Chapter Text
Eddie looked up at you from the couch as you came storming into the trailer. “You’re home early. Thought you were out with Steve.” He couldn’t help the tone that dripped from his voice when he said your boyfriend’s name. Everyone was always telling him how wonderful Steve Harrington was, including little Dustin Henderson, who seemed to practically worship the ground the guy walked on. And while Eddie could ‘get along’ with Steve, he was steadfastly not a part of his fan club, especially once you’d started dating him last year.
“I was.”
“Oh, god, you didn’t bring him back here, did you?” Eddie sat up a little, straining to look out the window behind the couch.
“We broke up.”
“What?” Eddie set his guitar to the side and stood, crossing to you in a few short steps. “What happened?”
You shrugged. “He just… I don’t know. He plays jump rope with the line between ‘charming’ and ‘flirtatious’. Every single girl we meet, whether that’s the chick running the concession stand at the movies, or the hostess at a restaurant, or even someone just walking by on the sidewalk, he has to turn on the charm, flash that hundred-watt smile, and focus on them, like I’m not even there anymore.” You shook your head once. “I just… couldn’t take it anymore.”
“You want me to beat him up?”
You laughed, but the laugh quickly turned to a sob. Your hands flew up to your face, hiding your tears from your sibling.
“Shhh,” Eddie said, wrapping his arms around you. “It’s okay. Big brother’s got you.”
“You’re two minutes older than me,” you said, words muffled against his shoulder.
“And I always will be.”
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A few days later, Eddie was leaning on the counter at Family Video, staring into space. The store was completely empty– it usually was on Tuesday mornings. Not that Eddie minded– he liked the quiet. Gave him time to think of new things to add to his next D&D campaign, or song lyrics, or how he could convince you to skip your next day’s class at the community college in the next town over and spend the day with him. Not that that last one ever really happened– Eddie was proud of you for taking classes, even if you couldn’t afford to take a full-time schedule’s worth. You were going to do something with your life, which is more than he could say for himself.
The bell above the door jingled and Eddie snapped back to the real world. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw just who it was who had entered.
“Eddie,” Steve said, stepping over to the counter. “Just the man I wanted to see.”
“Harrington. The man I never want to see.”
Steve let the comment roll off his shoulders– he knew that somewhere, deep down, Eddie liked him. After all, they hung around the same circles, which put them in the same place 80% of the time. And Eddie owed Steve for the simple fact that he’d given him the video clerk job before he and Robin took over at the radio station– not that Steve would ever hold that against the metalhead. Besides, he kind of considered Eddie having already ‘paid him back’, since he let Steve date you.
Which is exactly what Steve was here about.
“Your sister isn’t answering my calls,” Steve said. He made his way behind the counter, feeling just as at home in the video store as he had last year. Leaning one hip against the orange Formica top, he studied the curly-haired menace. “What gives?”
“Why would she?” Eddie turned, leaning against the opposing countertop, arms crossed in front of his chest. “You two broke up.”
The words hit Steve directly in the chest. “What?”
Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. She came home Saturday night really upset about it.” He cocked his head to the side. “Are you really so dim that you can’t recognize when you’re broken up with?”
“No, no, that… that can’t be.” Steve replayed Saturday evening’s events in his mind. He’d met you at Sweets Bakery, where the two of you had shared one of the giant chocolate chip cookies. Then, the two of you had taken a stroll downtown. You’d told him about your psychology course and how you were pretty sure your professor had killed someone, or at least had a few bodies buried in the basement; he’d told you about the new sound effects he and Robin had come up with for the morning show. He’d asked if you wanted to go see a movie but you declined. “When the hell did we break up?” He flicked his eyes up to Eddie’s. “What exactly did she tell you?”
“That you’re a self-centered dick who cares more about his hair than his girlfriend and who constantly flirts with other women.” Okay, so some of that may have been a bit embellished, but most of it was what you’d said.
Steve replayed Saturday evening again, and realized Eddie was right– he’d flirted with the girl at the bakery counter, the two girls walking their adorable dogs downtown. He hadn’t meant anything by it, of course– why would he when he had you on his arm? And when he’d asked about the movie, your exact words were, ‘I can’t do this anymore’. He’d thought you meant the late movie showings, that you were concerned with getting enough sleep so you could be prepared for your morning classes. But you’d meant your relationship?
“Shit.” Steve quickly turned and began going through the drawers.
“What are you doing?”
“I need paper. And a pen. Don’t you keep those in here anymore?” Steve finally found the right drawer that held the office supplies. He pulled out a few sheets of lined paper and a slightly-chewed on pen. “You gotta help me, Munson.”
