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The film dialogue humming throughout the Family Video as an afterthought of the store’s true purpose was interrupted, quiet rudely, by the bell hung on the door beating its shell as the door slammed open. Steve looked up from the magazine he was skimming over, finding Eddie Munson strolling up to the front desk, a catty grin adorning his face. Initially this stroke fear in Steve’s chest, but Eddie’s expression shifted to one much softer as he reached the counter. He stood on his toes to place a peck on Steve’s cheek, before pulling back with an eager manner in his eyes.
“You free tonight?” He asked, crossing his arms and leaning onto the counter.
“Yeah,” Steve replied though a tone of suspicion lingered. “You got something planned?”
Eddie’s grin only spread. “You know it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Steve frowned a bit, sliding his magazine aside so he could focus completely on his boyfriend. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Oh ya know,” Eddie tilted his head to the side, letting his hair slide back and expose his neck. “Just a date.” He shrugged slightly as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“A date.” Steve parroted. “An actual date?” He was referring to anything other than movie nights and weed, something Eddie had coined as ‘date night’, thought Steve had a hard time seeing it that way.
“Yes, an actual date.” Eddie rolled his head back upward. “At that diner on the corner of town.” He guestered loosely to the direction of the restaurant, as if Steve could see through walls.
“At night?” Steve’s brows began to stitch.
“Yeah, so no one’s around.” Eddie replied dumbly.
Steve frowned. “I thought we talked about how I was okay with being seen with you in public.” He knew there were risks if he and Eddie were caught on a date, but it’s not like anyone would know. As long as they didn’t publicize their affection, they’d just look like two guys getting dinner.
“No, no.” Eddie shook his head, hair whipping around his face wildly. “It’s not about us.”
“What?” Steve’s brows only furrowed more. This elicited a giggled from Eddie, before he twirled a strand of hair over his grin. Steve could tell he was hiding something.
“Chrissy and I were talking,” Eddie explained, slowly lowering the strand and instead beginning to twirl it in between his finger tips. “And we figured we should go on a double date.”
Steve’s expression went blank for a moment as he processed this new information, before the shock set in. “A double date with Chrissy Cunnigham and Jason Carver?” He was asking a question, but his tone resembled that of a statement. Eddie nodded, thrilled.
“Chrissy already talked to him, and he agreed.” Eddie was oddly excited to be spending the night in Jason Carver’s presence. “And it’s not like we’re hiding exactly. Jason was just worried about his friends seeing us, and like-” There was a pause as Eddie searched for the right phrasing.
“Killing us?” Steve suggested.
“Basically.” Eddie confirmed.
Another pause was taken as Steve considered this as well. His lips were parted, as if thoughts of rebuttal or disapproval were threatening to spill, but he didn’t say a word. Eventually, he let out a sigh and shook his head.
“Jesus- Alrighty then.” His voice was breathy, in shock or even disbelief.
Eddie slapped his hands onto the counter. “Pick me up at eight.” He declared, grinning up at Steve once more.
“Yeah, yeah.” Steve agreed in a mumble, still rationalizing the whole ordeal. Just as quickly as he came, Eddie skipped off, out the door frame and back to his van.
--
Jason’s white jeep pulled into the parking lot of the Sweethearts Diner, parking next to a black BMW. He glanced up at the rearview mirror, noticing the flickering lights of the diner’s sign behind them. He let out a short sigh and turned to Chrissy.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked for the millionth time that night. If one looked hard enough, they might find a hint of fear in his tone. Not of being caught out with Eddie Munson, but of formally meeting the one person he had idolized since middle school.
“Yes.” Chrissy reassured him with a bright smile. Jason managed the same, and the two left the confines of his vehicle, sauntering up to the entrance of the dull building. When they entered, they were met with the low hum of oldies music, something familiar that Chrissy remembered her mom playing. Her brows twitched as she shook the thought.
From the back of the diner, Eddie Muson was waving them over, a nervous Steve Harrigton watching them, wide eyed. Jason felt himself mirror the expression, but his feet moved to the back anyways. Chrissy followed, at his side.
“Hey.” Steve greeted them as they sat across from himself and Eddie. Jason’s lips parted, but he found himself unable to reply. Eddie’s head snapped down, resisting a giggle.
“Hi.” Chrissy replied instead, holding her hand out for Steve to shake. He did so, beginning to feel more comfortable in this unusually situation.
“So Jason,” Eddie started, looking back up. Jason’s eyes flashed over to the metalhead. “I heard you really looked up to Steve in school.”
Jason cleared his through, softly lit room hiding the heat that sparked on his face. “Uh, yeah. I guess.” He glanced over at Steve with worried eyes, only to find the other staring at him in disbelief.
