~x~
Walking down the hallway, Eddie's face broke into a smile when he spotted Liza and Robin standing at the former's locker. He picked up his pace as he approached them, eager to spend some time with the blonde and try and get Robin comfortable around him as she still acted like she was committing a crime just by standing near him. Whatever the girls were talking about seemed to stop when Robin's eyes widened and Liza turned to see the cause.
"And what are you two gossiping about?" Eddie asked as he stopped beside Liza. The girls shared a look that held a silent conversation. "C'mon! I wanna be a part of girl talk!"
"We were uh. . . Talking. . . About. . ." Robin fumbled through her words.
"Math! We were talking about math." Liza covered, looking at Eddie with a nervous smile. "I am the worst at it and I was asking Robin if she could tutor me."
"I'm pretty good at math, I could do it." Eddie offered, looking between the girls before grabbing Liza's hand. He dramatically bowed and kissed her knuckles before peering up at her and speaking in his horrible attempt at a British accent. "Would you do me the honour of allowing me to tutor you in arithmetics?"
"Sure, Rockstar. I'd be delighted." Liza snorted, pulling her hand out of his to give a curtsy.
"What did I just witness?" Robin asked in confusion as the bell rang.
Liza shrugged then shot down the hall, leaving Eddie and Robin alone. She was thankful that her cover story worked out in her favour, she didn't want to tell Eddie what she and Robin were actually talking about.
"Wanna tell me what you guys were actually talking about?" Eddie turned to look at Robin with raised brows.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Robin stuttered out, avoiding Eddie's eyes as best as she could.
"Cut the shit, Buckley. You're a horrible liar." Eddie rolled his eyes. He watched as Robin tried to find a defence for herself but fell short. She looked down to the ground again with a heavy sigh. "C'mon, what could you two possibly be talking about that is that secret."
"Steve."
"As in. . . Harrington?" Eddie's eyes widened. Robin nodded and he felt a prickle of jealousy in his chest. "What about the douchebag? No offence."
"None taken." Robin waved him off. "Well, some taken. Anyways, I was trying to get her to open up."
"You mean you two haven't had a heart to heart about it yet?" Eddie's brows furrowed in confusion.
"No, we have. . . It's just that she refuses to say anything that would be seen as bad. It's like she's worried that anything she says will turn us against him." Robin explained, leaning against the locker. "Everyone of her friends has some sort of relationship to Steve and so she keeps giving us this bullshit abou- Oh my god!"
"Oh my god?"
"Have you and Liza talked about the breakup?" Robin asked, her eyes lighting up as Eddie could see a plan forming in her mind.
"No, I tend to stay away from Harrington related topics." Eddie stated, spitting out Steves name like it was poison while wrinkling his nose.
Steve was a taboo subject between Eddie and Liza, neither ever brought him up. Eddie wasn't sure why Liza never did but his reasoning was that he didn't want to upset the girl by bringing up the boy who clearly broke her heart. It also was because he didn't have any kind thoughts or things to say about the boy. As far as he was concerned Steve Harrington had become public enemy number one, taking the spot that was once reserved for Jason Carver.
"Perfect! That means she hasn't tried to feed you her 'I have to deal with his decision' shit yet!" Robin beamed. She hoped Liza would forgive her for her next words. "You need to get her to talk about it."
"Why me?" Eddie asked, his eyebrows raised past his bangs.
"Because you don't have any kind of friendship with Steve! She won't feel like she has to censor herself with you!" Robin smiled, her hands balled up in excited shaking fists by her face. "This is perfect! You have to do this for me!"
"And what do I get if I do this?" Eddie shot back, crossing his arms. If he was going to be putting his friendship with Liza at risk then he might as well find out what the reward for succeeding would be.
"I'll actually hang out with you and Liza." Robin offered quickly.
"Fine, but if Liza gets mad at me, you are the one fixing it."
~x~
Eddie had no clue how he was going to get Liza to talk to him about the breakup. Slipping it into a conversation seemed like a bad idea, she could and probably would cut that off before he even got the words out of his mouth. The only idea that really came to mind was to ask her during their usual hangouts where they got high in his bedroom. Liza usually didn't have a filter when she smoked, she spoke freely about anything and everything. It was a risk to bring it up in any sense, whether the blonde was sober or not but Eddie hoped that if she did get mad at him, it would be lessened by the marijuana in her system.
Now that Hellfire has ended, Eddie and Liza went to his trailer to do just that. Eddie offered for them to play their favourite game of twenty questions so he could build up the nerve to ask her. He had made sure that they started in a way that the last question was his, as that was when he would hopefully get an answer. The game went on as usual and way too quickly for Eddie to truly have the confidence he needed for this. He contemplating bailing on the plan and apologizing to Buckley, but a thought popped into his mind. What if this would be good for Liza? That alone sealed his fate and he shut his eyes for a second to muster all of his courage.
"Last question." Eddie stated, rolling over so he could look down at Liza. She was laying on his floor, her hands behind her head and her feet up on the bed. "What happened between you and Harrington?"
"I'm sorry. . . I don't understand." Liza shook her head, her eyes shut and brows furrowed.
