I Understand Some Of You Are 19 But That Is Not An Old Man, He's 32.

I understand some of you are 19 but that is not an old man, he's 32.

Price, price and more price🌸🩵

Imagine being John’s pen pal. It’s starts off so innocent, strangers, with you intent on staying that way after a recent nasty break up with a rather nasty man.

You just wanted something to take your mind off of everything while you wallowed away in self pity. Your work had sent you home for a month, said you needed time to heal and get your mind right.

So here you were with nothing to do when one of your friends suggested being a pen pal. And who of all people were to take up your request but John Price.

A simple, name, favourite colour and asking how his day was going was all you wrote. He replied with exactly what you’d asked word for word. Very straightforward and almost strategic and of course asked you the same things.

Then it was age, favourite food and how tall he was. A little description of his face. And again he replied with exactly that. You knew then that you’d have to work hard to get more out of him.

The weeks went by and slowly but surely, John began to become looser. Open up more. Genuinely talk to you. It helped not only you start to heal but also help John heal. He didn’t even know he needed to heal in any way. Maybe the loneliness, the fighting, the pain, the emotionlessness had finally caught up to him.

Work decided you still weren’t ready which was quite honestly bullshit, that’s what you told John anyway. He completely agreed and asked for your manager’s name and social security number. You thought it was a joke, he wholeheartedly wanted to teach the man a lesson.

This week you decide to paint the spare bedroom in your apartment and you told John all about it. You felt almost giddy as you sent letters back and forth deciding paint colours. He loved the domesticity of it all, felt like his little woman was asking what colour to paint a shared home while she waited for him to return. What he wouldn’t give….

He loved the little things like that. Loved when you’d tell him about what you were getting from the grocery store and he’d suggest something he thinks is good. Loved when you’d tell him about a new outfit you bought. He’d tell you how much he’d love to see it and how he bets you look beautiful.

You feel ecstatically nervous when he asked for your phone number. You obviously gave it to him. Impatiently you waited, staring at your phone for it to ring. When it did you jump up, palms sweaty, lump in your throat, heart beating so loud you could heard it in your head…then you pressed answer.

“Hi love.”

“Hi John.”

I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss | part 13

Warnings: angst! mentions of sexual assault and talks of rape, alcohol and drug consumption, bad parenting, mentions of domestic abuse.

Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!cheerleader!reader , Steve Harrington x Nancy Wheeler , slight Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary: Steve promised to always be there for you when you were little kids and you find out that he had kept this promise.

Word count: 7k

A/N: The beginning of this chapter is heavily inspired by Seven by Taylor Swift, if you haven’t listened to it, go listen to it now! @mysticmunson thank you for the help as always, ilysm 🤍

series masterlist

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You have never been one to ask for help, whenever you struggled with something, you simply kept it to yourself and dealt with it alone, not wanting to be a burden to anyone. 

Even when you were scared, you didn’t tell anyone, you didn’t ask for comfort, you didn’t call for help, you simply learned how to deal with the fear alone. 

When your parents started fighting and you heard your dad yell at your mom, you hid in the closet, you put your hands over your ears and cried silently, hoping that they would just stop yelling at each other, hoping that he would stop being so mad all the time. 

You suffered, hearing your parents fight. You were scared – scared that something worse would happen, scared that their fights would turn into something more serious, scared that one of them would leave. 

You didn’t want them to fight, you didn’t want them to hate each other, you didn’t want one of them to leave. 

You just wanted your mom and your dad, you wanted your family. 

One night, when you were twelve years old, Steve had climbed up to your window, he sneaked into your room, excitedly. It was the night before your birthday and he got you an early present. The smile faded from his lips when for the first time, he had heard your dad’s angry voice and your mom’s nervous one, when he heard the quiet sniffles coming from your closet where he had found you rocking back and forth with your hands over your ears and tears rolling down your cheeks. His heart broke at the sight of you. 

He startled you when he reached his hand out to touch your shoulder, you flinched and looked up at him, your face scrunched up in confusion and your eyes widened, you stared at him with a quivering lip and glassy eyes that flashed with relief when you realized that it was really him in front of you. 

“Steve?” You whispered, shakily as you removed your hands from your ears, slowly. 

He stepped inside the closet and closed the door again, he sat down beside you and wrapped an arm around you. 

“I’m here, Dolly,” he had whispered, using the nickname that he jokingly gave you when you were both five years old and you went through an obsession with dolls. 

Steve didn’t know that your parents were fighting, no one knew. 

You cried into his shoulder and he held your hand. Even he flinched at the sound of your dad’s angry shouts. He felt so awful that night, he was so worried about you. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked when you started to calm down. 

You only shrugged in response. 

“You should come live with me, you won’t have to be scared. I’ll protect you.”

When you smiled at his words and looked at him through your glassy eyes, Steve had promised himself that he would always be there for you, that he would protect you and keep you safe. 

He thinks about that night a lot. 

He thinks about how much he failed you. 

He thinks about how he broke his own promise. 

He thinks about how he abandoned you. 

And he hates himself for it, especially when he hears your broken voice and your quiet sniffles on the phone. 

“Steve?”

He straightens his back, furrowing his brows. Chills run through him and an instant rush of worry floods through him when he hears you crying. 

“Y/n?” 

“I-I’m sorry, Steve. I d-didn’t know who else to call.” 

You could have called Eddie or Heather or Chrissy or even Robin, Steve thinks to himself. You are outside, he can hear the passing cars. He wonders if your voice is shaky because of the cold or because you are crying. 

“Where are you, y/n?” Steve asks as he already gets up to put on the sweater he had thrown over his chair earlier.

You sniffle again, it reminds him of the night he found you crying in the closet. 

“G-Gas station,” you mumble, “c-can you please pick me up?”

There is only one gas station in Hawkins, he knows exactly where you are.

“Yeah, of course,” he speaks into the receiver. Steve can feel his heart pounding in his chest, a glance into the mirror shows him that his face is etched with worry. 

“H-Hurry up.”

The sound of your scared and small voice almost sends him into a state of panic. 

What happened? 

How scared do you have to be to call him out of all people? 

“I’ll be right there, y/n. Just stay where you are, okay?” 

“Okay,” you whisper. 

Begrudgingly, he hangs up the phone, he then hurries out of his room, rushing down the stairs. He turns on the lights in the hallway, he quickly puts his Nike's on, he grabs his jacket and his bundle of keys before he leaves the house. 

Steve doesn’t know what to expect but the awful feeling in his chest tells him that you are in a bad state. 

You have never asked for help, not even when you were still together and he already knew about your fears and struggles, he had done his best to be there for you but you have never asked him to be there for you, you didn’t want to be a burden, you never could be. 

Steve keeps running his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit he can’t seem to get rid of. 

He goes over the speed limit, not caring about the risk of getting another ticket. The streets are empty anyways, no cops seem to be in sight. He feels anxious and on edge but he feels relieved, when he pulls up to the empty gas station and he sees you.

You are sitting on the concrete floor, your elbows are on your knees, your hands are over your ears, just like back then. He parks the car and turns it off, he opens the door and gets out, not wasting a single second to get to you. 

You keep your head down, rocking back and forth, you haven’t noticed him yet. Your body is shaking, you aren’t even wearing a jacket. Steve’s heart is still pounding, despite the relief he had felt in his body when he saw you, he still feels very anxious. He takes his jacket off and walks towards you, he crouches down in front of you.

“Y/n,” he whispers as he carefully lifts his hand, placing it on your shoulder as he whispers your name again. 

Your first instinct is to flinch at his touch and push his hand off as you scoot back quickly. 

Steve raises his hands in surrender, “hey! It’s me, it’s just me, y/n!” He rushes, staring at you with a startled look on his face, “it’s just Steve,” he whispers. 

Your eyes are wide and you instantly calm at the sound of his voice. For the first time that night, he sees your face. Your eyes are red rimmed and glassy but you aren’t crying. You got glitter on your cheeks and your forehead, your hair is a mess like you’ve spent tugging at it, all night. 

The look in your eyes can only be described as terrified. 

“Steve?” You whisper in relief. 

He nods with a confused and scared look on his face. 

What happened to you? 

The street light is shining down on you but he has yet to see the rest of your body. 

“You came,” you whisper with a quivering lip, staring at him as though you can’t believe that he is in front of you. 

His gaze softens and his heart hurts to see you like this. 

What happened?

You were doing so good, you looked so happy. 

