out of tune (the guitarist: book 2) | eddie munson x reader

part two: a parallel persuasion

AN: sorry for not updating sooner, i was listening to phoebe bridgers for 72 straight hours. anyway! pov switches frequently, in two different settings

Bold: Eddie's POV

"Sometimes, things just don't work out!" Robin's voice echoed from your closet, where she was helping you fish out the winter clothes you'd shoved behind the door this past spring.

The two of you had made quick work of getting acquainted after finding out you'd both be on your way to the same university come autumn, with the prime future-roommate real estate turning out to be an otherwise grim lineup of engineering majors.

She was cool. And she meant well. But after days of her prodding you over your status with Munson, you were starting to get dizzy at the mere mention of your conflict.

"You know, we haven't actually broken up." Yet.

The final word remained unspoken, but you could see her receive it nonetheless as she emerged from the pile of sweaters to face you.

"I'm just saying!" She gestured widely, gathering the words as they fell haphazardly from her mouth. "There's no shame in growing up. I know it probably kills you to stamp out a flame like this, but cutting it off at the root before it grows out of control could be beneficial, you know?"

"But I don't want to end things!"

Eddie rambled nervously, raking a hand through his unbrushed curls as Henderson fiddled with a set of dice.

They were in the middle of exchanging cards for D&D, leaving Dustin in control of the Master's board for the following semester.

"Listen, man, you can't keep it to yourself forever." The kid was surprisingly wise for a shortstack fresh out of his first year of highschool.

"I'm not keeping... I'm just," he fumbled for the right words.

"Letting it soak!" You exclaimed with the confidence of someone who'd just solved an impossible riddle. "That's all I'm doing! Letting it soak."

"Letting it soak? (Y/n/n), he's a person, not a pot you left in the sink." Robin grabbed you by the shoulders, staring into your eyes to hammer her point home. "Unless you're somehow gonna retroactively get him accepted to the same school and drag him there on a leash, Eddie Munson is not going to college with you. Save yourself the agony."

She was right. You knew she was right. As much as it killed you, as much as Eddie Munson would never be just another 'old friend' you could tell stories about years from now like nothing, you knew your eccentric companion was telling the truth.

"They're just..." Eddie snapped his fingers, leaning back in the swiveling chair as Dustin continued stacking pages for the Dungeon Master file. "Not the kinda person whose heart you can break. And that's not even the worst part."

"Then what is it?" The kid sat up, quizzical if only to get the older boy to get everything off his chest so they could get on with the setup.

"I'd rather they break mine. Seriously. I'd take a broken heart shattered every day, over and over, if only to make it so that I never have to be the kind of guy who breaks a heart like that."

So much for cynicism.

Dustin was quiet, trying not to roll his eyes, but still attempting comforting silence.

"I don't even know if it'll happen. Nothing is certain, I mean, the guy barely gave us any details. It's all just a whim." The metalhead flashed an emphatic hand, colored lights dancing off the polished silver. "I don't need to do anything right now. I don't want to do anything now. I'm here, and for all I know, I'm not actually going anywhere."

"I just don't know what to say! It's not like I want anything to end. Of course I don't wanna leave! I barely even wanna leave Hawkins, let alone the first person who actually made me love it!"

The words were pouring out at this point, Robin acting as your notepad had all those months ago, absorbing your internal torment, the air in your lungs sharp as the tip of that pencil.

"Munson isn't the kinda guy you call an old flame, it's more like, I don't know, a forest fire? And what would ending it even mean?" You gestured your arms, spinning as you paced openly on your bedroom floor. "I'd rather sit here holding my breath waiting for the penny drop then be the cause of whatever this thing he and I have rotting away in perpetual estrangement!"

The taller girl approached you, sitting you down on your bed.

"That's a fair point," Dustin mumbled from across the table, eyes still lasered on the tip of the marker he was now using to draw up a rudimentary map.

"It's like, I don't know, when we're together I can barely even remember to-"

"Breathe," Robin coddled as you took a seat, letting her grab onto your shoulders once more in solid assurance.

You took a shallow breath, nodding.

"Listen," she began, "you are catastrophizing a conversation that hasn't even happened yet. Eddie's cool. He's a pretentious metalhead with one of the gnarliest cases of total freak that I've ever seen, and that's coming from a complete social outcast!" She dared a smile, reassurance and near-pity dancing in her eyes. "Just-"

"Talk to them," Dustin schooled, incredulous to the object of offering love advice to someone five years his senior. "I'm sure-"

"Everything's gonna be fine."