A/N - This chapter was inspired by the songs R U Mine? and Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? by the Arctic Monkeys. It's a little short, but I hope you all enjoy it.
The shrill ringing of your phone dragged you out of your seat, your eyes blinking until you became accustomed to the darkness surrounding you. God, sometimes you hated having a landline in your apartment, but your mother had insisted that you needed it, just in case she ever needed to get hold of you in an emergency. But right now, you were regretting how easily you had caved to her whim. After all, no one enjoyed being roused from their sleep at 3 am.
You grumbled as you stumbled out of bed, padding out into the hallway and answering the phone.
"Hey, Sweetheart," a voice hummed, low and thicker than usual. And, of course, you knew that voice anywhere. You and Eddie had been a little more than friends since you were kids, and though neither of you had ever risked taking that extra step into dating, it was clear that there were feelings lingering between you.
"Why'd you only ever call me when you're high, Ed?" you murmured.
There was a grumble of frustration on the other end of the line. "Hi," he reiterated, clearly a little put out by your lack of greeting before you'd started lecturing him on his shitty phone etiquette.
"Hi," you repeated back to him, a small smile pulling at the corner of your lips at his antics. "Better?" He hummed out a sound of agreement and you shook your head as you tucked the phone into the crook of your neck, settling in for a longer conversation than you'd ideally have liked to have had at 3 am. "So, you gonna answer me?"
He hesitated for a moment. "What was the question again, Baby?"
"Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?" you repeated, listening to him shuffling around on the other end of the line, clearly shrugging his answer.
"I just miss you, is all," he murmured. "And I was thinking about you and you know how I kinda lose control when I've had a smoke-"
"I was sleeping."
He paused again. "Sorry," you mumbled. "I'll let you get back to bed-"
"Are you at home or still at the bar?" you asked, listening as carefully as you could for any sounds behind his steady breathing.
"I'm out front of The Hideout," he confessed. "Waiting on a cab."
You let out a soft sigh. "I'll come get you-"
"You don't have to do that, Sweetheart. You go back to bed-"
"I won't sleep until I know you're home and safe. I'll be 5 minutes, alright?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Alright," he finally agreed. "See you in 5."
*Time Skip*
When you pulled into the car park, Eddie was leaning against the wall of The Hideout, looking far too good for a guy who'd already had a pretty intense night. It wasn't until he was pushing off of the wall and walking towards your car that you saw the mismatched bunch of flowers clutched in his hands.
"Hey, Pretty Girl," he hummed, grinning at you through the driver's side window, arm bracketed along the top of the door, crowding your space in a way that made butterflies erupt in your stomach.
"Morning," you teased, watching his tongue run over his bottom lip as he finally lowered the flowers towards you.
"For you-"
"Where'd you find 'em?"
He hesitated for a moment, head tilting to the side. "Picked 'em out myself," he confessed. "Thought I owed you something nice for being so good to me," he pressed on, finally pushing back up to his full height.
"You getting in?" you called up to him, waiting patiently as he nodded and moved around the car, stumbling slightly as he went. He slumped into the seat next to you, suddenly frowning slightly.
"I'm sorry for waking you up-"
"It's fine, Ed," you interjected. "I'd rather you call me and get home safe than end up having something bad happen to you."
He nodded, shuffling down in his seat as you started driving, still frowning slightly. "You're too good to me," he finally uttered, noting the way you glanced over at him, your own lips turning down at his comment.
"I'm only as good as you deserve," you corrected. "And you'd do the same for me, right? If I called in the middle of the night all high and needing someone to look out for me?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Right," he confirmed, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Wouldn't ever leave my girl out in the cold like that."
Your breath caught in your throat at the comment, and you risked a glance at him out of the corner of your eyes.
"You are my girl, right?"
"Ed, you're high-"
"Are you mine, baby?"
Your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip as you took a deep breath. "You got me, Baby," you confirmed quietly. "Just need to get you to ask me again when you're actually sober, okay? Make sure you actually mean it."
"Course I mean it," he hummed, smiling as he shuffled down in the seat a little further, settling into a more comfortable position. "I'm never gonna stop asking as long as you answer like that," he uttered, drawing a soft snort of laughter out of you.
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