"Eds, you have to get up," I fuss at him, trying to wiggle out of his grasp without any luck. "Today's the big day. We can't be late."
"'The big day' will be when our child is born or our wedding, not Hawkins High School's graduation."
"It's our graduation and besides, you worked your ass off to get here. Don't you want to celebrate?"
"I can think of a better way to celebrate," he murmurs in my ear. He moves his hips slightly to poke my butt with his erection and I squirm again. We have been locked up in our house for several days now, ravishing one another. If I wasn't already pregnant, I would have been with how many times Eddie has had his way with me. I can't even begin to wrap my head around how he still has the energy to get it up, much less want to go all the way. I am exhausted. Happy but exhausted.
"I'm sure you can," I answer him, swatting at the arm he has over my middle, trapping me in place.
"We have to get up and get showered. Clothes need to go on and we need to look presentable for our family and friends and not like we have been huddled away in our home fucking each other senseless."
"None of those things sound appealing to me," Eddie says lazily, finally releasing me to roll over onto his back. I sit up and look down at him, narrowing my eyes.
"What gives? I thought you wanted to make a big show of flipping the bird at the principal and Mrs. O'Donnell at graduation, but now you don't want to go?"
Eddie sighs heavily and sits up. He rests his forehead against mine for a moment before he pulls away.
"I've just liked our little bubble. Going back out into the world will break the illusion that we are all there is in the world."
I laugh softly. Leave it to Eddie to think up something cute like that.
"We can return to the bubble once we get home, but every now and again, we do need to go out and socialize, go to work, or get substance to help sustain our lives. Besides, we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to check on bean."
Eddie sighs and nods slowly, finally giving in. I get up and walk to the bathroom and I hear him trying to detangle his legs from the blankets behind me. When I get in the bathroom and turn the water on, I turn to see Eddie hot of my heels. I look up at him with a raised eyebrow and he shrugs.
"Might as well shower together. Besides, now that we have a water bill, we should really do all that we can to conserve," he says with a smirk and I laugh. I don't protest though and I adjust the water to the perfect temperature before hopping inside.
Eddie and I shower. On more than one occasion, he would try to cop a feel and I would have to swat his hands away. If I let him, we really would stay cooped up for the rest of the day. He pouts slightly as he rinses off one last time and we get out, wrapping ourselves in towels.
Luckily, I had gone out and bought our graduation clothes before we moved into the new place and they have been hanging lovingly in our closet just waiting to be worn.
Eddie wanted something simple, so I got him a black button-up, a black belt, and black slacks. His dress shoes are clean and shiny and I honestly can't wait to see him wear it.
Before I get dressed, I style my hair and do my makeup. I use some of it to cover the hickeys on my neck and Eddie winks over at me as he gets dressed, completely unapologetic. Once I'm satisfied, I spritz myself lightly with my perfume and rub lotion into my skin before turning to put on my clothes.
My dress is white with spaghetti straps and layered skirts. It comes to about mid-thigh and swishes delicately around my legs. I decided to wear the shoes Eddie bought me for my birthday with it, giving me some extra height.
Eddie has finished getting ready and watches me with a smile. He's perched on the edge of the bed, looking up at me lovingly. I peek over at him and wink as I do one final adjustment to my straps and then turn, holding my arms out.
"What do you think?" I ask and he shakes his head in bewilderment.
"Gorgeous as always, sweetheart," he says, standing and pulling me into his arms. He kisses my forehead once before leaning back to look down at me.
"Let's go get this over with so I never have to go back to that Godforsaken school again," he chuckles and I nod with a smile.
I grab our caps and gowns from our closet as Eddie gets his keys and wallet. After I grab my purse, we both pet Elvis before heading out.
Eddie plays Metallica loudly, drumming his palms against the dashboard as we drive to the school. The parking lot is already packed and Eddie grits his teeth as he tries to find a spot.
When we climb out of the van, I hand Eddie his cap and gown. He shrugs the long fabric onto his shoulders. He struggles with his cap, not sure which way it's actually supposed to go and I giggle as he tries to fanagle it. Growing frustrated, he hands me the cap back and bends slightly so I can do it for him. I slide it on and fix his tassel before he leans forward and attacks my face with kisses, threatening to smudge my makeup. I laugh loudly as his arms come around my waist and he yanks me against him, nuzzling my skin with his nose.
"I love you," he says, looking down into my eyes and I smile.
"I love you too."
"Let's do this!" Eddie cheers, finally getting into the spirit and grabbing my hand. He drags me towards the school, my cap and gown still in my hand.
The gymnasium is packed with people and it's hard to locate anyone. The first person we see is Steve. He is talking to Chrissy's parents and her dad claps him on the back with a smile. The boys are a few rows over. Dustin is with his mom and she talks happily to the Wheelers as Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin all huddle together. Dustin's eye dart up and meet Eddie's and he drops my hand only long enough to wave his arms excitedly over his head at them. They cheer and wave back, making us both smile. We are about to move into the line when Eddie finally spots Wayne up in the bleachers sitting beside my mom. We wave to both of them and Wayne waves back with a smile. My mom blows each of us a kiss. I can tell her eyes are already a little misty even from here.
There are teachers everywhere, ushering students to where they should be. I see Chrissy and Robin towards the front of the room, but neither one of them turn.
"Miss Marro and Mr Munson, you both will be in this middle row." Mrs. Hopkins says, pointing to a line of chairs. Each student's name is on a little piece of paper on their seat and sadly Eddie and I are not sitting together. About seven students separate us and Eddie pouts slightly, realizing he will have to let go of my hand.
"See you after," I say, leaning up to kiss his cheek and he nods.
"Don't get in too much trouble," I warn him, shooting him a look as I pull my hand from his and walk towards my seat.
"No promises," he calls and I laugh.
