RUMORS•eddie munson

8

February 14, 1985

The next day came too quick. Ziggy had gotten a good night's sleep and felt energetic that Valentine's Day. As a matter of fact, she had completely forgotten that it was Valentine's Day until she had arrived at school and saw the heart shaped decorations. She had gotten up earlier than usual and styled her hair differently, pulling half of it back with a pretty barrette. Ziggy even put some lipgloss on to go with her pretty dress. Adrian had questioned her chipper attitude on the way to school, but Ziggy claimed it was due to the new semester starting.
     She'd been keeping her head on a swivel all morning, hoping to see Eddie. Ziggy took extra long to exchange her books at her locker. As she held onto the metal door, scanning the hall, she caught sight of the girls huddled together laughing a few lockers down. She sent them a nervous glance, trying to look away before they noticed. Ziggy knew she had failed when Carol looked her up and down, sending her a judgmental look before elbowing one of the other girls in the side and pointing at her.
     "So uh, I guess we don't even have to ask who your valentine is, right Ziggy?" The other girls giggled. Ziggy smiled nervously, pretending she knew what was so funny. Carol saw her confusion.
     "You and Munson? Or is that more of a casual affair?" Ziggy's brows furrowed. She inhaled a shallow breath, blinking with a frown.
     "What?" She shifted her feet uncomfortably as Tina snickered.
     "There's no need to play dumb. Everyone knows he's screwing you. Danny saw you guys in his van last month." Tina explained like it was a casual conversation to have, but Ziggy could sense the teasing tone. Her ears began to burn in humiliation. Ziggy squeezed her locker door.
     "Well, he lied. We never-"
     "Oh, I get it, you put on the schoolgirl-valedictorian-goody two shoes-act and then whore around behind closed doors." The girls practically cackled with each other. Ziggy's eyes started to water as her throat closed up. Carol reeled herself in, sending Ziggy a sheepish look.
     "Yeah, well, secrets out now." She shrugged before continuing to laugh with her friends. Ziggy inhaled a shaky breath, closing her locker and rushing down the hall. She refused to cry over something so silly. She was sure that they were making it up. By the time lunch came, she wasn't so sure.
     Standing in line at the cafeteria, she caught wind of another conversation about her.
     "Always took her for the freaky type, but Eddie? That's a new low."
     "I'm sure it was just a fling type of deal. Those losers like to bounce around, you know? From what I heard, she fucked the whole club."
     "Hellfire?"
     "Hell yeah."
     "Nah, I heard the club was gonna sacrifice her for their ritualistic shit. Munson banged her so she wasn't a virgin anymore. Kinda romantic if you think about it."
     "Yeah, I heard that too, but the gangbang sounds more likely."
     She couldn't listen anymore. She dropped her tray on the counter and left the lunchroom, holding back tears for the second time that day. 'So they weren't lying' she thought. It lead her to wonder how long people had been saying these things about her. All of the weird looks she had received in the past few days had started to make sense to her. So did the chuckles she heard when she and Eddie would talk in passing. They had all known about the rumors for a while, but now that people caught wind of her knowing they seemed to kick it up a notch.
     Hawkins High had a booth set up on Valentines Day. Any student could walk up to the booth and write a Valentine to another student with a personalized message and they would be posted on their lockers. No one actually participated other than freshman, so when one was posted in a senior hallway, it caught people's attention. Ziggy went to her locker three times throughout her school day; before the first bell, after lunch, and when the school day had ended. When she had arrived at her locker there was a small group standing next to it, slapping each other on the arms and cackling wildly. She slowly stepped closer, avoiding the gazes of Tommy H. and Billy Hargrove. Instead, she kept her eyes trained on the red heart posted on her locker door. She held her breath until she was close enough to read the Valentine.
     "Thanks for last night. Can't believe you swallowed it all - eddie"
     Ziggy looked up at the paper with wide eyes, her mouth parting in shock. Her breathing picked up as her vision got blurry. Billy cleared his throat, stepping closer to whisper in her ear with a wicked grin.
     "So, are you gonna move on to the basketball team next? Cause, I'd love to see if you could take all mine." Ziggy looked up at him in horror. Tommy scoffed, trying not to laugh at his lewd question. Billy stuck a toothpick in his mouth, leaning farther into the locker. Ziggy let out a sob, the tears finally falling as she scrambled to snatch the paper off of her locker. She turned on her heel and ran to get away from the group of boys. Just as she passed them, her body slammed into someone else's. She gasped, looking up to find Eddie looking down at her with a smile. He had caught her by the hips. His smile dropped as soon as he saw her horrified face. Tommy snickered into his hand, muttering a 'no way' into his fist.
