Joseph Quinn - Blog Posts

A Deal With God | Eddie Munson

Summary: Heavily inspired by the song “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush in which, instead of Eddie Munson sacrificing himself to buy more time, the reader makes a deal with God to switch places with him.

Warning: FAIR WARNING major character death, mentions of injuries, gruesome descriptions of injuries and attacks, mentions of blood, failed attempts to revive, extremely sad, very angsty

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Type: Oneshot

One cannot find the words to describe what it feels like watching the life drain out of someone’s body. All of the sudden, their eyes will lose focus and fall completely blank. The jagged movement of their chest will stop entirely, meaning that they no longer found it hard to breathe. What’s left is a limp, dead weight body. And that's it.

It was the most heart-wrenching thing Y/n ever had to experience in her life. She just watched her best friend die in her arms. She couldn’t hold back the tears from falling down her face. She was devastated.

Right before he had passed, Eddie spoke about how he didn’t run away this time and he sounded so proud of himself. He convinced himself that this was gonna be his year. The last thing he did was send her a weak smile and tell her how much he loved her. 

For a brief second, Eddie struggled to catch his breath. His eyes became unfocused as his breathing came to a final halt. His body went limp, which made all his tense muscles relax. His soul was taken to the heavens in that exact moment. He was gone. 

“Oh god,” Y/n silently sobbed to herself. 

She clutched his lifeless body in her arms, holding him as close as humanly possible. She rocked back and forth in attempts to soothe herself from the pain of loss. She closed her eyes to say a little silent prayer.

“Please, God. Let me take his place,” Y/n begged. But she knew it would be no good and she knew her prayer would go unanswered.

There was something bright that caught her eye in her peripheral vision. When Y/N turned her head to look towards the unknown source of light, she was to squint because she was so blinded by the light. She didn’t even notice that it had grown closer until it had completely overtaken her body. Then there was nothing.

When Y/N was finally able to open her eyes, she found that she was standing in the middle of the trailer in the upside down. She was holding onto the trash can shield and the makeshift spear that they had crafted a couple hours earlier. She was quick to realize that she faced the closed bedroom door. 

The demobats were ruthlessly pounding against the solid wood door. They scratched violently in hopes of breaking through the barrier. Their screeching became more desperate and more hostile.

“Come on, Y/n!” Dustin called out. “Come through now!”

Upon hearing her name, Y/n spun around on the heels of her feet. She lifted her head so her gaze could follow the sheet rope through the portal on the trailer ceiling. Now she clearly saw that Dustin and Eddie had already gone through the portal.

The two of them were watching her through the portal in the ceiling of their world. They begged her to climb up the rope to them. They called her name multiple times as if they were desperately trying to get her attention.

In that moment, Y/n discarded he makeshift spear and trash can lid off to the side. She went to grab onto the rope with the full intention of climbing it. But the sounds of clawing, scratching, and shrieking drew her attention back towards the bedroom door.

“Y/n!” Dustin called out. “Come on. Let’s go!”

“You’re so close! You just need to climb,” Eddie yelled over him.

So Y/n gripped the rope of sheet tightly and began pulling herself up. She struggled to climb at first. When Y/n glanced towards the bedroom door through the corner of her eye, a haunting thought came into her mind. It made her fall back onto the floor and she loosened her grip on the rope.

Those demobats would eventually break through that wood door; it wouldn’t hold them off forever. If they broke through the door, what was to stop them from going through the portal into their world? They were going to have to stop them somehow. And right then, Y/n could only think of one thing that would work.

“I have to draw them away,” Y/n said more to herself than anything.

“What?! No!” Eddie shouted at her. 

Upon hearing his voice, Y/n had lifted her head and stared up past them longingly. It was almost as if she had this all-knowing look in her eyes that told them exactly what she was going to do. And neither of them liked her plan.

“Those things will kill you,” Dustin tried to reason with her. “You can’t do this!”

“I have to try!” Y/n responded in a persistent tone of voice.

“Not if I have something to say about it,” Eddie said through gritted teeth.

Out of pure instinct, Eddie grabbed hold of the rope and began climbing to get back through the portal. However, Y/n was quick to pick up the makeshift spear once again. She sliced the rope with the spear so that the rope fell to the ground in both worlds. 

So Eddie’s feet landed flatly on the ground of his trailer. He held the limp rope in his hands. His mouth was hanging open in a manner of utter shock and disbelief. No, this can’t be happening.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dustin yelled desperately.

“Don’t come after me,” Y/n ordered them. 

“Y/n! Stop! Don’t do this!” Eddie exclaimed. 

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!” Dustin repeated over and over again.

“Come back!” Eddie begged.

But she chose to drown out their calls and pleads. She slipped out of their line of sight, heading towards the front door of the trailer. She proceeded to kick the door open before using every ounce of energy to run as fast as she could. She grabbed hold of one of the bikes laying in the heap of dirt, clambering onto the seat and riding as far away from the trailer as possible.

