Love And Hellfire

Chapter 28: Run, Boy Run

2 Days Later....

Raising his arm high over his face to block the sun, Eddie walked slowly across the creaky wooden floorboards into the kitchen. It appeared to be a beautiful day outside. Ironic really, he thought. The day they would leave Hawkins would turn into a thing of beauty after all. After all this time. After all this darkness and tragedy. The town offered them a glimmer of light. The end appeared to be in sight, finally.
As he wandered over towards the sink, Eddie placed a hand gently over his abdomen, where the wounded scar left over from his Demogorgan fight continued to cause him discomfort. Yet another scar to the collection. The never ending collection, he loathed. Taking deep breaths, he placed a firm hand upon the counter as he leant forward to retrieve a glass of water from the tap. As the glass filled, he found himself reminiscing, as he gazed around the cabin he'd called home for the last few weeks. There had been many times Eddie had dreamed of the day he'd leave Hawkins. Of course, back then he'd imagined leaving with his fellow band members. To embark on an exciting world tour perhaps?

As her nimble fingers crept around his waist all of a sudden, her arms wrapped around him. Eddie accepted the fact that he'd just have to settle for leaving town with the girl of his dreams instead. Smiling down at the sink, he shook his head playfully as she traced his chest with her fingertips.
"Avila." He mumbled, spinning quickly to find her standing behind him, smirking. Adorned in his Hellfire Club tee only, he looked her up and down. Head to toe.
"We've had this conversation already."  He tried to stay stern with her, removing her hands from his scarring, placing them upon his hips instead. Crossing his arms firmly across his chest he added, "You know how I feel about them."
"And you know how I feel about you." She smiled, returning her hands to her former place. Staring deeply into his eyes for a moment, she persisted to trace her dainty, cold fingers across each and every scar. Made by Demogorgan, bat or even Eddie himself, she addressed each one in turn.
"I love everything about you, Eddie Munson." She reassured him, gliding her hand gently over his newest addition. Watching him wince, Avila quickly stopped.
"Your scars are a part of who you are, so I love each and every one of them." She added, standing on her tip toes to give him a soft kiss upon the cheek. "Never, ever think you have to hide them from me."

For a moment, the two simply stared at each other, smiling. From behind them, the overflowing glass of water toppling over in the sink quickly put an end to their sweet moment.
"Shit." Eddie cursed, quickly attending to the clean up. Seemingly distracted by the glass, Avila looked at him longingly. She knew something was wrong. Shaking his hands all of a sudden, Eddie let out a large gasp for air.
"Christ, thats cold." He laughed, wiping his hands upon his plaid, lounge bottoms opposed to his bare chest.
Displaying the best, brave-fake smile, he wiped his eyes before looking back to his girl once again.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, noticing the look of concern on his face.
Shaking his head, Eddie moved across the kitchen, avoiding the question altogether. Picking up various items around him, Eddie placed them into a cardboard box. The past couple of days had been spent packing up what remained of the cabin before they left for California. Now it seemed, Eddie saw this chore as a way of escaping his thoughts.
"Eddie." She said simply, standing before him, grasping at her arm in worry. Dropping the box upon a nearby couch, he glanced up at her. "Talk to me."
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He questioned her, struggling to hold back tears. "I mean like, leave Hawkins... with a guy wanted for murder of all things. You'll be throwing your life away Avila and Im struggling to see why you'd do that-"
"Oh my god." She began to chuckle, much to his surprise. Striding on over to him, Avila wrapped her arms tightly around him, squeezing him.
"You heard me, just now right? When I said that I loved you?" She joked. "I didn't just say that for no reason... or because of what happened last night-"
"Oh really?" Eddie blushed, lifting her up into his arms, her legs tightly clasped around his waist. Wandering back into the kitchen, he carefully placed her upon the kitchen counter as he kissed her gently.
"I thought last night was a triumph." He gloated, causing her to blush. "I am injured after all... some might say a war hero-"
Playfully whacking him, the two continued their cuddle and kiss, just as the front door to the cabin flew open.
"I don't know what we've just walked into." Robin declared, hobbling over with her foot in a cast before dumping a bag of hot food on the counter beside Avila. "But it needs to stop right now before I barf up the breakfast i haven't had the pleasure of eating yet."
Embarrassed, both Eddie and Avila hid their faces away.
Striding over to join them, Steve quickly collected a nearby black hoodie from a chair in his hands.
"For your modesty, dude." He teased, throwing it at Eddie with a rather cheeky smile upon his face.
Approaching Avila now, he shuffled between her and Eddie, as his friend put on the hoodie. Placing his hands upon each side of her face, Steve inspected her closely.
"How are you doing today?" He asked Avila, staring deeply into each of her eyes in turn. "Do you still have it?"
Blinking a couple of times revealed a small pink speckle upon the iris of her left eye. This abnormality had appeared ever since her fight with Vecna. So far, Avila had barely noticed it. It caused her no pain or harm. It was a part of her now.
"I don't think it's going anywhere, anytime soon." She admitted, chuckling as Steve took a step back, continuing to examine her.
"Well I-" Eddie intruded, pushing Steve to one side to resume the position between her thighs. "Think it's beautiful."
Giving Avila a light kiss on the lips, the pair smiled to one another, as Steve rolled his eyes. Watching as their friend joined Robin by the dining table, Eddie displayed a smile of content.
"Thank you." Eddie grinned, stroking her cheek with his hand.
"Are you thanking me for last night?" Avila joked. "I didn't think this was that type of relationship-"
"For seeing me." He interrupted, giggling together. "Despite everything. All the lies, the rumours... you see me for me. I couldn't ask any more of you."
Placing his forehead gently against hers, Eddie took a deep breath. Closing his eyes for a moment, he smiled down at her.
"I love you." He declared, cupping her chin with his hand, guiding her lips to meet his once more.
"Ugh." Steve gagged. "All this love is gonna make me barf too." He joked, making his way over to the breakfast bag, ruffling through it. "And you do realise Dustin is gonna want to look at your eye, talk about it... maybe even take photos-"
Retrieving their food from the paper bag, the boys began to tuck in, just as Robin hobbled back in carrying a box of belongings.
"Speaking of Henderson." She interjected, placing the box on the table before the two lads. "You need to tell him. Today, Munson."
"Tell him what?" Avila asked, joining Eddie in the seat beside him.
Awkwardly, the other three exchanged shy looks. As the other two refused to come clean, Eddie took it upon himself to spill the beans.
"I need to tell Dustin that we're not leaving tomorrow morning." Eddie confessed, much to Avila's heartache. "But that we're leaving today."