the shire is burning [eddie munson x OC]

chapter forty three

The clock reads 10:00 PM when the phone first rings. Willow ignores it, continuing on with finishing up the last of her homework.

It can't be that important, she thinks to herself.

But then it rings again at 10:02. And again at 10:05. By that third time, she's starting to get concerned that it might be Robin, or even Steve, and one of her friends might be in trouble. It's a worrisome enough thought that she finally pushes away from her desk, reluctantly dragging herself to the phone in the kitchen just as the final trill echoes throughout her empty house.

She doesn't even have to wait another full minute before it comes to life again, ringing annoyingly.

Her hand flies out and she picks up the phone, bringing it to her ear quickly, "Hello?"

"Jesus H. Christ, finally."

It's not Robin. It's not Steve.

It's Eddie.

"Edward Munson," she groans, "You better have a good reason for calling my house this many times in a row. Is someone dying?"

"I do have a good reason," he snaps over the receiver, and she's shocked by how emotional he sounds, "Someone did die."

Her heart stops, her stomach sinks. " What? Oh my God, Eddie, who's hurt? Fuck, do I need to come over? What happen-"

"This goddamn book . You're cruel, Willow Victoria Jenkins, extremely cruel," in his pause, she's stunned. Book? What the Hell is he going on about? "How could they do this? How could this happen?"

"Eddie," she says slowly, "I'm a little lost. Is someone actually hurt, dead , or are you just being dramatic? Because if it's the latter, I'm hanging up."

"Beth!" his voice shouts, and that's when it clicks.

Oh, realization hits. Oh my God. He finished Little Women, or at least is nearly finished.

She crosses her arms, grinning despite the fact he can't see her as she leans against the wall smugly, "Oh, you're at that part."

"Oh, we're well past that part. Why the fuck would you read this book, Red? In what world is this book your idea of fun ?" She can hear him sniffle slightly, and it hits her just how serious he is.

It's kind of adorable, and dreadfully endearing. He's reacting in a similar fashion she did the first time she read the book.

"I never said it was fun!" she tries to hide her laughter, genuinely, but it slips out between her words, "I just said it was one of my favorites."

" How ? I mean, c'mon, seriously. I guess I could brush past the whole Jo and Laurie ordeal - which, by the way, gut-wrenching - but Beth? How cruel does Alcott have to be to tease her death earlier in the book only to actually go through with it? What bullshit ."

"Hold on. Can we backtrack to your thoughts on Jo and Laurie? Because, honestly, I'm interested in that."

"Fuck you," he spits, and she can only laugh as she knows the venom in his words is disingenuous and temporary.

"So I assume you weren't a fan of Laurie ending up with Amy?" she continues on as if he hadn't cursed at her.

"What?" his voice is slightly muffled, some white noise over the line before he comes through clearer, "When did I ever say that ?"

That sets him off. For the next thirty minutes, Willow listens to Eddie's ranting about her favorite book, and the smile on her face never fades. Even when her cheeks begin to burn with a painful ache, even when she finds herself disagreeing with a few of his opinions. He admits to her how he actually liked that Laurie ended up with Amy, how he couldn't help but grow soft at the way the two had accepted their mediocracies only to find something special in their relationship. He talks about all the things about Laurie that annoys him, and he mentions every attribute of Jo's that he found respectable. His thoughts on her speeches and revelations, on the underlying messages in the coming-of-age book that hadn't gone over his head.