I wake up in Eddie's arms. He's still sleeping. We have time before we have to get up, so I just admire him.
I trace the outline of his tattoos and trail up to his face, where I play with his hair.
After about ten minutes, my alarm clock finally goes off. Eddie shifts a little.
"What time is it?" He has a little rasp to his voice.
"It's like... Six." I say and he slowly opens his eyes, trying to get used to the light. He rubs his face.
"It's like... Too early." He stretches while saying this. I slide out of bed and shut my alarm off.
"Well, you can lay down for a bit. I just like getting up early, so I can get ready." I begin to dress myself and he watches me from my bed. I see him looking at me in the reflection of my mirror. I put my head down and smile.
Eddie sits up on the bed. "Come back." He reaches his hands out to me.
I turn around and reach back, placing my hands in his. Then, he yanks me on top of him and squeezes me tight. He kisses my face, and I try to fight it.
"Eddie... Eddie! We have to get ready." I say, laughing between each word.
"We should just... Skip." He pulls away and we look at each other. I adjust myself so I am now straddling across him.
"You are such a bad influence." I say and he grabs my wrists and shakes me.
"Please?" He looks at me with those innocent, doe eyes.
I turn away from him, almost giving in. "Eddie, I can't. My mom will kill me if she finds out." I say.
"Ugh. Fine... You're no fun." He boops my nose and I try to climb off of him but he keeps a strong grip on my waist.
"Eddie..." I say and he shoots both hands up, palms facing me.
I stand up and drag him out of bed. He puts on his, somewhat damp jeans from yesterday that he wears everyday.
We both go downstairs, the scent of cinnamon hits us when we reach the last step.
"Good morning!" My mom yells when we walk into the kitchen. "I'm making french toast if you couldn't already tell." She looks over her shoulder at the both of us.
"Sick." Eddie says and swings his arm over my shoulder.
"How was the guest bedroom?" She asks and Eddie and I look at each other.
"Good..." He doesn't sound convincing. "Very comfortable." He adds and looks back to my mom and smiles.
"Oh, I'm glad." She scoops the french toast off of the pan, one by one, and plates it.
Eddie and I both sit down next to each other at the table and my mom hands us the plates.
Eddie begins to dig in, then starts to say, "Oh... Um..." He swallows a bite of french toast. "Thank you so much for such the hospitality." Eddie tells my mom.
"Any time." She says with a smile. "It was my pleasure." Then, she leans over and kisses the top of Eddie's head.
After we're done eating, I grab our plates and place them in the sink.
"Alright, we're gonna to get going." I say to my mom.
"Okay guys, have a good day at school." She takes a sip of coffee and smiles behind the mug.
Eddie and I grab our things and head to school.
Eddie gave me words of affirmation before we walked in through the doors because he could tell I was getting anxious.
Today was just like yesterday. There were people giving us looks of disapproval every corner of the school.
He gripped my hand tighter to let me know he was still there as we walked through the halls.
Finally, lunch rolled around and Eddie let me sit with him and his band friends. They were also part of Hellfire club.
Eddie sat at the end of the table and I sat at the corner to where our legs were touching underneath the surface.
He had one hand on my leg and I trailed mine to his and fiddled with his chunky rings on his fingers.
Then, Eddie began to read a segment of a news magazine out loud about the sadism of D & D and how the game has allegedly 'brought the devil to America'.
"Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even... Murder." He slams down the magazine and we all laugh.
Mike and Dustin then join us at the table soon after.
"Hey guys." I wave at them when they sit down with their lunch trays that contain, what looks-to-be food.
"Hey y/n." They both say in return.
"So, you guys going to come to Eddie's gig tonight?" I ask them and we're all caught off guard when Eddie jumps on the table.
"But as long as you're into band or science... or parties, or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets..." He slowly walks across the table, stepping over everyone's food.
