These Two Chapters Are Everything I Need In Life

These two chapters are everything I need in life

Lose The One 

pairing (s): marc spector x reader, steven grant x reader, jake lockley x reader

summary: this is a part two to glimpse of us

word count: 6.6k

moon knight masterlist

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．

The queasy feeling in your heart should’ve been able to stop you from going to their home. The unexplainable anxiety boiling in your chest should’ve been able to make you stay in the comfort of your bed, instead of standing in front of their door, which was left ajar. The confusion bubbling in your mind should’ve been able to tell you that nothing good was happening. 

You should’ve walked away, then perhaps your heart could still be saved. 

But curiosity and worry struck you in the heart, and with a leap of faith, you walked into their home. Deciding against calling out their names— whoever was fronting at the time— You stayed silent.

Then you heard his voice, Steven’s, in the bathroom. A soft smile grew on your face, as you could tell he was having a conversation with Marc and Jake. You had encountered it a few times before, whether it was just them having a civil conversation or arguing about things that did not matter.

Walking closer towards the bathroom, you thought it was just a fun banter between them, the one which could entertain you as you thought they were being adorable—But you had never been so wrong in your entire life.

“I’m not letting you break her heart, Marc!”

Steven’s voice was dripping with fury, and you had never heard him speak that way before. A part of you was telling you to leave, but another was telling you stay and listen, and when you heard your name spilling from his mouth, you knew they were talking about you and there was no way you wanted to leave now.

“We— We’re protecting her. That’s what we are doing.”

Steven was unsure, and it was clear from the way his voice wavered, but he still stood firm on what he believed in. You had no idea what Marc was telling him, and you wished you could hear what was making Steven so angry. 

“We are not telling her the truth. She would leave.” 

The words came out as a whisper, and you would have went to him to give him a hug if he did not let out a scoff, glaring at the mirror as if it was the most sickening sight he had ever laid his eyes on.

“She would leave if she knows we have been lying to her, Marc.”

At his words, something inside of you recoiled in pain. You did not know if you could listen to him any longer, but it was as if your feet was glued to the floor, and you could not leave. 

“Do you really want to tell her that we have been using her? That we have never really loved her the way she thinks we do?”

You had never experienced heartbreak before. You always wondered how terrible it must be, to let someone have a hold over your fragile heart, and to watch as they drop it on the ground, stomping it with their own bare feet. Now that Steven’s words rang in your head, you knew how painful it was. How terrifying it was. 

They did not love you the way you thought they did.

“She’s so kind to us, so loving, so perfect. We can’t tell her the truth. It would break her heart. I don’t want to hurt her, Marc.”

You had to bit the inside of your cheeks, holding back a sob that was crawling out of your tightened throat. The truth that they were lying to you, making you believe that they loved you to death was presented before you, and you wanted to scream at Steven for trying not to break your heart, when that was all he ever did. 

All these times, Steven was the one who had been hurting you in silence. You could not believe it. Never once did he forget to tell you that he loved you, and you ate up every single lie he fed you with. He was always careful with his touches, gentle with every kisses. He could never be the reason behind your tears. 

If they did not love you, then why would they pretend as if you were everything to them? 

“We need her, Marc. We would die without her.” 

The desperation in Steven’s voice was the answer you needed. They were keeping you for their own selfish reasons. Hot tears boiled in your eyes, and you felt like you were walking on a burning tightrope. They were everything to you. Everything.

A lone tear rolled down upon your face, watching as Marc took over from Steven who was close to tears. You almost let out a scoff, it was funny to see how he was the one who was betraying your trust, and yet he acted as if he was the betrayed one. He had manipulated you into believing that he was the sweetest among them, and you had fallen for it foolishly. 

“We are telling her the truth, Steven. We have to.” 

Marc was determined, as the truth was starting to haunt him in his dreams, like a shadow looming over him and trying to swallow him whole one day if he kept  on going like this— Lying and pretending to be in love with you when his heart had never been yours to keep.  

“I know you love her, Jake. But Steven and I don’t.” 

That was it. To hear it from Marc was like having him stab you in the heart, watching as it cracked and bled. A strangled sob escaped your lips, and you found yourself crying as everything came to you in a flash— Reminding you that everything they did and everything they said meant nothing to them when it meant the world to you. 

They were your whole world. 

“Y/N?”

Your sorrowful cries alerted Marc, and it ruined him when he saw you crying there, realising that you had heard everything. There was no turning back now. He had broken your heart, and you were going to hate him— Hate them. 

“I trusted you, Marc. I trusted all of you.” 

You were not screaming, and somehow Marc wished you were. Perhaps it would take the guilt off of his shoulders a bit if you showed him how furious you were. But you were holding it back, and all he could see when he looked you in the eyes was disappointment. 

“Y/N, we need you. I need you.”

He still had the audacity to tell you that he needed you when he lied to you, acting like you were the one he loved, when you meant nothing but source of comfort to him. You could not believe that you were gullible enough to let them lie to you like this. 

“You need me but you don’t want me. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

The disgust in your voice was enough to make him wince. You had never talked to him that way before. Not to him, not to Steven or Jake. You were always gentle with them, that sometimes he wondered if there was even an ounce of wrath in you. It seemed like he managed to bring it out of you, and he despised it. 

“You have never really loved me. Is that true?” 

Knowing the dreadful truth was going to kill you, but you had been living in lies for so long that you felt like you needed the truth to breathe. A piece of you wanted to strangle Marc when he let out a wistful sigh, the truth felt bitter on his tongue.

“I thought I loved you. But I didn’t.” 

He would forever be grateful of your presence in his life, that he would never lie to you about. When his wife had finally had enough, Marc thought it was the end of it, that he would never have someone who could love him like she did. But then he found you, or rather you found him— And you could love him more than she ever did. 

He wanted to feel your love and affection even if he knew there was no home for you in his heart. He could not live without you asking him if he was alright, he could not go on about his day without you sending him cute little messages throughout the day, and he could not sleep without holding you safe in his arms. 

When he realised he was not in love, it wrecked him. He wanted to be in love with you, truly he did. 

Marc knew nothing could excuse his mistake. He was greedy and selfish, loving the idea of you loving him so much that he would sacrifice your own heart for his needs. He deserved every single hatred you were going to throw on him, and he would understand. 

“You’re keeping me sane. You’re my reason, sweetheart. That’s why I lied to you, hoping that you would stay.” 

A fresh wave of tears streamed down your face, and as much as you wanted to walk away— You knew there was more. You needed to hear more from them, as they had been showering you in lies for far too long. You wanted to stop becoming the idiot in their story.

“You were planning to tell me, weren’t you?”

Marc nodded, holding back his tears as he knew he should’ve told you sooner. He was too consumed by his own selfish needs, that he disregarded the fact that you deserved to know the truth. You did not deserve to be in a loveless relationship. 

“I finally realised that you deserve to know. I can’t sleep knowing that I’m lying to the only person who sees her future with me. I can’t do that to you.”

He did not know what would happen now that the truth was revealed. Marc could already see you leaving him, and he would fall into a pit of sorrow and he would have no one to catch him. A life without you sounded so horrendous, but it was what he deserved. 

“I thought you were the one for me, Marc.”

He clenched his jaw, not wanting to break into tears in front of you. He was the one who was hurting you, and he did not want to make it seem like you were to be blamed. You always did that— Taking the blame for him when you should not. It was what keeping the fabricated relationship alive. 

“You were so distant and I thought I did something wrong. You never told me what it was, and you kept telling me that you loved me. Do you ever look at me and think of how stupid I am to be falling for your lies?”

Marc shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had never thought you as stupid. Every time he lied to you, he would see the way your eyes lightened up, and it was a look of nothing but love. You were so in love with him, foolishly so, but he was the stupid one. He was the one who was imprudent enough not to love you when he had the chance. 

Before he could tell you about his regrets, you saw the changes in his posture and the look in his eyes. You knew them too well to know who was fronting— Steven Grant. You used to give him your biggest smile, your warmest hug and your softest touch. But now you found yourself taking a few steps back, as if his presence was burning you. 

And Steven noticed that, of course, he did. He was not greeted with your sweet laughter or your loving hugs. Instead, he was met with you scowling at him, putting your distance with him like he was a stranger who could hurt you. It hurt him terribly but then he looked at your red and swollen eyes, realising that you were hurt, too.

“Love, please listen to me. I love you—“

“How dare you? You don’t love me, Steven. Stop lying!”

If you were not screaming before, you surely were screaming now. Frustration and anger were building up in your chest, waiting for the right time to be let out. Steven’s declaration of love was the only push you needed to show them how wretched you were. 

“Stop saying you love me when you don’t!”

He was not expecting you to yell at him. He thought if he took over from Marc, he could talk some sense into you, and perhaps he could make you stay with them. It was unwise of him to think that you would melt at the sight of him, when you already knew he was a liar. You were done being used by the man who you loved with all of your heart. 

“I love you, and it is not a lie. It’s just.. It’s just that I love her more.”

Steven said, shredding your heart into pieces, and you could feel the pain, crawling and tugging in your chest. Somehow knowing that Marc had never loved you was better than this. To hear that Steven loved somebody else, it painted your world in blue.

