It's Just a Favor || Steddie

Chapter 38

Friday, March 29, 1986. Hawkins Indiana. Hawkins High.

Eddie's Perspective. 

Me and Harrington began walking down the halls to the councilor's quite a bit after relaxing in the office. "Fuck, I can never remember where it is." I mutter, looking over to the signs to figure out where it was.

"You never went there?" Steve inquired. He was spinning the ring of keys around on his finger. 

I shook my head. "Bottling things up has always been my go-to. Wait, you went to Ms. Kelly?" I stop for a moment and turned to him. 

"Don't change the subject Munson. You can talk to me." Steve took a few steps closer to me. His eyes were soft, shoulders down. 

"Worry about yourself right now! You could theoretically be the next victim!" My foot began tapping. I can feel my fingers twitch. I couldn't stand still. "Let's just go-" My legs began walking to the councilor's office. 

"Edward!" Using that name made me instantly turn back to him. "Sorry, I thought you wouldn't listen to me with any other name." He caught back up with me. "Just because I might be dying, doesn't mean your feelings don't matter." Steve looked so vulnerable. I couldn't help but just grab onto him and pull him into yet another hug.

"I'm sorry... I just, don't know what to say. It feels like we have so little time." I couldn't get myself to look at him. I couldn't. 

"Like I said, we will find a way out of this." Steve made me look up at him. Our eyes met. "Even if I don't make it out of this, live for me Munson. Get out of this hellhole of a place and live on." Tears fell from my eyes once again. Steve pressed a short, sweet kiss onto my lips. 

I didn't want this moment to end. I didn't want things to end. "You're not getting away from me so easily. We will get out of this together." We both stare into each other's eyes for a minute. "Now, we've wasted enough time in here. Let's go find us some notes." I took Steve's hand and continued walking. 

We eventually make it to the office. Steve held up the ring of keys. "Slight issue, they're not labeled." Steve grabbed aa random key from the ring and tested it on the door. "Aha!" 

"How the fuck-" He pushed the door opened. "You- You actually managed to get that first try?" Steve had a smug look on his face. 

"I'm very lucky, what can I say?" The both of us enter the room. "I'll check the filing cabinets, you. Uh. Find something that can be helpful," 

"So you get to do the fun snooping and I just sit here? No way bucko. I'll check this side, you get that." I attempt to open one of the cabinets. "Locked." 

"Why is everything in this school locked?" I hear a sigh leave Harrington. "..Can we just steal them? There's only two of them." In an attempt to pick one of them up, he realizes that-

"It's far too heavy. Lucky for us, filing cabinets are very easy to pick." I walk over to the desk that was sat in the middle of the room. Picking off a paperclip from a stack of papers. "Watch this."

Taking the paperclip, I straighten out a bit of it. Leaving the tip of it curved. Afterwards, I stuck the clip into the keyhole and fiddled around with it until the lock twisted. Unlocking the cabinet. "I'll work on the others while you go through that one," Harrington began flipping through files. 

"Oh shit, they're both in here," Grabbing the both of them, he laid them out on the desk. I pulled out Chrissy's papers. Reading over them.

 "This... Feels wrong to do." I had a feeling of guilt wash over me. My breath shortened. 

"Holy shit." Steve put down the file. "Headaches, hallucinations." As he began reading out, thick red blood dripped from his nose. "...Nosebleeds."  

"What the fuck!" I grab tissues from a nearby tissue box and soaked up the blood. "Chrissy's said the same basically." This can't be happening. No! Why him? Why not me! 

"Hey. Look at me. Stop blaming yourself or whatever you're thinking. There's nothing that could've been done to prevent this." Steve, with his bloodied face looked down at me. 

"Eddie!! Steve!!" Shouted from the hallway. 

"Henderson?!" We both turn towards the door. Henderson was standing in the doorway. 

"We found a lead." Henderson looked between us. "Is everything okay?"