❝𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄?❞

Eddie grabbed your hand gently, helping you out of the water as he stood on the dirt, his clothes soaked and his wet hair framing his face. You breathed heavily, holding onto his hand tightly. You reached around your neck, realizing that you had lost your walkman in the process. "Fuck!" You screamed, looking all around you in a panic. "What's wrong?!" Eddie looked at you. "My walkman," you said in-between breaths. "I need it! I need my walkman!" You pulled away from Eddie. "Y/n, that thing is gone. You can just get a new one after all of this shit!" Eddie grabbed you by your arm, pulling you towards him. "No! I need it!" You shouted.

Your mind was jumbled and you were in a state of shock. Your walkman was the only thing you had to fight against Vecna. And after seeing what just happened to Jason's friend, you were even more fearful than before. "Y/n, it's just a stupid piece of junk!" Eddie grabbed onto you. "No, Eddie! I need it or else-"

"Or else what?!" Eddie looked you straight in the eye, his mouth slightly agape as he waited for an answer. You slowly turned your head, looking back at the lake. Eddie looked in the same direction before glancing at you, "what is it?" Eddie asked, still confused. "I'm scared, Eddie." You spoke, softly tears filling your eyes. Truth be told, your entire body was shaking. "I know, I know." Eddie softly mumbled. His other hand grabbed your arm, pulling you closer to him. "I'm not safe without the music." You admitted. Eddie shook his head, his brows furrowing. "Nancy and Robin figured out a way to fight off Vecna when they went to visit Victor Creel," you looked at him. "They said that Victor somehow escaped Vecna's curse because his favorite song was playing," you exhaled. "It was the only way to stop him..."

Eddie didn't know what happened, but he pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you. It was like a reflex to comfort you. "Shit." He sighed. "Eddie," you mumbled against his chest, "he's already after me. I saw him earlier today when I was at my house. My own home. He knows. He's been watching my every move. I don't think I have much time." A tear slipped from your eye, recalling the moment when you saw your mother in the house. You clenched your eyes shut, holding onto Eddie tightly. Eddie looked at you as you struggled to keep your emotions in.

He had no idea what to do. He had no idea what to even say. Eddie looked back over at the lake, the boat still floating in the water, but he couldn't make out where Jason was. "Did you...tell the others?" Eddie looked at you as you pulled away from him. You hesitated before shaking your head no. "What the hell, y/n?!" Eddie said in shock, widening his eyes. "I know, okay! I didn't want them to worry. They're already worried about Max and I don't need to put that on them-"

"Goddamnit, y/n!" Eddie shouted. "I haven't heard or seen the clock yet!" You threw your hands in the air. "We still have time to defeat Vecna before he's able to get to me, Eddie!" You tried to level out with him. "You just said it yourself! You don't have much time! And now that you're piece of shit Walkman is at the bottom of the lake," Eddie pointed at the lake, "you have nothing left to defend yourself with." Eddie sighed, rubbing the water away from his eyes.

Removing your soaked backpack from your shoulders, you threw it on the ground, "the walkie is gone too." You sniffed, wiping your nose. Eddie let out a groan, walking in circles as he looked up to the sky, "son of a bitch!" He kicked the dirt. You kneeled down, opened your bag, and removed the walkie, everything was damaged. Your cassettes and the walkie, gone. Glancing at Eddie, he let his hands down to his sides, breathing heavily. "Just take everything. We have to go. The cops will be here soon." Eddie grabbed your hand, dragging you to your feet.

You ran with him, your backpack clutched in your other hand as you ran through the dark woods, branches snapping under your feet for every step you took. There was no other way to go about this. You had to find the others as soon as possible and tell them what you saw. But, Max was the priority, you put her before yourself because you knew she saw Vecna first. She was in more danger. "Eddie slow down!" You said in between breaths, holding onto his hand tightly.

Eddie ignored your words, pulling you along with him as you both ran, but you were getting winded, your heart still pounding from what you witnessed. "Eddie! I said slow down!" You said in a begging manner, trying to pull him back. He just ran and ran. He was afraid for his life, scared the cops were going to find him. They wouldn't understand him. They wouldn't believe him. And just like that, everyone accuses the freak of Hawkins of the murder of Chrissy. "Eddie, please! I don't feel good!" You said out of breath, your body feeling heavy.

