In Memory Of The Purest And Kindest Boy Hawkins Ever Had, Take Your Minute Of Silence And Then A Deep

In memory of the purest and kindest boy Hawkins ever had, take your minute of silence and then a deep sigh. He's a hero!

mase 🫶 kai being the only weirdos in their team wearing long sleeved shirts in 30+° weather

A Little Closer

pairing: Steve Harrington/Female Reader

summary: There is a time and place to proclaim your love for somebody, and being injured and trapped in the Upside Down is not one of them.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, reader and steve arguing for no reason, and some kissing tm. >>>SPOILERS FOR ST4<<<, not beta read i edited myself but can't be trusted either.

note: I haven't written an imagine for him in a hot minute, and I say this because I have an ongoing series so check out my masterlist ;) Anyway, I wrote this with a dream my friend had about him in mind (she knows who she is). Thanks in advance for reading and please enjoy!

✧ ✧ ✧

You liked Steve Harrington, a lot. And have since you first met in that junk yard years ago when you were introduced to the creatures of this other dimension they called ‘the Upside Down’

Only then you just liked him, because these days you were pretty sure you were hopelessly in love with the guy. This didn’t mean he couldn’t get on your nerves though, especially when he treated you like you incapable of doing literally anything.

"No, you're not going down there."

Steve's voice was firm as he spoke, his words directed at you as you were starting to unbutton your Hawkins Letterman jacket, preparing to dive into Lover’s Lake and see if this gate was down there like Dustin theorized.

"Says who?" You bit back as you were pulling the jacket off, "Robin said Nancy was in charge, not you, Steve."

"Yeah well, I was the co-captain of the swim team and have had life guard certification for 3 years, so logically, it should be me," Steve stated as he too began to undress starting with his shoes all the while Eddie, Nancy, and Robin just watched. You scoffed at him.

"And I was the Captain of the girls swim and water polo team, and have had my certification for 3 and a half years,” you replied, “Can someone tell me which is better?"

They looked awkwardly at each other until Robin began to speak.

"I mean...technically speaking you both had similar responsibilities as a captain and co-captain, but I mean…” her eyes went to Steve who was looking at her with raised brows, “She doesn't have the co in front of hers and didn't have to share responsibility, and uh…her certification beats yours by half a year…so...I would say hers is better."

Steve shot a look at Robin as he was taking off one shoe as fast as he could.

"Gee. Thanks for taking my side Robin," he told her with a scoff while Robin shrugged and claimed she only said so because you asked, "It's just dangerous alright? There could be a gate down there, or worse Vecna could be there- and I don't think you should-"

"Look, out of everyone here I feel like I've been the most useless, and I'm taking the chance to do my part," you explained briefly, "Let me do this because I can do this."

"I know you can, but that doesn't mean you should-"

“And why not? No matter who goes down there the risks are all the same,” you said tearing your t-shirt off now, leaving you in just a tank top and your Hawkins gym shorts. 

Steve was untying his other shoe now, trying not to become distracted by your sudden loss of layers, and argued, “Yes, but I don’t want you to take the risk-”

“So anyone but me can?” You gave him an odd look, one that made Steve shake his head quickly.

“No- No I didn’t say-”

"Okay. Are you two seriously going to argue who gets to swim to a possible underwater gate to another dimension where yet another thing is trying to kill us?" Robin was asking, successfully making you and Steve finally go quiet, “Is this a regular occurrence? Arguing over who gets to do risky shit? Because I think this happened last time too.” 

She remembered how when coming up with a plan to infiltrate what they thought to be a simple stock room at Starcourt, Steve argued against pretty much any plan that involved you risking your life. Many valuable minutes were wasted with arguments like this with you two going back and forth. 

It was almost embarrassing honestly that Steve didn’t realize how into you he actually was or how into him you were because for everyone else on this boat, and on the shore line, it was pretty obvious and has been for quite some time. This was just more evidence of it.