“Of course I came,” he whispers and slowly inches closer to you, you don’t flinch this time, only staring at him with your wide eyes as though you can’t believe that he is actually here. He wraps his jacket around you, leaning closer to you. He smells your sweet perfume, your shampoo, your vanilla body wash but above the pleasant scents is a heavy smell of  whiskey, cigarettes, weed and the strong scent of cologne, it’s not the same one he smelled on you before, it’s not Eddie’s cologne. 

He swallows nervously. 

You weren’t with Eddie tonight, you wouldn’t be here if you were. Steve might not know him well but if there is something he learned about Eddie is the protectiveness he feels over you. You wouldn’t be alone at a gas station at 1 am if you had been with him tonight. 

He just knows it. 

When Steve lifts your hair up to pull them out from beneath the jacket, a cold shiver runs down his spine when he sees the bruises on the side of your neck, bite marks and hickeys litter your skin. He pulls away slowly, his breathing quickens, he blinks, staring at your face for a long second. You seem to be on the verge of tears but something inside of you keeps you from crying, you look frozen, your body is tense.

Steve pulls back, he looks down at you and his heart drops completely. His lips part, his eyes widen and all color drains from his face when he sees the bruises around your wrists and on your thighs. 

No, no, no, no…. God no… Please no.. 

He keeps staring at the bruises, frozen in place, heart racing and breaking each passing second. 

He whispers your name in shock. 

You raise your head to look at him and when you notice the look on his face, you start shaking your head and pulling at your dress to hide your thighs as though it will get rid of the marks he had left on you, you didn’t even realize how hard he grabbed you, how rough his hands were when he forced your legs apart or when he pinned your wrists against his car, you were too consumed with fear to feel anything. You are surprised that you even managed to fight back, that you got out of the situation before something much worse could happen. 

“D-Do you need a doctor? Should I drive you to the hospital?” Steve asks, shakily. 

You shake your head as the panic begins to settle back in, your throat feels tight and tears well up in your eyes, “n-no, I wanna go home,” you whisper as you look at him with pleading eyes, “please just drive me home, Steve. Please.” 

Steve doesn’t know how to handle the situation, he doesn’t know what to do, he doesn’t know how to help you. 

Who did this to you? 

His stomach churns, he feels sick, so sick. 

You flinch a little when he touches your shoulder again and Steve pulls his hand away immediately. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. 

Your eyes shift away from him, you look down and pull the jacket tighter around your body. 

Steve eyes you, watching the way you push yourself up to stand, he follows suit, standing up as well. 

Your knees buckle and you almost fall back to the ground but Steve catches you, carefully holding you by your waist. This time, you don’t flinch away from his touch, he keeps holding you, pulling you closer to him. 

“It’s okay, I got you,” he whispers softly, “I got you.”

His heart won’t stop hammering in his chest and he doesn’t know which emotion inside of him is stronger right now. 

The worry he feels for you or the anger he feels for the person who did this to you? 

A gust of wind makes you shiver, it blows through your hair and you shudder at the feeling of the coldness touching your exposed skin. The smell of gasoline is beginning to make you feel nauseous. 

“I wanna go home.”

Steve nods with a broken look in his eyes. 

He leads you back to his car and opens the door for you. You let go of him when you sit down in the passenger seat. Despite the whirlwind that is going on in your mind and the amount of alcohol and drugs you have in you, you still remember to put on the seatbelt. Your dress rides up in the process, you don’t notice it.

Steve sucks in a sharp breath and he clenches his jaw when he sees more bruises on your thighs, the ones that were hidden beneath your dress. He looks away and clenches his hand into a fist after he closes the door. 

He tries to take deep breaths to calm himself down as he walks around the car, he opens the door and gets inside. 

You are quiet, so very quiet, he can’t even hear you breathing. He glances at you, you pulled the sleeves of his jacket over your hands and you are looking at the window, facing away from him. 

“Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?” 

You shake your head, “I’m fine,” you mumble, without looking at him. 

He nods to himself, sighing deeply as he starts the car. 

When the music starts playing and David Bowie’s voice sounds through the car, Steve winces a little. On the drive here, he was so on edge and distracted by his thoughts, he wasn’t really paying attention to the music that was playing. He turns the volume down and he narrows his eyes, glancing at you. You don’t seem to pay attention to anything right now. 

You keep blinking rapidly, staring out the window. 

On the drive to your house, he keeps checking on you to make sure that you are okay. His hands grip the steering wheel tightly, he is feeling too much right now. 

You are silent, so silent. 

It’s been a long time since you have sat in the passenger seat next to him. The last time you did, you were still together. He was yours, you were his, you were both okay and you were safe and happy. 

Now you sit here with tears in your eyes and bruises on your skin – you are not okay, you were not safe tonight and he doesn’t know if you will be happy again after whatever happened. 

Lost in his thoughts, Steve stares at the road ahead, swallowing the bitterness on his tongue and fighting the anger and the guilt he feels for himself. This shouldn’t have happened, this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been so stupid all these months ago. 

He was supposed to protect you, he was supposed to keep you safe. 

Steve doesn’t notice the way you look away from the window, the way you look down at yourself, the way your breathing quickens and your eyes widen. 

You stare at the bruises on your thighs, the ones beneath your dress. How rough had he been when he tried to force your legs apart? How strong did he grip your thighs when he tried to touch you where you didn’t want to be touched? 

You push the sleeves of Steve’s jacket up, frowning at the bruises on your wrists. Your heart begins to hammer in your chest, hot tears threaten to spill down your cheeks and you feel the panic rushing through you. The realization of what would have happened if you didn’t find the strength to fight back begins to sink in and the sudden nausea makes you want to throw up but the tightness in your throat makes you feel like you cannot breathe, yet, somehow, the sob that’s been rising up, falls from your lips and you break down in the passenger seat of your ex boyfriend’s car. 

Too many emotions run through you; shock, fear, sadness, pain, disgust and anger. 

Not only did he try to strip you of your powers, he also tore down walls that you have been slowly building up since Steve left you. You hear his voice, all the things he said to you repeat themselves over and over again, you feel his touch, his rough hands on your body. 

A man who has no meaning in your life took away so much from you tonight. 

Steve pulls the car off the road, he hits the brakes and unbuckles his seatbelt. He doesn’t know what to do when he sees you crying that way. The pain in your eyes, the tears streaming down your face and your broken sobs make him want to cry too. 

He whispers your name and he leans closer to you but he doesn’t touch you, knowing that this will only make things worse. 

“I-I didn’t want it,” you whimper as you stare at the bruises on your wrists, “I-I said no, I told him no, I told him t-that I didn’t want it, I said no, Steve.” You ramble as you turn to face him with big, glassy eyes. 

Steve’s eyes are filled with shock, a horrified expression takes over his face. 

“H-He said that I wanted it but I didn’t, I never wanted it, I didn’t– I just wanted someone to like me.” You cry as you pull at your dress and Steve finally notices your bruised knuckles, he hasn’t seen them before.

How often can a heart break in one night? 

Steve feels like his insides are being twisted, the gut wrenching sound of your cries make him feel so helpless and your words make him feel sick. His eyes are burning and his hands itch to hurt the man who hurt you. 

He says your name softly and he places his hand on top of yours, this time, you don’t flinch away from him and his touch. You turn to face him and he wants nothing more than to pull you into his arms, to wipe your tears and take your pain, but he can’t. 

He doesn’t know how to ask you this question, especially when you are looking at him like that. 

“Did… Did he –” Did he rape you? Is what he needs to know but he cannot utter these words, the thought of someone doing such a disgusting and vile thing to you makes him feel sick to his stomach.

Steve doesn’t have to finish the question, you know what he wants to know and you start shaking your head with wide eyes as your tears continue to roll down your cheeks. 

“I fought back a-and he let me go but he was so awful.”

“Who?” He finally asks.

“Ray.”

Steve is not surprised to hear his name, not after he watched you write your number on his hand at the bonfire, last week. He clenches his jaw and nods. 

Raymond Parker. 

Steve knows where he lives.

The haunted look in your eyes tells him that there is more. Things you don’t want to say out loud.

He watches the way your brows furrow, the way your eyes continue to well up with tears. You seem to think about something, something that hurts you, it’s so clear on your face. 

“Why does everyone hurt me?”

Steve’s face falls, his eyes flash with guilt. 

“Why does everyone leave me?” You whisper to yourself. 

Steve knows that you’d never say these things if you were sober and free from the hurt. 

