Partners in Crime-Eddie Munson x OC

Chapter 23

Steve pulled into the parking lot of the War Zone. Peeking up just enough to see out the window, I gazed at the store. It was packed full of cars outside. That was ideal, but if Eddie and I hid then everything should've been fine.

Steve parked out back behind the warehouse, and everyone shuffled out of the RV. Eddie and I stayed back for obvious reasons, while the rest of the group went inside. Dustin and Lucas almost waited out here with us, but then they thought about it and claimed they couldn't stand anymore "googley-eyes bullshit" and left us.

"We'll be quick, in and out," Steve assured us.

"Okay, just be careful guys," I swallowed thickly.

"In and out, I promise, Helena." Steve gave me a smile and shut the door.

Eddie and I sat on the ground, ducked behind the table and away from windows. Our relaxed conversation from earlier had been replaced by anxious silence. Eddie's knees were bouncing as we sat and he muttered near-silent curses as we waited.

I gazed at my watch no less than every thirty seconds. If this was there idea of in and out, I'd hate to see how long it took when they were being leisurely. Of course, time might've just felt impossibly slow because of the stakes of the situation. There was no doubt in my mind that every soul in this parking lot wanted Eddie and I'd heads on a platter.

Still, we had to keep it together because the stakes were only going to get higher from here.

"Hey, they'll be back in a jiffy, Ed," I placed a comforting hand on his thigh. "We get the easy part of hiding out away from the angry villagers."

He smiled weakly at my attempt of a joke. "Hiding out seems to be a thing we do now. All thanks to me."

"Eddie, no, we've talked about this. There was nothing you could've done. This wasn't your fault."

He shook his and gave me a pleading look. "I'm so sorry, Hel. You weren't supposed to get tied up in this. I'll never forgive myself if I can't get you out of this."

I moved my hand to cup his cheek and gave him a genuine smile. "We're getting out of it together. We can run off to my house in California and change our names and forget about all of this shit. You can teach me guitar, and I'll teach you how to do eyeliner for shows. If we work together on this, we can get out and do all of that."

His lips drifted into a small smile and he leaned forward to kiss me. This was much softer, gentler than the usual hungry kisses. There wasn't the same urgency that there usually was. This was purely comfort for each other.

He pulled me up into his lap carefully and his arms rested securely around my waist. I could feel myself smile slightly into the kiss. Somehow, this man was the only thing that made me feel safe. When he held me, it almost didn't matter that we were living on the run from an entire town.

When we broke away, I tilted my forehead to rest on his. "You want to know something?"

"Hm?"

"I'd do this all again if it meant I'd still have you in my life, Eddie Munson."

Eddie froze as though the words truly shocked him. I wasn't sure where the surprise came from. As I told him on the way here, we'd made out several times before and even before that, he was my best friend. I cared about him pretty obviously. But then again, most people didn't like Eddie. While that was because they didn't take time to actually get to know him, I could see how much it hurt him sometimes. The name-calling and criticizing really got to him some days, even though he hid that from the world.

He tried to say something, but words didn't come, so I kissed him again. I encircled his neck with my arms and we wrapped each other in a tight embrace. He burrowed his shaggy head in my neck and I played with his hair. I'd recently discovered that that calmed him.