Would you love a creature? - Eddie Munson x Y/N

Chapter 3

Y/N

Your eyes blink open slowly as the sunlight pours into the room. It takes you a minute to remember the events of yesterday as you look around the unfamiliar room, the soft mattress beneath you felt like a cloud compared to your bed before, you'd woken up to daylight and not a harsh fluorescent light being flicked on above you, you were wearing soft clothes made of cotton and not the starchy gown you were so used to.
As you remember where you were you sit up in Eddies bed, looking around your current sleeping quarters. Posters of unfamiliar things plastered his walls, some of the pictures looked scary, you couldn't imagine how Eddie slept at night with those facing him.
He just had so much stuff. At Hawkins lab you were only allowed what was in the playroom, nothing more. You didn't need material things, you were always told, you were special.

You lie back down, the pillow beneath you cradling your head in the most soothing way. Still, you had this gnawing in your stomach. You'd known Eddie less than 24 hours, how do you know you won't leave this room and find he's called someone and they're waiting for you now?How do you know he hasn't told someone else about the strange girl who turned up yesterday and they'll tell people and eventually Papa will find out where you are and drag you back there, back to that prison.

You think of your life there. It was all you ever knew but you also knew, deep down, that you didn't belong. You had the same powers as the other kids, sure, but you were nothing like them. The older kids were mean, they used their powers against the other kids because they could. The younger kids were timid and shy so if they weren't beaten into submission by the others then they just broke. You, being one of the oldest of the kids, we're looked at to be the guidance for the younger ones  but you couldn't. How could you help and guide someone through a process to be able to live a life you yourself were miserable in? How could you teach a kid with special abilities not to be evil? How could you teach someone so terrified of where they are to stand up to a kid that will happily pin them to a wall using nothing but their own mind?

You had been a massive failure to everyone involved in your care. You struggled to harness your powers properly and occasionally they spilled over. Mostly when you were upset or angry, but you were a liability. On top of that you couldn't be trusted to keep the peace. What use were you?

You would never go back. You'd never let them take you back to Papa, they'd have to kill you first.

You listen to the silence of the trailer. No shouting, no kids getting up and getting ready to go about their day. No knocks on doors telling you it was time for training. No orderly's shoving food at you that looked like it had already been eaten more than once. There was silence and calm for once, you just wished that calm would fill your brain so much that your mind would stop for a moment.

You remember Eddie saying he was sleeping in the other room, that meant there was a direct route to escape and it was open. You could leave now, Eddie wouldn't know where you are so even if he had told someone what had happened they wouldn't be able to track you.
You'd gotten lucky yesterday, you lost the guards pretty easily but it was only a matter of time before they find you. They always found what they wanted.

You slip out of bed quietly, tiptoeing over the debris on the floor and reach for the handle, the door creaks as you open it, making your heart race.
You peer into the hallway and listen. There were no other sounds throughout the rest of the trailer.

Eddie hadn't betrayed you while you slept.

You creep out and into the kitchen/living room area and stop dead as you see Eddie on the sofa, lying on his side, fast asleep. He was still in the same clothes he had been wearing last night, apparently he didn't go to bed at all.

All plans to escape flutter away as you watch him sleep. You walk into the living area and sit crossed legged on the floor in front of him. You look at his face, he wasn't horrible to look at. You realised, in fact, it felt nice to look at his face. You remembered his warm smile from last night and you feel a strange flutter in your stomach. You remember how kind he was to you, how much he cared about you feeling safe and comfortable. It made you feel warm.

You still weren't ready for him to know the truth, not everything anyway. Papa always said the outside world wouldn't understand and you weren't ready to find out yet if he was right.
But you also wanted him to know you and you wanted to know him. You felt safe, sure, but you were always on edge. You never knew when someone could try and cause you harm, even someone you thought you could trust.

Eddie stirs as his eyes flutter open slowly. He stretches and you see his top move up and his lower stomach shows. You feel that weird flutter again.

What is that?

He jumps when he sees you staring at him, not expecting to have woken up to an audience.
"Morning. How did you sleep?" He asks.
"Fine" is all you say, you were still trying to work out why your stomach felt like it had butterflies in it.
"Good" it takes him a minute to realise where he fell asleep. "Guess I didn't make it to bed last night" he says as he sits up.

"My stomach feels fluttery" you say, holding your hand over it.
"Oh...erm... are you hungry?" He suggests.

Ah yes, that has to be it

Eddie gets up and wanders to the kitchen, returning moments later with toast.
"How do you sleep with scary pictures on your wall?" You ask him.
"The posters? You get used to them" he answers.
"Your bed is really soft" you smile.
"It's alright, does what it needs to" he responds, obviously not used to people complimenting him on anything.

"Eddie, please don't tell anyone I'm here" you say quietly, almost as if someone else could hear you.
"You have my word, I won't tell a single soul you're here" he promises.
You turn back to your toast, satisfied with his answer.
"So, I thought of another question after you'd gone to bed. Do you have any friends?" He asks.
You shrug "I think so, I guess we were, more like brothers and sisters really" you respond.
Eddies eyes grow wide.
"Brothers and sisters? How many of you are there?"
You realise you've said too much already and you shake your head.
"Not yet" is all you respond with.

Eddie stands up from the couch, stretching again, and making himself so tall he touches the ceiling.
"I'm going to jump in the shower. I won't be long ok?" He says.
You smile and stay put, watching as he walks towards the bathroom and pulls his top off just before he disappears from sight.
That same fluttering returns and you feel your cheeks flush.

Seriously what is that?!