Your dad left, Steve left, your friends are slipping through your fingers and now you are afraid that Eddie will leave too. You saw the anger in his eyes when he found you at Reefer Rick’s house, you didn’t listen to him, you broke a promise and now he is disappointed in you – will your best friend leave you just like they did? 

“And Eddie hates me now, h-he was so angry at me, I-I don’t, I didn’t want to disappoint him,” you mumble, causing him to frown. 

“I ran away from him.”

What could you have done to disappoint Eddie?

Suddenly, you turn around, reaching for the door handle. You want to leave, you need to get out of here but before you can even open the door, Steve locks the car, mumbling something under his breath. 

“You think I’ll let you leave right now?” Steve asks, confused. 

His action seems to wake the anger in you and you turn back around, glaring at him. You stare into his eyes for a long second before you open your mouth to speak.

“Oh so now you don’t want me to leave!?” 

He knows that your question is one out of anger but the sadness is rooted so deep inside of you. The pain in your eyes is so contagious, it makes him sad too. 

“Dolly,” he whispers, using the nickname that he gave you when you were children, that seems to worsen your pain. He sees your quivering lip, the tears that pool in your eyes and roll down your cheeks in an instant. 

Regret and guilt is something that he cannot deal with, to this day. It haunts him and this will haunt him even more. This shouldn’t have happened, none of this should’ve happened. He was supposed to keep you safe from all the horrors in this world but he failed you so strongly and he put you through horror himself. 

You slump back in the seat, sniffling quietly as you turn your face away from him. 

Steve stares at the back of your head for a long moment. 

This is so wrong. All of this is. 

You belong here, with him, but not like this, never like this. 

He takes a deep breath and he closes his eyes for a second before he turns back, gripping the steering wheel again as he restarts the car. 

The rest of the drive home is spent in silence, you continue to cry and it makes his heart ache. He focuses on you, rather than the anger that he feels for the man who hurt you – he will keep that for later.

When he pulls up to your house and he parks his car in your driveway, he notices that the lights are off and your mom’s car isn’t here. The thought of leaving you by yourself tonight, makes him feel uneasy. 

You both get out of the car and he rushes over to you to make sure that you won’t fall again but you hold your hand up, not wanting to be touched. He keeps his distance but watches you closely when you walk up the stairs. 

“Shit,” you mumble, bringing your hand up to your face, you pinch your nose, “I-I forgot my jacket and I don’t have my keys.”

“Oh,” Steve says as he looks at you, he then looks down at the bundle of keys in his hand. He swallows nervously, “I-I uh, I still got your keys.”

With furrowed brows and a confused look on your face, you look up at him. Steve eyes the puffiness in your eyes, the redness in them, the pouty lips that you never notice yourself doing. 

He scratches the back of his neck and his eyes shift away from you, “I forgot to take them off,” he mumbles, unable to look into your eyes. He turns away and walks towards the door to unlock it. 

You don’t say anything about it, you keep quiet and stare at his back before your eyes move down to the keys. 

Is the key to her house on his keychain as well? 

The sound of an approaching car causes the both of you to turn around, the bright headlights and the screeching sound of the tires against the ground makes you both wince. 

You straighten your back when you see him. 

He jumps out of his van. The door on the passenger side opens as well and you see Robin. You watch the way their eyes find you, the way they sigh in relief at the sight of you under your porch light. 

Eddie places his hands on his head and he exhales loudly, happy to see you here. Both he and Robin rush over to you. 

Eddie’s eyes are wide and filled with guilt and worry, his brown eyes take in the sight of you and he almost lets out a gasp when he finally notices what he hasn’t noticed before, the bruises on your thighs, the redness in your eyes, the state you are in. 

What happened?

You are wearing Steve’s jacket and he wonders how or why you are with him. 

Did you call him? Did he find you? Did you walk to his place? 

He whispers your name in shock, frozen in place, he can’t even move towards you. Your eyes lock for a moment and he can tell that you are about to burst into tears, again. He wants to pull you into his arms but he is scared to touch you. 

“Y/n?” Robin whispers as her eyes flash with a knowing look. She doesn’t have to ask to know what happened, if it wasn’t for the state you are in then she’d be able to tell by the haunted look in your eyes. 

You tear your eyes away from Eddie, startling all three of them when you suddenly throw yourself into Robin’s arms and start crying again. Without wasting a second, Robin wraps her arms around you and hugs you tightly, rubbing your back. 

Eddie and Steve watch you with broken looks in their eyes. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” Robin whispers as she lifts her head, glancing at Steve who stares at you, looking helpless. She then looks at Eddie, who looks just as helpless as Steve does but there is also guilt and regret in his eyes, she knows why, he kept beating himself up over appearing so angry to you when he found you at Rick’s house. 

When he called her, he sounded scared and panicked, he asked for you, hoping that you came over to her, you didn’t. He picked her up and they both drove around town, looking for you. Eddie kept chewing on his lip and bouncing his knee, tugging at his hair and mumbling curse words under his breath – Robin had never seen him so nervous and scared before.

Now he stands there like a kicked puppy, he stares at you, not knowing what to do. 

“Come on, let’s get you inside,” Robin says to you. 

You nod and pull away from her, looking down at the ground as you wipe your tears. Robin wraps her arm around your shoulder, glancing at Steve and Eddie as you both walk past them. 

Eddie and Steve share a look before they follow you both inside, watching you walk up the stairs. Robin turns her head, looking down at them, she shakes her head, ‘don’t’ she mouths. 

They listen to your sniffles and watch you until they can no longer see you. They hear your footsteps in the hallway upstairs and when the door to your room closes. Eddie slumps against the door, he presses his palm to his forehead, “shit,” he mumbles, “what the fuck happened, man?” 

Steve narrows his eyes, eyeing Eddie up and down. The worry and the panic on his face and in his eyes, isn’t very hard to miss. 

Looking down at the keys in his hands, Steve sighs before he throws them on the little table in the hallway. He turns on the light and sits down on the stairs.

“She called me from the payphone at the gas station.”

Eddie’s eyes widen, “what?” 

“She asked me to come pick her up,” he says, looking down, “and then uh, then she told me that you were angry at her and that she ran away from you, that's probably why she called me, anyway.” Steve knows that you wouldn't have called him if it wasn't for what happened with Eddie. He is the one you think of first, whenever you need someone, now.

Eddie shakes his head, his eyes flash with even more guilt. He feels ashamed, knowing that Steve knows that he was the reason why you ran. He keeps looking at the ground, continuing to beat himself up for the next several minutes before he hears the door to your room shutting again. He looks up, seeing Robin again. 

“I think you guys should leave,” she says as she walks down the stairs. 

“What?” Eddie asks, “I’m not leaving.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Steve says to the girl he never spoke to before. 

She sighs, rolling her eyes.

She doesn’t know Steve very well but she knows Eddie and she knows how stubborn he can be, he won’t leave. 

“Well, can you at least get her some painkillers and water?” Robin asks Steve with annoyance written all over her face, “you must know where it is, right?” 

She doesn’t like him – obviously. Steve nods, he turns away from her and walks down the hallway. He turns on the lights when he steps into the kitchen, the first thing he sees are the pink flowers on the counter, it’s your favorite ones. 

“C-Can I see her?” Eddie asks, “please?”

Robin’s eyes soften at the pleading look in his eyes. 

“She’s taking a shower right now, but Eddie,” she mumbles, pausing as she looks down with a horrified look on her face, “she has bruises on her thighs, wrists and neck.”

He saw the ones on your thighs, but not the ones on your wrists or your neck. 

“She said that nothing happened, that she got away before he could – you know..” She says, uncomfortably. She can't even finish the sentence but she doesn't have to. Eddie knows.

“Ray did this?” 

She nods and Eddie’s stomach drops.

He shouldn’t have been mad at you, he shouldn’t have scared you that way, he should’ve taken a closer look at you, at least he could’ve taken care of you, instead of scaring you away with his worry and his anger, making your night even worse.

He blinks when he feels hot tears in his eyes. He feels guilty, so guilty.

He encouraged you to go on that date.

“Eddie,” Robin whispers, stepping towards her friends, she knows exactly what he feels like, she feels the same. “It’s not your fault.”

“I-I told her to go on that date,” he mumbles, shaking his head as he looks down at the ground.

"So did I!" Robin says but Eddie ignores her words.

“And then, I got mad at her when I saw her at Rick’s but, I-I was just worried! I specifically told her never to go to his parties alone, Robin!” 

