slut [ eddie munson ]

011

Talia and Max had eventually made their way back to the rest of the group, both girls having been crying. They had taken in the girls appearances in concern, but ultimately refrained from commenting since Steve had somewhat filled them in on the conversation the pair had—at least that it had involved Billy, which would explain their distress.

Robin, Steve, and Dustin had taken it upon themselves to further fill in Eddie while they had waited for the girls to return, giving him a more detailed explanation of the horrors they'd been dealing with for the past few years. His stomach dropped as he learned the true cause of Billy's death. He knew just how hurt Talia still was and could only imagine the pain she'd feel when she learnt the truth.

Talia stayed back as Max rejoined the group, still feeling unsure about the entire situation.

"All good?" Steve asked, his eyes settled on Talia.

"We're good," Max said, instead. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group of teens, none of them knowing the right move to make next.

"It's getting late," Robin eventually spoke, eyes soft as she looked between them all, "we probably should go, before someone's parents freak out."

"What—" Dustin exclaimed, beginning to protest, "we can't just leave Eddie by himself!" Eddie, who had remained seating on the floor, stayed quiet. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared to be left by himself.

"You're mom is going to flip if you don't get home soon, Dustin," Steve said, unwilling to leave him behind, "and I don't think anyone else here wants to sleep in a dingy boathouse—no offense, Munson."

Not wanting to cause an issue between Dustin and Steve, Eddie sighed, "Look—"

"I'll stay."

Five pairs of eyes snapped toward Talia, different emotions clear in all of them. Steve, who looked surprised, shook his head.

"Absolutely not. I'm not leaving you with someone you don't know with all that you've gone through today," Steve declared, still protective of the girl who was once his best friend.

Talia slightly scoffed, her eyes darting away from the group, "why do you think I was at the trailer park—literally at his trailer?" Her face burned.

Steve's eyes widened, head whipping to look at Eddie in shock, "You—what?"

Robin rolled her eyes, clamping a hand down on Steve's shoulder and pushing him towards the door, "Happy with that, Dustin?" she asked.

"Yeah," Dustin said, turning his attention to Eddie as Max began to follow after Robin and Steve, "we'll be back tomorrow—with snacks!"

Eddie have a strained smile, thankful for Dustin's worrying but now panicking at the thought of having to face Talia alone.

The pair were silent as Dustin exited, shutting the rickety door behind him firmly. Talia sighed, fiddling with her hands nervously as she looked around the dark room. She felt unsettled, and every part of her screamed for her to move closer to Eddie—to let herself find comfort in him. It scared her though, more than the darkness did, so she instead found herself creeping over to an overturned bucket.

As she sat, she snuck a glance at the Munson boy, who was intensely staring at the ground in front of him. He was nervous, she could tell by the way he held himself—shoulders hunched, picking at the skin around his nails, his eyes wide. She desperately wished to help him, but how was she supposed to help him when she was just as bad?

Her leg had been unconsciously shaking, her nose scrunching up every few seconds, her breathing uneven. She had a desperate urge to cry, as well. Talia didn't have any more tears to cry though. She had been crying almost all day, already. Part of her knew that it would only have hurt Eddie more to see her cry, and she didn't want that. She didn't want him to have to comfort her when he needed comfort himself.

"I...I'm sorry," she finally said, breaking the silence. She kept her eyes focused in front of her.

Eddie was confused, "you have nothing to be sorry for, Talia. If anything I should be sorry."

Talia turned to look at him, her heart pounding as she took in the broken expression on his face. She stood, slowly approaching where he sat against the wall and took a seat in front of him.

"I said it was bullshit even when I knew you weren't lying," she said quietly, her sad eyes looking into his so intensely that Eddie could swear she could see his soul, "you were just traumatized and I said it was bullshit. You should be mad at me—you don't have anything to apologize for."

"Your best friend just died, Lia," Eddie said, his voice strained, "and you found her. Then, a bunch of people you don't really know told you that some thing from an alternant dimension was responsible for it. You don't have to apologize for being overwhelmed, for being scared—especially not to me, Talia. And, I do have things to apologize for. I was a dick to you last night, T."

Talia frowned, "yeah, you kind of were."

"Kind of? I was a total dick," Eddie laughed, a smile overtaking his face.

"It was your smile, you know?" Talia said randomly, eyes still focused on his face.

Eddie made a noise of confusion, his brows pulling together.

"It was during lunch—you were with your little cult," a teasing grin slipped onto her lips, "Mike and his friends came in and I was about to invite them to sit with me, try and be a good cousin, for once. But they had already started making their way to your table. I remembered you from middle school, but you changed so much that I never actually knew who you were. I don't know what it was about, but you had the biggest smile on your face—like literally it took up your entire face, I swear—and it was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen."

Talia couldn't see it in the low lighting that encased them, but a light blush had fell on Eddie's cheeks.

"I think I've been in love with you since the moment I spilled that milk on you," Eddie said, the words slipping out before he could stop them. Talia couldn't stop her eyes from widening.

A painful silence settled over them, neither knowing what to say.