I look over and Steve stands up, then calls out to Eddie, "You want something, freak?" Eddie laughs it off and throws his fingers up by his temples that represent horns and he hangs his tongue out.
Our table roars with laughter.
Eddie always finds a way to make everyone laugh.
He finishes his speech about Dungeons and Dragons and everyone in the cafeteria is fast to ignoring him once again.
Eddie quickly sits back down like nothing had happened. "So, you both coming to cheer us on at The Hideout tonight, or what?" Eddie asks, turning to Mike and Dustin.
"Well..." Dustin begins and Eddie tilts his head towards him. He can be so intimidating.
"Well?" He smiles and Dustin begins to laugh nervously.
"You know... Lucas has his 'balls in laundry basket' game tonight." Dustin quickly points at Eddie, quoting what he said before. "... And Mike and I... Kind of told him that we were going to watch him play..." Dustin smiles.
Eddie takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "Ah... Okay then." He turns and looks at me, then quickly flicks a pretzel across the table, which hits Mike in the head.
"It's the championship game." Dustin adds.
Eddie jumps up from his seat agitatedly, making Dustin and Mike flinch. "Oh, it's the championship game." He repeats Dustin, nodding, and he walks around the table and asks, "Can I level with you?" He turns to Dustin, who nods.
He pauses, then puts his hand to his chest. "I am army-crawling my way toward a D in Ms. Donovan's. If I don't blow her final, I'm gonna walk that stage next month, I'm gonna look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird, I'm gonna snatch that diploma and I'm gonna run like hell outta here." He runs back to the table, laughing.
Garret then calls out, "Didn't you say that last year?"
"Yeah, yeah, and I was full of shit." He turns away. "This year's different. This is my year." A smile stretches across his face. Then, he quickly turns back to us. "Eighty-six, baby." He shoots me a wink and I blow him a kiss.
He finally sits back down, giving Dustin and Mike the cold shoulder for the rest of lunch. They both just remain quiet, giving quick glances at Eddie.
When the bell rings, Eddie and I walk out of the cafeteria together.
"Don't you think that maybe... You were a little too harsh on Mike and Dustin?" I wrap my arm around his as we walk.
"You think?" He asks.
"Just a little." I smile. "But... Maybe it's okay that it's just me going tonight." I add.
"I guess you'll do." He chuckles and I nudge him in the side. Then, I lay my head against his shoulder as we walk.
When school is over, we walk to Eddie's trailer to prepare for tonight.
When we get inside, we go straight to his room, tiptoeing past Uncle Wayne, who is asleep in the recliner. We throw our stuff on the floor when we get in there.
"Wear this tonight." I shrug off the denim vest he gave me before. "It lost your scent." I hand it over and Eddie takes it and puts it over his leather jacket, which he already had on.
"My scent..." He slowly nods and smiles, then walks over to his mirror and checks himself out in it.
"You're missing something." I run over to my bag and search through it. I look over my shoulder and tell him, "Sit down." He looks at me, concerned, but obeys.
I finally find what I was looking for. A black eyeliner pencil and nail polish. I hold it up to him and he smirks.
I push him back on the bed, so he's laying down and I jump on his lap.
I take the cap off of the eyeliner and aim it towards his eye. "Close." I demand and he closes both eyes.
I start drawing on the eyeliner and he begins to laugh, but keeps his eyes closed. "It tickles." He fidgets.
"Stop moving, Eddie." I hold his face with my other hand and licks my lips, trying to draw on his eyes perfectly.
"I'm trying!" He shrieks.
Eddie tries to keep a straight face, so he purses his lips.
I manage to finish the eyeliner and I tap his face. "Done." He blinks a little before opening his eyes.
I look down at him and smile at him blinking weirdly. "Feels weird." He whispers.
"You'll get used to it." I reassure him.
"How do I look?" He bats his eyelashes at me.
