the chain

and if you don't love me now

You and Eddie are seated beside each other in the boat, the sides of your legs pressed against each other's as you stare out at the view. The lake's still quiet.

"You didn't have to stay here," Eddie reminds you, for what feels like the fifteenth time, "I don't know why you didn't just follow the Scooby-Doo gang out of here."

"They'll be back soon. Plus... You, I don't know, you looked really out of it," you admit to him, avoiding his gaze as you stare at the lapping waves, "Scared."

Eddie turns his head to look at you, eyes suddenly narrow, "Yeah? You watch a girl bleed from her eyes and tell me you're not scared."

You look at him in shock and Eddie wishes he would have just kept his mouth shut, "I wasn't... I wasn't making fun of you, asshole, I- Jesus Christ, Chrissy... bled from her eyes?"

"S-Sorry..." Eddie's mouth falls open for a moment and he feels a breath catch in his throat. Your eyes are wide and your eyebrows are pinched upward, you almost look like you're about to cry. "I'm sorry," Eddie admits to you, his voice leaving the whiny pitch it's usually at, "I didn't... I guess I'm not used to you being nice."

"Whatever," you stare off.

Eddie reaches a hesitant hand towards you, placing it on your shoulder, "Hey."

You shrug his hand off, letting out a scoff, "As soon as we figure out what the hell is going on, and fix it, I'm finding another dealer."

His face falls but he partly knows you don't mean it. Your walls are just up again like they always are. Eddie always notices when you retreat away from him - because you put up the exact same walls that he does. "I, uh, I wanted to say something - actually," Eddie announces anxiously, "Last night..."

"Yeah?"

Hearing your voice takes him out of his own head. Eddie's eyes flick to yours and he shuffles to face you, "I'm sorry that I ran. I keep... I keep replaying it in my head and I-I don't know what came over me, I guess I am really just a coward - a fake." Eddie lets out a helpless laugh and it turns into a grimace as he tears his eyes away from you.

"You did what anyone would have done," you give him a frown, watching the expression of self-doubt tainting his face, "Anyone would have ran."

He turns to you, "You didn't."

"Yeah, I did," you admit to him, seeing his face analysing yours as you speak, "I saw the sun coming up and I... I ran like hell all the way into town. I'm pretty sure people at Forest Hill saw me running away like a scared, little girl. Eddie, Jesus, I ran so hard that it felt like my lungs were on fire. The heels of my feet bled through my socks. Trust me, I ran."

"I left you," he laments, "I didn't just run, I left you there alone. I'm... I'm so sorry."

You hear a car door slam. There's movement from outside and Eddie rocks the boat as he jumps to his feet. In an instant, the broken bottle is in his hands and he's standing by the boat, in front of you. You go to stand but he places a hand on your shoulder, keeping you low and behind him, "Eddie-"

"Shh," he flails a hand around, hearing footsteps approach the door, "stay behind me, stay right there."

The door swings open.

"Delivery service!" Dustin shouts, knocking on the wooden door before it swings open, "Hey guys! Getting cosy?"

You roll your eyes, flicking Eddie's hand off of you and rising to your feet. He watches you greet the group and he looks dejected and embarrassed.

"We only got essentials," Steve holds a bag of snacks in front of him, setting it down on the coffee table. You give him a thankful smile but notice him gesturing for you to come to him. In a corner of the boathouse, Steve peers down at you nervously, "You okay?"