The clamor of students talking and plastic trays slamming against particle board filled your ears. Lunchtime was always a welcome reprieve from your boring fourth-period chem class, and you sighed as you entered the busy room. Each table was designated for each clique. The math geeks sat closest to the door. The band geeks sat near the middle of the room. And all the way in the back was where you sat. Your eyes fell on the table just as Eddie climbed on top of the table and began calling out groups one by one. A smile pulled at your lips as you made your way toward him and the rest of the Hellfire boys.
You and Eddie had been friends since you were children. You could never forget the day your unlikely friendship began. One day in third grade, a group of older boys was pushing you around on the playground when Eddie approached them. He was so much shorter than them, but he still puffed his chest out and said with so much conviction you could feel it in your soul, "If you keep messing with her, I'm gonna kick all of your asses." The older boys stopped messing with you. But then they turned their tyrannical attention onto Eddie. You remember them calling his bluff, and when he began to backpedal, they proceeded to kick his ass instead of the other way around. When they left, you walked up to him and offered him a helping hand. The moment your palms touched was the beginning of your friendship and the start of your crush on Eddie Munson.
From that day forward, you found it incredibly entertaining to call Eddie's bluff and egg him on when he started acting big and bad. One time when you were ten, Eddie said he could totally climb this big ass tree. So, naturally, you told him to do it. When he started to deflect, you egged him on until he finally did it. Eddie ended up in a cast for the remainder of your fourth-grade year. Another time, when you were thirteen, Eddie swore he could totally walk into the local bar and order a drink. Again, you told him to do it, but as per usual, he grew nervous and tried to back out. So, you egged him on for five minutes before he finally trotted into the bar and did it. Well, needless to say, that was the day Eddie got banned from a bar at the age of thirteen.
As you navigated through the crowded lunchroom, you chuckled at the memories until you finally made it to the table. When you took your seat next to Eddie, everyone was discussing the current D&D campaign. All but Eddie. You followed his gaze to a couple in the corner of the lunchroom, nearly swallowing one another's faces. Your eyebrows furrowed, but before you got the chance to ask what his problem was, Eddie slammed his hands onto the table. You jumped as you moved to meet his gaze.
"Look at that," he said, pointing to the couple, "we get a bad rep for playing a game, but these prissy little rich kids can practically be undressing each other in public, and it's totally fine." Eddie threw his arms into the air, "I mean, who does that!? It's like watching two suckerfish fighting for dominance. They're in the middle of the cafeteria, for Christ's sake!" He cupped his hands over his mouth and faced the couple.
"Get a room you, two heathens!" He shouted, earning a dirty look and a middle finger from the two teens. The group of boys at the table laughed at Eddie's outburst. Normally, you would have done the same, but you decided on doing something much more amusing. You let out a long dramatic sigh, gaining the attention of everyone at the table. You looked directly at Eddie. His signature smirk was playing on his lips and wreaking havoc on your heart.
"I think you're just jealous," you said. At your words, Eddie's smile fell and was replaced with a look of disbelief.
"Of what?" he asked, exasperated by your statement, "Not having my soul sucked out of my body by some chick? No, I'm not jealous." You did your best to control the grin that was trying hard to break free.
"I think you're jealous because you don't have a girlfriend."
Eddie's eyes lit up at that word, and he paused, his eyes still trained on you. You could feel your cheeks warming under his stare, but you couldn't find it in you to peel your eyes away. It felt like minutes before you and Eddie finally snapped back to reality. Eddie squared his shoulders.
"I could totally land a girlfriend if I really wanted to." He said with a cocky grin. And that's when you knew you had him. The familiar game you had been playing since you were kids was alive and well still even in your teen years.
"Oh yeah?" You asked, and he nodded, leaning a little closer to you.
"Without a problem."
You leaned even closer to him, his curly tendrils tickling your face, and whispered, "Then do it."
Eddie's confident façade fell as he shrunk away from you.
"Wh-what?" He stuttered. This time it was your turn to square your shoulders.