“I’m sorry, love. You’re perfect. You’re everything we need but—“

“But I’m not her.”

The breaking in your voice was enough to send him to tears. He did not even bother to stop himself from crying as the reality hit him hard, that you knew he was pretending to be in love with you, when his heart was hers from the start. You, the only person who could calm the storm in his head, now could not care less about him anymore. 

“Please don’t leave me.”

He begged, not caring at how pathetic he sounded, or the way Marc was scolding him in his head. He knew he did not deserve to be forgiven, and he should not asked you to stay, but he wanted you to stay with him. A piece of him still thought that he was the only person who could never hurt you, and that you were crying because of Marc and not him. 

How could he live without you? You were the comfort he needed. When you fell in love with him, he felt like the world was his. He never thought someone could love him as much as you did. You had so much love to give, and you never stopped showing him how in love you were with him. 

He saw the way you looked at Marc, and he saw the way you looked at Jake. You loved them endlessly, but Steven was convinced you loved him the most. You always gazed at him like he decorated the night skies with the brightest stars for you. He was the one for you. 

He always knew what to do and say to make you smile, and he took pride in making you happy. It was not like he was competing with Marc and Jake, but he wanted to be the one who make you the happiest in his presence. He lived to see your smile, and the sight of your tears hurt his soul, even if he was not the one who made you so distraught. 

“I love you.”

He said, once again, hoping that you would see that he could not go on with his life without you by his side. He was so used to having you with him, and he could see his downfall if you were not there to support him. His heart was hers, but he loved you, and it was always enough for you before. 

“You see her every time you’re with me, Steven. I’m everything she’s not and you want more. I’m just an understudy to you. That’s not love.”

You spat, thinking of the time when you put him on top, never once did you see him as someone who was using you for his own good. Steven tried to reach out for you, but you slapped his hand away, and that was when he knew nothing could stop you from leaving them. 

“How could you make me believe that you love me when you always think of her? Why would you do this to me, Steven?”

Your questions were left unanswered, as Steven could only shake his head, not knowing how to explain it to you. He did not know why did he do this to you, since you deserved so much more than to be with a liar. You were destined for happiness, and yet, he was robbing you from it. 

“I was being selfish.” 

The truth stung, but it had to be said, and he knew it was the answer you were looking for when you nodded weakly. Steven was known for pleasing you, worshipping the ground you walked on, loving you even on your worst days— But now you knew it was all a play pretend so he could keep you with him. 

He was pretending to love you, and nothing hurt more than being betrayed by the love of your life. 

“I hate you, Steven.”

The words rolled out of your tongue easily, that Steven flinched, shaking his head violently. No, you were not supposed to hate him. But there was no remorse in your eyes, and he knew you meant everything you said. You wanted to hurt him, and it was working. 

“Don’t— Don’t say that, love. You’re hurting me.”

Your heart would break at the sound of his devastation, but it was already shattered, hence you could only scoff at him, watching as tears spilled from his eyes. To see Steven’s crying was torturing you, but then again, he deserved to cry himself to sleep every night from now on. And he would no longer have you to wipe his tears away. 

He was not in love with you. He only loved the idea of being the good boyfriend you thought he was. The one who could make you find a way to make you laugh when you were on the verge of tears, the one who could make you smile when you were falling apart. 

In return, you loved him so much that you thanked the stars every night for letting you to be with a good man like him. 

“I wish I never fell in love with you, Steven.”

The words broke the last scaffolding holding you together, and more tears broke free with the anguish you had been keeping in. You wished you could turn back time, and maybe you could be saved from this sullen heartbreak. You shouldn’t have met Marc. You should’ve run when you still had the chance. 

The aching in your chest was growing, and you knew you had to leave. You could not bear the sight of him anymore, no matter who was fronting. Suddenly you felt so alone. The truth was like you against them. All of these times you have been the idiotic fool in their mess, letting yourself drowned by their beautiful lies. 

You were nothing but a pawn in their wicked game.

You were heading towards the door, heart heavy in your chest when he grabbed your wrist, stopping you from walking out of the door. You recognised the touch, it was not as gentle as Steven’s, but it was not as harsh as Marc’s. His touch always sent warmth rising in your chest, and it felt like your torn heart was stitching itself back together. 

“Jake, let me go.”

There was so much to say, your words died down in your throat. You wanted to lash out on him, but when you turned around to look at him, the world around you crumbled helplessly. You had never seen the man so miserable before, that it took everything in you not to give in and fall into his arms. 

“Forgive me, mi sol.” 

You were his sun. Jake felt like air was forced out of his lungs, seeing you with tears on your face, knowing that he was a part of the reasons behind every drop of them. You, who always had a bright smile on your lips, and it was replaced with a sad frown. The blinding gleam in your eyes had shimmered into glistening tears. 

He could not bear witness of the dying light in your soul. He had to save you, the way you saved him from losing himself to the darkness. 

“Was any of it real?”

Your question was like a punch to his gut. He felt weak on his knees. It was like his muscles were ripped out of his bones. The pain was nothing like he had felt before. You were doubting his love for you, when he was the one who poured his heart and soul into everything he did and said.

“Of course, it was real. I would never lie to you.”

“Never?”

Jake stiffened at how cold you sounded. He bit his tongue, knowing that he did lie to you, when he hid the fact that Marc and Steven were only using you. He lied to you when he knew they were betraying your trust. He lied to you in order to protect Marc and Steven, hurting you in the process. 

“Do you think I deserved it, Jake?”

With every word, it was intended to hurt him, and you did not even think twice as you wanted him to feel as hurt as you. Jake could only looked at you, knowing that he did this to you. He was losing the love of his life. 

“I love you so much, Jake. I love you…”

Your defeated whispers were tormenting him. It hurt him to think that he would never get to hear those words again from you, and now he was going to remember the way you said them with trembling lips and teary eyes. He was going to remember how disappointed you were with him. 

“I love you, Y/N. I swear I do.”

He said, pulling you into his arms as you let out the most heartbreaking cry he had ever heard. A great tremor overtook your body as you cried, and he let you, knowing that perhaps it could be the last time he would have the chance to hold and comfort you. He was losing you.

“Do you really love me? Please tell me the truth.”

You hated how frail you sounded, but your heart would not be able to take another lie. 

“I love you so much, princesa.”

His words were like a heavy chain, binding your soul to his. For a moment, you let yourself dream of what it would be like if it was only you and him. Perhaps you could still forgive him and let it go, but you knew it was impossible for you to forget everything when your heart was crushed mercilessly. 

“I know it’s hard for you to believe me. But I’m not lying when I say I love you.”

Jake did not know what to do to convince you that he was being truthful. Fear was suffocating him, and he started to feel lost, finding no love in your gaze on him. It was full of doubts, and he loathed it. 

“Did you know that they were using me?”

His grip around your waist loosened, and he did not need to say anything to tell you that he knew everything. He was aware that Marc only needed you to ground him, to make him feel like a person who could be loved and cared for. He saw that Steven only needed you to comfort him, when the world was far too cruel for him to endure. Jake was the missing piece of the puzzle of your heartbreak. 

“You knew, Jake. You let them hurt me.”

You hissed, getting out of his grasp as if his touch burned your skin. It tugged on his heartstrings when he realised that you were right. He claimed to love you, but then he allowed them to use you like you meant nothing to him. He said he was in love with you, but still he watched as they toyed with your feelings. 

“If I told you the truth, then you would leave us. Marc and Steven would be a mess without you. I was only protecting them.” 

He sounded like a complete jerk, saying that to you. And your next words was more painful than taking a bullet through his skull. 

“Wasn’t I worth protecting too?”

The raindrops on the window were like tears falling down your cheeks. It should bother you of how cold you were getting, but you felt like you were shivering out of anger. You wanted to scream at them, hitting them, or trashing their home, but now the sound of the rain was the only thing you could focus on. 

You did not even realise Jake was coming closer, not until you felt his lips on your head. The familiar feeling of warmth and adoration were creeping in, but they were quickly flushed down by your dejection. He did not protect your heart like he promised to. 

“I know you don’t deserve to be betrayed like this. I was scared that I would lose you. If you knew, you would leave me because you can see them when you look at me. I love you too much to live without you, mi sol.”

He was not good with words, but he needed you to hear everything he had to say, no matter how mundane it might be to you. You were important to him, and he would do anything to make you believe that he loved you. He wanted you to know that you were the only one for him. 

“My heart is yours."

You shook your head, not believing a word he said anymore. You could see regret in his eyes, but it was hard for you to think that Jake was not lying to you too. You could tell that he was dying to touch you, wanting to hold you and never let go, but he was frightened that you would push him away and it would break him. 

“I wish I could go back to a time when I believe every word you say.”

Your wounding words was like a slap to his face. Tears trickled down his face, and he did not even bother to wipe them away as he kept his eyes on you, the person who owned his heart and soul. 

“The least you could do was tell me the truth.”

He could only nod, ignoring the pain in his chest. He wished he could fix this, but he did not know how. The hurt in your eyes was enough to tell him that he had broken your heart, and you were not going to let him put it back together again. 

