the shire is burning [eddie munson x OC]

chapter sixty

"Buckley, you cannot take another shot! You've had five!"

Eddie is already snickering as he enters the kitchen to find Steve standing before Robin and Willow, both of the girls attempting to use their puppy dog eyes on him as he holds the bottle of vodka out of their reach.

"It's not going to be another shot!" Robin argues while Willow laughs beside her, "We're making drinks, dingus. It's New Year's Eve. Lighten up, will ya?"

"Yeah, Steve!" Willow pipes in, her face encased in a rosey blush, "Lighten up!"

Steve catches sight of Eddie entering the scene first, and his eyes are pleading for backup.

Unlucky for him, Eddie was in no mood to provide such a thing.

"Lighten up, Harrington," he echoes the girls' choice of words, and his voice immediately has Willow's head snapping in his direction. He hadn't been gone for more than five minutes, only slipping out to use the restroom, but clearly a lot had happened in that time, "They'll learn their lesson when they wake up with the world's shittiest hangovers tomorrow."

"We will not be hungover," Willow insists, standing from her stool with surprising grace. As she walks over to Eddie's side effortlessly, it's clear she's had less to drink than Robin, "Besides, tomorrow is still a national holiday. So even if we are hungover, which we won't be, there's still no responsibility. We can just sleep in."

"You're all menaces," Steve grumbles as he finally sits the vodka down in front of Robin, making her yelp in joy, "Do not throw up on the carpet. My parents would kill me."

Eddie sighs as he wraps an arm around Willow, letting her tangle her arms around his waist as she tucks her face into his chest for a moment. He's entranced with the sweet scent of her vanilla perfume and the fruity chaser she's followed up whatever shots she has taken with, lips stained a soft pink to match her cheeks. She has him so wrapped up in oblivion, he doesn't notice that Robin has begun to make the drinks for herself and the girl currently distracting him until he hears Steve beginning to protest again.

"Okay, that was way too much, Buckley. Nope, no! No, I'm cutting you two off until the champagne-"

Steve's maternal rant is cut off by some shouts from the living room, making all of the older teens look in the direction of where the younger ones of the party have gathered.

If anyone had asked Eddie this time last year what his perfect idea of a New Year's Eve was, he never would have answered this. If you had told him he would be spending it with his girlfriend, her best friends which include Robin from band and Steve fucking Harrington, and an entire gaggle of young freshmen, he'd laugh in your face. But that was his reality right now, and he was overflowing with serenity.

The last few months of his life felt too good to be true, really. Honestly, since this summer, since the fateful day he'd stepped foot in Scoops Ahoy (or more aptly put, he'd been dragged in by Gareth), the events of his life had simply felt dream-like. He never knew that life was capable of such happiness, such gaiety, such delight. He had the girl of his dreams. He had friends, a plentiful amount at that.

He was friends with Steve Harrington, after all. A man he'd once regarded with intense disgust, now someone he knew he could rely on at the very least.

He'd seen his favorite band live. The crowd of five drunks that attended Corroded Coffin's shows had grown into a decent crowd of at least ten, half of which didn't have to be drunk to enjoy his performance. The latest Hellfire campaign had been a huge success. He'd passed all his classes this semester with flying colors, by his standards. There wasn't a single grade that dipped below a startling C.