Hard Habit to Break

Chapter 6

In the span of a mere moment, a second ticking on the clock, a fleeting breath, everything was both right in his world and so damn infinitely wrong. There she was, his girl, back in his arms, right where she'd always belonged. But she trembled against him, soft whimpers of pain ringing in his ears, as her grief consumed her. Eddie held on tight, his body falling back to old habits on instinct, responding as if from memory, wanting to do anything to make everything okay for her even when he couldn't.

He'd never been able to stand seeing her cry. He'd never been able to stand seeing her upset. Especially when he knew that he'd played a part in it. He would do anything to make it better, including making a fool of himself if necessary. It had always been a bone of contention between them, her yelling that she was allowed to be sad or angry and he didn't always have to try to fix it at that moment.

Damn it. This was exactly what he'd been scared of when he'd decided to come. He hadn't wanted to make everything more difficult for her but here he was, epically screwing it up again. His Funshine, named that for the first time he'd caught sight of her sitting in his Art class first period.

It had been his first attempt at senior year and her junior year. He remembered walking in, catching sight of the new girl sitting next to Robin Buckley. New kids were always something to gawk at and they always grabbed attention but she had more than his attention. She'd damn near knocked him on his ass.

Long, dark hair and wide, blue eyes with a smile that had taken him out at the knees. She'd been wearing a jean skirt with a tiny, little tee that had the yellow Care Bear on it. That was where the nickname came from and then it stuck because that was what she was for him. His own personal sunshine that spilled light into all the dark places. A simple smile from her had melted his frigid heart on sight.

He'd been smitten from the moment he'd laid eyes on her. No hope for him. He'd been a goner. There had never been another girl who'd ever caused that kind of reaction in him and he knew he had to make her his before somebody else did. New kids in Hawkins were rare and it was only a matter of time before every guy in school noticed her. He hadn't been able to get the nerve up to talk to her until lunch but he'd never exactly been suave when it came to girls. The way he'd asked her out...Jesus, it was a wonder she'd ever agreed to it.

Eddie's eyes tracked the new girl's movements as she walked into the cafeteria. He was curious to see where she chose to sit because that would tell him all he needed to know about where she fell in the hierarchy of the high school social class. He'd noticed her chatting with Robin from band in Art class. She definitely wasn't part of the douchebag jocks table. At least not yet.

She'd been in his Math class, too, and as much as he knew he needed to focus during class if he had any hope of graduating, he found his focus directed completely on her instead of the teacher. He noticed the red highlights in her brown hair when the sun hit them, like little blazes of fire that heated him from the inside out. He noticed how she talked with her hands when both teachers had made her stand up to do the required introductions. He assumed it was a nervous thing but it was damn adorable. He noticed how she bit her lip slightly in concentration when she was working through the math problems the teacher assigned them. His mind had immediately drifted, wondering what it would be like to nibble on those lips himself.

He'd noticed plenty of other things too, like the way that denim skirt rode up when she sat, exposing an eyeful of her smooth, creamy thigh. He noticed those blue eyes when she'd turned to look at him this morning, striking and curious, possibly a bit suspicious of him. He noticed how that cute little nose wrinkled up when some of the jocks next to her began loudly talking about their conquests, both on the court and off, so everyone could hear. That left him filled with hope. Hope that he might have a shot because she didn't appear amused by the golden boys of Hawkins High unlike most of the girls here.