Eddie wanted to protect you but it wasn’t even that place or the people at Rick’s place that put you into danger.

“I know,” she sighs, “she said that Rick found her and the girls she was with were nice, nothing happened, Eddie.”

“Nothing happened,” he scoffs as the anger – an even worse kind of anger, takes over him when he thinks about the guy who did that to you, who would have done worse to you if you didn’t fight back. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“Yeah, you and me both, buddy.”

The sound of Steve’s voice is irritating to Robin, every time she hears his voice, every time she looks at him, she gets reminded of how much she dislikes this guy but even through that, she has to admit that he cares about you – even if you don’t see it. 

She looks between Eddie and Steve, eyeing the looks on their faces as they seem to settle on a silent agreement. 

She quirks a brow, sighing in annoyance, she steps towards Steve and grabs the water bottle and the painkillers from his hands. 

“Okay cowboys, why don’t you let the cops handle it?” She asks as she turns around and begins to walk up the stairs, groaning in annoyance when they follow her. 

“Cops?” He scoffs, “they’re not gonna do shit, Robin.” 

Robin is surprised that he even knows her name. 

“Uncle Wayne is friends with Hopper, he won’t let him get away,” Eddie says.

“Yeah, Hopper won’t but Hopper can’t keep him in a cell in Hawkins for the rest of his life.” 

Eddie huffs. He knows he is right. 

Ray has wealthy parents, they will do anything to keep their son out of jail. 

“And what he did was bad enough but he won’t go to jail for that, you know how it is, guys,” Robin sighs, “men get away with worse, what makes you think that he will pay for this? A young college student, an athlete may I add? He has a bright future ahead of him, no judge will ruin that for him!” Robin mutters, angrily. 

“Yeah well, I can ruin his bright athlete future,” Eddie mumbles as he already thinks of the way he could hurt him. 

“Eddie,” Robin sighs, “she doesn’t want you getting into trouble–”

“No, he’s right,” Steve mumbles, “we can easily ruin his future.”

She looks between them, they are serious about this, she can tell that they are. 

“You aren’t doing anything, I don’t want you to.” 

Your voice startles the three of them and they all glance at you. They didn’t notice that you have opened your bedroom door or that you have been watching and listening to them talk. 

Eddie’s eyes widen again, when he finally sees the other bruises, he feels his heart clench in his chest. The bruises on your wrists will stay for a while. How roughly did he grab you? How much pain did he put you through? 

He feels the hot rage inside of him and the urge to hurt the man who did this to you is so very strong. 

But the urge to comfort you and pull you into his arms is so much stronger. 

Your hair is wet and your face looks clean again, the glitter and the mascara streaks are gone. You are wearing a big shirt, his shirt. 

“He didn’t r- assault me in that way. I-I'm not hurt, I was just upset about some shit he said to me, not what he did,” you mumble quietly, looking back down at the ground as you grip the doorknob tightly.

Never in a million years, would they believe your words. You are standing there with bruises on your body, lying about not hurting. This changes everything.

“A-And I’m okay, you guys don’t have to stay here and watch over me.”

All three of them know that you are lying, they can hear the shakiness in your voice and you are not exactly good at hiding the tears in your eyes.

“Sweetheart,” Eddie whispers. 

You lift your head slightly, looking into his eyes, “I’m okay, Eddie,” you whisper, trying to give him a smile. 

He feels helpless, just like Steve does, just like Robin does. 

“I’m not leaving,” he mumbles. 

“Yeah, me neither,” Steve says, “w-we can go downstairs if you’re more comfortable with that.” 

You look away from Eddie and meet his eyes, you eye the softness in them, the worry and you wonder, has it always been there since he left you? 

“Okay,” you whisper. 

But neither Steve or Eddie go downstairs when you walk back into your room. Robin follows and closes the door after giving them both a sad look. 

They settle on the ground, both leaning their backs against the wall on each side of your door and for the first ten minutes or so, it’s awkwardly silent between them. Only the sound of the ticking clock on the opposite wall sounds through the hallway. 

Eddie stares into blank space, twisting the rings on his fingers as he blinks rapidly, not noticing that Steve is watching him. 

“Stop beating yourself up, none of this is your fault.” He says, feeling just as guilty as Eddie does. 

“I should’ve protected her, I-I fucked up.”

“No, you didn’t,” Steve mumbles, “you didn’t fuck up. Her running away from you isn’t you fucking up, dude. She got scared that you were mad at her, she thought you were disappointed in her for whatever reason, that’s why she ran – she was too much in her head, on drugs and drunk.”

“I was mad and I wasn’t thinking straight, I just saw red when I saw her at Rick’s place, I shouldn’t have gotten so mad, I should’ve asked why she was there.” 

Steve had heard about Reefer Rick and the ‘wild’ parties he’s throwing. He heard about the drugs and other illegal shit that goes down at the boathouse. 

“You wanted to protect her, there’s a good reason why you didn’t want her there.” 

“Yeah but–”

“Stop it, Eddie.” Steve mumbles, rolling his eyes, “you aren’t the one who fucked up, you were there for her all this time and you were there to pull her out of the house before something else could happen.” 

He is right, Eddie knows he is but the guilt is still rooted deep inside of him. He should’ve told you to cancel the date, he shouldn’t have encouraged you to go. 

“I’m the one who fucked up,” Steve scoffs as he looks down at his hands, a look of hatred crosses his features, hatred for himself. 

Eddie frowns. 

“This isn’t your fault either, Steve.”

“Everything is my fault. This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t break her heart, she would’ve never gone on that date.” 

Steve wasn’t even sure if it was a date, he figured it was. When he saw the flowers on your counter, he knew for certain. 

“This could have been prevented, I shouldn’t have encouraged her to go on that date,” Eddie admits in shame.

“It still isn’t your fault, Eddie.” 

“Well, it’s not yours either,” Eddie mumbles, “shit like that happens to girls all the time, even if you were still together, it could’ve happened.” 

Steve nods at his words, he is right, he knows he is but that still doesn’t take away the guilt. 

Both of them are trying to convince the other to stop taking the blame but it does little to make them feel any less guilty.

The silence takes over, once again and Steve is the first to break it, again. 

“I thought you were together.”

Eddie’s brows pull together, he looks confused when he turns to face Steve, who is already looking at him.

“Yeah, I uh, I thought you two were dating,” Steve adds as he looks away, nervously. “You seem pretty close, the way her and I were before we uh – before we started dating.” 

Eddie nods, “oh.” 

He looks at him, trying to figure out the look on his face. 

“We’re not, we’re friends.” 

“Are you?” Steve asks, “just friends?” 

Eddie nods, “yeah.”

He looks skeptic, unsure of whether he should believe him or not. He eyes the frown on his face, the sadness and the anger in Eddie’s brown eyes. 

“Do you love her?” Steve asks as his heart starts beating faster.

Eddie chuckles at the question, his eyes flash with something that Steve struggles to read. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything, he just stares into nothing.

“Yeah, I do.”

Steve can’t describe the feelings inside of him, right now. Is he surprised to hear him say it? No. How could he not love you? 

Eddie would treat you better than he ever did.

As Eddie looks at him, he notices the sadness in his eyes – Steve wishes that things were different and he knows that you do too.

“But it’s not like that. I love her and I would do just about anything for her, she is my best friend,” he says to him as he continues to fidget with his rings, “she makes me happy and things are amazing the way they are. I never had someone like her in my life.”

Steve feels confused about his words, isn’t that how he felt about you once?

“You love her but you are just friends?” Steve mumbles. 

Eddie snorts, he leans his head against the wall and glances at him, “friends can love each other too, you know that right? It’s a different kind of love than how you would love a partner but it’s still love.” 

“I’m confused.”

“Platonic love, dude.” Eddie sighs, “do you know anything?”

Steve purses his lips, he shrugs, “well our platonic love turned into something else.”

“Then it was never platonic in the first place.”

Yeah, he might be right. Steve loved you, he always did, even when he was a kid and even when he said he didn’t. 

“You love her but you are not in love with her?” Steve asks, whispering the question this time when he remembers that you might be awake and listening in on their conversation. 

Eddie rolls his eyes, he bumps his head against the wall, his bangs fall in front of his eyes but he doesn’t bother to push them away. 

“We can be friends without being in love with each other, right?” 

Steve doesn’t know how to respond to that, he only shrugs. 

Just being friends, never worked out for you and him. 

“I fucking adore that girl, that’s all.” Eddie explains. 

