Eddie and Y/N have always had a love that others thought was strange. Even their own friends have their doubts sometimes. I guess it makes sense since they're the freaks. Despite the opinions and perspectives of those around them, they share the same fundamentals.
On just another grueling day at Hawkins High, only 2 people are missing from the Hellfire table. Can you guess who? Y/N and Eddie's absence allows the others to talk about them freely.
"Do they even like each other?" Mike grimaces.
"Are you kidding?" Jeff questions.
"They'd die for each other." Gareth adds.
"Well, I don't know. They always call each other dumbass and dipshit and stuff. Plus they're always flipping each other the bird." Mike tries to defend himself.
"That's just their love language." Gareth shakes his head slightly as he prepares to be the leader of Mike's education.
"Flipping each other off can mean many things." Dustin joins in acting as if he's wise.
"You never flip off Suzie."
"Suzie lives in Utah." Dustin looks at Mike like he's an idiot.
"Well, I never flip off El."
"El moved to California! God, you're such a dumbass." Dustin completely gives up.
Just as everyone is thinking about kicking Mike to the curb, the club's leader - Eddie Munson - appears at the head of the table.
"Hey, what are you morons talking about?" He asks as he takes his usual seat.
"Henderson and Wheeler's girlfriends who conveniently live in different states." Gareth leaves out the initial part of the conversation whilst making the older club members laugh.
"You really need to find actual girlfriends - this is getting sad."
"They are real!" Dustin and Mike raise their voices - this isn't the first time they have been accused of having imaginary girlfriends.
Before changing the topic completely, Eddie asks if anybody has seen Y/N. After a collective denial, the boys shift the topic of conversation to D&D. Despite his best efforts to be present in the conversation, Eddie's mind becomes preoccupied as time goes on. With each minute that goes by, he grows more and more worried. Y/N is never this late to lunch.
"She'll be fine, Eddie. She probably just got held up." Gareth reassures his friend as he notices the evident concern plastered on his face.
Eddie continues to fiddle with his rings as he stares into space. A few more minutes go by with no sign of her. By now, it's over half way through lunch. Something isn't right and Eddie knows it. Lucas Sinclair - a boy stuck between rival cliques - approaches the table in his varsity jacket.
"Uh, Eddie?"
"What do you want, Sinclair?"
"I saw Y/N crying and going into the bathroom like 10 minutes ago. I don't know why." Lucas informs him.
"And you didn't think to come to me about this sooner?" Eddie snaps at him.
"I-I'm sorry. I got swept up in something." He apologises before making his way back to the jock table to avoid verbal abuse from Jason - who only recently entered the cafeteria himself.
Fully prepared to burst into the girls bathroom, Eddie is about to spring out of his seat and race there. However, before he can, Y/N appears out of the crowds of people. Her bloodshot eyes indicate her prolonged crying. She tries to keep her head down as she briskly walks past the youngest Hellfire boys.
Instead of standing up, Eddie grabs Y/N's hand and pulls her onto his lap. Keeping an arm around her waist to support her, Eddie uses his free hand to move some hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. The pain in her eyes breaks his heart.
"What happened, sweetheart? Who do I have to kill?" Those who have gotten to know Eddie know that he wouldn't kill anyone - but for Y/N... Anything is possible.
"They cornered me." Her voice is shaky - trembling as if she's fighting back the tears.
"Who, love?" Eddie questions as he strokes her hair.
"Jason and his disciples."
"Even Sinclair?" He recalls his prior interaction.
"No. No, Lucas wasn't there." Y/N shakes her head, quickly protecting Lucas from any kind of reaction. "But there were so many of them. I-I couldn't escape. Someone threw a cookie at my head. A damn cookie. They were hurling abuse at me. Calling me a freak, telling me I'm fat and disgusting, telling me to kill myself. You know, all the good stuff." She sobs as she retells the events.
"Jesus christ." Dustin mutters.
"They wouldn't stop. They threw stuff at me as I ran away to the bathroom." Hearing how his girlfriend has been treated both breaks Eddie's heart and makes his blood boil simultaneously.
"You're not. I promise, nothing they say is true, princess." He assures her as he gently pulls her into him and kisses her forehead.
As much as Eddie wants to race over to the jock table and beat the shit out of Jason, he knows how much Y/N hates confrontation. Others may not see this because of her sarcastic one-liners and snappy comebacks. Besides, a reaction from Eddie in this moment would only make it worse. His main priority is to be there for her.
With a defeated sigh, Eddie removes one of his rings - Y/N's favourite - and slides it onto her finger. Her face is buried in his neck as she continues to let the tears flow. Eddie rubs her back and wraps his arms around her as she wraps her arms around his neck. Once again, he gently kisses her on the top of her head. The rest of the world might as well not even exist.
"See, I told you." Gareth turns to Mike.
"I don't understand this relationship at all." Mike is on the verge of giving up on trying to understand. Without missing a beat or moving their heads, Eddie and Y/N simultaneously flip him off. "Flipping someone off can mean many things, right?" He nervously chuckles.
"I'm pretty sure they just want you to shut up." Dustin let's him down.
"Yeah..." Gareth quietly agrees.
From this moment on, nobody will doubt the love and care they have for each other - not even Mike. Sure their love may be complex and strange at times to others, but it's still very much love. A love like no other. And in the end, they would die for each other.
This is one of the stories that I'm pretty proud of. Let me know what you think - I'm happy to take any feedback on any of the stories.