Author's note: A shorter chapter, but a double posting this week as promised. This and the previous chapter were originally one but I split them up as I think the scenes in this chapter sit nicely on their own. Our favourite couple (I'm biased ha) are starting to get closer now... Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Drop me a review to let me know what you think. Huge thank you once again to everyone who is following this story and to all you lovely reviewers - you make my day! P.S. if you've not read Wuthering Heights, you should!


Chapter V

"Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same," I quoted. "That's my favourite line."

"I don't get it," Eddie responded. "If Cathy loves Heathcliff so much, why does she marry someone else?"

Our sessions had turned pretty informal. We were both sat on the sofa – that was how our sessions usually went. Feet up (and shoes off). I found that Eddie worked best when we just sat and chatted about things. He was definitely not dumb. Far from it. He was bright, quick-witted and observant when he wanted to be. All he had to do was apply himself a tiny bit and all I had to do was ask the right questions, and he was there. After his initial essay win, Eddie had continued to steadily improve. He seemed more determined this year to do better, and that, coupled with some guidance from me, meant he was making progress in most subjects. I really thought he could graduate this year. We sometimes did some Math or History tutoring, but our favourite was English, where we could just talk over how we felt about the book.

"I think she knows marrying him won't do her or him any good—that passion isn't enough," I thought after a moment's consideration. "What do you think?"

Eddie sighed like I asked him to complete some arduous chore, which to be fair was largely how he viewed school. He stood up and began walking up and down the room, never content to sit still for long.

"I think she's kinda selfish. She just wants a big house and a fancy carriage, or whatever it is they drive around in," he drawled. He held the text in one hand, and he held a pen in the other and gestured in the air with it, as if searching for the words.

"Pretty much," I agreed. He stopped pacing and looked at me.

"But seriously, if she loves him so much, how could she be with someone else?"

"And you said I was the romantic," I smirked at him, just like he had with me before when he made fun of my crush on Heathcliff. The boy had heart after all.

"Shut up, Hartley." He rolled his eyes. He just didn't like to show it, I thought. "You're the one all loved up, or whatever."

I looked over at him from the sofa. He was looking down at the book he was holding, chewing on the end of his pen. If I hadn't have heard it with my own ears, I'd have thought he hadn't spoken at all. It felt like a strange change in the conversation.

"Loved up?" I questioned.

"Yeah, that dude I've seen you with at school. The basketball player."

I knew he knew Chance's name. I couldn't blame him for being evasive, for not wanting to say it directly, because I also knew about the constant tension between Eddie and the basketball team. Especially Jason, but the other guys too, who always appeared either side of him like henchmen to a Mafia boss.

"I'm definitely not 'loved up'," I corrected, unable to hide my rather cynical tone. Chance was the last person I wanted to be speaking with Eddie about for many reasons.

"Seemed pretty cosy with him the other week in the cafeteria."

He'd noticed. That was interesting.

I shrugged. I rubbed my thumb along the edge of my notepad, watching the pages flicker rapidly. "We've been on a few dates."

He took two steps towards me, closing the distance between us in a second. With one hand on the arm of the sofa and the other on the back, still clasping the novel. I was trapped between his outstretched arms. He cocked his head as if he was reading my expression carefully. I was used to his lack of personal boundaries by that point, so I looked him directly in the eye.

"You don't seem so happy about that," he noted.

"No, I… they were fine." My face flushed a little as I fumbled my words, I lost some of my previous bravado.

"Fine?" he joked. "I don't think a date is meant to be fine."

I fidgeted a little in my seat. Eddie's directness was at once refreshing and frustrating. He released me and resumed pacing, seemingly amused by the direction this conversation had turned. He dropped the book casually on the table and began twiddling the pen in his hands.

"I don't know… I guess maybe I went out with him because that's what I thought I should do. You know?"

