Work Text:
Eddie had never paid much attention to how Harrington walked into class, but now? Now, he fucking cared because he wanted to witness the entire fall from grace in close up action. It’s Harrington’s first day back and he’s ready to bare witness.
“Can I have the seat by the window?” Steve was so beat, Eddie bit a smile.
“Why would you want that?” He couldn’t help but grin.
“Please?”
“Why should I?” He smirks.
“Because Sinclair hit me in the head fighting with Henderson on the way to school and clearly I already have a headache. So, for the love of all that is holy, please can I have it today?” Eddie smiles again.
“If it’s what his liege requires.” He moves to the other stool.
“Who the fuck colored in my notebook?” Harrington sounds genuinely distressed.
“What?” Eddie is curious, sue him. Steve shoves his notebook towards him, colorful poorly drawn flowers cover it.
“The girls got my notebook when I was on bedrest apparently.”
“The girls?”
“Girls I babysit. The kids were over when I was on bedrest. I knew they were coloring didn’t know what they were coloring on.” Dozens of notebook pages are covered in drawings as Eddie looks. Harrington doing his best to be annoyed by the guy looks fond almost? Also, babysits?
“At least they’re good at it?” Eddie smiles at him some, Harrington is looking at a drawing on a used to be blank page. Eddie peers over and he guesses it’s the group Harrington babysits? Names scrawled in black crayon above the figures.
“They are good at it.” He whispers, rubbing his bruises head some with a smile on his face. Eddie doesn’t say anything then, just watches as Harrington purposely does not write on the back of it, saving it instead. He decides not to keep heckling him.
A week later he’s watching Harrington doodle as the teacher drones on.
“Hey what are you drawing?” He hisses a whisper.
“Oh, uh, it’s nothing.” Harrington flushes as he covers his drawing in the corner.
“No, what was it?”
“Why does it matter?”
“I just asked!”
“It’s nothing!”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing, you wouldn’t care if it was nothing.”
“Oh my god you’re so annoying.”
“Mister Munson and Mister Harrington, anything to add?” The teacher asks and both boys jump some, eyes turning to them.
“No sir. Sorry, my pencil rolled.” Harrington lies quickly.
“Okay then.” The teacher rolls his eyes and the class turns their attention back.
“Asshole.” Harrington mutters at him. Eddie waits until they’re about to start a lab, waiting strategically. Then, Eddie hits a pencil tip on the back of his hand, a risky move considering they’re on stools and Harrington could shove him off and cause bodily injury. He jerks his hand and curses quietly and there is a d20 staring back at him.
“A d20?”
“Henderson plays this stupid game with them.” Harrington brushes off, glaring at him yet.
“Oh stop looking at me like that.”
“You stabbed me!”
“You wouldn’t show me your picture!”
“I’m sorry I don’t know when we became friends?”
“Oh my god it isn’t something top secret. Or is it secret because it’s nerd stuff?”
“Okay, first off, Henderson is the biggest nerd I know. I was just trying to ignore Mister M.”
“So your friends with nerds? Who is Henderson?”
“Okay fuck off. I babysit Henderson.”
“Since when?”
“It’s relatively new.” Harrington is rigid again and Eddie’s learned that means he’s done talking.
Today Steve’s folder is covered in stickers. Eddie isn’t sure if stickers can be manly, but it’s covered in very girly stickers.
“Love the new decorations, Harrington.” He likes how Harrington sighs heavily and rolls his eyes as he sits down.
“I left my damn backpack this weekend in my car when we went shopping.” Harrington tries his best to seem annoyed but he keeps that small smile he gets when he talks about the kids.
“What’s you guys get?” Apparently those are the right words because the guy practically lights up.
“Snowball is this weekend. Dustin needed a suit so we went to Indianapolis for the night and we had everyone. Mike even got a new tie. The girls only found one dress, but that’s whatever Max doesn’t like dresses anyway. I was hoping they’d match, but what do I know?” He has a fond annoyance.
