EDDIE MUNSON IMAGINES

PHONE CONFRONTATION

a saturday morning was usually bland for you, the sound of the television playing downstairs as you padded down the steps of your childhood home before entering the kitchen to see your parents talking about something before realizing you were there. you grabbed a box of cereal, looking at them in confusion. 

"everything okay?" you asked them as your mom looked at you in worry before pulling you aside as your dad went to the main living space and joined your little brother in watching television. 

"truth be told, ________, we miss your old boyfriend," she said to you, shutting the door to the bedroom you both were in. you furrowed your eyebrows at her, wondering where she was going with this starter sentence she had just practically thrown at you.

"what?" 

"steve harrington, we miss steve," she admitted as you looked at her in confusion. 

"why are you talking about steve?" you asked her. 

"he called earlier asking to talk to you and we forgot how much we missed him. i mean, ever since you've began dating that munson kid, your father hasn't been too pleased with your attitude or anything," she said quietly to where only you could hear it. you shook your head, opening the door and pushing past her before walking back upstairs to where your phone was. you dialed steve's home number, waiting for somebody to pick up the call.

"hello?"

"harrington," you said, wondering what he was wanting to call you about. 

"oh, ________, hey. i called earlier to talk to you but your parents picked up the phone," he reminded you of the previous conversation seconds earlier. 

"yeah, my mom told me that you were stealing her heart once more," you told him. "made fun of my personality changes since dating eddie, for whatever reason." 

steve sighed over the receiver of the phone, you could hear it. you wondered where he was right now, who he was with, what he was doing. but why did you care? he broke up with you, so you should be able to move on to get away from the emotions you previously had for him. 

"look, i actually wanted to talk to you about that, too," he muttered. 

you scoffed, your eyes searching over the wallpaper in your bedroom to find anything to focus on so you didn't have to listen to the absolute lies that everybody was telling you about him. steve knew better, he must be doing this to get underneath your skin. there wasn't any other explanation. 

"what do you have to say about my relationship when you're the one who broke up with me, harrington?" you asked him, the fire was clearly dripping off your tone now as you tried to calm yourself back down. 

"i'm just worried about you," he admitted. 

"why, steve? because i've changed? well, i hate to break the honest truth to you, but i changed because of you. when you broke up with me, i was lost. i wasn't sure who i was anymore without having you there, so i changed myself for the better. i feel more confident and better than ever," you said plainly, your eyes finding a picture of you and robin when you had visited her at work in the mall. you smiled to yourself, remembering the good memories before shifting back to the conversation with your ex boyfriend, 

"i'm sorry that i ever hurt you like that," he responded as you shook your head. 

"do you remember the day that you told me you loved me?" you asked him, catching him slightly off guard. he nodded, rethinking everything he was saying. 

"it was when we were about to fight off some russians with henderson and sinclair's little sister, yeah," he responded. "why are you bringing this up?"

"because it's the moment i completely changed, steve. i thought that you loving me had become my entire personality and i worked so damn hard to make you happy without realizing that it wasn't making me happy- it was draining the living hell out of me," you stated as steve sighed, looking to one of the walls in his home. he had no clue. 

"i did love you," he said. 

"i know you did. and i loved you. but something changed after we broke up, which, by the way, breaking up with me before we could have possibly died was the absolute worst way to end something with me when only a few days earlier you told me that you loved me."

steve grew silent, knowing what all had happened as he recalled everything from that summer. maybe he was hating that he was seeing you happy with somebody who accepted you for everything you already were and who all you would become in the future. truth be told, he was jealous and he missed you.

"i'm sorry, i'm just," he stumbled over his words. "i missed you." 

"then talk to me, steve! why did you need to call me to tell me all this shit? you could have easily talked to me when you saw me at the game, when i was hanging out with dustin and max at your job, when i was getting my mail the other day. steve, we live in the same neighborhood and you still won't just come talk to me?" you asked. 

"talking will make it worse because it will only remind me of what happened between us," he replied as you shook your head. 

"well, i'm sorry that you moved on so quickly and left me with not only a grieving for you but for max, but this is something you did to yourself. you really thought i wouldn't be able to find another sombody?" 

not so soon. "i mean, i guess i did, i just didn't want to believe it."

you sighed, running your hand through your hair as you tried to close your eyes and remember all the good times with him. 

"i really don't want you talking to my parents again, harrington. my mom absolutely adores you, and now you have it in her and my dad's heads that eddie isn't good for me. i've never been happier in my life, steve," you said softly. "i'm sorry, but i need to go now. i'll see you around." 

with that, you hung up the phone and laid back down on your bed. you wanted to cry, but you knew that it would only give him power over you and you had gotten rid of that feeling long ago. you weren't bringing it back. 

"see you around," you muttered into the coolness of your bedroom as you closed your eyes and tried to picture the good times with him once more.