wanted - Eddie Munson

talking

July 1st, 1985

"Are you sure you two can handle the store while I go with Dustin?" Steve asked with raised eyebrows as Dustin grew impatient.

Robin rolled her eyes, "I'm sure we can handle one little ice cream shop without the help of King Steve."

I snickered at her response and Steve glared at the two of us before walking off with the younger boy at his side. The two were going to sit in the common area of the mall and look for anyone who seemed suspicious, or as Dustin said, "Look for evil Russians.".

Robin had the tape recorder and her headphones on at every chance she got, trying to translate more and more of the message. She'd gotten a few more words of the last sentence, still not making any sense. A trip to China... it's not much but it's progress. We were working perfectly, not too busy and not too slow. The day was going pretty well until he strolled in.

He walked up to the counter, standing right in front of me as he opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off before he could. I quickly turned around and tapped Robin's shoulder. She pulled off the headphones and brought her face away from the book to look at me. "I'm gonna go to the restroom, okay?"

She looked up at Eddie before looking back at me, giving a small nod. I stepped around the counter but he stuck his arm out, his palm facing me. "Beth, wait. Please, can we talk?"

I looked at him and saw the silent pleads behind his eyes. I knew it wasn't the best idea but I also knew that I couldn't say no. I inhaled deeply before nodding, seeing his shoulders relax before I turned to face Robin. She was looking between the two of us, a slight sense of worry coating her features. She gave me a small smile, "Go take lunch, I can handle things here for a while."

"You sure?" She nodded in response.

"Okay," I said before turning to face Eddie again, his eyes still on me. "You've got thirty minutes."

He nodded frantically before we walked out of the shop, finding an empty table in the food court. We sat in silence for a few seconds, him watching me intently as I picked at my fingers. "You hungry?"

I shook my head and he muttered an alright in response. In all honestly, I felt nauseous at the moment. Sitting here with him reminded me of what happened a month ago. While the dreams haven't been as frequent and I've stopped thinking about him as much, it still hurts. "What'd you wanna talk about?"

My head stayed bowed, boring holes into my hands, as I heard him take a deep breath. "How are you?"

What? I finally looked up at him and furrowed my brows, confusion coating my features. "Did you seriously come all the way here just to check on me?" I didn't want to be rude, but I knew what I said sounded mean.

He closed his eyes tightly and tensed his jaw, shaking his head. "Listen, I know. I fucked up, okay? And you have every right to be pissed at me-"

"I didn't mean to be rude, it just didn't make sense." I cut him off and he nodded in response.

"It's just... We haven't talked in a month, and I..." He stopped momentarily, seeming like he was stopping himself from saying something. "Just wanted to see how you were."

"I'm alright," I said as he bowed his head. "How are you?"

He peered up at me through his lashes before repeating my answer back to me, "I'm alright."

We sat in silence for a bit, our eyes locked onto one another. I was the first to look away from our little staring contest, worried that if stayed like that for too long I'd forget about everything that happened and I'd just let him back in like nothing happened. I heard him clear his throat when I looked away, seeing him shake his head slightly out of the corner of my eye.