The look on his face is genuine. 

“Things are good the way they are, between us, I mean.”

“Has it always been that way?” Steve asks, curiously. “I mean, from the start?” 

Steve notices the way he hesitates, the way his eyes don’t meet his anymore. Eddie knows exactly why he is asking, he is trying to find something out. He knows that you two have been friends for longer than he initially thought. 

The night at the dance, back in december, Steve remembered seeing you with Eddie at a party he threw back in august and it brought up questions, ones that he never dared to ask you after what he had done. 

He never remembered much from that night, just how drunk he was and how awful your fight had been, so awful that you didn't even spent the night at his place the way you usually did. No matter how bad a fight had been, you had never not stayed with him, except for that night.

“Uh, no..” Eddie mumbles, “we’ve only gotten this close after you two broke up.” 

Steve nods and decides to stop asking questions, it’s better that way. 

But now, Eddie takes his turn, he watches him with a questioning look in his eyes. 

“You love her, don’t you?” He asks, “you always did, right? All this, ‘I’m not in love with you anymore’ bullshit, was just bullshit, right?” He asks, chuckling.

Steve winces at that word, it takes him back to the night in your room, after he had tried to kiss you. 

‘That’s bullshit, Steve! Everything you do, everything you say is bullshit! Y-You’re bullshit!’

You were right about what you said, about what you called him and Eddie is right too. 

“Yeah,” he breathes, “it was just… bullshit. But, I’m with Nance now and things are great.”

Great. Just great.

Eddie raises his brows but he doesn’t say anything. There is more he’d like to say and know but, this isn’t the right time. 

A beat of silence brings back the awkwardness. They glance at each other, not knowing what else to say or do.

But both, get lost in their thoughts so easily. They both think about you, about what happened.

Wondering what Ray had said and done to you. It weren't just his actions that had hurt and upset you, it was something he said to you. Both, Eddie and Steve saw the look in your eyes, the haunted and deeply hurt one.

What words had he thrown at you?

“Hey Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“You know where Parker lives, right?” 

next chapter

tagging friends & mutuals

@mysticmunson @corrodedseraphine @corrodedcorpses @wroteclassicaly @screammunson @hellfire--cult @taintedcigs @trashmouth-richie @xxhellfiregirlxx @take-everything-you-can @nemesis729 @sherrylyn628 @somethingvicked

Bleeding into Nightfall | Klaus Mikaelson

masterlist

summary: life is gloomy and you’re tired of repetitive days that don’t get better. you say goodbye to the world forgetting about once person in paticular—niklaus mikaelson

pairing: fem! reader x klaus mikaelson

words: 3k

a/n: story of my life with the love of my life

tw: heavy descriptions of depression, suicide!!!

Waking up every day was like waking up from the calm and facing the storm. Days bleeding into nightfall. Day after day starting to warp into each other, each day as listless as the day before. Mystic falls’ grey gloomy clouds constantly above your head as you managed to get out of bed. You kind of found common ground with autumn mornings. You enjoyed them more than any other morning but enjoy is a strong word for someone like you. Autumn mornings are dark that make it look like it was three in the morning. A time where nobody in this world expects a single thing from you. Just you alone existing in this world.

You brush your teeth.

Comb your hair.

Put on an outfit.

Make yourself look presentable so that nobody would be able to tell just how empty you felt. How draining it was getting ready when you could easily wear the same pair of clothes day and night. Forget about your appearance as you just try to pass the day.

Leaving the house you took one last look in the mirror with the same face you wish you could rip off, but instead you put on your best genuine smile that didn’t make you look like a manic sociopath and closed the door to make your way to school.

13 hours and 30 minutes to go.

Out of 24 hours you only feel okay for a couple. And it’s not even that you feel good, you just feel okay. You just try to get through the day. It’s been like this for a while. Time wailing past you, time wailing before you that has you trapped. You wake up. Go to school. Eat and sleep. Sometimes you don’t even eat or sleep. The easiest tasks seem impossible to complete. Why do you have to waste such a long amount of time? You’d be perfectly fine with only living eighteen years instead of eighty. You don’t do anything all day but you’re exhausted each time you lay down in bed, ready to shut your eyes. Still, you drag yourself through the day like cattle; unable to break free from what's holding you back.

The walk to school isn’t too long. Rustling leaves on trees, crunching of dead leaves that were kicked up into the air with each step you took, the thought of simply being a leaf on your mind as you barely noticed the person ahead.

‘I’m so sorry— Caroline…hi. I’m sorry,’ you lifted your head from the ground to see Caroline’s smile. ‘I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings,’

‘Yeah, I could tell.’ She gleamed, hooking her arm into yours as you continued walking the last blocks.

It was an okay walk. Your ears picking up different sounds of your surroundings as the mixture of sounds seemed to be blocking out your thoughts. It's too hard to concentrate on them.

‘Do you have anything planned for your outfit on Saturday?’ Caroline broke you from the chattering of your mind, hearing her voice bringing you back to the present.

You stared at her. Your eyes on her, your face hanging from your head as you stayed quiet, pressing your lips against each other as her smile turned to a frown.

‘Y/n, come on,’ she moaned, the sparkles in her eyes duplicating as she stared back at you. Her personality reminding you of the warmth of a fireplace on a cold evening. ‘It’s the school dance! It’s so important that we make these memories to look back on them when we’re old and wrinkly,’

‘I think I have enough memories.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean I just don’t really feel like going, that's all…’

‘Why not?’ She came to a halt, taking her arm from you so she could stand perfectly square of you, her arms folded in front of her chest as the wind blew her hair from the back.

‘I don’t know,’ you shrugged, ‘I just don’t want to go.’

‘Not even to please Klaus? I mean no offence—‘ (Caroline’s favourite way to start being offensive) ‘But no one knows what he sees in you. I mean he’s this grumpy old maniac that terrifies the vampire species and you’re just…you. A human with a normal life. A nice girl that just, in comparison to him, lives a boring life.’

‘I don’t know, Caroline,’ you huffed, picking up pace again, readjusting your school bag. Feet sluggishly bringing you forth. ‘He’s nice to me and he makes me forget certain aspects of my life but even for him I wouldn’t go.’

‘What’s wrong with you, Y/n?’ Caroline held you back again, stopping once more. ‘Are you okay? I’ve noticed that you seem off for a while now and I didn’t want to pry but I cannot hold myself back any longer. What happened? What is it that’s making you so glum all the time?’

‘I’m okay, Caroline,’ you half smiled, ‘I think I’d just rather go home and watch a movie or something.’

Caroline opened her mouth but before she could say another word you cut her off, ‘And before you offer yourself as my sleepover company, I think I’d rather be alone.’ You started walking again, the school doors only a few minutes away. ‘Besides, I know you want to be a good friend by wanting to come over but you and I both know that deep down you hoped I would say no because you want to go to the dance, and that is fine. Make those memories, Caroline! Your life has so many blank pages left to fill and I don’t want to hold you back! Go and have fun.’

Caroline immediately pulled you into a hug. Her perfume hitting your nostrils as you placed your arms around her, a quick smile forming on your lips.

‘Come on now,’ you took hold of her arm, ‘We need to get there on time otherwise Rick will have us doing detention the rest of the week.’

‘Do you think he dislikes us?’

‘No, I actually think it’s his way of showing that he cares,’ you let out a giggle that infected Caroline as you walked onto the school premises just as the bell rang for first period.

School was the same every day. Go to class. Pay attention. Write down notes. Stare outside of the window, the teacher’s voice fading into silence as your mind powered through to absent you from life.

Everyone seems so content with life? Why can’t I? What is there to be happy about?

‘Miss Jacobs, the action is here. Not outside.’ Mrs. Clark said, snapping your head to the front of the class. ‘If my class is boring you’re welcome to go outside.’

‘I’m sorry,’ you cleared your throat, sitting up straight. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Now, where was I?’

10 hours to go.

When the school bell rang for the last time, you started to clear your table and cram all your stuff into your bag, people pushing past you as everyone tried to leave. Out in the hall you quickly waved Caroline, Elena and Bonnie goodbye, ready to go home and sit in silence.

Plugging in your headphones you slowly started to walk home, music blasting through your ears and you tried to block out any sound from the world.

Trees and cars passed you, barely anyone on the pavement. You kept walking when you noticed a person in the distance; dressed in dark colours, stance confident and a face you could recognise from a mile away.

‘Hi.’ You gave him your best smile, not too much, not too little.

