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Eddie ran. That was what he did, who he was, and it always had been.
When things got bad, he ran. When he got scared, he ran.
It was what he did best, so he supposed it only made sense that he turned it into an outlet. Or it only made sense that Wayne made him find an outlet, and that was the first thing he could think of. He’d been on the Hawkins High cross country team since his freshman year, varsity since his sophomore year, and this was the most important meet he’d ever had.
College scouts were amongst the audience. They, like most of Hawkins, were ready to crane their necks and see if Eddie could break a state record.
He was nervous. Nervous was an understatement. He’d broken plenty of school and county records, but nothing on this scale, and there was too much at stake. College scouts brought scholarships. Scholarships brought opportunities, that was what Wayne always said.
Maybe that was why Eddie ran. Why he always ran. Maybe it wasn’t so much to get away from something, but to run towards something else.
Over the years, it became a mantra. Before runs at the ass crack of dawn, during particularly grueling practices, after he finished a race and his legs felt like jelly or he was left dry heaving in the grass. Running could get him anywhere if he was fast enough. Running could get him out of Hawkins.
Now, he was closer than ever, he could practically taste it, and he was terrified of falling short. But, terror was good. Terror was motivation.
Though, it wasn’t the only motivation he had.
Eddie had a lucky charm of sorts. He noticed it during his sophomore year, during the tryouts for varsity. He wanted to make the cut, more than anything he’d ever wanted before. He had trained damn near every day the entire summer to make sure he was prepared.
He ran like a bat outta hell.
The coach told him that she’d never seen anything like it, said that if he kept running like that then he would break records one day.
He made the team, but it was afterwards that mattered more.
Out from under the bleachers, there came a boy.
His hair was longer like Eddie’s, dyed bright blue at the tips, and buzzed down on the sides. There was a ring through his nose and a barbell through his eyebrow. He had dark clothes and chipped black polish on his nails.
Eddie knew him.
Steve Harrington. The Freak.
He was a year below Eddie, only a few weeks into high school, and he already had quite the reputation. People said he was like an alley cat. Sharp claws, piercing eyes, a loud hiss.
Eddie stood still, left behind by his teammates headed toward the locker room, and watched Steve like a scared and cornered mouse. When their eyes met, Steve didn’t show any signs of ferity. He just looked Eddie up and down, a small smirk on his face, and nodded his head toward the track.
“You looked good out there.”
“Thanks,” Eddie said. The word stuttered on its way out and he felt his cheeks redden with warmth, but Steve only smiled wider and the warmth spread to Eddie’s stomach too.
“I’ll see you around, Munson.”
“You will?”
“If I’m lucky.”
Steve winked at him, then he slipped back under the bleachers like a snake to its nest, leaving Eddie to scurry away. To run.
He saw a lot of Steve after that, but they never spoke more than they had that first time. Mostly, Steve watched. Eddie caught glimpses of his electric hair under the bleachers during practices, and there were a few meets where he swore he saw a flash of blue in the crowd while he was running past.
The first record he broke, he knew he was right. He saw Steve. His teammates were crowded around him, congratulating him, and he saw blue in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to find eyes already on him, that same smirk played on Steve’s plush lips, and then nothing.
The second record he broke, he saw Steve again. They were older by a year, still hadn’t spoken more than their first short conversation, but it still had that same warmth spreading through him.
So, he waited. He told Wayne to get the truck while he caught his breath, he promised his teammates that he’d meet them at Benny’s later, and he waited.
It didn’t take long for Steve to find him.
“You’re better when I’m watching.”
“Excuse me?”
“You run faster. Whenever I’m at a meet, you win. Or you break a record.”
Eddie didn’t know what to say first. He wanted to ask if that meant Steve watched him a lot, he wanted to ask why he watched at all.
But, the first thing out of his mouth was, “Maybe you’re my good luck charm.”
Steve laughed. It was as bright and boisterous as the rest of him. Eddie wanted to hear more, but he heard the horn of Wayne’s truck before he could open his mouth to say anything else.
“I’ll see you around,” he said. It was almost a question, almost a prayer.
“If you’re lucky.”
Then, Steve was gone again.
It kept on like that. A game of cat and mouse. Steve showed up to more meets, Eddie broke more records.
They talked afterward every time, just a little bit, until one of Eddie’s teammates saw Steve under the bleachers before practice.
They cornered him. Called him a freak, called him even worse. He gave just as good as he got — sharp claws — and got hit for his trouble. Right in the nose.
Eddie heard it crack and he couldn’t stop himself. He ran. He put himself between Steve and his teammates like a barrier and damn near snarled at them when they made a move toward Steve anyway.
“Touch him again and I’ll blind you.”
He meant it. It almost scared him to realize it, but it definitely scared everyone else. His teammates froze for a few seconds before turning tail, then it was just him and Steve.
Neither of them spoke. Not at first. Steve was holding his black bandana to his nose to catch the blood and Eddie was coming down from an adrenaline high that even running couldn’t give him.
After they did speak, they ended up at Skull Rock. Eddie didn’t know how — he’d never skipped a practice before — but he liked it. He liked Steve. They spent the whole evening talking, and by the end of it, he was pretty sure Steve liked him too.
Eddie saw a lot of him after that. Every practice, every meet, but outside of those too. Sometimes, they got burgers at Benny’s. Sometimes, they met up at Skull Rock. Where they were and what they were doing never mattered, they were just glad for the good company.
By the time Eddie’s senior year started, Steve was his closest friend, and it only took a few months for him to realize that, maybe, he was something more than that. It only took a few weeks after that for Eddie to kiss him.
Then, their nights were spent talking about the future. Where Eddie would go to college, how Steve would follow him there, what they would do to build a life together.
So, when the sound went off, Eddie started running, and he didn’t stop until he reached the end. For a broken record, for a scholarship, but most of all, for Steve.