This Year is My Year

The Third Element: A Crown for a King

I looked at the man on the ground, not only shocked that I punched him, but that I was actually successful in landing the blow.

He turned his head slowly, and everyone just stared at one another. I momentarily wondered if my impulsive defense of Eddie was a good idea.

Before I could further contemplate this, one of the cousin-fucker's friends smashed his knuckles into my nose, sending me reeling back. Robin screamed, and Y/N grabbed her to pull her back, and Eddie immediately stepped in.

Like I said before, Eddie was good at fighting. And I was glad I wasn't on the other side of these furious punches as he started knocking the man who hit me onto the ground out cold. I noticed the other redneck approach Eddie and I spun the man around, kneeing him in the groin as hard as I could. The man doubled over, and I turned, noticing the cousin-fucker and Eddie circling one another.

While they were the same height, Eddie was slight and skinnier – it's why he was so good at evading blows and surprising people with his speed. The man was large – stocky and red-faced, furious that this metalhead and his preppy friend were successful in beating his friends up. I waited for the man's back to be to me again and decided to be a coward during a fight, again.

I leapt onto the man's back, wrapping my arms around his neck. Eddie looked genuinely surprised, forgetting that he was fighting for a minute.

"Munson, a little help!" I yelped as the man tried to hit me off him. Eddie shook his head, and then socked the man as hard as he could in the stomach, making him double over. When his knees hit the ground, I released him, kicking him as hard as I could on the back. The man fell forward, and Eddie jumped over him, arriving at my side.

We were breathing heavily and turned to one another. Eddie suddenly broke into a smile, the blood from his nose leaking into his mouth. I smiled back, as well. Eddie looked over, eyes widening.

"Let's grab the girls and get the hell out of here, Harrington," he pointed to security guards who were working their way through the crowd to us. I turned, running ahead of him, getting to the girls first.

I wanted to take Y/N with me but knew better. I grabbed Robin's hand and saw Y/N reach out to Eddie who was close behind me. I led our group through the crowd, moving as fast as I could through the crowd. We finally reached an exit door by the bar, and I threw my shoulder through it, dragging Robin out with me.

We were in the alley, breathing heavily. The door opened soon after Robin and I exited, and Eddie was followed by Y/N. We all looked to one another, and then Robin burst into laughter. Her sudden joy brought us all down and we started laughing with her.

Eddie and I looked at each other, pointing at each other's bloody noses and laughing even harder. He clapped my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. I was shocked by his warmth, and he pulled back, slapping my back again.

"You're a king, Harrington. Who knew that you had that in you back there?" Everyone laughed again. "And because of that show of bravery, I think the king needs his crown."

He pulled a black cowboy hat from behind his back – the cowboy hat that the cousin-fucker had been wearing. He handed it to me, and everyone started laughing again. I grinned widely and placed it on my head. Y/N clapped in delight, pulling Eddie close to her as she started wiping his face as much as she could. He started teasing her, threatening to kiss her with his bloody lips.

I smiled as Y/N giggled at him while she kissed his bruising eye, feeling a twinge of jealousy. Robin came over to me, chattering about how I was a hero and that she couldn't believe that I defended Eddie – "Steve, Eddie MUNSON, you defended Eddie Munson!" – and I took a beat as she wiped my face.