The Break (An Eddie Munson Story)

Chapter 6: A Good Life

A/N: Hello! Thank you for being so patient with this update. It took a little longer than expected to write, as I wanted to make sure the chapter took the right narrative direction. As always, thank you for your continued support. I hope you like this chapter!

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The final bell tolled and you woke from your much needed slumber, somehow feeling more groggy than you did before. Wiping your bleary eyes to clear away the sleep, you mentally prepared yourself to go and meet Eddie.

You assumed that after he took you to collect your car, you would ultimately be left to your own devices. There was no way you could indefinitely stay with the brunet, he did not deserve to be suddenly burdened with your presence. Even after you had essentially removed him from your life for a good portion of the year, still he had been so quick to jump to your rescue. Last night had been a lapse of judgement, a moment of weakness. Eddie was too good a person to be tainted by your poisonous negativity. The best thing you could do was retrieve your car and get out of his life for good.

With your mind made up, you reluctantly left your safehaven and made your way back to the main school building, where your Knight in a Hellfire t-shirt was waiting for you.

It was going to be okay, Eddie thought to himself, as he leant against a nearby brick wall. Everything would work out okay in the end, he tried to convince himself.

The phone call with Robin had been hopeful. While your friends were not particularly close with him, after hearing what he had to say, they were willing to make every effort to help you. The only obstacle now was if you would let them.

Approaching footsteps alerted him to your arrival but his welcoming grin faltered slightly at the sight of your damp clothing. It had rained during your morning drive but to his knowledge, all of your remaining classes had been inside. So either someone had dumped water on you or you had snuck out of school. "What happened?"

"Hm?" you looked up him nervously.

"Your clothes. They're, uh, they're pretty soaked through. Did you get caught out in the rain or something?" fuck, Eddie hated how suspicious he sounded, this kind of behaviour was not in any way like him. Under normal circumstances, he would not pry so much into the details of how you had spent your time apart. He had once trusted you and you, him. But right now, you were not yourself.

You fumbled through some half-hearted, unconvincing reply but the concerned facial expression he wears as you walk towards his truck tells you that he did not believe a word.

The trip to the gas station was made in complete silence, as was the rest of the journey. An undeniable tension built up between you both. It was awful, making you feel sick to your stomach, making you wish you could just open the door and roll out of the moving vehicle. But alas, you stayed firmly rooted to your chair, biting your already bitten nails.

After the next turning, there it finally was in your line of sight, your car. Potentially your home for the near future. This was it, you thought, your final bit of contact with Eddie. You were fully committed to honouring your self-made vow of permanently removing yourself from his life after today. Remember he deserves better, you firmly told yourself as he wordlessly exited the truck to go and tend to your car, while you waited behind in the warm shelter of the front seat.

You caught a glimpse of your once friend, Steve Harrington, shamelessly flirting with a lady customer at the front desk of the video store. Rolling your eyes, you alliwed yourself a moment of humour. He really has not changed in some respect but he had at least grown as a person and become a decent, likable guy, rather than just someone merely popular through good looks and skill in sports.

Robin came into view, elbowing Steve out of the way. You could not hear what she was saying but judging the man's face, it was something sarcastic and probably warranted. She really was a good, grounding influence on him, popping his ego before it got too big to fit through the doorway. You had been friends with her prior to making Steve's acquaintance. Many nights had been wiled away in front of her VCR, watching scary movies and talking about every topic under the sun. It was you who she had first come out to, admitting her attraction to Tammy. You had not been shocked that she was Queer but more so that she had such terrible taste in crushes.

You were proud of them both and who they had become, you wish you had the chance to tell them before you disappeared from Hawkins but timing was not on your side. As soon as Eddie had filled the tank, it would to be you against the world.

A tap tap on the window brought you once more out of your reverie and into the present.

"Hey, I'm all done." Eddie called to you.

Looking through the raindrop-stained glass at him, you felt your heart stutter and an intense sadness overtake your emotions. This was it, this was your final interaction with the brunet. The time to leave had finally arrived. This was you last goodbye.