Cheerleader (Stranger Things: Eddie Munson x Reader)

part 7

The sun had set in Hawkins by the time you got home and were done eating dinner. Your father had, as expected, stayed silent while you all ate your mom's homemade spaghetti. The only time Harold said anything was when your mother started sniffling a little too loudly for his taste. "Martha," he had grumbled.

"Sorry," she replied, casting her gaze at her barely eaten food.

After that you swapped your silver fork to your left hand, which wasn't your dominant one, so your right hand could hold onto your mothers. She gave you a meek smile and squeezed your hand.

She loved Chrissy and it was more than reasonable for her to be upset. Of all your friends, she was the only one that talked to your mom and let her get involved. Due to her own mothers neglect, Chrissy welcomed it, though she was shy at first. In the three years the two of you had been best friends, your mom had begun to think of Chrissy as her own daughter too.

You stayed behind after dinner to help wash the dishes, letting your mom relax instead of clean up.

You glanced at the clock on the living room wall. It was almost eight o'clock. Tossing the damp towel on the counter you headed up to your room. The backpack you had used earlier had been discarded on your bed, and you picked it up to pack things in it again. This time around you thought more carefully about what you would take with you, thinking of what Eddie might want to use. Your Walkman of course. And if you were taking your Walkman you would need some cassettes. You didn't have a lot, and you were pretty sure Eddie didn't listen to Kate Bush or Foreigner. You did however have a Metallica cassette, which your metalhead cousin gifted you at Christmas. You put all three cassettes, plus the Clash and the Police ones in your backpack.

You threw on a jacket, put your shoes on, grabbed your car keys, and you were out the door. Driving through the woods to Lover's Lake, trees whizzing past, you hoped that Eddie wouldn't be upset that you left him for so long. A part of you hoped he missed you, but you would understand if he didn't. You hadn't known each other for very long, no matter how much fun you guys had the night before. If anything, Eddie probably just wants company, no matter who it was. It probably wouldn't make any difference to him if it were you or someone else, you thought, making yourself frustrated at the idea.

You didn't want to think that you liked him. It was... unreasonable. You barely knew each other, so you just couldn't like him. How long does it take before you can say that you like someone? you wandered. Did you like Eddie? Maybe. You knew for sure that you enjoyed his company, and you liked being around him, and you thought his smile was the most radiant thing you had ever seen and you could stare at it forever. Yeah... you liked him. It was terrible timing though. He was on the run from the police and Jason. The entire town was after him. But maybe once his name is cleared...

"Shit," you cursed, seeing Jason's SUV in the driveway of Reefer Rick's house. You shut your car off just off the road, not pulling up to the house just in case one of the basketball players noticed it. You remembered how Eddie had hidden in the shed on the water whenever you weren't there, so that's probably where he was hiding now. You tried to be as quiet as possible, moving along the tree line down to the shed in the darkness. Leaves and branches crunched under your step while you carefully walked. Once you made it to the gray tin building you knocked on the door and as quietly as you possibly could said, "Eddie!"

A chill swept through the air as you waited there, casting nervous glances towards the main house. Maybe Jason and the rest of them wouldn't see the shed at all. They weren't the brightest so you wouldn't put it past them. You heard a click come from the other side of the door and it finally creaked open just a sliver. You could see just a peak of Eddie's eye, presumably making sure it was really you.