A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Piano Man by Billy Joel because it was just sort of a vibe, to be honest. I hope you all enjoy it.
"Come on, Darlin'" your boss hummed, looking so put out that you released a deep sigh. "I know he said the band could only get together to play once a week, but we need some entertainment in this place," he pressed on. "And Eddie's always so entertainin'," he added, watching as you raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'll ask him, but I can't make any promises-"
"Tell him we'll set up a tip jar for him," he pressed on, finally smiling. "And he can have a couple of beers on the house whenever he comes in."
You nodded. "As I said," you murmured. "I'll ask him."
Ever since Eddie had brought you into the Hideout for the first time, you'd had a never-ending flow of requests like this one from the owner. And then, he'd offered you a job behind the bar, and the requests had become even more frequent. It was like because you were his girlfriend, the boss expected you to be able to talk Eddie into anything, which if you were being completely honest, was totally true, but that didn't mean you wanted to coerce him into spending his evenings hanging around your work playing for bored drunks without any real pay.
That evening, you'd reluctantly breached the subject with Eddie, who had been more than happy to offer up his services. Of course, there had been some muttered comment about how he'd get to spend more time looking at your pretty face and keeping the gross old regulars away from his girl, too. So, later that week, when you'd come strolling into work, he'd been trailing behind you with his guitar in its case, and you'd seen your boss's face light up like it was the fourth of July.
"You asked him," he called out. "See, Darlin', this is why you're always employee of the month," he pressed, sending you a bright smile.
"I'm employee of the month because I actually do my job rather than sneaking out back to smoke," you corrected. "This is just an added bonus," you added, rolling your eyes when he clapped you lightly on the shoulder, chortling at your comment.
"You know where to set up, right Kid?" he called past you to Eddie, who was already heading towards the little makeshift stage that he knew so well, nodding as he went. "Give Y/N a shout when you're ready for that drink," he threw out again, dipping into the back room to get on with whatever menial task he'd set himself for the shift.
Once Eddie was set up, you'd wandered over with a bottle of beer, giving him a quick kiss as you handed it over. "Don't be too good or you'll end up stealing all my tips," you teased, watching his face light up as he smiled down at you.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Baby," he hummed, kissing you again before taking a sip from the beer. "Don't let me distract you, Princess," he added, giving you a light shove back towards the bar. "You've got studying to do, right?"
He was right. In a place like the Hideout, it was rare that you were ever rushed off of your feet, and you'd quickly come to an agreement with your boss that between customers and your regular clean-ups, you could sit behind the bar with your college work and get in some extra studying.
But tonight, you were pretty sure you wouldn't be getting much work done. Eddie was a distraction at the best of times. Hell, him even being in a room with you was enough to make your mind wander. But him sitting with his guitar, singing pretty little love songs that he'd claimed were all for you, was enough to drive you crazy.
He was only a couple of songs in when your boss had come venturing back into the front, his eyes roaming over the small crowd tonight. "Not a bad crowd, is it?" you hummed, falling out of the trance you'd been in, staring at Eddie.
"Not the best, but it'll get better when the word gets out about him," he murmured, grabbing another bottle of beer from the fridge under the bar and popping the lid off. "Kid's too good to be playing shitty bars like this," he added, a soft smile on his lips when he looked at you.
"Too good for a shitty town like this," you agreed quietly, your eyes straying back over to your boyfriend for just a second, your breath catching in your throat. Eddie would've ditched Hawkins as soon as he'd graduated if it hadn't been for you. He'd already be out in California making the big bucks. Changing the world. But, at that point, you'd already been enrolled in Hawkins Community College and the idea of being that far away from you had been too much for him to bare.
So, he'd stuck around, playing shitty gigs in shitty bars and working part-time at the record store in town. And you couldn't help but feel like you'd been holding him back ever since.
Your boss reached out, patting your shoulder lightly. "You both are, Darlin'," he hummed, shaking his head. "You gotta finish up college and get out of this shit hole before you both end up stuck here," he added, letting out a soft sigh. And then, he was pulling away, beer bottle still clutched in his hand as he made his way over to the stage, just as Eddie announced that he would be taking a quick break.
The two of them stood together beside the stage for a moment, deep in quiet conversation that you couldn't quite make out. You'd busied yourself around the bar whilst they spoke, cleaning glasses and serving customers, and the next time you'd looked up, Eddie was leaning against the bar, smiling softly at you.
"Guess what?"
Your head tipped to the side as a small smile formed on your lips, moving to lean across from him. "What?"
"The boss just asked me to play here every Friday," he told you, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "He's going to pay me."
"What?" you yelped, grinning at him. "That's incredible-"
"And," he pressed on. "He told me to stop fucking around and put a ring on your finger," he added, watching as your expression shifted from pure excitement to shock. "Told me that you and I are perfect for each other and that I need to marry you and get you out of this place," he pressed on. "'course, he made me promise to let you finish college first-"
"He's an idiot," you chuckled, shaking your head in disbelief.
"Guess what, though?"
Your brow furrowed slightly. "What?"
"I promised him I would. Told him I'd do all of that for you."
Your expression softened at his comment, a small smile pulling at the corners of your lips. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," he confirmed quietly. "I'd do anything for you. You know that."
"I know," you hummed, leaning in to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Give me until the end of the year? Just until I graduate?"
"I'd give you all the time in the world if it meant I got to marry you."
Please consider supporting me for just £3 using Ko-Fi. The link is available on my profile page. If you have any questions about Ko-Fi please feel free to private message me. Thank you. L x