“No, we’re not arguing because we all already decided I’m going,” Steve said, making you laugh and toss your shirt at him before he could even think about taking his other shoe off. It hit his face and momentarily blinded him.

“We decided? No, you decided. Are you implying this needs to be voted on Steve?”

Steve took your shirt in his hands, and looked back at you, “Well maybe it should be- Robin who do you think-” 

“I think the one who is already ready to go should go, you still have one shoe on and she does not,” Robin replied quickly as she was shoving the flashlight in the plastic bag Eddie had handed to her.

Steve groaned, “Are you never going to take my side or something Robin? I’m getting hurt over here.” 

You were twisting your neck side to side, a pleasant smile on your lips that Robin chose you, but it hadn’t compared to when Nancy finally spoke up. 

“Let her do it," Nancy told Steve, then cringed as her eyes went to yours, "Not because I think you're useless or anything, but I've been to enough swim meets for the paper throughout the year to know she's damn good…and she does hold the Hawkins High record for how long she could hold her breath...she can do it, Steve." 

It was always nice to have Nancy Wheeler on your side, especially when it was Steve on the opposite side. He always seemed to listen to her and take her words to heart and while other times in this friendship of yours he seemed to drop everything and listen to her it made you feel a tad bit jealous, this time you felt satisfied. 

“And like I said, I know she can, better than me, and certainly better than the rest of you, but what if-”

“Dude I’m about to dive down there just so I don’t have to hear you argue for another minute,” Eddie interrupted for the first time since your argument started, “I mean, I’m not going to, of course, but the fact that I was tempted to says a lot. You just gotta trust your girl, Harrington.” 

All eyes went to him besides yours at his statement. You kept your gaze trained on Steve, seeing his expression turn from grumpy to confusion then to what you confused with amusement rather than nervousness.

“What? My girl? She isn’t…” he laughed, and you hated how a small part of your heart cracked, “She isn’t my girl, if anything she’s all of our girl-” he cleared his throat as he realized how weird that sounded, “I mean, she’s nobody’s girl, but definitely, definitely not mine-” 

Nancy cringed at Steve’s words, and Robin had rolled her eyes for you while Eddie just raised a brow. You were frowning now, turning away from all them after you snatched the flashlight from Robin with a little too much force. Her eyes snapped to yours, being the only one to see your aggravated expression and understanding why. 

While Steve’s concern was appreciated and not exactly unwanted, you were starting to get annoyed with him. Sometimes it really felt like when he was with you and the kids…he just saw you as one of the kids he had to keep an eye on and not as… something else.

Well, he didn’t get to tell you what to do, especially now when everyone was on your side and not his. So, without much of a warning, you dived into Lover's Lake.

The splash of the water had captured their attention, especially Steve’s and when he saw you were no longer in the boat. He cursed and looked over the edge and saw nothing but the darkness of the water. 

“Dammit! I should’ve known she’d do that!” he said as he gripped the edge of the boat. 

Why did you have to be so reckless sometimes? It seriously stresses Steve out, from you throwing him out of the way from that Demodog and getting smacked by it yourself despite it being your first encounter with one to you flirting with the guards at Starcourt and to now jumping into the lake to see if there’s a gate down there. One obviously was more dangerous than the others, but he wished you would just stop.

He was taking his shirt off now, obviously going to dive and swim down after you until someone's hand hit the back of his head just as he got the shirt off. 

“Ow, hey-”

“Don’t be dumb, Steve!” Robin told him, “She’s going to be fine. Nance, how long can she hold her breath?” 

Nancy answered, and it was more than a minute longer than Steve could, and it was obvious when he sighed. 

“See, we’ll just time her and if she doesn’t come back up then you can valiantly dive in there and rescue her, maybe even give her mouth to mouth since you want to kiss her so bad-” Steve’s eyes widened slightly and he scrunched up his nose.

“Woah what? I never said-” 

“Please, it’s obvious, so, so obvious that our new pal Eddie here thought you were together.” 