The demobats began to follow her in a thick cloud of black fury. They were screeching in anger. But they were drawing away from the trailer, which was exactly what she wanted. It was all going according to plan.

All she needed to do was keep pedaling. She wouldn’t dare look over her shoulder in fear that she would be right on top of her. The thundering sound of her heart was beating against the confines of her chest, threatening to break through at any given second. She had to keep moving.

Together, Dustin and Eddie lifted the mattress on the ground. They tossed the mattress off to the sidelines. They had to figure out a way to get back through that portal, but without the rope, it wasn’t going to be easy.

Setting up a random chair under the portal, Eddie took a few steps back in order to get a running start. He counted to three in his head before sprinting towards the chair. He leaped onto the base and launched himself upwards as far and as high as he could. He caught hold of the end of the portal which allowed for his head to go through and his hair fell upside down.

With some difficulty, Eddie managed to pull himself through the portal. He landed on the heap of the mattress. He got out of the way quickly. Then Eddie encouraged Dustin to do the exact same thing he did. 

Meanwhile, Y/n could feel the beads of sweat running down the sides of her face. She seemed to ignore the burning feeling in her legs from pedaling so hard. It felt like time was starting to slow down and everything moved in slow motion. 

For a brief second, the upside down fell silent. She could still feel the rumble in her chest when the thunder sounded from the black and red skies. She closed her eyes to relish the small moment of tranquility. She knew this was going to be the end for her.

All of the sudden, a demobat collided into her side which threw her to the side. They began to swarm around her, circling in the most taunting manner. It was just like seeing hawks swarming before devouring their fallen prey on the ground.

Without a second to lose, Y/N had to force herself to stand to her feet. She began to run away once again, but she knew she wouldn’t get far on foot. She was going to have to hold them off for now. So she stopped running.

Slowly, Y/n turned around in her place. She faced the heavy storm of demobats. She pulled out her makeshift spear and nail pierced shield, moving into a more defensive stance. This would be her last stand.

“Hurry!” Eddie called over his shoulder. 

He didn’t even look over his shoulder to check if his friend was following close behind him. He didn’t seem to care about the burning feeling in his lungs, which were desperately trying to help him breathe. He was forcing himself to run faster; he had never run so fast in his life. He only had one thing in mind: he needed to get to her.

It had taken them a couple minutes before they finally reached her, but it was much too late. What they found was such a gruesome and grotesque sight. The demobats had all fallen to the ground. Some of them were brutally stabbed, laying motionless in their own cold blood. Others looked like they were untouched.

What had happened was hard to explain. It was like a light switch. As soon as that switch was flicked down, the demobats naturally fell out of the sky. They were dead with no explanation as to how or why. 

It was quite sad to think that the switch could have been flicked sooner. If it had been, Y/n might still have had a chance at survival. So there, on the dirty ground, surrounded by heaps of dead demobats, was the young teenage girl. 

The two boys only stood there looking at the horrific scene in front of them. Thinking that there might still be a chance to save her, Eddie hurried to the seemingly lifeless body on the ground. He scooped her into his arms and started checking for any signs of life. 

As soon as Eddie caught sight of her wounds, he let out a shocking ‘oh’ sound. He squeezed his eyes shut tight in hopes of forgetting the horror he just saw. Bringing the back of his hand to cover his mouth, Eddie felt the swell of bile coming up his throat and he had to swallow it down. It was an honestly sickening sight.

From the looks of it, the demobats had definitely attacked her. They must have keep her down for much longer than what Steve had experienced just a day or two ago. Her wounds were far worse than his had been. 

The demobats had latched onto her sides, ripping large chunks of her skin out. Her once soft and smooth skin was now littered with numerous scrapes and scratches from the demobats sharp claws. 

Hesitantly, Eddie went to touch her face. He tried to be as gentle as possible, hoping to coax her awake. He also took notice of the large gaping wound around her neck, which was bleeding profusely now. A part of him knew that she wasn’t going to make it even if they could carry her back to the trailer. But he simply refused to accept that reality right now. 

“Hey Y/n,” Eddie whispered in a soothing tone of voice. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you,” Eddie tried to reassure her.

Much to his surprise, Y/n’s eyes began to flutter open at the sound of his voice. She found it quite hard to breathe. With each breath, there was a stabbing pain piercing her chest. She wheezed in hopes of taking in small doses of air.

“E-Eddie?” Her throat burned and her voice was weak. She didn’t know that the demobats had torn through some of her vocal cords, which would explain why it hurt so much to talk.

“Yeah. I’m right here, honey.” Eddie spoke softly. He tried to shuffle closer to her since her voice was so faint. He watched her face twist in pain which ultimately made his heart ache for her.

“I-It hurts,” Y/n wheezed and winced at the sharp burning feeling.

“I—I know, honey. I know it hurts,” Eddie nodded his head. “I’m gonna get you out of here though.”