“Seriously?” Steve asked, chuckling softly.
“I mean-” Jason’s brows furrowed a bit and Eddie had to bite his tongue. “You were just so good, at like, everything . You’re the reason I joined the basketball team.”
“Huh.” Steve considering pinching himself. “Speaking of basketball, you really oughta let Sinclair play more. We play one-on-one at my house sometimes- Kid’s a future pro, for sure.”
Jason’s flush quickly became noticeable. “For sure.” He replied quickly. “It’s just, he’s younger. We’re used to letting the seniors play more-”
“I played more than he did when I was a freshmen.” Steve spoke blandly. He wasn’t bragging, if anything, he was stating the cruelness of Jason’s microaggressions in a way, he hoped, the other might understand. He narrowed his eyes for added effect.
“Yeah.” Jason’s hands buzzed in his lap, worried eyes grasping for approval. “You’re right. I-I’ll talk to the guys.”
“Good.” Steve leaned back a bit, expression softening. Eddie felt a mound of warmness spilling over him. Tonight’s going to be good , he thought.
A waitress made her way to their table, notepad in a thoroughly ringed hand, glancing between the group from behind her red-framed glasses. “Good evening.” Her voice was scratchy, and Eddie felt himself jump a bit at how much it reminded his of his late grandmother. “What can I get you all?”
“Bacon and eggs.” Steve spoke first, having already looked over his menu repetitively while he and Eddie were waiting for Jason and Chrissy to join them. “Over easy.” The waitress nodded, and scribbled something, before turning her gaze to Eddie.
“Pancakes.” He found himself saying, though he had sincerely considered an omelet.
“What side do you want, hun?” The waitress's eyes watched him meticulously.
“Uhm-” Eddie chewed his lip for a moment, eyes shooting down to the menu in front of him. “Sausage.” He decided, with enough innuendo that Steve felt compelled to nudge his foot from under the table. Eddie glanced over while the waitress wrote it down, meeting Steve’s warning look with a tiny smirk.
“And you, ma’am?” The waitress had turned to Chrissy.
Chrissy’s voice caught in her throat as her mind began to race over everything she had already eaten that day, how late it was, the calories. She felt a hand on her thigh and turned to find Jason offering her an expression of comfort, then a slight nod, as if reminding her there was nothing wrong with whatever she ordered. She managed a weak smile, turning back to the waitress.
“I’ll have an omelet.” She decided. “And may I get a side of fruit?”
“Yes, you may.” The waitress seemed amused by her politeness as she scribbled down the order.
“I’ll have scrabbled eggs and grits.” Jason said as he began lifting everyone’s menus and handing them back to the waitress. She wrote his order, then grabbed the menu’s appreciatively, and took her leave.
“An omelet sounds great.” Eddie reassured when he noticed the nervous expression that had faded across Chrissy’s face. He reached out, petting her hand softly to get her attention. She glanced at him, expression slowly shifting to a smile of gratitude. She nodded, curls bouncing along with her.
“Uhm,” Chrissy spoke softly, interested in shifting the conversation. “How long, have you two been dating?” She asked, glancing between Steve and Eddie, as if she didn’t know the exact date and time they had gotten together.
“A few months.” Steve thought, glancing over to his boyfriend.
“ Four months.” Eddie corrected. “Almost five.”
“That’s funny.” Jason spoke without thinking, and suddenly all eyes were on him. He froze. “Because Chrissy and I have almost been together for five years.” He explained quickly.
“True highschool sweethearts, huh?” Steve scoffed. Jason nodded slowly. “That’s cool, man. You must really love each other.”
Chrissy smiled. “Do you think if you and Eddie really knew each other when you were freshmen, that you would’ve gotten together?” She had straightened her posture and her nervous look had faded to one more intrigued.
“Gosh,” Eddie hummed, glancing over at Steve. “We would’ve been talk of the town.”
“We are talk of the town.” Steve reminded him, before turning back to Chrissy. “I’m honestly not sure. I was an ignorant freshmen.”
“You wore skinny jeans and Gap shirts.” Eddie chuckled as he recalled their freshmen year. “But I think I could’ve turned you.”
“Turned me?” Steve couldn’t help a scoffed as he eyed Eddie with curiosity.
“Freshmen Steve was not a homosexual.” Eddie declared, matter-oh-factly.
“What happened to ‘it’s not a choice’?” Steve asked, gesturing with air quotes.
“Fine,” Eddie rolled his eyes playful. “Let’s say freshmen you had homo tendencies- Do you think you would've listened to Eddie the freak Munson, if he asked you on a date?”
Steve considered this for a moment. “Maybe.” He decided, firmly.
