Kiss Me Like The World's Ending - A Steddie Fanfiction

Chapter 3: "The 'Not a Date' Date"

It was a chilly spring night, and Eddie found himself racing out the door of the rehabilitation center to meet up with Steve. He had been so excited to hang out with him all day that it was all he could think about. His eyes watched the clock constantly, just hoping time would speed up just a little bit so he could see him as soon as possible. He had hardly paid any attention in rehab today, but at least his mind wasn't on the things that got him there in the first place. Now the time was finally in Eddie's hands, and he wasn't going to wait another minute longer.

He found Steve's car parked in the parking lot on the side of the building. Steve wasn't really sure where to park or where Eddie would find him, considering this was his first time picking him up from rehab ever, so he parked where he thought would be best.

"Munson!" He calls as he sees Eddie's eyes meet his car.

"Harrington!" Eddie calls back as he speeds-walks over.

"You seem like you're in a rush, is everything alright?" Steve asks him. He notices Eddie seems anxious.

"Relax, Harrington, I'm fine. Was just excited to get out of that place. That's all." Eddie lies. That wasn't all. In fact, Eddie was just so anxious to hang out with Steve that it seemed as if nothing else mattered.

The two enter Steve's car as he begins to start the engine and backs out of the parking lot and drives onto the main road.

"So, Harrington, what's it like at your place?" Eddie asks him. "I bet it's all fancy and nice, what's it like being a rich kid?"

Steve smirks for a second and then sighs. Despite being a rich kid, Steve didn't really have much else going for him. He wondered if being a rich kid even meant anything at all. His parents were never home. They were always on a business trip or on some luxurious vacation that it was as if Steve didn't even exist to them. Most of the time, Steve forgot that they even existed. He always had to hold his head up high, though. Perhaps that's why during his high school years he found himself bullying and picking on kids who had what he didn't. He was jealous of them, yet he would never admit it. Perhaps this was also the reason why he hung out with nobodies like Tommy and Carol, who only ever wanted to drink, party, and get high all the time. They never truly cared about Steve, but Steve convinced himself that they did. He needed to. The idea of caring and loving something or someone was something Steve struggled with, since his parents never expressed any of those emotions to or around him. He found himself struggling to comprehend and express those types of emotions. It wasn't until he started dating Nancy Wheeler that he started to realize just what those feelings were and how to use them, but by then she had already fallen for Johnathon. Steve wasn't mad at Nancy, in fact he respected her for making the decision she did. Steve never really thought he was good at love, and he didn't want to hurt Nancy as he continued to try to improve with it. Like it was a sport of some kind. Now, here he was. Ready to give love another shot with Eddie the freak Munson. He wondered how this would go. Perhaps maybe a guy could be the saving grace to Steve's comprehension of love and feelings.

"Well, being a rich kid isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know." Steve expresses.

"Oh no? So how's the big pool and room you got? Wish I had those kinds of things." Eddie says.

"I mean, yeah, those things are cool and all...there's just a lot that goes on behind the scenes of it that no one else sees..." Steve says. He debates whether or not he should tell Eddie about his parents, but realizes he may as well as Eddie asks the question he knew he would:

"Why?"

Steve takes a deep breath in and exhales strongly. "It's my parents...they're never home. They act like I don't even exist, as if they don't even have a son to tend to. I'm home alone 99% of the time, and sometimes I just get so lonely with no one to talk to or express myself to." Steve takes another breath in. "I know it doesn't compare to anything you've ever had to deal with in your lifetime, but it does weigh on me a lot."