"Mean and scary." I joke, and he scoffs. I climb off of his lap and let him look at himself in the mirror. He crouches down a little and gets very close to his reflection to where his breath fogs up the glass. He turns towards me with a grin.
"Do you like it?" I asked, concerned.
"It's... So..." He starts to say slowly. "Metal." He quickly turns back to the mirror and does some quirky poses.
"Very metal." I agree. "Okay..." I grab his arm and he turns back to me. I hold up the bottle of black nail polish, smiling. "Nail time, so sit back down." I point to the bed.
Eddie sits down and I sit in front of him, crisscrossed. I untwist the nail polish, then I grab his right hand and hold it in mine, and begin painting.
When I'm close to finishing his nails, I look up at him, and he's passionately staring at me.
"What?" I say accusingly.
"Huh?" He replies, seeming thrown off. "Can't I just stare at my significant other?" I stop what I'm doing and I just look at him.
"Wait, so that means you're my boyfriend?" I interrogate him.
He looks around the room, acting like he's waiting to hear someone else answer. Then, he focuses back on me. "Was that not made clear the past thousand times we've had sex?" His sparkling eyes maintain contact with mine for a minute.
I'm thrown off. "Well, we never talked about it." I tell him and finish painting his nails. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" I ask him while looking down, and close the lid of the bottle.
My eyes meet his once again. "Duh." He shakes his head and leaves his mouth open a little, holding back a smile and licks his lips.
I throw the nail polish to the side and swing my arms around him and attack him with kisses. He falls back and begins to laugh. "My nails!" He yells.
"Who cares about your nails?" I yell. "You're my boyfriend!" I scream.
"Shhh, be quiet." He says through laughter.
"No!" I yell and slam my lips against his. He wraps his arms around me, squeezing me into a hug.
"You okay in there, Eds?" Uncle Wayne calls out from right outside the bedroom door.
"Yeah, we're fine." Eddie yells back.
"Oh, is y/n here?" His voice goes quieter.
"Hi, Mr. Munson." I say and climb off of Eddie and walk over to the door to open it.
"Hey, kid." He says in return when I open the door. "You going to The Hideout tonight?" He asks me.
"Yup." I reply, then there's an awkward pause.
Uncle Wayne looks to Eddie, then rubs his hand down his face. "What the hell do you have on?"
Eddie quickly stands up and walks up behind me, placing his hands around my waist.
"Y/n did my eyeliner for tonight." He smiles at Uncle Wayne and puts his chin on the top of my shoulder. "And my nails." He adds and holds up his hands, displaying his fingernails.
"Mhm." Uncle Wayne doesn't say anything else, he just nods and walks back out into the living room.
"Okay, then." I say and Eddie flips me around so I'm facing him and he kisses me on the forehead. He pulls me closer and reaches behind me so he can close the bedroom door.
He places his hands on both sides of my face and tells me, "Don't worry, he loves it." He leans in and kisses me, holding it there for a few seconds.
I pull away and we smile at each other.
When six-thirty rolls around, Eddie and I leave his trailer. We get into his van and drive over to The Hideout. He blasts music to pregame for the concert.
We arrive soon after because Eddie is always so fast and reckless whenever he drives.
He jumps out of the van and runs over to the passenger side. He opens my door before I could even reach for the handle.
Then, he slides the back door of his van open and pulls out a guitar and a couple cords.
"So, you just have a guitar in the back and still drive like that?" He turns his head towards me.
"Drive like what?" He questions.
"You-"
He cuts me off. "You have no room to criticize my driving when you can't even drive, y/n." A cheesy smile forms on his face.
I scoff. "Shut up." I shake my head slowly even though I know he's right. "Let's just go in." I say quietly and he laughs.
When we go in, his band is setting up already. It reeks of cigarettes and beer. There's a few old men sitting at the bar, conversing.
"Hey guys." Eddie walks up to the other guys.
"Hey." They say.
"Y/n is going to watch us play tonight." He places the guitar case down on a chair and opens it.