“The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you, mi corazón. I was wrong for lying to you.”

You would never forget how loving Jake was to you. He was a difficult man to deal with at the beginning, who did not talk much and he only glanced at you whenever he wanted to. He never cared much, but he never did anything to irritate you. He always noticed when you were uncomfortable or sad, letting Marc or Steven front so they could help you. 

When he fell in love with you, you realised he was such a passionate lover. He always put you before him in everything. You were his priority. He noticed every little things you did, giving compliments when you were not expecting him to, and even if he felt like he did not deserve your love, you finally made him believe that nothing could stop you from loving him. 

If Steven got you flowers because he felt like it was something that he should do, Jake got you flowers because you deserved to have flowers. He loved the way you would smile so big that it reached your eyes, and you would give him the best hug he had ever received in his whole life. 

Roses and lilies were more like Steven and Marc’s type of flowers to give, and at first, Jake imitated them. But then he realised it would make you happier if it was personalised and thoughtful, and so he got you sunflowers. He would remember it forever that the sunflowers matched your yellow dress, and it almost made you cry out of happiness. 

He had also stopped by at someone’s garden one day, as he accidentally saw beautiful flowers and he was immediately reminded of you. He knew he could just grab them and leave, but thinking that he was doing it for you, he knocked on the door and talked politely to the elderly woman who seemed to be more than glad to give them to him when he told her about you.

“You’re so in love with her. Are you going to marry her?”

The lady’s question crossed his mind again and again like a broken record when he was on his way home. Then he gave the flowers to you, smiling when you squealed like a little girl who got a candy. At the moment, he thought, he wanted to marry you. Yes, he wanted a life with you. 

Jake was shook from his train of thoughts, stopping himself from being haunted by the ghosts of everything that should have been but will never be. Gone were the days when he could get you flowers. Gone were the days when he could think about how happy you would be if he asks you to marry him.

“Maybe if you told me the truth, things would be different.”

The guilt. Jake could feel it seeping through his bones. But with his growing guilt and regret, came a forceful and compelling need to make it up to you, to make sure that you get the life you deserved to get. It impaired him to think that in order to let you have your happiness, he had to let you go. 

“Do you want to say goodbye to them?”

“No, I don’t want to see them ever again.”

You said, biting and bitter. Jake inhaled sharply, realising how agonising it was for you to look at him now, when you could also see Marc and Steven in him. But you did it because you loved him, and even if you did not say it, you believed that Jake truly loved you. You believed him. 

“I love you, mi sol.”

You gave him a soft smile, biting the inside of your cheeks to stop yourself from saying it back to him. You had been hurt, and you could not let yourself fall for it again, no matter how genuine he was. You wished you could tell him how much you loved him, but it would only make things harder. 

“You’re a good man, Jake. Take care of yourself.”

And then you were gone. The future he was going to share with you vanished into the thin air. Everything was changing. You were no longer there with him, with them. You had left, and even with Marc and Steven’s voices ringing in his head, he had never felt so alone. 

He was afraid. His heart was empty and his mind was messy. He had to live without you. 

“We’re going to be okay, Jake.”

Marc was wrong. He was trying to convince Jake that everything was going to fall back into place, but deep down, he knew it was impossible. There was no way they could have a better life than the one they used to have with you. The life they shared with you was like a dream, and now they were living in a nightmare. 

They fought. A lot. It hurt them whenever they fought even at the smallest of things, because the argument would always spiral back to you. They would end up talking about you. They would reminisce the times when you were still with them. They would blame each other for your absence. 

They needed you. They wanted you. 

Marc watched you from afar. He felt like it was his obligation to make sure that you got home safe from work. If he could not walk you home at night like he used to, then the least he could do was protect you as much as he could. He would never forgive himself is something bad happened to you.

But then one day you saw him. And you had asked him to stop. He did. 

Steven wrote you love letters. It was a thing between you and him. Your love resonated with every word written on the paper, and Steven could not stop himself from writing to you like  he used to. It was his way of coping with your absence. 

He never sent the letters to you. He knew you would burn them. And so he did it himself, watching as the letters turned into ashes. 

Jake never stopped with the flowers. He left flowers on your doorstep every Monday, knowing that you were always grouchy on the particular day, and perhaps the flowers could make you smile. The first time you found the sunflowers, you immediately knew that it was from him. They went straight to the trash. 

After a few months, the flowers stopped coming. Jake knew it was hopeless.

A year passed by and they were still inconsolable.

They could only hope that you were doing fine without them. They had hurt you deeply, and they knew there was nothing they could do to make you come back. You were better off without them, but sometimes they let themselves dream of how amazing it would be if they were given another chance to love you. 

The dream faded away when they saw you that day. 

You were walking with a spring in your step, your smile was as bright as the sun that it sent a smile on Marc’s face. He missed your smile so much, and the way Steven and Jake grew quiet in his head was telling him that they were awe-struck to see you too. It had been too long. 

“She looks happy.”

Marc muttered, torn in between leaving or approaching you. As he was  busy contemplating, his eyes caught the sight of a man who was coming towards you, Instinctively, Marc thought the man was suspicious and he had ill intentions. However, he stopped dead on his tracks when you ran into the man’s arms, the smile had never fallen from your face. 

You were on a date with that man. 

They went full on detective mode after that, finding out any dubious information about him. They were worried, and mostly jealous, but their main focus was to keep you safe and happy. They should not have been flabbergasted to see that your new boyfriend’s record was clean. 

He never did anything disreputable. He owned a small company, and even if it was  still new, his pay check was definitely better than theirs. He lived a safe life, far from danger unlike them who crossed with death almost every night. He could give you a much better life than they could ever do. 

Somehow Steven managed to talk to his acquaintances, and he thought that maybe  he could prove that your boyfriend was not as good as he seemed to be. But they only talked good things about him. They told Steven about how kind and loving your boyfriend was, and that they had seen him with you a few times. His friends really believed that you were meant for each other, like soulmates— Steven had to force a smile at that. 

The second time they saw you with him at the coffee shop, Jake was fronting. He would be lying if he was not hurt, but he wanted you to be happy. He would do anything to make you happy, even if it meant sacrificing his own feelings for you. 

Before he could stop himself, he was walking towards you who was waiting for your boyfriend. You looked so pretty. A tinge of jealousy hit him, thinking of how lucky the man was to be loved by such a perfect person. 

The smell of coffee overwhelmed his senses. He could not think of what to say to you, but still, he dragged his feet towards you. He did not even realise what he was doing until he saw your smile dropped, but you quickly pulled yourself together and faked a smile. 

“What are you doing here?”

Cold. He thought that maybe after a year, you had forgiven them. He thought that maybe, just maybe, you could be friends again. 

“Are you happy?”

He asked, hating that the tone of your voice did not match the sweet smile on your lips. He recognised that it was not genuine. He had seen you smile so many times that he could tell you were trying so hard not to frown at him. 

“Please tell me. Are you happy?”

That was the only concern in his mind right now. He could not care less that you found someone else to love. You deserved every good thing in this world. You deserved to be loved. You deserved to be happy.

“I’m happy, Jake.”

This time, you gave him a genuine smile. His heart fluttered when you smiled, and he nodded. He knew your boyfriend was going to be there soon and he did not want to bother you. He had his chance, and he blew it. He was not going to ruin it for you. 

“That’s all I need to know. You deserve all the happiness in the world, cariño.”

With a bruised heart, he walked away from you, letting you go for real this time. He could hear Marc and Steven disagreeing with what he did, believing that they still had the opportunity to fix the damage they had caused to your precious heart. But Jake knew you better than they could ever do, and he knew he was doing the right thing by letting you go.

Despite of his acceptance, Jake was still fuming with resentment. He loved you, and now he had lost you because of Marc and Steven. For a year, he had been holding back, not wanting to blame his alters no matter how much he wanted to. But now that he saw another man was making you happy, the way he did before if not more, he was letting it all out. 

“Both of you ruined our life. You made her leave. You did this to us.”

Jake let his heart be blinded by love, and his mind be clouded by rage. Nothing they say could change his mind as he was getting out of control. You made him realise that he had a heart, but now you had taken it along with you, leaving his chest with a void that only you could fill.  His anger sunk deeper, gripping like claws, embedding so deep that he doubted the scars would ever heal. 

He had let Marc and Steven decide for him for far too long now, ending up destroying the only good thing he had to hold on to. The only person he had his eyes on. The only love he wanted to have. Not anymore. 

It was his turn to orchestrate their life now, and he chose guns and blood, the way it was before you.  Needless to say, Marc and Steven were not going to get the body in a very, very long time. 