"We can't stop now, y/n!" Eddie looked back at you. Your vision was starting to fade to black and your ears started to ring, blocking out Eddie's voice. Tripping over your own feet before you finally fell over, letting out a groan. "Y/n!" Eddie stopped in his tracks, rushing to your aid. "Hey! Hey!" He cupped your face, lightly slapping it. "Wake up!" His eyes scanned your figure. You could feel his cold rings on your skin as your vision slowly came back. "You asshole." You were able to mumble.

"Shit! Don't scare me like that." Eddie sighed, helping you sit up. "Yeah? Well if you don't want me to pass out, don't make me run so goddamn fast while my heart is pounding out of my chest!" You nearly yelled. You looked around you, noticing the both of you were still in the middle of the woods. "Sorry." He helped you to your feet, catching you as stumbled into his arms, still feeling a little lightheaded. "I got you." He grunted, helping you stand up straight. In the distance, you could hear police sirens. They were already on their way. You and Eddie looked back, seeing the lake in the distance. "They're already there." You gulped.

"All the more reason to get the hell out of here and find the others." Eddie inhaled, walking slowly with your arm over his shoulders. You leaned on Eddie, trying to gain your strength back slowly with each step. Eddie had a grip on you, one arm around your waist and the other around your wrist, helping you walk. "I really am sorry for making you pass out." Eddie glanced at you. You looked at him, "yeah, I know." You said softly.

Eddie slowly came to a stop, pulling you off of him as he stood in front of you, "um," his eyes flickered to yours. Looking back at him, you raised a brow at Eddie, confused why you two weren't trying to make it out of the woods right now. "Yes?" You questioned, stepping closer to him. Eddie looked at you, his mouth opening to speak but nothing came out. He wanted to say something about earlier, before Jason and his friends came after you guys. But, he figured since you weren't questioning it, he shouldn't either. Maybe it was just really random how close you two got? Definitely. "Nothing." Eddie chuckled.

"You sure?" You slung your backpack over your shoulder. "Yeah," He nodded. "You fine to walk on your own?" He gestured, taking in a deep breath. "Don't worry, if I need you I'll just fall into your arms." You smiled, letting out a small giggle. You began walking away from Eddie, leading the way to wherever you two were going. Eddie, on the other hand, just stood in the same place, watching you walk away from him. "Shit." He said quietly, letting out a deep sigh.

"Hey, Munson!" You shouted, turning back to look at him. "You coming or what?!" You waved at him, trying to break him out of his daydream. "Yep, yep." He pushed a branch out of his face, catching up with you in a few seconds. Eddie walked beside you in silence, watching his feet to make sure he didn't trip over anything in the dark. "God, I hate the feeling of wet clothes." You fake gagged, rolling your eyes. "Tell me about it," Eddie looked down at his jacket. "Wet leather and wet jean are not very light on the shoulders."

Turning your head to look at him, you touched his hair, flipping it over his shoulder, "the wet hair look suits you though." You admitted, hoping it didn't sound too weird or out of character. "Wow, admitting you like something about me? That's fairly new." Eddie scoffed. "Don't make me take back my compliment." You eyed him. "That was a compliment?" You knew Eddie was playing stupid with you like he always does. It was like a little game for him and he only did it to annoy you. He found it amusing. Your reactions. Your snarky responses. They were the best.

"Fine, I take it back. The wet hair look is absolutely disastrous." You scowled. "Oh no," Eddie clasped his hand over his heart, turning towards you as he started walking backward, "my poor heart." He frowned. "Get out of here!" You pushed his shoulder, shaking your head at him. "How could you so easily break my heart?" Eddie clawed at your arms, still putting on his act. "Get off!" You laughed, pushing him away. You don't know why or how, but Eddie being able to put a smile on your face after everything that's happened tonight was surprising.

