Eddie Munson - A Collection of One-Shots!

004. I wish that I had Gareth's Girl.

"How long have you known?" He asked me.

It wasn't a hard question. It was fairly easy to answer, actually.

"Months." I said, nonchalant.

"How long have you known?" I inquired.

That was the question I wanted to ask.
The question he didn't want me to ask, and he didn't want to answer.

And his silence, told me everything.

"I know you knew. But you know what's really bugging me? How you didn't tell me." I added.

"I didn't know how." He said.

"You didn't know how. Or didn't want to tell me because he's your friend?"

"No it wasn't like that."

"I thought we were friends. So when it came down to it, you chose to keep his secret. Over telling his wife." I said.

"No, that's not how it was." He said.

"How else was it then?" I asked, all ears.

"I told him to come clean. I told him." He insisted.

"Well good for you, because that worked out really well." I said, sarcastically.

"Why not tell me? You know, the woman he's married to. Just because you guys are in the band and doing well, touring here and there never gave him the right to sleep with another woman." I said.

"We tried." He said.

"You didn't try hard enough! And you didn't tell me. It's obvious where your loyalty lies, Eddie. It's glaringly obvious. What happens in the band, stays in the band huh? You're a high school talent show band, you're not Motley Crue." I snapped.

"It was up to him to be loyal to you, we shouldn't have had to tell him what's right and what's wrong. He's a grown ass man, Elodie! We told him to stop and he didn't." Eddie cried.

"He is, and he was with all of you when he was doing it." I snapped.

"You knew what he was like, even in highschool. He knew I liked you and he went clean under my nose and snagged you." Eddie snapped.

"So this was all just payback for me was it? I didn't pick you so when he has had an affair around you, this was your way of getting back at me?" I asked.

"No of course not!" Eddie cried.

"I came to you that night Eddie. I came to you." I objected.

"You did." He said, not denying it.

"We slept together that night." I reminded him.

"It was the best night of my life." He said.

"You told me I had a choice to make." I said.

"I did." He answered.

"Only you made it for me. Told me I'd have a better life with him. I'd have a better life than you could give me. I tried to trust that, I married him, we bought a house together. And you never told me that he did that to you. He stepped on your toes to get to me, and you let him one up you. You let me trust you, enough to choose him." I said.

"How can it have been the best night of your life, when you slept with me and turned me towards your best friend straight after?" I added.

"I'm not going to get into this with you." Eddie argued.

"Typical Eddie, always cuts and runs when shit gets tough or too grown up." I spat.

"I'm here now aren't I?" He argued, exasperated.

"Only to spare your conscience. You knew he was going behind my back, and none of you told me. You facilitated it instead. Now get the fuck out of my house. I never want to see or talk to any of you again." I said, devastated.

"You don't mean that... El please." Eddie begged.

"Oh I mean it. I'm not only divorcing Gareth, I'm divorcing all of you. We were never friends. It's obvious we weren't." I said.

Eddie approached me then, trying to coax me into an embrace and I backed away from him, shaking my head.

"Don't touch me. Just get out." I said, tired.

"We are friends, we always have been." Eddie said, desperately.

"A friend doesn't sleep with me and then insists that I choose his best friend." I said.

"You chose him." He argued.

"Because you clearly didn't want me." I snapped.

"Would you have picked me, El?" Eddie asked.

"What I would have done doesn't matter now. And it never will, because I never want to see or speak to you again." I said.

"If you could go back, and I didn't say what I did.... Would you have chosen me?" Eddie asked, pressing further.

"I'd have chosen you above everyone. It wouldn't have even been a choice. You made it a choice. And then made that choice for me. I liked both of you. I liked you more but after that night, I figured it was just one last hoo-rah for you to see if you were missing out on anything and then you let me go. If I could go back right now, I'd take back the day I ever met any of you." I said, intending to be spiteful.

I needed him to get my point and fast.

"I told you, it was the best night of my life. Nothing has ever come close to that." Eddie insisted.

"Why tell me I had a choice to make then?" I asked.

"Why ask me to choose?" I continued.

"Because I was a kid and I was stupid to even make you." Eddie admitted.

"It wasn't all you." I said, as he looked at me with an expression of hope.

"I was stupid enough to listen to you. I was a stupid kid too. But I'm not a kid anymore, and I want you to leave." I said.

"You don't want to see me again?" He asked.

"You heard me loud and clear, Munson. I don't want to see you again. Any of you." I said, with a steel, cold resolve.

"I don't want it to be like this, none of us do." Eddie said, with a tone of pleading.

"Your best friend is a dick. He did what he did, and you stood by and watched. Who needs enemies, with friends like you?" I asked, coolly.

He was sad then, really sad. I could tell by his eyes.

My words had cut him, as I'd intended them to.

He needed to see what his part in all of this had done.

I'd thought we were friends, all of us.

But friends don't lie.
Friends don't keep things from you.

Gareth had done enough of that during the ten years we were married.

And here I was now, 28 years old and staring into the eyes of the person I would have chosen.

Who I felt betrayed by the most.

I'd given him my virginity.
And he'd repaid that by giving me a choice I shouldn't have had to make.

But I did, and I chose wrong.
That was on me.

If Eddie Munson had wanted me, why had it boiled down to a choice?

"Elodie....." Eddie whispered, and when I snapped from my thoughts he was in front of me, his hands on my shoulders.

"You know what I gave you.... Back then..." I whispered, my eyes glassy.

"I know. I'd never forget." He whispered back.

"Didn't that tell you anything?" I asked him.

It should have.

"It did." He said.

"Just didn't tell you enough." I said, before backing away from him, clearing my throat.

"Go." I said, and this time he didn't try to argue.

With a saddened expression, and with regretful eyes he turned on his heel and walked out of the house.

The house I too was leaving behind.

I packed the last of my things, as Gareth walked up the driveway and I tossed the keys at his feet.

"Can we not try and work this out?" He asked me, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"I'm good." I said, before climbing into the moving van.

I wound the window down as I reversed out of the drive, with a middle finger in the air.

"Besides, I wouldn't know where the fuck you've been." I called out to him and I drove away as he stared at me in shock.

California, here I come.

************************************
Three years later.

I'd settled into a nice apartment, and with the divorce settlement, I'd started my own business.

I was the proud owner of a Bistro, something I'd always wanted.

It was called The Blue Moon, we were open 24/7 and we also made cakes.

As per my wishes, there had been no contact between myself or any of Gareth's friends, Eddie included.

I was thankful that what I'd said had been heard.

I knew they were still touring, and they'd been in California at some point as there'd been excited talk from customers for around a week. And because we were directly opposite the concert venue, I'd taken the relevant night off, so as not to bump into them.

I didn't know if they'd come in after the show, and I didn't ask any of the staff.

I didn't really care or want to know.

There was a silver lining though, my ex husband was no longer part of Corroded Coffin. Something I suspect came about from guilt, as it was Eddie who had fired him.

If any of them thought that would compensate for effectively concealing his affair, they were wrong.

I was still standing by my views on it.
And boy could I hold a grudge.

I'd given up hope on love; I wasn't looking for it and was secretly hoping it wouldn't find me. I wasn't sure I could handle being with anyone, again.

I had just chosen to throw myself into the bistro and was using work to occupy myself. And it had been working.

Sure, I'd been asked out on dates but I had politely declined up to now.

My heart was very guarded; there was a steel wall around it.

I wished anyone trying to get in, the very best of luck.

***********************************
"I'm glad we got these extra dates, man. I'm loving California." Jeff said to me, as I smiled.

"It's pretty awesome, I'll give you that." I said.

"Weather is better than Hawkins." Grant said, as I snorted with laughter.

"It is anywhere." I argued, jokingly.

"I saw a good looking bistro earlier, across the road from the Plaza. Open 24 hours. Figured we could grab some food and a coffee when we're done." Jeff said, as I froze on the spot.

"We can't go there man." I said.

"Why can't we?" Jeff asked.

"We just can't." I said.

"Is there a problem with that place?" Kyle asked.

"Don't you know who's place that is?" I asked.

"No?" Grant asked, confused.

"It's Elodie's bistro." I said, huffing slightly.

"Right, okay?" Jeff asked, failing to understand.

"So we can't go there. She wouldn't want to see us." I said.

"Forever the knight in shining armour for a girl who was never yours." Grant said, more to himself.

"She said she didn't want to see or speak to us again. I'm just trying to be respectful." I argued.

"It's been three years. She might not even feel that way now." Jeff said.

"Oh she knew how to hold a grudge, so I don't know about that." I said.

"Why don't we just go and if she doesn't want us there, we'll leave?" Kyle suggested.

"Spoken like someone who doesn't know Elodie." I said, but I was smiling.

Kyle was the innocent outsider who wasn't all too aware of our history with her.

"Or we can find somewhere else." I suggested.

"We should at least try. It's been a long time." Jeff said.

"Fine!" I cried, throwing my hands up in defeat.

"But I guarantee you, it'll be our funeral." I added.

"I've heard that the food there's amazing." Jeff said, choosing to ignore me.

And whilst they all got excited over what they were going to eat after the show, I sat playing out in my head the many ways in which this could potentially go.

What they didn't realise is, they were sending me into the lion's den.

She had felt betrayed by me the most, out of us all.

Potentially, more than Gareth.

It had been a long three years for me.
I'd never quite gotten over how we'd left it.

I wasn't sure she had either.

It was good to know that she was doing well though and doing something she'd always wanted to do. Living life for herself and not for her selfish, now ex husband.

I knew what my problem was.
To me, she'd always be the one that got away.

The one I let get away.

*****************************************

I'd been working on a custom cake when I heard the bell above the door clang loudly, and three very familiar voices suddenly bounced off the walls.

"What a night!"

"Our best yet I'd say!"

And then him.

"It was somethin', wasn't it?"

And out of sheer surprise and the coil of sudden nerves twisting in my stomach, I squoze the piping bag in my hands a little too hard and the ice blue buttercream sprayed up the wall in an embarrassingly loud fashion.

"Shit." I spat, mentally berating myself.

The voices fell silent, and I was rooted to the spot, unable to turn around.

"Oh!"

I turned to my staff, Wayne and Taylor who were staring at the wall open mouthed.

"Can you serve them please? I'll clean this." I said, as they quickly recovered and set themselves into action.

I slat the piping bag down and wiped my forehead that was now laced with an uncomfortable sweat, and sighed loudly.

"Could I help?"

God he just had to be here, didn't he.
Three years wasn't quite long enough.

I braved it and turned around to see Eddie standing at the counter.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my hands covered in buttercream.

"We had extra tour dates, last minute. You wash your hands, I'll make a start on the wall." He said, immediately walking behind the counter, before I could stop him.

He had a knack for this.
He worked well with nerves and under pressure.
He was good in awkward situations.

I was the total opposite, typically.

Surprisingly, I didn't argue, and whilst Taylor sat the others down in a booth by the window, Eddie began wiping the wall down as I washed my hands.

"This place is lovely." Eddie said, as I braved a look behind me.

