But Will I Let This Bother Me? No. Fill In The Blanks If It Bothers You - Tumblr Posts

Moonlight - Part 3

Part 1 part 2

Word count: 1.2k

To Eddie's surprise, there's a note on his locker. He plucks it off and almost crumbles it up, but the handwriting looks familiar.

"Meet me behind the gym after school. - H."

H? For Harrington? Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but why would it be wishful if they avoid each other constantly? It's just after the full moon, Steve still seems rather weak, as he always does afterwards. He's pretty sure nobody goes behind the gym, but it's only because he's never been whisked away to do horny teenager things back there like many other students in this hellhole of a school.

The dirt and pebbles crunch under Eddie's feet as he peeks around the brick wall to see none other than Steve Harrington waiting very anxiously there. Is he waiting for a girl? Maybe Nancy Wheeler? Though Eddie is pretty sure things are rocky between them right now. He slips into the small corridor-like area between the two walls and stands just across from Steve.

"You asked me to come here? I don't have my lunchbox with me today, you'll have to either wait until tomorrow or come to my place-" Eddie starts, but Steve cuts him off.

"No, I don't want weed or anything. I just want to, uh... I just wanted to say thanks. For sticking with me for the past two... nights. I've been doing this for years and nobody's really stuck around to help me out like you did." Steve says quickly, looking around to make sure nobody is listening in on their conversation. The past two nights. The past two full moons. Steve holds out a small wad of cash, clearly expecting Eddie to take it without question.

"I didn't know what you like." Steve says sheepishly as his shoulders shrug. "I would've gotten you a proper gift, but now that just seems weird. So... money" He adds, his tone simple but clearly nervous for some reason. Eddie hesitates. What's the catch? Does he owe Steve after this? Is this a test? Steve moves his hand slightly, raising his eyebrows as if to say "Are you gonna take it or not?". On one hand, money. And on the other hand, it's from Steve.. But money is for certain good, Steve is still a maybe. He reaches out with a shaking hand, hoping Steve won't change his mind at the last second for whatever reason.

"Thanks?" Eddie says, more of a question than an actual statement of gratitude, snatching the wad of cash up before Steve can even blink. Steve nods, running a hand through his hair and taking tiny steps forward so he scoots down the wall a little more. Eddie mirrors him. They stand in silence for a few moments more before Eddie speaks up with probably the stupidest thing he has ever said.

"Why don't you have anyone else with you? Surely your parents know their own kid turns into a giant puppy almost every month." He comments, but Steve immediately goes quiet, even though he was quiet before. This is a different quiet. This is a quiet Eddie knows all too well, the quiet that's either the calm after the storm or the buildup to the storm.

"They don't know." Steve says simply, now seemingly completely invested in the gravel under their feet. Eddie thinks he genuinely hates how much Steve looks like a puppy right now, but it's a little fitting.

"They don't? You've been doing this for how long now, and they've just been at home while you're turning into an overgrown dog?" Eddie says, hardly even a question. Of course he's mad at Steve's parents, he just doesn't know why.

No.. he does.

But he refuses to catch feelings for Harrington. Refuses. It goes against his whole Munson doctrine. Basically, jocks are bad, jocks will always be bad. All of Steve's friends saw Eddie, and decided that he was the perfect target. They've backed off somewhat since he started selling though, nobody really messes with their dealer.

"They just don't." Steve bites, his arms crossed over his chest in a defensive position. The hell is with his tone, wasn't he just thanking Eddie? Also, how long has Steve been doing this? The scar on his shoulder that Eddie managed to see in the locker room looked really old, but Eddie doesn't know enough about scarring to know just how long it's been there. He always wondered about that, it looked like he'd been mauled by something. And he was.

"Fine, fine. Fine. Did.. did it hurt?" Eddie then asks softly, and Steve shrugs, scratching his neck with blunt nails right above the scar. "Don't really remember. It happened when I was like.. seven." He says, snarky tone fading slightly, but definitely not fully. Eddie feels that annoyance burning behind his eyes and in the back fo his throat once more.

"Seven? Are you serious!? And your parents just don't know!?" He demands, throwing his arms in the air. Parents should know these things, especially if their seven year old son got mauled by a werewolf. There had to be blood, it had to hurt- what the actual fuck!? Steve runs a hand through his hair, huffing.

"Just... stop. Seriously. You're about to say something else, just-... just stop, dude. It doesn't matter." Steve says, and Eddie bites his tongue. He really needs this money, his uncle needs this money. And it's just enough to cover rent.

"Fine. Fine, I'll shut up. Just, can I ask what happened? Like, how it happened?" He asks the boy in front of him. Steve sighs for what seems like the hundredth time, shrugging.

"I was just playing outside, I guess. Sun set and I saw the guy- thought it was a big dog and learned my lesson." Steve says. He hesitates before finishing the rest of the story. "My parents paid doctors to say I got onto a car crash on my records. Don't know how the hell it worked but it did."

Eddie just simply nods, his lips parted as he listens to Steve explain all of this. Steve might be a jock, but his parents are now among the list of people he hates, right above Steve himself. Although Eddie might not know it, but Steve is slowly teetering off that list- maybe he hasn't actually been on it for a little while now.

One day Eddie will admit it to himself.

Someone calls out to Steve, snapping them both out of whatever state of dissociation they were in. "See you around." Steve says simply, walking away before Eddie can say a word.

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Eddie is once more alone. The trailer is dark, he has the snacks all to himself, and he gets to watch whatever he wants. This is what happens every time Wayne goes to work, there's always a horror movie not rewinded and a can of Spaghetti-O's missing by morning. This is the way he likes it, and yet someone knocking at the door is interrupting his alone time.

"Whaaaaat?" He groans out as he begrudgingly shuffles to the door, blanket still around his shoulders. The door swings open only for him to see none other than Nancy Wheeler at his door. The hell is she doing here?

"I'm worried about Steve, and I saw you talking to him." She says firmly, almost accusingly. She doesn't think Eddie did something to him, did she? Eddie himself knows his reputation, how he looks and how he acts towards people like Steve, but he feels his blood run cold and his face go numb, and not because of the nighttime breeze now blowing even harder into the trailer.

"What's wrong with Steve?" He can't help but ask.

Short and sweet, but still longer than the rest. I'm gonna try to make each chapter longer, because I'm very used to writing short things under 1k words :)

Tag list!! (Woah I have one of those now): @manda-panda-monium @anaibis @irregular-child @gregre369 @cartercaptainofthemoon