“Uh, what?”
“I need to explain to her that… that this is a mistake, a misunderstanding. And if she won’t take my calls, I have to do the next best thing– write her a letter.”
“Absolutely not! I will not help you write a love letter to my sister.” Eddie shuddered slightly, the idea skeezing him out.
Steve glared at him before turning back to the paper. “Fine. But will you at least give it to her for me?” He turned once more to the metalhead. “Please?”
The quiet tone of the word swayed Eddie just enough. “I’ll think about it.”
____________________________________________________________________________
When Eddie pulled up in front of the trailer after his shift, he saw your beat-up Pontiac already parked by the door. Eddie let himself in the humble abode, finding the living room and kitchen empty. The door to your bedroom was cracked ever so slightly and it swayed as Eddie rapped on it with his knuckle.
“Yeah?”
He slowly pushed your door open, finding you seated at your beat-up desk, textbook open before you. You turned your head away from your note-taking, your eyes raising to Eddie’s. Stepping into the room, he held the folded square of paper toward you. He’d debated the whole way home as to whether or not he’d give you Steve’s letter, but knew deep down it was the right thing to do.
“What’s this?” you asked, taking the paper from your sibling.
“A letter from Harrington.” You tossed the paper onto your desk, unopened. “He showed up at the store today. Said you weren’t returning his calls.” Eddie once again crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Seemed surprised when I told him that’s because the two of you were broken up.” Your eyes dropped to your lap, unable to meet his gaze. “You did say the two of you had broken up, right?” You nodded, slightly. “And that’s something both of you were aware of?” A small shrug. Eddie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. You were supposed to be the smarter twin. “Y/N, you… you gotta speak plainly in matters like this. Especially with guys like Harrington.”
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly on his side,” you said. “It’s not like you even liked us together.”
“Oh, I don’t care about him. I just don’t want him moping around the store while I’m there.”
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Over the following week, Eddie was surprised by you. He truly thought you would’ve read Steve’s letter and gone back to him (as annoying as that would have been). But you remained steadfast in your choice, continuing to avoid his calls. Steve even showed up one time, and stood on the front step for over an hour until Eddie had to tell him to leave, that you didn’t want to see him. And as surprised as he was by you, Eddie was surprised to find his own heart hurting (slightly) for the guy.
Eddie was pulled from his burgeoning hazy state at the sound of a car door slamming outside the trailer. Rolling his eyes, he mentally prepared himself to once more tell Steve to fuck off. He was quite surprised to see you open the door, immediately heading for your room. “Thought you had two classes today?”
“I started feeling sick, so I decided to come home.”
Eddie pushed himself from the couch and stepped down the hall to your room. He stood in the doorway and watched as you collapsed into bed, curling into a ball and pulling your comforter over your head. “You want me to make you some soup or something? You know I make a mean can of Spaghetti-Os.”
“No.” Your voice was muffled by the blanket. Your lack of laughter at his bad joke showed Eddie that you were, indeed, feeling sick. “Just let me nap. I’ll feel better when I wake up.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Your illness plagued you in an on-again, off-again manner over the next few days. But you pushed through it, knowing you couldn’t let yourself fall behind in your studies or take off too many shifts from the library.
One day, as you knelt to reshelve some of the kiddie books, your eyes landed on a mother and her children. She was bouncing a baby on her knee while she complimented the toddler on his block tower. She looked tired but her face held a brilliant smile, the love she felt for her children evident to anyone who looked their way. You couldn’t help but share in her smile– you’d never really considered having children, but you weren’t adamantly against it.
The smile slowly bled from your face as your brain began to whirl. ‘Shit, shit, shit,’ you thought to yourself, popping up from your shelving. ‘No, it… I’m sure it’s not…’
The last hour of your shift dragged, your anxieties spinning faster and faster in your mind. Finally, Debbie showed up to take over the closing shift and you gathered your things, rushing out the door. Instead of heading for your car, you quickly walked the block and a half to the convenience store. You were glad to see that Joyce wasn’t manning the register today– while the two of you weren’t close by any means, you could only assume that if she did see you, she would off-handedly say something to her kids. Jonathan might say something to Steve, or Will might say something to Eddie at Hellfire. You wanted this to be kept under wraps, at least until you were sure.
You quickly found the item you were looking for. The teenager at the checkout studied you with a bored expression, taking their sweet time to scan the item, hit the register key, tell you your total, count your change. You practically sprinted out of the store, plastic bag in hand.
You screeched to a halt in front of the trailer and rushed in, shutting yourself immediately in the bathroom. Your hands shook as you opened the cardboard box, reading the simple (yet overly explained) instructions.
