It's been 10 years since Eddie and Dani found out they were having a baby far sooner than they'd planned or wanted. All of their plans for the future got put on hold, having to adjust to becoming parents at only twenty years old. Money's always tigh...
"Ugh, just because he knocked up the hell beast, that doesn't mean he had to marry her," Robin grumbled in disgust, wineglass in her hand, glaring at the newlyweds spinning around the dance floor.
"Robin," Dani said, warning in her tone because she knew her friend struggled to censor her thoughts, "you don't get to decide Steve's life for him. Clearly, he has chosen her."
"He didn't choose her," scoffed Robin, folding her arms and shaking her head. "He settled for her. Steve was desperate for someone to love him after Nancy Wheeler broke his heart and then you dumped him for Eddie. She caught him in a moment of weakness. Then he had to go and get the hag knocked up like the giant dingus that he is."
"So, him marrying Tina is my fault?" Dani asked, an amused smile on her face.
"Robin, you can't blame Dani," Eddie interjected, spreading his arms and legs wide, his hands gesturing over the full length of his body. "I mean, look at me. Who could pass up the opportunity to get with this? Harrington never stood a chance."
Robin snorted, rolling her eyes, "Yeah. You're quite the prize piece over there, Munson. My point is, a baby doesn't mean you have to shackle yourself to someone. I mean, you two had Lyric, and you didn't run to get married. She's two and you're still not married! He didn't have to marry the hellbeast."
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Dani glanced over at Eddie and then looked down quickly, playing with the tablecloth, avoiding eye contact with him. What Robin didn't know was that he'd offered to marry her just minutes after she told him she was pregnant with Lyric, but she had refused, telling him she wasn't ready, that she didn't want him marrying her just because he felt like he had to. But that wasn't why he'd asked.
Eddie had known for years that Dani was the only girl he wanted for the rest of his life. If she said the word right now, he'd marry her tomorrow. He would gladly pledge his life to her because she was all he wanted for the rest of his life. Eddie had already been planning on popping the question before the pregnancy news, having bought a ring while they were on their road trip. He'd had a whole plan that included asking her mom for her blessing first because he knew that's what you were supposed to do. But then she'd been so adamant she didn't want to and now every time he thought about doing it, his nerves got the better of him, not sure if she would say yes or not. Dani hadn't brought it up again since that day, appearing happy with things just the way they were.
"You have got to stop calling her that," Dani moaned, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, exasperated with her best friend. "He's going to hear you one of these times. Robin, like it or not, she's Steve's wife now. He chose her and if we want to stay a part of his life, we have to at least try to get along with her."
"Well, I don't like it and you know as well as I do that we're not the problem. We tried to get along with her. We tried to include her. She wants no part of us. Steve shows up to everything alone. Oh, she put on a good show at first, coming over to visit Lyric, buying her that cute little Easter outfit. But once she had her claws dug in, she was done pretending. She thinks she's better than us, that's what it is. She was the head cheerleader at her school, Prom Queen, the whole nine yards." She made a gagging sound. "Now she's snagged herself King Steve. She wants to separate him from us because we're embarrassing. She doesn't want to waste her time hanging out with geeks, nerds, and freaks. Mark my words, she's going to push for him to drop all of us."
