listen to the music//steddie //

chapter four: jokes

Eddie ~
Steve stands there for a second, just staring. "Steve? Hello?" He shakes his head. "Nothing. It's.. nothing." He starts to walk away. "You okay, Harrington?" I shout after him. He turns around, looking regretful. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm good, man." He gives me a weird smile, before turning back around. Steve walks back to his car, and drives off, like he's in some type of a hurry.

Whatever.

I shut my door, and flop back down on the couch. Now I have nothing to do. No books to read, no one to bother. I'm alone. I still have to plan that campaign... It wouldn't be a complete waste of my time. I put an ACDC record on, and grab my notebook and pencil. Now my hair, however luscious, can get in my way, especially when I'm writing, so I put it in a bun.

I start writing, scribbling the storyline down for hellfire. Before I graduated, Mrs. O'Donnell told me that I had the worst handwriting that she had ever seen. Of course, being myself, I made sure to write even sloppier. I'm pretty sure she passed me so she could finally get me out of her class; apparently I was a 'disruption'. My presence graced that class, just not a lot of people recognized that.

Even after Hopper cleared my name, no one believed that I wasn't a satanic cult murderer. Then, people stopped laughing at my jokes. Whenever I would 'disrupt' the class, I would hear whispers about who I was planning to murder next. I didn't tell Buckley, or Harrington, or even Henderson. I just ignored it.

I think Mrs. O'Donnell caught onto what people were saying, because she stopped sending me out. She just stopped calling me out in general, actually. Asked me if I was okay a few times. I don't know, she probably didn't give two shits about me. She just wanted me out of her hair. My uncle walks through the door. It's night? How long have I been sitting here?

"Hey, Ed. Whatcha up to, kid?" He sits down next to me. "Just um.. planning. Hey, what time is it?" I ask. "Around 9, kiddo. Why? Anywhere to be?" I shake my head, walking to the phone. I dial Robin's number. It rings a few times, before she picks up. "Hello?" Robin asks.

"What did he say?" "Who?" "Keith. Did he give me the job?" "Yeah-" I hear some muffled arguing before the line goes quiet. "Buckley?" "Eddie, can you meet me by that picnic table in the woods?" It's Steve. "It's pretty late-" "Please." He sounds desperate. His voice is dry, and raspy. "Look, if you're looking for a deal-" "No, man. I don't do drugs. I need to talk to you." To me? "I guess. I'll be there in 15, Harrington." I hang up the phone, and slide my shoes on.

"Where ya going?" I look over at Wayne. "To see a.. friend." I walk out the door, and start driving to the woods.

Steve ~
"Why would you ask him to meet you in the woods? Are you murdering him? Actually, I don't want to witness that-" "I've had a crush on him. I'm going to tell him." Robin's jaw literally drops to the floor. I grab my keys, and start driving. I'm not nervous, which is weird. Maybe it's a sign that I shouldn't do this. I don't know. I wouldn't have to deal with this if I would have just told him earlier, but no, Steve, is too scared to do anything.

And, something I've learned about myself is that I am not good at being low-key. Usually when I have a crush on a girl, I just ask her out, no problem, but Eddie, he's different. I don't know how to flirt with him, or even ask him to a date. It's confusing, and honestly, really inconvenient.

I don't know how to do anything anymore. I park my car in front of the woods, and slowly start walking to the picnic table. I don't see his van anywhere. What if he doesn't meet me here? It's a crush Steve. It's not like the world it going to collapse because you didn't tell him abou- "Steve?" I turn around, and see Eddie. "You came." I let out a relieved sigh.

"When duty calls, Harrington. What can I do for you, your majesty?" He asks, sarcastically. "I actually um.. had- have something to talk to you about." He steps closer. "Did someone die?" I shake my head. "No! No one died. It's something that's been on my mind for a while." He steps even closer, revealing his confused face.

"Spit it out, Steve." I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I like you, okay?" I hear a small gasp. No response, though. "Munson? Did you OD over there?" Eddie lets out a quiet laugh, and it escalates to him laughing hysterically. "Eddie-" "That's a good one, man. What, did Buckley tell you or something? And, being Steve Harrington, you had to make a joke out of it?" Did Robin tell me what?

"I'm not joking, Eddie." His laughs die down, after he realizes I'm not smiling. "Wait. You're serious?" He asks. "'Am I serious?' YES, I'M SERIOUS! I TRIED TO TELL YOU THAT." I shout. "Why?" Eddie asks, in that deep voice. The one he uses when he's nervous or confused. "A lot of reasons." He shakes his head. "No you don't. It isn't possible." Eddie scoffs. "Maybe you're the one who thinks it isn't possible. It could be." I reply.

"You aren't joking?" He asks again, as if he's in disbelief. "I'm not joking." We stand in the darkness, silent. I don't think either of us know what to say. And, this is definitely not how I planned it to go. I know I was an ass in highschool, but I would never joke around like that. That's just wrong. "2 years." Eddie says, breaking the silence. "What-"

"That's how long I've had a crush on you. I'm going to take a guess that you already know that, because Robin probably told you. But I just had to act like you didn't exist. That's why I didn't talk to you guys for a year. That's why I kept my distance. Because I knew that a relationship between me and you... it wasn't going to happen. And, it actually worked. I stopped thinking of you every waking second, of every day. So, sure, Steve, I'm a little skeptical."

A/N: hey readers! i rewrote this chapter about 7 times, and i came up with this, so i hope you all like it. ill go through and edit any grammar mistakes later. much love♥️
words ~ 1128