How I Wish it Ended: Eddie Munson

Part Two

Your eyes slowly flit open as the pain begins to register in every fiber of your body. Slowly and carefully you raise your head from the scratchy fabric it rests on as your eyes blink away tiredness, but the effort is just too much. You rest your head back again and attempt to get a better understanding of your surroundings. For a moment, as your eyes adjust, you're not quite sure what it is you're seeing. You force your eyes to focus on the details; it was your Hawkins, but it seemed as if the upside down had leaked over into your world. You frantically tried to sit up once again, but a strong pair of hands rests on your shoulders preventing you from moving. Tilting your head you look up into the tear-filled eyes of Eddie Munson. His lip quivers as he stares down at you, a look of relief, fear, and exhaustion swirling in his eyes.
"Shh...y/n. You're okay. I got ya." He murmurs softly, his hand cradling your head in his lap carefully. He looks up in the direction of hushed voices as he calls out.
"Dustin! She's awake!" His voice shakes with emotion as he shouts for your little brother, but looks back at your face with a soft smile and helps you raise your head and body to lean against him; sitting up. Dustin practically falls to the ground next to you as he wraps his arms firmly around your torso and begins to cry; you wince out in pain as he gives you a squeeze.
"Shit." You mutter under your breath, causing Dustin to pull back and look at you apologetically.
"I'm-I'm sorry, y/n! I was just so worried!" He sobs, tears streaking through the blood and dirt that caked his chubby, baby-like cheeks. Shakily, you raised a hand to his face and pulled his forehead to your own.
"I'm alright, Dusty. Just a little sore." You say through gritted teeth in an attempt to hide the pain. As you pull away from Dustin and settle back against Eddie, the rest of the group swarm around you to make sure you're alright.
"Oh my god, y/n. We thought we had lost you." Nancy cries as she begins assessing your wounds and bandaging the remaining cuts, gashes, and bite marks left by the bats.
"What the hell did I tell you guys? You were decoys !" Steve barks at the three of you, fuming from anger and the fear of having nearly lost you in the fray.
"Technically, you were telling them not to be heroes..." You started before trailing off as Steve rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, y/n. You're super lucky this time." He reaffirms, letting the weight of his words hang in the air. Robin kneels in the grass next to you and takes your hand, looking over a particularly savage bite.
"We all were..." she says to the group in a hushed tone, the reality of what had happened settling in. You looked out over Hawkins as fires raged in the distance, black foul-smelling smoke clogging the air as cries for help can be heard over the rumbling of the earth. Vecna had split Hawkins apart and though you were alive, you had far from won. Feeling a chill of fear you shiver and grab Eddie's hand. He gives you a soft squeeze of reassurance as he rests his head against yours.
"We are totally and completely fucked." He proclaims to the group, his words sour and bitter as they leave his lips. The rest of the group simply nods their agreement as they too take in the devastation of their hometown.

                        Two Days Later...

Your nails picked at the worn, rough cardboard box in your hands as you stand at the trunk of Steve's burgundy car; looking over the neatly folded piles of clothes inside. Steve held out his hands for the box you're holding as you helped with loading the car with items to be donated to those in need. The Wheelers had been lucky; their home was still intact after the violent earthquakes rocked Hawkins's small, sleepy town. There were hundreds left missing, injured, homeless, or dead after the events a few days ago which had left your group feeling responsible for a lot of what had happened. Nancy loaded a final box of toys into the backseat of the car as her mom handed her a soft, stuffed rabbit. You looked on with a soft smile as Nancy cradled the rabbit to her chest and looked over to Steve who had the same soft look written on his face. You gave him a teasing shove and wiggled your eyebrows knowingly.
"Shut up..." Steve mumbled under his breath though the smile never left his lips. He shut the trunk with a resounding thud as he clapped his hands together.
"We ready?" He asked the group, but before anyone could respond Nancy raised a hand to her brow and looked down the road as a large, yellow pizza van rolled up quickly.
"Did someone order a pizza?" Mrs. Wheeler murmured as the van pulled into the drive.
"Pizza?" Dustin questions, as he turns to look down the drive as the van approaches, hoking rapidly. Everyone stood on high alert, ready to fight whatever threat was waiting. The side van door slid open to reveal Mike, Will, and El smiling widely, relief on their faces evident. Will takes off running to his mom as they meet each other in a strong embrace. She cries as she holds him tight; Mike burying his face in her curly hair.
"You are never going on vacation again, you hear me? In fact, you can forget about college. You are staying right here ." Mrs. Wheeler cries as she checks Mike over for any sign of injury or distress. He just nods along, tears in his eyes. Jonathan pushes past the rest of the group and heads straight for Nancy; there's an awkward moment of hesitation before he pulls her into his arms and holds her tight, her legs dangling just above the ground. Steve looks on, his heart torn as he lowers his head and shoves his hands in his pockets. The rest of the group gives hugs and checks on each other, reunited after a whirlwind few days. Rushing through the front door, arms filled with a box of clothes comes Eddie. He struggles to keep the box upright as he reaches around and opens the backdoor to the car and tries to shove it onto the seat.