‘I hear there’s a school dance this saturday,’ he accompanied you towards your home. ‘I was hoping that I could ask you to the dance.’

‘I’m actually not going.’

‘Why?’

‘Don’t feel like going, that’s all.’ You shared a quick glance.

His pupils dilated, eyebrows drawn together, the skin between them wrinkled. ‘Are you okay, Y/n.’ He gently grabbed a hold of your upper arm, the frequent blinking of his eyes telling you that you made him worry.

‘I’m fine,’ you chuckled, your crooked smile paired with dull, sparkless eyes not in your favour.

‘Don’t give me that bullshit.’

‘Klaus, please. I’m not in a mood to argue right now.’

‘Arguing?’ His eyebrows drew his eyebrows even closer. ‘We’re just talking.’

‘Look, Klaus.’ You stopped in your tracks, allowing yourself to stare up at his face. Lips plush, eyes squinted as his focus was on you. ‘I see that you want to go to the dance with me and if I were up to it I would, but I would just rather go home. Watch a movie. Be alone. Get away from all this,’ you sighed.

‘Okay,’

‘Okay.’ You breathed, ‘See you around, okay?’ You got on your tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his cheek before walking home.

‘Yeah, see you around.’ Klaus mumbled as you were already out of earshot, leaving him confused as to what was happening to you.

6 hours to go.

When you arrived home you went straight upstairs. Throwing your bag into a corner of your room as you wasted no time to change into more comfortable clothes like your lounging outfit (a pyjama). Down the stairs you walked into the kitchen, taking a bag of doritos and a bar of chocolate from the cupboard, a glass of water to wash down the junk and placed them onto the coffee table. Snatching a blanket from the living room trunk, you made yourself comfortable and put on the TV, ready to watch the Big Bang Theory and waste your time.

‘Y/h honey,’ your mother’s heels sounded through the living room. ‘It’s date night so we’ll be home quite late.’

‘Mhm.’

‘Make sure to get some healthy carbs and protein in you too, okay darling?’

‘Yeah, mom. Have fun.’ You said, your eyes haven’t left the screen.

‘See you later.’

The door closed. Silence swept the house. Your TV the only thing that sounded within the walls. Sighing, you took a row of chocolate and let out a half-sounded giggle as you continued watching TV.

1 hour left to go.

8:50pm; it was time to go upstairs. You put away the stuff you used, made sure the windows and doors were locked and the lights turned off. The floorboard creaked with every step you took. Going into your bedroom you halted in front of your dresser, picking up the framed family portrait that you took on a trip to the family cabin on christmas day.

Your lips started pressing together, your fingers on the back of the frame scraping against the wood as a blink of your eyes let the first two tears roll down your cheek. Your heart twisted, aching with every shaky breath you took, a sting of melancholy growing inside your throat.

4 minutes to go.

You placed it back on the dresser, taking another glance at your room before taking off to the bathroom where you closed the door and took a long look in the mirror: messed up hair, red puffy eyes that blinked uncontrollably, the face of a person you never got to know.

Wiping away your tears you opened the cabinet and grabbed the packet of razors you purchased just last week in preparation for tonight.

Taking a deep breath you climbed into the bathtub, letting your back fall against the wall, a new surge of emptiness growing as you realised that you were going to be utterly alone when you went.

The cold metal pierced into your soft skin like fresh butter. The warmth of your blood no longer flowing like it normally did but instead poured onto your skin. Quiet drips spilling into the bathtub, staining your clothes on the way. Once your blood started spilling you didn’t feel any great pain, it hurt, but it was manageable. You hoped it wouldn’t, however seeing all the blood that was streaming from your cut, made your heart start to beat at immense speed.

Then the sweating started to begin. Your body was damp, head to toe and toe to head. You thought back on the days you went running. Every time you finished you’d have the same, wet, and uncomfortable sweat sitting on your skin, soaking into your clothes. A deeply unpleasant feeling started to make itself noticeable, heart pounding in your chest, throbbing with pain, but there was nothing you could do. Neither did you want to. You wanted nothing more than to disappear from the earth’s surface. You didn’t need to be here. Trapped with nowhere to go. No one would miss you. You barely had anyone but yourself and that was all you needed. Even in death you felt comforted by your own thoughts. A very strong headache, accompanied by a loud, white noise ringing almost made you regret your decision. The room spun like crazy before your vision started fading out; the ringing got louder as darkness came for you…

Klaus made his way to your house. He didn’t like the way you were acting before you left. Your behaviour hasn’t left his mind since you last spoke. He turned into your driveway and jogged up the stairs, ringing the bell to hope that you would open up to him. To let him make you feel better. To let you know that he would do anything to see you happy.

But you never answered.

‘Y/n, open the door.’ Klaus raised his voice, his fist hitting against the door.

No answer.

‘Y/n!’ He slammed the door again.

Still, nothing.

Klaus focused his hearing to see if you were home when he suddenly heard shallow breaths; breaths he knew belonged to you. Without wasting another second Klaus kicked down the door, his vampire speed taking him to the location of decreased breaths. Almost taking the bathroom door off its hinges, Klaus found you sitting in the tub; red staining your body, head hanging sideways.

‘Y/N!’ He bellowed, falling to his knees, his arms hooking under your lump torso, pulling you out of the tub. The lack of tension in your body making his heart fall into an empty pit.

‘No, no, no, no, no,’ Klaus’ hands grabbed the sides of your face, twisting and turning. Hoping that your eyes would flatter open and greet him with a smile. A smile he held dear to his heart. But they stayed closed, his eyes getting blurrier the longer he fought.

‘Don’t you die on me!’ Klaus bit into his wrists, placing it on your lips, letting the blood flow into your system, his shaking arm staining your lower half of your face red. ‘You do not get to die! Wake up! Wake up…’

You stayed still. Just as lifeless as before you weighed Klaus’ body to the ground, his tears falling to your chest, pulling you close as his heart ached greater than it ever had. His reason to be good went without saying goodbye, leaving him to be alone like he had been for hundreds of centuries.

Klaus has heard thousands of heartbeats stop. Seen thousands of bodies covered in blood. Thousands of dead people. He didn’t know why it was so hard to see you there when he had been through this a million times. He felt empty. Everything about you came crashing down, his hope for hearing you say his name draining into nothingness. Klaus’ breathing grew louder, his chest feeling like it was being filled with water, the same water that spilled from his lashes, staring down at someone he always put first; forever wishing he hadn’t let you go home by yourself that afternoon.

Suddenly your body jolted forwards, gasping for air. Eyes wide as you took a large gulp of air, your chest rising and falling.

‘Y/n?’ Klaus whispered, his hands back on your face. ‘Y/n, y/n, talk to me.’

You coughed in response, droopy eyes making it hard to see your surroundings, blurry vision fading into one big blob of colour.

‘Y/n, say something please…’

‘Klaus,’ you whispered so quietly, lips barely parting as you spoke.

‘Can you hear me?’

‘Yes, what— what happened?’

‘What happened, Y/n?’ Klaus’ voice increased in volume.’You almost died on me!’ His tone shook.

‘Am— Am I a vampire?’ You started to come back to your old self. Your vision clearing up, your ears no longer feeling like a tunnel.

‘No, my blood just healed you.’ He caressed your head, softly stroking your hair.

‘Why did you save me?’

‘Why?’ A frown painted his lip, ‘I care about you, Y/n! So much. You don’t deserve to die. How could you leave me without saying goodbye?’

‘I didn’t want to say goodbye to you Klaus because if I would’ve looked at your face and said those words, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. It would’ve made leaving so much harder.’

‘Look at me,’ his thumb swiped across your cheek, ‘this is the face of someone who will never let you die or get hurt,’

Your heart clenched as you looked at him, tears pooling at your lower lash line. ‘Klaus—‘

‘Please promise me to not leave without saying goodbye first,’

‘You have to promise, Y/n…’

‘What makes you think I don’t want to die anymore, Klaus?’

Klaus stared back at you; empty eyes, no thoughts to be said out loud.

‘Promise me to not kill yourself, seriously? What makes you think I won’t try to do this again? I love you Klaus, I do, but my love is not bigger than my will to live.’

‘Y/n, stop talking…’

‘Why? Because you thought I’d thank you for saving me? I didn’t want to be saved, Nik! I never wanted to. All I wanted was for all of this shit to go away and you brought me back to this shit.’

‘Y/n, please,’

‘Leave.’

‘What?’

‘I said leave!’

‘No!’