.•° ✿ °•. .•° ✿ °•. .•° ✿ °•.

taglist for glimpse of us part two: @brekkers-desigirl @whosethatgurlitsjess @golddustswoman @aestheticpisces @suchahautemess @spicydonut25 @jupitersmoon167 @lana-isabelle @rosaren2498 @n0ripeaches @unspokenmoon @mccn-bcys @rmoonstoner @guiltofpleasures @bxmxtx @timeless-crow @harrys-tittie @enter-clever-and-witty-url-here @outlawedmando @ahoytherebean @rellasnowheenim @pascalsism @lovelyladymayyy @galeroseb @nixonvandelheim @itsmadamehydra @zelspktr @pri00r @ninebluehearts @in-between-the-cafes @carlanee2000 @dyxshit @hypnoinstaxartcloud @kestrel2001 @iamlost @constanza1000 @manicchii @urforevermore @strangespinapple @justyourwritter69 @killerninjaapanda @justyourlocals1mp @alexisabirdie @llvcy @8hgel @lluckpng @imhereforoscarisaac @glimpseoff @lovely-pineapples @jade-sucker-for-steven @memoirsofxangel @noodle81937 @snacswell @potatodaddy @justsumtuffstuff

i tagged the people who commented on the previous part. please message me if you want to be removed. thanks!

strange love- e.m

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Female!Reader

Summary: eddie has a date, with someone who isn’t you. you’re less than thrilled about it

Warnings: ANGST, jealousy, unrequited love, eddie being clueless, cursing, mentions of vomiting, me knowing nothing about D&D (i’m sorry but it deserves a warning), eventual best friends!-to-lovers!

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: alright y’all this is the imagine i had talked about a few days ago and as someone who loves these kinds of fics, i’m quite proud of myself. also i apologize for my lack of knowledge about D&D, eddie would definitely be disappointed, but i had a friend read it over and he thinks it makes sense so we’re going with it! i hope you all enjoy :)- sava

part two (coming friday, july 22nd)

“Well hello everybody!” Eddie exclaims, scaring half the Hellfire lunch table with his presence. You hear groans and curses fill the table as Eddie laughs at the reactions he pulled from his friends. You just sit in the seat that’s located on the left of his, laughing at his usual antics, but curiosity begins to strike when you take a look at Eddie.

His face is bright and shiny, his smile stretching from ear to ear as he sits down with his lunch, pulling out some pretzels to munch on. You take in the other details about him, how his hair looks actually kept up and how he doesn’t reek of his usual pot smell, but of…cologne? You had no idea who it was that was sitting next to you, but it sure as hell wasn’t Eddie Munson.

“What’s got you so happy today, Eds?” You ask, nudging him with your elbow. He flashes you a big smile, pretzel bits showing along with his pearly whites. He looks adorable as ever.

“Well I’m glad you asked, sweetheart. I, Eddie Munson, have a date tonight,” he announces. Your heart does a summersault at the nickname, his nickname he always uses on you, before you fully process the second part of his statement, making your breathing stop for a moment. What the fuck?

You didn’t make this fact known, but you were crushing on Eddie…hard. The two of you have been close since your middle school days, having really connected with his band Corroded Coffin playing at the school talent show and approached them afterwards to share your appreciation. It’s been history ever since.

But it wasn’t until your freshman year of high school when you started crushing on Eddie. You had been having a hard time at home due to your parents divorce, and your father winning full custody meant you moved into the same trailer park Eddie and his Uncle Wayne lived in, the two of you growing closer than before now that you only lived a few doors down. You and Eddie would spend most of your nights together anyway, and one particular night your freshman year, you felt these butterflies flutter around in your stomach as your head rested against Eddie’s shoulder watching Sleepaway Camp, your and his favorite movie that you’d watch at least once a month together. Since that day you had kept your feelings hidden from him, not wanting to ruin things between you and your best friend. You thought the pain of not having him in your life at all outweighed the pain of being stuck in love with him, and that was a fight you’d be willing to battle.

“W-what? W-with who?” You ask, trying to cover up your slight stutter with a cough.

“Okay so you remember our latest show at the Hideout? Well with more and more people starting to show up as of recently, we’ve been getting some fans. And this girl, her name is Shirley, gave me her number and I thought ‘What the hell?’ and rang her up yesterday,” he explains to you and everyone at the table, the freshman not being able to help their curious little selves. 

“That’s cool Eds,” you reply back, trying with all your willpower to remain neutral and shove the emotions you were actually feeling down deep inside.

“Yeah. We’re actually hanging out after Hellfire. She even said she might swing by, she’s been curious about the game a little. At least, that’s what she told me,” he tells you, causing you to drop your fork and look at him. He shoots you a weird expression at your reaction.

“Oops, sorry. But uh, I thought you weren’t allowing non-members into the meetings anymore?” You ask, your eyebrow raised.

“That’s true, but, as Dungeon Master, I’ll make an exception this one time. Who knows, maybe she could become an honorary member. She’s really cool, Y/N. You’d get along with her great,” he tells you as he clasps his hand on your shoulder. 

“I seriously doubt it,” you mutter lowly, hoping your close proximity to Eddie didn’t allow him to hear. As if a saving grace occurred, the lunch bell rang and you jolted up from your seat, collecting your trash. You could see Eddie eyeing you from your peripheral. One thing there is about Eddie, he’s observant as hell. You’d usually applaud and commend it, but in cases where you were trying best to hide your feelings, you absolutely hated it. Sometimes you wondered how you were able to get away with him not knowing how you truly felt, but all the more relieved that he didn’t.

“Hey sweetheart? Is everything okay?” He asks you. You quickly turn to him with a slight smile and nod, before rushing towards the trash can that sat behind him.

“Yep, all good. Just gotta go tend to some newspaper stuff. I’ll see you at Hellfire!” Your words moving as fast as your legs as you bid the table goodbye until your meeting tonight, practically sprinting towards the newspaper room, where you’d spill your feelings to one Nancy Wheeler in your secluded gossip corner.

Nancy was one of the only people who knew about your crush on Eddie. The two of you have been super close since you started high school, and even more so with all the shit that’s happened with the Upside Down that started when the two of you were sophomores. Plus, with her brother now joining the Hellfire Club, she asked you to keep an eye on him, especially with everything that’s already happened in Hawkins, but you really didn’t blame her for that.

Stumbling down the hall with your backpack sliding off your shoulders, you open the doors to the newspaper room and see Nancy’s head pop up from her collaborating with Fred. You walk down the stairs calmly while giving her a pleading look, nodding your head towards the corner the two of you have your major discussions at. She gives you a small nod before returning to her conversation with Fred.

You unpack your bag and begin working a bit on the paper while you wait for Nancy. You were trying your best to remain calm, focussing on your breathing so you didn’t get worked up more than you were when you started talking with Nancy. Your mind had a habit of working against you, running a hundred miles a minute coming up with the absolute worst scenario of every situation you encountered. You didn’t need to be thinking doubtfully about your friendship with Eddie, but you physically couldn’t help it.

How could Eddie have a date with someone and not tell you sooner?

The two of you were best friends, he always told you when something great happens to him immediately after, and you do the same with him. Living just a few doors down, you had that luxury of always being near the person when you celebrate your wins, or comfort one another in your losses. So him keeping this from you until the next day? It definitely hurt, in more ways then one, and you didn’t quite understand it. Would you still be upset about it? Absolutely, so that bit didn’t matter much. You just wanted to know why. Why he’s choosing to date someone now, after being single for so long. Why he-

“Hey, I’m here. Sorry, I was working with Fred on the basketball story,” Nancy tells you, pulling you out of your zoned-out state.

“No worries,” you say, your voice residing somewhere distant. You feel a slight kick come from under the desk, prompting you to look down for a second, before bringing your eyes up to see Nancy, who shoots you a look of concern. Nancy too, was very observant, from what you’ve seen over your friendship the past three, nearly four, years. The people you surrounded yourself with the most were some of the most observant people in Hawkins, which was both a blessing and a curse. You sigh, turning slightly closer to her, ready to confess.

“Eddie has a date tonight,” you whisper softly. You watch her jaw open, as shocked as you were. At least, hoping in the same sense that you were, and not in a negative way. You never really knew about Nancy’s stance on Eddie, whether she liked him or not. The way you talk about him all the time you would think she’d be sick of it all, but never stopped you from spilling your secrets out to her.

“No way! With who?” She whisper-yells, scooting closer to you. You watch over her shoulder at Fred and some others looking your way, so you fake working on a spread, signaling Nancy to do the same.

“Some girl that came to their gig at the Hideout on Tuesday. I didn’t see it so it must’ve been when I went to the bathroom,” you continue to tell her while fake focusing on the piece of paper in front of you. Your entire demeanor suddenly became deflated, saying it aloud and hearing it from yourself. All becoming so real.

“That’s crazy. Are you okay, Y/N?”

“No, but what can I do about it? He and I aren’t dating, so I have no room to say who he can or can’t date,” you answer. You peak over at her and see her looking you dead in the eye, to which you couldn’t blame her. Even you didn’t believe what you were saying.

“Yeah, I know. He said she might stop by Hellfire, and, Nance, I have no idea how I’m supposed to get through the meeting tonight if she’s there,” you tell her. She reaches out and squeezes your hand and you give her a tight-lipped smile. 

“Hey, if you think it’ll help, I can pick you up from Hellfire tonight and we can chill at my house for a sleepover. Junk food, distractions…I can even invite Robin and see if she’ll pick up some tapes after her shift at Family Video tonight,” Nancy suggests. You eyes widen in excitement and nod, truly needed a night where you don’t talk or think about Eddie. Just a night with your girls.