"Nance, your dad isn't happy but I raided his closet and took like ten more shirts. I mean, how many buttons downs does one guy need?" He calls out, laughing as he packs away his contribution. As he stands up and slams the car door shut, his eyes fall on the rest of the group and some he has yet to me. In typical Eddie fashion, he brushes off his hands and rushes over to Mike who he grabs into a hug and cups the sides of his face. As they pull away. Eleven shuffles on her feet by Mike's side as Eddie's eyes drift over to her. El clears her throat, spurring Mike to introduce her to this person.
"Oh! Eddie, this is El-Jane...she's my girlfriend and-" Mike began, his voice unsure and awkward as he spoke.
"Also the girl who caused this...mess. Hi. You are of hellfire club?" El cuts in, her English had gotten much better since the last time you had seen her, though her speech still had the same inflection of trying to find the right words. She gave a small, bashful smile as Eddie stepped forward and gave her a quick hug.
"Very nice to meet you El. I am Eddie, leader of Hellfire club, a decoy for the demon bats, and-" Eddie begins, grandly describing his accomplishments as he slips into his Dungeon Master voice, bringing a smile to everyone's face.
"And savior to y/n who stupidly almost died two days ago." Dustin chimed, rolling his eyes as you elbowed him roughly. Mrs. Wheeler looked around the group, raised her hands, and began walking away.
"I'm not even going to ask." She says while shaking her head causing everyone to laugh loudly.
"Where's Lucas?" Will asks Dustin who looks at him in confusion.
"He's at the hospital," Dustin responds sadly, his eyes trailing to the ground as the rest of the group avert their gaze. Sensing something is off El looks at the faces of those around her and presses further.
"Was he hurt?" her voice is meek as she asks, afraid of what she might hear.
"No. No, he's...oh god. You don't know?" Dustin asks as his voice drops low. The group looks at each other uneasily as they try to muster up the courage and find the right words to tell them exactly what happened. You and Eddie take a step back from the group as they take turns relaying what had happened. Their faces fell in despair as they were informed about Max's critical condition, El breaking down as they rushed to the van to head to the hospital.
"Can you handle the donations, Steve?" Nancy calls to him, a wide smile on her face as she looks at him.
"Yeah yeah, I got it." He calls back, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking his feet at the ground. They pull away as Steve claps his hands and addressed the rest of the group.
"We ready to go?" He says, a hopeful tone coating his words as he looked at each of you. As Eddie is about to pile into the backseat by Dustin you place a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Eddie, I don't think you should go. The whole town still thinks you're a cult leader and murderer..." your voice is quiet as you speak and your heart breaks as you watch his entire demeanor shift into sadness. Robin nods her agreement from the passenger side of the car as Steve runs an annoyed hand through his hair.
"She's right. They don't know what you did but I-" Steve begins before Eddie cuts him off.
"It's alright, man. I get it. I'll just hang around here until you all get back." Eddie explains, shrugging and backing away from the car. Steve climbs into the driver's seat and starts the car as she shut the backseat door and steps back by Eddie.
"You guys go ahead. I'll hang back with Eddie." You reassure Dustin as he looks at you hesitantly. You jerk your head in the direction of the road in a silent gesture to just go. Steve nods and backs out of the drive as they wave and disappear down the road. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Eddie watching you intently causing a fluttering feeling to fill your stomach. Taking a steadying breath you turn on your heel and begin walking back into the Wheeler's house.
"I guess we can just wait in the basement until they get back then?" You propose to which Eddie nods his agreement and follows you inside and into the basement. Plopping down on the orangey-yellow couch, you pull your feet underneath you and pick at your nails. Eddie takes a seat next to you, pulling out his walkman and clicking a cassette into it. He rests the headphones over his ears and slightly bobs his head along with the beat. He rests his arm on the back of the couch, his hand only inches from your shoulder as you're made hyperaware of his proximity. That feeling popped up again as you watched his lean frame from the corner of your eye; tracing every inch of him and locking it deep in your mind. After nearly dying a few days ago, you knew that those in your life were temporary in a sort of way. Every moment that we live on this planet is a gift and definitely not promised. As you had watched Lucas with Max the last few days you realized that that was the kind of love you wanted. There was no guidebook on relationships in your life,with your mom being single and unwilling to have a conversation about anything other than your schoolwork, but to be loved was something you wanted more than anything. For your entire existence, you had walked eggshells to be one less thing for your mom to worry about. You cooked, cleaned, and took care of Dustin while your mom fought her own demons. She was a good mother, she cared. But when you stood back and looked at your life there wasn't anything that stood out. That is until the last couple of weeks. You had found out about Dustin's secret monster fighting side when Lucas had slid into Dustin's bedroom window and toppled onto the floor at your feet as you were setting a laundry basket on his bed. You had stared at Lucas in confusion, eyes wide as he held up his hands and timidly stepped toward you.