I make amicable conversations with the other students around me as we wait for everyone to settle down. Once the principal takes the mic, the entire crowd hushes.
"Students, families, and faculty, thank you all for being here today." He starts and then continues to dive into a lengthy speech about graduation and our graduating class. He then welcomes the valedictorian to the stage and she gives her speech. She urges us to continue to reach for our dreams and to remember that nothing is impossible.
I glance down the rows of chairs and around everyone else at Eddie. His arms are crossed over his chest and he looks like he is falling asleep in his seat. I chuckle softly to myself as the principal retakes the stand and starts to call names. I mostly tune him out until I hear the names of my friends.
"Robin Buckley," he calls and I clap over my head, whistling loudly. I hear Steve screaming in the stands and I smile. Her parents also cheer loudly and I am happy to see Cleo is beside them, clapping along.
A few more students are called.
"Chrissy Cunningham."
To no one's surprise, most of the student body breaks out in an uproar. Even some of the teachers whoop and cheer for her. Chrissy has been so loved and cherished.
"CHRISSY, I LOVE YOU!!" Steve screams, making her blush furiously as she takes her diploma and descends down the steps. Several people chuckle and I smile from ear to ear.
Gareth is called and Eddie, Jeff, and the boys all holler for him along with his parents in the stands. It's getting closer to my time to climb the stage and my stomach flutters with nervousness.
"Ripley Marro," the principal says and I blink once before standing and ascending the steps. The cheers from my friends and family are loud, but it's Eddie that's almost deafening as I shake the teacher's hands.
"THAT'S MY GIRL! WE DID IT BABY!!"
A happy tear leaks out of my eye as I trot down the steps and retake my seat. By the time I am settled, there are only two people in front of Eddie. I clutch my diploma tightly in my hands as he waits, holding my breath.
"Edward Munson."
Eddie climbs the steps and I stick my fingers in my mouth, loudly wolf whistling as our friends erupt in celebration.
Eddie snatches his diploma with a smug smile, but instead of immediately coming back to his seat, he flips both the principal and Mrs. O'Donnell off like he always promised. He then turns to the crowd and yells.
"86 baby!" And holds up the rock on hand gesture, making the entire crowd erupt in applause. He jogs down the steps, leaving the teachers still stunned on the stage. They quickly collect themselves and move back through the list, shaking their heads. I happen to glance up at the bleachers and Wayne has got his head in his hands, my mom soothingly patting his back.
The rest of the ceremony goes as planned. We yell and cheer for Jeff as he gets his diploma and then the rest is a blur. By the time the principal has stepped back up to the mic, most of us are happily ignoring him and chattering amongst ourselves.
"Congratulations, class of 1986!" He shouts, finally giving up and we all throw our caps in the air.
Before the crowd can get too rambunctious, Eddie pushes past the people between us and grabs my hand. He yanks me against him and kisses me fiercely on the mouth, our bodies molded together. I hear a few people whistle and laugh around us, but neither one of us care.
"I couldn't have done it without you, sweetheart," he whispers in my ear once we pull apart and I wrap my arms more firmly around his shoulders.
"We do make quite the pair, don't we?" I ask smugly and he laughs.
"That's the understatement of the fucking year," he chuckles as my mom and Wayne finally make it to us, pushing past crowds of people. My mom is beaming from ear to ear, but Wayne still looks like he could kill Eddie. He lunges forward and wraps his arm around Eddie's neck and holds him in a chokehold. He gives him a knucklehead sandwich, messing up Eddie's curly mop of hair. Eddie yells in protest, but doesn't push Wayne away.
"What was that little stunt you just pulled, Ed?" Wayne bickers in Eddie's ear. My mom and I watch them with amused expressions. "You're gonna make all my hair fall out from stress if you keep that shit up. You're supposed to be a dad soon."
Wayne let's go of Eddie and he holds his hands up defensively, a sheepish grin on his face.
"One last hooray to get it out of my system I guess," he shrugs and Wayne sighs heavily, shaking his head.
"You're a menace," he groans but when he looks at his nephew, there is nothing but love there.
"Yea, but I'm your menace old man," Eddie teases, lightly punching Wayne's shoulder. Wayne finally relents and pulls his nephew into a tight huge, squeezing him. Eddie is frozen for a moment before his arms come up to wrap around him.
When he pulls away, Wayne's eyes are red and puffy and I look up to see my mom sniffling beside me.
"I'm so proud of you both," she wails suddenly, yanking me into a fierce hug. She waves her arm frantically for Eddie to join our huddle and he laughs as he wraps his arms around both of us.
"When did you two get so grown?" My mom blubbers on. "It isn't allowed. I want my babies back."
Eddie and I both console my mom as Wayne convinces a passing teacher to stop and take a photo of all of us together. I help my mom wipe her face with a tissue and push her hair from her face before we all turn to smile at the camera.
"Say cheese," the teacher instructs.
"Cchhheeesssee," we all chime and the camera clicks, the flash blinding us.
Wayne thanks her before turning back to the group, camera in hand.
"Alright, now just the graduates," he says, waving his hands around.
Eddie and I get in place and wrap our arms around one another. We smile at the camera as Wayne takes the shot. I turn to look up at Eddie and he smiles down at me. His hand moves to rest lovingly on my stomach as his gaze melts me to the spot.
"You're my world," he says simply and my smile grows. He ducks slightly, moving in to kiss me, but the camera flashes again before we make contact. We both pull slightly away to look over at Wayne and my mom. They both look embarrassed at being caught, Wayne still clutching the camera in his hands.
"Sorry couldn't help it." He says, and Eddie and I laugh. Wayne gestures for us to continue, turning to speak to my mom. Eddie wastes no time, swooping down and kissing me breathless for the very last time at Hawkins High.