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"Alright," Eddie said, sitting himself down heavily next to you. "Friday night; the movies are showing Chopping Mall, it's supposed to be wicked."
"Um, no," you replied quickly, staring down at your unfinished homework.
Eddie scoffed, and he looked at Dustin with a 'what's-up-with-her' expression, like you were an in-joke between them. "Alright," he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Why not?"
You tried to articulate your feelings fully before speaking. You and Eddie had been dancing around the idea of dating for a few months, ever since having shared a kiss on a drunken night after DnD, endlessly flirting and acting like a couple without the commitment, but the idea of getting tied down to someone just before leaving for college kept you from fully committing. You rejected him every time he tried to ask you on a proper date, and you could tell that he was getting tired of the chase, as much as you hated the thought that he would move on. "I just don't wanna date you," you told him. "I'm happy with things the way they are."
"Bullshit you are," Eddie chuckled. "What the hell do I have to do to get you to go out with me? Just one date, princess."
"Nothing, because it's not gonna happen," you said simply.
"One kiss?" Eddie offered. "One kiss, here and now."
"No!" you chuckled. You wanted to act as if Eddie was annoying you, but you knew that he could see through your fake annoyance.
"If I ask you to kiss me in front of all these people, will you do it?" Eddie asked, and you rolled your eyes.
"You don't have the balls," you told him, narrowing your eyes jokingly. You fully knew that Eddie did in fact have the balls to do a very public declaration of love- he had done a speech to the lunchroom for less than this- but you didn't think he would actually do it.
He instantly proved you wrong. He stood up, shoving himself away from his chair, and he jumped up onto the table nimbly. "I'll do it!" he announced, and the tables closest to you turned first. "Don't think I won't!"
"Jesus, Eddie!" you hissed, and you moved to smack his leg. "Get down from there!"
"One kiss!" Eddie said loudly, extending his hand out to you. "If you, fair princess, give me one kiss, here and now, I'll never bother you about it again!"
"Shut the hell up, Munson!" someone on the other end of the lunchroom called, and someone else added, "If you weren't a freak, she'd say yes!"
"What d'ya say, princess?" Eddie asked, casting his big eyes down at you.
You sighed. "Why do you want this so bad?" you asked him, and Eddie jumped down from the table and sat back next to you, turning his chair around so he could rest his chin on the back of it.
"I just really like you," Eddie said, and his hand reached forward and gently took yours. "And I've never felt this way before about anyone. I... I think I love you, and that terrifies me, because you're about to move off to college and I'm gonna be in Hawkins for the rest of my life... It scares me to love you."
You looked at him for a few quiet moments, seeing the quiet contemplation in his chocolate-colored eyes, and you pulled him forward by his hand. You laid a quick kiss on his lips, just long enough for him to stiffen in shock, and, when you pulled away, his eyes had widened. "Chopping Mall on Friday, right?" you asked.