“I— can’t move, Eddie. I can’t f—feel anything,” Y/n claimed. She paused for a second, realization striking her hard. “I’m not going to make it, am I?”

“D—Don’t say that,” Eddie said through gritted teeth. He brought his clenched fist to the front of his head. “You’re going to make it,” Eddie lied to himself.

On the sidelines, Dustin stood there with tears in the corners of his eyes. He lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He honestly didn’t know what to do. He could feel the deep pain in his chest; it was the feeling of hopelessness. There wouldn’t be enough time for her. 

For a second, Y/n began to grow more tense. Her muscles clenched as she was overcome with a fit of coughs. The taste of copper lingered on her tongue. She didn’t know that her mouth was leaking with blood and that it was now running down her chin. 

Out of pure concern, Eddie called her name in a desperate tone of voice. He helplessly held her in his grasp. He watched her writhe in pain. He couldn’t bare to see her like this. He squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to block out the pained coughing sounds.

When Y/n’s coughs subsided, she was able to relax once again. Her chest was rising and falling steadily with each breath she took. But it was getting harder for her now. She could faintly see a hue of black in the corners of her vision.

She tried to hold off fading into the darkness, trying with every ounce in her body to fight off death. She only had a couple more minutes though. It felt like ages before she finally spoke again. 

“It was real, wasn’t it? You felt it, right?” She wondered. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. She looked up at him with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “You and me,” she clarified.

“What we had? Yeah, that was real,” Eddie confirmed while nodding his head.

“It felt like such a long time ago,” Y/n sighed as she remembered the good old days with him. She felt the smile growing at the corners of her lips. “We were just a couple of kids running around, having fun together.”

Upon hearing this, Eddie let out a soft chuckle. He smiled down at her. He went to brush a small strand of hair out of her face. He gazed down at her with the strongest sense of admiration and sincerity in his soft brown eyes.

“But we really loved each other, didn’t we?” Y/n whispered to him. 

“Yes. We did,” Eddie confirmed. 

“Promise me—” Y/n began. She leaned forward so he could hear her message better from the proximity. “That you’ll keep on living.”

“Oh honey,” Eddie choked back a sob. He shook his head at her request. “I don’t want to live in this world without you. I just can’t do it. You mean everything to me. You are my world.”

Though she was most flattered, she tilted her head to the side and looked at him with a glimmer of disbelief. She knew that he could do it; everyone has to do it at some point in their lives. They eventually have to move on. People come and go. Nothing is permanent. Nothing is certain. Nothing is known. 

“What am I going to do without you?” Eddie began to cry. His tears were streaming down his cheeks mercilessly. His shoulders bounced in time with his cries of desperation. “What am I going to do without you?” Eddie repeated for he seriously wanted an answer.

Slowly, Eddie lowered his head until he hurried his face in her chest. He clutched her shirt so tightly that her blood seeped through the cracks between his fingers. He clung to her in fear that she would slip out of his grasp.

Hearing him cry hurt more than she wounds that covered her body. It made her heart ache for him. She regrettably didn’t have an answer to his question. She couldn’t think of anything to encourage him or give him a piece of advice. Instead, she chose to simply hold him and hoped that would be enough comfort for him. She ran her fingers through his soft black curls.

“You’re going to be okay,” Y/n whispered. 

Hesitantly, Eddie raised his head to look into her eyes one last time. He swallowed the heavy lump that lingered at the back of his throat. His tears blurred his vision slightly. He sniffled.

“Eddie,” Y/n choked painfully.

Instantly, Eddie went to hold her hand. This was him silently communicating that he was there for her and that he could hear her clearly. He felt her squeeze his hand. He waited patiently for her to speak up again.  

“I love y—” but her voice faded into nothing. 

Her eyes lost focus and went blank. Her grip was limp. Her last breath seeped out of her chapped lips. And she was gone. 

Upon seeing her body fall to the clutches of death, Eddie could feel his heart dropping from his chest to the pit of his stomach. He scurried backwards as if he were desperately trying to get away from her. He was horrified.

“E—Eddie?” Dustin spoke weakly. He stumbled backwards slightly in disbelief. “Is she—” Dustin couldn’t bring himself to say it.

All of the sudden, Eddie scrambled back to her side. He didn’t want to believe it. He denied it in his mind. He took up her body in his arms once again. He desperately searched her body for any signs of life. 

Come on, baby.

He pressed his two fingers to the underside of her neck, feeling for a pulse. But he didn’t feel anything. Then Eddie laid his head down so that his ear was pressed against her chest. He listened for a heartbeat, but he didn’t hear anything. He waited to watch her chest rise and fall in short breaths. But he didn’t see anything. 

Come on, darling.

For a brief moment, Eddie didn’t know what to do next. He tried to think of other ways to get her to wake up again. He wanted her to look at him again, but her eyes refused to focus on him. He so desperately wished that he could switch places with her. He wished that he could have been the one to die, not her. 