“That would honestly be the best, thank you Nance,” you tell her. She flashes a warm smile your way and scoots a bit away from you.

“Perfect. I’ll pick you and Mike up at 9 after I get Robin from her shift, if she’s free. It’ll be fun,” you tells you. You agree and continue working on your spread, excitement flowing through your body at the thought of a fun night ahead, even with the dread buried in the pit of your stomach at the thought seeing Eddie tonight at Hellfire with a woman at his side. A woman that wasn’t you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running down the halls and towards the room behind the theater, you look at your watch and try to pick up the pace. You had lost track of time in your efforts in avoiding Eddie by doodling some drawings in the sketchbook that you kept on you at all times, which in turn made you late to Hellfire, something you never did. But in your defense, you usually had Eddie giving you a ride to and from the meetings. Today was not like the rest. Walking through the threshold of the meeting room, you give yourself a few moments to catch your breath.

“Sorry I’m late, I-“ you began to say, but were interrupted by giggling coming from Eddie’s throne. You see a girl with strappy heels and a short, short dress leaning against it playing with Eddie’s brunette fringey curls. That must be Shirley.

“Oh good, you’re here. We almost started without you,” Dustin exclaims, his goofy smile appearing on his face.

“Yeah, I doubt it,” you tell him, throwing your bag in the seat closest to him and ruffling his hair, him protesting and swatting at you in return. You notice out of the corner of your eye Eddie giving you a confused look, then looking towards your usual seat, which remained empty. It was no secret that you had your own seat in Hellfire, right next to the Dungeon Master himself, but today, you knew it was best to keep your distance. Didn’t want to interfere with his date and all. 

“Alright, now that everyone’s here,” Eddie pauses, giving you a look. You chose to just look at the table in front you to avoid eye contact. “Lets start.”

Dustin is the first to roll the dice, and everyone around watches as the campaign for the week begins. You try your best to pay attention to the game in front of you, but keep getting distracted by the amount of giggling coming from Eddie’s throne, due to himself and Shirley. They were acting like those couples you and Eddie would make fun of in the halls that were practically fucking in the halls of Hawkins High, and you’d always make fake sick sounds as you passed by them. Now that he’s acting those same people right in front of you and the rest of the club, you felt yourself growing sick, for real this time. 

You stood to the side as you watched Shirley climb in Eddie’s lap, draping herself all over him and her lips ghosting over his ears as she whispers little things in his ears, and the reactions he gives to her words make you want to punch a wall. Not in anger, but in jealous. The green eyed monster had awoken inside you, and you felt yourself getting riled up at the thought of them continuing this act throughout the rest of the meeting. The worst part of it all? You knew this isn’t where the night ended for them, and you could only imagine what other kinds of plans they had up their sleeves.

“Y/N, you’re up,” Mike whispers to you, snapping you out of your small jealousy-induced trance. You take the dice from Gareth and shake the dice in your cold hands a few times, before tossing them on the table.

6.

You didn’t have enough health to pull any big moves. No luck to play the hero tonight. You sigh and slump your shoulders as the rest of the group lets out an annoyed groan. You were completely off your game for the night and you knew with how observant the club was, they could tell. But luckily for you, they didn’t press you about any issues you may be having. 

“What’s your move, Lady Y/N?” Eddie asks you, his smug look making your skin crawl. Usually his dramatics during the game always wowed you and you’d join in, but it was hard to take in anything he was saying or doing with the leech that was attached to his hip.

“I…retreat,” you say, taking a step back from the table and Mike is quick to take the dice and roll for himself in order to save the campaign. You walk over to the seat you set your stuff in and take the sketchbook out you’d been busy with before the meeting and begin to draw.

“Do you know where the closest bathroom is, rockstar?” you hear Shirley ask. You mentally groan.

“Sure thing. Y/N, can you show her where it is?” Eddie asks, turning to you. You place your sketchbook back in your bag and stand from your chair. Flashing Eddie a fake smile, you nod and begin to walk towards the door, the sound of Shirley’s heels clicking behind you filling your ears.

The halls are quiet as you make your way to the bathroom around the corner. 

“So you and Eddie, you’re best friends right?” Shirley asks you as you continue your journey to the bathroom.

“Yep, since middle school,” you answer.

“Oh that’s cool! I’m gonna be honest, I was a little worried when Eddie told me he had a girl best friend. I always think guy girl friendships are weird and don’t last. They usually always end up dating in the end or ending the friendship because one likes the other, and the other doesn’t feel the same way. At least, that’s how I see them,” she rambles. You slowly nod and point out the bathroom, her thanking you and doing a fake little run inside.

Pressing your back against the wall outside the bathroom, you can’t help but think on the words she said, the thoughts of you and Eddie ending your friendship lingering and seeping into every fiber of your body. It’s the exact reason you kept your feelings deep down and hidden, but would that work out in the end? Are you putting yourself through the pain and heartache for nothing?

The bathroom doors opens once more and she comes out.

“Thanks for waiting for me. I’m really excited to hangout with Eddie after your club ends,” she tells you. 

“What exactly do you two have planned?” You ask, your curiosity getting the best of you. Part of you didn’t want to know, but your brain was screaming at you to find out.

“Nothing special. We’re gonna go back to his place and hangout, maybe smoke some. He also mentioned something about watching a movie…Sleepaway Camp? Have you heard of it?”

You froze.

Did she really just say that?

She stops and turns to you, giving you a look of concern. You felt the world around you starting to spin, the feelings from everything starting to come up.

“I-um, I’m sorry, but I-I’m not feeling too great right now. The theater’s in there, but I’m gonna go outside and get some air. C-Can you tell someone to bring my stuff out to me when everything ends?” You ask, your voice shaking as you lean against the wall for support. She gives you a nod and scurries inside the theater, leaving you to bolt out the doors of the school and towards the parking lot. 

You bent over and held onto the railing by the stairs that spilled out into the parking lot, convincing yourself you needed to wretch. The feelings clouding your brain were mixed, swirling together in a nasty mixture that you weren’t sure how you’d describe to Nancy and Robin. The feels of hate and sadness blurring the lines and becoming one as you stood outside, wishing you had your jacket to protect your from the harmful feelings and the cool March temperature. 

Sitting on the stairs with no luck on spewing your guts out, you let out a sigh and hug yourself in a pathetic attempt to warm up a bit. Your body grew cold rather easily, something that was always an issue, but the solution, or rather the two, were inside. You kept your jacket on you at all times, even despite the temperature being hot, because you never know when you might need it. In the event you forgot your jacket, Eddie would either lend you one of his, or just wrap himself around you, rubbing your arms with his big ring-clad hands to get you in a good place. You always welcomed that comfort. It felt nice being so close to him, even if he may not feel the same.

Your pity party is interrupted by a car pulling into the lot and parking right by the stairs. As the window rolls down, you see Robin pop her head out in a cheerful manner, but soon her features soften when she takes in your sour expression and sad body language. 

“What happened?” Nancy asks from the driver seat. You rise to your feet with a sigh and walk over to the car, leaning inside through the window.

“More like what didn’t happen,” you respond, shaking your head and shrugging. 

“Did that girl show up? Nancy filled me in on everything when she picked me up, so I have a ton of movie choices for tonight,” Robin rambles.

“Yeah she showed up. And they were being gross and lovey-dovey all night. Made me want to puke,” you explain. You feel Robin’s hand touch yours in an attempt to comfort you, to which you place your other hand on top of hers and give it a pat.

“And what prompted you to be out here instead of inside?” Nancy asks. 

“Well first off-“ you begin, but hear laughter coming from behind you as the school doors open. You turn and see everyone laughing and walking together, the meeting drawing to an end for the week and you let out a soft sigh. Everyone goes in different directions, with Jeff, Gareth, and Dustin going off in one direction, Eddie and Shirley going towards their van, and Lucas and Mike coming towards you guys. Mike nor Lucas had your bag in their hands, which made you worried that you’d have to go all weekend without your supplies and homework.

“Wait, Y/N, where’s your stuff?” Robin asks. You shrug your shoulders and turn to the side, Eddie standing by Nancy’s car. You see his unreadable demeanor comes closer to you, his eyes fixed on yours as he holds out your bag to you. Taking it, you sling it over your shoulder and slide over as he kept walking closer to the window you once hung out of.

“Wheeler, you might if I borrow Y/N for a sec before you take off?” He asks. You watch Nancy nod and Eddie leads you over away from her car, out of ear shot of both Nancy and that crew, and Shirley, who’s waiting at Eddie’s van. You both just look at each other for a moment, you not really knowing what to say.

“Thanks for grabbing my-“

“What’d I do?” He asks you, his voice sounding neutral. You look towards the ground and swing back and forth on your feet for a moment, trying to think of a reasonable excuse for your behavior today.

“Nothing,” you reply, your eyes glued to the ground.

“You can’t even look at me, Y/N,” he says, looking down to try and catch your eyes. You let out a huff and look back up at him, trying to get this conversation over with, which was something you never wished with Eddie.

