(May 1986)
"So am I taking you anywhere in particular for your dinner, or is it driver's choice?"
"Diner's fine."
"Don't trust my taste, Mayfield?"
"What was your last meal?" Max questions, the implication that she had every reason to doubt Eddie would have eaten anything more than junk food practically dripping from her tone, "Pringles?"
"Pancakes and bacon, actually."
"Seriously?"
"Yep," Eddie nods, sending a wink to Sadie before going on, "Only risked burning the trailer to a crisp once, too."
"Sadie was cooking, wasn't she?"
"Are you trying to suggest I can't cook?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm saying it," Max quips, the remark provoking a snort from Sadie, and forcing the blonde to cover it with a sudden fit of coughs as Eddie favors her with a skeptically raised brow.
"Nice. The two of you are ganging up on me, now?"
"Well, if you're gonna make it so easy—"
This time, Sadie cannot entirely mask her amusement, laughter breaking out over Max's retort, even as Eddie sends her a look filled with exaggerated betrayal. She can tell, just from the gleam to his eyes, that he is enjoying this every bit as much as she is. As Max seems to be, as well.
Still, he does a remarkably decent job of playing like she just committed some sort of grave sin, and Sadie bites the inside of her lip as she realizes his hand is slipping into her own.
"Didn't realize you switched sides so easily, Sweetheart."
"I think—I think I remember hearing something about how girls should stick together."
One corner of Eddie's mouth twitches, and Sadie realizes Max is feigning a gag in the back seat over the cliche reply, her own amusement still present as she shifts to lean back in the passenger seat and directs her attention to the road. For a moment, she marvels over how—domestic—this particular excursion seems.
The bickering. The group commute to the diner for food. It all stirs a sense of longing in her that she could never have anticipated. The sort of longing that had her wanting something dangerous.
This. All of it. Eddie. Friends that were more like family than those she is related to by blood.
She can't afford to get attached to it, because she knows it can never last.
Eddie will tire of her, eventually. Or Wayne will decide he's had enough of policing two kids under his roof instead of just the one. The threat of her mother going to the police still lingers in the back of her mind, and Sadie knows she could never bear watching Eddie face jail time because of her. Because he can't seem to see he would be better off without her.
Sadie almost wishes she hadn't allowed Eddie to kiss her because the memory of it—of how she could lose herself in him forever—is only making it harder to even think of pulling away.
"Sadie!"
Flinching at the sound of the voice, Sadie glances up in time to realize that the van is now stationary in a parking spot near the diner, her cheeks warming a bit as she tries to think of some means of warding off the concern that is so apparent in not only Eddie's features, but Max's as well…
"I'm—I'm fine."
"Sure you are," Max scoffs, a singular glance at Sadie causing her brow to furrow, though she seems to gather that any attempt at pressing her doubt would be futile if the way in which she scoots over to hop out of the van is any indication at all, "C'mon. I'm starving."
Sadie is entirely too prepared to simply follow after her, but even with Max already jogging across the lot to reach the diner's door, Eddie snags her hand again to keep her in place, her eyes dropping to where his fingers are threading through her own for a moment before looking up to meet his gaze head-on.
"Wanna tell me what that was?"
"Max is going to—"
"She'll be fine getting us a table on her own for a minute," Eddie assures, giving Sadie's hand a small squeeze, the way she almost immediately bites down on her lower lip giving him pause. With how quickly she had gone silent, it was becoming nearly impossible to avoid wondering if she was having second thoughts. If she is regretting what they had been doing before Max had arrived at the trailer in the first place.
Eddie tries to remind himself that he should have seen this coming, but he still can't exactly ignore the sting brought about by the impending distance between them, anyway.
"Listen, if I went too far, earlier—"
"What? No, I—Eddie, I asked you to," Sadie interjects, frowning as she realizes she is flushing again, her gaze dropping to the glint of silver on Eddie's rings because she suddenly can't face the intensity of his warm brown eyes "I wanted you to—to—"
"To kiss you?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?" Eddie persists, using his free hand to tuck a finger beneath Sadie's chin to persuade her to look him in the eye, "You don't have to worry about protecting my feelings, Sweetheart."
"That isn't what I'm doing."
"No?"
"No," Sadie declares, her other hand snagging Eddie's and removing it from beneath her chin, a tremulous smile forming on her lips in the process. She hates that Eddie is taking her uncertainty as a sign of anything against him, when that is clearly the furthest thing from her mind.