Jeff and Grant were looking at me, at us.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"You get much custom?" He asked.

"On concert nights, absolutely. You missed the rush." I said, keeping my responses as short as possible.

"Could be because we were playing." Eddie said, with a chuckle.

"That'll be it, yeah." I said.

"We can go, once I'm done here, we don't have to stay. I said it probably wasn't a good idea." Eddie said.

My resolve faltered for a moment and I mentally kicked myself the moment I opened my mouth.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him.

"Starved." He said, sighing deeply.

"Then stay, order, eat." I said.

"You're sure?" He asked, hesitant.

"I'm not having you guys going hungry on my conscience." I said, adamantly.

"Thanks El." Eddie said, gratefully.

"Just tell those two goons to stop staring and close their mouths, for me?" I asked, nodding towards Jeff and Grant.

Eddie followed my gaze and shook his head, smiling.

"Absolutely." Eddie said with a laugh.

He wiped the last of the buttercream off the wall, and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"That's the last of it." He said, sounding slightly pleased with himself.

"I got it from here, thanks. You should go and sit down, order something." I said, urging him mentally to vacate my space.

This was far too close for me, and I was struggling.

But also trying to be polite.

It was very hard.

He didn't argue, he walked back around the counter as I continued icing the cake in front of me, and he sat back with the others.

I busied myself the entire time they were there, never moving from behind the counter.

I caught glances from Eddie every now and again, only he stared at me for a little too long and I found myself needing to turn away.

He didn't look any different, not really.
His hair was the same, the shaggy brown mane he'd always been so proud of, and he still had his waistcoat, the one with the badges and the patches.

He was wearing a tight pair of black jeans, and black high top converse. He was wearing a tight, plain white T-shirt that clung to his chest.

I briefly thought of his Hellfire club t-shirt that he used to wear and found myself smiling.

Too old for D&D now, though.

The teenage boy I knew and had had feelings for, was most definitely a man now.

He'd been a man when I'd asked him to leave my life.

And as much as I resisted, one thing was very clear to me.

Three years had been kind to him; small time fame suited him.

He was still as beautiful as ever.

******************************************
The following morning, I was three deep serving coffees when he sauntered in, and I mentally rolled my eyes.

He wasn't making this easy for me.

"Hey, I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for last night." He said loudly from the back of the line.

I didn't answer him, choosing to show him the two coffees in my hand, signalling that I was a little too busy to talk.

"That's okay, I can wait." He called, as I growled with frustration.

Fine Eddie, fucking wait for fucks sake.

And much to my chargrin, and his clear undying charm, he did wait.

And once the rush was over, I headed back to the window, to the murial I had started to paint that morning.

"You paint these?" He asked, crouched down on the sheet on the floor next to me.

"Yeah, I couldn't let this passion die along with everything else." I said.

"You don't write or sing anymore?" Eddie asked, sadly.

"Nah." I answered.

"Thanks for having us last night. I told the guys that you probably wouldn't want us going in, but they'd heard a lot of good things about this place and as I live and breathe, they live by their stomachs." He said.

"I didn't. But I didn't want you all going hungry because of me." I admitted.

"Can we not start over, Elodie?" Eddie asked me suddenly, his tone desperate.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's been three years and we've not talked or seen you. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. I should have told you." He said.

"You should have." I answered.

"I wanted him to see sense and tell you himself." He said, bowing his head slightly.

"Grab that brush there, and help me." I said, trying to break the awkward tension.

"Me?" He asked.

"Yeah you, you were good at art too. Don't pretend you weren't." I said, as he smiled.

"Draw the Hellfire logo." I added as he practically beamed.

Apparently not too old for D&D after all.

"Can I?" He asked, excitedly.

"Call it a start over." I answered.

"You're serious?" He asked.

"It won't happen overnight, but three years is a long time. Gareth was responsible for himself and for staying faithful. And he didn't do that. But I can't keep going on like you cheated on me too." I said, sighing.

It was hard to stay mad at him.

"I would never have cheated on you." He said, more to himself than me.

"Why'd you fire him, anyway?" I asked.

"He stopped turning up to rehearsals, was late to shows, sometimes didn't even turn up to a show. Blamed me for your divorce at one point." Eddie admitted.

"And why would it be your fault?" I asked.

"Because apparently I didn't try hard enough to talk you around." He said.

"Which I wasn't doing by the way. I was trying to change your mind for other selfish reasons, not the divorce. I was trying to get you not to divorce us guys... me, too. Which I think he knew about." Eddie continued.

"It's not going to happen overnight but I'm willing to try." I said.

This was new for me.

Backing out on a grudge wasn't typical, Elodie style.

Maybe it was a sign I was just getting older, and not necessarily wiser.... I didn't know.

"That means alot to me.... It really does, to all of us." He said, as his eyes met mine.

"When do you leave?" I asked him, his eyes searching mine.

"It's possible we're sticking around for a while, we're really popular here and they keep begging for extra days. Too many people, not enough tickets." Eddie said.

"Yeah there might be a reason for that." I said, as he frowned and looked at me.

"Why?" He asked, as I nodded my head towards the small merch table we had for local and signed bands, performing at the Plaza across the street.

"You did that for us? You promoted us?" Eddie asked.

"Have done since you were touring. We do it for a lot of bands, just to help. Plus we get a lot of people in here who come in before a concert, so it always seemed to make sense. The venue gives us some merch to sell too." I said.

"Wow. I mean, thank you for that." He said, seemingly blown away.

"You sound surprised." I noted, as he started to draw the flames on his Hellfire logo.

He dipped his brush into the red paint in front of him and smiled nervously.

"I'd have understood if you'd never promoted us." He said.

"A part of me still always wanted you to do well." I answered.

"Even if we did let you down." He remarked.

"Yeah..... maybe I'm getting soft." I answered, as he chuckled softly.

"You've always been soft, deep down." He said.

"You know that, do you?" I asked.

"There was a time where I knew a lot about you." He answered, as I looked at the logo blossoming on the window for a moment.

"I spent a lot of time with you guys." I said, with a shrug.

"We spent time alone, equally." He added.

"We did." I answered, not looking at him.

"Would you ever come to a show?" He asked, suddenly.

I froze then, and wasn't sure what to say.

"You don't have to, but if you did want to.... We're playing tomorrow night." He said.

I could see it in his eyes; it was obvious he wanted me to come along.

He wanted me there.

I sighed softly, suddenly finding myself wanting to make him happy.

I wasn't sure why, maybe it was the puppy dog eyes he was giving me.

"I'll be there." I said, finally.

And as he continued his infamous D&D mural on the window, I noticed he was beaming from ear to ear.

**************************************

Watching her smile, watching her laugh with her friends was a sight to behold and I found it hard to tear my eyes away from her.

That and her attire, which was enough to send my head into a tailspin.

She never did quite ever realise how attractive she was.

And as she shimmied her petite shoulders to the baseline of Boney M's Daddy Cool, blissfully unaware of my fixated gaze on her, I admired her chosen outfit.

She was wearing an off the shoulder cropped Metallica t-shirt, and high waisted blue Jean shorts, teamed with a pair of black lace up Doc Martens.

She started to dance, singing the words to her equally happy and excited friends and they formed a little dance circle, and I watched her hair as it swayed side to side, hypnotising me, momentarily.

It was longer than ever and it was raven black.
Her lips were pillarbox red, and her eyes were heavy with a smokey black eyeshadow.

She bounced to the song effortlessly, and in between sips of her drink, she was singing to her friends.

"DADDY, DADDY COOL!" She sang loudly, her friends laughing at her enthusiasm.

But she'd garnered the attention of a group of men, and she hadn't realised.

Not until one approached her and I watched him rudely grab her petite buttocks. Immediately incensed, I went to cross the dancefloor but to my surprise, she appeared to have it quite aptly covered.

She turned to him and calmly placed her drink down on the table.

I had just reached him when her hand gripped his crotch roughly and she pinned him to the table, as he yelled out loudly in pain.

"Not nice is it?" She asked, looking him dead in the eyes.

"What right do you think you have to come up to me and grab my ass huh?" She asked, not relenting in the slightest.

"I'm sorry..." he whimpered, grimacing in pain.

"You don't have a right to place a single digit of those dirty little hands on me without my prior consent. You hear me?" She asked him.

"I hear you." He bleated, pathetically.

I clamped a hand on his shoulder roughly then and her eyes met mine from around him.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we quite caught that. Why not say it a little louder?" I asked him, seething.

"I'm sorry!" He cried out.

"Get the fuck away from me." She spat, releasing him.

He hurried back over to his friends, and they quickly finished their drinks before making a swift exit from the venue.

Rather sheepishly, I noticed.

"Jesus El, you don't fuck around." Jeff said, from behind me.

"I don't. Thanks for coming to my rescue though." She said, as Jeff smiled.

"You're still teenage Elodie to me. Still the only girl of the group. I took it as a basic friendship duty to always protect you. Listen...." Jeff started to say.

She raised a manicured hand to stop him and shook her head.

"We aren't wasting energy on that or him tonight." She said, as Jeff respectfully nodded.

"I hear you." He said, with a nod.

"You ready for tonight?"  She asked me, as I relaxed a little.

"Our OG groupie is here, of course we are." I said, with a smile.

A smile she returned, I noticed.

"You've met Taylor, from the bistro. This is Ashleigh, Shannon and Margot." Elodie said, introducing us to her friends.

They all chimed in with a chorus of polite hellos and we returned them.

"This is Corroded Coffin, or two of, should I say." Elodie said.

"Eddie and Jeff." She added as I noticed Margot smiled coyly.

"Ah." She said, clearly knowing something I didn't.

Elodie shot her a brief warning glance and I suppressed a smile.

A conversation had gone on between these two and Elodie was keen on me not hearing, I gathered. Which was okay.

"We're on in 5, we should probably go." Jeff said as I nodded.

"Can we catch up after?" I asked Elodie.

"Of course, I'll be here." She said, smiling.

She had no idea how glad I was, that she was.

****************************************
There was one song that they played throughout the entire night that had struck an internal chord with me.

It was new, one I hadn't heard.

And I watched Eddie, completely mesmerised as he played his guitar effortlessly and sang the words. His voice was smooth like silk, husky and I felt something stir inside of me, something that had been dormant for quite some time.

Flushed, I fanned myself with a beer mat, Margot relishing in it.

"You've got it bad girl." She noted.

"He never needs to know." I added, shooting her a warning glance, to which she returned a coy smirk.

"Which would be a damn shame, because it's most definitely and most obviously reciprocated." She said, with a raised eyebrow.

I ignored her, and my mind wandered to the bridge of the song they'd sang earlier, lost in the meaning.

Eddie had sat on a stool, an electric acoustic guitar nestled on his lap, and he'd strummed a melancholy tune, his eyes closed for the duration as he sang it with pure meaning.

He was projecting, that was for sure.

'And maybe if I, if I'd just told you it all,
I could have held you up, to save you, the fall.
Cowards be, cowards are....
All I did was observe from afar.

