You Give Love a Bad Name (EddiexReader)

Coming Clean, Picnics and Heartbeats

    Eddie and I discussed appropriate ways to tell our friends that we were dating. We didn't want to hide it, but it was something that could affect the group dynamic. It didn't have to be a big deal, but... you never know. I let him know that Dustin already knew a few things, and that he reacted neutrally to the news. He didn't seem upset, but he also didn't say anything that made us think he was happy about it... We had to be careful, for the sake of the Hellfire club.

So, we decided to give them the news on Monday at lunch. Everyone was sitting at our usual table, eating, and chatting like any other day. I tried to act normal, but I was on edge. I kept staring at my food and, after a few minutes, I gazed at Eddie. He read my expression and quickly knew what I was thinking. He returned a soft and small smile and almost immediately, he abruptly stood up grasping everyone's attention.

"Gentlemen, I would like to take advantage of the fact that your attention is on me to make a small announcement." He looked over at me inviting me to stand up. "Guys, we wanted to share some news with you. It's something important to us and we hope that you understand the situation. We are worried that this might change the way we relate to each other in the group." I continued.

"Dude, you're scaring us." Gareth replied and some others nodded.

"It's nothing bad it's just that..." I couldn't finish the sentence. Eddie saw my eyes darting from face to face that surrounded the table. Instantly, he walked towards me and gently took my hand.

"Y/N and I are dating." He confessed. The Hellfire Club was the most silent they had ever been during lunch. The cafeteria's racket still went on. The boys stared confused at Eddie and me, and then looked at each other.

"We thought you were already dating." Mike admitted.

"We're fine with it. I mean, as long as Eddie doesn't favor you when we're playing." Jeff added.

"You really think that I would do that as the Dungeon Master?" Eddie seemed a little offended.

"Well, we've seen how much you like her. And we thought about the possibility of that happening." Gareth explained.

"Not that we're accusing you of anything, Eddie." Dustin remarked.

"That's good to know." Eddie smirked.

"Thank you for your support, guys." I giggled. "And don't worry. We'll play by the rules as always."

It was wonderful that we cleared that out of the way, because the rest of the week Eddie and I didn't have to pretend that we weren't dating. We would walk to class together, and I would get a big number of hand-kisses a day.
And even though we were now officially dating, we didn't stop being best friends. He still made fun of me, and I still mocked him. We hung out after school, and I would tell Mrs. Henderson that I was tutoring a classmate so she wouldn't suspect. It wasn't totally a lie, I still had to help Eddie with his Spanish project, but we wouldn't just work all afternoon.

On Thursday afternoon, Eddie and I planned our first official date. We both wanted to do something special. I mean, it was a particular occasion for us. We discussed different options and ended up merging our ideas to create our perfect date.

Finally, on Friday after school, we made our way to a special place. I had told Dustin to tell his mother I was hanging out with Steve and Robin if she asked. I promised I'd return a double favor soon. I got into Eddie's van, and we drove to a convenience store near us. We bought snacks, beverages, and a tiny cake for two. We got back in the van and drove towards the edge of town. We walked carefully through the woods until we exited it. We found ourselves in a beautiful grass field. It was a sunny day with cool and gentle breeze blowing our hair. We decided to install ourselves near the trees.

I opened my backpack and pulled out a stripped blue and white cloth. Eddie helped me to unfold it and set it on the grass. We placed our picnic materials at the center of the cloth and sat down in the shade. Eddie didn't like to sunbathe that much, and I knew his skin was delicate, so of course I brought sunscreen. He grabbed it from inside the backpack and applied it to himself as I arranged our meal to look more appealing. Suddenly, I felt Eddie's hands grab my shoulders.

"I know you're a ray of sunshine, Princess. But you still need to put sunscreen on. Close your eyes please." He said as he poured some of the liquid on his hand and gently applied it to my face. "There we go. You're all done, Princess"
"Thanks, Edds."

His eyes lit up and he smiled. "What did you call me?"

"Oh, sorry. It slipped." I said blushing violently.

"No, no. I like it. It's cute when you say it."
For the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed the company of each other with the addition of our small meal. We relaxed and joked around, looking at the clouds and playfully tackling each other to the ground. The day was filled with laughter and smiles, exchanges of anecdotes and affectionate demonstrations. At one point Eddie even laid on my lap and let me play with his hair, as he told me stories of the timed before we met. He looked so peaceful and happy. His eyes were full of light and his smile made me show mine.

Along the conversation, the drug dealing subject was mentioned. I had some questions about the business, but Eddie seemed reluctant to answer with more than five words. When I asked him the reason for his behavior, his eyes met mine and gave me an apologetic look.

"I... I don't want you getting involved into this kind of stuff. It can be dangerous and it's not the best path for someone our age to go. I do it because... I need the money."

"I understand, Edds. I'm just curious about these things... I mean, I would even... dare to try some. I was going to ask you, but..."

Eddie didn't reply, he just stared thinking about the options he had. "Okay, Sweetheart. I don't want to be the reason you start but... I think I have a way for you to try it..." He sighted and reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out a small metal box. I didn't know he had carried it around today. He started rolling the joint, something I had never seen someone do.

"Are you sure?" He asked still looking at what his hands were doing. He seemed still seemed worried, but he didn't stop.

"Yeah..." I tried to give him a small warm smile to comfort him.

When he finished, he took the lighter and used it. He brought the joint to his lips and took a hit. His hand approached my face and gently grabbed my chin. He brought his lips closer and blew the smoke into my mouth letting me try.

"I never thought that we would be getting high in our first date." He chuckled.

"Me neither. I thought we would kinda just have a generic first date. You know, going to the movies and all that... this is better." I confessed and he smiled. I looked into his eyes and then at the horizon. "Eddie?"

"Yes, Love?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Everything."
"Anything for you, Princess."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me close, as I rested my head on his chest. I could listen to his heartbeat getting faster. We stayed in that position until the sun started to set, and we had to go home.