slut [ eddie munson ]

003

The door to the diner barely had time to close before Eddie Munson had snatched Talia Wheeler's hand into his and started dragging her to where his van was parked.

Talia immediately protested, trying to yank her hand from the older boy's grip and glancing back to make sure no one was watching—which both his group of friends and her cousin were. "Let go," she hissed, still unsuccessfully trying to pull her hand away, "they're gonna think something is up."

Eddie glanced back at her as he continued to pull her along, not letting go until the pair was hidden from the diner's view by his van. An amused grin was clear on his face, and he laughed when Talia glared at him. He leant his back on the side of his van, giving the girl a moment to calm down.

"I told my boys the same thing I told Nancy, so calm down, princess." His words, unsurprisingly, had little effect on her.

"As far as Nancy and literally everyone else in Hawkins is aware, I have never spoken to you before in my life. They're definitely going to find it weird that you grabbed my hand and dragged me away," Talia said, her voice rising in pitch slightly, "Plus, Nancy is literally in most of my classes this year. She would know if I had a project assignment, dumbass."

Eddie innocently smiled at her, just watching her for a moment as she crossed her arms and practically pouted at him. He didn't know why, because if it was anyone else he most definitely would of been annoyed, but he found her whining to be cute.

"I'm sure your cousin, of all people, would not be the one to spread some rumor about you having anything to do with the school's freak," he said, reaching out to grab her hand again. This time she didn't fight him as he pulled her closer.

"Whatever," she gave in, the scowl that had seemed to be permanently etched onto her face now falling, "what do you want though, that's so important you couldn't have just called?"

"You're skipping the pep rally tomorrow, right?" He already knew the answer but still waited for her to slightly nod her head yes, "Good, because I am too. Come to mine tonight, I'll drive you home in the morning so you can make it to second hour in time."
It was less of a question and more of a demand. He knew that she wouldn't have said no, anyways.

Talia feigned a thoughtful expression before rolling her eyes, "Fine, Munson. I'll be there whenever I decide to show up, though."

"Wouldn't of expected anything else, T."

Talia said nothing else, pulling away from him and making her way back inside. She ignored the looks his hellfire group sent her as she walked through the doorway, silently making her way back to her booth where Nancy and two plates sat waiting. She sat down with a huff and immediately started picking at the food on her plate, hoping to escape Nancy's questioning.

"What was that all about?" Nancy questioned, failing to hide the amused look on her face, "What teacher assigned a project right before break?"

Talia barely managed to control her facial expression, keeping a calm look on her face instead of letting her annoyance creep through. She had known her cousin was smart enough to realize that there was no project.

"There's no project, Nance," Talia said, already having come up with a different lie in the time it took her to get from Eddie's van to the booth, "I was asking around at school for a hookup to a new dealer since mine got arrested or some shit, guess he got word of it because he just offered to let me buy off him."

"I still don't get why you smoke that stuff," Nancy said, an indifferent look on her face as she grabbed a fry from her plate. Talia had been smoking weed since freshman year of high school, but there had been an increase in frequency since Billy's death.

"Because it makes me feel good, mom," Talia said, teasing her cousin, "It's literally not any different than alcohol, anyways."

That was the end of the topic, the pair mindlessly chattering about school and the upcoming break as they finished their food and then parted ways.

————

After getting home from the diner, Talia had taken a much-needed nap. It had already been later in the day when she had fallen asleep, so by the time she woke up it was almost time for her to leave for Eddie's.

The girl had taken a quick shower and left her hair wrapped up in a towel as she got ready. She had dressed in a simple pair of hot pink velvet shorts and a cropped white hoodie that she had cut herself before letting her hair down to slightly air dry while she slipped on a pair of socks and returned to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She then blow dried her hair and straightened it before going back into her room, slipping on a pair of white converse, spritzing herself with her favorite perfume and grabbing her keys.

If anyone had asked her why she had just gone through so much just to go meet a boy she didn't even care about, Talia would have laughed and said that it was just her nightly routine. Of course, that was a lie. Talia usually only ever showered in the morning, finding it the most effective way to wake herself up.

Even though she frequently made the trip, the walk from Talia's house to the trailer park Eddie lives in was longer than she could tolerate most days, which is why Talia had called the boy and demanded he came and picked her up. Luckily for her, no one who went to Hawkins High School lived on her street. Instead, it was filled with middle age couples with no kids and retirees, which meant that there was no witnesses to the resident freak's van waiting outside the resident slut's house.

That still didn't stop Talia from rushing down her driveway and practically throwing herself into the front seat of his van, urging him to put his van into gear and start driving away from her house and down her street.

"Okay, okay! I'm going, Talia, don't get your panties in a twist," Eddie said, following her orders without complaint.

Talia's head whipped over to him, "Don't talk about my panties!"