And now we're here, you're a face in a crowd,
The night is always deafening, when you're not around....
I needed you to see, there didn't have to be a choice,
I just needed to hear your voice.....

But I needed to hear you choose me.
I wanted to hear you choose me.

And instead I, I let you go, I let you go......'

If a song had ever sounded like me, like him, like us, it was this one.

He'd written that for me. For us.
It was an apology. A declaration.

They finished to a standing ovation from a lot of people, and it wasn't long before they appeared from backstage, giddy and flushed with sweat and exertion.

They got themselves a beer from the bar and returned to our table, my friends gushing over their performance.

Eddie, I noticed, was only keen to hear my review.

He stood close to me, his chest heaving as he attempted to relax.

"That was some song." I noted as he took a swig of his beer.

"Before you say anything, we didn't just put that in the set because you were here. It's been in the set for three years. The only change I made tonight was that I wanted to do an acoustic version of it, purely to try it." He said, as I smiled weakly.

"You wrote that three years ago?" I asked.

"People write songs based on a lot of their own experiences. They don't always write about what they don't know. That song, was one of mine. One I deserved, but one of my biggest regrets. To make peace with it, I wrote it all down." Eddie said.

"There were a lot of lighters in the air at one point, it was really nice." I said, truthfully.

"We all regret it, Elodie. I know you didn't want to talk about it tonight and I'm not trying to get too much into it. I just wanted you to know that we all regret it, and we've never stopped wanting to be your friend." He said.

"I blamed you all, some of that was misplaced, I will admit that. I was projecting hurt on anyone who knew him, and that wasn't necessarily fair. I understand the position he potentially put you in as his friend and mine." I said.

"Are you sure you want to start over?" Eddie asked, as I pondered on it for a while.

"Could we take it one day at a time?" I asked, conscious of the response.

"Whatever it takes, I just want us to be okay." Eddie said, sighing with relief.

"Well we can start by going into town for a few drinks." I said.

"Lead the way." Eddie said, bowing down, outstretching his arms to let me past.

Forever the D&D dungeon master.

And we did indeed go into town.
And painted it Hellfire red.

By the early hours of the morning we were all pleasantly merry, standing by a burger vendor, shovelling cheeseburgers down our necks.

I was standing huddled in Eddie's leather jacket and denim waistcoat, and he was sniggering at me rather loudly as I stood next to him clutching a giant cheeseburger with both hands, closing my eyes at every bite.

I savoured the taste, making a series of "Mmmm...." noises.

"You're fucking hopeless." Eddie said, as I paused mid chew and narrowed my eyes at him in my merry stupor.

"Takes one to know one." I said, feeling very clever.

"I stand corrected." He said, chuckling softly.

"Where's your burger?" I asked, as the vendor handed him a round shaped mound in a yellow wrapper.

"Don't worry, I'm now accounted for. I wanted to make sure you had something first." He said, as he turned to see Jeff, Grant and Kyle laughing and joking with the girls, just a little ways away from us.

"It's nice that they've all been getting along tonight. I've had a lot of fun." He said.

I was in the middle of yet another bite, and another "Mmmm...." And didn't quite hear him.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked as he laughed loudly.

"I've had the best night." He said, more to himself.

"Me too, it's been the most fun I've had in a long time." I said, crash landing from food paradise.

He smiled broadly, taking a bite of his burger and he seemed very satisfied with that answer.

"What?" I asked as he chuckled softly.

"It's just nice to see you smile. And see you having fun." He said, with a shrug.

"I try it every now and again." I said, with a shrug in return.

"You ever get a day off work?" He asked.

"Not really, I own the place." I said, as though that should have been obvious.

"Okay so seeing as you're the big boss, you can have a day off, like anytime." He replied, as though that should have been obvious.

"I'm not that kind of boss." I said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you take tomorrow off?" He asked.

"What for?" I asked.

"I was thinking we could maybe go to the beach, get ice cream or something?" He asked.

"Just us two, or everyone?" I asked, immediately guarded.

"Hey.... You okay?" He asked, a little wide eyed.

"Yeah... fine." I stammered.

"I'm not trying to get anything from you.... I promise you that. If we go alone, it's as friends. If we all go, it's still as friends." He said as I felt like I immediately sobered up.

"I can't..... I'm sorry." I said, as he very graciously accepted my lie.

"That's okay Elodie. One day at a time, right?" He asked, feigning a smile.

It was pained though, I could tell.

"One day at a time." I repeated, swallowing hard.

*************************************
Since when did I feel like I couldn't be alone with the gentle, kind, misunderstood, Eddie Munson?

I woke up the next morning with a hangover, convinced that I'd either suffered a glitch or there had been a glitch in the Matrix.

Since when did I feel that being alone with him was wrong?

I'd never been unsafe, or in any kind of situation with him to even begin to think like that, but I remembered that I shot him down. Shot him straight down with a last minute lie.

I had nothing to do, no one to see or hang out with.

But I'd made out like I'd had plans.

And much to my dismay and disappointment, they had all gone to the beach today; I knew because I'd given Taylor the day off. And so me and Wayne had drawn the short straw, because I was stupid.

Margot, Ashleigh and Shannon had gone too.

Everyone was there except for me.
The one person Eddie had asked.

"Kicking yourself yet?" Wayne asked, walking past me with freshly cleaned mugs on a tray.

"Since around 9:02 this morning, yeah." I said, sighing softly.

"Why can't you let yourself go and let whatever will be, be?" Wayne asked.

"You know my ex husband had an affair, right?" I asked as he stopped dead in his tracks, in shock.

"I'm gonna just put these down for a minute, so I don't drop them. I didn't know Gareth had an affair." Wayne said.

"He did. For a year and a half. They all knew." I said.

"And they never told you?" Wayne asked.

"Nope." I replied, simply.

"Jesus." Wayne said, shaking his head.

"I haven't seen them in three years. Now if I tell you this, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else?" I asked.

"Scouts honour." He replied immediately.

"The night I finally agreed to go out with Gareth.... I went somewhere else first. I went to see Eddie. I chose Eddie.... In the beginning. I lost my virginity to him..... and that same night he convinced me to choose Gareth." I said.

"You're shitting me?" Wayne asked, shocked.

"I wish I was. He said I'd have a better life with Gareth and for a while I had a good life. And then he had an affair with a 22 year old blonde.... One of their groupies. She went on quite a few tours with him. Gareth never invited me along." I continued.

"I just can't wrap my head around why Eddie asked me to choose his best friend over him." I said.

"Hun, have you ever seen a movie called Last Vegas? The bunch of old guys going to Vegas for their friends' wedding? Two are best friends who loved the same girl? One guy finds out his wife of 50 years originally chose his best friend but his best friend felt she'd have a better life with him and told her to choose him? That's Eddie." Wayne said.

"What?" I asked.

"Eddie obviously felt like he couldn't offer you much and maybe thought Gareth could. He chose you, but wanted to see you get better and more than he thought he could give you at the time. That's the most selfless thing anyone could ever do." Wayne said.

"He felt he had nothing to offer. God, that's actually romantic." He continued.

"All I wanted was him." I said, shaking my head.

"Sweetie, I'm as gay as Christmas and even I know that when a man is brought up good, he wants to have everything to offer a girl. To do right by her and her parents." Wayne said, rolling his eyes.

"Eddie didn't feel like he could offer you that life. He thought Gareth could. And even though he had you for one night, it was enough to let you go and see you be potentially happier with his best friend. And you know, there may have been times where that hurt him too." Wayne continued, giving me a pointed look.

"I've been selfish haven't I?" I asked, regretfully.

"Not necessarily. More oblivious. He didn't let you go. He gave you up, for what he thought you deserved. You're a little naive too, because I've seen how that guy looks at you." Wayne said.

"He's always looked at me that way." I said, with a shrug.

"Well yeah, cause it's obvious he's mad about you. Those feelings from high school? For him, they've never gone away, I am telling you that for certain." Wayne said.

"Do you like him, Elodie?" He asked me suddenly as I felt my face grow hot.

"Tell me the truth now, how you feel. I won't tell him or anyone." Wayne said.

"I married the wrong guy. The right guy gave me up, and I married the wrong one. The wrong one broke my heart and the right guy hid my husband's affair from me for 18 months. Probably because he didn't have the heart to tell me or because maybe he thought I wouldn't believe it. But I slept with him when I was 18. And then spent ten years building a life with his best friend. We haven't spoken in three years so there's a lot I don't know about him or his life..." I said, rambling.

"Elodie? You get to know a person. That's how it works." Wayne said, laughing.

"He's a man now, Wayne... different to the teenage Eddie." I argued.

"Oh honey, I'm sure once you were in the moment you'd know exactly what to do with him. I know I would." Wayne said, smirking.

I found myself laughing then, a little embarrassed but Wayne just knew how to calm me down.

"You like him Elodie, it's obvious. What's stopping you?" He asked me.

"The steel cage around my heart and feelings. I don't want to get hurt." I said, sighing.

"Something tells me Eddie would take good care of your heart. I think he'd treasure it in his own." Wayne said.

"Wow. That was fucking deep." I said, in shock.

"Just what I see hun, just what I see. That guy wants you." Wayne said.

"Why don't you head out there to the beach, I can cover here." I suggested as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Smooth, but I know what you're doing." He said.

"Besides, I think he'd prefer it if you went." He added.

I eyed him for a moment and he stared at me incredulously.

"He's not waiting for me to turn up." Wayne added.

And when I didn't move, his hands rested on his hips and he glared at me with motherly eyes.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go home, get your best bikini and get down there, already. I'll cover and I'll close for you." Wayne said, shooing me from behind the counter.

"Alright, alright." I said, but I was smiling.

*************************************
I hadn't seen her arrive, but Jeff did.

I didn't see her walking down the beach, but Jeff did.

"Okay..... who's the absolute Queen walking down the beach in the red bikini and shorts?" He asked, his jaw on the floor.

And just like a runway model, there she was.

I slid the Ray Bans shielding my eyes from the sun, down the bridge of my nose and I was sure that my jaw practically fell off from the shock and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets, as she walked down the beach towards us.

She was wearing a red bikini top and another signature pair of Jean shorts, unbuttoned, with her bikini bottoms just peeking over the hem.

All of her colourful tattoos on show on her arms, with a six pack of beers in her hand.

"Sorry I'm late, I was busy being an ass." She said, quickly glancing at me.

That was Elodies way, sometimes.
Poked fun at herself before anyone else did or could.

I took it as her acknowledgment of giving me the brush off and to be honest, I'd already overlooked it, merely wanting to respect her wishes.

"You, an ass? Never." Margot piped up then which made me chuckle involuntarily.

"Your sarcasm is coming on, princess." Elodie replied, in a sing-song voice, but teamed it with a sharp look.

"Anyway, I decided not to be a killjoy and have a beer with you guys..... if that's okay?" She asked.

"Uhm, do you even need to ask?" Grant asked, grinning broadly.

He ran up the sand and threw his arms around her, causing her to stumble backwards.

I jumped to my feet, not wanting the beers to be the sacrifice of the bear hug and reached for them.