Eddie looked at the both of them, "I thought you were like…an overprotective boyfriend or something with how hard you were trying to take her place.” 

“Man, what do you know, you barely got here…”

“I’m just saying, man, I don’t think you would’ve fought that hard if it were one of us,” Eddie stated, making Steve scoff because he wouldn’t even hesitate to do the same with Robin and Nancy at least, but it was the fact that you could very well make this dive better than him was enough to prove to them at least that there was something more to it. And maybe a little to Steve too.

“Oh you don’t even know the half of it,” Robin said while Nancy half-smiled in amusement as she looked down at her watch, being sure to keep track of the amount of time you’re down there, “One time she flirted with a secret Russian guard, and lover boy here looked like he was going to explode-”

“What!” Steve’s cheeks were heating up at the mention of that, “We remember that very differently.” 

Sure, he was a little annoyed but not because he thought you were trying to hook up with him, because it was risky. It didn’t matter if it kind of worked…and he was a bit jealous...not explosion jealous, but still in the spectrum of jealous.

“And the way they’re always around each other? We had no room on this boat and Steve insisted she come with…”

“Yeah, it is a little exhausting having to keep you two apart to be honest,” Nancy stated, “We could’ve used her at Pennhurst.” 

“Hey, that is different, you guys are making it sound like I tell her what to do or something- first, I didn’t want her to be a babysitter again and second- she wanted to stay behind with me when you went to Pennhurst.”

“And I wonder why that was…” Robin hummed. Steve bit the inside of his cheek, not understanding was Robin was getting at, “You like her Steve, just admit it and things will feel better. I swear.”

Steve sighed, “Okay yeah, so I like her, but she isn't into me and I don't see why it's important right now-"

“Oh Steve, I thought you were a pro at this,” Robin said, and he shot her a little look as she grinned back, “I’m just saying, after all this is done, and your only problem is finding the ‘one’ maybe look at her, yeah?”

Steve swallowed a lump of spit, and laughed, “You’re just trying to mess with me so I'll ask her out and you can laugh when she says no.”

“Am I really that cruel?" Robin questioned, but was met with silence, she scoffed and continued to say, "Like I said, just look a little bit closer.”

Robin was finished speaking then, and Steve shook his head in disbelief before deciding to keep asking Nancy how much time had past.

✧ ✧ ✧

You hadn’t resurfaced yet, and the time you usually could hold your breath underwater was inching closer and closer by the second. Steve was getting nervous, eyes flickering all over the lake to see if you had maybe emerged elsewhere. 

Already, he was moving to stand, “That’s it, it’s been too long, I’m going down there-”

“Steve-” 

Suddenly, you were bursting out of the water with a loud gasp and splashing water all over everyone. Steve nearly fell over as it was where he was about to dive into. You looked up at him as your vision readjusted and saw him staring at you with relief. 

And then he started to speak.

“Were you trying to beat your own record down there? Why did it take you so long? Were you sightseeing or something- I was about to swim down there and-” 

“It’s there,” you interrupted him before he could blast more questions your way, “I saw it, Dustin’s right- there is a gate right beneath us.” 

Steve went quiet, and the other three all shot shocked looks to one another and Robin quickly relayed the information Dustin on the walkie-talkie.

“It’s really down there?” Nancy asked more so in disbelief. You were nodding.

“Is it snack-sized, or like the one we saw at Starcourt?” Robin asked.

“Definitely not as big as that one was, but still pretty big,” you replied breathlessly as you began to climb up. It was Steve who was offering you his hand, and you ignored the fact that he was no longer wearing that yellow long-sleeved shirt that made you forget for a moment you were annoyed with him. 

“That’s insane,” Steve was saying as your hands met. He was about to pull you up when he was suddenly jolting forward and nearly falling into the water. Your eyes had met each other, and it dawned on you that something was wrapped tightly around your ankle and pulled. 

