The Freaks - Eddie Munson

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Wheeler

"Woah, woah, woah what are we doing here?" Eddie asked as we pulled up in front of the house. "We shouldn't go in there." I looked out the window to see Nancy and Robin pull up to the house as well.

"Steve, what are we doing here?" I asked quietly. Eddie was right. We shouldn't go in there.

Steve didn't answer me, getting out of the car to talk to Nance. Dustin followed, along with Lucas and Max. Eddie and I were alone again. My hand rested on his knee from the lack of room in the backseat. I knew if I looked over at him, our faces would be too close for me to think clearly. So instead, I opened the door and climbed out of the car, following the group up to the house.

*

Steve broke the stained glass on the door to reach in and open it from the inside. It was dark inside the Creel house, the only light pouring in through the window Steve had just broken.

"Shit..." I whispered as we all peeked inside. Cobwebs blanketed the walls, crickets scurried across the floor. Steve withdrew a flashlight from his back pocket and switched on the light, shining it down the hall.

"We should split up." Steve turned to us all, and reaching into his backpack, took out 3 more flashlights and handed them off to a few people. "Take our time to find anything weird. Anything connecting to what we know about Vecna and the Upside Down." Lucas took Max's hand and they went into the house first, turning to the left to begin looking. Steve, Dustin and Erica followed, then Nancy and Robin glanced at each other before following into the house and climbing the stairs.

"Guess we're a team now." Eddie shrugged, taking the flashlight Steve had handed him and turning it on. He turned to me, his eyes shining in the sunlight we were about to leave behind. "After you." he gestured towards the door. I complied, stepping into the most haunted house in the state. How did we get here?

As we roamed the back end of the house, I looked down at my hand on occasion to see Eddie's hand nearly brush against mine several times. I felt as if he wanted to keep me close, but didn't want to hold my hand.

Part of me wished he would.

But I also knew we weren't in a position to do anything. To be anything. As we entered a room at the very back of the house, it was quieter than ever. All but a clock mounted on the opposite wall. A grandfather clock. I remember Max mentioning something of this nature in her visions.

"What's that?" when I heard the voice behind me, I screamed, turning suddenly with my fist ready. I punched the person behind me in self defense, gasping when Eddie clutched his nose.

He moaned as he stumbled backwards, clutching his mouth to keep blood from spilling out.

"What the hell??!" he yelled, opening his eyes to look at me like I was crazy.

"I'm so sorry! Holy shit-" I reached over and grabbed his arm, guiding him over to a vacant corner.

"Just...sit down and I'll-I'll fix it." I looked around frantically as Eddie held his head back, blood running down his face from his nose.

"I think you broke it." he said, his voice deeper than normal as he pinched his nose shut.

I ripped off the bottom of my ACDC shirt, kneeling down next to him.

"Please look at me." he removed his hand from his face and lowered his eyes to mine. He was in pain, but the blood that ran down across his lips and chin was hot.

Really hot.

I wadded up the fabric in my hands and pressed it to his face. He grunted with pain, taking the fabric from me to hold it to his nose himself. My heart raced faster when his fingers brushed mine.

"I'm so sorry, Ed." he chuckled, his head tilting upward again.

"That damn nickname again, Wheeler." my stomach fluttered.

"Do you not like it?"

"That's the problem." he looked down at me, shifting the fabric to a clean side to absorb more blood. "I do like it."

"That's a problem?" I laughed lightly. He shrugged.

"You tell me." I looked down at my hands, my head racing. We were close again. We were alone again. I was feeling things again. He removed the cloth from his face the blood no longer seeping from his nose.

"Is it gone?" I took the fabric from his hand and began wiping away at the dried blood on his lips, face, and chin. There was silence for a long moment before he broke it.

"Can I ask you something?" I looked into his eyes, glittering in the minimal light shining through the boarded up window.

"Anything." I tried to tear away from his gaze.

"Why was Jason jealous of me?" it caught me off guard.

"He wasn't exactly...jealous. He got overprotective."

"He hates me. Right?" I caught his gaze again.

"He's an asshole."

"Doesn't matter." he shrugged as I wiped away the last bit of blood. "He thinks I'm a freak. He didn't want you around me. He's right."

"Eddie don't say that." his eyebrows furrowed, our eyes locked together. "You're not a freak."

There was something behind his eyes. Disbelief. Shock. Admiration?

"No?" he whispered, his breath brushing against my face. He smelled like leather and cigarettes. Eddie was so close my heart was in my throat. A thousand thoughts ran through my head, but I couldn't pull away.

"No." I looked down at the bloody cloth in my hands, relieved I was able to look away from his deep eyes. However, a moment later I felt his fingers on my chin. He lifted my gaze to his once more, his eyes intentional. His hand brushed against my cheek and threaded through my hair, his fingers at the base of my neck.

No. No, no, no, no. When his eyes flickered to my lips I didn't know what to do. It was the moment to make a choice. And I hated myself for the one I made. He leaned into me, his lips barely at mine.

"Eddie...please..." he shook his head, ignoring my pleas for him to stop. He knew deep down we both wanted this. Our foreheads touched, and his thumb brushing across my jawline, his fingers at my neck guiding me closer to him. I almost let him in for a moment before I turned away.

His eyes were closed, and when he didn't feel me move away his lips brushed against my cheek.

A kiss after all.

Deafening silence.

"I'm sorry-" I didn't pull away, letting his hand linger on my face. I wanted him close. So why couldn't I let him kiss me?

"No, it's okay." he pulled back, his hand falling into his lap.

"Ed-"

"Really, it's fine. I shouldn't have done that." his eyes avoided mine, searching for something to look at other than me.

"Did you freaks find anything?" I jumped as Erica entered the room.

"Just-"

"Never mind. Get off the floor, that's nasty." she turned on her heel and caught up to Dustin and Steve who waited outside the door. I looked back at Eddie. His eyes were on the ground, his hair hanging down in front of his face.

Disappointment.

Shit.