"I think I'll take these." I said, as she loosened her grip on them, to let me take them from her.

"Hey you." He purred in her ear and she laughed loudly.

"Hey." She replied, before he released her.

"Thank god you came." He said, as she frowned slightly.

"Why's that?" She asked as I felt the dread whirl in my stomach.

It was coming.
Grant was about to be a total snitch.

"Eddie can stop sulking now." Grant said with a grin.

There it was.

And rather than let it be seen that it had embarrassed me, I tried to play it cool.

"I can, I was getting tired of pulling my face. Besides, I have someone to go crab fishing with now, like old times." I said, as she smiled.

"I'll have a beer and then we can, that okay?" She asked me.

I opened a can and handed it to her with the biggest smile on my face.

"Absolutely." I answered, with certainty.

****************************************
Four beers in and we were crab fishing as promised, just the two of us and I was trying not to be too guarded.

I kept thinking back to what Wayne had said and observed, and tried to keep it in the forefront of my mind as we stood in the water, waiting patiently for crab.

"What changed your mind?" He asked me, looking out at the sea.

"Some real girl talk from Wayne." I admitted, with a smile.

"That sounds like it was interesting." He replied, laughing softly.

"It was sound advice actually." I said, as he nodded and momentarily gazed down at his feet.

"And what did Wayne have to say then?" Eddie asked as I hesitated.

"Uhm, exactly what I needed to hear I think." I said, braving a glance his way.

To find him staring straight back at me.

"And what was that?" He asked, as my eyes drifted to his bare chest and his shorts.

He looked good.

"Listen Eddie...... I know I thought I knew why you said what you did all those years ago, but I think I was wrong." I said.

"What do you think I meant now?" He asked.

"You didn't think you were good enough for me. You didn't think you could offer me anything." I said, waiting with baited breath for his response.

"I didn't. On both counts." He said, as I let the breath out and it expelled from me, loudly.

"You okay?" He asked, surprised.

"Sorry.... I just wasn't sure what you were going to say." I said.

"The truth." He said, with a casual shrug.

"I genuinely thought he'd be able to offer you more. Instead I sent you to him like a lamb to the slaughter and I'm struggling to forgive myself for it." He continued.

"You need to forgive yourself for it some time, you know." I said.

"I chose you, first. He doesn't know about that night. I never told him." I added.

"You will never truly know how happy I was when you knocked on my door. I couldn't believe it. But after we slept together that night, as much as I wanted that to happen again..... I had nothing to offer." He said.

"I'd have taken whatever you'd have been able to give me. I just wanted you." I said.

"Wanted?" He asked.

"Yes." I said, as he chuckled softly and shook his head.

"I meant, is that past tense for a reason?" He asked.

"You want to know if I still feel that way?" I asked.

"If you'd want to tell me, yeah." He said, as I felt my heart clench with sudden nervousness.

"I never stopped." I admitted, before looking down at my feet, a flush across the bridge of my nose.

His hand settled under my chin and he gently lifted my head up to meet his eyes once again, the gap completely bridged between us.

"You want me?" He asked, his voice low.

"Do you want me?" I asked, searching his eyes.

"Baby girl, I never stopped wanting you." He said, with a gruff sigh.

This is it Elodie, I told myself.
It's now or never.

And I hurriedly reached upwards, standing on my tip toes and caught his lips on my own, kissing him softly on the mouth.

I practically heard the lock on the steel cage surrounding my heart prise open, as he started to kiss me back.

He bundled me up in his arms and deepened the kiss, his hands weaving into my loose, raven hair.

We broke apart, both of us breathless and he smiled at me broadly.

"I've waited thirteen years to be able to do that again." He said, nuzzling his nose against mine.

"Was it worth it?" I asked.

"Absolutely, princess." He said, pecking me softly.

And from the top of the beach, our friends watched us in surprise, happiness; one in particular was very smug.

"You all owe me ten bucks each." Grant said, with a grin.

"What the fuck? I didn't think they would!" Margot cried.

"You don't come to the beach in a bikini like that, looking like that if you're not here to get the guy. I told you. She was here for one thing, and that was to absolutely go for it. That was very much a 'I'm claiming my man' bikini." Grant said, beaming.

His hands outstretched, for his winnings.

"She's a boss." Jeff said, in awe.

"Fuck me, she got her shit together." Shannon said.

"I'm here for it." Kyle said with a grin.

"You know I've only just noticed something." Ashleigh said, as everyone stared at her expectantly.

"Elodie, literally sounds like El and Eddie, like... put together." She said.

"NO WAY." Grant said.

"It DOES!" Jeff cried, triumphantly.

"I like it." Margot said, with a smile.

"Meant to be." Kyle noted, with a shrug.

**************************************
"Okay, so I'm interested. What did you do for the three years we didn't see you?" Eddie asked me later that evening, as we all sat in the local Chinese restaurant.

"Well the divorce took over a year, turns out he really didn't want to give me the house. I didn't want it, so I'm not sure why. So he had to buy me out and he had to give me a settlement, which I decided to buy the bistro with. I've pretty much spent the time we didn't see each other, building it up and getting it where I want it." I said.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Pretty much just toured, went back to Hawkins in between but I want to travel more of the world. I wanna buy a van and travel everywhere, live out of it. You know what I mean?" Eddie asked.

"Like an almost permanent road trip?" I asked.

"Yeah exactly. Hang up the guitar some day, blow all my money on a huge van that I can live out of, and just take my house wherever I want." He said.

"Sounds like it would be liberating." I said.

"It's a plan, it's a dream." He said.

"Just one you've never got around to?" I asked.

"Not yet." He said, with a smile.

"It's a little ways off yet anyway." He added.

It was hard to deny, my heart had sunk a little.
How long was a little ways off?

I couldn't deny it, the plan suited him to a T.
But was it a lone mission?

It was one he definitely deserved, and as I fell quiet at the end of the evening I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Was I going to regret this?
Was I going to regret letting him in?

****************************************
By the end of the night, Elodie had gone uncomfortably quiet, and seemed in her own head.

She looked small, sitting quietly amongst us all, and I had an idea why.

But she had to know that it was in no way happening tomorrow.

The plan I had, was way off yet.
I wanted to explore this with her, first. See where it led to.

Perhaps I hadn't communicated that.
In fact, I thought back and realised I hadn't.

So it was no wonder, really. Miscommunication at its finest again.

"Hey, you wanna go outside, have a smoke?" I asked her over the bustle of the restaurant.

"Sure." She said, smiling weakly.

We stood outside and I lit a cigarette before passing it to her, a teenage past time we used to share and she inhaled deeply, looking ahead of her.

"Listen, about this plan...." I started to say.

"It's me, being an insecure prick as normal. So if you're going to explain or apologise, please don't." She said, frustrated at herself.

"I know how it sounded." I said.

"I'm being selfish. I know I am. I know that's what you've always wanted to do. God, I've known this for years. The infamous Munson road trip." She said.

"It's not happening tomorrow. I wanted to see how we got on first. I want to explore this first." I said, as she turned to me and searched my face with her big brown eyes.

"You do?" She asked.

"Of course I do." I said, chuckling softly.

"I'm so sorry..... I'm just too guarded." She said.

"If you ever feel a certain type of way, just tell me okay? We can talk it out, I promise." I said.

"One day at a time?" She asked, as I smiled broadly.

"One day at a time, baby girl." I answered.

She inhaled deeply on her cigarette and I curled an arm around her, bringing her closer to me.

"It's just a plan, El and plans change. All the time. No one really knows what the future holds and I don't know that I'll ever get to go on a road trip or live out of a van. It's just something I've aspired to do. But sometimes, other aspirations or plans take the place of one's we've had for years. Life changes, we change. But as well as that, im not quite ready to give up my rockstar dream or hang up my guitar just yet either." I said.

"You're not?" She asked, surprised.

"I just got my OG back, of course I'm not." I said, as she chuckled.

She was leaning into me though, softening slowly.

"There might be a week or two where I'm away on a mini tour. But dya think you'd be okay with that?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you go back to Hawkins? Wouldn't you go back home?" She asked.

"I go back for the holidays, usually. And then I stay with Jeff or Grant until the next tour. Both have a room for me, which is cool." I said.

"You don't have a place of your own?" She asked.

"Never really found one I wanted." I said.

"I think there's a reason for that." She said, with a weak smile.

"What?"  I asked her.

"Because you haven't found what you're really looking for." She said.

"I told you, that's way off." I said as she giggled and shook her head.

"It's closer than you realise. You should start looking for a van." She said.

"I'll help you fix it up." She added.

"Where the hell would I keep it?" I asked.

"Around the back of the bistro. You could stay with me, whilst you were in California." She said.

"We're here for another week or two, then we're in LA for a week. I could come back afterwards?" I said.

"That sounds good to me." She answered, with a genuine smile.

I knew exactly what she was doing.
Because I did it thirteen years ago.

She wanted to see me happy.

And she wanted that enough for me that she was preparing herself already, to let me go.

To realise my dream.

Only, it wouldn't be a dream without her.

She was the girl I'd always seen in the passenger seat, on the open road, next to me.

She was the girl I'd always seen, sitting in the back of the van, overlooking the ocean, legs swinging as we ate breakfast.

She was the dream. The van was only a small part of it.

And she had no idea.

***************************************
"What are you doing?" He asked me the following day, as I poured over an auto magazine.

"I'm looking at the selling pages. Why?" I asked, as he leaned over the counter, peering down at the pages.

"Anything good?" He asked me, as I bit my lip.

"So far, there's two. But I don't think they'd be worth the price." I said.

"You know cars?" He asked as I chuckled softly.

"See for yourself." I said, turning the magazine towards him so he could look.

"Should've trusted your judgement." He muttered, as I poured fresh coffee into a mug for him.

"But I did find a mini bus and an ex school bus." I said, as his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Can you imagine if I renovated an old school bus?" He asked.

"You'd have plenty of room." I said, laughing.

"All those time on those shitty buses. It would be almost poetic to live out of one." He said.

"Pretty old school." I said, proud of my joke.

"You're a goof." He said, laughing loudly.

"I want the school bus." He added, grinning manically as he hunched over the counter, leaning casually against it.

"It's about 70 miles ago, do you want to go and look today?" I asked.

"Would you come with me?" He asked, clapping excitedly.

"Of course sweetheart." I said, genuinely.

"Can we go now?" He asked, bouncing up and down.

"Coffee first. You drink that whilst I call the seller. I'll call Wayne to cover too." I instructed as he pouted.

I leaned over the counter then, and cradled his face gently in my hands, planting a soft, tender kiss on his pouting lips.

He groaned with satisfaction and immediately pulled me to him, further across the counter.

His hands rubbed my shoulders softly as his tongue pressed on mine.

I broke from him and he pouted again.

"I need more." He whined.

"Eddie, drink your coffee." I demanded, but I was smiling broadly.

"Yes ma'am." He said, saluting me.

****************************************
On the drive down there, as I navigated the open roads, his hand gently gripped my thigh, and I leaned back in my seat, relishing the sun and his touch.

