Isn't It Wonderful

Close to You

Eddie knew that he couldn't just head out without at least saying goodbye to the others, so he reluctantly found his way inside. While he was dejected about not having gotten to speak to Steve, he also was grateful for not having made a fool of himself in front of him - nothing lost, nothing gained. Whatever.

When he reentered the house, he was surprised to find it practically empty. Robin and Argyle were chatting over on the couch, but Nancy, Jonathan, all of Nancy's friends, and even the blaring music had disappeared. Perplexed, he called over to Robin and asked where everybody had gone.

Robin looked up with a smirk. "They persuaded Nancy to go skinny-dipping in Kelly Meyer's pool since her parents are on some business trip." she said in a tone which Eddie recognized as "I'm over this shit."

He rolled his eyes, "Of course they did."

"You're not much of a skinny-dipper Munson?" Argyle chimed in.

"No, not really my thing." Eddie replied, trying to hide his annoyance with how the night had progressed.

"That's cool - me either." Argyle was nothing but easygoing at least.

"I think I'm going to head out, guys. It's getting late, and I've got the long way home."

"Eddie, are you sure you want to walk back? Vickie is gonna pick me up in a bit!"

"Yeah, I appreciate it, but I think I want to spend the walk back thinking and stuff. Besides, it's a full moon out."

"Ok, well call me quick when you get back."

"Yeah, will do, Robin, I'll see you later guys." Eddie wished he could talk to Robin right then and now about his frustrations, but he knew that it simply wasn't the right time and place - later would have to do.

Eddie spun on his heels and headed in the direction of the front door. Though he soon realized that he would rather avoid running into the crowd of drunken skinny-dipping revelers at all costs, so he quickly redirected to the sliding glass door. The back way offered a better view of the moon anyway.

Eddie made one final look back to Robin and Argyle as he grabbed the handle and stepped out the door. He had hardly made one foot out before tripping and stumbling out the door, hands splayed out in front of him. He fell forward for a second before somehow, his hands caught hold of something and he was able to upright himself. He whirled around for a second before looking up and realizing that his anchor was none other than Steve Harrington. Oh god.

"Ah I'm sorry Steve! I didn't see you there!" Eddie's heart rate had gone up as he fell, but it was skyrocketing now. Already, he felt the butterflies in his stomach.

"Don't worry about it Munson. I didn't see you either. Hey, did you just get here? I haven't seen you around."

"Ah I've been around for a bit, I was hanging inside mostly." Eddie was so nervous he worried he'd start stuttering. His words were faint and meek - this wasn't like him. Steve on the other hand was practically shouting. It was one thing Eddie loved most about him - his constant buoyancy.

"Ah ok, well everyone decided that they'd rather join Nancy and the girls at Kelly Meyer's pool, so suddenly it's just me out here."

Eddie's eyes widened. "Ah I see. Yeah I'm about to head out since it seems most everyone has gone skinny-dipping."

"Ah that's too bad. Hey you wouldn't happen to have a cigarette would you Munson?"

"Oh I think I do somewhere, let me check?" Eddie's hands rummaged through the many pockets of his jacket with a whirlwind turbulence. He knew they were in there somewhere, but he couldn't seem to find them. God if there were ever a time to run out of cigs, this was not the time. It felt like an eternity before finally his fingers emerged victorious, pack of cigarettes in hand.