Say Yes To Me (Steddie)

Whiplash

Eddie came through the back door and hung his leather jacket on a hook by the door. It was Friday afternoon and his mom was standing at the kitchen counter, cutting up carrots for the pot roast she was making for dinner and Eddie gave her a goofy smirk then snatched one of the carrots away and kissed her cheek before taking a bite. She scolded him but only playfully. She'd laid out an extra carrot when she started, knowing he'd be home from school soon and he loved carrots. Any time she had them, Eddie always managed to take one.

Eddie thanked his mom for the carrot and went up to his bedroom. He tossed his schoolbooks on the desk by the window then went to where his guitar was hanging on the wall. He gazed lovingly at it for a long moment then pressed his fingers to his lips before gently running them across the strings. Eddie took another bite of his carrot as he turned the stereo on and put a cassette in then pushed play. Whiplash by Metallica loudly filled the room as Eddie flopped down at his desk and opened his history book. He ignored the textbook and stared out the window towards his neighbor's driveway while he tapped his fingers on the desk along with the music, singing quietly under his breath.

"There's a feeling deep inside that drives you fucking mad," he sang. "A feeling of a hammerhead, you need it oh so bad." He leaned closer to the window and watched as a car came down the street and turned into the driveway next door. "Adrenaline starts to flow, you're thrashing all around. Acting like a maniac. Whiplash!"

Eddie threw the last of the carrot into his mouth and watched Steve get out of his car and go inside his house. Eddie waited patiently, knowing that he'd stop and talk to his mom for a minute before going up to his bedroom. He was practically bouncing with excitement when he glanced at his watch as the song ended and the next one, Phantom Lord, began. He waited another two minutes. It had been almost five minutes total. Steve should be in his bedroom by now.

Eddie hopped up on his desk, raised his bedroom window, then crawled out onto the roof. He made his way carefully to the tree at the corner of the house then leapt onto the thickest branch before crawling across to Steve's house and dropping onto his roof. His mother hated it when he did this, but he and Steve had been jumping back and forth between their houses and crawling in each other's bedroom windows since they were seven years old and had first become friends. Sure, they could just as easily use the front door, but what fun was that? They'd started doing this only when they were trying to sneak around, but it had just become habit over the last ten years.

Eddie tapped lightly at Steve's bedroom window then raised it up. Neither of them ever locked their windows so they could always get in whenever they wanted. The tap was just to warn him that Eddie was coming. Eddie crawled in and grinned as Steve came through his bedroom door, his mother right behind him. She stopped short, startled to see Eddie in Steve's bedroom. But then she laughed, she should be used to this by now.

"Eddie, you scared me," Mrs. Harrington laughed. "One of these days, one of you is going to fall off the roof and break your neck." She went to him and kissed his cheek. "Can I get you anything? I've got some carrots for the pot roast I'm making."

"I'm fine," Eddie said. "Mom is making pot roast, too. So I snagged one of hers."

"Great minds cook alike." Mrs. Harrington laughed and Steve rolled his eyes over her head at Eddie. "Where's your jacket, Steve," she asked, turning to face him.

"Here you go, mom." Steve went to his closet and got his varsity athlete jacket then handed it to his mom. "I don't need it until Monday, so there's no rush." She took the jacket and left the room. "I ripped the lining," Steve explained to Eddie. "She's going to sew it for me."

"I would have sewn it for you," Eddie answered as he peeked out into the hallway to make sure she was gone then pushed the bedroom door closed. "I sew better than your mom."