Teenage Dirtbag (Eddie Munson x OC)

Up to Bat

Jackie and Eddie walked side by side with each other as Dustin led them through the woods. The two were eerily quiet. Her eyes were focused straight ahead on the path in front of them, her hand clutching the weapon at her side. Eddie tried not to disturb her, his eyes darting back and forth between the rest of the group ahead of him and her focused expression.

Nonetheless, the conversation held at Skull Rock still burned in his mind. How could it not? What did they mean? Unfortunately for Eddie, he was fairly certain that he knew what they were trying to say and it was exactly what he had feared.

He took a step closer to her, inching over awkwardly. "Hey."

Jackie snapped out of it and turned her head to the side. "Hi."

Eddie gestured vaguely to her very tense figure- her tight knuckles and clenched jaw. "Are you okay?" He asked, the question coming out as if it were uncomfortable to ask.

Never better, she thought to herself. But she wouldn't reply with that to someone genuinely asking, as obvious as it may be. They meant well, and she wouldn't fault them for that- unless it was maybe Steve. But especially not Eddie. Eddie appeared to always be on the edge of a nervous breakdown these days and was somehow still paying more attention to her well-being than anything else. Instead, she settled for giving him a soft smile through sealed lips. "I'm fine."

He shifted uncomfortably. "It's just," He started, his voice stammering. "You seem off?"

Jackie shrugged, faking a grin once more. "I'm okay, Eddie," She told him, watching how his face fell at her words. "Really."

A silence fell over them once more. They were standing strangely close to each other now but yet said nothing. Eddie stepped rather crookedly as if his body were trying to lead him somewhere else. Jackie didn't mind and opted not to mention it. Rather, she decided to move with him, making sure that they wouldn't crash.

He still tried to decipher her expressions. Despite her constant reassurance that she was okay and that everything was fine, he knew it wasn't. He couldn't figure out how he was supposed to bring it up again.

Jackie wasn't someone who constantly accepts help and assistance, and Eddie knew that. There had been many times in the past when Eddie has leaned a hand out to her and she's rejected it with the idea that she must fix things herself. This long list of events includes the time Jeff decided to participate in gym class for once because he was failing and ended up hitting a baseball so badly that it crashed into Jackie's nose and drew blood. Naturally, Jeff was insanely apologetic and Eddie offered to help her to the nurse, but she just grinned as the blood dripped and said that she was all set.

Or the time that Eddie once pulled up in his van on her and her broken down 78' Buick Electra on the side of the road. Free of charge, he had told her as if it were a business. He said that he would help jump it, get it to his place, and then look into what was wrong with it once he was home. But Jackie said she didn't want to waste his time and she was sure she could figure it out herself. It wasn't until she realized that her dad would be pissed at the cost of a regular mechanic that she reluctantly agreed.

This list also included the time she broke up with her ex-boyfriend at Tina's Halloween party. Eddie came to the party looking for a profit. He clung to the outside wall of the house, staying far enough away from the driveway that those who didn't want to see him wouldn't, and close enough for those who did. Jackie, however, dressed like Madonna, straight out of an MTV video, decided to go hard on spiked punch from the jump. Plenty of beers and punch later, she was wasted and found herself stumbling outside to say hi to Eddie because she had heard through the grapevine that he was outside.