Let me steal this moment from you now.

From the pain in his heart, Eddie grabbed onto her shoulders harshly. He shook her in attempts to bring her back. But her body wouldn’t respond to him. He proceeded to place his hands on her chest, pumping at a steady pace. He tried giving her CPR since he knew how to preform it.

Come on, angel. Come on, come on, darling.

However, all the came from it was more blood. It came out of her mouth. It gushed from the wounds in her sides. It began to cover his hands. Nevertheless, Eddie was pressing harder and harder with each thrust of his hands. He was trying so desperately to start her heart again.

Finally, Eddie stopped himself. He raised his hands to his face and looked down in horror. It almost looked like he had just committed a murder for real this time. He came to the realization that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her anymore. She was gone. She was dead.

Let's exchange the experience.

In the most gentle manner, Eddie brought her back into his grasp. He held her against his chest and buried her face in his neck. He cradled the back of her head, rocking back and forth to soothe himself. With tears falling from his eyes, Eddie sobbed quietly at the painful feeling of loss. It stabbed at his heart and only left a gaping hole that would never be filled again.

Oh, the things he wish he had said to her. The things he wished he had done sooner. The thought of ‘what could have happened’ racked his brain every day after that. How he wanted so badly to have been the one to die instead of her.

There was a small gravestone for her. Eddie picked flowers for her every week and brought them to her grave. Most of the time, they were just wild flowers. But on special occasions, like her birthday or a holiday, Eddie would bring roses from the supermarket. Those were always her favorite.

He’d never get over the feeling of losing her. He’d never forgive himself for not being there to save her. There wasn’t a day that went by where he didn’t think of her at least once. He had nightmares about the way she died in his mind, hearing the horrors of her screams and cries as the demobats feasted on her flesh. It was torture to him.

He wrote letters to her to express his thoughts and feelings, even writing a few songs about how much he loved her. He found comfort by just sitting in front of her grave. 

One night, Eddie was seated at the foot of her grave. He lifted his head to admire the night sky. There was one particular star that caught his eye because it was much bigger and brighter than all the other stars in the sky. It sparkled down at him.

For the first time in months, Eddie smiled to himself. He directed his line of attention back to the grave in front of him. For he knew that she was that bright, shiny star in the sky, looking down at him and always watching out for him. And whenever he felt sad or lonely, he could just look up to the starry sky and she’d be there for him. 

He wasn’t alone. After that, Eddie chose to only remember the positive aspects and parts of the life he shared with his best friend. He remembered how beautiful her smile was, how happy she was on Saturday mornings, and how kind she was to everyone around her. 

He remembered the soft and sweet sound of her voice; he loved the way his name rolled off her tongue. In dark times and low moments of life, Eddie would remind himself of how she called his name. It brought such comfort and relief to him. It was almost healing.

Undoubtedly, Eddie knew just how much she had loved him. It was the last thing she tried to tell him before she died. He held onto that thought and he would continue to hold onto that until the end of his time. She had loved him so dearly and he cherished that more than anything in the world.

She had loved him, but he loved her more than she could ever have imagined. 

Play Pretend | Eddie Munson

Summary: To escape the likes of Jason Carver, the reader has to play a little game of pretend with Eddie Munson himself.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Warning: sexual tension, swearing, some kissing, fake relationship

Type: Oneshot

Word Count: 4,647 words

It had been one hell of a day and it was only lunchtime. During first period, Jason Carver had gone to extreme lengths to pass a note across the room to Y/n L/n. It read something along the lines of ‘meet me by the lockers after class.”

In response to reading the note, Y/n turned her head to look over her shoulder. She immediately spotted were the basketball jock was seated near the back of the class. He sent her a sly smile and a wink.

Turning back in her seat, Y/n groaned to herself in slight disgust. She crumpled up the piece of paper and discarded it to the side. He had been trying to shoot his shot since the start of senior year, but he couldn’t take the hint that she wasn’t interested.

During the short time between periods, Y/n was collecting her textbooks from her locker. She closed her locker door, jumping slightly upon seeing Jason standing on the other side.

He was trying to be cool. So Jason was leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed over his chest. He opened his mouth to say something, but she quickly cut him off.

“I don’t have time to talk. I’ve got class,” Y/n claimed. The bell rang to back up her excuse. She quickly scurried away from him, blending into the massive crowd of students in the hallway.

By the time lunch rolled around, Y/n was running through the hallways of the school. She was occasionally look over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. She hurried past students in her path, apologizing to them as she ran into the lunchroom.

Desperately, Y/n’s eyes scanned the large crowd of students sitting at different tables in the cafeteria. Her eyes finally settled on one particular table on the far side of the room.

“Munson!” Y/n called out. She had cupped her hands around her mouth so it could be heard over the crowd.

While few people would have actually heard her over the commotion, Eddie surprisingly raised his head to look over the crowd. He heard his name once again. Finally, Eddie’s gaze landed on a familiar face.