He was just as relaxed in the passenger seat, both of us donning sunglasses, the breeze blowing through our hair.

I thought about how excited he'd been at the opportunity of buying the school bus and my heart clenched with both happiness and sadness.

I wanted to be around to watch him finally live out his dream, the dream we had often talked about.

When he let me go thirteen years ago, I'd felt nothing but despair and heartbreak, but I knew the reason why he did.

It wasn't selfish, it was completely selfless.
He'd only ever wanted to see me happy and didn't think his lot and worldly possessions would cover that. And he'd let me go.

And as I drove us to the garage, I sighed softly, hearing it blend with the summer breeze, and I told myself one thing.

I could let him go, to be happy. To finally be happy.

He was desperate for happiness, for a dream of his own to finally come true.

I wanted to help him do that. I wanted to watch that dream unfold.

But what he didn't realise was that I had a secret dream of my own.

A single wish.

I wanted to be the girl in the passenger seat, on the open road, next to him.

I wanted to be the girl who sat in the back of the van overlooking the ocean somewhere, legs swinging, as we sat eating breakfast.

The van was only a small part of it for me.
He was the dream.

And he had no idea.

*****************************************
We arrived at the garage and his face was electric.
He looked like a kid at Christmas time, and it was magical to see.

I could see the teenager he used to be in his eyes and in his smile and he could barely contain himself enough to talk to the seller.

"Can he just have a look inside and I'll talk to you about the details? I'm a little scared he'll combust otherwise." I explained as the seller smiled broadly.

He was a man with a kind, ageing face and he chuckled softly.

I estimated he was around 65, give or take and he was quite amused.

"Not a problem at all. Take a look inside son, go nuts." He said, tossing Eddie the keys.

"I used to drive this bus. I was the bus driver for the local school for over 30 years. I loved that job. I loved this bus." He said.

"What happened?" I asked, sending there was a bittersweet story.

"The school closed, moved districts. And so pretty much we were redundant. They didn't need as many drivers. But I was attached to that yellow metal box on wheels that I just couldn't part with it at the time. So I refused to return it, and they never argued with me over it. So from then it was mine, through slight theft but I don't tell everyone that. It's time to belong to someone else though now." He said.

"I'm glad you kept it." I said, with a smile.

"Elodie?" Eddie called, through the driver's window as he sat behind the wheel.

"Yeah?" I called back, as he beeped the horn.

"I LOVE it." He said, beaming at me.

"Are we paying the man?" I asked.

"Yes please!" He said.

"How much Sir?" I asked him, as the man beamed.

"It's down for $1,000 but for how happy that young man clearly is, I could only possibly take half of that." He said, as Eddie skipped over to us gleefully.

"Oh no, we'd want to pay full price." I argued.

"I couldn't let you do that. You can't really put a price on happiness. $500." The man insisted as Eddie's smile bled into his eyes.

"You're sure?" Eddie asked, dumbfounded.

"Absolutely. She'll be in good hands, I have no doubt." The man said.

"I'd let you take her for free, but I think my wife would probably kill me." He added as we chuckled.

Eddie reached into his back pocket for his wallet and drew out five 100 dollar bill notes and handed them over.

"Thank you so much!" He said.

"No, thank you. Whereabouts are you? I'll give her a wash and drop her off on my tow truck." The man offered.

"The Blue Moon Bistro, New Town. On 5th." I said.

"Two days time okay with you?" The man asked.

"Perfect." I said, as Eddie squeaked with delight.

We thanked him in abundance and clambered into my car and I could barely contain Eddie to the point where I had to fasten his seat belt for him.

On the drive back, he was jittery with excitement and happiness, his hand back on my thigh as I stared out at the road in front of me.

I knew I was right not to be selfish about this, today had made Eddie so happy.

And that was all I wanted.

It was all I wanted to see.

"I was thinking you could stay mine tonight, if you wanted?" I asked him, as we pulled into the lot of the Bistro.

"You're sure?" He asked.

"Would you prefer the hotel?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"No, because you wouldn't be there." He said.

"So I'll ask again, goofball. Do you want to stay over tonight?" I asked, laughing.

"I'd love to. If you're sure." He said.

Forever the gentleman.

"I wouldn't have asked, Eddie Bear." I said, smiling sweetly.

"Ok, please don't call me that again." He said, laughing.

"There's just one thing." I said, as he looked at me cautiously.

"I'm going out with Margot tonight, we go line dancing on Thursdays." I said, with a grin.

"Line dancing?" He asked, with great, sarcastic emphasis.

"Yes." I said, flatly.

"And what does this have to do with me?" He asked, as my grin widened.

"Oh...." He said trailing off.

"I want you and the boys to come. It'll be fun. This is me having fun and you said you liked to see that." I said.

He sighed and rubbed his face with reluctance.

"Do I have to line dance?" He asked.

"No. You can just drink beer and watch me." I said, with a wink.

"I'm there." He said, needing no further persuasion.

"Just one question." He added, hurriedly.

I climbed out of the car, practically reading his mine and chuckled softly.

"Yeah, I'll be wearing shorts AND you'd better believe there's cowboy boots too." I said, as his mouth fell open.

"I am DEFINITELY there." He said, punching the air in triumph.

***************************************
True to her word, she was wearing a ridiculously sexy pair of denim shorts, high waisted and I could see her perfectly toned buttocks just peeking out underneath.

She bounded into the kitchen, her tanned, slender long legs displayed for me, wearing a pair of white cowboy boots.

Her hair was loose and curled, and she was wearing a long sleeved, tight fitting black top, cropped to her waist, above the waistline of her shorts, so I could see her toned stomach.

She was a vision.
Her make up was light, more natural tonight but she was wearing lashes and her trademark red lipstick, which I found myself longing to kiss off her.

She stared at me as I stood in her kitchen, in a more conservative tight black T-shirt and black jeans, with a black and white checked shirt, with Jeff's loafers that he'd loaned me.

"Well you look gorgeous." She said, her eyes hungrily drinking me in.

"You look beautiful." I answered, with a smile.

She thanked me with a soft peck on my lips and she wrapped her arms around my waist, her head pressing against my chest. I enveloped her in my arms and we embraced for a short while, the two of us in silence.

She broke from me a while later, and smiled up at me.

"Let's go get drunk and line dance." She said.

"I'll get drunk, you can line dance." I corrected.

"I get drunk whilst line dancing." She said.

"I'll get drunk whilst watching you line dance." I said, the two of us laughing.

"Let's do this." She said, with another soft kiss on my mouth.

I had a feeling I was going to have to seriously restrain myself tonight.

**************************************
The night was in full swing and the two girls hadn't yet left the dancefloor, both dancing the night away, laughing and having a good time.

Grant was mesmerised, and come to think of it, so was I.

She moved so fluidly and in time with the music; it was effortless.

"Are these two professionals?" Jeff asked, unable to believe it as I laughed loudly.

"They come every Thursday apparently." I said, not taking my eyes off her.

And then I heard the opening to Flowers by Miley Cyrus and Elodie upped it a notch.

The group on the dancefloor dispersed and she was dancing with Margot, just Margot, in the centre.

The other dancers had formed a circle and were clapping and cheering along.

We were good, we were gold, kinda dream that can't be sold.
We were right till we weren't, built a home and watched it burn.

I didn't wanna leave you, I didn't wanna lie, started to cry, but then remembered I.....

And that's when they started to do the most complicated looking line dancing I think I'd seen.

I couldn't take my eyes off her feet, or the way her petite, perfect breasts bounced slightly as she danced.

She lost herself in the song, as they turned to face away from each other, dancing completely in unison, perfectly.

I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand.....
I can love me better than...... You can......

And on the final chorus, the other dancers all fluidly moved around them like a perfectly rehearsed flash mob and danced the final part of the song with them.

It was amazing to watch.

I saw her glance at me briefly and she smiled.

"Next one, you're up." She mouthed as I vehemently shook my head.

"No, I'm good here." I mouthed back.

But true to her word, she grabbed me for the next song and pulled me onto the floor, next to her.

Margot took the liberty of grabbing Jeff and Grant, who were roughly as reluctant as me.

"Just copy my feet." Elodie said, as I nodded, surprisingly quite nervous.

The song started and Elodie began to shuffle, clearly familiar with the dance and the particular number that was playing.

It was a slow number but as I watched her feet as instructed, it was a few lines deep before I started to copy her and get it right.

By the chorus I'd got the hang of it enough to then look at her hand and arm movements and copy those too.

Second verse we were all line dancing together quite adequately and I surprisingly found myself enjoying it.

The song was Running up that Hill, which I suspected she knew was coming on and it would be easy enough to try and involve us.

Jeff and Grant were having the time of their lives and I couldn't help but smile then.

Elodie always did have ways of surprising me.
This was but another one of those surprises.

She was including me in her world.
Something I'd wanted for thirteen, long, agonising years.

And I welcomed the inclusion with a full, willing and happy heart.

**************************************
We got home and I opened a bottle of red wine, which we drank in the kitchen, giddy from the events of the evening.

"That's quite a workout, if you want it to be." Eddie said, still breathless.

"It's so good. I really enjoy it." I said, with emphasis.

"You looked good out there. I knew you could dance, and you make it look so easy. But it is harder than it looks." Eddie said.

"Thank you. Margot got me into it, I was never really keen on going. But now, it's something I look forward to every week." I said.

"I had fun, thank you for inviting me." He said.

"Thank you for coming along, and for getting involved." I said, with a small laugh.

"I was adamant I wasn't, but you always seem to convince me." He said.

"Got me wrapped around your little finger." He added, shaking his head.

"Something like that." I said, smiling.

I sipped my wine and he looked all around the kitchen, being innocently nosey.

"I like this place better than your old house." He noted.

"You do?" I asked, as he ran a finger along some of the trinkets in the kitchen.

He stopped at the tray of various sized felt pumpkins and smiled broadly.

"Absolutely I do. It's more you." He said, before glancing at me.

The kitchen had dark green walls, with black, matte cupboards, gold handles and dark oak countertops.

The island we were standing by was also black, with an oak countertop.

The window had black blinds, and there was an array of candles, felt pumpkins, greenery and various prints on the walls of witchy, gothy things I liked.

The floor was tiled, and was a beige colour.

In a nutshell, it looked like autumn in my kitchen, all year round.

"I can just see you everywhere in here." He added, his eyes everywhere.

"And you always did like Fall." He continued.

"Still my favourite time of year. Though I do love the summers here." I said.

"Understandable." He noted, with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I just think you were able to put the touch you wanted on it. It's your space." Eddie said.

"You want to see the rest of the apartment?" I asked.

"I'd love to." He said, beaming.

I took him into the living room, which had dark blue walls, and arched windows. There was a large fireplace in the centre of the room, and my 50 inch TV was fixed to the chimney breast.

My jade green velvet sofa with its dark blue cushions was sat against the opposite wall, and in the middle of the oak laminate floor was a large white faux fur rug.

I watched his eyes drink every single feature in and he slowly turned full circle in the middle of the room, making satisfied sounds.