You were still scared like hell, but his bantering seemed to make you forget about it for a few minutes. But in the back of your mind, you knew Vecna was still somehow always watching, lurking about the shadows. Your smile dropped as soon as the bad thoughts began flooding your mind again. Either of you still had to be careful now that Jason has seen you with Eddie. You weren't one hundred percent sure if Jason even knew who you were, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Hey," Eddie stopped, "skull rock." Eddie pointed. "That make-out spot?" Your brows furrowed. Eddie slowly turned towards you, a surprised yet puzzling look on his face, "how do you even know about that?" He asked. Your eyes darted to his, "um," you paused, "everyone knows about it." You walked in front of Eddie. "Yeah, sure." He shrugged. "What? It's a place where teenagers make out. The whole school knows about this place, so don't even give me that look, Munson." You pointed at him. "I'm not giving you any look." Eddie followed after you.

Throwing your bag to the floor, you let out a heavy sigh, sitting on top of your bag so your pants wouldn't get dirty. Eddie sat next to you, his knees up to his chest, his back against the rock. As he turned to look at you, you also turned to look at him. There was a few seconds of silence, "wanna sit on the bag?" You looked down. "I'm fine. It's not like it's mud or anything." Eddie looked in the opposite direction, breaking eye contact with you.

Silently nodding your head, you looked away from him too. You couldn't help but think about the boathouse and how close you both were to each other before Jason scared you. It felt a little too...personal? Intimate? No, no. It was just an accident. Neither of you meant to lean in that close. Why was it such a big deal to you anyway? It's not like it was important or special. Your mind says one thing, but your heart says another. The way it was beating as you looked into his eyes for just those few seconds was enough to make you start questioning yourself.

And that's when you thought about Steve, about the conversation you had with him earlier in the car. You didn't have a thing for Eddie, right? No. It's what would happen if you got that close with any other boy. A slip-up. An awkward moment that caused some awkward tension. That's it. You and him were just friends. At least that's what your relationship grew into. Eddie cleared his throat, leaning his head against the rock. "Tired?" You asked him. "Very." He shut his eyes. "Hey, Eddie?"

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked, his eyes still closed. "Can I talk with you? Like a serious talk?" You adjusted in your seat, trying to get a little more comfortable on the hard ground. "Go for it. I'm all ears." He inhaled, wrapping his arms around himself. You clenched your jaw, looking towards the dirt, shuffling your sneakers. "I know that we haven't really...spent time together this school year or even hung out," you paused, "and I know we only talked to each other when it was needed, like for a project or if you needed my homework," Eddie slowly opened his eyes, turning his head slowly to look at you.

"But, over the past few shitty days we've had, and through the shitty news that we've found out together, I will admit, you're pretty fun to hang around, even if I only got to do it for a short time." You looked at Eddie with a soft smile. Eddie sat up straight, "why are you saying all this?" He asked. "I don't know," you shrugged. "I guess it's because I know that things are most likely coming to an end soon for me and I wanted to get stuff off of my chest." The truth was, it wasn't everything you had on your chest. "Listen to me y/n, nothing is gonna happen to you. Dustin and them we'll defeat Vecna before he gets to you-"

"And what if they don't?" Your eyes bored into Eddie's. Your question was honest. What would they do if they couldn't save you? The honest answer was they couldn't do anything but watch you die and move on with their lives, trying to pretend like none of it ever happened. How would your parents react and who would be blamed for your death? It's not like the town is gonna believe a group of teenagers about another dimension with the very epitome of evil within it. It'll just sound like a fictional story from a book or movie.

Eddie scooted closer towards you, his hands grabbing ahold of your arms, "I'm not one to be brave. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Just like how I did with Chrissy. But you, you're badass," Eddie chuckled, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. "I mean, you were ready to kick Jason's ass back there." Eddie scoffed. You let out a small laugh, wiping away the tears that had formed in your eyes. "Yeah," you nodded, "I was ready." You looked at Eddie. "Hell, you're even running from the cops with me."

