A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song All My Love by Noah Kahan, who I had the absolute pleasure of watching live when he headlined at BST Hyde Park yesterday, and honestly, now I'm back on my Stick Season shit, so get ready for way more chapters like this one in the next few months. This one is set a good 10 years after the series, so reader and Eddie are both in their late 20s/pushing 30. As always, I hope you all enjoy it.
When you had first left Hawkins, you hadn't realised that you wouldn't be coming back. Sure, you knew you were leaving town to go to New York for college, but then, half way through your first semester, your parents had announced that they were moving out to Florida for your Dad's work, and then by the time Christmas rolled around, you didn't really have anywhere left in Hawkin's to go back to.
And sure, you'd started out keeping good contact with your friends. You spent far more money on stamps to send letters and on long-distance phone calls. When Gareth had gone out to Florida with his family during summer break, you'd spent a day together on the beach, reminiscing over high school and the other friends you'd left behind. And when Jeff had come out to New York for a getaway with his new girlfriend, he'd brought her around to introduce you, even if it was only a flying visit.
Eddie had been the real kicker. He'd sent a letter every week, describing what was happening with Hellfire, and how the kids were all getting ready to head out for college, and how he'd been offered an apprenticeship, training to be a mechanic with one of Wayne's friends at the shop he owned on the outskirts of town. He would call you often too, nattering on about bands, and TV shows, and movies. Hell, you'd spent more time on the phone with him than you had with your parents.
But eventually, the phone calls had lessened, and you were both too busy with life to be writing letters back and forth, and suddenly, you hadn't heard from Eddie in a month. And then, the seasons started to come and go with no word, and as much as it broke your heart to realise it, you had to admit that maybe your friendship with Eddie had come to an end.
When you went to visit your parents that Christmas, they asked how Eddie was doing, still caught up in the romanticised idea that the two of you would eventually realise that you were perfect for each other and fall in love, like you were in some shitty romance movie. You shrugged, making some comment about how he seemed fine and avoiding any further questions, because as much as you hated to admit it, they were right.
Eddie had been the only person who had ever truly seen who you were and loved you for it. And God, he loved harder than anyone you'd ever met. He would've gone to war for you, and you'd known it, and yet, the two of you had never managed to cross that line from friendship into more.
It hadn't been until a couple of years later, when you'd gotten a call from Tammy Tompson asking if you'd be interested in coming back for a school reunion, that you'd even considered going back to Hawkins again. But, of course, you'd said yes without hesitation. Without planning. Without anywhere to stay or any way of getting to Indiana.
And you really hadn't considered that you looked a little different now, too. The brightly coloured, self-dyed hair had stopped around the same time you'd finished college, needing to go a little more natural in an attempt to get a job, and the band tees and ripped jeans had gone with it.
"Well," a familiar voice hummed as you hesitated at the name card table, your fingers running over your little sticker. "Look at you," he added softly, a small smile pulling at his lips as you turned to face him.
"I'm shocked that you even recognised me, Ed," you chuckled softly, your stomach clenching as his smile only grew at your comment.
"You're kidding, right?" he snorted. "I'd recognise those eyes anywhere," he added, his voice coming out softer than you were expecting, settling over you like a warm blanket. "Though the hair did throw me off a little, think it was pink last time I saw you," he pressed on, clearing his throat slightly, as if he realised that he'd made himself too vulnerable with his comment.
You chuckled lightly. "Yeah, funnily enough, the pink hair crowd in New York aren't the sort of people that get hired at my company," you confessed.
"Well, it still looks real pretty on you," he hummed, pushing up the sleeves of his black button-down and glancing around the old hall of Hawkins High, almost like he was trying to remember a single good memory he'd had in this room before now. Like he was trying to find a reason for having come tonight.
"I was worried you weren't going to show up," you told him, watching as his eyes darted over to you again, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
He forced out a chuckle. "I wasn't going to," he murmured, shrugging slightly. "But then, Gareth said he overheard Tammy Tompson in 7/11 bragging about how she'd convinced you to fly all the way from New York to be here, and I realised that maybe it was worth showing my face."
"You came here for me?"
He watched as you bit down on the inside of your cheek, waiting for his answer. "Of course, I did," he hummed. "I've missed you," he added softly.
"I've missed you too-"
"And when I told Wayne you were coming into town, he told me that if I missed my chance this time, he was going to give me a beating," he interrupted. "Told me that I was an idiot for not following you to New York the first time. That I'd be an even bigger idiot if I didn't at least give it a shot this time. And that he knew he didn't raise me to be that stupid."
A soft bubble of laughter slipped out of you, your eyes darting down to your hands. "My mom's been telling me to call you every time I've seen her since I finished college," you confessed. "Pretty sure she's been planning our wedding in her head since we were 15," you added, drawing a snort out of him.
"She's a smart lady."
"The smartest," you agreed quietly.
"So, are you going to let me take you out properly, or am I taking a clip to the ear from Wayne tomorrow?"
You hesitated for a moment. There were so many reasons you could give for saying no. So many excuses and roadblocks. I mean, Hell, you lived in totally different states. You lived completely different lives. But still, deep down, you knew that none of it would ever matter.
"You mean, you'd still be interested in me now?"
Eddie's brow furrowed slightly, confusion painting his face. "Why wouldn't I be?"
You shrugged slightly. "I'm not exactly the Metalhead I once was-"
"You think I liked you because you had dyed hair and wore ripped jeans?" he interrupted. "Lets put aside that fact that you're a damn smoke show with this hair and these clothes for a second here, yeah? I liked you because you never judged me for being a freak, Sweetheart. And because you were sweet, and funny, and you made me feel-" he hesitated for a moment. "When we used to cruise around in the van, screaming Black Sabbath lyrics, I used to feel whole, you know? And that had nothing to do with your hair or the way you dressed. It was all just you."
You reached out, linking your fingers through his and giving them a tight squeeze. "And you understand that I can't move back here? Right?" you hummed softly.
"You think I'd expect you to?" he snorted. "Sweetheart, I'd rather be holed up in some shitty little one bed apartment in New York with you than here in some big house with some random chick who doesn't even come close to comparing-"
"But Wanye-"
"Wayne would kill me if he thought I was giving up my chance with you to stay close to him," he interjected. "God, I'm pretty sure he loves you more than he loves me."
You chuckled slightly, shaking your head in disbelief. "He does not!"
He settled closer to you, his arm draped over your shoulder as you spoke, just like he used to back in high school to keep you out of harm's way. "So, what d'ya say? You letting me take you out?"
"Yeah, I am."
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