Letting himself into the house as he’d done countless times before, Eddie came to a stop, surprised by just how many people were there. When she’d invited him over for New Years Eve, he’d assumed it was going to be a small get together with a few of her parents' friends and a couple of their friends, not what seemed like the whole neighbourhood.
“Eddie, how are you?” her mother asked as she made her way into the entrance way where he stood looking a little lost or that's how he felt anyway.
“Good, Wayne asked me to tell you he was sorry he couldn’t make it, had to work” he explained, letting her pull him in for a hug. It was still strange for him when she did this despite him practically growing up with her daughter and spending most of his days here. They were also among the very few people in this godforsaken town that didn’t treat him like a freak or a devil worshipper or whatever the hell people called him behind his back.
“He works too hard your uncle” she mumbled, noticing the way he not so subtly looked past her into the crowd of people and she could tell who he was looking for. “Well I won’t keep you, she’s in the kitchen” she smiled knowingly as Eddie’s eyes widened when he realised he’d been caught.Thanking her and wishing her a happy new year, even though he would probably see her again before the night was over, he followed the direction he’d been given.
Awkwardly standing in the doorway to the kitchen, it didn’t take him long for his eyes to find her. Seeing her standing by the counter talking to Robin, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander to just how beautiful she looked in that blue dress that fell to her mid thighs that he had to drag his gaze away from otherwise his thoughts would betray him. He couldn’t remember when these types of thoughts for his best friend started plaguing him but he’d be damned if he told her as he didn’t want to risk losing her.
It seemed that Steve was going to be the first one to spot him standing there, shouting his name from across the kitchen and causing all eyes to turn to him, most he didn’t care about but there was one pair he did. Her smile was wide as she greeted him, pulling him in for a hug as soon as he was in arms reach but letting him go much too quickly for his liking.
“Always late to the party Munson” Steve teased, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
Eddie scoffed in response, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he did so, “I like to think of it as making an entrance, Harrington” Eddie shot back, shrugging Steve’s arm from his shoulders. Now it was Steve’s turn to scoff and as if sensing the start of what could easily escalate into an argument between the two of them, she shot Robin a warning glance as she stepped forward.
“Can I get you a drink, we got your favourite” she asks, drawing his attention away from Steve, though it wasn’t hard when he felt her hand sliding up his arm to rest on his shoulder. Meeting her eyes he nods in response, he’d agree to anything she asked if she would keep looking at him like that.
As he watched her walk the short distance to the fridge he had almost forgotten that Steve and Robin were still standing with him, although they hadn’t and as soon as she was out of ear shot, they made their move. “All that shit about making an entrance just to cover your tracks, I saw you making eyes at her” Steve stresses, narrowing his eyes at him as Eddie just stands there shaking his head in a weak attempt to deny it
“She likes you too dingus” Robin butts in, taking Steve’s side just as Eddie expected she would, “So when you going to tell her” she asks, so focused on Eddie that she misses her on her way back to them with Eddie’s drink in hand.
“Tell who what?” she asks, voice coming from behind the group and when they turn they find her with an eyebrow raised in curiosity as she hands him the drink.
“Nothing” they all chime in rather quickly, too quickly to be a coincidence and she eyes them suspiciously before dropping it, although Eddie doesn’t miss the look of disappointment that briefly crosses her face and he can’t help but think that she overheard the entire thing.
After that Eddie spends the whole evening trying to figure out a way to tell her that he likes her more than a friend, that he wants to be the one to take her on dates, to kiss her, to show her off because he’d be so damn lucky to call her his. It’s not until countdown to midnight begins that Eddie decides that it’s now or never and as they make their way outside he makes sure to keep her close to him.
Five.
Eddie says her name, it comes out quieter than he had meant it too so he didn’t expect her to hear him over the sounds of people around them shouting, let alone turn around to face him.
Four.
He couldn’t go into the new year without her knowing how he felt, hell he doesn’t know how he’s kept it to himself for this long but he couldn’t find the words to say.
Three
Fuck it.
Two.
“A new year is about to start and I can’t go another year, hell another second without telling you how I feel” he rushes while keeping his eyes locked on hers, searching for any signs that she feels the same but his met with the same look that she gives him every time she looks at him. The same look that has him giving into her every want.
One.
She doesn’t give him a chance to say those three little words as she presses forwards, pushing up on her toes and pressing her lips to his just as cheers and fireworks erupt all around them. Now if Eddie didn’t know that the fireworks were real he would have just assumed that flashes he could see behind his closed eyelids were purely from her kiss alone.
“I love you too” she breathes as she pulls away from him, giggling when she notices the look of surprise on Eddie’s face quickly morphs into one of relief before he leans in for another kiss as he allows the commotion around them to drown out so he can focus on the girl in front of him, his girl.