The Break (An Eddie Munson Story)

Chapter 55: At Teatime, Everybody Agrees

A/N: New Year, new chapter!

Warning: This chapter features a lot of discussions around food and eating.

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The day started with a frisson of underlying excitement. Eddie could not quite work out why he felt so helpful, when he work up that Sunday morning but something within his orbot had shifted, bringing with it, a newfound sense of positivity. He attributed the good mood to the gloriously golden sunshine, that bathed the world with butter yellow hues. The blue skies were such a far cry from the dull grey of Hawkins.

The quietness of the neighbourhood on a weekend, brought with it, a sense of calm that had been missing in Eddie's life. With that silencing of the worries, the brunet found himself able to concentrate on the betterment of his daily routine. Now, that was not to say that he had transformed overnight into a Californian version of Jason Caverver but Eddie had managed to establish a work life balance. Something he always thought only privy to the Nancy Wheelers of the world.

He even had an elected bedtime! It turned out that attending a full day of classes and having a constant parental figure around, taking control of household duties, allowed for the metal head to find peace in the night, rather than partaking in drug drops until sunrise. The night owl had been converted into a morning lark.

That reminded Eddie, he needed to return Steve's call. The video store employee had rung the Byers household while Eddie had been fast asleep, leaving only the vaguest of messages.

'Call me back, Munson.'

Hearing Steve's crackly voice in the morning had caused an internal sense of panic within Eddie. He worried that something was wrong with those he had left behind in Hawkins.

With his new sense of equilibrium, came the guilt. Uncle Wayne was never really far from Eddie's mind, as he went about his days. Despite his established lifestyle, Eddie was still thankful for the older man taking him in, when his parents had been unfit to be caregivers. Wayne had done his best and Eddie knew sacrifices had been made on his behalf. Ones that Eddie could never repay in full. What it must have been like, to go work a full day and come home to take care of a kid, that was not even your responsibility. Uncle Wayne was a rockstar through and through, really.

Recollecting what had been and what now was, caused Eddie's mind to wander onto the subject of you. A spectre he was trying to commit to the past but somehow, you were still managing to sneak back into the present. After his chat with Will, Eddie had made up his mind. It was time to move on. Evidently, you were not thinking of him and if you were, you were hesitant to make contact. The brunet knew that he could only hold onto hope for so long before he was going to need to let you go.

It had been a difficult transition, you were still the keeper of his heart slowly but surely, Eddie had found himself at the tail end of another's affections, when a fellow classmate had slipped a note into his locker. The simple message, containing their name and number had awoken something in the brunet. Despite tucking the note into his copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Eddie had not been able to ignore the urge to pick up the phone and give them a call. Eventually, he had found himself dialling the number and the rest was history. Two dates in and the metal head was experiencing the bloom of a new relationship once more. That being said, they were not you, they could never replace what you and Eddie had shared in Hawkins but this was California, nothing about the fledging romance had to be a repeat of the past.

As per his weekend rituals, the brunet made use of the pleasant weather and joined Will and Eleven for their weekly walk to visit Argyle at the local Suferboy Pizza joint. Though the journey was quite a way out, it felt great to be able to stretch his legs and be rewarded after the trek with a slice of the world's greatest flavour combination- pizza and pineapple. It was genius, why had no one thought of the pairing sooner? Eddie had since vowed never to eat the delicious dish sans citric fruit ever again. Will was still on the fence about where it was a crime to his taste buds, so generally opted for a simple margherita.

Since moving to the sunnier landscape, Eddie had acquired a true love of food. In the past, he would mainly consume sugary snacks and the occasional microwave meal. When living with you, his eating habits had improved but now, with Joyce as his main provider, hot dinners were a nightly staple.

Later in the day, Eddie found his stomach to be rumbling all over again. Despite having eaten his fill at the takeaway, Eddie could never say no to a homecooked meal. Joyce had never considered herself to be a great chef. In fact, she spent most of her time trying not to burn that night's dinner. Eddie loved that he never had to worry about going hungry or being embarrassed about wanting seconds. In fact, Joyce was almost ecstatic that someone in the family actually liked her food. Her boys had always been pretty neutral when it came to dinner- they ate what they were given without complaint- and when her shift patterns had prevented her from being home in the evening, Jonathan had made sure that neither he, nor his brother, starved.

As the delectable aroma of overcooked mac and cheese wafted through the air, Eddie's stomach growled in hunger. A loud sound that had him cringing in surprise. It felt like only minutes before, that he had sat down to work on his algebra assignment. Time truly had flown and thankfully, he had just completed the final problem. If he got ready now, he would be able to join the Byers for dinner, before his date came to pick him up.

Dinner time always involved a cacophony of yells. Never in anger, as Eddie had grown accustomed to growing up but more of a call to assembly. As soon as Joyce's voice filled the air with, "Kids, dinner!", all four young members of the household (though you could hardly call any of them children anymore), would amble towards the kitchen table. Jonathan for the most part, looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. Eleven and Mike were their usual, borderline angsty teenager selves and Eddie, well, Eddie was Eddie. The brunet generally tried to keep upbeat during the meal. He was just thankful to be there.

Nothing out of the ordinary occurred throughout the consumption of the lumpy noodle dish. There was so vague chatter about school in the morning and current homework projects but nothing that really defined the night. That was until the Doorbell rang.

Apart from Argyle and Murray, visitors were a rarity at the household. With Eddie's new liver interest thrown into the mix, there were only three real possibilities as who could have been at the door. Via process of elimination, it was deduced that, Argyle was still on shift until at least 10 pm, Murray was being Murray somewhere out of state and Eddie's date was not due to pick him up for another half an hour.

The lull in the conversation was deafening, as each family member regarded the other with a quizzical frown. No one admitted to inviting a guest over that evening. Company was not expected, nor truly welcomed. At the sounding of the second ring, it was Eddie who decided to brave the front door. Leaving the other three to listen with bated breath, hoping that it was not a summoning from the lab or bad news from home, awaiting them on the other side.

At the sound of the door opening with a protesting creak, Eddie had focused his attention on visitor and that was when he had come eye to eye with a ghost. A name had fallen from the brunet's lips with a shocked, "Y/N?" and you had not been able to contain your smile.

"Hey, Eds."