"Then do it," you said, leaning back in your chair, "Go get a girlfriend. I mean, if it's so easy, you know?" Eddie looked like a nervous wreck as he began to wring his hands through his hair, trying to come up with an excuse.
"Uh, uh, I mean, I-I can't just, you know, ask some chick out. Th-that would be like wrong, right? You don't just go ask someone to be your girlfriend." He was frantic as he searched the table for anyone to have his back.
"How else do you get a girlfriend if you don't just...ask...them?" Mike asked, his voice growing softer with each word. Eddie's eyes landed on the boy, and if looks could kill, Mike would have dropped dead right there.
"Yeah, Eddie, how else do you get a girlfriend?" The smile you had been trying to contain was slowly seeping through. Eddie's leg bounced up and down under the table as he scrambled to come up with something. When he didn't answer, you jumped back in.
"You did say it was so easy to get one. So, then go out there and get one. I'd love to see who the King of I-Hate-Everyone would choose."
Eddie's leg picked up speed as the rest of the group began to egg him on with you until it abruptly stopped.
"Fine!" He shouted, silencing the table. "I-I'll do it." You smiled triumphantly.
"How fun," you said, "go ask out the one girl you can see yourself having a future with." Eddie's eyes widened at that as he held your gaze. But just as he was about to speak, the bell releasing you to your fifth period rang. You hopped up and, without a second glance, left the cafeteria and a befuddled Eddie behind.
Your mind was racing for the last bit of your school day. All you could think about was Eddie taking you up on your dare. You didn't think he would actually agree to do it and now you were regretting even egging him on. You had developed a crush on Eddie when you were kids that had grown into an animal. There was absolutely no controlling your feelings for him. You knew your poor heart wouldn't be able to handle it if he brought some random girl to lunch the following day.
When the bell finally rang, you hurried out to the parking lot. Just as you reached your car, the familiar ring of Eddie's voice stopped you. You turned to see him jogging up to your car, and your heart nearly fell to your ankles. Here it comes, you thought, he's going to tell me he found the perfect girl, and he's going to ask her to be his girlfriend, and I'm just going to have to run away forever. You swallowed hard, plastering the most believable smile you could muster onto your face.
"What's up, Eddie?" You asked, hoping your fear wasn't painted all over your face. Eddie wasn't looking at you, though. His eyes were glued to the pavement in between the two of you. He was bobbing up and down, fidgeting with the many rings on his slender fingers. You tilted your head to the side. He was definitely not acting like himself. He was never this anxious or shy around you.
"Hey, Y/N. So, um, I was thinking about our conversation at lunch. And, uh, um, I..." He let out a nervous laugh and ran his hands over his face. "This is the hardest one yet," he said more to himself than to you.
Eddie scratched the side of his head while emitting a high-pitched groan. "Wow, okay, this is harder than I thought."
Your eyebrows furrowed, and you shook your head, urging Eddie to clarify.
"I wasn't scared to climb that tree in fourth grade." He said, and your eyes narrowed even more at the random statement.
"Sure," he said with a shrug, "I fell and ended up with a broken arm, but I wasn't afraid to do it when you called my bluff. I didn't even mind walking into that bar even though Uncle Wayne absolutely handed me my ass when he found out." You chuckled at the memory of Eddie's Uncle nearly blowing a gasket in the trailer park.
"But this one," he said, shaking his head, causing his curls to create a curtain over his face, "man, I should've weighed the pros and cons because right now I feel like there's a whole lotta bad that's gonna come outta this." Eddie began to ramble, spiraling down his own rabbit hole.
"Eddie," you said.
"Like, I'm really having some second thoughts."
"Eddie."
"I don't even know why I'm doing this."
"Eddie."
"Fuck, what the hell was I thinking?"
"Eddie!" You shouted, taking his hand in yours. His eyes quickly met yours, and that same fire from earlier was there, brighter and stronger than before.
"What's going on?" You asked, giving his hand a little squeeze. He let out a little laugh that sounded more like a yelp, and his eyes softened as his lips pulled upward.
