Stranger Things - Imagines

Eddie Munson X Reader - 18

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song 18 by Anarbor. I hope you all enjoy it.

Something about Eddie Munson had always been addictive to you. From the moment you had set eyes on him on your first day of Freshman year, making a nuisance of himself in the cafeteria, you had been completely and utterly obsessed. I mean, at first, it had just been a crush; he was pretty and alternative and it had been enough to send your mind reeling. But then, when he'd ended up resitting senior year for the third time and would have to sit in the same classrooms as you, it was as if someone had hit a switch. He was funny and friendlier than you ever could have imagined, and that had been the thing that had really sent you over the edge from a crush to full-on infatuation. 

After a couple of weeks of trying to catch his attention without having to make the first move, you realised you were wasting both of your time. Eddie would never be forward enough to ask you out, whether you were making yourself as available as physically possible or not. I mean, he put on a good show of being this bold, confident outcast, but from what you could tell, he was actually pretty self-conscious. 

"Hi," you'd started one morning, stopping at his locker with a sweet smile meant just for him. 

Eddie looked a little startled by the interruption, looking around to see who you could possibly be talking to before his eyes settled back on you. "Hi," he murmured, brow furrowing slightly. 

"Ms O'Donnal said you were looking for a Physics tutor," you told him, your smile brightening when he nodded. "Well, I'm on track for an A in her class, so I can give you a hand if you'd like."

He still looked a little lost at the interaction. "I don't need an A-"

"Well, we can work towards any passing grade. She said you only really need a D in her class to graduate this year." You paused for a moment, wincing slightly when he still didn't answer. "look, I hate to do this, but you'd be doing me a massive favour, too. I need some more filler for my college applications, and tutoring looks great to the admissions boards-"

Eddie nodded. "Sure. You want to meet in the library after school or something-"

"I was actually hoping we could avoid the library. Old Mrs Graham goes absolutely crazy if you even try speaking in there, and I'm going to have to explain a bunch of equations and formula-"

"You want me to come to yours?"

You winced again. "My parents get really weird about me having boys at the house when they're at work." You paused for a moment. "Could we go to your place?"

Eddie hesitated for a moment. Maybe this wouldn't be such a good idea. I mean, you were clearly not the kind of girl that spent time hanging around in dirty, run-down, old trailers in her spare time. "My uncle will be at work. You sure your parents won't mind you being there on your own with a boy," he hummed, watching as your smile grew across your features.

"I'll tell them I'm at a friend's house for the evening," you told him. "So, I'll meet you at your van after class this afternoon?"

"People are going to start talking if they see you getting in the van," he uttered. 

You shrugged. "Let them talk," you hummed. "I'll see you later, Eddie," you added, hurrying off down the hall with a skip in your step. 

*Time Skip*

Eddie's trailer wasn't nearly as bad as he had made it out to be on your drive back. He'd been apologising for the mess before you could even make it to the trailer park and you couldn't help but chuckle at how nervous he was getting. 

You were sitting cross-legged on his sofa, writing out some of the equations he had to memorise as he stared at the paper, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand how anyone can get an A in this," he uttered, smiling when you snorted at his comment. "It's gibberish."

"It's not gibberish; it's basically just maths-"

"Maths doesn't have that funky little triangle," he muttered, poking at the paper.

An honest-to-God giggle fell out of you as the words registered. "That 'funky little triangle' is just a symbol that means something is changing. Like the velocity or speed or quantity of something." 

"How'd you know that?"

You shrugged slightly. "I read the textbook-"

"Nerd."

"Wanting to get good grades isn't nerdy."

Eddie bit back a laugh. "It kinda is."

"Yeah, well, me being nerdy is going to get us both a passing grade in Ms O'Donnel's class, so I shouldn't hear any complaints from you," you chastised, levelling a finger at him as a warning. "Does this one make more sense now that you know what your 'funky little triangle' means?"

Eddie's tongue was poking out when he looked over the paper. "Sort of?"

"We've still got a month until the final. So sort of works for now," you told him. "We can meet up a couple of times a week and you'll be as nerdy as me in no time," you teased. 

"You sure you want to tutor me? People at school are going to give you a hard time-"

You shrugged. "I don't really care what they think," you breathed out. "You're cool and you're cute and I like you-"

"Is this a joke? Like, you're going to say you want to spend time with me and then you and all the other kids at school are going to point and laugh at how Eddie 'the Freak' thought he ever stood a chance with a girl like you?"

"No, I-"

"So, is it to punish your parents or something? Your dad works with the mayor, right? He's like a staunch conservative. He'd hate me. I'm like the nightmare son-in-law. And you're on some mission to show him that you're a grown-up who makes her own decisions. Is that it?"

"No-"

"Then why the fuck do you want to spend time with me?" 

You swallowed down the lump in your throat. "Is it really so hard to believe that I might just like you?" you breathed out, shrugging. 

"Girls like you don't like guys like me. You date jocks and guys who will end up going to great colleges. You don't date guys who can't even finish high school."

"I've never dated anyone, actually," you murmured, shrugging. "Most of the guys that go to our school are assholes-" you paused for a moment. "And I don't like jocks. I like you."

"No, you don't-"

"You don't get to tell me how I feel, Eddie," you bit out, jaw tight as you stared at him, looking so damn mad that it caught him off guard. "I've liked you since I was 14, it just took you 4 years to realise I even existed. So, you don't get to sit here and tell me I don't like you because what? Because I don't wear band t-shirts and a leather jacket? Because I study and get good grades? Because I don't play DnD?" 

"Because you're pretty," he murmured, answering the question before you could continue with your rambling. "Because you could have any guy that you wanted and for some reason you want me."

You shrugged slightly. "I don't want any other guys," you murmured.

"That doesn't make sense," he told you, brow furrowing. "You're telling me that if you were standing in front of me and Jason Carver and we both wanted to ask you out-"

"I would choose you," you interrupted, shaking your head in frustration. "Every time, too. He wouldn't stand a chance," you added, offering him a small smile. 

"You're mad."

A soft chuckle slipped out of you. "So are you. What's your point?" 

Eddie paused for a moment. "I guess I don't have one." 

"Good, because I do like you and I'd quite like it if we could hang out more." 

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Are you free this weekend?"

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