his head towards Eddie. “What happened to you?”
“Oh, this?” Eddie says turning his bruised face for Steve to look at, “Why, your best friend Tommy H. decided in 2nd period my mere existence is reason enough to use me as a human punching bag. Got a good couple hits in though. But he also stole all my drugs which sucks.”
Again, something flashes over Steve’s face before he shakes his head and angles his head downwards. His newly fixed hair dangling in front of his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he says his voice painfully earnest. It catches Eddie off guard, a kinder gentler side to Steve truly unexpected but completely untrustworthy. Steve may not have mocked him outright but so many of Eddie’s friends received the same amount of vitriol that Eddie got from Tommy H. from Steve.
A small voice, the one that’s always cared a bit too much about other people, the one that is always willing to accept apologies from all those who’ve hurt him, defends Steve. Reminds Eddie that just the fact that Steve made no effort to hurt him physically because of who he is, the fact that he’s maintaining conversation and not just ignoring him, the fact that he’s apologizing means something.
But that voice is small. And his guard is up for a reason.
“Tommy’s always been…a lot and I hated when he’d say the shit he did or I guess still does…”
“Bullshit.” Eddie doesn’t mean to say it out loud especially after he sees the way Steve recoils as if he’s been hit and that small voice begs for Eddie to apologize. To accept the olive branch as it were.
Steve takes a shuddering breath, and Eddie’s almost sure he’ll hit him, but instead he lifts his face and makes eye contact with Eddie.
“You’re right,” he says with a slight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, “I’m bullshit, man. You’re actually not the first person to tell me that, something’s telling me I should probably listen, but uh, I am sorry. For Tommy, for the shit you have to go through, but uhm, mostly for never doing anything about it. I’m sorry for being King Steve.”
Eddie feels as if his world has completely turned upside down. Since when did any of Hawkins royalty apologize? Eddie is a dramatic person, he hangs around dramatic people, and he knows acting. Steve is not acting, he’s not even lying.
He’s serious and that small voice inside Eddie begs for him to say something, anything, but the words die.
The only reason he’d started this conversation with Steve was to annoy him, not to get to know him, definitely not to maybe even start to like him? No, no way.
“Munson!”
Both boys jump, Eddie spinning to see the teacher back again. Her hands on her hips, a truly annoyed expression on her face.
“Leave Harrington alone,” she spits motioning to the other desks, “Get over to the other side of the room.”
Eddie puts his hands up in a silent acceptance then drops them to push himself off both his and Steve’s desks.
He doesn’t look back, doesn’t say anything else to Steve. But the apology doesn’t leave him either, even when Steve graduates and does.