Then you had the longest three minutes of your life.
And yet, when the time was up, you found you couldn’t look at the test, couldn’t make yourself find out if your future was about to get knocked on its head. It was Schrodinger’s Test: until you laid eyes on it, the pregnancy test was both positive and negative.
Finally, you knew you could wait no longer. Steeling yourself, you glanced down at the plastic stick, your stomach dropping as you saw the tiny pink plus sign. You stood there, frozen, for what felt like an eternity. Your vision blurred as you tossed everything into the garbage can before stepping out into the hallway, your feet automatically taking you to Eddie’s room.
“Yeah?” he called at your knock.
You slowly opened the door, tears threatening to spill. “Eddie, I…” Your words died in your throat as you saw your brother carefully applying black liner to his lower lids, bent forward so much that his nose was almost pressed against his mirror. You took in his attire– more chains than usual, jeans looking extra slashed. Realization hit you– tonight, Corroded Coffin had a show at a hole-in-the-wall bar just outside Hawkins. Eddie had been talking about it nonstop for the past few days.
“What’s up?” Eddie’s eyes found you in the mirror, a crease forming in his brow. He turned, seeing that his eyes hadn’t deceived him, that you were extremely upset. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
You couldn’t ruin tonight for him. Your news could wait. After all, you’d still be pregnant in the morning. You shook your head, swiped at the tear that was starting to track down your cheek. “It’s nothing.”
“Bullshit.” Your brother stepped over to you, concern in his eyes.
You’d never been able to lie very well to him. “I just… failed a test.”
Eddie’s expression softened as he pulled you into his chest. “That’s what you’re so worked up over? A silly test?”
‘If you only knew,’ you thought.
“And ‘failed’? I doubt it. Knowing you, you probably got a C or something, Miss Smartypants.” Eddie pulled away slightly, his hand cupping your chin. “Come to the show tonight. Have a few drinks, enjoy yourself. Then tomorrow, I’ll help you study– whatever you want, even if I don’t understand a damn thing. We’ll make sure you get a 115% on your next test.”
____________________________________________________________________________
The show was phenomenal, the best Corrorded Coffin had ever played. And while you couldn’t drink, given your new state, you still sat at the bar and sipped a club soda while you watched your brother live his best life. The high of the performance stuck with him all the way home. He told you about his experience as he drove, the excitement still flooding through his veins. His frantic, ecstatic energy was infectious, and you couldn’t help but smile.
“God, it was just… so great,” he said, unlocking the door to the trailer and marching in, a king returned to his domain. He dropped his guitar on the couch before turning to you, wrapping his arms around you and spinning you around once. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you, little sis. You’re my number one supporter– we always play better when you’re around.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek with an overly cartoonish MWAH.
“Okay, okay,” you said with a slight laugh, pushing your brother away. “The show was great, Eds. Really. But it’s late.”
“Right,” Eddie said. “And we’ve got a whole day of studying ahead of us tomorrow.” He tapped his temple with a finger. “Don’t think I forgot my promise.” He turned and headed down the hall. “You still have those makeup wipes in the bathroom?”
“Yeah. Top left drawer.” You made your way into your bedroom and stripped out of your clothes, replacing them with your pajamas. As you pulled your shirt down over your torso, your fingers brushed against your stomach. You glanced down– soon, it would look a lot different.
You looked up at the sound of your door swinging open. Eddie stood in the doorway, eyes no longer lined with makeup, but wide, flashing with… anger? Surprise? Disbelief? You weren’t quite sure what to name the emotion he was exhibiting, but you knew it wasn’t a good one. He held up the pregnancy test. “What the hell is this?”
Your mouth opened and closed, unable to find the right words to answer his question.
Your brother took a step into the room, his eyes dropping to your stomach before darting back up to yours. “Are you… pregnant?”
Without answering, you sank onto the bed, your head immediately dropping to your hands. You soon felt the mattress dip next to you as Eddie gingerly sat beside you.
“Is it Steve’s?”
You turned, scowling at your twin. “Obviously, Eddie. Who else’s would it be?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Right, right, stupid question.” His hands dropped to his lap. “Is this what you were so upset about earlier?” You nodded. “So, you didn’t fail your test. Well,” his eyes fell to the plastic stick in his grasp. “Any test at school, that is.”
You turned your own gaze down to the pregnancy test. “Technically, you could consider that test passed. Aced, even. 100%.”
Eddie gave you a lopsided grin, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “You always did strive for perfection.”