“There’s nothing wrong, okay? I promise,” you tell him. Now it was his turn to huff, added with a kick to the ground. You could see that you’re irritating him, and if you were him, you’d be irritated as well. But today was not your day, you just needed time away from him and try to bury the feelings you had towards him even further down. Take the weekend and recoup. Not to mention, his date was merely a hundred feet away and waiting for him to go back to your place and watch a movie together. Your guys’ movie.

“Y/N, please, I know you better than anyone. Can you please ju-“

“Eds! Are we going soon?” Shirley yelled from the van.

Ouch.

She just used your signature nickname for him.

What else did they plan on taking from you today?

“Soon sweetheart, I promise,” Eddie yelled back.

Double ouch.

Now he was using your signature nickname.

“You know what Eddie, just go, she’s waiting on you. Have fun watching Sleepaway Camp,” you tell him. Shit, why’d you just say that.

Your mind was starting to think before your mouth, the feelings that have been brewing the entire day bubbling to the surface and taking over the part of your brain that had rational thinking. That green-eyed monster was started to show her true colors. You turn on your heel and begin to take off towards Nancy’s car, when you feel Eddie grasp your wrist, stopping you.

“Wait, Y/N, how’d you know we were watching Sleepaway Camp? Did she tell you that?” He asks. You sigh and shift towards him.

“Yeah, we talked in the hall. But it’s not big deal Eddie, just go,” you say, not understanding why he was so determined to make things right between the two of you right now? Yeah, the two of you hated leaving things in a bad place, but you never pressed him about anything he was super upset about or just didn’t feel like talking about, and usually he was the same with you. Maybe today was not destined to be in the cards for you after all.

“You’re jealous,” he says matter-of-factly. You scoff and cross your arms, trying to add another layer of defense between you and your fragile heart that was about to break loose with all these feelings. You were starting to lose your resolve, and you weren’t sure how much longer you’d be able to hold yourself together.

“I am not jealous!”

“You are totally jealous! Jealous that I’m spending time with someone, a girl, who isn’t you. Don’t worry, Y/N, you aren’t being replaced, I’ll always make time for you,” he tells you, thinking he’s helped, when really, it only hurt more. Like he thought he’d have to pencil you into his life.

“It’s not that Eds-“ you begin to say, but his laugh cuts you off.

“Then what is it then? You mad you don’t have a ride? Or-or-or upset that we’re watching Sleepaway Camp?” he pesters you. You could feel yourself getting really worked up and uncomfortable, wanting to just jet off to Nancy’s car and ride far away from this conversation.

“Oh wait, do you like me or something Is that it? Do you have a big ol’ crush on me?” He asks mockingly, making you freeze. “Just tell me what’s wrong Y/N, please.”

You hesitate.

Fuck.

You. Fucking. Hesitate.

“N-no, I don’t have a crush on you,” you say, brushing it off with a weak laugh. You see Eddie himself freeze, looking at you with a deadpan expression. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Wait, Y/N…you have a crush on me?” he asks. That was definitely an understatement. You swallow down a breath that wasn’t able to escape, your body beginning to shake in fear.

You see the way his entire demeanor changed when he realized. The dramatics you so desperately loved stopped all together, replacing it with a scared look. Scared that it’s true and he had to let you down? Scared that he didn’t feel the same way? Scared it was you, of all people? That familiar feeling of wanting to throw your guts up began to boil in the pit of your stomach, your chest tightening as you continued to stare Eddie down like a dear caught in headlights, the silence booming throughout the parking lot. You couldn’t handle this, not tonight. You’ve already had the shittiest day possible, you need to escape before you lose your best friend forever.

You take off in the opposite direction, towards Nancy’s car as you hear Eddie calling after you. The tears were brimming your eyelids, desperate to fall and let every emotion you’ve been bottling up all day to come out in a flood. You open the car door and hop inside, practically shoving Mike in the middle.

“Drive Nance,” you say, shooting them a pleading look.

“Wait, Y/N, what happened?” Robin asks.

“Nancy, can you please drive away, now,” your voice raising as you plead. Nancy responds by changing the gear and stomping her foot on the gas pedal, making your escape out of the parking lot and away from Eddie Munson, who you can see still standing in the empty lot watching you leave. You let out a shaky breath as you turn and face out the window, hot tears rolling down your cheeks and sobs racking your body as you all make the journey to the Wheeler’s house.

i hope y’all enjoyed! comments, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated! :)

Ahahahahh yes i can definitely see that

Just two divorced parents exchanging their kid on the weekend

Bawling my eyes out

follow you to mordor| e.m

eddie munson x f!black!sinclair reader

wc: 2.9k

warnings: fluff/violence/injuries/curse words/no use of y/n

a/n: if i miss anything let me know! i don’t expect this to get any reads. it’s been a minute since i’ve had inspiration to write. gif not mine!

The news that spread around town was something you refused to believe. Something felt off about everything. Given everything you have experienced with your brother and his friends you knew the deaths they described were not something of this world. You were at Starcourt with your siblings that night. It wasn’t the best thing to go through after graduating high school. You should’ve gone to college further away. However, something urged you to stay behind a little longer. This all leads up to where you are right now, in Reefer Rick’s boathouse getting Eddie to calm down, after telling us what happened. You reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. In return he held your hand. Robin looked at your hands then looked at you with a questioning look. Eddie has been a dear friend of yours since you were kids. He took care of you, and you took care of him.

“Just because you ran doesn’t make you a coward Eds” you whispered to him.

“I didn’t know what to do” his tone just as broken as he looked right now. All you could do was pull him into a hug, running your fingers through his curls as he held onto you for dear life. He played with the ends of your braids to keep his hands busy.

“You guys go and I’ll stay with him for a while.” You told the others.

“I can’t let you stay here angel” Eddie told you before anyone could say something.

“He’s right, what if someone finds the both of you here?” Steve voiced.

“We can bring him some food later and you can stay longer” Robin suggested. You could only nod in response and hold Eddie a bit tighter. Everyone left the boathouse giving the two of you some time. Pulling apart from the hug you rested your forehead against his.

“I hate that I can’t stay with you” you admitted softly. “All the shit I went through with these guys, and it continues to happen.” You continued.

“Is it true you spit in the Russian dude’s face?”  Eddie questions with a small smile pulling away to look at your face.

“Absolutely, I don’t like being manhandled… without consent” you added sending him a wink before standing up. His jaw dropped, you say things like this around him often hoping he would pick up on the hint that you want him to manhandle you consensually.

“I’ll see you later angel” he said after shaking what you said from his immediate thoughts.

“See you later bubs” you kissed his cheek before exiting the boathouse. With a small smile on your face closing the door tight to make it look like it has been unbothered. You made your way back to the group.

“All good now sparkles?” Robin asked  pulling you into a side hug. Robin has become your closest friend since you visited Scoops often, and after the events of last summer you became closer than ever.

“All good nugget” you confirm returning the gesture.

~little hop, skip, and a jump to preparing to go to the Upside Down~

As your siblings sat together making the spears you stood not too far from them practicing with the bow and arrow you picked up. You were good at archery, and you knew it could come in handy with the bats.

“Well, even though you’re a bench-riding  loser, but you’re still my brother. Just the facts” Erica tells Lucas.

“That’s the truth!” you chimed in causing them to laugh. You glance over at Eddie and Dustin goofing off and it warmed your heart. You head over to them asking Dustin could you steal Eddie for a moment.

“Hey angel” he greeted you with his pretty smile.

“Hi bubs” you smiled back at him before pulling him into a tight hug. He squeezed you back.

“What’s on your mind sweetheart?” he felt you shrug at his question. ‘I know you’re lying. What’s going on in that brain of yours?’ he asks again.

“You do know I’d follow you to Mordor, right? All the way to Mount Doom, until the eagles come and rescue us.” the words rushed out your mouth as you looked up into his eyes.

“You’d come with me even if I ask you to stay behind?” he understood every word regardless of how fast you said them. When you get nervous or stressed you talk at a rapid pace he learned to keep up with it.

“I’d follow you anywhere Eds, no way in hell I’m letting you go anywhere alone” you replied. You looked up into his beautiful brown eyes. As he still held you close you admired his face. ‘You’re pretty bubs’ you whispered to him.

“You’re stunning sweetheart” he whispered back.

“I love you” this wasn’t the first time you said this to Eddie, however the meaning behind it this time was different.

“I know angel. I love you too” He assured you kissing your forehead.

“Edward Munson, I love you, as in I am in love with you. Now is a shit time to say it but, with what I’ve seen and been through already. I can’t go any longer without you knowing.” You explained. The curly haired metalhead was stunned, he knew that he was in love with you when you started your freshman year, and he was in his sophomore year. You changed a lot through the summer between your eighth grade and start of high school. The moment he realized it is when you stood up to a senior who was harassing one of the girls in your grade. You are one of the bravest people he has the pleasure of knowing. In response to your admission, he cupped your face gently and pressed a kiss to your lips. Not aware of the entire group watching.

“Fucking finally” Robin yells, and Nancy nods in agreement.

“They weren’t together already?” Steve asks. Dustin and Max are cheering.

“Gross” Erica imitates gagging.

“Please stop” you hear Lucas request.

“I love you too” Eddie says pulling away from you.

