Eddie hated Stevie Henderson. He hated her teeth and the way they made her smile crooked when she grinned, he hated the way she laughed because it sounded just so stupid when she snorted. He hated the way she walked like she always had places to be, or how she talked like she loathed the world around her.
"People say Hawkins is cursed, right? Like that's the reason we've lost almost every game?" The crowd booed, egging on each other's shouts.
He hated the way she dressed, because whenever he'd see her in the halls it made him want to compliment her. He loathed her cleverness and determination to beat him, even though it spurred him on even more.
"We agree, Tigers," cheerleaders simmering down their chants, the gym fell silent, "That's why it's never going to happen again." Shouts of joy and competitiveness erupted from the crowd, along with pom poms shaking annoyingly loud.
He hated how she would ignore his stares from across the cafeteria, and even avoid his stares when they were up close. He hated her witty remarks and the way she always had to be right.
Stevie sat on the cold metal bleacher, staring a hole into Jason Carver's forehead. Many people thought her usual pissy behavior and attitude towards Jason sprouted from him rejecting a date, although the truth was that she just really, really hated Carver. Partially because of how he used Chrissy to boost his popularity like she was a show dog.
He hated her kindness, because even though she had it, she never showed it. He hated how the littlest thing he'd done in the seventh grade made her so unbearably angry. He fumed when she would give him a snooty look, and how she always left him wondering if she was just teasing him or wanted nothing to do with him.
All the players ran onto the main gym floor next to Jason, where they started a clapping chant. It lasted a rough two minutes before they waved the crowd down to hushed whispers. "So I say, Hawkins High, we're more ready than ever to kick Fraiser's ass!" Frasier High, the school that beats the Tigers every. Single. Year. It was doubtful that they'd actually win, but Lucas was a solid player, she figured if anyone could play, it was him.
He hated how she sat two rows in front of him, even though Dustin had sat with him, meaning she'd be alone on her bleacher purely because she didn't want to be seated next to Eddie. He hated the way she looked at Jason Carver, staring at him, hearts for eyes instead of pure hatred (well, that's what he saw. In reality, Stevie was trying to find a way to make the rafters on the ceiling fall onto his head.) What he mostly hated about that, was that he would have no reason to be upset even if she did like Jason Carver.
The cheer team stood, quickly waddling their way to the front of the gym and starting the short routine that probably took them weeks to practice. Henderson cheered louder than she would've expected herself to, grinning from ear to ear and occasionally yelling along with the other folks chanting. It was unlike her to be so joyful at a school function, but seeing Chrissy living what she'd wanted to since they were young was so satisfying to the child inside of her.
But hey, it wouldn't matter if she liked him anyways, because Eddie Munson hated Stevie Henderson, didn't he?
"You were incredible, Chrissy!" The blonde exclaimed, wrapping herself into a tight knit hug with her childhood friend. "Really? It was kind of embarrassing when Jason pointed me out, wasn't it?" Stevie rolled her eyes, letting go of the girl and putting her hands onto her shoulders.
"Nothing you do is embarrassing, Chris. If something you or Jason did was outlandish you would've heard me complaining by now." The cheerleader snickered, taking Stevie's hand and squeezing it before letting go to walk towards her other friends. The conversation cutoff made Stevie's stomach hurt with want, having so desperately needed to catch up with the girl but not being given a chance to do so.
There weren't many people who had such positive memories of Stevie, so the way Chrissy treated her made her miss her even more. She was always kind, soft spoken, even if she didn't get some of the vulgar jokes she would make, she never failed to show Stevie that she loved them anyways.
Now in an unfortunate mood because of this interaction, Stevie turned to leave, tightening her low ponytail on the way to the double doors. Dustin and Eddie caught up, Munson following along quietly as the siblings chatted.
It was bizarre to see him in such an awkward posture, like he was waiting for someone to leave to feel more comfortable. His auburn eyes just stared straight in front of him, before his legs spun and he strolled into a more empty hallway. Henderson stopped in her tracks, although Dustin paid no mind, eventually catching up with Lucas when he'd gotten the chance to see him alone.
