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Autumn nights in Hawkins were always cold. Your entire body was shivering as you walked along the pavement, the dark and lonely street only illuminated by a few rusty lamps and the few specks of stars shining through the otherwise empty and foggy sky. You should've brought a jacket with you but you hadn't really planned on ditching your friends at 2am. Earlier today they had promised to give you a ride home but after just a few hours at the party it was clear that you needed to get out of there as soon as possible and you couldn't wait around for your friends to be ready to leave - knowing them that wouldn't be until at least five in the morning.
As time went on it became harder and harder to stay around your friends for longer than a couple of hours at a time. You wouldn't really even consider them your friends if you had a choice in the matter. You didn't like them very much, the way they acted as if they owned the world; as if they could wreak havoc with no repercussions since their parents could just hush everything up with money. What you hated the most was the way they spoke so lowly of others, the ones they didn´t deem “good enough”, building themselves up by talking others down. You couldn't stand to think about how you sometimes even joined them in their shittalking, just so it seemed like you were a part of their group and you could feel some sense of belonging in the world. They were the kind of friends that you only had in high school and that you'd never speak to again once everyone ran off to college, or so you hoped anyway.
It was Hawkins so it wasn't like you had your pick of the litter. There were two options. Either you pretended to be someone you weren't to fit in or you were a social outcast. You had picked the former, the easy option. It had seemed like the better choice at the time but now you were counting down the days until graduation and escaping off to college. You didn´t really care where you got in, in your mind anywhere was better than here. You couldn't tell if you'd be happier if you had other friends than the ones you had now, you´d get teased a lot more - maybe even tormented, but at least you wouldn´t go around feeling so fake and constantly wondering if somewhere along the way you had lost your real sense of self.
A distant voice calling out to you as it gradually drew closer to your ears pulled you out of your musings. You had no idea when the person had appeared behind you, your thoughts having shielded any nearby sounds of footsteps, or the like, from reaching your ears. However you couldn´t dwell much on it as their words finally registered in your mind.
“Do you want my jacket?”
You stopped walking and turned your head slightly to your left side in curiosity, being met with the sight of Eddie Munson lightly jogging to catch up with you. You regarded him with curiosity as he came to a halt next to you, you'd never once spoken a word to him yet here he was right beside you at 2am offering you his jacket. Eddie tilted his head, a small smile gracing his features at your lack of an answer “It´s just that it's freezing balls out there and you´re not wearing a jacket, so do you wanna borrow mine?”
Realizing that you had yet to actually give him an answer, having once again gotten lost in your thoughts and trying to figure him out, you furrowed your brows slightly as a confused wrinkle settled on the bridge of your nose “Won't you be cold then?”
He chuckled at that, as if your concern amused him “Don´t worry about me sweetheart. I´m pretty warm blooded and besides what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't offer a freezing lady my jacket? So how about it, Y/L/N?”
“Uhm yeah, okay, thanks” You mumbled as you watched him undress his vest and the jacket he had on underneath. Once he had redressed, he offered you his jacket leaving him in just a vest and a t-shirt. You accepted his jacket a bit reluctantly before hurriedly putting it on and fisting it in your palms. Once it was on, you kept it as closely wrapped to your body as possible. The leather fabric didn´t offer much shelter from the cold night air but it was better than nothing.
“So what are you doing out so late anyways?” Eddie queried as the two of you started walking next to each other at a slow pace. You could feel his eyes scan your face but you didn't dare to meet them.
“Seemed like a nice night for a walk” You lied, saying the first thing that popped into your head as you kept your eyes anywhere but at him. You hardly knew him and you highly doubted he wanted to hear about your troubles. When you thought about it, compared to how he was treated at school, your inner struggles seemed like a first world problem. You hadn't ever agreed with or joined in on what people said about him but you hadn't defended him either. It was easy to just stand there and watch, it meant keeping the focus off of you - but deep down you had always felt terrible about it.
