A/N - Hello Hello! Another quick one to slip in before the New Year, whilst I've got a couple of days off work and free time to write! This one is once again inspired by the fact that I see Eddie as someone who would love a Theatre Kid girlfriend so much. Like, he would appreciate the vocals so much and love that they nerded out over shows. So, this one uses Maybe This Time (the Liza Minnelli version, because duh, Icon!) from Cabaret (1972), but also Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. I hope you all enjoy it.
Eddie had been just about ready to go storming into the old drama room and kick off when he'd seen the lights already on. Friday after school was always Hellfire's turn to take the room, and Hell, no one had ever kicked up a fuss before now. Hawkins High didn't really have a drama department anymore. They didn't put on a yearly show. They didn't fund the arts. No one ever wanted the room, and so Eddie had adopted it as his own. But now, there was definitely someone inside, music drifting through the closed doors, a tune he couldn't place filtering through the crack between the door and its frame.
And then, just as he was about to shove the door open, he heard a voice.
"Maybe this time, I'll be lucky. Maybe this time, he'll stay," your voice hummed, soft and perfectly in tune, and Eddie had frozen to the spot, his hand resting on the wood of the door. "Maybe this time, for the first time, love won't hurry away."
Shit. Whoever was in there was a fucking star, and Eddie couldn't help but nudge the door open to hear a little better.
"He will hold me fast; I'll be home at last. Not a loser anymore, like the last time and the time before." Your voice was all breathy now, the words softening, and God, for a second, Eddie was considering whether it would be totally unheard of for the school to rent out their spare rooms to professional performers. After all, he'd never even heard anyone express an interest in Musical Theatre before, and he was pretty certain anyone nerdy enough to love something like that would be one of his friends.
"Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loved me. Lady peaceful, lady happy; that's what I long to be. Well, all the odds are - they're in my favour. Something's bound to begin. It's gotta happen - happen sometime. Maybe this time I'll win."
Eddie pressed forward, desperate for a glance at the real-life celebrity behind the door, his eye pressed to the crack, searching the vast space until they landed on you.
Well, now there was something he hadn't been expecting. You were one of the most timid girls he had ever met. When you spoke, it came out at barely above a whisper. You kept to yourself, with a couple of equally quiet friends. And now, here you were, belting out a song that Eddie knew he'd heard somewhere before.
"'Cause, everybody, oh, they love a winner, so nobody loved me. Lady peaceful, lady happy; that's what I long to be. Well, all the odds are - they're in my favour. Something's bound to begin." Your voice hesitated for a moment. "It's gotta happen - happen sometime. Maybe this time-" Your voice dropped off entirely for just a second. "Maybe this time I'll win."
As you held the final note, Eddie leaned closer, desperate for a better view of you, and, just as your voice trailed off, the book in his hands slipped, crashing against the door and then to the floor with a loud clatter, and your head shot around to find him watching you. Your entire body stiffened as the vinyl skipped to the next song, but you stayed silent, letting it play on.
"Sorry," Eddie started, straightening up and pushing into the room fully. "Sorry, I was just coming to set up for Hellfire, and I didn't realise someone had the room booked-"
"I was supposed to have the room until 4," you interjected. "But it's 3:45, I can go," you pressed on, moving to pull the needle from the vinyl, the music stuttering to its death.