"What the hell are you doing? What game are you losers playing now!?" You had yelled at him, your voice squeaky and nervous as your mind spun trying to figure out what was happening.
"I-I can explain." He had stuttered, looking nervously over his shoulder. You had popped your hip out and dropped the basket to the floor.
"Spill it." You barked as Lucas told you everything that had happened over the last couple of years. It took your brain a second to process it all but knowing that Dustin was in trouble erased all doubt so you joined with them to fight the threat that was Vecna and never looked back. Everything you had worked so hard to achieve, the goal of getting out of Hawkins all felt so small now. Eddie's hand came to rest on yours in your lap. You glance down and noticed you have all but picked your nails apart thinking and worrying.
"Everything okay?" Eddie asked honestly, his eyes scanned your features for any sign that you were hurt or worse, haunted by Vecna. He pulled off his headphones and set aside his walkman; turning to face you as he chewed his bottom lip.
"I'm totally fine." You lie, painting a fake smile on your face and pulling your hands away to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. Eddie just blinks at you and stays silent. He can sense that something is off but he is at a loss of what to do or say. Your eyes drag down to your lap in an attempt to avoid his prying look where they trace the bloody outline of one of the bat bite marks.
"Did I ever say thank you?" You murmur, voice quiet as your eyes tilt up to meet his. He smiles at you but shakes his head.
"No, mi'lady. I don't believe you did." Eddie announces with a laugh.
"Well...thanks. I don't really remember much, but I'm glad I had you...will you...tell me what happened?" You ask, slightly wincing at the request knowing that everyone had been very careful to keep their own trauma-filled stories to themselves. You had asked Dustin a few times over the last couple of days and every time his eyes would fill with tears and he'd tell you not to worry about it. It had felt like a blip, a minor moment from when you were being attacked by bats to being cradled in Eddie's lap. Eddie took a steadying breath and ran a hand through his hair.
"Uh, well. You passed out-or honestly I thought you had died right there in my arms so that wasn't cool." Eddie began, his words choppy and clipped with emotion as he explained. "Whatever Max and Lucas were doing had worked, kinda. Once Vecna was killed or banished or- whatever the bats were basically called off. It created an earthquake and well Dustin he had jumped down through the gate, that's how he hurt his leg by the way, and came and found us. We dragged you to my trailer and waited for Steve, Robin, and Nancy to come back. We kinda roughly threw you through the gate and gathered at the meeting spot in the meadow." Your eyes brimmed with tears as he told you of Dustin holding you as Steve tried to pull him away. Nancy had set about bandaging your wounds and they all had practically sat around and waited to see what happened next.
"I-uh-I..." Eddie mumbled, his voice cracking as he coughed away the lump in his throat. "I really thought we were going to lose you and...well shit. It made me realize that I shoulda told you how-how I feel and-"
"I love you, Eddie Munson." You admit the weight of the confession hanging in the air as his eyes look deeply into yours. As if like a dam breaking you let the emotions wash over you. You don't know who moves first. It's impossible to tell as suddenly his lips are against yours and his hands are on your waist. Your hands grasp at his jean jacket, pulling him deeper into the kiss as you feel his lips mold around yours; needy. Eddie trails his hands up your back and cups the sides of your cheeks as he caresses them gently. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss as his tongue traces the shape of your lips. You let out a breathy moan at the lustful feeling as Eddie takes full advantage and takes the opportunity to explore your mouth with his own. He moves to kiss your jawline, and then down your neck; nipping at biting at the flesh but careful not to disturb any of your injuries. You lean your head back and allow him more access to your neck as you grab fistfuls of his hair and give a light tug. Slowly you both lean back until he's on top of you and kissing every part of your body he can get his mouth on. All of your worries and fear started melting away as you felt his lips against yours. Eddie was just happy to have you in his arms, with your lips pressed against his so passionately pouring all the pent-up lust and fear and desire into this moment. Eddie pulls away slightly, breaking for air as he looks down on you with a wide smile. He traces your lips and cheeks with his calloused fingertips as he takes in your blissful features.
"I love you more than you could know." He murmurs as he nudges your nose with his own and places a sweet, soft kiss against your lips. You open your mouth to speak but a small voice breaks through the house.
"Mom, it's snowing!" Holly Wheeler calls out from upstairs. Eddie and you share a look and bolt off the couch. You run up the stairs and outside as you see the same small dust particles from the upside down falling from the sky. Your hand shakily reaches up and catches one of the falling particles as Eddie points at the horizon where you see even bigger fires and smoke rising to the sky. Taking a shocked step back you wrap your arms around Eddie as you both watched in stunned horror at the looming dark cloud.