Chapter Text
You couldn’t believe you were doing it. As you were doing it your mind was asking you ‘why? why are you doing this?’ You knew this was gonna make life difficult for you, you could already feel the stares of the people around you, the lunchroom going steadily silent as you walked up to Jason. His figure looming over poor little Dustin Henderson.
You didn’t know why Jason liked to pick on the Hellfire boys, you didn’t care. You didn’t particularly care for any of the jocks at Hawkins High at all. You might have worn the outfit and swung pom poms right next to all the other girls, but you weren’t like them. You could chew gum and walk at the same time for starters. You hoped people didn’t assume you were like them. The vapid cheerleaders who were secretly more insecure than everyone else, the jocks who picked on anyone not wearing green. You didn’t want to be like them, you tried your hardest to stay quiet and not make waves, be neither kind nor mean. Just quiet.
No matter why he did it, you usually stayed out of it. It was wrong, but you couldn’t fight every battle for every child that the jock picked on. Now you would stay out of this one. You absolutely would. But. You were in a bad mood. Your car broke down, you had to walk to school which took ages, you were starving and now your lunchtime reading was being interrupted because Jason decided to trip up poor little Dustin and spill his lunch all over the damn floor.
So, you got up. You got up and, just to make things worse, you just walked over the table and the next one and the next one until you dropped down behind Jason and grabbed his arm, pulling him back so hard he tripped over your waiting ankle, landing him on his ass to a chorus of laughter from most everyone else in the hall – except the rest of the basketball team who were standing absolutely shocked.
“Okay Jason you had your fun, you showed everyone how big your dick is, now run back to your court and play with your balls.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’ve had your fun and filled your quota for being a jackass today, leave the poor boy alone.” You turned your head from the blonde on the ground and pulled Dustin up to his feet, pushing him towards his table and shielding him for the very angry basketball player standing up behind you, as you did you saw Eddie Munson standing on his table, looking unsure as in trying to decide if it was a trick or not. You nodded your head towards him, and he stayed standing until Dustin sat down and then he followed suit. Keeping his eyes on you the whole time.
You sighed and turned around watching as Jason geared himself up to say something, luckily the bell rang instead, and you smirked at him and walked away.
*
Well, that was unexpected.
“Are you okay Dusty?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, that was amazing , did you see her jump to my defence like that? She’s my new favourite hero.”
“Calm down she’s just a cheerleader.”
“A cheerleader who knocked a basketball player on his ass in Dustin’s defence.”
“Keep it in your pants Wheeler.”
*
Driving alone was fun, he could blast his music and sing along but he did miss the company after the boys got out, he didn’t mind being alone but when it’s the majority of the week, going home to an empty trailer after an empty drive, it was overwhelming. It wasn’t always like this, sometimes he drove the boys around, but a lot the time they had parents or siblings pick them up, or Steve, if Robin ever let him go.
When the rain started, he decided to take the long way home and enjoy it instead of going straight home to his empty house, he turned his speakers down a bit. It was Wednesday so Wayne would be out already and listening to the rain in a truck was just as good as listening to it in a trailer.
Until he saw you.
Well, he didn’t see you per se, he saw the Hawkins cheer uniform and he was deciding whether to drive through a puddle and soak the pompoms off you. But when he saw your face.
It’s embarrassing how quickly he decided to pull over.
“Hey L/N! Need a ride?!”
*
Stupid fucking town with it’s stupid fucking rain and it’s stupid school miles away from it’s stupid fucking suburb.
Your math book, was not only ruined from water damage, but it was also futile in keeping the rain from your hair and face. Your uniform was soaked through, and you bet your bag wasn’t doing a great job protecting the rest of your school stuff.
Fucking stupid broken down car. Fucking stupid town with stupid mechanics.
You were only halfway home, and you were the definition of drowned rat, you couldn’t even imagine what your mascara looked like.
Holding your head down to minimise damage you were singing The Beatles softly to yourself when you heard a car slow down behind you until it was driving at your walking pace.
Getting murdered would be just perfect right now. That’s just what I need.
You looked up to see who would be digging your unmarked grave and saw the infamous pickup truck of Edward Munson.
Maybe he is as bad as people say.
You tried a smile/wave combo and put your head back down.
“Hey L/N! Need a ride?!”
Didn’t see that coming.
You looked back up at him and saw that he’d stopped his truck and rolled the window down. Walking over you could hear metal music faintly playing from his radio.
“Excuse me?”
“Do you need a ride? To wherever you’re going?”
Bad day getting better.
“Oh. I don’t wanna get your truck all wet.”
He smirked and you listened to yourself back and smiled down at your feet.
“Oh, don’t you worry princess, happens in here all the time.” He winked and you felt your cheeks flush, he quite obviously noticed and that made his smirk wider.