“What?” Eddie mouthed from across the room.

Not wanting to draw any more attention to herself, Y/n decided that she shouldn’t yell across the room again. She glanced over her shoulder one more time. She then quickly made her way through the crowd of students in the cafeteria.

The Hellfire Club was confused by her mannerism. They all seemed to follow her figure as she made her way across the room. They ate their lunch slowly.

As Y/n approached the side of their table, Eddie scooted back in his chair to face her more. He held his hands up in defeat as if he was already trying to say he didn’t do anything.

Much to his surprise, Y/n waltzed right up to him. She placed her hand on his left shoulder and pushed him backwards so he was leaning against the back of his chair.

“Play along, Munson.” She demanded.

Without warning, Y/n lowered herself into his thigh and swung her legs to drape across his lap. She wrapped her one arm around the back of his neck. And the other hand came to rest on his chest.

“Wha—” Eddie was at a loss for words.

His hands were still held up in a defensive manner as if he was too afraid to lay his hands on her, which he absolutely was.

Now Y/n took her time to scan the room. She looked for the young boy that had been following her all day long. She knew he would show up at some point.

Finally, as if on cue, Jason Carver hurried into the entrance of the cafeteria. He took note of his surroundings, searching for one person in particular. By the look of it, it seemed like he hadn’t spotted her just yet. Perfect.

“As much as I love having you in my lap,” Eddie’s voice drew her back to reality momentarily. “What are we doing?” Eddie questioned.

At the given moment, Eddie tried to study her face and find out what this was all about. He followed her line of gaze in attempts to see who she was looking for.

Suddenly, Eddie felt her grasp his chin. She turned his head so that he was looking directly at her. She had this dark serious look in her eyes.

“Eyes on me,” Y/n whispered to him sternly.

“Yes ma’am,” Eddie nodded his head.

“Do you trust me?” Y/n questioned.

Normally, Eddie would come up with some snarky remark in retaliation just to mess with her. However, Eddie saw that she was no in a playing mood. She maintained this serious look. Her eyebrows rose as she waited for his answer.

“Y-Yeah. Of course I do,” Eddie said with a small nod of the head.

“Good,” Y/n said finally.

Out of nowhere, Y/n went to grab the lapels of his black leather jacket. She pulled him forward until his lips connected with hers.

For a brief second, Eddie’s eyes were wide open in total shock. He didn’t really know what to do or even what to think. He flailed his arms slightly at his sides as if he didn’t really know what to do with them.

With some hesitation, Eddie let himself go. His eyes fluttered shut. His body eventually began to relax in pure and total bliss. He grew more accustomed to the feeling of her soft lips against his own. He began to kiss her back.

“Did that just happened?” Dustin asked out loud. He looked at Mike who was sitting right next to him just to make sure he was seeing the same thing as him.

In response, Eddie kicked Dustin’s leg underneath the table as if to shut him up. He naturally cursed at the pain that shot through his leg. His face scrunched up while he rubbed his leg to comfort himself.

The two of them ended up losing themselves in the kiss. They didn’t seem to pay any attention to their surroundings, forgetting that they were kissing in a room full of other students. They were totally lost in each other.

Her hands snaked up the length of his chest to link around his neck. She played with his soft curls. She was able to smell the spicy from his cologne or body spray; she wasn’t sure what he used but it smelled nice.

At this point, Eddie was basically melting into her. He had never tasted something so sweet; it must have been her lipgloss. He laid his hands to rest on her hip and her thigh. His thumb rubbed small circles on her inner thigh. He tried to pull her as close as humanly possible, shifting her body more into his lap.

Just when things were starting to progress a little, by means of Eddie slipping his hand under her sweater to caress her soft skin, the sound of someone clearing their throat had filled their ears. The two of them pulled away from each other to direct their attention towards the sound.

Much to the surprise of almost everyone, Jason Carver stood on the far end of their table. His hands were placed in his hips which made him look like a father who was able to scold his rebellious teenage daughter. His face was beet red and his jaw was clenched tight.

“Oh! Jason!” Y/n was the first to speak up. “I didn’t see you there,” Y/n lied.

Looking between the two of them, Eddie secretly wondered if she had been trying to get away from the head of the basketball team. He had known for some time that the guy had been trying to ask her out for some time. It wouldn’t have surprised him if she was just trying to get away from him.

“Y/n,” Jason spoke sternly. “What are you doing with these…freaks?” He emphasized.

She ignored his question by rolling her eyes at him. She redirected the conversation by asking him a question.

“Can I help you with something, Carver?” Y/n wondered. She tilted her head to the side as if she was waiting for him to answer.

“Listen…” Jason began. When he turned his head, he realized that almost everyone in the cafeteria was looking their way. “I think I’ve made my intentions very clear,” Jason claimed.

“Is that so?” Y/n tried to egg him on.

“Yes! I’ve been asking you out since the beginning of the semester, but you keep playing hard to get.” Jason complained.