‘LEAVE!’

‘NO!’

Tears started streaming down your face, ‘Fuck you, Nik.’ And you stood up to go to your room.

Klaus stayed over the next several days. Sleeping against your closed door as he tried to patch things back up. But it was your decision to make a change, and your decision to forgive him.

games you play | eddie munson

the prelude; the consequences of being late to class... a class that you share with eddie munson and that he, as a matter of fact, has failed.

a/n : i am using this little thing as an introduction to my fic, i will be posting the first chapter as soon as i can. <3

“Billy- Billy, I’m gonna be late” you try to reason with him, but he keeps peppering you with kisses, making you squirm under his body. “Come on, you- fuck- You know how O’Donnell gets.”

You hear Billy sigh, and you do too when he releases you. You miss his kisses already, but you simply cannot be late to miss O’Donnell’s class.

His blue eyes look into your own adoringly, a small smile playing on his lips. “Fine, but you owe me. Tonight?”

You can’t say no when he looks at you with those puppy dog eyes. And truth is, you don’t want to.

“Bet” you giggle, causing a chuckle to escape your boyfriend’s mouth too as he curls a finger under your chin, pecking your lips once, twice and three times before finally letting you go.

You get out of his arms before he can catch you again, and rush up the stairs towards your class. When you finally reach the door, you open it and a more than familiar face greets you.

“Look who has decided to join us. Meredith, I didn’t expect it from you” she shakes her head at you, and your eyes widen.

8:03 am. Shit.

“I am so sorry─” “No need. Just- Don’t let it happen again” she gives you a tight-lipped smile, nodding towards the only empty seat left.

You nod and rush towards your seat, placing your books on the desk.

“As I was saying prior to being interrupted” she emphasises and you sink in your seat, “You will be working in pairs for this assignment. It is rather complex, otherwise I would have never let you.”

Tammy raises her hand, and the teacher gives her a pointed look, raising her eyebrows. “Can I work with Steve?” she asks excitedly, and you snort when the aforementioned boy gives you a horrified look.

“Not exactly, miss Thompson. I would rather you work with your desk mates. It should be a fifty-fifty type of project” she eyes her suspiciously, but decides to let it go as she starts explaining about said project.

You don’t even realise who is sitting beside you, until you notice Steve is giving you a shit eating grin, looking over your shoulder.

“So, you and Harrington think you are too good for us, remains of society, right?” you turn to your right, only to find Eddie Munson, the freak, toying with his pen.

You look at him, confused. He remains unimpressed as he glances at you for merely a second. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

It is his turn to snort, rolling his eyes, but still avoiding eye contact as he looks forward. “Oh, please. Tammy, and now me, all in under ten seconds. I’m impressed.”

You remain silent for a second, before shaking out of your thoughts. “We don’t normally─”

“Oh, trust me, I know” he hums. “You should have come sooner, though, if you wanted to work with one of them... Oh! But wait, Hargrove had his tongue down your throat and now you are stuck with me” Eddie’s face spreads into a wide grin when he sees the shocked expression on your face.

You lean back against your chair and stay quiet for the rest of the class. And when it’s finally over, Eddie gathers his books, not leaving before he looks over at you. “Five pm, my place.”

─

“Are you saying the freak made fun of you and you didn’t say anything back?” Steve laughs at you, as you both gather your things to leave for the day.

You give him an unamused smile, and he holds his hands up in the air. “I’m just saying, Mer. That was unnecessarily rude. Tell Hargrove that and he will─”

“Shut it!” you shush him, cupping Steve’s mouth and he licks it. “Idiot!” you slap him on the back of his head and he laughs out loud, opening the door to his car so you can get in.

─

Five pm rolls around and you are already at the trailer park. You don’t really know which one is Eddie’s, but you don’t have much time to think about it before you hear a door being slammed open, and see a head of curls popping out. “Come in, then, princess” he steps aside, and you step inside the trailer.

It’s cute, actually. It is a bit small, indeed. But it looks nice and as clean as Eddie Munson can keep it, knowing his chaotic personality.

“Yeah, it’s not your palace, but it does the job” he snorts ironically when he sees you look around.

“Your place is nice” your eyes meet for a second, before he looks away. “Let’s go to my room” he instructs, hand at the small of your back, but barely touching you as he guides you inside his room, closing the door behind him.

His bed is a bit messy, papers are thrown around the room, but, somehow, it looks cosy. “So- the project. What do you want to start with?”

His eyes snap to yours in a moment. “Yeah so, I don’t know if you figured, but I failed this class last year.”

You hum, unzipping your backpack. You do know. “Of course. I can help you, if you want.”

Eddie huffs, throwing his hands in the air and you look at him surprised. “Okay, what the fuck is this game you’re trying to play?”

“Sorry?”

“You trying to help me, complimenting my house” he squints at you, crossing his arms over his chest. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

You look at him utterly confused. His words make you take a step back, Eddie has always intimidated you and his snarky comment made the things even worse for you.

Seeing the annoyed expression on his face, you decide to speak up. “I just- I am good at Chemistry so I just figured, you know...”

He thinks for a second, and you can see his face soften for a minute. You exhale.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

witching hour | e. munson

this blog contains content that is 18+ only. minors, blank blogs and ageless blogs, do not interact. please read more about protecting minors and read my blog rules and guidelines before you interact/follow.

PAIRING ─── eddie munson x afro-indigenous!alt!witch!reader

SUMMARY ─── eddie forgets his key and ends up locking himself out. bad news for him, it’s about to rain. the good news is that you’re there to invite him inside your home.

WARNINGS ─── 18+, MINORS DNI. fem!reader. fluff. jason being an asshole of course. reader is a little bitchy but eddie likes it. a little nerdy near the end.

WORD COUNT ─── 2.6k

AUTHOR’S NOTE ─── part of my a match made in hell au. all mistakes are my own. dividers and moodboard was made by me.

main masterlist  |  eddie munson masterlist

You usually spend your days off from work reading in your room while listening to your tapes to tune out the outside world. Or sitting on a rock at Lovers Lake writing in your journal and letting the sound of the water clear your mind. Or trekking through the woods to collect things like flowers and other plants because you think they’re pretty and would be a lovely addition to your bedroom or anywhere else in your home. But this time, you’re spending your day off going to the grocery store because you need stuff to cook dinner so you and your aunt don’t have to settle for box macaroni and cheese for dinner. You’re not there for a lot of stuff so you grab one of the small shopping baskets and look for the first thing on your list. You manage to get a few things in your basket when you feel a pair of eyes watching you. You hear the footsteps getting closer as you grab something from the middle shelf and turn around to see Jason Carver.

He looks exactly the same from high school, only he isn’t wearing that obnoxiously green letterman jacket and it looks like he has about two little scars on his face.

“I thought garlic was supposed to ward off witches,” he says and you glance at the three bulbs of garlic in your basket and scoff as you look at him.

“You’re thinking about vampires. But it is nice to see you haven’t changed much since high school. All braun, no brains,” you reply with fake pout as his jaw twitches and you shrug your shoulders. “Although, garlic can be used for protection, banishing and cleansing so you’re kinda half-right. It also has plenty of healing properties.”

“Something only a witch would know,” Jason sneers and you shake your head.

“No, something anybody would know if they had any knowledge or brains whatsoever. Tell me something, Jason. If you use garlic in a natural home remedy because you’re feeling sick, you’re just someone innocently using garlic for its healing properties since garlic is so commonly used to help with sickness. But if I decide to mix garlic with thyme, rosemary, salt and maybe some cedar leaves in a jar and seal it with black candle wax with the intention to cleanse, purify and protect my home from anything that means me harm, I’m an evil witch who hexes people for fun. Explain to me how that works,” you say as you narrow your eyes at him.

“I got a better idea. You and your aunt can go hang so we don’t have any of the Devil’s workers running around Hawkins and ruining everything,” Jason says as he gets dangerously close to you.

You hum as you slightly tilt your head. “You know, I heard that a person only gets chicken pox once in their life. I will happily put that theory to the test unless you get out of my face in the next three seconds,” you say. You see his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallows, making you grin. He steps back and turns around as you count to three and when he’s gone, you sigh as you continue shopping.

He was always an asshole and an idiot and you don’t take anything he says seriously since he’s all bark and no bite. You know that if it ever comes down to it, he would run away tail tucked between his legs and the image makes you laugh as you find the last thing on your list and head to the checkout. The cashier quickly scans everything from your basket and puts them in a bag before ringing up your total. After you pay, you grab the bag and start heading back home so you can get started.

