Lonely Hearts Club

Knight in Shining Armor

"You can't go take care of them?" I asked. I was worn out from the cars I had worked on and the phone call from Maggie. He shrugged.

"I'm not feeling social today," he explained simply. I sighed heavily and stood, trudging out of our office. I walked across the garage, ignoring the shouts from our employees trying to leave early. I swung the door open to the storefront, grabbing a clipboard as I walked to the counter.

"Thank you for coming to Munson and McCarthy's Garage," I greeted, forcing a smile. A woman was leaned against the counter, her back to me. She jumped, startled by my entrance, and turned to me, grinning nervously.

"Sorry, you scared me," she said, laughing. She pulled the set of sunglasses she had over her face off and set them in her curly hair precariously. I smiled and shrugged.

"Sorry – I usually have someone announce me with a trumpet, but he's out sick," I joked. She laughed, which made me want to laugh with her, and shook her head.

"Well, I guess trumpet players even deserve sick days," she quipped. I grinned at her. I don't think I had seen her before – we had become the go-to shop for everyone in Hawkins, so I wondered if she was passing through.

"Yeah, but makes it tough when I scare customers off," I remarked. She smiled wider.

"Well, I couldn't get far if I wanted to – my car's having issues, so I'm stuck here until you save the day," she replied.

I watched her for a beat. She was pretty in an interesting way – she had bright eyes and a kind face, framed by her dark curls. Every time she smiled or laughed, I wanted to join in with her. She was dressed in trendier clothes – a sweater and long skirt with a pair of cool boots. I could tell she was not from around here based on that alone. She set her forearms against the counter and leaved over it, making my face heat with color at her closeness.

"Well, I'm here to be your knight in shining armor," I flirted lamely. I wanted to kick myself in the teeth for that lame line. I had been out of practice in this arena for a while and hadn't found a girl that interested me in a bit. "What's wrong with your car?"

"Something's wrong with my tires – I've been driving on them for a while, and I think I got something stuck in one of them," she explained, brushing one of her curls out of her face.

I nodded and started taking notes on my clipboard, trying not to look at her too much. I wondered how long it had been since I had even flirted with a girl – it had to have been years at this point. Even when we all went and grabbed drinks at The Hideout on the rare free nights I had available, I stuck close to my friends, avoiding any potential entanglements. The woman caught me looking and beamed at me.

"So, are you Munson or McCarthy?" she asked. I smiled.

"I'm Munson. Eddie Munson," I replied. She nodded and glanced around.

"Good job picking a business partner with a last name that starts with an 'M'," she complimented. She smirked at me, and I felt my stomach flip. "Great alliteration. Makes it memorable."

"Well, I always try my hardest to be memorable," I said, lamely, yet again. Jesus Christ – I didn't realize how out of practice I was until I was trying to force myself to not stare at the pretty girl in front of me. I glanced up and noticed her smiling at me. I cleared my throat. "So, you were driving for a while? Just passing through?"

"Not passing through – moving here," she answered. I felt a surge of joy and I immediately tried to tamp it down. I smiled brightly at her.

"Well, I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, but I'm glad I could welcome you to Hawkins," I replied. She nodded.