stranger things oneshots

1) the dance

Word count- 2156

Genre- fluff

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Prom was supposed to be an enjoyable event. You decided you didn't want to bring a date, instead choosing to spend it having fun with all your friends. And you had been for a while. You had danced together, had various drinks that had definitely had some alcohol splashed in, and laughed until your stomachs hurt. Though you stopped laughing when the subject of the sound became the individual you'd been crushing on for years. You had been crushing on Eddie since the second time he repeated his senior year, and now that you were both seniors together, it was looming over you that now would be the possibly last chance to confess to him what you had been holding down for the last couple years.

Through the crowd your eyes fell onto the lone boy. He looked miserable, probably only here because his friends dragged him here with the promise of a good time, but as you scanned the room you noticed each one of them had found people of their own to dance with, effectively leaving him on his lonesome. A pang of pity sounded in your chest, excusing yourself from the group as you made the executive decision that you would be the one to cure his sadness.

You shuffled your way through the crowd of very many people, offering smiles to some you recognized, though your thoughts were always set on him. If you looked hard enough you could see each one of his friends scattered throughout the gym, and you wanted to curse them out for leaving him all by himself at the first sign of a girl to dance with; but you thought it might be a little hypocritical considering you were now the one leaving your friends for some boy.

When you finally stepped into close range with him, you took more than a few deep breaths, pushing away any thoughts that you couldn't do this. The possibility of him liking you back was far more important to you than the risk of rejection. You knew that at least if he did reject you, he wouldn't be cruel about it. "Hey," you greeted, coming to a stop in front of the brunette sitting on the bleachers. At first he assumed you were talking to someone else, so he didn't bother to look up. It wasn't until you cleared your throat and hadn't moved an inch that he finally realized he was your intended target. His head raised slowly, those puppy eyes locking with yours as they swam with the utmost confusion.

You looked beautiful, in his eyes completely out of this world, which only added to his bewilderment at the fact you were talking to him. He knew you, knew you were that happy medium between popular and social reject. You were friends with a couple cheerleaders, mainly Chrissy, yet after she died you had been one of the only people not to turn your back on him— to look down on him. And he often saw you talking with some of the younger kids in Hellfire club, which gave him hope. "Hi."

His voice was so quiet, so shy, that it made you smile. You adored the rare occasions he wasn't showcasing his loud, exaggerated, persona. The few times you witnessed shy Eddie were the few times you felt like you really knew him. "I saw you sitting here alone, and I wanted to ask you to dance."

At first he laughed, rejecting the offer up front. "I don't feel like being made a joke of today, sorry." But then he saw the way that you frowned. To him it looked genuine, and if it was then he never wanted to see that expression on your face again. However, he was still afraid of the off chance this was all a sick joke. "I'm serious, Eddie. This isn't a joke."

In that moment, though he was usually terrified of being vulnerable, he didn't care that his resolve was slipping. "Promise?" he asked, blinking away any unshed tears that sprung to his eyes at the thought of the series of cruel pranks that had been played on him over the years. You smiled, holding out your hand for him to take. "I promise."