     "Woah, baby, what's wrong?" They laughed at his use of the nickname. Eddie looked up at their laughter, only now realizing that they were all watching them. Ziggy gasped, choking on her tears. She grasped the valentine tighter in her fist, sliding by Eddie and running down the hall and out of the door. Eddie followed after her, calling out her name as she turned a corner and found herself pacing in the small alleyway, holding her fists to her head as she sobbed. Eddie finally found her, running up and grabbing her by the shoulders to face him.
     "Hey, what's going on? Talk to me." He carefully whispered over her sobs. Ziggy kept her eyes closed, shaking her head as she tried to pull away. Eddie pulled her in closer.
     "Ziggy, please. Just tell me-" he trailed off, finally catching sight of the red paper crumpled in her fist. His brows furrowed.
     "What's that?" He asked. Ziggy's sobs picked up, getting louder as she held the paper behind her back, shaking her head more.
     "No! You cant-" her sobs cut off her sentence. Eddie's breathing picked up, reaching for it again as she tried to keep it from his view.
     "Ziggy, please. Let me see. It's okay." He brought his hand up to hold her cheek. She stopped thrashing, giving him the chance to pull the paper from her hand. She turned her head, backing away from him and facing the wall as he unfolded it and read what was written. Eddie's mouth parted at the crude message.
     "Where did you find this?" He read the paper over again, not believing he was reading it right. Ziggy didn't answer, still facing the wall. Eddie stalked up to her, turning her around again and holding her tightly by the shoulders.
     "Ziggy, where did you find this?" His voice raised from a whisper to a normal talking volume, becoming more stern. She covered her face with her hands.
     "They put it on my locker." She whined after she caught her breath enough to speak. Eddie shook his head with wide eyes.
     "I didn't write this. Baby, look at me." He grabbed her hands, pulling them from her face so that she could finally open her eyes and look up at him. He shook his head again, not blinking as he took a step closer.
     "I didn't write this." She nodded her head, her sobs turning silent.
     "I know." She whispered. Eddie's face fell from its delicate and careful expression.
     "What do you mean?" Her eyes started to fall again, but Eddie pulled her face up by her chin to keep her attention on him.
     "They've been saying things about me." He blinked, shaking his head in confusion.
     "What? Who?"
     "Everybody!" She screamed.
     "What are they saying?" Ziggy threw her head back with a cry. Eddie stroked his thumb over her jaw, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
     "I can't say it!" She sobbed so hard that he almost couldn't understand her. He pinched the paper in between his fingers.
     "What, is it- is it stuff like this?" He held the paper up. Ziggy nodded.
     "Stuff about us?" She nodded again. Her throat was getting dry from all of the crying but spit had formed between her lips and braces, stringing together when she opened them to gasp in a deep breath. He started to pull her in for a hug, but she planted her hands on his chest and held him there when something caught her eye.
     "Eddie, what's that?" She whispered. His gaze followed hers, landing on the hickey she had given him the night before peeking out of his shirt. His breathing picked up in realization. Eddie looked down at her horrified face as a hand came up to cover her mouth.
     "Oh my god!" She sobbed again, turning to walk out of the alleyway as Eddie scrambled to follow her. People had most certainly seen it. That was probably what had people talking extra that day.
     "Baby, I didn't know." Eddie touched his hand to hers but she ripped it from his grasp.
     "Stop calling me that! You're making it worse, Eddie!" She yelled, catching the attention of King Steve as he walked out to the track for practice. His presence caught the attention of Eddie, making Ziggy turn to look at him as well. Steve froze in his tracks, eyeing the pair up and down with raised eyebrows.
     "Lovers quarrel?" He asked with an awkward chuckle. Ziggy's already beet red face fell in anger as she took a quick step towards him.
      "Shut the hell up, Harrington!" She stormed past him with shaking hands, Eddie following behind her and sending Steve a scowl as he stood there in shock at her outburst.
     Ziggy walked through the parking lot in search of Adrian. She spotted his car a few feet away and made a beeline for it, unable to ignore the odd stares she was getting. Eddie jogged behind her, catching her by the elbow and whispering in her ear.
      "Ziggy, it's gonna be okay-"
      "Eddie, I need you to leave me alone." She whispered back, refusing to look at him. He looked down at her in shock, loosening his grip enough for her to pull away from him.
     The next day, Ziggy had shown up to school for the first hour, but went home early when the teasing hadn't let up. People did, in fact, see Eddie's hickey. She stayed home for a week. That was when Eddie decided to go to her house and check on her. Her mom had opened the door and sent Eddie a small smile in pity. She wasn't sure what had her daughter so worked up over the last week. All her son told her was that some kids at school had been making fun of her. She let Eddie in and told him that she was in her room, giving him the okay to go up and see her.
     Eddie knocked on her door and waited for her to open it. When she finally did, he was taken aback by her state. She wore a long nightgown and her long hair fell down her back. He thought she looked absolutely beautiful. Despite this, she had bags around her eyes and her lips were chapped. She held the door with one hand, her face falling when she saw who was on the other side.