"And then upstairs?" I said, standing by the staircase.

"Apartments have stairs?" He asked me.

"Some do, dingus." I said, rolling my eyes.

I loved the stairs, they were matte black, with a thin beige runner going down the middle, and the bannister too was black. Black and white dogtooth print wallpaper adorned the walls, and at the top was a floor length mirror with an insanely bright hot pink border. There was a pink neon sign above the mirror that said "Speak Friend and Enter" which Eddie really liked.

"Wow...." He said, his voice hushed as I smiled.

"Still a lord of the rings fan too." I said, as he smiled.

I showed him the bathroom, and the guest room which were both pretty standard, and neutral before taking him into my bedroom.

I opened the door slowly and he gasped, stepping inside eagerly.

"This is SO cool." He said, excitedly.

Sage green walls, a king size bed with a black velvet foot and headboard, that was tucked up against my feature wall, which was just covered from top to bottom, in fake green foliage with a crescent moon shaped bookshelf nestled in the middle of it.

The shelf had all my favourite books on it, including Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, along with a moon lamp and a small candle.

My bedding was cream, and there were several dark green scatter cushions on there, and a cream crocheted throw blanket draped on one end of the bed.

On the other walls, were blown up photos of us all, from when we were teenagers, nestled in thick black frames.

There were three in total, one on each of the remaining walls and Eddie immediately walked up to the one of us both.

He was wearing his infamous Hellfire Club t shirt, and his leather jacket teamed with his denim waistcoat and his hair was the exact same as it was now.

We were standing close together, as we both did devil horns together towards the camera.

I was wearing his Metallica t-shirt, leggings and high tops, my raven hair in a loosely plaited pigtail.

I had a red and black chequered shirt tied around my waist and I laughed softly, remembering the day.

"I remember this." Eddie said.

"It was the night of your big campaign." I said, with a smile.

"How long have these been up here?" He asked, as I sighed softly.

"The day I moved in. I was mad at you all, but they were still memories. They still are." I said, as he smiled weakly.

The next one was of me and him, with his whole D&D club. The blessing of it was, Gareth had taken the picture and so I hadn't had to crop him out of it.

Dustin, Mike, Erica, Jeff were there too.
Eddie was sitting in his throne that he'd stolen from the drama club room, and we were all standing around him, all of us smiling broadly.

"God, this is awesome." He said, unable to believe it.

The last one, was of Spring formal and we'd all gone together.

The whole crew, all in formal wear.

"Gee, I looked real happy to be going didn't I?" Eddie asked, peering at his disgruntled, teenage face on the photo.

"That's why it's so funny." I said, laughing.

"You'll just see there, we were actually holding hands." I added, pointing at our interlocked fingers.

It was obvious we were making a point of hiding it, but there we were.

"Oh yeah!" Eddie said, when he spotted it.

"You weren't even my date." I said, as he laughed softly.

"Who did you actually go with?" He asked, as I smiled broadly.

"Henderson. Poor guy had no date. So I offered to go with him." I said.

"Who did I go with?" He asked.

"Taylor Reed." I said.

"How did that happen?" He asked, screwing his face up.

"Oh I insisted you went. I think you asked her out last minute, just on a whim. And you arrived with her and then spent the rest of the night.... With me." I said.

"I think I remember now." He said.

"Yeah, you and Dustin kept fighting over who danced with me, all night. In the end you both had to take turns." I said, as I started to laugh loudly.

"Oh yeah!" He cried, remembering.

"These are really great, El." He added, with a sincere smile.

"No matter what, memories should be cherished. These are mine." I said, more to myself.

"Do you want another drink?" I asked him, as he shook his head.

"No, I'll be okay thanks." He said.

But he was looking at me with an intense gaze and to avoid openly blushing, I turned slightly and placed my empty wine glass down on my bedside table.

And when I leaned back up, he was pressed against me, his hands running up my arms, as his lips hovered over the skin on my neck.

I stared at the wall in front of me, my breathing speeding up a little as my heart raced. His lips gently brushed against my neck and they sent a welcome shiver down my spine.

His hands gripped my arms and he kissed my neck again, coaxing me to lean into him, which I did.

I closed my eyes, and parted my trembling lips to speak.

"Is there anything you want?" I whispered.

"You." He said, plainly.

He turned me around to face him and he looked down at me, his expression one of lust and desire.

An expression I found myself returning, almost immediately.

"It's only ever been you." He whispered, as my eyes drifted to his mouth and back up to his chocolate brown eyes, that were full of need and longing.

"You still remember what I like?" I asked him.

"How could I forget?" He asked, before hoisting me up into his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist in an automatic response.

He lowered me down onto my bed gently, our lips locked as we kissed each other deeply and we were entwined from there on in.

We removed each other's clothes with a deep sense of urgency, and his lips on my skin very nearly set me on fire.

His hands gripped my hips as he kissed a circle around my navel, tracing a line down to inbetween my legs with his tongue.

"If I remember this right, you liked this a lot." He said, his breath on my skin.

I leaned my head up to look at him, and my hand weaved roughly into his hair.

"Learned a few things though." I said, before pushing him back, flipping him over onto his back on the bed and straddling him across his shoulders.

"Shit, I wasn't expecting that." He said, breathless and surprised, but he accepted the challenge, as he shakily gripped my hips and his tongue pressed against me.

My back immediately arched and a soft moan escaped my lips, my body shuddering with arousal.

"Baby girl..... you taste even better." He said, his voice muffled somewhat by my legs that were already threatening to clamp around his head.

I couldn't even speak, it felt that good.

He didn't expect me to, he let me ride the high he was so expertly giving me, as he ate me within an inch of my life.

I could feel it peaking, and my hips ground against his mouth, the shudders increasing to a full blown series of serious twitches.

"Faster....." I pleaded.

He immediately obeyed, and it tipped me over the edge into sexual oblivion as a series of loud, guttural moans escaped my lips, as my legs clamped around his face.

Was I suffocating him? Probably.

Did I care? Not one fucking bit.

I peeled myself off him and he pulled me to him by one leg, rolling on top of me, holding me whilst I recovered.

He kissed my forehead tenderly, whispering "I've got you.... I've got you baby...." Over and over, as I trembled underneath him.

"You're quite the minx." He noted, playfully as I laughed softly.

"Just confident." I said, airily.

"I like it." He replied, smiling broadly.

I reached down in between our bodies and my hand curled deftly around his shaft, which was already hard and apparently aching for me.

I slowly moved my hand up and down, pumping him softly and as he buried his face into my shoulder, a soft, delicious sounding moan escaped his lips.

"Jesus...." He whispered, overcome.

I was still gentle, but I picked up the pace slightly and his body grew rigid, before his hand gripped my throat gently and his eyes appeared above mine.

"I want to be inside you, I need to feel you again." He pleaded, his voice strained.

I responded by opening my legs and he slotted perfectly in between them, pressed against me.

He was perfectly positioned, and I was ready.

"What about....?" He started to say.

"I trust you, and I'm already covered on that front." I said, hurriedly.

And without another word, I felt him push against me and he immediately met no resistance.

I heard us both gasp loudly, and a shudder went down my spine, as I heard his mingle with my own.

"I could get used to hearing that...." I whispered.

Eddie leaned down over me, resting a hand either side of my head as he secured himself on his arms and I ran my hands up his bare back, relishing the feel of his skin.

He began to gently thrust against me, and I gripped the bedcovers, falling head first into pure ecstasy.

And when he'd found his confidence and the assurance in me from the moans falling out of my mouth like silk, he picked up the pace in a fluid motion, a light sweat encasing us both as we were pressed up against each other.

I bucked my hips upwards, pushing mine into his and he held me against him for a moment before leaning upright so he could press down on my legs, and lower them further down onto the bed, to spread me further open underneath him.

He held my legs in place, as he pounded into me roughly, and I cried out.

"I'm close...." He whispered as he did it again, staring into my eyes.

"Are you asking me for permission?" I asked him, breathless.

"I don't think I can be nice about it....." He said, thrusting hard against me a third time.

"Then don't be...." I whispered, and he needed no further response from me.

He pounded me until I practically fell apart underneath him, completely undone in yet another toe curling, hard orgasm.

He followed a mere few seconds later and collapsed against me, breathing heavily.

"You felt so good.... I couldn't hold it any longer." He whispered.

He rolled onto his side, taking me with him and we lay facing each other, entwined together.

He was still inside me, as he gently caressed my cheek, and I closed my eyes at his touch.

"Do you remember the first time?" He whispered as I nodded, turning my head to kiss the inside of his hand that was stroking my cheek.

"I do.... Do you?" I asked.

"Yeah.... Like I said, it was the best night of my life." He said.

"I was so nervous and awkward." I said, smiling.

"You were, but it was your first time." He reasoned as I bit my lip.

"I know, I just knew I wanted it to be with you." I said.

"I'm glad it was." He whispered.

"Tonight has been wonderful, Elodie. This entire day with you has been wonderful." He added.

"I don't want it to end." I admitted.

"That's the beauty of it though. There will be another wonderful day tomorrow." He said, with a breathtaking smile.

***************************************
Two weeks later.

Eddie and the boys had toured LA, and I was meeting them in Hawkins, as they were going to see their families. Eddie had insisted I come along to see Wayne, and I was perhaps looking forward to that more, than seeing my own parents.

I was really excited to see everyone.
And on the plane journey, I was nervous and apprehensive as I stared out of the window at the clouds.

His bus has been dropped off, and he'd started to work on renovating it before travelling to LA. From the sounds of it they had an absolute blast which was nice to hear.

I couldn't deny that I'd missed him; I'd missed him terribly.

He had a knack of leaving a mark on your life in a short space of time. He'd done that to me, again. The mark had just gotten bigger. In the most positive, perfect way too.

As I walked through the arrival gate, there were three familiar faces waiting for me.

Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson and Eddie.

"I didn't think you were meeting me here!" I cried, happily.

"SURPRISE!!" They shouted in unison, running towards me.

Eddie beat them by a mile, and threw his arms around me excitedly.

"He always gets there first, man." Dustin said.

"I'll never get used to you being a grown up." I said, over Eddie's shoulder, smiling at Dustin.

"Harrington." I said, before pulling them both into a three way hug.

"The whole gangs waiting to see you, everyone is pretty excited." Dustin said.

"Better go then!" I said, gleefully as Eddie pecked me softly on the lips.

"I'll get your bags." He said, leaning down beside me to pick them up.

"You're gorgeous. Thank you." I said, taking the opportunity to kiss his lips when he stood back upright.

"I always thought this would happen a lot sooner than it has." Steve noted.

"Didn't we all?" Dustin replied, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry Dustin, I didn't realise you had the idea first." Steve said, rolling his eyes.

"If I remember correctly, I actually did." Dustin noted.

"How many times do I have to say that humility every now and again literally will not kill you?" Steve asked him as we walked out of the airport and to Steve's car.

"Clearly not enough." Dustin shot back with a grin.

"Some things really don't change." I said, shaking my head as Eddie's arm snaked across my shoulder.

