Sweet Amber (A Stranger Things/Eddie Munson Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight: For Once In My Life

I was drawn from sleep by the sound of heavy panting.

I sat up, and for a moment I forgot where I was until I looked around and remembered Eddie Munson's messy bedroom. I rubbed sleep from my eyes, glancing to the space beside me, where the noise was coming from.

Eddie was laying there with his eyes closed, seemingly still asleep, but he was breathing very heavily, and his head was jerking from side to side. The expression on his face looked terrified, his nose and eyebrows scrunched. 

"Eddie?" I called softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and it had soaked through his t-shirt, making him feel as though he'd jumped in a pool while fully clothed. I lightly shook his shoulder, attempting to wake him from whatever terrible dream he was clearly having. "Eddie-"

He burst away, his eyes flying open as he began hyperventilating. He looked up at me, jumping in surprise and rolling out of bed as he just now remembered that I was there. I climbed out of bed too, slowly moving to stand in front of him.

"Eddie, its ok. It was just a bad dream." I said softly. He just looked at me, his eyes still wide and terrified, but it was only now that I noticed the tears that were pooled in them. "Hey..." 

I rushed into his space just as he had for me earlier in the woods, wrapping my arms around his neck. His entire body was shaking as he hesitantly hugged me back. It was gentle at first, but the longer we stood there, his arms tightened around me as his body began to shake with sobs. I put a hand on the back of his head and he buried his face in my shoulder, his fingers clutching at the fabric of my borrowed t-shirt. 

"Its over," I said softly, "It was just a dream, that's all. You're right here with me, ok?" 

I pulled away, looking up at him. He sniffed, wiping his eyes and stepping back as he tried to stop back into his regular self. 

"I uh..." He trailed off. I shook my head.

"You don't have to explain unless you want to." I told him. He nodded, swallowing. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Just come on." I grabbed his hand, pulling him out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. I lightly pushed him down into one of the kitchen chairs before beginning to rifle through the cabinets until I found what I was looking for. I filled two mugs with hot water and then put a tea bag in each of them, letting it steep before adding a small amount of honey and carrying it over to the kitchen table. I set the cup down in front of Eddie and then sat across from him with my own, holding the warm mug between my hands. "Its warm tea, with honey. It helps me relax, so I figured it was worth a try."

"I usually go for something stronger." He said, grabbing the cup with both hands and looking into it dauntingly. I shrugged.

"Just give it a shot." I said, taking a sip of my own. He followed my lead, doing the same and shrugging in response before setting it down again. He picked up the tea bag string and started messing with it. "Well?"

"Its kinda nice." He admitted. I nodded, smiling. "I...I'm sorry you had to see that. When you asked me to stay it just completely slipped my mind."

"Do you have nightmares a lot?" I asked into my mug. He nodded; his eyes locked on the steaming liquid in his hands. 

"Usually with a lot more disgusting side-effects," He said, "Just be glad you woke me up."

"What are they about?" I questioned. "Are they random, or..."

"My mom," He said quietly, "My dad, he...he wasn't around a lot when she was sick which kind of left me to...to witness her most horrifying moments. Wade thinks I have PTSD, hence the...bladder incidents."