You shook your head and went to turn away before he yelled again.
“No, but seriously, get in. You’re soaked and it looks like we’re going the same way anyway. A little water won’t kill this truck,” you were already climbing in as he said, “trust me it’s seen worse.”
You gave him a deadpan look and he smiled at you like a catholic schoolboy.
“Thanks Eddie, I appreciate it.” You gave him your address and he whistled , also trying to ignore his body's reaction to you saying his name. He did a great job, it was ignored. Totally ignored. Gone.
Help.
“Ooh giving your address to the town freak, aren’t you worried I’ll break in and do nefarious things?”
You looked from the interior of his well cleaned truck to the cat in the middle of the road he was slowing down to avoid hitting. “Nope, not even a little bit.”
Most of the ride was spent in silence, just his radio and the rain playing a harmony in your ears. You were staring out the window and mentally checking off the work you had to do when you got home. When Eddie spoke, you didn’t turn around, but you tilted your head to him to show you were listening.
“Why were you walking home in this rain?”
“My cars broken.”
“Why haven’t you taken it to a mechanic?”
You laughed a bitter laugh, a little too loud, letting out some of your frustration. “Because not only am I a high school girl, but I’m also a fucking cheerleader into the bargain and unless you have a big strong man with you, mechanics take the piss and overcharge and tell you all sorts is wrong and my dad’s out of town for the time being so I’m just,” you sighed, “waiting it out.”
“How long have you been walking to and from school?”
“Very direct, aren’t you? I didn’t know this car ride came with an interrogation.”
“Sorry, I was just-“
“About a week? It’s only forty-five minutes.”
He smiled at your answer, awkwardness leaving as quickly as it entered. “Yeah, but forty-five minutes in this weather might as well be three hours. Don’t the pep squad give you rides?”
You grinned at his mocking tone. “Yeah right, they’d be afraid I’d taint their cars with big words containing more than two syllables.”
He snorted and you turned to see, he had a pretty smile. “After today I don’t think it’d be the best idea for you to get in a car with any of them.”
“Yeah, I should probably just bite the bullet and move schools.”
“Oh, don’t do that, then there wouldn’t be anything pretty to look at in English class.”
“Don’t worry Munson I’ll get you a mirror.”
He smiled even wider this time and played the side of his mouth with his thumb. You wondered if it was a nervous tick and vowed to compliment him again and again to test it.
Ten minutes more were spent in near silence and that was apparently too long for Eddie.
“Why do you bother with those people?”
“What do you mean?” He slowed down to a stop
“I mean, I see you every day at that lunch table.” He squared his shoulders and put both hands in his lap like a disapproving teacher.
“Watching me Munson?”
“You wish.” You did and you smiled at his comment. The thought of someone so in their own world like Eddie Munson, noticing you on a daily basis brought a warmth to your stomach. “No but c’mon, why do you bother, you obviously don’t want to be there. You sit at the end of the table reading every day, barely acknowledging the rest of them, today was the only day I think I’ve ever actually seen you even talk to Jason, so why bother being a cheerleader at all?”
He was looking at you now. An intense stare, all his attention focused directly in your eyes. Waiting for an answer. Beautiful brown eyes causing the breath to hitch in your throat and your mouth to go dry.
“Lights green.”
“What? Oh.” His head whipped back towards the road, and he started swearing over the sound of horns from the cars behind him.
“Yeah, yeah I get it, give it a rest.” You laughed and shook the wet hair from your face, almost dry thanks to the heater Eddie directed your way once you got in.
A big sigh and then. “Because I’m good at it. That’s why. I have better gymnastics skills than all the other girls and I get to use them every day being a cheerleader.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, haven’t you seen us? Me?”
He gave you a look that said, ‘do I look like the kind of guy that goes to pep rallies?’
“Ah.”
Ten minutes later he was pulling into your driveway and luckily the rain was dying down.
“Thanks for the ride handsome.”
“Oh, any time baby.”
You both smiled, no intention behind the flirting other than amusing the other on a bleak day in Hawkins.
You were halfway out the car when he stopped you.
“Why did you do that today?”
You cleared your throat. “Do what?”
“Put them doe eyes away baby it won’t work on me.”
“It’s working a little c’mon, your pants are tight.”
He made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh and ran his hands over his face.
“You are something F/N L/N, really something.”
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“I think I’ll just have to wait and find out.”
You finished getting out of the car and stood at the door, looking in at him through the window.
“I was having a bad day. Jason was being a dick. I reached my peak.”
“Is that all? Just a bad mood?”
You paused. “No. I don’t like the way he treats you all. Usually, I just let you take care of yourselves, but I couldn’t stand it today. I just decided to step in.”
He just nodded at you as if you’d passed some kind of test.
“Do you want a ride to school tomorrow morning?”