“Great now that you two weirdos have finally admitted your feelings. Be productive.” Erica comments, you couldn’t help but laugh. She was convinced for a couple years that you were already dating Eddie. What better way to admit loving someone that you love them when the world is going to shits right? You spent too long hiding your feelings and with not knowing what could happen now is a better time than ever.

~a few hours later~

“Nobody deviates from the plan no matter what, got it?” Nancy asks at the end of going over the plan. All equipped with your weapons heading to the gate in Eddie’s trailer. Eddie holding your hand as you stood between him and Dustin. Your thoughts are not only on what will happen as you step through that gate but on your siblings and Max. You can be an affectionate person when you want to be and today made you one. Hugging your siblings tight just in case it was your last time.

-Earlier-

“Please don’t die” Lucas whispers to you as you and your siblings huddled together.

“You two don’t die. You both have so much to live for, mom and dad will be okay without me. You two will as well if anything happens to me” you tell them seriously.

“What makes you think we would be okay?” Erica asks you incredulously.

“The two of you would have each other. I want you to remember that always if I’m not around. You’ll move forward, obliviously not right away but eventually” you answer her solemnly.

“If you don’t come back, I will let Erica beat your ass” Lucas says seriously.

“I’ll do it” she confirms. You laugh softly pulling them both into a tight hug. They hugged you back tighter.

“I love you both so much. I’m glad to be your sister” you remind them. They pulled away from the hug and the three of you sat in silence holding their hands.

~present~

“If things here start to go south, I mean, at all you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep ‘em busy for a minute or two. We’ll take care of Vecna. Don’t try to be cute or be a hero or something.” Steve says to Dustin and Eddie. Though you were standing with them he didn’t address you about being a hero. Steve knew you would do anything for the group and he trusted you to keep them safe.

“Don’t worry you can be the hero Steve” Dustin says. You walked away from his side and went to give Nancy and Robin a hug.

“Be safe my nugget and curly fry” you tell them giving them a squeeze.

“Absolutely, I mean look at us, we are not heroes.” You heard Eddie say to Steve. As the trio began to walk away, he stepped forward. ‘Hey Steve, make him pay’  they give each other a nod of assurance. You stayed outside as Eddie and Dustin went into the trailer. Readying your bow and arrow just in case. The guys came out the trailer, Eddie with his guitar with him. You head to the top of the trailer after they climb up. Robin’s voice comes over the walkie signaling it’s time for the distraction.

“Chrissy, this is for you” Eddie says before he starts playing Master of Puppets by Metallica. The demobats are now heading in your direction.

“Eddie! We gotta lock down in t-minus 30 seconds!” Dustin yells. He continues to yell every ten seconds. “One!” he yells and you all jump down from the trailer rushing inside the trailer locking it up. “Most metal ever!” he yells and they both get excited. You have your bow ready, not yelling with them.

“They’re on the roof” you yell to them. You heard them let out a string of shits.

“They can’t get in through there can they?” Dustin asks Eddie. A bat comes in the vent before he can answer one pops through. They begin stabbing it with their spears and Eddie covers it with the trash can lid shields they made.

“Eddie the vent in your room!” you yelled running towards the back of the trailer. It’s too late though they bust through the vent. You run back into the living room. “Dustin get your ass back through that gate now!” you yell to the teen you refuse to let die. You take his spear and throw it at the bats. Dustin tried to protest but you cut him off, ‘Now!’ he nods frantically heading back up the sheets tied together. Eddie looks at you expectantly. ‘Start climbing Eds. I’m right behind you” he hesitates for a moment but climbs up the sheets. You looked up at the two of them and they look back at you. Dustin immediately understanding what has gone through your head. He saw the look in your eyes before.

“Don’t fucking do it!” Dustin yells at you.

“Dustin I’m glad you have been in my life. You are an amazing kid. Tell my siblings I love them.” You tell him pulling the knife strapped to your thigh and cut the sheets. Eddie screams your name. You can hear how broken it sounds and it hurts your heart. “Edward Munson, I’m glad that I had the honor of loving someone as extraordinary and kindhearted as you are. I love you and take care of them please” you looked at him for what you fear is your last time. As you readied your bow you gave them one last look before running out the trailer. They screamed for you. Hoping you would turn around.

“Come and get me bitches” you yell running away from the trailer. Once you felt you were far enough you began to let your arrows fly. What you didn’t know is that Eddie and Dustin came back through the gate. Eddie went first and put the mattress down for Dustin. They ran out the trailer to see you standing in the swarm of bats. Your braids that you threw in a ponytail blowing through the wind, not once did you back down. A few of the bats attacked you, gaining a few bites. You kept fighting, then the bats dropped to the ground. So did you. Eddie screamed for you running to your body. Dustin not too far behind dropping to his knees next you Eddie. Your abdomen was bleeding, your face was caked with some dirt and blood.

“Hi guys” you wheezed out looking at them and smiled softly. ‘Thought I told you to go’ you chuckled out.

“Angel now isn’t the time to laugh. We gotta get you to a hospital” Eddie says through tears. Dustin says your name tears forming in his eyes.

“Take care of them for me Dusty” you say to the curly haired teen you have grown to love like your own little brother through the years. “Next time you talk to Suzie, tell her I said hello” you tell him holding his hand.

“You’re going to tell her yourself. We’re taking you home” he replies a sob wracking his body.

“Honey look at me…” you’re now addressing Eddie, the beautiful brown eyes you’ve loved since you were kids looked into yours. ‘I love you. Remember that for me and walk that fucking stage. It’s your year baby” you lift you hand to touch his cheek. It made him cry some more, before he can reply he felt your hand drop from his face. Your body grew heavy in his lap. The painful sob that he let out made Dustin sob harder.

“We have to get her home” Eddie says, ‘She doesn’t deserve to be left here.’ He continued. Dustin agreed. Eddie picked up your body and carried you back to his trailer. Neither of them noticing your slow breathing. Getting you through the gate wasn’t easy but they did it for you. For Erica and Lucas, you deserved that much and so did they. They were still determined to get you to a hospital, so they called an ambulance from Max’s trailer and Eddie hid. What they didn’t know was that at the time you were getting wheeled in on a gurney, Max was as well.

~ two days later~

By some miracle Eddie’s name was in the process of being cleared. Proving that Hellfire Club is just a club for nerds to play a fantasy board game and not a satanic cult. He sat at your bedside  almost refusing to leave until Wayne forced him to go get some rest. When he did rest Wayne sat by your side holding your hand.

“Come on kiddo we need you here. He needs you here” Wayne says giving your hand a squeeze and a few seconds later you squeezed his back lightly. Your eyes fluttered open, and you glanced over a Wayne with a smile on your face once more. Your siblings didn’t know you were in the hospital. Until today, they caught site of Eddie entering your room.

“Eddie!” Lucas yells getting his attention. Eddie turned to your siblings walking away from your door meeting them halfway in the hallway. “Who are you here seeing? Have you seen our sister?” he asked.

“I’m here seeing your sister. We dragged her back through the gate thinking she was dead. Turns out we got her here in time.” Eddie rambles to the Sinclair kids. At the mention of their sister the two ran past him and into the room they saw him getting ready to enter. They were met with you laughing with a man they have never met before. You paused in your conversation.

“Hey guys, I see you didn’t die.” You joked as the two of them rushed into your arms. You winced at the impact but not for them to notice. “This is Mr. Munson, Eddie’s uncle. Wayne this is Lucas and Erica.” You introduced them. Looking up at the doorway you see your favorite person in the world and couldn’t help but smile brightly. Motioning him over to you he made his way to stand by his uncle.

“Can I have a moment with her? I’ll let you guys have all her time afterwards” Eddie asks. They nodded stepping out into the hallway.

“We’re going back to Max’s room” Lucas announced heading out the door.

“We’ll be back later” Erica says after.

“I’m going to help in any way I can.” Wayne says after your siblings left. Eddie sat down in the chair his uncle once occupied and held your hand. His eyes glassy from the tears that formed.

You cupped his cheek rubbing it softly.

“Hi my sweet baby” you whispered trying to avoid crying.

“Hi my angel” he whispers reaching up to hold your face softly.

“I told you, I would follow you to Mordor” your voice cracked as tears threatened to fall. Eddie launched himself out the chair to just hug you tight. He knew that if it wasn’t you to make a crazy hero decision it probably would’ve been him. He was forever grateful to have you in his life and he let you know all of this as well. He swore up and down that once you’re released the two of you are getting married.

Chapter 1 - The Contact

What happens when we die? Many people who have experienced a NDE describe it as a slow fall into a deep sleep state, the numbness and the tingling in the limbs, the rapid but heavy breathing that suddenly slows down to stop. The most religious minded people will probably add something like a warm and blinding light in front of them to that, or the feeling of calmness and peace, or even the feeling of hearing angelic voices in the distance.

Well he didn’t feel any of that. When death was about to take Eddie Munson’s last breath, everything he could sense in that moment were Dustin’s arms around him, the warm tears of his friend falling on his face, and the desperation in his voice.

He had let himself go, giving up fighting, and death came to him faster than he had ever thought.

