Stranger Things - Imagines (Book 2)

Eddie Munson X Reader - Self-Esteem

A/N: This chapter was sort of half inspired by the song Self-Esteem by The Offspring, and by that, I mean I included some of the lyrics as if they were a Corroded Coffin song to make the plot happen. I hope you all enjoy it.

You could've kicked yourself. Truly, all week you'd been reminding yourself that you would have to leave work dead on time to make it to Eddie's first gig at this new venue on the other side of town. You'd left reminders all over your desk and set an alarm clock to make doubly sure that you would make it in good time. And then, when it felt like it was getting darker in your office than it usually would at 4:30 in the evening, you realised your mistake. Your alarm clock was almost a full hour behind, and you were definitely going to be late.

You'd gotten across town as quickly as you could manage, still dressed in your work clothes and muttering to yourself about how stupid you were the entire way. But, when you'd pulled into the parking lot, you'd been gutted to hear the band already playing, a song you didn't recognise filtering out into the night. Eddie had told you that they had a couple of new songs lined up for their first set, and you'd been excited to get to hear them for the first time in the crowd. 

Hoisting your purse up onto your shoulder, you made a quick dash for the door, hoping to hear as much of the new song as possible, but once you were inside, you hesitated, watching Eddie from a distance as he sang and played. 

"When she's saying, oh that she wants only me, then I wonder why she sleeps with my friends. When she's saying, oh that I'm like a disease, then I wonder how much more I can spend. Well I guess I should stick up for myself but I really think it's better this way; The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care, right? Yeah."

You weren't used to Eddie's lyrics being so negative. I mean, he'd teasingly called you his muse a thousand times over, and almost all of his songs were written about you, but this felt different. It felt wrong. And part of you couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the way he was singing about your relationship. 

After all,  a couple of minutes ago, you had thought you were in a happy, reciprocated relationship, but now you weren't too sure. Eddie had never mentioned being unhappy, and he'd definitely never accused you of sleeping with his friends before. 

"Now I'll relay this little bit: happens more than I'd like to admit. Late at night, she knocks on my door, drunk again and looking to score. Now I know I should say no but it's kind of hard when she's ready to go. I may be dumb but I'm not a dweeb; I'm just a sucker with no self-esteem."

You took in a deep, shaking breath, trying your hardest to swallow down the lump in your throat. And then, before you could let yourself crumble in the middle of the venue, you shoved your way back out of the bar and headed back to your car. 

You'd managed to get yourself into the driver's seat before you'd begun sobbing. You knew that you weren't perfect, and you knew that you could probably be a better girlfriend from time to time, but you hadn't expected Eddie to bad mouth you on stage like that, especially when what he was saying wasn't true. 

You'd still been sitting right there when the crowd had begun filtering out of the bar, your tears drying on your cheeks and your eyes sore from crying. 

A soft tap on your window startled you slightly a few moments later, and your head shot in the direction of the sound to find Eddie staring back at you, his brow furrowed in confusion. He gestured with his finger for you to roll down your window, crouching when you did as he had asked so that he could be at head height with you. 

"I thought we were going to meet inside for a quick drink before we head off," he hummed softly, head tipping to the side slightly, taking in your tearful expression in the dark front seat of the car. "Babe, what's going on?"

"Why would you say that stuff about me when it's not true?" you murmured, fighting back another wave of tears, incapable of meeting Eddie's gaze. 

Eddie shuffled on the spot slightly, trying to figure out what on Earth you could be talking about. "I don't-"

"When have I ever said you are like a disease or slept with one of your friends or shown up drunk at your place to get laid?"

"Oh baby," he hummed quietly, reaching through the window, aiming for your hand, only for you to pull it out of his reach. "That song isn't about you-"

Your heart clenched at the confession, your head reeling. "Right," you sniffled. "So, who is she?" you bit out, and Eddie was suddenly lost. You didn't look upset anymore, you looked mad, and he wasn't quite sure what you were asking him. 

"What?"

"Who the fuck is this girl showing up at your place in the middle of the night trying to get laid? This girl that you can't say no to-"

"That's not what I meant," he quickly interjected, catching up to your rambling. "Baby, I didn't write the song."

You fell silent, your eyes finally darting over to look at him. "Oh," you murmured, attempting to swallow down the lump in your throat. 

"Sweetheart, Gareth wanted to try his hand at writing a couple of weeks back and he was in that shitty non-relationship with that girl he met at work, remember her? But the kid can't sing to save his life, so he asked if I would sing it," he paused, hesitating for a moment. "Never would've said yes if I'd realised," he pressed on, reaching through the window again, finally getting to make contact with your hand, giving your fingers a tight squeeze.  "You know I'd never cheat on you, Baby. I don't want anyone else; I've never wanted anyone else, not since the day I first set eyes on you."

"I'm a fucking idiot," you breathed softly, listening to the small snort of laughter slip out of Eddie.

"You're not an idiot," he corrected, linking his fingers with yours and bringing them up to his lips, pressing a quick kiss to your knuckles. "You're my smart girl, you know that." he smiled softly when you uncurled your fingers, moving your hand to brush his jaw lightly. "I should've told you about the song; warned you that it was coming. Would've saved us a lot of crying, huh?"

You shuffled forward, pressing your forehead to his through the window. "I'm sorry for getting so worked up."

"Nothing to apologise for, Baby. Hell, given what you thought was going on, I'm pretty sure I got off lightly," he teased, shifting to press a kiss to your forehead. "Did you want to come inside for that drink?" he pressed on, finally standing back to his full height, groaning at the strain in his knees. 

You shook your head slightly. "Want to go back to yours," you confessed quietly. 

His smile only grew at your words and he nodded. "Okay, Princess, shuffle over," he hummed, pulling the car door open as you climbed over into the passenger seat. Eddie sighed as he dropped into the seat next to you, his eyes lingering on your face until he let out a soft scoff. "Can't believe you thought I would ever go for some other girl when I've got the most perfect girl loving me already," he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "God, there isn't a guy alive who'd be stupid enough to ever risk losing you just to score with someone else," he added.

"Ed," you hummed softly, watching as he turned to look at you. "I love you."

"I love you too, Pretty Girl," he told you, leaning across to press his lips to yours, showing you just how true his statement was.

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