CLOSER || EDDIE MUNSON

Part 1

"Hey y/l/n!"

I sighed and looked over to see a guy standing on a table. He had on that signature "Hellfire Club" shirt, leather jacket, and jean jacket on top of it all.

"Munson."

I rolled my eyes and rested my head on my hand. This type of thing isn't new, Eddie Munson was always finding a way to mess with me. It's annoying to say the least. Every day he would have something new to say.

"You still coming to my place later, hot stuff?" He winked.

Everyone in the cafeteria started whispering. This also wasn't new, Eddie's most recent way of teasing me had been telling people we were sleeping together. People talked about it too. I wouldn't mind under normal circumstances, it wouldn't really effect me, but I was a cheerleader. People already knew me. Not as much as they knew people like Chrissy, but enough to have a reputation.
One that Eddie was actively ruining.
I wouldn't say I was this angel of a person, but that's what everyone saw me as. Any damage to that facade would stand out and become all people knew me for. I had done enough to fix it the last time something like this happened but it started to get tiring.
Every time Eddie made a mess I had to follow behind and pick it up.

"In your sick, twisted dreams Munson."

"You've got that right."

He licked his lips and smirked. The crowd then started laughing. It was getting repetitive. As much as I wanted to, I really didn't have the energy to fight back today. I had practice after school, and I would need more energy for that.
I would let him win this time.

The taunting never ended with lunch though. Throughout the day he would make the same joke every single time he saw me. Usually this was in the hall, but he would occasionally say something in one of the two classes we had together. He often got detention for it, which people would laugh at and then forget the comment he made before. It was a weird sort of system, but it worked out in my favor. I was perfectly fine with it.

The day went slower than I had wanted it to, draining me of what energy I tried so hard to keep. There goes cheerleading. Oh well.
I walked over towards the gym, that's where we practiced every Tuesday. It would last for about an hour and a half, most of the time being spent on Chrissy. She was the head cheerleader, so it made sense. I usually just kind of stood off to the side and waited for my part to begin.
I pushed open the door to see that they had already started without me.

"Y/n you are late. Hurry up and get over here."

Some of the girls stared at me. I ran over to the bleachers and dropped my bag, then got into position as quickly as possible. Great start.

"Alright, on my count."

The coach walked over to the speaker and paused just before she could turn it on.

"5, 6, 7, 8"

(Play you spin me round by dead or alive now)

The music echoed off the walls of the gym. I started shaking my Pom Poms on beat like the rest of the cheerleaders, all I really had to do was move them up and down. Occasionally I would kick my legs out on beat too. I was grateful I didn't have a complicated routine like some of the other girls. I could simply stand off to the side and keep attention off of me.
It wasn't because I was a shy person, I would even say I had a bit of confidence; I just wasn't as passionate about cheer. My Mom was very adamant about me joining and I always hated to let her down.
I didn't mind cheerleading though. It wasn't horrible it was just not for me.
I did it anyways though. It would look good for college and it helped teachers like me more. That's always a plus.

We switched positions as the bridge started. I was now standing at the front, to the left of the center girl which was Chrissy. This had to have been my least favorite part.

"You spin me right 'round, baby, right round."

I swung my hips in a circle. Then the door farthest from me opened.

"I'll be spinning you right 'round tonight y/n!" The all too familiar voice of Eddie yelled.

Of course he had to walk in at that moment. He had to walk in during this part of the song. I felt my face get red as I tried to focus on the movements. I heard a few girls giggle and it infuriated me. I couldn't say anything though, it was against the rules to talk in the middle of a routine. It was the perfect time for him to land some jokes.
He then walked in front of the bleachers and winked at me as he exited through the door on my side. I had enough.
I was already tired, I didn't need any more of his teasing. I brushed it off.

"Head in the game, y/n! The game is tomorrow."

I snapped out of it and tried to keep up with everyone else. I was lagging behind a bit but that was normal for me. I was very surprised I hadn't been kicked off of the team yet. Soon, the song ended. I was already out of breath. I really didn't want to have to do that same routine again, especially after the comment that Eddie made.

His smug face burned itself into my head and once again I was fueled with anger. I couldn't do anything about it though, I would actually be kicked off of the team then. Mom would be sad and I hated having to see her like that.
I took deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down.
As soon as I had made myself feel better, the song started up again.

"Come on girls! Back to your positions!"

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I practically fell onto my bed, not bothering to change out of my cheerleading uniform. This day was exhausting. I sighed, staring at the tiles on my ceiling, then looked around my room. Our house was actually kind of nice considering it was in a trailer park. If you didn't know any better, you would think it was just a normal house. Mom did her best to make it look the way it did.
She always put her best effort into things like that. She made sure I was well taken care of and had everything I needed. Dad wasn't around anymore so things had been rough recently. She still did her best though. She worked the morning shift at a hotel, it didn't earn her much but she always saved it. She kept up with that too, always saving. I wanted to have that determination and passion one day. I just didn't have anyone to do those things for like her.

"Y/n! Dinner is ready!"

I pulled myself out of bed, taking a second to have a deep breath before I walked out into our kitchen.
Dinner was pasta, and it smelled amazing. Mom has always been a great cook, she was self taught but everything she made seemed like it belonged in a formal restaurant.
As a kid I would always beg her to teach me, but she said the recipes she used were secret. I still didn't know what they were, it was a sort of game between us that carried over into my teen years.
Sometimes it made me a bit sad.
I didn't have anyone to share that kind of thing with. I didn't have anyone to tell those stories to. I had nobody to be close to like that. I would always remember mom though. She only had me and she was happy with that. I tried to be like her in that sense. I strived to be as independent as she was.
It would've felt nice to have someone to care for though. Someone I could put my all into. It'd be nice to have someone I could laugh with, someone I could tell my dumb stories to, someone I could talk to about anything and they would actually listen.
They wouldn't make fun of the things that were important to me, and they would be someone I could confide in.
I wanted to find this person. I wanted to find that sort of happiness. It knew would be hard to build that kind of relationship but I did have a sort of starting point.

Anyone but Eddie Munson.