In one breath you said frantically, “SteveDon’tLetMeG-”

The rest of your sentence was drowned out by water as you were suddenly submerged once again, but this time it was very much against your will. Whatever that was coiled around your ankle was forcefully dragging you back down to the bottom of the lake.

Your hand had unfortunately slipped from Steve's grasp as you were pulled under, and he was calling your name. He didn't think twice, diving in after you while leaving Robin, Nancy and Eddie behind. In fact, Steve went after you so fast that for a moment they thought he was dragged down with you.

“What the hell was that, man! What the hell was that!” Eddie was shouting.

“What do we do?!” Robin shouted moreso at Nancy because she trusted her with decisions more than herself or Eddie. Nancy was already standing at the edge of the boat, ready to dive in after you and Steve. 

It was hard not to panic as you were being dragged further and further from the surface. The water of the lake filled your lungs, and you desperately swung your arms upward in an attempt to swim back up, but it was to no avail.

As fast as you were underwater though, before you could possibly drown, you were suddenly gasping loudly and being dragged across rough terrain. You were shouting, water spilling from you lips.

Just seconds after you were pulled through the gate, Steve was coming through it too. His eyes frantically looked around for you until he heard your shouts. He called out to you, already beginning to run as fast as he could toward you.

You called out to him too, "Steve! Help!"

Your hands desperately tried to grab anything that could anchor you, but everything easily slipped from your grasp. It was only when you hit something particularly large the thing let go of you, and the sudden force of the stop caused you to roll a couple of times before you were burrowed in a bunch of sticky vines. 

Steve called out your name again as he was by your side. You were too winded to comprehend what exactly had just happened, your eyes blinking rapidly at Steve and your new surroundings.

You were breathing heavily, gazing up at him with wide eyes as his hands grasped shoulders and making you face him. His eyes flickered all over you, making sure you were okay while asking you if you were hurt.

"I-I don't know, what- wait- where are we?" You said between pants as Steve eyes fell back onto yours. You were moving to stand, and Steve helped you.

After catching your breath with Steve’s arm wrapped firmly around you, you finally had taken in your surroundings. It was Lover’s Lake, yes but not your Lover’s Lake, and there were the same dust-like particles floating all around you. 

The terrain was covered with the vines, and the sky was permanently cloudy. What really had you staring in awe was the flashes of red in the distance that came with cracks of loud lightning and thunder. 

“Steve…are we?”

You looked at him now, and he was staring at the sky too, “Uh yeah…yeah I’m pretty sure.”

You were dragged through the gate,

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve was mad at you, though you couldn't really understand why. Because after he killed that bat-like creature that once had you by the throat by slamming its body repeatedly on the ground, he wasn't mad then, at least at you.

But, now he was and you thought maybe it had something to do with your newly sprained ankle that you were struggling to walk on. You knew the thing that had dragged you all the way down here was to blame for that.

After being dragged into this god forsaken place, these bat creatures had surrounded attacked the both of you. You were so high on adrenaline that you hadn’t even realized you could barely even walk on your ankle until you were able to catch your breath under Skull Rock.

"You shouldn't have dived down here," Steve said with a shake of his head, "It should've been me putting myself in danger. Not you."

You were leaning against Steve, who insisted despite his own injuries that he'd be the one to help you walk on your faulty ankle.

You rolled your eyes, "Again, it doesn't matter! We're all down here now, trapped and with no way of defending ourselves yet. The only way it changes is you being the one dragged and us coming after you."

"You went before we even properly decided who's going to go, at least you wouldn't be hurt or almost strangled to death-"

You huffed and began to try and move away from him, "You know what, I think I'd rather walk by myself."

Steve scoffed at the idea of that, "I'd hand you to Robin before letting you do that."

For some reason, this made you finally snap.

"Steve, seriously, what the hell is your problem? Why do you always treat me like I'm a kid who’s less than capable of doing literally anything? You treat me worse than you treat Dustin, an actual kid," you claimed in an irritated tone.