"Cool." One of them says and looks at me for a quick second. I wave at them, and smile awkwardly.
Eddie looks over his shoulder at me and smiles. He pulls out the guitar and plugs it into an amp.
He strums it with an unfamiliar tune. I sit down in the front row at an empty table, which has an ashtray centered on it.
In the front of their stage, stands a microphone. Eddie stands up and puts the guitar strap over his head and pulls it across his body. He leans into the microphone and tests it. "Testing, testing." He says into it and looks back at his friends and nods.
Everyone tunes their instruments. I look around the bar and no one is paying attention, they're just too focused on whatever they were doing. There's people scattered around, playing pool, shuffleboard, and darts
"Good evening." Eddie says into the mic and a few
people turn to him. "Are you ready to rock tonight?" There's an awkward silence, but someone from the back yells something incomprehensible. "Heh, alright." He mumbles.
He turns to look at his friends and mouths something to them, all three of them nod.
Eddie leans into the mic and looks at me. "Y/n, this is for you." He winks and I start to blush. I look around the bar and a few people give me looks.
Eddie pulls his guitar pick from his necklace and quickly strums the guitar, then sings in the microphone. They play "I Stole Your Love", by KISS.
I look from him, down to his fingers, which are going at lightening speed.
When they finish the song, Eddie swings his head back with the final strum. His Adam's apple being revealed. I'm the only one clapping.
Eddie looks back to me and smiles at me. He sticks out his tongue real quick.
More people come into the bar after some time. He got somewhat of a crowd. A few people threw tips into Eddie's guitar case and he thanked them if they did.
When they were finished playing, more people than just we applauded.
It got really late and they took only one break in between. "Thank you." Eddie's voice echoes throughout the bar. "We are Corroded Coffin." Then, he makes one final strum and the band starts to pack everything up.
I walk up to Eddie, who is kneeling down, and say, "You guys were amazing." He looks up at me, and closes his guitar case.
"Thank you." He stands back up and pulls at his jacket. "You ready?" He asks and I nod. He grabs his guitar and we share goodbyes with everyone. We walk up to the bartender and it's an older guy. Eddie and him fist bump each other.
"See you soon." The bartender says. Eddie nods and swings his free arm around my shoulder and kisses my cheek.
"Have a good night." Eddie tells him and we leave.
We drive back to his place. His uncle isn't there when we pull up.
We go right to his bedroom and I collapse on the bed. He pulls off his jackets and tosses them
to the floor. Then, he places his rings on his cluttered bedside table.
He turns off his lamp and slides in bed beside me, so we're facing each other and we just lay there in the dark, talking.
"Remember..." He laughs a little. "Remember when we said that if we weren't married by thirty, we'll marry each other?" I feel his hand trail to my face.
"Yeah... Why?" I close my eyes.
"Is that still a promise?" His voice is a little raspy, he sounds tired.
"Mhm." I reply. "I don't think I will ever stop loving you, Eddie."
"Good." He lets out a breathy laugh.
I flip, so my back is facing him and I scoot closer into him, he pulls me in and I feel his lips on my shoulder. He has his other arm resting under my head.
"What will our wedding song be?"
He laughs.
"What?"
"It's stupid." He mumbles.
"Come on!"
"Fine. I was going to say Master of Puppets." He admits and we both start to laugh.
"You have to play it, too." I joke.
"Oh, God." He rubs his face.
An idea pops into my mind. "You can play it when I walk down the isle!"
"All eight and a half minutes." He adds. "You'll just have to walk extremely slow, like a centimeter each step."
Our laughs subside and we lay there in silence. I hear Eddie's breathing get heavier and I could tell he was asleep.
He mumbles a little, but remains unconscious.
I stroke his arm that is under my head and I play with his fingers.
I close my eyes and just listen to Eddie's breathing. I finally fall asleep and dream about our wedding.