“Did you ever stop to realize that I might not be interested in you?” Y/n finally said.

“Come on, Y/n. Let’s be serious,” Jason scoffed. He started listing off some of his best qualities. “I am smart, I get good grades. I am the head of the basketball team. I’m—,” Jason was cut off.

“Narcissistic?” Y/n suggested.

“Egotistical?” Eddie added.

But Jason seemed to ignore both of their comments. He held his hands up in defeat so he could finally present his case.

“I just wanna know,” Jason said slowly. “Will you go out with me?”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” Y/n said with a small shake of the head. “No,” she enunciated.

“Why not?” Jason almost whined.

“I could give you a million reasons,” Y/n rolled her eyes. She just then remembered her precious white lie. “Starting with: I am already in a committed relationship,” she announced.

For their sake, Eddie tried his hardest not to let his emotions show too clearly on his face. He would have most certainly rose his eyebrows in surprise if not for their current situation. This statement was a little shocking to hear because it wasn’t true.

However, Eddie found himself smiling at the statement. He just couldn’t wait to see the look on Jason’s face. Sure enough, the basketball boy was at a total loss for words. He must have been boiling with jealousy and anger. He eventually spoke up.

“With this freak?” He gestured to the man himself. “I don’t believe it,” Jason scoffed.

“I don’t know, man.” Mike interjected.

At this, Mike had turned his head to look between his friends. He remembered the whole ‘play along’ part and he decided to jump in to help them out.

“Did you see that kiss?” Mike said in a hinting manner. The others quickly caught on.

“Y-Yeah!” Dustin stumbled a bit. “Have you seen them?”

“They’re always all over each other,” Lucas chimed in.

“So in love,” Mike added. He was almost over selling it.

“Y-Yeah,” Eddie finally spoke up which caused everyone to look at him. “In fact, we’ll be celebrating our three month anniversary next week,” Eddie lied.

Just to piss off Jason even more, Eddie pulled the girl farther onto his lap. He leaned forward to that his face was hovering right next to the side of her face. He smirked evilly to himself. He went so far as to nip at her ear.

“What were we thinking, baby? A nice fancy dinner in town and then maybe we take things back to my place,” Eddie suggested.

“Eddie!” Y/n said almost surprised.

This was one of the first times that she had actually called him by his first name. She proceeded to slap his chest in a playful manner as if she were scolding him for saying such a thing. But he only smiled at her.

In that moment, Eddie pressed a small kiss on her lips. He was trying his hardest to convince everyone that they were in a relationship. And they were doing a pretty good job from how casual that second kiss looked.

They were putting up one hell of an act. While anyone could see that from their mannerism, they still played along where people couldn’t see. Such as under the table.

Eddie had his hand laying on the top of her black nylon covered thigh. His thumb rubbed small circles on the inside of her thigh, which was dangerously close to her heat. This caused her to blush profusely and forget for a second what she was thinking.

All the while, Y/n was mindlessly playing with the silver rings on his fingers. He felt a cold shiver rise up his spine upon feeling her caressing his long fingers so gently.

Both of them had grown somewhat distracted by each other’s actions. They just briefly glanced at one another through the corner of their eye. But then, Jason brought them back to reality.

“You’re sick, freak.”

“You’re one to talk,” Y/n mumbled under her breath.

“What did you just say to me?” Jason asked angrily.

This caused Eddie to tighten his hold on the girl in his lap. It could have been in a protective manner or as a warning to her to watch herself. She wasn’t sure.

All the sudden, Y/n rose to her feet in order to stand tall. She honestly didn’t care that everyone was now looking at her. She climbed onto the top of the table, which made a little ruckus.

She strode towards the every end of the table. Then she proceeded to squat down so that she was face to face with him. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“I said,” she said slowly. “You, Jason Carver, are a sick freak.”

The whole cafeteria erupted in ‘oohs’ as if saying they could feel the weight of her words and how much they burned.

Silently, Eddie stood to his own feet. He kept one hand on the table, taking a defensive stance. He was scared that she was getting too far ahead of herself and he wanted to be there for her in case something went down.

“You don’t think of anyone but yourself,” Y/n sneered. “You think you’re so high and mighty, better than everyone else here.”

Upon hearing this, Jason only crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes at her comment. He saw that everyone was looking their way and listening to everything she said. It started making him nervous.

“You keep chasing after me because it pisses you off when you don’t get exactly what you want,” Y/n jabbed. “And the funny part is: you think you deserve everything the world has to offer,” Y/n chuckled.

Then Y/n raised her hand to show her fingers. She began listing off reasons why he thought he was deserving.

“Because you’re smart, because you’re the head of the basketball team, because of your status in society,” she carried on.

She leaned real close to him so that he could hear her final point. She knew she was playing with fire and speaking with venom in her voice.

“But let’s make something clear,” Y/n said. “You are nothing more than a pretentious little prick who’s got a stick so far up your own ass that you can’t take a fucking hint.”

He gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into the sleeves of his sports jacket. He was fuming at this point.

“So take the fucking hint, Carver. I’m not interested,” Y/n concluded.

Finally, Y/n rose to her feet and stood tall on the table. She looked down at him like he was lower than dirt. She spun around on the heels of her feet and walked back toward the other end of the table.

The Hellfire club members had stood up from their seats. They began to applaud her in the most dramatic way. They looked on her with such admiration in their eyes as if she was their savior.

At the end of the table, Eddie offered his hand to her like a gentlemen. She gladly took hold of it. He helped her climb off the table with the assistance of his hand.

As she began to walk away from the group, she looked over her shoulder and motioned for him to follow with the simple curl of her finger. He hurried to catch up with her, which caused him to almost stumble over his feet.

“Keep up, Munson.” She encouraged.

He trailed right behind her like a lost puppy, practically walking on the heels of her feet. He seemed mesmerized by her movements. He smiled to himself successfully.

Behind them, the other members of the club had joined them as they left the cafeteria. At one point, Y/n and Eddie had both turned around to flip the douchebag the bird. They waved their hands in the air, flipping him off in the process.

Even Dustin had turned around to flip him off. He was just mirroring Eddie who he admired so dearly and who had such an influence on him.

For the time being, Eddie and Y/n didn’t speak about the encounter in the cafeteria. They also didn’t talk about the whole ‘play pretend’ deal. It seemed like there was just this silent mutual agreement that, whenever Jason was around, they’d play pretend.

Less than a week later, Jason Carver was seeing walking around the hallways with his new girlfriend on his arm. Her name was Chrissy Cunningham. She was a pretty cheerleader.

It seemed like everyone in school knew that he was only dating her to get back at his old crush. The only person who didn’t seem to know that was Chrissy herself, which was honestly quite sad.

This was proven when Jason would be kissing Chrissy in the hallway with one eye peered open to check to see if Y/n was watching. She never was because she simply didn’t care.

It seemed like Jason was trying to tell absolutely everybody that he was so in love with Chrissy, but most people still believed he was still caught up on Y/n.

To prove himself, Jason would bring Chrissy flowers almost everyday. He’d write her love notes to put in his locker. He’s give her shoutouts at his basketball games. He was trying to go all out just so that Y/n knew about his new relationship status.

In contrast, whenever Jason was nearby, Eddie and Y/n would put on one hell of a show for him. Sometimes it consisted of Eddie putting his arm around her in the hallway. One time, Eddie had passed a note to Jason in class, asking if he’d be so kind as to hand it to Y/n. They both got a good laugh out of this, especially when the note only said “wanna smoke after school?”

There were times when Eddie and Y/n would be talking to each other before class. When Jason walked in, Y/n could see him in her peripheral vision. She would pop her lips into her mouth to contain her smile. Then she would widen her eyes a little at Eddie as if to tell him that he was here.

As if he read her mind, Eddie would lean down to capture her lips in his own. His body would be towering over her smaller figure sitting smartly at her desk.

Of course, Jason tried to play it off like it didn’t bother him. He’d simply roll his eyes and scoff at those two. He proceeded to head towards his own seat. He flopped down before casually glancing at them through the corner of his eye.

It had been a few months now. It was drawing closer to fall break. One day, Eddie was standing right beside Y/n locker. He was waiting for her to finish grabbing her school books so they could walk to their next class together. When Eddie looked up, he spotted Jason heading their way.

Although Jason hadn’t seen them yet, Eddie figured that he would soon. So despite the fact that they hadn’t physically spoken about their pact, Eddie decided to act on it since he was getting closer to them.

In that moment, Eddie went to grab onto her arms and made her turn to face him. He tried to look over her shoulder inconspicuously.

“Don’t look now. You-know-who is headed our way,” Eddie said to her without moving his lips.

He could feel her tense up in his grasp. He tried to assess the situation. He wanted to get back at him and he knew what would piss him off.

Without hesitation, Eddie lowered his hand to grasp her chin. He forced her to look up at him. He dipped his head down slightly.

“Just play along, baby girl.” He whispered.

In that exact moment, Jason had lifted his head just in time to see the two of them press their lips together in a kiss. He felt his fists clench at his sides and his face changed to the color of fire. He stormed off.

Meanwhile, Eddie had wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her as close as humanly possible. He was trying to enjoy and savor every single second spent kissing her.

There was a part of him that desperately wanted them to keep up with their ‘fake relationship.’ He would gladly keep pretending if it meant he got to be with her, even if it didn’t mean anything. He wanted her so badly.

He feared the day they would give up their game of pretend. He figured that it would only be a matter of time before they had to stop.

Now Eddie hated to admit just how hard he fell in love with her. In the beginning, he tried telling himself not to get too attached since it was only temporary and entirely fake.