Steve seemed taken back by your words, stopping the both of you from walking (you limping) any further.

"Woah hey, I don't treat you like a kid-"

"Yeah well it sure feels like it," you interrupted with a deep frown now, "I just don't get it, do you not trust me or something? Is it because I'm a girl? Because you don't treat Nancy like that, or Robin-"

"What? No! It's not because of that, also I thought I made it pretty clear that I do trust you!" Steve argued back to you. You laughed in his face.

"Pretty clear? We wouldn't be having this lovely conversation if it was 'pretty clear' like you claim," you mocked slightly, Steve frowned too then.

"Well...yeah, I thought it was pretty clear how much I trust you and how much I..." he suddenly paused in his sentence, before sucking in a breath and saying, "...care about you, enough to not want you throwing yourself into danger and getting hurt," he explained, you pressed her lips together as you stared at him, "Seriously, you do it all the time-"

"For the same reason you throw yourself into danger all the time!" You exclaimed, this time loud enough for the other three to hear your back and forth, "I care about you too, maybe more than you actually know, so do you think it doesn't...affect me when you throw yourself into these situations too?"

Your voice was shaking slightly as you recalled him getting into a fight with Hargrove when he tried to attack Lucas, or when he was tortured and drugged up by those Russian soldiers. And how, more recently, you had to listen to his shouts of pain of the bats biting and chewing on his sides, being reminded of how helpless you felt.

Steve paused then, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"It does?"

"Yes Steve, it does because you're my friend. In fact, it terrifies me, Steve, when you do that because I'm also absolutely in love with you," You rambled on, "But I still trust you, you know? I trust that you know what you're doing and you'll just be okay. And I really, really wish you'd do the same for me."

Any words Steve was going to say had been wiped from his mind as he took in what you had just said. It seemed that you hadn't even realized what you said as you stared up at him with your eyebrows taunt and eyes meeting his directly.

'I'm also absolutely in love with you'

Steve's breath hitched gently, wondering if he actually hadn't of heard that and he was delirious from the blood loss.

"Shit, seems like he doesn't have to look closer," Robin muttered to both Nancy and Eddie who watched with raised brows that you'd just admitted that out loud.

"Uh hey, I don't think we have time for this-" Nancy called over to you too but was promptly interrupted by the ground beginning to aggressively shake beneath all of you.

Deep rumbles echoed from all around you as the tremors caused you to fall forward onto Steve. He caught you, but ended up falling backwards and hitting the floor with a thud.

You landed right on top of him with a short yelp, hands clenching the denim jacket Eddie let Steve borrow and your face pressed into his bare chest.

Despite the circumstances, Steve couldn't let go of your confession that he was now sure he actually heard you loud and clear. You were in love with him? Did everyone see it but him? You just had always seem to be this untouchable girl to him, even before you became friends, like you were there but never within reach.

When the floor had finally stopped shaking, you looked up to look at him with wide eyes that probably realized you'd just confessed your secret love for him. You looked ashamed, embarrassed even, and he could tell you were already thinking about ways to change what you had just told him before.

Steve realized in this moment you were always within reach, but just like Robin had said...he wasn't looking at you and just assumed you weren't interested when you very much were.

He prided himself in being able to capture the signs someone is into him, even called himself a pro, but clearly that title is wrong if he couldn't even tell if the girl he was in love with as well for almost a year returned his feelings.

"Steve I didn't-"

"It scares me too for the same reason," he suddenly told you. It took you a moment to process what he was getting at, "For the exact same reason."

You tilted your head, about to ask him if he knew what he was saying, but it was cut short by his lips meeting yours. It was a short kiss, but one that took your breath away in the few seconds your lips were touching.

“Are these two serious?” Eddie asked out loud.

“Oh yeah they are. This is not the time!” Nancy called from her spot, but her words fell on deaf ears as you and Steve kissed. Robin scoffed out loud and began to make her way toward her friends who were (finally) in a lip lock.

