The Break (An Eddie Munson Story)

Chapter 41: Eddie Wake Up

A/N: See you on the other side.

*****

You smiled at him. That was what he noticed first. It was a smile that, made his heart skip a clichéd beat, the could power all of Hawkins and made the brunet want to do everything in his power to make sure that, it never turned into a frown. "Hey there, sleepy head." you giggled.

With his head in your lap, Eddie became aware of your hand gently running through his tangle of dark locks. The ministrations were soothing, to the point where he was tempted to close his eyes and fall back asleep. Just as he could feel himself being pulled under, you spoke, the question interruping the peace. "Do you remember this day?" you asked, your hand never ceasing itself steady carding motion.

Confused, Eddie hesitated in his reply. How could he remember a day that he had not yet experienced? "W-What did you say?"

"I said, isn't it beautiful?" you grinned in amusement, your gaze flicking away from his to focus on something beyond his prone form.

That was when he felt the familiar tickle of coarse grass beneath his palms and, like you, took notice of the deep blue waters of Lover's Lake. The current was calm, almost unmoving if it were not for the gentle breeze, that occasionally meandered through the atmosphere and graced your skin, with a cool caress.

Oh..." he chuckled and much to your annoyance, maneuvered to sit up. Yeah, that made more sense, he thought, assuming that in his waking disorientation, he must have misheard you. "Yeah, yeah. It's beautiful."

You hand dropped from his hair and fell limply in your lap. Though it did not remain idle for long. Without taking pause, the brunet took your hand in his and raised the knuckles to his lips. The gesture earnt him a giggle, a sound more melodic than any album he had ever purchased. "But it's not quite a stunning as you." he drawled with a smirk at his cheesy one liner.

"Eddie." you choked through a sob, as tears streamed down your cheeks. You were drenched to the bone by the downpour outside. The weatherman had forecasted a torrential storm, which you had braved through by bike. Your transport of choice now lay discarded in the mud. It was a pitiful sight, one than made his stomach churn with anxiety.

"Where am..." he looked around at the grey clouds and the falling rain, swearing that he was somewhere else before but that was an unusual thought to have. Where else could he have possibly been but in his trailer only moments before your arrival? "Y/N?"

"I'm really sorry." you apologised through chattering teeth, arms wrapped tightly around yourself, to fend off the overt chill. "My parents-" you would have said more, explained in full the reasoning for your impromptu apparition at his front door but before you could utter another sentence, Eddie shook his head and grabbed your arm, to pull you in the warm- and more importantly- dry trailer.

At the mere mention of your parents, he knew whatever had happened, it was bad and you would be in dire need of hot chocolate, blankets and lots of cuddles, which luckily he was armed with the trinity. "You don't need to explain anything, I understand-"

Your lips met his, as his back hit the shower stall wall. The boy's locker room was empty, as there were no scheduled classes for the next few periods, so you both had taken the liberty of having an uninterrupted make out session, instead of attending trigonometry.

Though distracted by your embrace, the brunet found himself pulling away momentarily,  his focus not on your sinful kisses, that you were now placing upon his neck in lustful abandon but at the bleak, chipped tiling and grotty drain at his feet. "We were in the trailer..." he whispered, more to himself than you. The lingering memory and smell of rain quickly dissipating from his mind, as he was pulled back to his current reality, by the feeling of your hand wandering beneath the material of his Metallica t-shirt.

You hummed in appreciation, as you carefully traced his warm skin, savouring the feeling and committing it to mind, for those lonely nights when he was not able to be with you. "What do you mean?"

The recollection was gone quicker than it had remained, with a slight shake of his head, to rid himself of the cognitive cobwebs, Eddie looked at you was a darkening gaze. "Nothing, I-"

With a scoff, you tugged him closer, by the belt loops of his jeans. "Less talking, more kissing, Munson." you teased, kissing him feverishly once more.

As his eyes slipped closed, he heard you whisper something to him in the dark. "Hmm?" he asked groggily, rolling onto his side, as cautiously as he could. There was not much space in your bed. With your parents away, you had been able to sneak him into your family home for the night. "What did you say?" he yawned, rubbing his weary eyes on the sleeve of his hellfire top.

You looked away from him and to the blood on your hands. That was what he noticed first. Blood that he was not quite sure was solely yours. It made his heart skip that clichéd beat, fear run cold in his veins and a shiver make a race track of his spine. "Y/N?"

"Eddie?" you could hardly believe that he was stood before you.

"Y/N," he rushed towards you, dropping to his knees in front of you. "Hey, hey, I'm here, baby. I'm here. Fuck." his hands awkwardly moved to touch your face but seeing as there was no safe patch of skin for him to caress, without potentially hurting you, Eddie reached for your hands, which was when he noticed your bruised knuckles."What the hell happened to your face? Are you okay? Does it hurt?" he chastised himself for asking such pointless and glaringly obvious questions but he was at a loss for what to say, his brain glitching at the sight of your injuries.

Tears poured from your swollen eye, causing clean tracks through the dried blood that caked your cheeks. "Eddie, wake up! I don't like this." you choked out, voice strained with emotion.

He was taken back by the phrasing, his eyes widening in confusion, as he regarded your injured state. "That's...that's not what you said."

"Can you hear me?" you begged, sightless eyes looking directly through him, as if he were but a spectre, here to haunt your waking nightmare but it was him who was caught in a dreamscape. "Eddie, please wake up! Don't leave me, baby. Not like this." your distress was palpable, as your features contorted into a mask of anguish. Not matter how many tears he brushed aside, the downpour...

The downpour. The rain. The trailer. This...none of this...was real, he realised in horror, stumbling away from your car door. He was no longer in the nurse's office. It was dark outside

"I...I need to wake up." Eddie murmured, turning this way and that to get his bearings. If he could just stay in one location long enough then he could find a way out.

"Eddie?" you questioned, watching him with unsurity, as he paused in putting away his D and D campaign map away. Noticing the item in his hands, he dropped the rolled up paper and watched it unfurl on the floor. He...he had just been in the car-

"Can we get fries?" you asked excitedly, nudging the brunet beside you, as the line slowly but surely moved ever an inch closer towards the cashier. "I kinda want a milkshake too. Are you even paying attention, Eddie?"

"I...I..." was all he could murmured, as his tongue darted out to wet his chapped lips. This was a dream, he willed himself to remember. It was not real. You were not really beside him. The diner, the smell of grease and processed sugar- none of it was real. He was lost in a fantasy and he need to find a way out.

The diner entrance, he surmised quickly. Postulating the concept of walking through the creaky metal doors and striding into the waking world. Was that not how things usually work? If he desire an exit, surely there would be one. Dreams were self-serving, there was always a cheat code and maybe this would be his? Stepping away from you, he all but ran towards the closed doors, hoping he would regain his consciousness on the other side. The combination of glass and metal felt familiar beneath his palms, as he strained to push the aside and into-

An orange glow from the brief flash oh the flame, notified you that the joint had been lit, then the head smell filled your senses, reminding you of the first time you had tried the drug. "Want a hit?" Eddie offered but you declined, keeping your eyes fixed on the screen.

"Hey, Eddie." you voice was barely audible above the noise reverberating from the television set. "I, uh...I..." you took in a shaky breath to steady your nerves, complete unaware of his internal panic, as he braced himself for whatever thoughts you shared about his parking lot confessions. "Time to wake up."