"Like what happened be-"
"No, I understand the question." Liza said, looking up at Eddie. "I don't understand why you want to know."
There were many reasons why Eddie wanted to know. He didn't understand how Steve could break up with Liza, especially when she was the Metalheads dream girl. He didn't know the reason for the breakup and he was interested in finding out why. He was curious about why Liza was so upset over it. Finally because Robin had asked and he needed to get into the girl's good graces so she could stop being so awkward around him.
"Because I'm nosy?" Eddie shot back, hoping it would be enough for Liza.
"Why?"
"Hey, it's my turn to ask a question and your turn to answer." Eddie pointed at Liza, a grin on his face.
Liza furrowed her brows. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell Eddie anything about the breakup, especially since he was the catalyst. She didn't want that to affect the friendship. It could cause him to pull away or start to treat her like she was glass. Everyone else was already walking on eggshells around her, worried that the slightest mention of Steve would cause her to crumble and fall back into another episode. She could handle it from everyone else, but if Eddie started to do the same, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep calm.
"What do you want to know?" Liza sighed, giving in to the boy.
"All of it." Eddie watched the blonde hesitate before her face fell into a hard mask.
"We got into a fight. . . Over you." Liza said, her voice quiet as she shut her eyes. She didn't want to look at him while she told him. "Dustin had put it in his head over the summer that you had feelings for me, based on the one interaction he saw us have. We had talked about it and I thought we had moved past it but then school started."
"And we started to sit together in classes and walked in the halls together." Eddie nodded, keeping up with the story.
"We attempted to walk together and that's where my anger with Robin came. Apparently Steve had told her that he didn't even want me near you. She had tried to tell him to talk to me but he said it was a bad idea, that I'd laugh at him and tell him that he didn't control me. And he was right about that." Liza shrugged as she sat up, now facing Eddie with her arms wrapped around herself. "So Robin came up with the idea of spying on us but then she took it a step further by pulling me away anytime she saw us."
"Wow that's. . . Wow."
"When I caught on I immediately went to Family Video, I was so angry that I didn't really have a plan. I just went to yell at him. We got into a massive fight. He was convinced I was going to leave him and in his defence, I guess the situation was a bit too like the way his relationship with Nancy ended." Liza frowned. Eddie's brows furrowed as she seemed to be justifying Steve's actions. "I tried defending you, I said that even if you did have feelings for me - which I doubt you do - that we were just friends and nothing would have happened. Then he. . . Broke up with me."
"What a douchebag!" Eddie exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"He's not a douchebag, he just. . . Went about it the wrong way." Liza avoided Eddie's eyes. She nearly jumped out of her skin when his hands touched her face and turned her head to look at him. She didn't know when he got on the floor with her. "What-"
"I know you do this defending him shit with the others but you don't have to with me. I couldn't give two shits about Harrington." Eddie began. "I want to hear your actual feelings about this."
Liza stared at Eddie with wide eyes. He worried that he may have crossed a line when her lip started to wobble and she let out a shuddering breath. It looked like she was having a war with herself, her face displaying emotions rapid fire. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes and she scooted closer to Eddie.
"I'm still so fucking hurt and angry at him, Eds. I did nothing, we did nothing and yet he still broke my heart to save himself from something that was never going to happen!" Liza huffed, her hands balling up into fists. "The worst part about this all, I still don't have a bad word to say about him! That would make all of this so much easier!"
"Wait, what?" Eddie asked in confusion.
"If he had been a shitty boyfriend this wouldn't hurt as much but he wasn't! He was perfect!" Liza said in exasperation. "Our whole relationship was perfect! We barely fought, he treated me like gold and he got along with Dustin! Hell, he got along with all the kids! We went through hell and back. . . Metaphorically." Liza caught herself before she revealed too much.
"No, no, keep going, this is good!" Eddie stated, moving on to his knees and grabbing Liza's hands. "Let it out!"
"We did everything together and one tiny thing blew it all up! We could have talked about it! You guys could have met and become friends but no, he decided that he didn't even wanna try!" Liza continued on. "And that's why it hurts because everything but that was perfect! If he had been a total dick this wouldn't be a big deal but he wasn't."
"He wasn't a dick? Are you sure?" Eddie pushed, trying to get the full amount of Liza's anger out.
"I mean, he was when he still hung out with Tommy and Carol but he changed when he was with Nancy. He's gone through a lot of shit that changed him actually." Liza whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Like what?"
"You wouldn't understand." Liza shook her head, trying to pull her hands away from Eddie but he held on. "We just have to-"
"Don't feed me the bullshit line you give everyone else. You may have to deal with it, they may have to deal with it but I don't. He's a dick and has always been a dick in my eyes." Eddie said, his tone was joking at the end but he didn't mean it as a joke. "Harrington has no clue what he's missing out on."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Liza sniffled through a small smile.
"I'm really not. I mean it, you are an amazing person and anyone would be lucky to even get the chance to date you." Eddie looked at Liza, the honesty in his words shocking her a bit.