"They dont, but some things really have changed for me." He said, nuzzling his nose against my cheek.

"Oh yeah, what like?" I asked, playfully.

"I apparently line dance now, and I have the best girl in Hawkins on my arm." He said.

"I don't live in Hawkins." I noted.

"Born and bred here though, city girl." He said, with a smile.

"That's a fair point." I said, as we reached the car.

Steve and Dustin were still debating as we climbed inside and drove to Enzos where we were all meeting together for dinner.

"Did you want to freshen up?" Steve asked.

"I'd like to if possible?" I asked, looking at my attire.

Which was a beige plaid duster coat, white trainers and a sage green joggers set. Comfortable, for the purpose of the plane journey.

My hair was in a neat low bun at the nape of my neck.

"I think you look perfectly casual babe." Eddie said, smiling with approval.

"Yeah that was my point. Perhaps a little too casual." I said, chuckling.

I reached for his hand though and clasped it tightly in my own.

"But thank you." I added, as he grinned.

"We can stop by mine and you can change." Steve offered as I nodded.

"That would be great, thank you." I replied.

******************************************
I settled at the table in Enzo's around an hour later, the hugs and pleasantries out of the way, and I adjusted the black turtle neck jumper dress I was wearing. I kept my hair in the tight and neat low bun, and had touched up on my makeup.

I'd just added lashes and a little red lipstick, nothing too fancy.

I'd slipped my cherry red doc martens on and teamed the dress with Eddie's black leather jacket.

It was a little big for me, but the oversized look worked and I was okay with that.

I was sitting next to Eddie, who was sitting back in his chair completely at ease, his arm across the back of mine, his hand gently stroking circles onto my shoulder.

"I need to know everything, what have you been doing for the last three years?" Robin asked excitedly.

"I opened my own bistro, on 5th in New Town. I've just pretty much spent the time getting it to where I want it. And now, there's a pretty big yellow bus parked in the parking lot." I said, as Eddie grinned.

"You didn't?" Dustin asked.

"Oh he did. He's started to renovate it." I said.

"For the Munson Road Trip?" Steve asked, as Nancy squeaked with excitement.

"Yeah, the dream is finally alive." Eddie said.

"What he doesn't know is that I carried on with some of the work whilst he was gone." I said, as he stared at me in shock.

"You did?" He asked.

"Yeah, I want to help." I said.

"Thank you...." He said, unable to believe it.

"This is so nice you guys.... All of us here together." Jonathan said, as Dustin parted his lips to speak.

And that's when an outside voice spoke over him.
I saw him before anyone else did and my smile faded from my face in a quick fashion.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked.

"It is isn't it? Real nice."

I felt my jaw clench and my teeth crudely grind together with the discomfort his presence now always brought with it.

Gareth.

"I mean don't stop on my account, what were you going to say Dustin?" Gareth asked, as Eddie tensed beside me.

"Don't do that." I said.

"Don't do what, ex wife?" He asked me sarcastically.

"The sarcasm, throwing shade as if we're doing anything wrong. Because we aren't." I said.

"Did my invite get lost?" He asked, his stare fixed on me.

The jealousy was glaringly obvious.

"There was no invite, man." Eddie said, very tense.

"The snake finally hisses." Gareth said.

"Hey man, that's not nice." Jonathan said, shaking his head.

And as he was about to respond, the pretty little blonde he cheated on me with appeared at his side and smiled sweetly at me.

"Oh this is lovely, I've always wanted to meet Gareth's old school friends." She said, as my eyes averted to the table.

Jeff tried to be the mediator and introduce us all and when it was my turn to be announced, I surmised that she didn't know who I was.

"It's nice to meet you." She said.

"Yeah, real nice." I said, forcing a smile.

I gripped the napkin on the table until my knuckles went wide and Eddie side eyed me, watching my body language intensely.

"You were all friends with Gareth at school then?" She asked, and I couldn't help myself then.

"Yeah, and then I married him." I said, as the entire table fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, a slight blush across the bridge of his nose.

"I'm the ex wife." I continued.

"You know, the one he cheated on when he was with you." I added.

"You just had to, didn't you?" Gareth asked me.

"Do what, ex husband? Tell the truth? She has no idea who I am. No clue!" I said, raising my voice slightly.

"Don't think I don't see you, Elodie. Sitting there with his arm around you. Is my side of the bed even cold yet?" Gareth asked.

"It always was, you were always in hers." I retorted.

"Also it has been three years." Mike said, smiling weekly.

"Thank you." I said, with emphasis.

"You go behind my back and start seeing my ex wife, dude? What's that about?" Gareth asked Eddie.

"You know, I kept real quiet about the things you actually did. Sacrificed my friendship with her, to try not to sell you out because I trusted that you'd do the right thing." Eddie warned him.

"I'm sorry.... I don't understand this." She said.

"You need clarification? He was married." I said, sarcastically.

She looked very confused and it all just became very interesting to me.

"This is the part where you tell me you didn't know, isn't it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She didn't answer.

"Wonders truly never cease with you." I said to Gareth.

"Dude...." Eddie said, shaking his head with disappointment.

"Don't act like you didn't revel in it when we divorced." Gareth said, unashamed.

"No, I didn't revel in it. I tried to support you both. I tried to support you, even though you were completely in the wrong." Eddie snapped.

"And you know what else I did? She chose me first dude. She chose me, and I told her to choose you. She liked us both. I was convinced she'd have a better life with you, more than I could offer. I let her go, for you." Eddie continued, angry.

A minor detail I never wanted voicing.

I knew he'd said it in anger, but it implicated me too.

"Is this true?" Gareth asked me, horrified.

And rather than lie, understanding that I did do what I did, I chose to be transparent instead.

"Yes it is. It's true. I couldn't decide, at the time I liked you both. But he's right, I went to him first. I did choose him, initially." I said, calmly.

"And then he said to choose me and you then chose me? Our entire marriage was a lie then?" Gareth asked.

"Don't do that. Don't stand there all righteous. I liked you both, I wasn't with either of you at that time. I just knew I had a choice to make. I did choose him first. Ultimately though I chose you and for eight and a half of those years you never made me regret it. I was happy, being your wife. I loved you. And then you had an affair for the last 1.5 years and made a mockery of that choice, of our marriage, of what we'd built. You chose someone else." I said.

"Is that all that happened when you went to see him?" He asked.

I noticed we both looked at the table then, and I wasn't letting him make me feel guilty for anything else.

"No, that's not all that happened." I said, with indifference.

"But here's the funny thing, I owe you zero explanation of what I did before we got together. I owe you nothing." I added.

"What happened?" He pressed, unrelenting.

I looked at Eddie then, who shrugged.

"It's like you just said, you don't owe him anything." Jeff said.

"You really don't." Dustin added.

"You weren't together, so he doesn't need to know anything about you before that." Nancy said.

"I'm saying nothing more about it." I said.

"You were supposed to be my best friend." Gareth said to Eddie.

"You were my best friend. You gave us no choice. You stopped turning up, you became unreliable, didn't care about the band or us. So we let you go. It wasn't easy, but we did." Eddie said.

"You might not be saying it, but it's written clearly all over your faces. I married his sloppy seconds. And I made a mockery of it all?" Gareth asked me, as Eddie rose abruptly to his feet.

"Don't talk about her like that, man." He snarled.

"It's just the facts." Gareth said, as I watched Erica roll her eyes as she sat next to Lucas, her brother.

"No, you had an affair, ruined your marriage and your wife's life, let her leave the house to start over elsewhere and you're still with the trash you cheated on her with." Erica said.

"Erica!" Lucas hissed, as she stated at him incredulously.

"Excuse me?" The blonde said.

"What? Them's the facts!" She said.

"No she's right. I wasn't his sloppy seconds. He's the person I should have chosen in the beginning. I shouldn't have listened to him really, but I did and I can't go back. But if I had the chance to, I'd do things a whole lot differently." I said.

"Are you done?" Steve asked Gareth, with a frown.

"Yeah I'm real tired of talking to you, and always hearing how hard done by you apparently are. You had an affair, you refused to let her have the house when she deserved it, you fought with her over the settlement that again she deserved, and you quit on us. You've never cared about anyone." Eddie said.

"I cared about you." Gareth argued.

"Yeah? So when I had the guts to confide in you just how much I liked Elodie, you didn't suddenly go under my nose or behind my back and snag her from underneath me?" Eddie asked, incensed.

And that's when I realised this had stopped being about me.

It was about them. It was about some unsolved rivalry that I was apparently now a victim of.

"You weren't gonna act on it." Gareth argued.

"That shouldn't have given you cause to though!" Eddie cried.

"Why? She wasn't seeing anyone! She wasn't seeing you, you didn't have the balls to tell her!" Gareth cried.

"What so this was your way of saying you snooze you lose?" Eddie asked, enraged.

The attention we had garnered was phenomenal.
The staff didn't even know what to do.

"And yet she came to you and picked you, and you still didn't do anything about it. You sent her my way. I only did what you couldn't." Gareth declared, arrogantly.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled, on my feet and very angry.

Angry and hurt.
Devastated.

"I am NOT a piece of meat. I'm NOT an object. This isn't about me! This is about you two, with the same bullshit rivalry you've always had. You talk about me like I had no mind of my own and I was with you because of what you did. This was NEVER about me. It was about either of you winning a prize and doing whatever you could to fuck each other over to get it." I shouted, the rage and disappointment vibrating through me.

"And you. You only get bragging rights because you married me. But that's where it stops. You cheated on me for almost two years." I said to Gareth.

And then I turned to Eddie, who had disappointed me the most.

"And you...." I said, trailing off.

I hesitated for a moment, watching the realisation flash across his face and he went to speak.

"I'm not done." I warned.

"You.... You were the guy who just wanted me to be happy right? But all this time you were just pissed off with him because he got me in the end. I'll just remind you, before I leave, that you told me to choose him. You told me I'd have a better life with him. You did lose out, but that was your choice." I said.

"Don't leave El." Dustin begged.

"Elodie..." Eddie started to say.

"You get so wrapped up in him, he brings out this nasty, horrible competitive streak in you and it's not nice. He's around you for five minutes and you've already made yourself look like an arrogant, prize prick. Did you not hear yourself? Did you not hear how you just spoke about me?" I asked, feeling betrayed.

"It was always just about the race to get me at the finish line." I added, slatting my napkin down on the table.

"Well, congratulations it's a tie! You both won. And both lost." I said, I reached for my belongings.

"I'll come with you." Nancy whispered, as I nodded hurriedly, trying to keep myself composed.

"Lost?" Eddie asked, looking pained.

"You had me. Like you'd always wanted, like I'd always wanted. And then you stood there measuring your dick with my ex husband like it was an Olympic sport. You had me, Eddie. And that should have been enough. God you two deserve each other." I said, letting Nancy gently coax me towards the doors.

Eddie just stared at me helplessly, watching me leave.

***************************************
I stayed at Nancy's house that night, finding it impossible to stay with Wayne and Eddie as had been planned.

He'd knocked on a few times and Jonathan had politely advised him that I just didn't want to talk.