But every time he saw her precious smile or he heard her pretty little laugh, he only found that he was falling deeper and deeper in love with her. He loved everything about her. He liked playing games with her, tricking everyone around them. He could list off a million things he loved and admired about her. He savored every moment spent with her.

So this time, when he kissed her, he kissed her with such desperation. It was as if he was trying to communicate how he felt towards her and how he never wanted to let her go. He silently prayed she could read his mind.

When Eddie finally pulled away, he could have sworn that he saw a twinkle in her eyes. She stared at him with her mouth slightly agape, catching her breath. He wondered if she was studying his face or searching for something.

“C—Can we talk? After school?” Y/n wondered.

Upon hearing those words, Eddie felt his heart drop in the confines of his chest. He thought the day had finally come. And the pain was nearly unbearable

“Y—Yeah. Of course,” Eddie struggled. But he nodded his head in confirmation.

The two of them agreed to meet by the picnic table in the woods. It was where Eddie did a lot of his deals. But it was a quiet, private, and secluded area where they could speak freely.

By the time Y/n had come to the picnic table, Eddie was already sitting there. He was fiddling with his hands nervously. He stared down at the old warped wood. He heard her approach him so he looked up at her.

For some unknown reason, Y/n couldn’t bring herself to sit down at the table. She instead opted for pacing back and forth. She tried to collect her words since she had rehearsed them in her head during the last couple periods of school.

The whole time, Eddie was watching her like a hawk. He had a feeling he knew what she was about to say. He had this horrible feeling in his gut and the pain in his chest had been hurting for some time. He wore a worried expression on his face.

“I—I can’t keep doing this,” Y/n began. She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling her hair in slight frustration.

“I understand,” Eddie confessed with a small sigh of defeat.

“I can’t keep playing pretend,” Y/n added. She had tears streaming in the corners of her eyes. She was so afraid to come out and say it. But she had to. “Not when I’ve fallen in love with you,” Y/n confessed.

Upon hearing this, Eddie snapped his head up so he could look at her and see if he heard her correctly. He cautiously rose to his feet. His mouth had parted slightly since he couldn’t find the right words.

Slowly, Eddie made his way around the side of the table until he was standing right in front of her. He saw how nervous and anxious she looked as if she feared his answer.

“You—” Eddie began.

“Yes,” Y/n cut him off.

“You’re in love with me?” Eddie wanted confirmation. He pointed to himself just to be clear.

“I am in love with you, Eddie Munson.” Y/n confessed softly. She sent him a small nervous smile. “I have been for some time,” she added.

“How long?” Eddie truthfully wanted to know.

“I liked you since before our whole scheme. But I started falling for you the more we hung out. I—I just didn’t know how to tell you,” Y/n said truthfully.

With shaky hands, Y/n was quick to wipe away the fears falling down her cheeks. She sniffled slightly. She fiddled with her hands to contain her anxiety. She couldn’t bare to look at him.

“If you don’t feel the same way, I completely understand. I just thought you had the right to know. And if I’ve ruined our dynamic and our friendship, then I am truly sorry—,” but she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Because Eddie Munson had cupped her face in his hands and silenced her with a kiss. Their mouths were moving together in a synchronized harmony. Their lips fit together like two perfect puzzle pieces and it was the most satisfying thing.

Their hearts were beating rapidly against their chests, threatening to break through the thin barrier. They could practically feel the blood and adrenaline pumping and coursing through their veins. They felt a rush of euphoric bliss envelop their beings, making their hearts sing with pure joy. Their hearts could barely contain the million different emotions surged through their bodies; desire, hunger, love, lust.

His lips were quite course, almost chapped. He kissed her with such dominance as if he were afraid she would slip through his fingers. On the other hand, her lips were so soft and gentle. She returned the kiss with the same amount of passion. She melted into his embrace.

In the end, the two of them beings needed oxygen to survive. They had quite reluctantly pulled away from each other. They carefully leaned forward  to rest their heads together. The two panted heavily to regain their breath. They stared into each other’s eyes, feeling at a loss for words.

“I—I don’t understand,” Y/n said. She closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“I love you too,” Eddie explained. “I thought that was obvious,” Eddie chuckled softly.

“You—you do?” She had tears in her eyes.

“Yes, baby girl.” He tucked a single strand of hair behind her ear. He then choked her cheek and caressed it with his thumb. “Ever since you kissed me in the cafeteria, I knew I was a goner,” Eddie said breathlessly.

They quickly found that they were at a loss for words. Neither of them knew what to say or what to do. They could feel the smiles growing at the corners of their lips. Then they began to laugh.

Suddenly, Eddie and Y/n found themselves going in for a tight embrace. They held each other so tightly like they were afraid they’d loose each other. They stood still.

“I don’t want to pretend you’re mine anymore,” Eddie whispered to her. “I want you to be mine, all mine.”

She smiled at this. And closed her eyes to savor his words. She went to kiss his cheek.

“You have me. All of me.”

THOUGHTS?

PART TWO HERE