     "Hey." He greeted, sending her a small smile. She gulped, not returning it.
     "Hi." She mumbled, stepping to the side to let him in. He walked into her room, not bothering to look anywhere but her as she closed the door behind him.
     "I wanted to check on you. I haven't seen you at school lately, so..." he trailed off. Ziggy nodded her head, holding her hands behind her back. He awkwardly cleared his throat.
     "So, how've you been?" Ziggy looked up at him like he was ridiculous. He shook his head with a wince.
      "Right, stupid question. My bad." He chuckled, trying to ease the tension. When she didn't chuckle with him, he took a step closer. He took her face in his hands, looking down at her intently.
     "This will all blow over soon. I promise. Someone is gonna do some dumb shit and they're gonna forget all about it." He reassured. Ziggy looked up at him with uncertainty.
     "What if it doesn't?" She whispered.
     "It will." He repeated. Ziggy's eyes fell to his lips. He looked down at hers. Her hands reached up and squeezed his forearms. Ziggy's tongue ran across her lips.
     "Eddie, I don't think we should be friends." She whispered.
     "Me neither." He leaned in for a kiss, but Ziggy flinched back with a wince.
     "I didn't mean it like that." She clarified. Eddie's brows furrowed.
     "What do you mean?" Ziggy grabbed him by the wrists, pulling his hands from her face as her eyes started to water.
     "I just, I think it would be best if we-" she was struggling to find the right words as she stared at the ground. She swallowed, looking back up at him with teary eyes.
     "I don't think we should talk anymore." She said sternly. Eddie recoiled as if he had been betrayed.
     "What are you doing?" He whispered, his eyes beginning to pool. Ziggy's breathing picked up.
     "You know, with all of the rumors-"
     "Ziggy, what are you doing?" His voice turned stern. Ziggy nearly groaned.
     "Everything has gone to shit." Eddie took a step back, shaking his head.
     "Because of gossip?" Ziggy scoffed.
     "Yes!" Eddie squinted down at her, sucking his cheeks in anger. A tear rolled down his cheek, but he wiped it away quickly.
     "So, the thought of people actually thinking that we slept together is so horrifying-"
     "Don't do that."
     "Do what?"
     "Don't act like this is the same for you as it is for me!" She yelled, pointing to her chest.
     "They're calling me a whore, Eddie! You don't even know what they're saying about me! It's disgusting! I feel- I feel so dirty!" She broke out into a cry. Eddie's gaze softened, the reality setting in.
     "You can't do this." Ziggy squeezed her eyes shut. She took a deep breath.
     "I think you should leave."
     "I love you, Niamh." He rushed out. Ziggy opened her eyes. She shook her head with a hurt expression. Eddie nodded his. His tears fell freely now.
     "Stop." She whispered.
     "I love you, Ziggy." He stepped closer, not daring to blink. Her chest heaved.
     "Don't make this harder."
     "I am gonna make this harder. I want this to be hard. I want it to be so hard that you change your mind and take it back because I am in love with you." He stepped closer, grabbing her face in his hands. She closed her eyes but he caressed her cheek, making her look up at him again. He pulled her in for a kiss. It was wet with spit and tears, but he put all of his energy into it. When they pulled away, Ziggy let out a small squeak, holding her cries in. They cried together, looking into each other's eyes in sadness.
     "Go home, Eddie." She whispered. His brows pulled together as he held back a sob. He tilted his head, eyes glistening in the light from her bedside lamp as tears clouded his vision.
     'I love you.' It was so quiet that it was basically only being mouthed, but he tried one last time. Ziggy finally let out a sob, shaking her head no. Eddie pulled back, dropping his hands from her face and letting out a sob as he turned to her door.
     "Fuck this." He cried, pulling the door open and rushing down her stairs, leaving the house without saying goodbye. As soon as he was out of view, Ziggy let herself cry freely.
     That was the last time they had seen each other. After she had attempted to return to school a handful of times and received the same treatment, it simmered down a little bit. The comments never completely stopped, though. Another challenge was avoiding Eddie at all costs. Eventually, Ziggy's parents had worked out a deal with the school, letting her stay home for the rest of the year and having Adrian bring her the work home. She missed out on in class activities and had been behind on her schoolwork, costing her the spot of valedictorian. Eventually she caught up enough to earn the title of salutatorian, but that wasn't what she had worked so tirelessly for.
     Eddie had practically stopped doing his work all together. He had fallen so behind that the only way for him to pass was to get another tutor. For obvious reasons, he declined the offer. His lack of class credits made it impossible for him to pass the 1984-1985 school year, resulting in him being forced to take senior year for a third time.
     Eddie had assumed that Ziggy moved off to college when he went a whole year without seeing her. The events of March, 1986 proved him wrong.