The Sound

Part 11 - Jules

I closed the door, smiling to myself. My heart was racing at the fact that Eddie said we were friends – he said it! I practically skipped to my room, pleased with how the evening went.

I quickly changed into just a large t-shirt before heading to my bathroom to wash my face. I stared in the mirror, beaming at the different moments of the night. I started washing my face as I thought to Eddie's concert and our shared love of Michael Myers.

Eddie was actually nice tonight – he was kind when I had beers with him and even when invited him in; Mean Eddie only rearing his ugly head a couple times. And he was so handsome when he actually smiled – my heart caught at even the thought of it. It consumed his face, his dimples deep and his eyes crinkling.

I spat my toothpaste out and rinsed my mouth out. I went back to my room, crawling into my bed, my head still racing. I was excited about the next day – I wondered if Eddie would be working tomorrow? He probably would, especially since Marcie left. I could learn more about Corroded Coffin, and maybe he could tell me about the songs he wrote. Maybe we could even talk about our favorite horror movies. My stomach flip-flopped at the thought of working alongside him, and I grinned at the memories from the night.

I suddenly sat up, panicked as I came to a realization.

I had a crush on Eddie Munson.

~~~

I woke up, still horrified at my stupid heart and brain. Eddie was nice to me, like, one time, and I'm like a middle schooler, blushing at even the thought of my crush. I groaned as I covered my face with my hands. I glanced at the clock, noticing I had an hour and a half until my shift at The Sound. I threw myself off of my bed, heading towards the kitchen, still embarrassed at my stupid crush.

"Offspring?"

"Father of mine, I have some dumb updates for you," I called back to him, following his voice to the kitchen. I needed his advice – he was always so good about reigning me in.

"Maybe you can stupidly update the two of us," he replied. I stopped dead in my tracks as I stood at the entrance of my kitchen, my stomach dropping to the floor.

Eddie Munson was in my kitchen.

The person who my dumb update was about, was standing in my kitchen with my dad, sharing coffee with him.

I looked down at myself, suddenly realizing that I was wearing a shirt from one of my dad's company's parties – it had a cartoon drawing of Einstein on it with the phrase "Let's get PHYSICS-al". I was horrified, especially since I apparently suddenly cared about what Eddie thought.

"Hey, Jules," Eddie greeted, smiling the smile that was now making my palms sweaty. I flashed a quick grin, panicked.

"Hey, Eddie – what are you doing here?" I asked, my tone shaky as I tried to pull my shirt farther down my thighs while also trying to cover the dumb science pun.

"I saw this one in his van when I got back from my shift. Thought I should invite him in so he didn't have to wait outside. Even offered him coffee," my father quipped, before raising an eyebrow at me. "Figured I owed him since someone told him about my nickname for him."

I blanched as Eddie laughed.

"It's fine Mr. Mullin – it's pretty suiting, actually," Eddie turned to me, his eyes still crinkled. My heart skipped. "I thought I would swing by and offer a ride to our shift."

My stomach flip-flopped. I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. Kind of stupid not to offer since we work the same shifts," he sniped, Mean Eddie coming to the surface. He realized this and looked at his feet, sipping his coffee. "Thought that's what friends would do, anyways."