"It's you, Y/N."
You shook your head, still not comprehending what he was going on about.
"What?"
Eddie took your other hand and stood up straight. You craned your neck to maintain eye contact with him. His confidence was back, making him radiant.
"You're the one girl I can see myself having a future with."
His words hit you like a brick. Your knees felt like they were going to give out, and your stomach did about a million somersaults. You had spent many a night wishing that Eddie would reciprocate your feelings and there he was, finally confessing them to you. Eddie could see the twinkle of hope in your eyes, so he continued his spiel.
"I can see myself graduating with you. I can see myself leaving this shit hole town and going who knows where with you." He let go of your hands and cupped your cheeks, forcing you to look at him. "Everything my future holds for me; I can see doing with you. And since I'm a man of my word and have never bailed on you calling me out, I'm here to hold up my end of the dare."
Your mouth was slightly agape, but nothing came out. You couldn't bring your mind to form a coherent thought. All you could think about was Eddie. He could see a future with you. The guy who never thought about tomorrow or even what he was going to do later that day could see a future with you. Your heart was soaring in your chest. But Eddie took your silence as a bad thing and slowly let go of your face. Your cheeks burned where his fingertips had just touched.
"Well," he said, letting out a long sigh, "it is clear that my worst fears were right." He began to fidget again, completely lost to reality.
"I probably just completely ruined our friendship, didn't I?"
"Eddie," you said.
"Fuck. Okay, yeah, this was a really bad idea."
"Eddie."
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I can't believe I was so stupid."
"Eddie," you dragged out the last syllable but still couldn't seem to grab his attention. He was rambling again, so you did the only thing you could think of to make him focus on you. You grabbed his face and smashed your lips into his. At first, he was stiff as a board. His shoulders were touching his ears, and his arms hung at his sides. But after a few seconds, he melted into the kiss. His hands found your waist and pulled you as close as humanly possible to his chest. You could feel his fingers dig into your hips as he leaned even deeper into the kiss. His curly hair fell over your face, engulfing you in his scent. A perfect mixture of cotton and earth. It was euphoric the way his lips felt against yours. And you would have stayed that way, trapped in his grip and with his lips moving so smoothly against yours, but you couldn't.
When you pulled away, you were a giggling mess. Eddie almost fell over in his attempt to try and keep his lips on yours, and he let out a little whine when he couldn't.
"What's going on?" He asked, his forehead crinkling at the question. You shook your head, a smile you couldn't contain spreading across your face.
"I was hoping my little dare would finally give you the balls to confess your feelings."
Eddie's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, and his mouth fell open.
"What? How did you know?"
"I didn't," you said, with a shrug, "I was just hoping that the feelings were mutual. I'm glad I was right."
Eddie let out an amused laugh before a wide grin took over his face.
"You're something else, do you know that?"
You shrugged and bit your lip to hold back the giddy giggles that threatened to spill out.
"So," you said, giving his biceps a little squeeze, "are you gonna ask me out, or what?"
As if a switch had flipped, Eddie's nervous energy returned. His fingers dug into your hips again, and his foot began tapping as if it were keeping tempo with an Iron Maiden song.
"Um, uh," he averted his eyes again, "s-so, Y/N, would you, I don't know, maybe want to, you know," he met your gaze again, "go out with me? Like, b-be my girlfriend?"
There it was again. That one simple little word. Girlfriend. And you were officially going to have its title. Your lips twitched as you tried to contain the excitement that was rapidly bubbling up inside of you, and you nodded.
"Yeah, Eddie. I'd love to be your girlfriend." You said before planting a swift kiss on Eddie's lips and hopping into your car. You turned the key in the ignition, and immediately Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" started blaring through the speakers. Eddie scrunched his nose in disgust. You just blew him a kiss and then peeled out of the parking spot. As you looked in your rearview mirror, you could see Eddie dancing around where you had just left him. He looked like a complete idiot, but he was your idiot, and that was all that mattered.