It was quite the admission, and I didn't really know where it had come from. I don't think I had even admitted it even to myself. Sometimes it felt like Eddie's gaze wasn't just seeing you but seeing into you. Like he wasn't satisfied with what people showed on the outside, he wanted the honest you, the real you. The chaos going on inside. But it was true. Chrissy was dating a basketball player. Most of the guys I knew were on the team. It had kind of felt natural, inevitable, that I would date one of them. Eddie stopped moving and looked at me directly.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

I laughed out loud at his bluntness. I should have been mad, but I was strangely impressed by him calling me out on my bullshit.

"Yeah, it was pretty dumb," I agreed. "If you're such an expert, what's it supposed to be like then?"

It was his turn now; I'd been under the microscope so was keen to push the heat away now.

"I don't know… passionate, fun, spontaneous maybe."

I smirked. "Eddie Munson, you old romantic!"

He lunged for a cushion from the sofa and threw it at me. I haphazardly caught it, but not before it hit me in the face with a dull thump.

As I recovered, I caught a glimpse of the clock hanging on the other side of the room. "We're almost done, anything else you want to work on in the last few minutes?"

Eddie ignored my question. He stood up from the sofa and gave a big stretch, then unexpectedly, picked up his jacket as if ready to leave, even though we weren't quite out of time yet. He had a habit of only responding to things he wanted to hear and ignoring the rest. After over a month of sessions, I was used to it.

"You wanna go for a drive?"

His question caught me off guard. He'd never asked anything like this before. We usually had our session, hung about in the den for a bit, and then he went home. It was a Saturday though, early afternoon. The only time I'd had free that week. I was surprised he'd agreed to it, but there we were. I didn't have anything else to do that afternoon and my family were out – lunch at an uncle's house or something. I had used my session with Eddie to conveniently get out of it. Or perhaps, I had scheduled it so I would get out of it. Who could tell?

"Sure."


Five minutes later, I'd grabbed a jacket and we were driving along in his van. I watched the rows of neat houses pass by as Eddie pulled out of Maple and zoomed around the quiet suburbs of Hawkins. Once I was sat in that passenger seat, I started to wonder if agreeing to go to out and about with Eddie was a good idea. I fleetingly thought about what would happen if someone I knew saw us together. How would I explain us hanging out together?

Then I caught myself sounding awfully like my mom – she would wonder what the neighbours would think of the roar of his van and the rips in his jeans. I pushed the thought deep into the back of my mind. After just a short time knowing him, I already knew that there was more to him than initially met the eye. I'd had the same image of Eddie in my head for years, but it was time to let that go now that I knew him better.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we drove along Cherry towards town, hoping he had some kind of plan.

"Wherever you want, sweetheart." He flashed a wide grin. When I didn't reply, he added. "The arcade?"

Too busy, I wanted to say. Too likely to see people from school. And that was a can of worms I did not want to open. Instead, I swatted him playfully and said, "How old are you?"

"The library?!" He asked incredulously, as if that's really what I had in mind for my Saturday afternoon off.

"God, no. You think I'm that bad?"

"I literally pay you in pills that make you study more," he drawled. Point taken.

I laughed nervously. This was the first time either of us had mentioned the reason this all had started since our initial conversation all those weeks ago. It was something we didn't speak about. There was an unwritten rule that Eddie would begin our sessions by placing a small metal tin down on the table, which I would then open, remove the small pill, and place it in my pencil case. No words needed to be spoken. He never asked when I took them or why, how it felt even, and I never told him. I never told anyone.

"I wanna go some place quiet."

"You got it," he responded. Eddie revved the van a few times for dramatic effect, and we sped off. He suddenly turned a corner next to the Hideaway bar, now moving away from town.

After a short drive down Cornwallis, we pulled down a quiet residential road. We stopped at the end by the last house, and Eddie parked his van. I didn't really know this part of Hawkins very well, but Eddie seemed to know his way. He jumped out of the van and began following a pathway into the woods.