“Hey! I’m happy for you two to realize you have soft and fuzzy feelings for each other! I really am! But does it have to be right now!?”

Neither of you listened as you kissed, too engrossed with each other and the fact that these feelings you’ve both had for a year were reciprocated. It didn’t matter, at the moment, that you were in the Upside Down and would always remember your first kiss being here of all places.

You kissed him harder, pushing down onto him the way you always dreamed of kissing him and he returned with the same energy.

The kiss was brought abruptly to an end though when someone was grabbing you and making you stand. You blinked a few times in your stupor and saw that it was Robin.

“Like I said, I’m happy for you, but we seriously have to keep moving,” she told you. You looked back at Steve who was being helped up by Eddie. His eyes found yours, and so did a winning smile on his lips.

You laughed softly, still in a bit of a shock of what had just happened. Your fingers went to your lips that still felt tingly from his lips that were on yours.

“I better not wake up in my bed and realize this was just a dream,” you suddenly said to Robin.

She wrapped an arm around you, determined to be the one to help you walk now and replied, “Nope. This is real, we’re trapped in another dimension, and you just kissed Steve Harrington.”

You leaned against Robin now, a laugh escaping your lips.

Meanwhile, Steve was standing on his own, and gently placed a hand over his lips like you had, still feeling like he could feel your lips there and tasting you.

Eddie had cleared his throat, "Now you're really an overprotective boyfriend."

Steve coughed into his hand now as if to hide the fact he was touching his own lips, and stood up more straight. His eyes had found yours again, catching the smile on your lips as Robin helped you turn around and he grinned to himself as well.

He couldn't wait to kiss you again, preferably in your own world and on one of your first dates.

Moonstruck - Part 1

Eddie Munson x Reader

Series Summary: Eddie knew he was doomed the moment his eyes landed on you and his heart jumped in his chest. You, princess of Hawkins High, one of the most popular and beloved girls of the school, with perfect grades and perfect charisma; and the daughter of Hawkins chief of police.

Requested by anon: Could I request a Eddie Munson (or Billy Hargrove) x Hopper reader? You can really do anything you want with this, I just love seeing the x Hopper stories!!

A/N: The much-needed Eddie fluff we all deserve after the disaster that was vol 2, my heart hurts for him, it's been a while since I felt like this for someone, I love him so much and I found comfort in this story that I already love, and I hope you will as well. Requests for this absolute angel are open, send them in if you have any. <3 I understand that it will be difficult for some people to see themselves as Hopper's daughter, but know that I wrote this imagining that he adopted her when she was younger. And yeah maybe the popular/loser trope is overused already but I couldn't care less :P.

Masterlist

Eddie hated himself for it, how his gaze drifted back to her every time he wasn't talking with his friends; how he'd momentarily forget to chew on his lunch when she'd merely look his general way. He hated how beautiful she looked smiling with her friends all the way on the other side of the lunchroom; he hated how he had fallen for none other than the princess of Hawkins High.

"Eddie, are you listening?" Dustin snapped his fingers in front of Eddie.

He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus on the boy in front of him. The sounds of the mixed voices of students talking and laughing, sneakers scratching the ground, lunch trays hitting tables and faint singing of birds outside tuned back to Eddie's ears as the image of you became a distant blur when he averted his gaze.

"Yeah man, what's up?" Eddie popped another cashew into his mouth.

"I asked, what time is Hellfire tonight?" Dustin asked with big eyes, excited to battle the new monster they encountered in their last session. "You still haven't confirmed and I'm dying to kill that beast."

A smirk came to Eddie's lips, he furrowed his eyebrows pretending to think about it. "I'd say we meet at seven, I still have to stop by the library to pick up a chemistry book."

"You're studying?" Mike, who sat beside Dustin, chuckled at the thought of Eddie with his head buried in a book.