The two of you sat quietly for a few moments, the silence heavy, palpable. “Damn,” Eddie finally said, his voice low. “This is… shit, this is a mess.” He turned his head slightly toward you. “Wayne’s gonna kill you.”
____________________________________________________________________________
You barely slept that night. Finally, around six a.m., you decided to put an end to your torturous tossing and turning. You pushed yourself out of your bed and took a cold shower, the water slightly revitalizing.
You were in the kitchen making a pot of coffee when Eddie emerged from his room. You glanced at the microwave clock– just after seven a.m. Eddie never worked the morning shift the day after a show, so his being conscious at this hour was quite unexpected.
“What’re you doing?”
Eddie swiped his keys from the kitchen counter. “Just gonna pay a visit to the radio station.”
It took your sleep-deprived brain longer than it should have for you to understand just what he meant. “Wait, Eddie, no!” You yanked the cord to the coffee pot from the wall, lest it burn the whole trailer down, and ran out after him.
He was already sliding into the driver’s seat, so you hurriedly threw open the passenger door, barely scrambling in before the van shifted into reverse and pulled away from the trailer. “What the hell are you doing?” you asked, slightly out of breath.
“Told you. Paying a visit to the radio station.” Eddie’s eyes were hard as they stared ahead.
“Eddie, don’t. Please. Just… turn around. We can talk about this at home.”
“No,” your brother said slowly, cranking the wheel to the left in a harsh turn. “No, I think Harrington should be a part of this discussion.”
“Oh, god, you’re gonna kill him,” you mumbled, covering your face with your hands.
“I’m not gonna kill him. I’m just going to explain to him how things are gonna be. How there are consequences to his actions.”
The age-old argument of ‘it takes two to tango’ flitted through your mind, but you remained silent. You knew there was no changing his mind– once Eddie hooked onto an idea, no matter how far-fetched, he had to see it through as much as possible. You peeked through your fingers, watching as he fiddled with the radio dial while he drove. WSQK came in loud and clear, Steve and Robin’s voices telling listeners about what they could expect from the upcoming Fall Festival.
“Oh, good,” Eddie said, his voice making you feel that he was anything but pleased. “He’s there. I’d hate to have to search all over Hawkins for him.”
The van finally pulled into the radio station lot. Eddie dropped out of the vehicle and headed briskly for the building, throwing both of the glass doors open.
“Eddie,” you tried once more, hurrying after him. “Come on.”
You followed your brother into the main room of the station, where the studio could be seen through the surrounding soundproofed windows. Both Robin and Steve looked up upon your entrance. Robin looked surprised but waved excitedly upon seeing you. Steve’s eyes found you first, a huge grin splitting his face. That grin, however, melted when he noticed your brother’s expression.
Steve quietly opened the door. “Hey,” he whispered, his eyes lingering on you. “What are you two doing here?”
“We need to talk, Harrington.” Eddie took a menacing step forward, causing Steve to take two steps back.
“Steve,” you said, turning his attention towards you. “Run.”
“Run?” Steve swung his head back towards Eddie. The metalhead’s glare told the DJ that perhaps your suggestion should be taken, whatever the reason behind it might be. He quickly darted between the two of you, heading out the way you’d just come. Eddie growled and gave chase.
You ran after them, exiting the building. You looked around the empty parking lot, wondering where they could’ve gotten to, when you heard the sound of voices coming from beside the building. Turning the corner, you watched your brother chase your ex-boyfriend in the grassy field beside the station.
“Come on, Harrington,” Eddie called. “I just wanna talk to you!”
“I don’t believe you!” Steve said.
Robin appeared beside you. “What the hell is happening?”
“Eddie…” You watched as your brother leapt at Steve, making contact. The two men fell to the ground in a pile of limbs. Steve tried to scramble away but Eddie was quicker; he soon had the DJ flat on his back while he straddled him, his own ringed fingers gripping the collar of Steve’s shirt. You and Robin rushed over, hoping to keep any major damage from being done.
“You son of a bitch!” Eddie said. “I knew I never should’ve let you date Y/N! First, you take her virginity, and then–”
You clapped a hand to your forehead– leave it to your brother to make such an assumption and truly make an ass out of both of you.
Steve’s eyes darted up to yours, one eyebrow raised. ‘Really?’ he mouthed at you. You rolled your eyes slightly and shook your head as you reached for your brother, trying to pull him off the poor guy.
“–telling you she doesn’t want to get back together, only to find out that you knocked her up!”
You, Robin, and Steve all froze in your tracks– you, pulling Eddie off of Steve, who was being pulled away by Robin. You felt two pairs of eyes on you as you concentrated very hard on a particularly interesting blade of grass.
