Stranger Things - Imagines

Eddie Munson X Harrington!Reader - Uptown Girl

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Uptown Girl by Billy Joel. Reader is Steve's sister and this is set just before the start of season 4 (reader is a senior and Eddie is a third-time senior). I hope you all enjoy it.

"Can I ask you something?" The question had been enough to startle Eddie, his head turning to find you standing at his side, frowning up at him. In all honesty, he had a few questions of his own, starting with why on Earth would a girl like you ever be talking to him? In the 5 years of high school, he'd never had a girl approach him with any intentions over than scoring some weed, but you were different. You looked genuinely concerned about something and it was getting to be pretty damn intriguing. 

"Yeah," he uttered, his brows still furrowed as he turned to face you properly.

Your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Eddie hesitated for a moment. No. The obvious answer was no. You were a total smartass. You passed every class with flying colours. You never missed a deadline or dropped a grade. You were so bright that it was a little intimidating. But as of late, your life choices have been a little less smart. First, it had been Tommy Hagan, before your brother had stepped in a put a stop to it. And then there'd been the brief stint with Jake Lorent which had been a little underwhelming. And then, finally, you'd made the stupid decision to date Jason Carver, even if it was only for a month or so.

"No," he finally murmured, watching as you let out a sigh.

"Shit," you breathed out, shaking your head. "You do, don't you?"

"I-"

"I mean, I thought that you would think so, but I was sort of hoping you'd sugarcoat it a bit."

"I don't think you're stupid," he finally uttered, watching as you released a deep sigh, looking completely unconvinced. "You've just dated stupid guys," he pressed on. "I mean, you date pretty posh boys, of course, it's going to go wrong. They don't know how to treat anyone, let alone a girl like you." 

One of your eyebrows raised at him. "A girl like me?" you hummed, head tilting to the side ever so slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Eddie froze, his entire body going rigid under your attention. "I just mean-" he started softly, clearing his throat. "You're really nice, right? And these guys you've been dating are all Grade-A assholes-"

"So, your solution to me being stupid is that I find guys that aren't assholes?" you murmured, watching him nod his agreement. "Well, clearly, I'm not good at figuring out who is and isn't an asshole, so do you have any recommendations?" 

Eddie swallowed the lump forming in your throat. "Shouldn't you be asking your friends?"

You snorted. "They encouraged me to date the assholes in the first place. They're all obsessed with that sort of guy," you chuckle. "I need someone who's going to be honest with me-"

"Your brother?"

Your face turned stern so quickly that it almost gave Eddie whiplash. "That's not funny," you muttered. "Steve would prefer it if I stayed celibate and alone until death. I'm definitely not going to him for dating advice."

"Right," Eddie murmured, nodding his understanding. "Well, I'm not sure you'd be interested in the guys I know," he pressed on. "I mean, I can't see you dating someone like me-"

"Why not?" you interrupted, looking a little hurt by the comment. 

"Because nice girls don't date metalheads," he explained. "You date rich boys and jocks and-"

"And clearly that's been working out so well for me," you interjected, rolling your eyes. "Come on, Eddie, just give me some names."

He was almost certain it was the first time he'd ever heard you say his name before, and even if you did sound a little frustrated, he was absolutely sure that it was the prettiest the name had ever sounded. He swallowed again. "The only people worth a damn are in Hellfire," he finally told you. "But half of them are little kids. And Jeff has this girlfriend he met on vacation. And between me and you, I'm not sure Craig is into girls-"

"Names, Eddie."

He nodded, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "Honestly? You've got Gareth or me. Not exactly a big list," he murmured. 

"Right," you breathed out, nodding slightly. "So, are you going to ask me out, or-"

"What?"

"I mean, you put yourself on the list, right? And you seem nice enough," you told him. "You're cute, too."

"You know, if Steve doesn't like you dating pretty basketball players, he'd definitely not going to like the idea of you dating me," he told you, watching a small smile pull at your lips. 

You shrugged. "Oh well," you hummed. "He'll just have to deal with it," you added softly. 

Eddie hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat. "Okay, where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me," you started, flipping open your notebook to scrawl out your phone number and tearing it out for him. "If Steve answers just tell him we're working on a project together," you added, reaching up to tuck the folded paper into the chest pocket of his vest. "I'll see you around, Eddie."

With that, you'd gone swishing off down the hallway, leaving him in a startled daze at his locker. 

*Time Skip*

Eddie had made sure that he was on time to pick you up. He'd tidied the van up too, making it as presentable as it could possibly be. And he was clutching onto a bouquet of flowers that he'd got from the gas station on his way over as though they were a life raft.

When you'd opened the door, it had almost killed him. Hell, you always looked good, even at school, but this was something different. You'd clearly put in a lot of effort to look good for your date. 

"Hi," you started, a sweet smile painting your entire face and leaving you practically glowing. 

"These are for you," he uttered, holding them out to you a little hesitantly.

You bit down on your bottom lip as you took them. "God, you're already doing better than the pretty posh boys," you teased. "Picking me up and bringing me flowers. You're a total gentleman, Eddie."

He couldn't help the pink tint that spread across his face at your comment. "It's not too much, is it?"

"It's perfect," you told him, taking his hand in yours and leading him down the path to the van. "So, where are we going?"

Eddie hesitated again. He'd spent the last three days planning the evening down to the very last detail, and now he couldn't help but wonder whether you'd think he was a total idiot. 

"Lover's Lake," he murmured, looking a little sheepish. "There's this spot where you can park up right down by the water and I thought we could pick up a pizza and open up the back of the van so we could look out at the water. I got some tapes too. Some less metal ones that I thought you'd like-"

Your mouth was hanging open when he finally glanced at you. "That sounds really nice," you finally told him. 

"Yeah?"

"Best first date I've ever been on," you confirmed. "God, you really are cute, huh?"

Eddie let out a soft snort of laughter. "Don't let anyone else hear you say that. You'll ruin my reputation."

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