Eddie One Shots

Destined for Success

"You sure you can't come over tonight?" Eddie asked once again, pouting when she shook her head no. They had barely hung out after school lately, she was always busy studying for tests or doing her homework. And if Y/n wasn't doing school work, she was either participating in sports or working at her actual job. So as much as she wanted to spend time with him, there was never any time. 

Luckily he understood her situation and always reassured her that they could make up lost time whenever she was free. Her parents were strict about practically everything including her grades, exercise and playing an instrument. She was doing much more than most people her age, yet it still wasn't good enough. 

"You're gonna burn yourself out sweetheart." 

"I won't, don't worry Eds." She responded, not convincing him at all. Nothing she could say would make him feel any better about how much she worked to try and make people proud of her. "I'm really sorry, I promise we'll hangout once everything calms down."

"It's not your fault." Giving her a kiss goodbye, Y/n hopped out of his van and waved goodbye as he drove off. She would rather be spending time with him then studying non stop all night, but that wasn't possible. Unless she wanted a lecture from her parents about how she won't get anywhere in her life if she 'wastes' her time.

"How was school?" Y/n's mom asked while she was busy in the kitchen getting dinner started.

"The usual." 

"Got any homework?"

"Yeah, I'll get started on it." Y/n tried her best not to roll her eyes at the mention of work. Her mom asking about how her day went was only a sweet cover up for the fact all she cared about was any assigned work to be completed. If it wasn't, then hanging out with people on the weekend wasn't an option. 

For a while she tried her hardest to get through everything, maybe she would even get time to go over to Eddie's. Tomorrow was Saturday anyways so the chances were higher that her parents would allow her. That's if they deemed her work good enough. 

When Y/n parents called her down for dinner, they all sat down around the table. The first five minutes were dead silent as they ate their food. She was surprised they had gone this long without one of them bringing up anything that would surely ruin her mood. Maybe this would be a good time to ask if she could go out with Eddie tomorrow.

"Can me and Eddie hangout tomorrow please?" Y/n said, causing her dad to look up from his plate of food. "I've done everything I needed to and my games only on Sunday."

"Are you sure you can't study anymore?" He questioned, not looking very pleased with her request. "You're grades weren't the best last semester."

Y/n opened her mouth to reply but closed it right after. Last time he brought that up she had told him that her grades were much better than most of her friends and other people in her grade, but he just yelled at her. He told her that it didn't matter what they got, and that she should've done better and tried harder. As much as it hurt, she was used to it.

"I've got plenty of time to study." 

"How do you think Leah feels? She studies all the time." Y/n's mom cut in, exchanging glances with her dad. "I mean at least it pays off, she's pretty much a straight A student."

Another thing they did all the time was compare her with other people they knew. A great example was her friend Leah who did great in school but she barely got any time for herself and Y/n sympathised with her. No one should work that hard, but obviously her parents didn't realise that. 

They admired Leah so much, always talking about how Y/n should be more like her. Or if she felt like life was tough that she should think about Leah. If her parents loved Leah so much, maybe they should've just swapped the two of them around. Then they could've had the perfect daughter, maybe then they would've been proud. 

"I've got plenty of time to study, but I've  barely spent any with Eddie." She argued, dropping her fork onto the plate. 

"No." Her dad finally decided. "Maybe next week if I think you've done good enough on your work and game this Sunday."

Y/n felt like crying right then and there. Nothing would ever be good enough for her parents, that much was obvious. She had always tried her best, she had even done the best and got the best grades possible but even then, that barely impressed her parents. 

They would just say 'well done' then completely forget about her accomplishments. They would go back to criticising every small thing that she did wrong and the funny thing was that Y/n had been doing much better in high school than what her parents did. So why did they expect so much from her when they didn't even live up to their own expectations. 

"Fine." Pushing her chair back, Y/n got up and stormed out the kitchen and towards her bedroom. She then grabbed her walkman from the desk, rushed down the hall and out the front door. Her dad tried to call her back but soon gave up as he didn't have the patience.

After walking aimlessly down streets she had found a small park with a set of swings. Her legs needed a break anyways so she strayed away from the dimly lit path along the road and made her way over to the swing. 

Y/n didn't know how long she had been there for but it was nice. Just listening to music underneath the night sky with no interruptions or her parents lecturing her about anything and everything. If only she could stay here forever with no worries and no problems although her luck was bound to run out. 

In the distance she could see headlights approaching but payed no mind to it, as someone was probably just passing by. That was until the vehicle got closer and stopped near her. Once the door flew open, she could instantly recognise who it was due to the light from the street lamp shining onto them. 

"Where the hell have you been!" A very angry looking Eddie yelled. Y/n fumbled with the earphones in her ears as she tried to remove them. "You're parents are worried sick so they called me and I was scared to shit because I couldn't find y-"

He was interrupted by her jumping up from the swing and embracing him in a tight hug, one that she needed very much. His expression immediately softened when he heard the sound of her sobs. One thing he hated most, was when Y/n cried, or even if she was in the slightest upset. 

"Hey, hey what's wrong sweetheart, talk to me."

"I can't do this anymore Eddie." She cried lifting her head when he cupped her cheeks. "I just can't."

"Do what? You're scaring me Y/n."

"No matter what I do, how hard I-I try, I'll never b-be good enough for anyone." It broke his heart knowing that was how Y/n thought of herself. No one deserved to feel that way, especially her. She was perfect and if anyone said differently then they were wrong. "Even if I do my best, they always find a way to be disappointed."

"What they think doesn't matter." Eddie said, trying his best to comfort her since he knew exactly who she was referring to. "If you're proud of yourself, then that's all that matters."

He pulled her in for another hug before leading her to his van to help her in. It was already quite late and Eddie's main focus was getting her back home safely. If anything ever happened to Y/n, he would be lost, so he needed to be here for her. To let her know she wasn't alone. 

"Can I stay over at yours please?" 

"What about your parents?" Eddie added even though he knew that wouldn't change her mind.

"I don't wanna go back yet." 

He nodded, turning down a different road that led to his trailer. A couple of times he glanced over at her to make sure she wasn't crying. Comforting people wasn't something he was ever good at but when it came to Y/n he always tried his hardest to make her feel better.

"If it counts for anything, I'm really fucking proud of you." 

"Thanks Eddie, I don't know what I'd do without you." A smile crept onto her face at the thought of someone appreciating her effort, even if it weren't her own parents. 

"You'd be doing just as good sweetheart, you're destined for success."