Take on Me

Chapter 15: I'll Say It Anyway

"Are you really ready to do this?" Eddie asked Steve as he gripped the stirring wheel of his van in one hand and Steve's hand in the other. Eddie looked normal on the surface but a bit frantic in the eyes. As they lay in bed together the previous night, he had told Steve that he was a bit nervous for the party to find out about Steve and his relationship.

"You really want to tell the kids, huh?" Eddie asked as he slid under the covers. Steve nodded his head as he cuddled into his boyfriend's bare chest. Steve's hand lay flat on Eddie's peck, thumb rubbing back and forth onto his warm skin. Steve breathed in the scent of vanilla, smiling at how Eddie used the shampoo he brought over.

"Yes. I want to tell the kids. They should hear it from us rather than the town after Jason has exposed us." The jock was quiet as he spoke, not wanting to destroy the calming setting of Eddie's room in the middle of the night. He looked over to his hand and watched as his bruised knuckles moved with every thumb stroke while they talked. He frowned a little, thinking back to the day's earlier events.

"I guess you're right." Eddie breathed in sharp. His nose made a slight whistling sound. His grip on Steve's shoulder tightened. Steve could hear the man's heart thumping extra fast in his chest.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, stopping the movements of his thumb to grip Eddie's bicep.

"I just- I don't want-" the man stuttered. His heart beat faster now. Steve sat up on his elbow to better look at Eddie's disheveled face. He saw sweat collecting on the man's brow, lip twitching as his nerves got the best of him.

"Eddie?" the jock asked, fully sitting up and, with one tug of Eddie's arm that was closest to him, pulling Eddie up with him. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I just- I don't- I don't want things to change after the party finds out about us... about me." his voice cracked on the last word. He wasn't crying, but Steve saw his eyes were glassed over. Steve was shocked at Eddie's confession. The entire time he's known the man, he's never given a shit about what people think of him. The guy used to walk on tables at lunch and throw devil horns up at his head just to cause a stir in the halls. Why was telling the party so hard for him?

"I don't think anything will change," Steve spoke, shaking his head a little, his eyebrows knitted together. "The party consists of all of your best friends, Eddie. They aren't going to judge us... judge you."

"That's the point, Steve," Eddie spoke as he ran his hands through his wet curls. "They are my best friends! What if they find out about us and hate it? What if they throw me out and never want me again? It's happened before, Steve. People have claimed to love me before, and then with one wrong move on my part, I'm kicked to the curb without question."

"Loving me isn't wrong," Steve whispered, a small ping in his chest.

"That's not what I meant." Eddie sighed, moving his head to the side. His big brown eyes were boring into Steve's. They searched the jock's face to find a solution to his feelings. They were begging for an answer.

"Eddie, they are going to accept us. If not, we still have Robin, Vickie, and Dustin."

"Dustin?" Eddie asked, breath sucking in sharply. "He knows?"

"Yes," Steve spoke, grabbing onto his boyfriend's shaky hands. "He found out a while ago and has been keeping it to himself, keeping my wishes."

"What did he say?"

"That he accepts us. I mean, come on. The kid thinks of us as his parents, for crying out loud." Steve chuckled. Eddie laughed along with him, hands becoming less shaky. "If Dustin can accept us, I'm pretty sure everyone else can- especially Will."