She's not afraid of him kissing her. Of the awakening of her own feelings towards him that she had somehow managed to ignore for far too long.
Rather, she is afraid of the consequences he may face if she allows this to go any further. Just as she is afraid of how selfish he will find her if she ignores the risk and dives in, head-first. Because she wants to dive in. She wants it more than she wants air to breathe.
"I just—Eddie, I don't want you to end up regretting this."
"Regretting—Sadie, if I ever tell you I regret kissing you, that's your cue to lock me away in Pennhurst for good," Eddie laughs, pleased to see Sadie's smile twitch up into something more genuine, though he doesn't miss the worry still lingering in her eyes, "And if this is about your parents, or the drug thing—"
"It is."
"Don't worry about it."
"Don't—don't worry about it?" Sadie repeats, incredulity lacing her tone as she looks at Eddie as though he has suddenly grown an extra set of thumbs, "Eddie, that's all I can worry about!"
"They don't have any proof. Nothing."
"That doesn't mean they can't create some."
"Then we'll deal with that when and if it happens," Eddie says, clearly taking Sadie by surprise, though he does manage to tighten his hold on both of her hands as she allows that surprise to cause her to pull away, "And no matter what, none of it is your fault."
"It kind of feels like it is."
"Well, it's not."
"How can you be so—so—" Sadie begins, floundering for the right word to describe Eddie's seemingly unnatural level of ease, only to find herself spared the effort when he takes over finishing her thought for her.
"Calm?"
"Yes."
"Perks of being the town—"
"Don't say freak."
"Actually, I was going to say the town scapegoat," Eddie corrects, freeing one of his hands from Sadie's to flick his finger lightly against her nose, the way she scrunches it in surprise causing his heart to thump around erratically inside his chest, "It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to pin something on me that I didn't do."
Sadie frowns at that, hating that for so long, she had been an unknowing part of that crowd. The sort of person that would simply accept what someone else told her as fact, without trying to find the truth for herself. A part of her is grateful that, in spite of it, she had somehow managed to see Eddie for who he was, rather than who the majority of Hawkins assumed him to be.
But another part of her is still overwhelmingly guilty that Eddie even has to experience such a thing at all, her lips thinning as she favors him with a suddenly determined look that has him stunned into silence in seconds flat.
"That isn't going to happen this time. I won't—I won't let it. I'll—"
"You'll what?"
"I don't—I don't know," Sadie admits, some of the wind leaving her sails at her suddenly lackluster attempt at appearing tough—brave—though she still can't seem to resist her own grin as soon as she sees Eddie's own lips curling into a smile that lights up his entire face, "But I'll think of something."
"My hero."
"Shut up."
Eddie leans forward to cover Sadie's lips with his own, and she responds with a happy sigh, her fingers almost immediately tangling in his hair as she shifts to get closer than they already are. His hands fall to rest on her hips, holding her steady while she attempts to clamber into his lap. A startled yelp escapes when her head knocks against the roof of the van, causing her to falter and practically fall against Eddie's chest, laughter overtaking the two of them, and causing Sadie to bury her face against the fabric of his shirt while a flush heats the skin of her cheeks.
"Sorry—"
"You okay?"
"I'm not the one getting squished!" Sadie exclaims, unable to restrain her smile even as she pushes back, trying to get off of Eddie's lap, only to find his arms tightening around her waist to keep her there, "Eddie!"
"If this is getting squished, I kinda like it."
"Ugh, you're impossible!"
"And yet you still hang around," Eddie shrugs, leaning down in spite of the suddenly cramped quarters to brush a kiss against Sadie's lips, and hating himself for pulling away to prevent her from distracting him, no matter how he might be desperate for exactly that, "We should uh—get in there before Mayfield decides to send out a search party."
Sadie laughs in response, devoting a more concerted effort to getting back to the passenger seat, and clambering out onto the gravel of the diner's parking lot not long after. She shuts the door, and Eddie is at her side in seconds, the warmth of his hand enveloping hers once again.
She forces herself to focus on that as they head toward the diner, Eddie's laugh reaching her as he points to where he has found Max, peering out at them impatiently from a booth beside the window.
Sadie still isn't entirely sure she can risk dragging Eddie into her mess, but for now, her anxiousness has settled enough to allow her to try.
And that is a far better outcome than she could have hoped for.