But when Eddie Munson’s heart had stopped beating for more than 10 minutes, something inside him had started to change, to mutate. He had reawakened, gasping for air and coughing as if he had just escaped drowning. He sat up, looking around him, searching for his young friend, but everything was frighteningly calm and he soon realized that he was alone. Completely alone.

He looked down at his body, blood stains everywhere on his shirt, his black jeans ripped on his left knee. He slowly moved his hands near to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up to his sternum and finding out numerous wounds, bite marks. Healed.

How was that even possible?

He touched the greenish scars on his stomach and on his sides, the flesh rough and thick. They looked like past injuries, like the one he had on his right elbow, from when he had fallen off of his bicycle, in the summer of ‘78. 

With a loud groan he managed to get up, standing on his feet, looking for signs of life around him. 

“Dustin!” he screamed from the top of his lungs “Harrington?! Wheeler?!” 

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted once again 

“Robin?! Dustin!” 

He felt the panic fill his chest, an unbearable weight in his stomach made it difficult for him to breathe. What the hell happened? Where’d they all gone? Were they okay? Were they dead? Was he dead? 

Death had destined him to remain forever in the upside down, a punishment for his recklesness in life, a punishment for being the son of his father. He cursed, bringing his hands up on his head and pacing back and forth trying to think about his next move.

And suddenly, it hit him. The portal on his trailer’s ceiling.

He began running towards it, moving quickly past the bicycle from which he had fallen moments before the demobats had attacked him. He reached the caravan in a short time, speeding towards the entrance, slamming the door.

He felt his blood froze in his veins. The portal had disappeared. His trailer was empty, infested by those infernal roots and there was no way out. He cried out Dustin’s name, scared and confused, and dragged himself out of the trailer.

“Surely there’s some other way out” he whispered to himself as he walked across the decadent trailer park, when he heard the shrieks of the demobats in the distance.

Not again

He turned around and saw the bats flying towards him. A red lightning struck the sky in two. He started running again, without following a specific direction. Suddenly he stumbled on a root and fell to the ground.

This time it would be over.

He raised an arm to shield his face from the bats’ attacks, closed his eyes and waited for death to come and kiss him once again.

But instead, a chilling silence fell around him.

He slowly, carefully opened his eyes and moved his hand away to look right in front of him and find out that the flock of bats had stopped and was levitating before him.

“What in the hell..” he murmured as he moved his hand down and looked at the strange prodigy happening in front of him.

He got up from the ground and cautiously walked towards one of the bats, his fingers getting closer to it. He almost bursted out in an hysterical laugh when it flew over his arm, perching on his forearm.

Fly away

The bats suddenly moved in sync and began flying away, leaving Eddie shocked and speechless.

Now he was controlling them? Was their venom the reason why he was still alive?

He decided to leave those questions unanswered for the moment and started, once again, to walk, hoping to find a way out of the upside down.

Suddenly he remembered about the communication between sources of electricity.

Bingo.

Now he had a plan.

He searched in each and every trailer for a contact and as strange as it might sound, he found nothing.

Maybe the trailer park was left without electricity after their battle with Vecna.

He decided to walk out of it and finally, in the distance, he spotted a place in which he was 100% sure he would have found someone to communicate with.

The old Lloyd family diner.

“Shit” she whispered when a splash of ketchup stained her uniform on her chest.

She quickly grabbed a wet towel to try to wipe it off, but all she did was spread the stain even more on the minty green fabric of her waitress uniform. 

She tossed the wet cloth into the sink of the kitchen and moved towards the pitcher of coffee, taking it in her hand and walking towards the door that connected the back of the diner to the main room. 

 It was 9:25 pm of a spring rainy night and the diner was practically empty, just 35 minutes away from closing time. She was glad to know that no one would have asked for coffee at that time of the day, you shouldn’t mess up with caffeine. After serving desserts to a table, she spent the last 25 minutes of her work shift cleaning the counter, and then proceeded to take the garbage bags and take them in the back of the diner. She walked out the back door dragging the heavy black sack on the floor and once she approached the dumpster, with a big push of her legs and a hit from her abdomen, she managed to throw the garbage into it. She huffed, fixing a lock of her hair behind her ear and started walking back into the diner when the outside lamp that was hanging on the door began to flicker. She stopped, raising her head to look at the luminescent bulb, and after some moments, the flickering stopped.

“Janet” she called walking back into the main room “I think it’s time to change the light bulb outside”

The owner of the diner, Janet, was sitting on one of the red bar stools and nodded when the girl walked past her.

“I’ll tell Harry to go buy a new one”

Y/n smiled and began taking the baby pink apron of her uniform off, when suddenly Janet stopped her.

“My dear, actually, i needed to ask you something”

Y/n looked at her, waiting for the woman to continue with her request.

“Since Claire is helping with the homeless in town, I need you to take care of the closing cleanup tonight”

Y/n smiled, frowning “But you didn’t tell me, this morning. I didn’t warn my mother”

“I know darling, but I really need you to stay here and do the closing for me. Can you?”

Oh, Y/n hated her. That woman, her fake kindness and her manipulative ways. Well at least she wouldn’t have had to spent the evening locked in her room, with her mother complaining by the phone and worrying about what was happening in Hawkins.

Janet had decided to keep the diner open, despite everything.

“Yeah, it’s fine” Y/n smiled nodding “I’ll call my mother later”

“Thank you dear” Janet smiled going in the back of the diner to collect her things before leaving.

In about 20 minutes, Y/n found herself alone in the middle of the diner, Janet had left and the last two customers too. Now the main room was silent and Y/n sighed looking around her for things to do. She decided to start by sweeping the floor. She walked to the vintage juke-box and picked a song.

A-ha’s “Take on me” would have been good to start.

She grabbed the broom in her hands and started brushing the floor in pace with music, ending dancing around the room using it as a dance partner. She twirled towards the counter and reached out to take a wet cloth to clean the cream white resin surface. The song eventually ended and the juke-box emitted a noise similar to a click before starting to play music from the speakers once again.

The opening melody of Karma Chameleon by Culture Club began ringing through the room.

“Ugh, I love this song!” she exclaimed to herself, keeping on dancing as she cleaned the diner’s bar surface.

Suddenly she realized that music had distracted her from realizing that the bright panel on which the menu was written, was flickering like the lightbulb of the backyard had done several moments before.

No, not flickering. The light tiles on which the letters were printed lit up intermittently.

“This place is falling apart..” she whispered to herself as she walked towards the power outlet to pull the panel’s plug off.

But then, she realized. She stopped in front of the panel, a shiver was running down her spine and made her snort loudly, as if she was cold.

The tiles always lit up in the same sequence.

H E L L O

“What the hell..” she said slightly moving away from the luminous panel, feeling a little bit scared.

Was the menu trying to talk to her?

Then the flickering seemed to stop.

She walked back to the juke-box, turning it off. Now the room was glacially silent.

She stared at the tiles for a while, but nothing happened.

She chuckled to herself

“I’ve been watching way too many movies”

But then there it was again, the panel started lighting up and this time the tiles were lit much faster. She quickly grabbed her notebook for orders from the uniform’s pocket and leaned against one of the tables to write the sequence of letters down.

M U N S O N

E D D I E

H E R E

She read aloud, “Eddie Munson?”

Wasn’t he on the missing people list?

She watched the three words written down on her notebook and for a moment, she thought she was crazy. The panel was trying to communicate? What the fuck was wrong with her? And above all, Eddie Munson what? She didn’t even know him in person. She had met him like two times in her whole life and they didn’t even talk.

H E N D E R S O N

N E E D

D U S T I N

“Oh damn, alright that’s enough” she said walking towards the diner’s telephone. She didn’t know Dustin Henderson’s home telephone number, but she knew someone that could have helped her with it.

She dialed the number by memory. The phone rang four times before someone picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Steve” she said as soon as she recognized the voice from the other side of the call

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Y/n, Y/n Y/l/n”

“Oh hey, Y/n” he said, obviously surprised by the phone call.

They knew eachother since they were kids, their mothers were close friends, but anyway this was the first time in 4 years that they actually talked to eachother. They had chosen different paths.

“Is everything okay?”

“Steve I know this might sound ridiculous but I need you to give me Dustin Henderson’s home telephone number”

She heard him scoffing from the other side

“What? Why would you need Henderson’s phone number?”

“It’s difficult to explain.”

“Y/n, do you realize this isn’t normal? You calling at my house’s phone at 10 pm to ask me about Dustin Henderson? Where are you, are you okay?”

She stayed silent for a bit, then she realized that the only way to get Dustin’s help was convince Steve to take him to her.

“No, I really need you and Dustin to come here, at the Lloyd’s diner as soon as possible Steve”

“Hey, did something happen to you?”

“No it’s not about me, I’m fine, it’s..”

She took a deep breath before letting it slip out of her lips

“I think Eddie Munson is talking to me through the menu’s light panel”

————————————————-

Ghost of Us — Chapter 2

Masterpage <last next>

This is the sequel to my book Ghost of You. Go check it out before reading this one.

Pietro Maximoff x fem!Mutant!reader

Warnings: language, talk of spirits, some angst

Word Count: 3.7K

If you want to be added to the tag list, let me know :)

Keep reading