“Yes.”
“You answered that fast. Desperate to see me more?”
“Oh yeah Munson, the morning light reflecting in those pretty eyes will take my panties right off.”
He scratched the edge of his mouth with his thumbnail, and you were so proud of yourself you nearly did a backflip for him across your lawn.
*
He’s in love.
In love.
With a damn cheerleader no less.
And all it took was a thirty-minute drive.
The way you looked and smelled. Even after being rain soaked and angry. The way you tapped your fingers on your thigh listening to his music. He loved how quick and flirty you were with him, you could match his pace and humour perfectly, and as much as he hated to admit it, the way you defended Dustin was hot as fuck.
He was surprised at how quickly you agreed to his ride for tomorrow morning, but he wasn’t questioning it, he knew he should, you were a cheerleader and a smart one at that so he should question everything you did in his presence, but he didn’t, and he didn’t care. He hoped it would be a regular thing and vowed to try and make it that way.
On the way home he was planning how to permanently damage your car, so you’d have to live in his truck.
*
Eight am and you were waiting outside your house hoping Eddie wasn’t kidding about giving you a ride, if you were walking, you’d have to leave soon.
It was raining again.
Ten minutes later and he pulled up at the bottom of the street. You waited until he stopped completely before you left the safe, dry confines of your porch.
“Hey beautiful, nice uniform.”
You looked down at his Hellfire shirt and ripped jeans and the plethora of rings on his fingers.
“You too.”
“Get in baby.”
“I don’t know how we developed this relationship but I’m not entirely mad about it.”
“That’s a shame I’d like to see you mad.”
“Want me to toss you about like I did Jason?”
“I’m not answering that, buckle your belt.”
“Yes sir.” He groaned and started the truck.
*
Three weeks.
This had been going on for three weeks and he couldn’t believe he was still walking.
He had been picking you up and dropping you off almost every day, excusing the days that you had cheer practice and he had Hellfire. He’d told the boys about your arrangement (he’d had to, one day both you and Dustin needed rides home and he couldn’t say no to either of you) and due to the incident with Jason, the whole of the Hawkin’s Hierarchy were avoiding you anyway so they hadn’t found out you were friends with Eddie.
You were getting closer every day, your flirty banter never stopping or slowing down.
It was killing him.
He knew in your eyes that it was just fun between friends but to him it was torture and knowing that he couldn’t make a move added insult to injury. He didn’t want to risk your relationship by kissing you and scaring you off, so he didn’t.
But if you were anybody else and you were talking to him the way you were he’d already have you laid out on the bed of his truck and screaming his name, that cheer skirt up around your waist.
Currently he was changing gears and trying not to notice how his knuckles grazed your thigh, he didn’t think you were even paying attention with how intently you were looking out the window.
*
You were drilling a hole through his window so hard; you were surprised it didn’t crack.
You were thinking of cracking it yourself. Fist right through it.
Anything to take focus away from his hands against your bare skin.
For the only time in your life, you wished your knee-high socks were tights.
*
“Shit we’re late.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine, we’re fucking late, where were all those fucking school buses going at half eight in the morning anyway, fucking hell.”
“You have such a mouth on you.”
“Eddie babes usually I would be inclined to make a blowjob joke here but I’m flipping out, why the fuck did you park so far away from the fucking door.”
“Slow down darling, you’re already late no point in rushing in,” although he said this he kept pace with your run, matching you step for step down the hall, “and do you not see all these other cars parked? Did you want me to just reverse into the English class?”
“Shut the fuck up Munson.”
You both burst into the door, probably louder than necessary to see thirty eyes turning round to look at you. Both of you. Standing in the door together, wet, late, and heavily breathing due to the run.
Together. Late together. Wet together. Heavily breathing. Together.
“Nice of you to join us. We were just assigning partners for the upcoming project. Since you two like spending so much time together outside of class, you can pair up, sheets are on your desks.”
“We’re only four minutes late.”
“And yet, you missed so much.”
*
The whole lesson he stared at you. You were talking about the upcoming assignment, and you cheer schedule, asking him about Hellfire and Corroded Coffin shows so he could come over to yours and work after school.
The second you said that his head was spinning.
“My dad’s in the army so he’s never home, the place will be empty for us to study, if that’s okay with you?”
Silence.
All he could think about was you in an empty house, having you in his truck after school was almost too much alone time for him but being alone with you in an empty house? It might just drive him mad. Insane. Completely over the edge.
You rapped your knuckles on the desk to get his attention.
“Eds? Babe you still in there? This is a big project and I’m not doing all the work myself.”
“Yeah, I’m here princess, talk me through cheer practice again.”
*
You were listening to him talk about his schedule and thinking about his hand brushing against your leg in the car this morning, trying to decide whether it was on purpose or not.