Eddie audibly laughed at your bullshit excuse “I don´t believe that for a second. You might be the worst liar I´ve ever met, Y/L/N.”
Taking mock offense you let your jaw drop and lightly hit his arm, making him laugh even more. You playfully rolled your eyes at him as you pushed away the thought that he had a nice laugh. As his laughter slowly died down you sighed and finally relented, deciding that since he seemed genuinly interested you might as well be honest “Fine, I was at some stupid party and needed to get away, you happy?”
“Very” he grinned triumphantly, accepting your answer, before turning serious as he walked a bit closer to you whilst his eyes closely scanned your surroundings “But you shouldn't walk alone so late at night, it's not safe”
“It´s Hawkins” You rolled your eyes, for real this time, as you suppressed a scoff “Nothing is going to happen”
“Exactly, it´s Hawkins” he retorted, using your argument against you “In case you forgot in the last few years there's been like multiple deaths and disappearances”
“Fair point” you admitted “but nothing is going to happen to me”.
You did genuinely believe that, even if it might've been a false sense of security, but maybe the tiniest part of you also thought that if something did happen to you it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. It would certainly be a change of pace from your otherwise pretty uneventful life. Nevertheless you did breathe a bit easier at the fact that someone was walking you home. That that certain someone was Eddie Munson however did throw you for a loop. Maybe you shouldn't but you found yourself instantly trusting him, he made you feel safe and comforted; and he acted nothing like the way your ´friends´ had described him to you. He was the kind of person people told you to stay away from, so why did you feel yourself drawing closer to him?
Eddie let out a disbelieving laugh before pointing out the flaws in your thinking “If I´ve learned anything from watching horror films it's that that's the kind of thinking that gets you killed sweetheart”
“Yeah, you´re right” You chuckled, moving your hands into the pockets of his jacket and keeping your eyes on your feet so he wouldn't notice how the nickname made your lips twitch into a smile.
“But then again” he retorted, shrugging before he spoke next “maybe you just have a death wish, what do I know”
“Yeah” you let out a small huff of air before looking up but keeping your eyes on the road in front of you and mumbling a small “maybe” before the two of you settled into a comfortable silence as you walked.
You tried your best to not keep glancing at Eddie, using the houses you passed to distract yourself. You distantly recalled having seen some of them before when driving past them with your car on your way to school but you didn't recognize them well enough for it to mean that you were getting close to your own neighborhood. You might have slightly underestimated just how far it was from the party to your own house. In your mind walking home had seemed like a good and safe option but your house didn't seem to grow any closer and as the sky grew darker and the distant barking from a dog made you jump slightly, you started second guessing yourself. Maybe it was a good thing that you ran into Eddie.
As your eyes kept scanning the houses, you wondered about the people who lived there and what their lives were like - how they differed from yours. Whether the closed curtains meant that they were home and sound asleep, or that they'd gone away somewhere. Maybe you hoped that they had gone away so you could imagine yourself living your life vicariously through them. Every morning when you sat down in your car to drive to school you kept finding yourself tempted to just keep on driving and not stop until you were far far away from Hawkins and everyone in it. Pulling yourself from your thoughts before they grew too heavy you decided to break the silence you had now grown accustomed to “So how about you Munson? Why are you out here wandering all by yourself?”
“Haven't you heard?” he turned his head to face you, his eyes brimming with mischief meeting your curious ones “Eddie Munson, town freak, stalks the streets at night as he looks for his next prey”. As he spoke he lifted his arms and shaped his fingers into demonic claws as he made an exaggerated face, causing you to laugh. “You´re laughing but who's to say the rumors aren't true and that you should actually be running for your life right now?”
“I´ll take my chances” you chuckled letting your shoulder bump into his “besides who's to say you're not the one in danger? Maybe I´m the Hawkins killer” Your face turned blank as you looked at him, letting your eyes bore intensely into his as you tried your best to appear intimidating.
It didn´t seem to work though as his only reaction was his face pulling together in wonder as a small smirk played on his lips before he voiced his thoughts out loud “Is it bad that I´d find that kinda hot?”