“Are you… gay?” Jason asked, interrupting the two boy’s conversation.
“I mean, I’m dating a man.” Steve scoffed, rasing a brow in Jason’s direction.
The jock shook his head. “Yeah- obviously. I just meant, are you gay -gay.” This only earned him more confused looks. “Like, do you only like guys?”
“Oh.” Steve hummed. “I guess not. I like guys and girls.”
Chrissy found herself smiling at the ease in which Steve admitted it, past guilt of staring too long at swim suit models beginning to fade from her consciousness.
“That’s cool.” Jason said quickly, desperate for Steve’s good side.
Eddie was about to make an innuendo lathered joke, when plates of food began to be sat down on the table. He leaned back so they could shuffle each plate around to the right person. The waitress wished them happy dining, before leaving once more.
Chrissy stared at the food in front of her, the realization that she would be eating it, setting in. A frown tugged at her mouth, but she felt a kick under the table and glanced up. Eddie was watching her like a hawk, doe eyes searching for any sign she needed to go outside and breathe. She smiled at him though, picked up her utensils and decided it was alright. All the people she loved were around her, also eating and not making side comments at the food she ordered, the way her mother tended to. She focused on the music flowing around them instead.
“Breakfast for dinner is pretty nice.” Steve decided as he chewed a slice of bacon.
“Breakfast is always good.” Eddie argued over a mouthful of pancakes. Steve elbowed him slightly, narrowed eyes reminding him of table manners.
“This place just makes great food.” Jason added, forking at his eggs. “We came here a lot after games in Junior year.” Chrissy nodded, mouth occupied by a slice of omelet.
“Their milkshakes are to die for.” She insisted.
“We always went for pizza after games.” Steve remarked sorrowfully. “Same Dominos everytime. I ate it so much, I started to hate it.”
“How can you hate pizza ?” Eddie gasped, stabbing his fork into one of the sausage links. “I’m going to have to rethink our relationship.”
“I started to hate it.” Steve argued. “I don’t anymore.”
“Do you like veggie pizza?” Chrissy asked curiously, picking up a strawberry slice with her fork and guiding it to her mouth without thinking. Jason watched out of the corner of his eye, finding himself fondly smiling. He had been with Chrissy for as long as he could remember, first as friends, but becoming official barely changed their relationship. They had always been close. She had only recently confided in him about her awful experience with food, her mother, and her own mental health. Though slightly confused as to why she hadn’t told him earlier, Jason was immediately comforting and helped her throughout her attempts to recover. He was so used to eating dinner with her, and either of their families, and finding her with a sour expression on her face, and fork that rarely met her lips. Seeing her eyes light up, despite the meal, set a warm burning of reassurance pour over Jason.
“Never tried it.” Steve admitted after he swallowed a mouthful of egg. “I always get pepperoni.”
“I’m a meat lovers guy myself.” Eddie sneered, grinning as he brought a bite of sausage to his mouth. He earn another elbow to the arm from Steve.
Chrissy giggled nonetheless, cutting at the remaining omelet on her plate. “I like cheese fine, but all the veggies go so good together, it’s like eating a sandwich.”
“Isn’t pizza just the abstract version of toast?” Eddie asked aloud, though it sounded more like internal dialogue. They all considered it for a moment.
“I guess…” Jason replied. His brows were knitted slightly, as if Eddie had made him question all aspects of reality with one simple question.
“No.” Steve said suddenly. “It’s pie.”
“You think a hotdog is a sandwich, so you don’t get a say.” Eddie wiggled a finger in Steve’s face.
“But it is .” Steve insisted.
“It’s a taco !” Chrissy giggled, covering her mouth to hide a ferocious grin.
Eddie’s eyes lit up. “ Thank you!” He cheered.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a sandwich.” Jason interjected. “Like if you looked it up in a cook book, it’d be under sandwiches.”
“Like hell it would.” Eddie snarled with fake exacerbation.
--
The night continued on like this for a couple of hours, until they had all finished their meals, and the waitstaff was begging them to take their leave. They made their goodbyes, Eddie and Chrissy hugging, while Steve and Jason exchanged a handshake that Jason would most definitely day dream about for years to come. Eddie watched Jason lead Chrissy back to his jeep, before he realized Steve’s car was directly next to theirs.
“Do you think he knew?” Eddie asked gesturing to the two cars. Steve chuckled.
“Probably.” He agreed with a nod. They watched Jason back up, carefully turning, then existing the parking lot. He drove a lot calmer than any jock Steve had ever met.
“Tonight went well.” Eddie said, as he and Steve began their walk to Steve’s BMW.
“Yeah.” Steve smiled. “Surprisingly so.”