Head spinning in every direction on look out, Stevie barreled through the hall she'd seen her brother's friend walk down, until she was met with the same familiar back.
"Where're you going?" The boy stopped, adjusted the chain bracelet around his wrist, and turned three quarters. His view allowed him to see Stevie from just the side of his eye, but she could see him well, even the little glimmer in his eyes that shone when he'd turned around. "Home. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were stalking me," her eyes narrowed as he recited the same brutally biting words she'd spoken to him just the other day, "Don't flatter yourself."
The brunette chuckled deeply, taking a few steps towards her and shoving some loose curls from his face. "So you're skipping?" "If I say yes, will it give me the pleasure of you coming along?"
Closing her lips, Stevie was taken slightly aback, wondering if he'd really just asked her that or if she was in some weirdly realistic dream.
No, nightmare.
"Umm," Eddie nodded to her hum, pursing his lips and balling his fist, although quickly unfolding it so she wouldn't recognize his frustration. "That wasn't me answering, Munson. I'm thinking."
His lips curled into a grin, one she'd become very familiar with over the past few days, and one that made her despise him even more.
"What's in it for me?" He sighed, almost expecting this response. "Do you smoke?"
Taking the blunt from his lips, Eddie adjusted his seated position on the ground, leaves crunching meanwhile. "I can't believe you've never smoked before, you're eighteen, are you just always in this pissy mood then?"
Instead of being sat on the ground like Eddie, Steve was perched on the red bench of a rusty picnic table, "You know being high isn't a way to have fun, right?" "You would think that, wouldn't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He combed through her viridity, trying to read her like he usually did with Dustin, but Dustin was much easier when it came to emotions. The two just stared blankly at each other for a moment, Munson unable to find a word to really describe what he meant when he'd made that statement about her.
"I don't really smoke for fun anyways," "Then why do you smoke?" She never gave up, another thing to add to Eddie's list. "You always have such a sweet way of talking to me," he beamed, "sometimes I just smoke to get the edge off."
"And what edge are you walking around with, Edward Munson?" Eddie cringed, eyes turning to a squinted shape.
"You don't know me," "And you know yourself?" "A hell of a lot better than you!"
Stevie gulped, feeling bewildered that he would've taken that tone around her. "Listen, you don't have to come to the club meeting next weekend, 's not like you're too excited about it anyways."
"No, I want to come. I'm coming for myself, Eddie, not for you, this isn't some sort of burden you're carrying around or something," She stated, the air around them becoming suddenly uncomfortable. It wasn't that they terribly disliked each other in the moment, but it was the fact that he was giving her a chance to leave. He was rewarding her with the chance to hate him, to spit in his face dramatically and walk off, but she continued to bicker like she was twelve years old again.
"You wanna?" Is that all he gathered from that?
She nodded, fiddling with her fingers, unsure of what else to do in that moment. "Okay." There's the Eddie everyone knew. With a smug smirk on his face, he took another drag from the joint, leaving it between his middle and index finger.
"What?" Henderson barked, wondering if there was some joke he was thinking of but sparing her from. "Nothing, jus' a little funny," "What is?" "You."
"Okay, bye Munson." She replied, getting up with haste and grabbing her bag off the bench. Eddie snickered at her reaction and stood up, wiping off the leaves from his pants. " 'S there something in my hair?"
Stevie turned around to face him, trying her best not to giggle at the numerous amount of sticks tangled in his hair, he didn't deserve it. Yet, she did it anyways. It was a struggle to break her mean glare she always had hanging around, but when you did, you better appreciate it. "What? There is?" "Shut up."
And with that, she left him in that secluded part of the woods. He didn't mind, there was something he managed to achieve today that most people couldn't say they've done before. Maybe, just maybe, Stevie couldn't say she hated Eddie more than he despised her.