We walked for a while through the woodland. The leaves had turned orange and were starting to fall from the trees. It was still pretty mild outside and there was a weak autumnal sun out, slowly making its way west, sending sideways shafts of golden light through the trees as it did so.

While I walked straight along the roughly hewn pathway that wound through the woods, Eddie walked this way and that, veering off from the path at times to balance on a fallen log or attempt to climb a tree. It was strange seeing him out of our usual confines – school or the den at my house. He was all chaos; unlike anyone I'd ever spent time with. So different to the rigid conformity that I'd grown up with. But instead of wanting to run away from it, I was drawn to it. He was magnetic. I could see why his friends at school followed him around. The more time I spent with him, the more time I wanted to spend with him. He was just interesting.

Most people at school found him obnoxious or weird – sure, I might have even thought this at some point, especially when he was jumping on tables in the school cafeteria or playing his music too loud through his headphones in class – but I'd never laughed as much as when I was with him. I'd never wanted to hear so much of what was on another person's mind. I often found myself wondering what he was thinking or what it was like to be him. Sometimes I thought it must be sad, and others, I thought it must be freeing.

After walking for half an hour or so, we came to a small clearing in a dip in the woods. Within it, several large rocks protruded from the otherwise wooded landscape, all perched on top of one another. Eddie, walking a few steps ahead of me, jumped down into the clearing first, turning after to give me a hand. It was an easy task, barely even a jump the slope was so gentle, but I took his outstretched hand, nonetheless. It was cool, soft but for a few small callouses, no doubt from playing too much guitar.

I looked around, able to get a better look at where we were now that we were down in the clearing. It was empty at that moment, but there was evidence of people having been there recently. The ground was littered with empty beer cans and cigarette butts.

"Hey, isn't this Skull Rock?"

I approached the formation. I could easily stand underneath the huge rock balancing, what looked like precariously, on top of two others. I placed a hand on the rock that supported the skull-shaped boulder. It loomed over me ominously, but nevertheless was an impressive sight. I felt two feet tall standing next to it.

"Yup," Eddie replied, moving to join me in looking up at the naturally carved face in the huge boulder.

"I've heard what everyone gets up to here."

I nudged a nearby beer can with my foot.

"Heard about it?" He laughed. He wheeled around to face me in dramatic disbelief. He had a deliciously wicked grin on his face. "Chance has never brought you here for a make-out session?"

I laughed nervously, embarrassed that I wasn't more experienced but not wanting to show it. I'd made out with guys – a few guys actually, not just Chance and maybe not at Skull Rock – but it felt lame to say that now. What did I have to prove?

I leant against the rock and replied with a cool 'no', looking back at him with every ounce of confidence I could gather. The rock felt cold and damp behind me. I briefly wondered how many girls he'd brought here before, not wanting to be one of many. Not that this is a date or anything, I reminded myself.

"Hartley, you need to have some fun!" he cried.

All in a second, Eddie had kicked the beer can that had sat at his feet, launching it in a graceful arc away from us, and bounded the few steps towards me. He placed one hand against the rock so that I was effectively pinned between it and him. He stooped slightly so that his face was almost in line with mine. No personal boundaries as usual.

"What's stopping you?" He goaded. His almost-black eyes seemed to glitter.

"Nothing," I blinked.

He chuckled and used his free hand to raise my chin closer to him. I waited to see what he would do next, too nervous to even breathe. This man was entirely unpredictable.

"Liar," he whispered devilishly. I didn't know quite what the answer was to his question, but also knew that he was right – it most definitely was a lie.

I thought he might kiss me then, if only to give me the experience that apparently everyone else had had there. It would only take a small movement and his lips would be on mine, but he didn't. For some reason, I felt disappointed.

Seconds later, there was the rustle of leaves in the distance, the snapping of twigs and the sound of bottles clinking against one another. Muffled voices came from further away, a loud laugh followed.

"Let's go," Eddie said. He took my hand in his and we clambered up the bank again and towards the road. He didn't let it go until we reached the van.