the shire is burning [eddie munson x OC]

chapter twenty six

The inside of Eddie's van is soaked by the time they're back in it, windows rolled up and heater blasting. Willow is sure Eddie only turned on the heater because she's shivering.

August nights in Hawkins were unforgiving, cold and treacherous, but that wasn't why she was shivering.

"Only in your dreams, Jenkins. "

His words are haunting her every move. They had laughed it off, continued to splash in the puddles until Eddie declared they'd had a sufficient amount of fun, but Willow's mind was far away.

It was buried in her comforter at home. It was reminiscing on her dream, on something that clearly could only happen in her dreams. Eddie Munson would only be kissing her in her dreams.

She almost couldn't stomach it.

She doesn't know where the impossible need to feel Eddie's lips on hers had come from, but it had completely intoxicated her. She was sure if she didn't experience it soon, she would die. It would be the end of the world, right there in his van, a heater serving as the excuse for her pink cheeks rather than the image of Eddie's lips, Eddie's tongue, invading her every space and every thought.

She'd never wanted to kiss somebody so badly.

She blames it on the weather, the adrenaline. This new emotion was simply a by-product of the thrill of the life experience she'd just checked off her list with him. It was temporary. It would pass.

"Storm's getting pretty bad," she murmurs into the quiet van as they pull into her street. They hadn't talked much on their drive back, letting Toto fill their silence instead. She couldn't take it anymore, wanting to distract herself from the current mess of her mind.

Right on cue, the sky illuminates with a flash of lightning.

"Yeah," Eddie responds in a chuckle, hands gripping his steering wheel tightly as the torrential downpour assaulted his windshield, "It is."

The delayed thunder shakes the van as Willow's house finally comes into sight, and she can feel the dread Eddie had been trying to distract her from returning with vengeance. She can hear the wind against the windows, whistling carelessly as it forces the trees in her yard into the slightest tilt.

"Are you sure you'll be able to drive home okay?" she asks suddenly, realizing Eddie still had the journey to make back to the trailer park.

He simply nods, giving her a quick look as if she were crazy, "Don't worry about me, Red. I'm the best damn driver in Hawkins-"

"You can't possibly be the best driver and the best liar. Pick one," she scoffs at him. He just smiles back.

They pull into her driveway too quickly for her comfort. She knows this part well - they'll say their farewells, she'll go inside to an empty home, and she'll probably spend the night restless and hiding beneath her covers. Maybe she'll call Robin at some point to distract her, but her best friend couldn't possibly stay up with her all night.

Besides, knowing Hawkins' history this last summer, she'll be lucky if the power doesn't go out.

"Well, this is your stop," Eddie says slowly, turning to her expectantly. She glances at him, and can't stop herself from the quick look to his lips.

It'll pass. It's temporary.

"Indeed it is," Willow replies, taking her sweet time unbuckling and reaching back for her backpack from the back of the van. It's only once she's turned back around the face Eddie, all her things in hand, that she glances down and embarrassment floods her.