Black Beauty- Steve HarringtonxOC

Chapter 19

"You ready?"

Eddie looks over to her in his passenger seat.

What is it that Steve always says when we have to hide my identity? Oh, right.

"I cannot be seen here. I have run away from home." She pushes the sunglasses up higher on her nose, checking herself in the fold-down mirror of his van. Readjusting her kerchief, she nods to him resolutely. She's even wearing a long trench coat that's a few sizes too big for her. She was uncomfortable, to say the least, even more so because of the public location, but her hand had been forced. "This is why I must hide." He nods, not arguing the point with her at all.

Steeling her nerves, she glances down to the irreparable cassette in her hand, its ribbons creased and tangled and its plastic housing cracked in half. She hadn't meant to break it. She'd taken it out of the Walkman for only a moment to look at it. She tripped and it was over, her only source of music totally ruined.

Or so she thought. She told Eddie when she saw him next, and he'd explained where things like cassette tapes originally come from; the store.

So they embarked together. He picked her up from the junk yard and drove them both there at 11 in the morning. It was the earliest Eddie would agree to, and that would be when there was the least foot traffic that Filly would have to avoid. It was also the opening time for the store, so they could not have gone he found out her favorite (and only) tape was junk, he offered to buy her a new one. They were waiting outside for two minutes before an employee unlocked the door from inside. Eddie jumps into action, holding the door open for her.

She tried to say no, in the beginning. She was afraid of going out but he swore the area was safe and she even got reassurances from Dustin. Supposedly, it's like a ghost town this time of day, especially with the opening of the mall.

That's just fine by her. She does quite enjoy her privacy, after all. Eddie grabs her hand, intertwining their fingers and dragging her a few aisles over. The only person who holds her hand like that is Steve. Why does it feel weird to let Eddie do it? It doesn't give her the butterflies she gets from him, or make her heart beat faster or her mouth salivate, but there's nothing inherently wrong with the action. She slips her hand out as soon as they get where they're going.

Records 'N' More boasts a large gallery of over 50,000 records and tapes. She resigns herself to being here longer than she originally thought.

His hand clenches, then eventually relaxes. "Here we are. Heavy Metal galore. Take your pick if you can't find The Number of the Beast." He wiggles his eyebrows up and down. "Maybe we can snag you a band t-shirt, too. I'm buying."

Instinctually, she wants to refuse. It sounds expensive to her. She would hate to be a bother, but she tries to remind herself what Steve told her.

"It's okay to accept gifts sometimes. We just want to help, Fil."

She thinks maybe Eddie is like her other friends. He doesn't have any ill will towards her, so she tries to relax.

She angles her head, throwing him a sweet smile. "Thank you, Eddie. You do not have to go so far, but I do appreciate it." She feels the back of her neck to make sure her hair is still concealed. The taller teen is dressed normally; black jeans, a Hellfire Club shirt, and a denim vest. She kneels down, looking though the tabs on the shelf with letters of the alphabet. Under 'I' she finds the many Iron Maiden cassettes they have for sale.

She isn't expecting it, but there's more than one. 8 different copies of Number of the Beast are there, so she snags one. "Please," she says, handing him the only tape with the intact paper insert.