Shame On The Night (Eddie Munson x Reader)

1. Don't Talk to Strangers

The day before Winter Break

December 14, 1984. Today marks the end of our first semester here in Hawkins High, and it's the first full week I've attended school without any absences.  After what happened at the Junkyard, all that was on my mind was how I almost lost my life that day.

Flashback to the Junkyard.

Steve was babysitting a group of middle schoolers, and of course he needed help so he decided to visit my 'secret' spot at the junkyard.  Each abandoned car had a story I wish I'd known, dents in peculiar places.  Headlights destroyed by teenage delinquents.  However what struck me most about this area was the bus.  Here, I'd break bottles of drinks I'd borrow from my family by tossing them off the roof of the bus onto the other cars.  It was a game I played, the farther each car was the more points I'd give myself.  There was no competition, thus making this a game I never lost.  The bottles that weren't opened remained hidden under the passenger seats by the front.  I had them wrapped in my old bedsheets I no longer needed since I now sleep in a full sized bed.

Steve just had to drag me along...

The Bell Rings

I grabbed my last textbook I needed for the day from my locker, just before I slammed it shut I gave my miniature sized Robert Smith poster a little pat.   I quickly closed my locker and walked quickly to class before my conniving elderly teacher, Mrs. Jones, had the chance to lock out her late students.  I made it just in time and let the door fall behind me.

"Hello?"  A raspy voice boomed from the other side of the door.  "y/l/n?"

"Oh I'm sorry," I unlocked the door and held it open for my classmate.  He wore a black jean jacket, with a black 1983 Iron Maiden world tour shirt.  "Cool shirt Eddie."

"Thank you," He nodded at me then smiled, and walked right past me.

US Government was the only class Eddie and I had ever had together since my Freshman year, we were close friends until the school year ended.  Him and I have changed a lot since then, he used to invite me over to his place to watch his DnD campaigns, but I never had time.  Slowly throughout the rest of high school we drifted apart, I started hanging out with different crowds of people to find out who I was.  I experimented with different cliques, clubs and styles.  Along the way I made many mistakes, and one of them was pushing Eddie away from me.  He stayed listening to heavy metal and hard rock, however he started to dress more like it.  He stopped trimming his hair and allowed it to start growing.  He  began thrifting his own clothes, collecting all kinds of patches to sew onto his jacket, and he strictly bought band shirts from their venues.  

I regret shutting Eddie out of my life, he was one of the only genuine friends I had during these past few years.  It wasn't personal, I was just in a phase where I pushed the people closest to me away.  Things have changed ever since I've started high school, but Eddie somehow stayed the same.

The class was laid out into groups of two, they faced the front of the classroom.  Even though it was freezing out, Mrs. Jones kept the windows open because apparently they kept us awake, plus they were our only source of light since our teacher's eyes are sensitive to light.  Each person had an elbow partner, but since I've had a few too many absences I've lost my seat closest to the door thanks to Mr. Hollywood, Billy Hargrove.  Every day I'd sit with a new person, sometimes I'd be lucky enough to befriend a couple of people and learn how their minds work.  Today, there were two empty seats to the left of the classroom next to each other in the back. 

I grabbed the seat closest to the window, since we no longer had any assignments I believed a simple breeze shouldn't distract me from anything.  Eddie was already sitting down in the the desk next to mine.  I looked past the mountains of hair in front of me and stared at the chalkboard, on it were the words have a great winter break.  My eyes wandered around the classroom as the teacher began her lecture on what life will bring to us after we graduate.  I looked at the board behind her and noticed small doodles of cartoon characters from Scooby Doo left from her previous classes, my eyes then shifted towards her desk.  On it she had a photo of her husband and four children who looked to be in their early-twenties.  From the corner of my eye, I noticed Eddie was slowly nodding off.  He looked like he was only seconds away from passing out completely.   I turned my head towards him and looked at him closely, his eye bags were heavier than usual.  I looked deeper into his brown eyes and noticed they had a hint of red.