As soon as you get home, you put away the groceries and get to work. You and your aunt already agreed on what you were going to make for dinner which made your quick trip to the grocery store much easier because you knew what you needed. You have the TV on and sometimes glance at the screen while you prepare the meat as the pot heats up. The sizzling sound of the chicken in the hot oil momentarily drowns out the TV noise until it quiets down. You can already smell it as you let it sit for a while as you feel your cat rub her head against your leg. You’re pouring water into the pot when you hear noises outside and you look out the window to see what’s going on. You see Eddie getting out of his van and walking up to his door while feeling around his pockets and cursing out loud. You open the door with Luna by your feet and cross your arms as you watch in amusement as he mutters to himself in frustration.

“What’s eatin’ ya?” you ask with a crooked smile and Eddie laughs sarcastically as he looks at you.

“Very funny. I forgot my key and now I’m locked out,” he replies.

“At least you didn’t lose it like you did in high school,” you say. “Uncle Wayne’s not home?”

“Nah, he left for work half an hour ago,” he answers.

“Well, it looks like it’s gonna rain soon so get your gangly ass in here before you end up looking like a drowned sewer rat,” you say as you open the door wider to let him in and he runs inside. “Take your shoes off at the door.”

“You’re still wearing your shoes,” he points out as he looks at your feet.

“I live here and I pay half the bills so I will wear my shoes in my own home if I damn well please,” you reply as you check the pot with the boiling meat.

“Yes, ma’am,” Eddie replies as he takes his shoes off and looks over your shoulder. “Is that chicken?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is it yellow?”

“It’s curry. Have you never had curry chicken before?” you ask as you put the lid back on the pot and turn around to look at him.

“My cooking skills are limited to pasta, canned soup and microwave dinners,” Eddie replies as he sits on the arm of the couch.

“You know, I always forget that not everyone knows about the kind of food I’ve been eating my whole life. It’s one of our go-to’s when we don’t know what else to eat. Well, it’s between that and corned beef with rice. Everyone in my family calls it the struggle meal and everyone outside of my family who has seen me eat it said it looked like cat food while pretending to gag in my face but it tastes good so I eat it with no fucks given,” you say as you shrug your shoulders while Luna jumps onto the couch and stares at Eddie and he smiles as he strokes her fur.

While he’s petting her, you go to your room to take your shoes off and leave them by the closet before going back to the stove to make sure the chicken wasn’t burning. Eddie’s still sitting on the arm of the couch and you glance at him as you start making some rice to go on the side.

“You know, you can actually sit on the couch instead of just sitting on the arm. If you want, you can change the channel too. Might as well make yourself comfortable since I don’t know how long until it stops raining,” you say as you turn on the back burner for the rice.

“If I get too comfortable, I might never leave,” Eddie replies with a smirk and you turn around to look at him.

“I will throw you into the rain,” you say and Eddie laughs.

“Still the same bitch you were in high school.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

You leave the food to cook some more as you sit down on the couch next to Eddie with your legs crossed and Luna curling up in your lap. You look up from your cat and realize what show Eddie settled on while you were at the stove working on dinner and you turn around to look at him.

“Seriously? You chose Ducktales?” you ask and he shrugs his shoulders.

“Well, it was either that or The Smurfs,” he replies and you roll your eyes as you look at the TV. Luna makes a small noise as she looks at the TV and stares at the screen. “See? Luna likes it!”

“Luna watches anything she lays her eyes on,” you say as you get up to check on the food. Everything is done cooking by now so you turn everything down to low heat. “Are you gonna eat?”

“Sure,” he answers.

You take out two plates and start putting food on them as you hear the door unlock and your aunt walks in wet from the rain. “I didn’t know we were having a guest over,” she says as she takes off her wet shoes and jacket.

“He forgot his key at home and when he got back, his uncle was already gone so he was locked out. I told him to get inside so he doesn’t get wet,” you answer as you grab a third plate from the cupboard.

“You told me to get my gangly ass inside before I end up looking like a drowned sewer rat,” Eddie says from the couch.

“You are gangly and I’ve seen you soaked from the rain before. You actually do look like a drowned sewer rat,” you reply. “Come get a plate.”

“I’m gonna go change into some dry clothes so just leave mine on the counter,” your aunt says before heading to her room to change as Eddie takes a plate from the counter.

The both of you sit down on the couch as the end credits of the episode rolls on the screen and you pick up the remote and flip through the other channels. The show Bewitched happens to be on and nothing else interests you so that’s what you settle for but that doesn’t go over Eddie’s head.

“A witch watching a show about a witch? Huh,” he comments and you chuckle as you look at him. “Gonna keep it real with you, I’ve never had a friend who’s a witch before but I must say it’s kinda cool.”

“Maybe one day I can show you my magic altar,” you reply with a little crooked smirk and he laughs with a mouthful of food before looking at the screen.

Your aunt comes back out with different clothes and grabs her plate from the counter and sits at the table. Usually, it’s just you and her eating dinner but this time, Eddie’s there and you don’t mind having him around.

It was still raining by the time you all finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen so you and your aunt agreed to let Eddie spend the night until the rain stopped. You gave him a pillow and a blanket before going back to your room to take off your makeup and change. You fell asleep with Luna by your feet but then you woke up at three in the morning with a dry mouth that would not let you go back to sleep.

You throw the blanket off of you and quietly go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. All the lights are off, leaving you in total darkness except for the moonlight through the curtains but you spent your life living in the trailer so you’re able to get around even if you were blindfolded. You grab a glass from the cupboard and turn on the tap for cold water when you hear a voice behind you.

“Can’t sleep, sweetheart?” Eddie asks from the couch and you look at him.

“No, I actually did fall asleep but woke up to get some water. Want some?” you ask him as he sits up and shrugs his shoulders.

“Sure,” he answers.

You take a second glass and fill it with water and join Eddie on the couch. His jeans, leather jacket and denim vest are folded in a small pile on the coffee table, leaving him in a worn out band tee and boxer shorts with his lower half covered by the blanket you gave him. His hair is pulled into a low bun hanging by his neck and he accepts the glass of water from you and drinks half of it in one go.

“Looks like it stopped raining,” you comment before taking a sip of your water as Eddie nods.

“Looks like it,” he replies. “It’s past three in the morning, by the way.”

You tilt your head as you look at him confused. “Yeah. What about it?” you ask.

“The hour between three and four in the morning, they call it the witching hour but I never knew why,” Eddie says and your chuckle as the corner of your lips twitch into a small smile.

“I know why. It goes back as far as sixteenth century Europe. People’s fear of witchcraft was growing so the Catholic Church prohibited any activities between that hour but they didn’t start calling it the witching hour until the eighteenth century. There are different definitions but that’s the one I’m familiar with,” you explain and Eddie watches you as you speak.

“What else is in that beautiful brain of yours?” he asks as he taps your forehead and you laugh quietly so you don’t wake up your aunt.

“You know, I ran into Jackass Carver at the grocery store while I was getting stuff to cook for dinner. He saw I had garlic and thought it was supposed to ward off witches,” you say and his eyebrows furrow.

“That’s vampires,” he replies.

“That’s what I told him. Even after we graduated, he’s still a dumbass,” you say and Eddie laughs. “You know, garlic is also associated with protection. I mean, it’s used for protection against vampires in folklore but there are so many ways people have used it for thousands of years. Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians and Romans used it for healing purposes and people still do that today. In Egypt, they used it to ward off illness and increase strength and endurance. Ancient Greeks used it to ward off demons and Greek athletes would take some before a competition and soldiers would eat some before going into battle. Roman soldiers ate garlic to inspire them and give them courage. Of course, some of these are just superstitions and folklore.”

“See, this is the kind of shit you would randomly talk about to people. Who starts a conversation about the healing properties and superstitions and folklore about garlic?” Eddie laughs and you scoff as you smack his arm.

“Shut up! You once started a random conversation with a random person talking about Black Sabbath,” you retaliate and he smiles as he shrugs his shoulders.

“We’re nerds, you and I.”

“The Devil and the Witch of Hawkins.”

Eddie chuckles as you finish your glass of water and take his empty glass as you stand up. You quickly rinse them and put them in the dish rack before heading back to your room to go back to sleep. Luna is still asleep on your bed and you get under the blanket carefully to not move her around and wake her up. You and Eddie. Complete nerds and weirdos who don’t give a damn.

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