And then Wayne turned up, and was practically bereft.

"My boy is a fool." He'd said, wringing his hat in his hands.

"Would she talk to me? He'd asked, as I'd appeared at the door.

And now here we were, sitting in Nancys and Jonathan's living room, perched waiting for Wayne to pitch his shot, for his nephew.

"I ain't here to defend him, he's told me what happened. Truth be known, I was really looking forward to having you stay." He said.

"What did he tell you?" I asked.

"I promise you, the same version as yours. He told me the truth. He's good at communicating, for other people. But for himself he's never ever got it quite right." Wayne said.

"Why was it such a competition?" I asked, rubbing my face with frustration.

"It wasn't a competition. He was trying to defend you, and I don't think he delivered that very well." Wayne said.

"You don't say." I said, sarcastically.

"I know what he did all those years ago. He did quite the honourable thing but what he never told you was just how much it hurt him. He thought he was doing right by you." Wayne said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He didn't do it lightly. He's been in love with you since you were thirteen." Wayne said.

"It might have looked easy to you. But he spent ten long years watching you be happy with someone who wasn't him. He tried to tell himself that it was enough for him, to see you were happy because that's all he's ever wanted. But really, he wasn't okay. He was always looking at what he gave up.... What he wanted and could have had. His happy ending was happening for someone else." Wayne said.

"Boys and their egos." Nancy interjected, with a bored scoff.

"He loved me?" I asked.

"That boy was head over heels for you." Wayne said.

"Was?" I questioned.

"Jesus Elodie, he still is." Wayne said, impatiently.

"He just got too angry and said a few things in the heat of the moment. He doesn't see you as an object, he doesn't see you as a piece of meat. You're the brightest star in that boys universe." Wayne said.

"I thought you weren't defending him?" I asked, with the smallest hint of a smile.

"Well damn I can't help it. He's my boy. And he's not a bad person." Wayne said.

"I guess I'll talk to him." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Will you? Thank god." Wayne said, sighing with relief.

"I will." I said.

"Good because he's in the car outside." Wayne added.

"I'll go get him." Jonathan offered.

"Thanks." I said, smiling weakly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nancy asked, squeezing my shoulder softly.

"I'll be fine." I said.

*****************************************

Eddie stood awkwardly by as we overlooked lovers lake, the spot we'd been to countless times, either alone together or with friends.

I was staring out at the water, which was calm and still, reflecting the light of the moon above us.

"I pictured tonight going very differently." He admitted suddenly.

"Yeah, some reunion." I said.

"I didn't mean any of it how it sounded." He said.

"Why did you always feel second best to him?" I asked.

"It wasn't just him. I felt second best to everyone. Never quite as good enough as the next person." He said.

"Pretty self deprecating, don't you think?" I asked.

"Maybe. But that's how I felt." He said.

"No one treated you that way though did they?" I asked.

"No, that's why it's called self deprecation." He said.

I eyed him carefully then and I saw the regret flash across his face.

I chose to ignore his tone and sighed softly.

"You were always enough for me, in my eyes. No one came remotely close to you. That's why I chose you first." I said, averting my gaze to my feet.

"I might be the brightest star in your universe Eddie, but you were always my universe, not just a star." I said.

"I'm gonna murder my Uncle." He said, sighing.

It was acutely obvious that he hadn't wanted me to necessarily know that nor did he want Wayne to volunteer that admission.

"You didn't want me to know that?" I asked.

"Well yeah obviously, I know it sounds corny but you are that to me. I guess I just would have wanted to tell you that myself." He said.

"You were everything to me. I should have made the decision I wanted to. But everything you said turned me away from you." I said.

"It was meant to." He noted, sadly.

"Why?" I asked.

"Loving you wasn't enough. Loving you wouldn't buy us a home, loving you wouldn't provide for you, loving you wouldn't put our kids through college, loving you wouldn't give you the life you wanted or deserved. It wasn't enough." He said, adamantly.

"I wanted to give all of that to you. But I couldn't give you everything. All I had was how I felt about you, I had nothing else to show or offer. I'm a man, I should have had those things, to give you, along with loving you. My hands and pockets were empty Elodie, and I just couldn't do it." He said.

"Do you know why I never had kids with him?" I asked.

"No?" He said, shaking his head.

"Because I knew he was never meant to be the father of any child I might have." I said.

"If not him, then who?" He asked.

"You." I answered, with emphasis.

"I don't need your money, I have my own. I don't need stability from you, I have that. I don't need providing for, I'm all about equality and I've provided for myself for years. I don't need to be kept. I just ask to be cared for, supported and loved. That's it. That's always been it." I said.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

"I'm saying that what you believe you couldn't offer me before, isn't actually required anymore. It never was. All I wanted was what you could give me. Love. God, all I ever wanted was to be loved by you." I said.

He turned to me then and his eyes were glassy with tears.

I'd never seen him cry. He'd always been so carefree and laidback.

"I did love you." He said.

"I know. I loved you too." I answered.

"I loved you enough to let you go. And it was the worst mistake. It's the worst mistake I think I've ever made in my life." He said.

"You can learn from mistakes, that's the beauty of them." I said.

"What I said tonight, was awful. I'm so sorry, El. I didn't realise it but my friendship with Gareth was toxic. It was always about beating the other, all the time. It happened so much, it was normal to me. But that isn't what friendship is about." He said.

He sniffed back tears, and let out a shaky, deep breath.

"You got caught in the crossfire and that wasn't fair." He added.

"It wasn't. But I indirectly pitted you against each other and that was my fault." I said.

"Don't say that. You were innocent in all of this. You liked us both and you made a choice. A choice I changed." He said.

"I went along with it." I reasoned.

"You were eighteen. You were young. You liked him enough too, to finally choose him. And you loved him at one time." He said.

"I did. But it wasn't always rosy. He never wanted to involve me in the band and the tours like you did. I never got invited by him, always by you." I said.

"Because I always wanted you with us." He said.

"I know, and my husband didn't." I noted.

"I'd thought about leaving him before I found out about the affair." I admitted.

"You weren't happy?" Eddie asked.

"I was, but then it started to feel as though I was settling for what I'd got." I said.

"You were never far from my mind. And that was the problem. Then I found the texts, saw the calls on his phone records, he was distant with me, didn't want to be home or around me. He tried not to be obvious, but it was." I continued.

"In a way, I'm glad the affair came first. Before I could say I was done. I didn't even know how to start that conversation. Starting the conversation about his affair funnily enough was easier." I added.

"Did he know?" Eddie asked.

"Whether he'll ever admit it or not, I think he knew. I think he knew deep down that whilst he'd won the race, he'd never quite won the prize." I said.

"Which perhaps wasn't fair on him either." I added.

"But he did what he did." I continued, with a shrug.

"He hurt you.... That was hard to see." Eddie said.

"That's when I understood I wasn't enough for him. But maybe that was because I was never his to begin with. I mean, it could have ended on much better terms but he thought with the brain in his pants and it ended the way it did." I said.

"Nothing will ever excuse the affair, the lies and the heartache it caused. If it had ended differently, you could have still had some kind of relationship, even if it was just as friends." Eddie said.

"He saw to it, though that it would never happen." I said.

"I did try. I did try to stop it. God we had some arguments over it, he'd ask me why I cared so much, he'd ask why I was so heated about it....I begged him to end it and come clean. Or make the decision to end it. But he just seemed to like the best of both worlds. I think he was holding onto you, because he knew how I felt about you." Eddie said.

"He never wanted me to be with you." He added.

"But the thing is.... El, I love you. I never stopped." He admitted suddenly.

It hung in the air between us for a moment, before I slowly approached him and my eyes locked with his.

"I love you." I said.

"I never stopped either." I added.

"I'm so sorry...." He whispered, his voice full of remorse.

In unison, we bridged the gap between us and enveloped each other in a desperate embrace.

I whimpered as he held me, the tears finally falling.

"All I ever wanted was you. I never should have let you go." He said, crying.

"I shouldn't have let you let me go." I said, as we clung to each other.

"Let me prove to you that I love you and I want you." He begged.

I held him tighter then and buried my face into his chest.

"You don't need to. Just be with me, and don't push me away this time." I pleaded.

"I love you." He whimpered.

"I love you Eddie." I bleated.

"I want to be with you. It's all I've ever wanted." He said, kissing the top of my head feverishly.

"You were always the girl in the passenger seat, next to me on the open road. You were always the girl I'd be sitting with, eating breakfast out of the back of the van, overlooking the sea. The Munson road trip always had a place for you." He said.

"When you talked about it, I always wanted to be the girl in the passenger seat, on the open road, next to you. Reading the map wrong, getting us lost..... I always wanted to be the girl you ate breakfast with, overlooking the sea. The girl who woke you up each morning with fresh coffee from a nearby coffee shop. The girl who went to bed with you every night, curled up next to you. I always wanted to be that girl." I said, as his mouth brushed over mine.

"You are that girl. Come with me. Come on the road with me." He whispered, imploringly.

"There is no road trip, without you." He continued.

"Tell me you'll come with me. We'll settle what we need to and we'll just go. Together." He begged.

"I'll come with you." I whispered, hearing him sigh.

He pressed his lips on mine then, and kissed me deeply, bundling me up roughly into his arms, holding me to him with desperation and relief.

And when we broke apart, he looked into my eyes, the two of us breathless and he smiled.

"This is the only dream I've ever had." He said.

"I was always going with you." I replied.

****************************************
Six months later.

"You were right, I did miss a turning."

I sat up in bed, the bunk above the driver and passenger seat, stared down at the sheepish face and raised an eyebrow.

He was standing in the open doors of the bus, the map in his hands as he swallowed awkwardly and grimaced.

"And to think, you said I'd gotten us lost." I said, as he grimaced again.

"Sorry...." He whispered.

"I mean there's worse places we could have pitched for the night." I said, looking out of the window at the beach and the ocean.

"How did you sleep?" He asked me, climbing into the bus.

I watched as he shut the doors behind him and started to close the blinds on the window.

He came to a standstill by the ladder, and I smiled down at him.

"Like a baby. It's the sea air I think." I said.

"What's on the agenda today?" He asked.

"More open road I think." I said, with a smile.

"Go into the next state, stay for a few days?" He asked.

"Sounds good." I mused, as he climbed up the ladder and flopped down onto the bed next to me, dramatically.

"Why are the doors shut and the blinds closed? It's the middle of the day?" I asked him.

"Because princess.... I didn't think you'd want an audience." He purred, enveloping me into his arms.

"An audience to what exactly?" I asked, playing dumb.

"For when I take my clothes off and have the most amazing sex with you, that's why." He said, with a grin.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Really. Now get those pants off and come sit on my face." He ordered, grinning broadly.

I tossed a pillow at him which he caught effortlessly and leaned up on his elbows.

"Don't make me tell you twice." He said, with a raised eyebrow.

But I was already removing my panties.

"You don't need to." I said, straddling his shoulders.

"I fucking adore you, Elodie Grange." He said, beaming.

"And I adore you, Edward Munson." I replied.