METANOIA | Eddie Munson

The Massacre at Hawkins Lab, Part 2

3rd Person's POV

Somehow the parallel universe earthquake thing was the least of Valerie's worries, she was more frustrated at the arms wrapped around her waist. She needed to leave, and she needed to leave soon.

It's not that she couldn't handle it. It's just that... it was contagious. He was contagious.

You stay with the guy for a few days and the next thing you know he's playing with your hair, pulling you closer and giving you goosebumps all over. Now that wasn't fair.

When the earthquake came to a halt, Valerie turned her neck to look at Eddie. He stared at her for about ten seconds, dumbfounded, before a sheepish grin lit up his features.

"Right." He let go of her, "Sorry."

'Are you? Sorry? Because you seem to doing this quite a lot.' Valerie couldn't help but think.

"G-Guns." Robin stuttered.

"Guns." Everybody nodded.

While everyone was walking through the forest, Steve called out to Eddie, he slowed his pace to match Steve's and let the girls move forward.

"I just wanna say thanks, for saving my ass back there."

"Shit, you saved your own ass man." Eddie let out a little laugh, "That was a real Ozzy move back there."

"Ozzy?"

"When you took a bite out of that bat." Eddie stared at the confused pair of eyes, "Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off onstage-"

"I don't-"

"Know? Doesn't matter. I'm just saying it was very metal, what you did."

Steve scrunched his eyebrows, "Thanks."

"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter in fact."

That caught Steve's attention, "Henderson said that? Which one? The big one or the little one?"

Eddie deadpanned, "Take a guess."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Definitely the little one."

"Kid worships you dude. Like you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest." Eddie almost sounded a little jealous.

Steve smiles to himself.

Eddie continues, "I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous Steve."

Yep, definitely jealous.

"Yeah, the Hendersons have that effect don't they?"

If he responded it would give too much away wouldn't it? So he ignored it and resumed his little rant.

"I guess I just couldn't accept that Steve Harrington, was actually... a good dude." Eddie looked at him, "Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way man, that like flies in the face of all the laws in the universe. And my own personal Munson doctrine."

They settled into a silence. Eddie broke it.

"Still super jealous by the way-"

Steve laughed, "Ok, I get it-"

"-which is why I would never have jumped in the lake to save your ass. Not under any... normal circumstances." He gulped, "Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I run. Atleast that's what I've learned about myself this week."

"Give yourself a break man." Steve sighed.

Eddie made Steve stop in his tracks, "See, the only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies," He pointed towards the three who were way up ahead of them by now, "came in straight after you."

"Wheeler, right there? She didn't waste a second." Eddie saw the way he looked at her, "Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but if I were you I would get her back. 'Cause that, was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."

Steve had enough of the grilling, he wanted to return the favour now.

He turned to face Eddie, "And you expect me to believe you just jumped in because Nancy did."

Eddie looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "...Yes?"

"Okay then, who was the last person to jump in before you?"

"Henderson." He muttered.

"Aha! I knew it! Well it was quite obvious, but still."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? The way you held her when she came back from the trance? I would've told the two of you to get a room, if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't exactly see through my tears." Steve scoffed.

"Well...remember in middle school we had this talent show?"

"Yeah?"

"That's when I first saw her. And..." He let out a nervous laugh, "I've kinda been crushing on her ever since."

"Where the fuck have you been all these years then?" Steve looked at him as if he was crazy.

"I don't know, man." He sighed, "I guess, back then, I thought there was no way Valerie Henderson would be interested in a freak like me."

"And now?"

"Now...", Eddie grinned, talking to Steve but with his eyes on her, "Considering the fact that I almost kissed her and she almost didn't push me away-"

"Wait, wait, wait you-"

"Yeah, just before you guys came actually-"

"Kissed?-"

"We would've. But then she heard your stupid voice and pushed me away."

Steve groans, putting his head in his hands, "Shit, man."

If she was almost-kissing somebody, specially after the whole Josh situation, that definitely meant something. And Steve knew it.

"Do you think she likes you?"

"Actually, yeah." Eddie ran a hand through his hair.

"I think so too."

Steve stared at Eddie. Eddie stared at Valerie, as if in a trance himself, except it wasn't Vecna agonizing his dreams, it was her. Steve sighed when he just wasn't snapping out of it and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Well what are you staring at her for? Are you gonna wait another five years and wait till she's married before making another move?"

"Why rush it when I already know she's mine?" He said it half as a joke. But the other half, the other thirteen year old half inside of him was fucking floating on air.

Steve rolled his eyes, then smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, "You're gonna go talk to her right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

[A/N: so many upcoming tests at school, I couldn't be more excited😆]