ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟ [eddie munson]

ʙᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ

The mobile home was eerily quiet, except for the radio buzzing at the driver's seat and small conversations happening in whispers. Robin had fallen asleep against the window, Dustin and Lucas nodding off ever so often. Lorraine watched them all sleep, a small, although sad, smile crawling on her face as Dustin's head leaned on her shoulder, bobbing up and down with the rugged road.

Her eyes moved over to Eddie, who was quietly watching the floor from the bench aside from the table. He wouldn't look at them, or her, which worried her. His hands tightly grasped each other, pressing his rings into his skin. Knuckles white, jaw clenched, brows furrowed. Lorraine couldn't imagine what was going through his mind, although she had maybe a few ideas.

A sharp right turn knocked Dustin off of her shoulder and out of his sleep, giving a loud grunt as he collided with the window beside him. Steve pulled the car into park, as he turned his head to look at everyone.

"Okay, we'll go in and get everything." He said sternly as he got up out of the driver's seat, Nancy close behind. "You guys stay put."

"No way!" Dustin objected loudly, banging his hands on the table.

Steve groaned and rolled his head back in annoyance. "Okay, okay, you and Lucas go stand look out."

Lorraine quickly got up to let Dustin pass by her, trotting off behind Lucas, Robin and Nancy. Steve stopped to look at Eddie, seeing he was still in his own little world. He shot a glance at Lorraine, with eyes of concern. She simply rested a hand on her arm, giving a small shrug, pursing her lips.

"I'll stay." She whispered to Steve, as he lent over and placed a head on her shoulder. Although they didn't hang out as much as he did with Robin, in that moment Lorraine could feel the concern and love he had for them, although conjured in a short period of time. He stared into her eyes deeply, squeezing her shoulder and giving a reassuring nod.

Quickly, he turned around and followed the others to the store, creating another eerie silence in the vehicle. Lorraine, hesitant, sat back down on the nook, her back facing the window and pulling her legs to her chest. She seemed to wait for what felt like an eternity before Eddie said something, but he never opened his mouth. He never even glanced at her.

"Eddie, what's wro-"

"You can't go by yourself." He hissed at her, only motioning his head towards her as his hands fumbled in his own.

"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled.

"You can't go with them by yourself." He said, finally meeting her gaze. His demeanor didn't change, the look in his eye confirming he was both terrified and angry.

"And why not? They can't go without someone." She huffed, annoyed. "They're kids, Eddie."

"Yeah, well," He chuckled evilly, tossing his head from side to side "They've done this before, haven't you heard?"

"I don't care. I'm not letting them deal with Vecna by themselves," She sat up a little, leaning towards Eddie as she felt the rush of blood go through her.

"Well," His voice cracked and rose as he grew frustrated. "You can't!"

"To hell with that reasoning!" Lorraine raised her voice to match Eddie's, chucking her hands into the air in anger. "The only way we get out of this is if we help, Eddie. We can't just stand around and watch! If we do nothing, you'll still be 'Eddie the Banished' and Max would most likely be dead!"

"And I'm not about to let that happen." She finished off in a huff. Eddie's face went cold, a small part of Lorraine felt horrible for shouting at him, but she couldn't let him treat her like she was a child, or that she needed protecting.