You let out an incredulous laugh before turning your face back to him “Murder is hot to you?”
“No!” He laughed “but it´s like, if this was a murder mystery you would have me fooled. I´d never have guessed that you were the killer you know. So even tho I´d be scared, I´d be pretty impressed and maybe even a little turned on”
“Wow, you are a piece of work Munson, you know that?”
“Yeah, but you´re still here so what does that say about you?” he countered as his eyebrows rose in amusement and a playful grin erupted on his face.
“Touché” You smiled as your eyes fell to your feet. You fell into another silence before Eddie once again wondered out loud.
“Why are you talking to me anyway?”
His question made your brows furrow as you lifted your eyes to his face again “Why wouldn't I talk to you?”
“Because everyone thinks I'm a freak”
“I don't think you're a freak”
“Really?” he looked at you as if he was genuinely surprised at your response.
“Yeah” you answered before ducking your head down again as you felt a faint blush kreep up your neck “You may actually be the kindest person I've ever met”
“Wow” he exclaimed “you are not good for my ego. Y/N Y/L/N, where have you been all my life?”
You laughed at that, a genuine laugh. It felt good to laugh. A real laugh, not that fake one you reserved for all your friends when they found something, or someone, amusing.
“I like your laugh”
He said it so casually that you wondered if you had imagined it. There was no way you would´ve been able to respond verbally even if you wanted to. His comment made your heart skip a beat and you had to keep your head down and turn your face away to hide the slight tint of pink that colored your cheeks at his words. You felt you heard the slightest mumble of ´cute´ coming from Eddie but your ears might have been deceiving you.
You felt happier and more like yourself than you had done in a long time and it was all thanks to Eddie. Eddie fucking Munson was walking you home and right now you wouldn't trade it for the world. You carefully mulled over your next words. Maybe it was because of his compliment about your laugh or because it was so fucking late and you were overtired, whatever it was you decided to throw caution to the wind and be completely honest for once “This might be weird but talking to you- you make me feel alive. For the first time ever, I feel like I can breathe. At school and with my friends I just feel so fake and unlike myself and I don't want to feel that way anymore - and with you I don't feel that way, at all.”
It felt good to be honest but the pause between your confession and his response still weighed heavy on your chest.
“Y/N, I sell drugs for a living, I´ve heard a lot weirder shit than that” he responded with a teasing grin, smiling satisfied at the way his words made you laugh and your shoulders visibly relax. He didn't dare to make a serious comment on your words, wanting to keep the air light and also because he just felt like a massive fucking pussy.
It didn't skip your notice that your body responded positively to him calling you by your first name. Something about being on a first name basis with Eddie Munson made you feel things that you'd never felt before after spending just a few minutes with someone. Maybe it was because he was so unabashedly himself that you felt like you could be your authentic self around him without fearing judgment. Or maybe it was how his smile gave your body more warmth than his leather jacket ever could. No matter the reason, it was undeniable: Eddie fucking Munson made you feel comforted.
-
The rest of the walk consisted of the two of you laughing and talking about everything that came to mind. When your house finally came into view a wave of sadness washed over you and you felt yourself wanting to prolong the inevitable.
Walking on the shale rocks that led to your house you kept glancing between Eddie´s face and your hand that was dangling so close to his. You wanted to reach out and grab his hand so you could know what it felt like to entwine your fingers with his, but you didn't want to get ahead of yourself. The time you had spent together had been so lovely and you didn't want it to end on a weird note in case you had misinterpreted anything.
Eddie insisted on walking you all the way to your doorstep even though you had told him multiple times that he didn't have to and could just drop you off by the gate. Internally you were happy though because it gave you a few extra minutes with him, which you treasured each and every second of.