"Yeah, what of it, Wheeler?" Eddie jabbed back, leaning over the table and closer to Mike, making the boy shut his mouth promptly. "Mr. Anderson gave us a fucking assignment and I need to pass, just so I can shove my diploma on his face."

Eddie slumped back in his seat, the grin never leaving his face. "This is my year, guys." His smile faltered slightly when you came into his view, walking past his table and towards the exit; the afternoon sun making your hair and eyes shine. Eddie exhaled softly, he was such a loser. Deep down he knew you didn't even know his name, probably didn't even know he existed.

"… It's my year." He repeated to himself, looking away just before you walked out the door.

_____

The last bell rang indicating the end of classes for the day, students exited their classrooms in masses, chatting in the school corridors; some stopping by their lockers and others making a beeline for the parking lot.

Eddie did neither, he slung his worn backpack over his shoulder and walked through the less populated corridors towards the school's library. He passed by only a few other students, not missing the judgemental stares he received from some of them. He didn't bother meeting any of their gazes, amidst a crowd he had no problem in creating a commotion; but alone, he preferred to keep to himself. Deep down the title of being the school's freak was a heavy one to carry.

He opened the library doors, making them creak as they moved. An older woman looked up at him through her glasses, he gave her a nod with a tight-lipped smile. The library wasn't huge by any means, filled with a few rows of shelves loaded with mostly outdated books, with two big windows on the right wall to allow some natural light in and three round tables by the middle of the room for whoever felt like studying here.

The late afternoon sunlight barely peeking through the clouds cast an orange glow over the bookshelves, making dust particles fill the air as Eddie walked by.

His eyes scanned the paper labels taped to each shelf in search of chemistry books. Scrunching his nose in annoyance when he couldn't find anything.

"Excuse me?" A soft voice called Eddie's attention, making him turn his head only to be met with the person he'd been longingly watching throughout the year.

"It's Eddie, right?" You said his name with a small smile, taking half a step towards him. His mouth went dry at the same time his heart sped up.

"Um-" Eddie mentally kicked himself for forgetting how to form words, his brain still going haywire at the fact you knew his name. He settled for an overexcited nod.

"Could you maybe give me hand in reaching a book? It's way up and I'll probably knock the whole shelf to the ground if I keep trying to reach it myself." You chuckled, mindlessly pointing behind you with your thumb.

Your soft laugh brought heat to Eddie's cheeks. He blushed, he fucking blushed and he felt like a thirteen-year-old boy for it; but the timid smile on his lips let it show he was loving every second. "Yeah, of course."

You walked back to the row of shelves you came from, Eddie trailing right behind you. "It's that blue one right over there." You pointed up to a thick blue and white book that collected dust high up on the wooden shelf.

Eddie glanced up, dropping his backpack and standing up on his tippy toes. The tip of his fingers closed around the book and urged it to fall forward on his hand. With said book in hand, he passed his palm on the hardcover to reveal the title; it read 'Chemistry, second year and up'.

He handed the book to you, not caring that this was the same one he came here for.

"Thank you so much." You beamed, storing the book inside your backpack with a relieved smile.

Eddie picked up his own backpack, gripping tightly into the strap once it rested over his shoulder, burying his other hand in the pocket of his pants to stop it from fidgeting. "It's no problem."

"What were you looking for?" Pushing some strands of hair behind your ear, your gaze never left him. Up close, he was quite handsome. His big and gentle brown eyes captured your attention, making you not want to look away. Your friends spoke of him as if he was this freak, someone not worth sparing a glance towards and deserving of mean insults. You never really agreed.

"It was uh- just a literature book," Eddie said the first thing he thought of, averting his gaze for a second to stop the twirling in his stomach. Were you really making conversation with him?

"Already got it, nothing exciting." He chuckled nervously and patted the strap of his backpack.

"Nice, let's go then." You smirked at the flush on his cheeks, walking around him and turning backward when he didn't move.