"Thank you but I don't think I'm dating anyone anytime soon." Liza shrugged. "For now I think I'm good with the boys, Max, Robin and us."
"Us. . . I like the sound of that." Eddie beamed, pulling Liza into a hug. She returned it, resting her cheek against his chest.
"So do I." Liza whispered, her heart beating wildly. "Can I stay the night? I don't really feel like going home."
"Gasp! What will the village people think when they find out that we spent the night together unwed!" Eddie pulled back from Liza dramatically, he placed his hand on his forehead like he was going to faint. "We mustn't let them question your purity!"
"Let the peasants gossip, they know nothing of our relationship nor our intentions." Liza played along, her voice dropping in a way that was almost suggestive. She leaned forward on to her hands and gave Eddie her best coy smile. His heart stuttered and he was thankful for the dim lights in his room as they hid his blush pretty well. "So, will you have me for the night, my dear bard?"
Eddie blinked a few times, shocked by her not only adding to the little game but how she did it. He knew better than to read into the words she was saying and the double meaning in them, though he couldn't ignore the way his heart picked up pace at them. He knew Liza had a flirty personality but this was a whole new level. It almost had him believing she felt even a fraction of what he felt for her, key word being almost.
"Of course I'll have you, my enchanting Witch." Eddie finally said, letting his own double meaning settle between them as he booped her nose. "You may take my bed as I am a gentleman."
"Why thank you." Liza beamed, hopping up to her feet. "Can I, uh, maybe steal some clothes to sleep in too?"
Eddie nodded and went to his drawers, grabbing her a pair of plaid pyjama pants and a band tee that was so old you could barely tell it once said Queen on it. While Liza left to get changed, he quickly did so himself before moving to grab one of the pillows and a blanket off of the bed. He heard the door open behind him and he turned to ask Liza if they fit alright but couldn't find the words. She barely spared him a glance as she moved to her book bag so she could put her clothes in.
Nothing could have prepared him for seeing Liza in his clothes. Somehow even with them being too big on her, she still looked beautiful. The shirt may as well have been a dress and the pants were way too long for her as they dragged slightly on the ground, yet she still looked amazing. There was also a small part of Eddie that felt somewhat prideful that she was wearing his things, the same small part of him wished he could shove it in Steve's face. He knew they were only friends but now that he knew that he was the reason that the two broke up, Eddie wanted to show Steve that he didn't get everything he wanted in life and for once the Freak did.
"I had to roll the waist a few times to get them to fit but otherwise, they're not bad." Liza's voice broke through as she held her arms out and did a spin.
"Not bad at all, doll. . Uh, I mean Witch!" Eddie covered, nervously smiling. He had been getting away with Witch as a nickname, he didn't think he would get away with Doll. It seemed too much like a pet name, it was a pet name.
"Did you just call me Doll?" Liza asked, raising her brow at Eddie. She bit the inside of her cheek to hide the smile that tried to form.
"What? No! I would never!" Eddie shook his head, grabbing a piece of his hair to nervously bring it to his mouth.
"Shame. Cause if you did, I would have liked it." Liza shrugged, turning to the bed with a smile on her face.
While she doubted that Eddie had feelings for her, she didn't doubt the fact that he had just as flirty of a personality as she did. He was the only person she had ever met - besides Billy - who matched her energy like that. So the fact that he called her Doll didn't make her worried in the slightest, though she couldn't deny the fact that a part of her really liked it.
"Yeah, a real shame." Eddie stated, going to leave the room. He did his best to ignore the fact that she basically gave him permission to call her a new nickname.
"Where are you going?" Liza asked, making Eddie turn back. His mind went a little wild when he saw her laying in his bed. She had done it before but after their little game, it was a bit too much for his imagination.
"The couch?"
"Ah, fair enough." Liza nodded, chewing on her lip. "It's your room though, I can always sleep on the couch or the floor."
"I meant it when I said I was a gentleman. I'm not gonna let you sleep anywhere else but my bed." Eddie chuckled, his eyes widening slightly when he caught the double meaning in his words. It was clear Liza did too as she grinned and rolled her eyes. "But you are right, this is my room. I'm gonna sleep on the floor. That is, if you're okay with me being in the room."
"I highly doubt you're gonna try any funny business, so go for it." Liza gestured to the floor.
Eddie grinned and began to set up his makeshift floor on the bed. He and Liza aimlessly talked while he got comfortable, both thankful that the only light that had been on in the room was the lamp on his bedside table so they didn't have to get up. Liza moved to the edge of the bed so she could peer down at Eddie who was telling her about the next part of the campaign. She had never really been one for the game but the way Eddie described things held her attention.
"We should probably go to bed, Rockstar. It's like one in the morning." Liza yawned, rolling on to her back.
"Yeah, you're right. Plus, we got a whole bunch of village people who we have to face tomorrow." Eddie joked.
"Good night, Eds." Liza snorted, settling into the bed and shutting her eyes. Though they shot open when Eddie responded.
"Good night, Doll."
A/n: sorry I've been a little m.i.a lately. Life got in the way and I had a bit of a writers block. But I'm hopefully back and have a few new chapters planned.