You and Eddie both smiled at each other, easing some of the stress and fear off of your shoulders. "You sure know how to put a smile on my face." You played with the ends of your damp sweater. "What do you mean by that?" Eddie squinted his eyes. "Whenever I feel worried or scared, you're there to make me forget about it, even if it's just for a few seconds," you looked up at him. "Thank you. Really." You continued to fidget with your sweater. Eddie gave you a small smile. "Can I?" You pointed at his shoulder. "Uh, yeah." He quickly dusted it off before you decided to lay your head on it.

A shiver sent down your spine as the wind blew against your wet and cold skin. Your arms instinctively wrapped around Eddie's, holding it tight as you tried to warm up. Eddie took notice, looking down at you, "are you okay?" He asked, his voice soft and genuine. "Just cold." You murmured. Eddie let out a soft grunt, removing his arm from your grip, this time wrapping it around you, pulling you into his chest. "Thank you." Pulling your knees up to your chest, you rested your hands on top of your knees, closing your eyes.

"You really have got to stop thanking me. I'm not used to it." Eddie scrunched up his face. "Well, don't get used to it. I won't ever be this sappy around you again." You adjusted your head on Eddie's chest, taking in his warmth. "Right, right. I forgot our deal was called off." Eddie hummed. "I only called it off because you want me to illegally buy you a six-pack for you to play the guitar." You looked up at him. "Hey, playing the guitar comes with a price. We all gotta start somewhere." Eddie pulled you in closer. "If that's the case, then I could just give you the money to buy your own. Right?"

Eddie stayed silent, looking away from you, "not the same." He quickly spoke. You sat up, an offended expression on your face. His hand slipped from around you. "What do you mean?! It is!" You argued. "Nah," Eddie shook his head. "The price isn't just the beer. It's the sight of goody-two-shoes y/n bringing me a six-pack with her own bare hands. Would be very funny." Eddie snorted. "I'm not a goody-two-shoes just because I have somewhat good grades. Didn't you just admit I was a 'badass'?" You raised a brow. "Never said such a thing. You're hearing stuff." His breath blew past his lips. "Okay," you laid your head back down on his chest, "I'll keep that in mind. You liar."

Eddie's arm wrapped around you again, pulling you close to him. Neither of you thought you'd be spending your night like this. And not even a week ago would you ever imagine laying in the middle of the woods with your head on Eddie Munson's chest. And Eddie could say the same. Just a few days ago you were annoyed with him, talking with the teacher about changing partners for the project because you were so sick of working with him, and now you were curled up against him, both of you hiding from the cops.

Thinking about what you said earlier, he didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed your company too. From the very start, he did. It was sort of a breath of fresh air to hang out with someone different from school. He would always hang around the guys from the Hellfire Club, but getting paired up with you, was enjoyable to him. He knew he was a hassle to work with, a hassle to deal with in general, but you pushed through each time, saving his ass from failing and possibly flunking senior year again. He loved to bug you, play his guitar while you sat on his bed with your eyes locked onto the books.

He loved when you rolled your eyes, annoyed at how loud he was being. And he loved how you thoroughly explained what you were doing every time he asked a question about the assignment. And he loved the silence when you wouldn't speak to him at all. It was just comfortable to be around you even though you were dying to go home on the inside. He enjoyed the small moments spent with you. And now, he got to know another side of you over the last few days. A side of you he never knew existed. The side that would tease him back. The side that would show empathy. The side that would laugh and smile at all of his bad jokes. And to Eddie, that made him enjoy you even more. It made him enjoy all of you.

"Hey, y/n?" Eddie lightly shook you. The quietness set in all around Eddie, the sound of crickets and the wind blowing through the wind were all he could hear. He quickly looked down at you, noticing you were fast asleep, your breathing steady. "Goodnight to you too, I guess." Eddie clenched his jaw, resting his head on the rock as his eyes shut.

𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬:
Turns out this chapter is coming out earlier than I expected lol. I thought I was going to add more season 4 scenes but the interaction between Eddie and y/n was longer than I expected so here we are! Chapter 8 will definitely be out later in the week though, maybe even early next week. I wanna get the chapters out before volume 2 so hopefully it lines up. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!