I Can't, Eddie... (Steddie)

6

Steve couldn't shut his brain off as they headed back toward school. He had so many conflicting emotions coursing through his body that he felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Everything about this was foreign. It felt dangerous and risky in a way that was unlike anything Steve had ever experienced.

"Okay so are you going to explain this to me?!" Robin moved her head in front of Steve's trying to peek at the hickey on the other side of his neck.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it."

Robin is not an idiot. She's going to see right through me.

"You can't expect me to accept that." She said, crossing her arms. She lowered her voice so it was barely audibly above the roaring of the bus. "Steve, I'm not stupid."

Steve whipped around and looked her dead in the eyes. "And what do you mean by that, Robin?"

Robin moved her head back in shock at Steve's sudden contribution to the conversation. She had been badgering him with little to no headway for at least half an hour. They were nearly back to the school now.

"Steve... a few months ago — the day you had your hallucination — did something happen between you and Eddie Munson?"

Steve's stomach did about fifty flips and Robin could see the color drain out of his face. Robin gasped.

"I knew it!!!" She whispered, voice full of victory. Her face split into a huge grin and she started tapping Steve's knee rapidly. "Steve! Oh my god! Oh my GOD! Do you like him??? Tell me everything!!!!"

"Robin! Please calm down. Jesus Christ." Steve put his hand over Robin's still tapping aggressively on his leg.

"That's his jacket, isn't it? And he totally got you to smoke some weed! Oh my god!!!"

Robin suddenly turned around in her bus seat and poked her head above the seat back. Her eyes were saucers as she searched the back of the bus for Eddie's lone figure. He was looking out his window, headphones on his ears. The sudden flash of copper hair caught his eye and he glanced up. He saw Robin's bright smiling face staring right at him and immediately turned beet red. He rolled his eyes and nodded once at her in greeting. She smiled even bigger in his direction and he couldn't help a smile slowly creeping over his face. He tried to casually cover his expression with one hand and flipped Robin off with the other. She laughed and Steve's head joined hers above the seat. He saw Eddie watching both of them and his mouth dropped open in shock, yanking Robin down into the seat again.

"ROBIN!"

Robin settled into a fit of silent giggles.

"This is the best development in my life all year." She said between fits of laughter. "Eddie fucking Munson and Steve fucking Harrington. This. Is. Wild."

"How are you so happy about this? I'm fucked in the head." Steve sighed and put his head in his hands. Robin's demeanor quickly sobered.

"Look, I'm not saying this will be easy. You know I can speak to that personally. But, like, does he make you feel all bubbly and happy, Steve?"

"It's starting to feel that way," Steve mumbled into his hands. His thoughts flickered back again to the sense of danger he felt. He had literally been in life threatening, world altering situations multiple times before. He knew a girl with super powers, for fucks sake. Why did this feel so impossible?

Am I having some kind of breakthrough?

If the worst thing that could happen here wasn't that they would be killed by a monster, then he could face it and beat it. And he could make sure that Eddie would be protected too. He wasn't at all high anymore, and yet he still felt the same intense feelings he felt earlier in the day. He still wanted Eddie Munson. Steve was starting to lean towards going and getting exactly what he wanted.

"Well then that's all that matters right now." Robin said simply. "Don't worry about anyone else. Consider me your personal secret-keeper. Operation Steddie is officially a GO."

Steve couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"You are the biggest shit head I've ever met. And I hang out with Dustin frequently." He said, shaking his head.

"So are you going to return Eddie's jacket, or...?"

"Shut up, Robin."

The bus pulled into the school a few minutes later and Steve filed out behind Robin. Robin took her time asking their teacher some questions and Steve had to wait for her since he had promised her a ride home. Robin finished up her conversation right as Eddie stepped off the bus.

Fucking convenient, Robin.

Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head as Robin walked over to him and called out toward the bus.

"Hey, Munson! Come over here!"

Steve groaned and brought his hand through his hair nervously. Eddie headed toward them looking like nothing but trouble as usual.

"Buckley, Harrington." He nodded to each of them.

"Hey," Steve said quietly, staring determinedly at Eddie's boots.

"Sooo, did you get your research done?" Robin asked Eddie.

"Yep."

"You're very talkative. Did you have fun hanging out with my best friend today?" She was really trying to pull anything she could out of the outcast. He popped his knuckles and looked at Steve for half a second.

"Sure. Lots of...research."

Robin rolled her eyes and scoffed. "How am I supposed to be the secret keeper for operation Steddie if I can't get any details??"

"ROBIN." Steve growled.

"Operation what??" Eddie was interested now. He was fully smiling now and his eyebrows were raised high on his forehead in amusement. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, observing Robin and Steve silently argue with each other.

"It's nothing, nothing," Robin waved him off.

"Okay, we have to go now." Steve said, grabbing Robins upper arm and marching her away from Eddie.

"See ya, Harrington. I had fun today," Eddie called out. Steve looked back and Eddie winked at him.

"Oh my god. What the fuck is happening?" Steve muttered under his breath as Robin started laughing again.

"You'd think with your track record you'd be totally bored of this stage, Steve." She said, punching his arm. "You didn't return his jacket, by the way."

"I have not confirmed or denied who the owner of this jacket is."

"Are you in a position to confirm or deny who the owner of that hickey is?"

Steve refused to dignify that with a response and stepped into his car, turning the key into the ignition and getting ready to peel out of the parking lot. Before he could, though, he pulled the jacket tighter around him and turned his head ever so slightly to get another whiff of the scent lingering on the leather.