…
(Present Day)
"Of course you're in the wedding! I wanted to ask you before, but I didn't know where to reach you," Nancy informs, sliding an uncertain glance towards Robin when Sadie does not immediately reply, as though fearing she might have said something wrong, "I mean if you don't want to be, that's fine, I totally get it, but—"
"No, Nancy, I—I'll do it."
"You're sure?"
"Of course," Sadie confirms, finally managing to summon a smile in spite of her lingering surprise over the offer in the first place. The three of them are sitting in the living room at Nancy's parents' home, Robin's apparent decision to tell the other girl of Sadie's return home prompting the invitation in next to no time at all. And as Sadie picks at the bit of banana bread lingering on her plate, she finds herself caught between relief at yet another friend that had allowed her to easily slide back into their life, and unease over how it might all blow up in her face as a result.
"I just—I don't want you feeling obligated to offer because I'm here."
"Please. Who else is going to help me wrangle Robin into her bridesmaid dress?"
"Hey! As long as you don't try to rope me into some God-awful pink monstrosity, I'm good."
"For the record, the dress I have in mind is a dark green," Nancy replies, sending Robin a look that has the other girl retaliating with a poked out tongue, Sadie's own smile growing as Nancy turns to her, instead, "I hope that's okay?"
"It's your wedding."
"Yeah, but—I'm not going to be one of those brides that forces her friends into dresses they hate."
"We don't hate it."
"Sadie's right. Unless green is actually code for pink," Robin adds, snorting as Sadie leans over to swat at her knee, "So now I guess Jonathan needs to find another guy for his side."
"From what he was saying before the two of you got here, I think he already has."
"Who? Mike?"
"No. Not Mike," Nancy begins, risking a look at Sadie, and wincing as though suddenly unsure of how she should proceed, "And if this is a deal-breaker, I completely understand, so don't feel like you have to be a part of this—"
"Oh my God, Nance, just spill!"
"Eddie. He's—he asked Eddie."
Sadie is poignantly aware of how Nancy and Robin are both looking at her, now, as though determined she will bolt, and if she is honest with herself, she can't entirely blame them. Robin had witnessed her reaction to Eddie's sudden appearance at the restaurant. She had seen the uneasiness at The Hideout, even after Sadie had managed to relax, somewhat.
She's given absolutely no reason for anyone to believe she isn't going to dissolve into a wreck if Eddie is around, but Sadie is determined enough not to get in the way of her friend's wedding plans that she is somehow able to summon enough force of will to smile, and hope for a reassuring tone as she spoke.
"That's fine."
"Really?"
"Eddie and I are—we're fine."
Nancy and Robin share another look, but neither say another word about it one way or another, the silence causing Sadie to bite down on her lower lip while her fingers drop the remaining bit of banana bread back to her plate. And for a moment, she falls back to her initial regret over coming to Hawkins at all. She succumbs to the guilt she feels over her secrets giving her friends any reason to feel the need to tiptoe around her at all.
Before she can get too lost in all of that, though, Robin is speaking once again, the conspiratorial wink she sends Sadie's way going a lot farther in reassuring her than she truly feels she deserves.
"Okay. So let's talk about the bachelorette party. Are we getting strippers? I really think we need to look into getting strippers."
Just a look at Nancy's expression is enough to tell Sadie that her friend is every bit as mortified over the idea as she is, and before she can stop it, laughter escapes, Nancy's own soft giggle joining in not long after. A part of her still wonders at the wisdom of committing to being in the wedding at all, particularly knowing it is still a few months away…
But in spite of that, Sadie cannot ignore the other part of her that practically thrills at the idea of being able to share this moment with Nancy. With her friend.
She sends a silent prayer heavenward that Andy will not find a way of locating her before the wedding. That she won't have to make a quick escape and let Nancy down.
For the first time, Sadie actually wants to accept this unexpected reason to stay, in spite of her initial plans to keep her time in Hawkins brief. And that terrifies her more than she cares to admit.
…
"She really wears it all the time?"
"Oh yeah. Sadie has to bribe her with a cookie to get her to take it off long enough for a bath," Steve states, snorting a bit as the nightly bartering between mother and daughter flashes at the back of his mind, "But I think if you asked her, she'd probably give it back."
"Nah. Let her keep it."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"So getting it back isn't why you're here?"
