Starting Over (Eddie Munson x FEM!OC)/Nothing Was Ever As It Seemed

7

Word Count: 999

Dani examined the machetes Dustin had handed her. They'd all made a run the other day while she'd been telling Eddie about her scars. She looked up, laughing as she watched Dustin and Eddie wrestling. Here he was, a whole ass adult, acting like a kid.

Since she'd told him how she got her scars, the story of Jack, Eddie hadn't let her go more than five minutes without him checking in in some way. Sometimes it was just touching her, others it was him calling her name just to get her attention. What he hadn't done was leave her. It felt a little odd. Jack had told her once that nobody would want her now that he had marked her. Yet here Eddie was, more attentive than ever. Which she had thought was impossible. Robin dropped down at her feet, following her gaze.

"I'm like 99 percent sure he's in love with you." Always straight to the point, she was. "I mean, at first I was really hoping you and Steve would be a thing, because he's definitely attracted to you, but he's still hung up on Nancy. Even if he won't admit it. We all see it. But, Eddie, you should have seen how ready he was to take you and run when we realized Vecna was back. It was El that stopped him, you know. She told him that Vecna already had you. That running wouldn't save you. Man, he was pissed. I've never seen Eddie that angry."

Dropping the machetes Dani sat beside her, watching Eddie and Dustin. His first thought after learning Vecna was back was to save her? It was an odd feeling knowing that. Not even her parents cared that much. When she'd gone to them for help they'd ignored her. Told her she'd caused the mess she'd found herself in with Jack, and sent her away.

"Well, that's odd. Even my parents wanted nothing to do with me," she murmured, not caring anymore if anyone knew of her past.

"Man, that's rough," Robin responded, letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my parents."

"It is what it is. It's how I ended up here. I needed their help, they turned me away. So, off I went to disappear," she laughed, hazarding a glance at Robin, finding her watching the boys, too. "I like to think I found myself a pretty great group of friends."

"You also ran straight to a fucking monster waiting for another traumatized victim. That's how he gets you. Vecna, that is. Your fucking trauma."

"That's, uhm, that's not how he got me. When he got me I 'woke up' in Eddie's trailer. There was no Jack." Shit. She'd said to much. Too late now. "Jack's my ex-boyfriend. Not a nice guy."

The two of them sat there in silence a moment, the both of them letting the others words sink in. She let out a nervous laugh as she stretched out, laying back to look up at the ceiling. What was Robin thinking?

"That song you were singing the night the gang was over for dinner? That's when we knew he was back and had gotten his claws into you. He used this Jack and your parents, the trauma there, to get that connection." Robin laid down beside her, clasping her hand in hers. "And that was when I knew there was more to you than you'd let on. Also that Eddie is definitely head over heels in love with you."

Eddie dropped down beside her, laying on his side. Dani couldn't help but laugh as he blew his hair out of his face, propping his head up on his hand.

"Eddie, will you just tell Dani here that you are hopelessly in love with her so she believes it?" Again, straight to the point.

Wide eyed Dani turned her head as she smacked Robin in the stomach. God, she loved her, but sometimes Robin just didn't think before she spoke.

"What the fuck, Robin?" She was sure everybody heard how panicked she was. What the actual fuck was Robin thinking just saying that?

Dani watched as Robin got up, glaring at her. The fuck was she glaring for? She's the one that had taken it too far, demanding Eddie say something that he wouldn't even mean. They weren't together. They were just friends that definitely had sex from time to time. Her own feelings aside, putting Eddie on the spot like that, knowing he would say the opposite was just hurtful.

"She's not wrong, you know."

"Oh, God. Eddie, you really don't have to do this. Robin is just, well, Robin," she groaned, covering her face with her hands. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. They were all getting ready to go into the Upside Down, not doing this emotional shit.

"Dani, I'm being serious here. I know this is only supposed to be a recon mission, but anything can happen." He paused, grabbing her face, forcing her to look at him. "I love you, Dani Montgomery. Probably have since you walked into my home at four in the morning to tell me my music was too loud."

Heart pounding in her ears Dani reached up, trailing her fingertips down the side of his too perfect face. If this was their last moment together, just the two of them, she wanted to memorize every little thing about him. Eddie was right. None of them really knew what waited for them on the other side. One of them might not make it back. But if he was going down, she was going down with him. There was no way she could do this living thing without him by her side.

"Eddie Munson, if we go down then we go down together. I can't do this life shit without you," she whispered, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over. "I love you. So much it fucking sucks."