slut [ eddie munson ]

001

Talia Wheeler was numb, a blank look on her face as she pulled herself from the bed and wordlessly pulled on her clothes as she gathered them from the floor of the boys bedroom she was in.

Her eyes flickered over the walls as she dressed, taking in the random band posters plastered all over them and eventually onto the face of her current fuck buddy.

She supposed that she could call him her friend with benefits, but, unless they were hooking up, Talia didn't ever really talk to him outside of passing whispers that were only ever about when and where they were hooking up next.

As Talia pulled her tank top over her head, Eddie Munson's eyes snapped up to meet hers. A smug grin had taken over her face, her eyebrow raised at him.

"You get a good look, or did you want me to take off my shirt again?"

"Well, if you're offering, sweetheart," Eddie smiled up at her with faux innocence. Finished getting dressed, Talia rolled her eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed and slipped her worn converse on her feet.

"Maybe next time, freak. I have to meet Chrissy to go over the routine for the potential pep rally next week, so see you around."

Talia never stayed long after they finished and Eddie never pushed his luck by asking her to stay. He knew that Talia had a habit of running when things got too real—it's how she earned the title of resident slut, actually, when a scorned ex-hookup took the end of their fling a little too hard—which meant he knew that the second he showed any sign of actual feelings, Talia Wheeler would be out of his life as abruptly as she had entered it.

Now, Eddie would never admit it, but Talia Wheeler had been his crush since the ninth grade when seventh grade Talia had accidentally spilled her chocolate milk on him during lunch. He had been hopelessly pining after her for five years—well, he supposed it was really only hopeless the past three years since he was fully convinced for two years that he was going to make the girl fall in love with him through the occasional conversations they had.

Once Talia had hit high school, she immediately rose to the top of the food chain. In her third hour art class, which she shared with Carol Perkins, she had quickly made a name for herself when she brutally turned down a boy named Nathan Smith. Apparently Nathan had also been hounding Carol to go on a date with him for weeks during the summer, and Carol had decided right then and there that, even though the girl was a freshman, Talia Wheeler was her new best friend.

As Talia left his room, Eddie couldn't help but imagine how different it would have been if Carol hadn't been in that third hour art class and hadn't pulled Talia into her little group of popular people. He liked to think that Talia would have eventually came around and warmed up to him; instead, Talia turned into somewhat of a power hungry bitch with a reputation that matched her cold demeanor—just like Carol Perkins.

————

Chrissy Cunningham and Talia Wheeler had spent almost three hours running through the cheer routine for the potential pep rally next week. If the boys basketball team managed to advance through the championship coming up, the principal had planned a pep rally to promote school spirit for the final game.

Talia didn't say it aloud, but she had very little faith in the basketball team. Hawkins team had sucked for as long as the girl could remember, and most of their upcoming opponents were actually good last time they had faced off.

She was just glad that instead of sitting on the sidelines and cheering on a bunch of sweaty boys playing a game she didn't really care about, this year she would be cuddled into her couch with snacks and a movie marathon going. Talia had been on the cheer team the year before, which is how she knew Chrissy and why she was currently helping the girl run through the routine, but that was not Talia's reality anymore.