"I'm here because you won't answer your phone, Harrington," Eddie clarifies, aware of Steve's look of mild surprise, and wavering for a moment over exactly how much of his plan he should divulge. They didn't do this. Talk about women. Feelings. Any of that. At least not outside of the one time Steve showed up at Eddie's trailer drunk, because of a certain engagement announcement in the local paper.
But Eddie also knows that if he doesn't just come out and say it, Steve will either badger it out of him, or come to some kind of conclusion on his own…
Probably better that Eddie spare him the effort in the first place.
"I uh—might have been trying to see if Sadie had any free time tomorrow night."
"What, you mean like—you mean like a date?"
"No."
"You sure about that, man?" Steve inquires, watching Eddie carefully, and searching for any hint of uncertainty in his features. He knows the other guy would never hurt Sadie. Not on purpose. But still, protective instinct is kicking in, regardless, especially knowing that there might be one thing Eddie could learn in any sort of time spent with Sadie that could make him see her in any other light but a positive one.
That isn't his secret to tell, though. Not even close.
Steve reminds himself of that as he waits for Eddie's reply, something unreadable flickering in Munson's expression before he turns to watch as Chrissy streaks by where the two of them are sitting on the back patio, chasing barefoot after a butterfly.
"Positive. Just wanted to—you know—"
"Catch up?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I have to hand you points for spontaneity, dude."
"Why's that?" Eddie asks, honestly confused at what the hell Harrington is trying to suggest, though he probably should have known he wouldn't have to wait too long to find out.
"Turning up in person when nobody answers your call kind of seems like a lot of effort for just 'catching up'."
"You're really going there, huh?"
"Going where?" Steve quips, clearly attempting to feign innocence, though the laugh that escapes shatters that illusion rather quickly, "I have no idea what you're even talking about."
"Steve?"
"Yeah, Munson?"
"Playing innocent was never really your strong suit."
Steve laughs, then, scratching at the back of his neck, and looking out to the yard, where Chrissy has abandoned the butterfly in favor of pulling what appear to be violets from the lawn, instead. In spite of himself, he smiles, feeling some relief that she and Sadie are with him, and not still trapped wherever they had been, before, with Andy.
Andy. Someone Eddie seems to be thinking of as well, if his next words are any indication at all.
"It's not a date, man," He repeats, something in his expression shifting. Turning almost regretful. Sad, though Steve has no time to actually think about questioning it at all, because Eddie is already going on, "I know she's not—she's with someone else."
"Actually, I'm not too sure about that, anymore."
Eddie doesn't say anything, but Steve could kick himself for relaying the bit of information that had slipped out, even so, knowing that it would hardly do Eddie, or Sadie any favors in the long run. And he hates being stuck in the middle, like this. Unable to tell Eddie the truth for fear of betraying Sadie's trust. But it isn't Sadie's fault. It's not even Eddie's.
Not for the first time, Steve catches himself wishing he'd been less absorbed in his own troubles, years ago, when Andy had tried to weasel his way back into Sadie's life. When Sadie had been so desperate to avoid holding Eddie back, that she just let the asshole back in, and left Hawkins with him not long after.
Maybe, if he had been there, Sadie and Eddie wouldn't be walking on eggshells around each other, now. Maybe they would still be together, and Chrissy would know her father. Her real father, not the self-centered asshole she had been stuck with for the last four years.
"Harrington. Earth to Harrington—"
"Yeah. I—yeah. Sorry."
"You okay?"
"Fine," Steve manages, almost immediately aware that Eddie doesn't believe him, the scoff that registers causing him to drag a hand through his hair in exasperation, "Sorry."
"Don't be," Eddie says, something in the dejected slump to Steve's shoulders telling him his assurance has fallen just short of its intended purpose, "I should probably get going, anyway—"
"You don't have to. I could—we could, I dunno—order a pizza? The little shrimp out there likes that almost as much as SpaghettiOs."
Eddie doesn't have a chance to reply before the sound of the front door unlocking, opening, and slipping closed again reaches them through the open screen door leading out to the patio, Sadie's soft remark and Robin's answering laugh causing some of his eagerness to go back home to slip away. He only has a moment to wonder if his appearance will seem like too much. If it will be too forward, and only end up causing Sadie to pull away.
But then, Sadie and Robin are heading out to the patio, whatever surprise he can see flickering in Sadie's expression when she meets his gaze quickly replaced by what is clearly meant to be a neutral smile.
And somehow, that pains him more than her surprise, or even her anger at his sudden appearance ever could.
…
