Atomic | Eddie Munson

5

Katherine often spoke before she thank. It was really a bad habit of hers. Eddie looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You want me to stay?" he inquired. Katherine blushed. 

"I was just thinking, since it's late, and also since you were drinking earlier, you might want to crash here for tonight. I don't mind. But if you wanna go, that's cool," Katherine rambled shuffling her feet.

Eddie smiled a bit at the girl, watching as she blushed in the moonlight, though he pretended not to notice. It had been a few hours since he had finished his beers, but he thought it was sweet that the girl was concerned about him. If it was anybody else asking him, he probably would have left.

But Katherine Wheeler wasn't just anybody else. Not to him. 

"Okay, I'll stay," he said. Katherine looked up at him with a smile. 

"I took A Nightmare on Elm Street from work earlier. We could watch it," Katherine suggested. He nodded to her and followed her out of the kitchen to the living room. Katherine pulled her sweatshirt back on and ran up to her room to grab the movie from her bag and put on socks. What? Her feet were cold. 

"Do you want popcorn?" Katherine asked to her friend who was packing up his notebook into his bag. 

"Sure, and maybe something to drink. If I'm staying here I wouldn't say no to another beer," Eddie joked. Katherine laughed and walked back to the kitchen to heat up some popcorn on the stove. Once it was all popped and in a bowl, she checked her fridge and pulled out two more cans of beer. 

Katherine walked back to the couch, popcorn and beers in hand. She sat down and grabbed a blanket from a basket on the floor as Eddie popped the movie in. He sat down next to Katherine on the couch, but not too close. He cracked open a beer and passed it to her before opening his own. 

Eddie pulled some of the blanket over his legs. Katherine frowned as one of her legs was now exposed to the cold air. She pulled back a bit on the blanket. He pulled the blanket once more, but she yanked it back over her legs.

Eddie gave a dramatic sigh and moved a bit closer so they could share the blanket comfortably. Katherine stuck her tongue out at him jokingly, just now noticing that he no longer was wearing his jacket, only his Hellfire Club shirt. He gave her a crooked grin before they turned back to the movie. 

Katherine and Eddie both loved horror movies. They were adrenaline junkies. Maybe that was why she was so able and ready to swing a bat or shoot a gun at any monster that threatened the safety of her or someone she cared about. If there was one thing that the Wheeler twins had in common, it was their natural ability to shoot. Katherine flinched slightly as she watched the character get killed in the first few minutes of the film. 

"It wasn't that bad," Eddie whispered to her, lightly punching her shoulder.

"I know," Katherine replied. It really wasn't that bad, but seeing the girl on screen being thrown onto the wall and ceiling reminding her of Eleven. 

Katherine was no stranger to the young girl that was dating her younger brother. After the El had killed the Demogorgon, Katherine had found the young girl wandering the woods on a walk to clear her mind, and called Hawkins chief of police, Jim Hopper. On days where Hopper could not be at the cabin to watch Eleven, Katherine stepped in. The two girls had formed quite a strong bond. Katherine was amazed by the young girl's charisma and her abilities, and Eleven was fascinated by the teen's confidence and attitude.

As Eddie reached for popcorn, his hand brushed Katherine's. His rings felt cool on her skin. She shuddered at the feeling. If Eddie noticed, he never said anything.