Once you reached the door you turned your body fully to his before taking off his jacket and extending it to him. “Here”
“Oh, right” he gave you a small smile as he gratefully accepted it. If he was honest he had forgotten that it was his, he had grown so accustomed to seeing you in it and something about you wearing his clothes just seemed so right. But he didn't voice any of those thoughts to you. He just folded the jacket together before tucking it under his arm.
His brown doe-like eyes felt heavy on your face as they flickered between your eyes and your lips. He took a step back to create some distance between the two of you before clearing his throat “Well…Goodnight”. Eddie quickly turned away from you before he ended up doing something that you might not have wanted.
“Goodnight” you mumbled back. As his back turned to you and he started walking down the steps, the sound of his feet slowly growing more distant, a realization hit you and a foul feeling settled in your stomach: When he walked away and tomorrow arrived you´d be strangers again. He'd go back to his friends and you´d go back to yours. You didn't share any classes so you´d only see him as you occasionally passed each other in the hallway, or in the cafeteria if the jocks decided to pick yet another verbal fight with him.
“Eddie?” You called out, making him halt in his step and turn back towards you.
“Yeah?”
“Do you- uhm, do you want to eat lunch together tomorrow? Maybe in the forest behind school? Just us?” you looked at him from beneath your lashes as you anxiously fidgeted with your hands.
“Yeah. Sounds good, Y/L/N” He flashed you a bright grin which then grew cocky as he sent you a wink, as if he could read the hidden intent behind your words. He then turned away again, jumped over the gate since he couldn´t be bothered with opening it and once again headed off into the night. You internally cursed yourself for the way your stomach fluttered on account of his smile and just how much the prospect of lunch with Eddie Munson tomorrow excited you.
-
Sitting by the small wooden table you kept glancing around you for signs of Eddie. So far the woods seemed abandoned sake for you and the chirping birds. Part of you worried he wouldn't show, because why would he? Yesterday was a pipe dream. It wasn´t like you knew him very well, or at all for that matter. Maybe he had just talked to you to be nice or because he felt bad seeing you walk home all by yourself in the dark, and then felt pressured to say yes when you asked him to get lunch with you.
As time went on with still no signs of Eddie your insecurities grew and all sorts of self doubting thoughts started to cloud your mind. Just as you were about to start spiraling a familiar voice caught you by surprise. Just like yesterday your thoughts had tuned out the sounds of his footsteps.
“Sorry I'm late, sweetheart” he apologized as he settled down across from you “I got held back after class by Mrs. Moss”
“Maybe she has a crush on you” you teased, chuckling when his face scrunched up in distaste.
“Hopefully not, I'd really like to graduate this year”
“It would explain why she keeps failing you” you reasoned before your eyes started gleaming with mischief “or maybe it´s just ´cause you're such a bad student” you erupted in laughter when he sent you an annoyed glare.
“Hey! I´m not- just shut up” he mumbled, trying to suppress the grin that was growing on his face.
Once again time flew by way too quickly and it was time to head back to school so you wouldn't be late for your next class. Eddie of course didn't really give two shits about being in class on time and therefore kept coming up with different ways to distract you. But in the end he too realized there was no prolonging the inevitable.
“Okay, okay” he relented after a long back and forth discussion between the two of you “we can head back now”. He put his hands into the pockets of his jeans as the two of you started on your way back to Hawkins High “But this was fun, we should do it again sometime”
“We should” you agreed, smiling up at him before you both had to duck your heads away to hide your blush from the other person. The thought of having lunch again with Eddie made more butterflies erupt in your stomach than you cared to admit.
And you did. You kept having lunch together, again and again every day until graduation. In the beginning the two of you just talked, getting to know each other whilst you at the same time found your true sense of self again. Eddie would constantly make you laugh and it felt good and freeing. Meanwhile you would fascinate him with your intellect and knowledge of the world. Eventually talking led to stolen glances which led to small, innocent touches which one day had led to kissing which then had led to… more. Eddie made everything shitty about Hawkins and high school seem worth it. Maybe you didn't need to skip town the first chance you got, it wasn't all bad - maybe some things were worth sticking around for.