Your brother was oblivious to the effect his words had on your group. “You ruined her life, Harrington. She had a chance to get out of this hellhole, but you RUINED IT!”
“Eddie, enough.” Your tone was harsh enough to get him to stop his ranting. He turned to you, studying you for a few moments as a heavy silence fell over the four of you. You could feel Steve and Robin still staring.
“Come on, Eddie,” Robin finally said. “Let me show you the new Metallica album we just got.”
Eddie slowly pulled his eyes from you, flicking them to Robin. “But…”
She slipped her arm around Eddie’s, pulling him toward the station, leaving you and Steve alone in the field. You found you couldn’t make your eyes meet his.
“You’re… pregnant?” You nodded. “And it’s…?” Your eyes finally snapped up, a small scowl on your face. Steve took a step back. “Right. Sorry.” He looked down, his brow creasing slightly. “Are you barefoot?”
You looked down, wiggling your bare toes in the grass. In your rush to catch your brother, you’d forgone shoes. “Uh, yes. Yes, I am.”
The corner of Steve’s mouth quirked up. “So you’re literally barefoot and pregnant.” His eyes met yours, a light in his eyes.
You huffed out a laugh. “What can I say, I live to be a cliche.”
Another silence fell between the two of you, broken only by faint birdsong from a nearby tree. Steve ran a hand through his hair. “So… what now?”
Wasn’t that the big question? You shrugged, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don’t know. I guess…”
“I’ll pick up some more shifts,” Steve said, almost to himself. “And I’ll talk to Keith at the video store– I’m sure he won’t mind hiring me back.”
You scoffed slightly. “Oh, yeah, Eddie will love that.”
“I don’t care.” Steve’s eyes turned to you, a fire in them you’d never seen before. “I have to do whatever it takes.” He studied you for a moment. “Look, Y/N, I’ll be as involved or uninvolved as you want, but…”
Ever since you’d been in the bathroom, waiting for the result to appear, you’d been wondering what it was you wanted– what would be best in this situation? But here, now, it was crystal clear. You slowly reached out, grabbing his hand in yours. “I want you with me, Steve. With… us.”
His eyes widened, his breath hitched. “You… you do?”
You nodded. “I’m sorry for how I acted. I don’t know what came over me. I never should have–”
“No, no,” Steve said. “You were totally right. I was a little self-centered, and I admit, I flirt a little too much. It just kind of happens. But the only person I really want to flirt with is you.” His mouth turned down slightly. “But do you really think I care more about my hair than I do about you?”
“What?”
“That’s what your brother told me. Said that was what you told him, about why you broke up with me.”
You sighed, closing your eyes against the stupidity. “Dammit, Eddie.” You looked back at Steve. “No, I don’t think that.”
“Right, good.” You could see the relief washing over his face.
“He does, though.”
The relief turned sour, the smallest scowl taking over his expression. You couldn’t help but laugh, which made Steve’s expression lighten again. “Come on,” he said, leading you towards the station building. “We’d better go check on Robin. If we’re not careful, she’ll tell all of Hawkins our news.”
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“So,” Eddie said as the two of you headed for home. “I take it you and Harrington are back together.”
You nodded. “We thought it was best, for the sake of…”
Eddie’s eyes flicked down to your stomach before turning back to the road. “Yeah, sure. Makes sense.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “D’you love him?”
“What?”
Your brother shrugged. “I just… I don’t want to see you get tied down to him if you don’t love him.”
“A little too late for that, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “I mean… you’d have me. And Wayne. I know I said he’s gonna be pissed when you tell him, but we’d help if…” There was a fragility in Eddie’s voice.
“Eddie,” you said gently. “I’m going to need your help regardless.”
“Yeah?”
You nodded. “Someone’s going to have to teach this kid about music.”
Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, and that’s sure as hell not going to be Harrington. That man couldn’t tell a good album from a bad one if it bit him in the ass.”
The atmosphere in the van was much lighter as Eddie pulled up in front of the trailer. You unbuckled your seatbelt, hand on the door, when you turned back to him. “Oh, by the way… Steve wasn’t my first.”
“What?”
“In your rant, you accused him of taking my virginity. But he didn’t.”
Eddie’s mouth flattened. “Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Then who…?”
You rolled your eyes slightly. “Todd Miller. Sophomore year.” You slid out of the van, walking around the front towards the trailer. You paused before you opened the front door– you hadn’t heard your brother get out of the van. Turning, you saw him still sitting behind the wheel.
The engine turned over once more.
“Eddie!” You darted towards the vehicle. “What are you doing?”
“Going to find Todd Miller.”