"Go… ?" He furrowed his eyebrows in the most adorable lost look you'd ever seen, making you full-on smile.

"Leave. My dad is waiting outside and I suppose you're going home as well?"

Eddie's mouth opened and closed once as he thought of what to answer. Did you really want to be seen walking around with him? Even if most students were gone by now, heads would be turned if people saw you two walking side by side.

You raised an eyebrow at him, making Eddie slightly shake his head. "S-sure, I'm leaving too."

Walking the school hallways with less than a meter between him and you was something Eddie never thought would happen. The school was mostly empty by now, only a few scattered first years remained.

Eddie kept a safe distance from you as you walked, being extra careful to not overstep any boundaries and mess up the last little moments he had with you; which he would sure be replaying in his mind like a fool later on.

You kept rambling on to him about the chemistry assignment, the same one he would have to make. The hand gripping his backpack strap tightened on its hold, a faint smile was now permanent on his lips. He held on to every word you were saying, treasuring the way your voice sounded directed at him deep inside his heart. Sure this would be a one-off event yet feeling elated nonetheless.

Until the main school doors opened, and the real world greeted him with a slap on the face. His skin became a few shades paler when his eyes landed on the brown car parked further in the parking lot. The words 'Chief of Police' stood out proudly against the car's paint.

Princess of Hawkins High, one of the most popular and beloved girls of the school, with perfect grades and perfect charisma; and the daughter of Hawkins chief of police. The fact had been blurred inside Eddie's mind with your presence beside him. Yet now he could only imagine how much Hopper was wishing to kill him only for standing close to you.

"Thank you again for the book." You turned to Eddie, reaching a hand out to touch his forearm.

He shuddered under your unexpected touch, feeling goosebumps already crawling on his skin. He gulped, brown eyes looking at you with something akin to yearning.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" You took a few steps backward and away from him, giving him a small wave and smile of goodbye.

"I- yeah, see you, sure," Eddie called out, his voice losing volume by the end; being able to see Hopper boring his eyes into his soul from inside the car. He risked a last glance at your back, feeling his heart clenching inside his chest for having a taste of something that could never be his.

Eddie walked about four steps before stopping abruptly. Did you just say 'see you tomorrow'?

You plopped into the passenger seat, greeting your dad warmly with a kiss on his cheek.

Hopper took your backpack from you and threw it onto the backseat, his gaze moving to the retreating figure of Eddie. "Are you friends with that guy?"

You glanced in the same way, pursing your lips in thought before answering. "I guess so, why?"

"Hmm, looks like trouble," Hopper grumbled.

You turned to him with a glare, you knew it was just his protective side but it still didn't make it fair. "Dad, stop judging people by their looks, he's actually really sweet."

"Just be careful is all I'm saying." Hopper raised a hand in surrender, shooting you a soft glance as he started the car.

Your eyes drifted back towards the school grounds, now empty, you kept your gaze until the car turned the street and the building disappeared. Your mind replayed the image of his kind brown eyes and alluring smile. Really sweet indeed.

—⧗—

A/N: I mean it when I say that Eddie has the kindest, most beautiful brown eyes, okay? Anyway, hope you liked the first part, the next one might take a while to be posted because I'm still thinking about how to proceed from now on.

Feedback and reblogs are very much appreciated. <3

Eddie’s taglist: @milkiane @alicefallsintotherabbithole

Let me know if you wanna be added to his taglist.

holding hands with someone is one of the simplest and greatest things on earth. nothing else really matters honestly

you’re the only woman

pairing : eddie munson x fem!reader

word count : 3.7k

summary : eddie munson has a huge crush on y/n l/n. which really sucks, because she’s his friend, and she’s way out of his league… but god, she’s so gorgeous. 

notes : slight spoilers for s4 :) so incredibly slight. that’s all <3 this is for all my eddie lovers in light of some… recent developments.

ALSO! requests are open :) check out my pinned post for more info on that. enjoy!

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