Crazy Devotion

Freak meets Jock

     First day of school, September 1983. Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson were starting Junior year of High School. Eddie passed sophomore year just barely, while Steve passed with flying colors simply because he would cheat on everything. Steve had almost no idea who Eddie was, Though they've had multiple classes together over the years. He really only knew him as the freak.  Eddie on the other hand, remembers Steve very fondly. Steve never out right bullied him, though his friends have. Specifically Jason Carver and Tommy Hagen. He was known as the 'school freak'.

Eddie didn't necessarily hate Steve. He just disliked him. Very much. He hated his friends though. They've made fun of him since middle school. He looked different back then. Shaved head, no tattoos... The only thing that stayed the same was that he still played guitar. Tommy would make fun of him as it was 'lame' to play guitar according to him. Most of the time, Eddie just brushes them off. Sometimes he thinks about standing up for himself, but ultimately decides against it. He just wants to get through the school year.

Steve is aware of Eddie's existence. He knows his face from having classes with him. He never bullied him to his face, but he's definitely called him some names to his friends and laughed at him with them. Sometimes he thinks that Tommy and Jason go too far with the bullying, but he's always too scared to say anything. He's afraid they'll think he's 'gone soft'. He just ignores Eddie really. He doesn't hate him. He just thinks he's... weird. He doesn't understand the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing. He remembers seeing Eddie play with his band in the middle school talent show, and he thought it was pretty cool. He wanted to go tell him how cool it was, but before he could, his friends dragged him away.

Who knows? If Steve would've been able to make that simple compliment to Eddie, things may be different now. Maybe they'd be friends. Or at least wouldn't dislike one another. Maybe Eddie could've even taught him to play guitar. He often thinks back about that day. How he wishes he did it differently. But what's done is done. He can't change it. They don't like one another. He makes fun of Eddie with his friends and Eddie seems to just ignore them most of the time.

Eddie finds Steve really annoying. In class, he'd come in late, make a mess with his bagel, interrupt the teacher, and just make a big deal out of nothing. Now, Eddie could care less about school. He's barely been passing since the 7th grade. But he'd at least like to get through the day without Steve being a huge asshole. He sat behind Steve in History class. Sometimes Steve would lean back onto his desk, seemingly as if he didn't even know someone was sitting there. Eddie would just slide back away from him and mind his own business. There were times where he did genuinely hate him though. Like when he would tease his girlfriend, Nancys' best friend Barb. He could see how uncomfortable it made her but he did not care. Eddie wanted to defend her in the worst way.

At the end of the day. The two boys wanted nothing to do with one another. Neither could ever imagine what the future would hold for them.