“Wow, sounds like quite a trip.”
“You don’t know the half of it. Apparently though, the girls got bored. So, stickers.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Well, the girls have good taste.”
“Yeah, I wish one would stop dating Wheeler though.”
“Wheeler?”
“Mike. Nance’s kid brother. His little girlfriend and him are obsessed. Like love sick puppy dogs. You have to physically drag them apart.”
“Weren’t you that way with Wheeler?”
“Ugh, don’t bring that up, it’s so mortifying now.”
“Because your friends with her little brother?”
“Well, I guess. But it doesn’t matter.” There’s the rigidness again. Eddie shares a smile and gets ready for the droning on by their teacher.
“Hey can I ask you something?” He almost jumps out of his skin when Harrington asks it.
“What?” Eddie knows he looks scared.
“So Henderson wants this new dnd thing. Some table fold thing, which is stupid because he never dms, but he still wants one. I’m convinced he say someone with it and he thinks he can be just as cool. I know you have that club right? That’s the shirt you wear on Fridays, so you probably know where to get the shit.” Eddie has slowly learned that when Harrington is excited about something he just rambles with half a smile on his face. Which the other boy is wearing now.
“Um, yeah I guess.”
“Awesome! Hey I can give you cash for it? Or we can meet where it is?”
“Cash works.”
“Perfect. I know it was just Christmas and I shouldn’t get it for the little snot, but he was so excited telling me about it Friday.”
“You have quite the soft spot.”
“Well, they’re just kids.” Eddie knows for a fact Harrington was keg stand king in ninth grade. He can kind of remember Steve once playing on the playground, but mostly he remembers him playing basketball.
“Can you get a specific name of the thing this kid wants?”
“Oh hell yeah, he wouldn’t shut up about it. I could have jumped out of the car if it was possible. He’s having dinner at mine tonight. I’ll ask subtly then, he won’t be able to shut up.”
“What are you guys having?”
“What?”
“For dinner?”
“Oh! Yeah! I’m making pasta tonight. He wanted to learn.”
“What kid doesn’t know how to make spaghetti?”
“Nah, he doesn’t know how to make the noodles. We’re using my grandma’s recipe. I don’t think he will be able to sit through and do it, but he will stay in the kitchen with me.” Eddie wants to say something else, instead he smiles at starts looking at the notebook Steve is writing in. Purple flowers are in every single corner of the page and he smiles to himself.
Harrington’s head hits the table as he sits.
“What now?”
“I regret giving him that thing.”
“Want to elaborate?”
“Did you know you can play that stupid fucking game for literal hours? Because I knew it, but had no idea. That little shit, Henderson, made me try and roll for a freaking character thingy. Then he wanted to go over your stupid monsters. Like no thanks Henderson, demogorgans aren’t my thing and we had established that well in advance. We did it for over twelve hours man. Twelve.” Eddie wants to laugh at his misery, but he just smiles.
“Did you have fun though, Steve?” The first name suddenly feels natural as Steve does indeed laugh.
“We had so much fun man. That little shit though. He knew I had no idea. He even brought it to bed. Try getting asked questions when you’re brushing your teeth.”
“Sounds like quite the time.”
“You have no idea. He’s relentless.”
“He sounds it.”
“You’ll like him. Oh I guess you won’t meet him. He’s in eighth grade so you won’t be the club leader or whatever next year.”
“Maybe Gareth or someone will invite him for a weekend session.” Steve seems to light up a little as he says it.
“Then you will know how annoying and cocky that little shit can be! You’ll totally get it then.”
“Can’t wait.”
“You’ll have to suffer with me then! Misery loves company, that’s a saying right?”
“Hey I need your help.”
“Again?”
“Eddie, come on. You need to sign up for buddy day.” He laughed out loud.
“No.”
“Please? Come on. Sinclair needs someone and if I don’t take Henderson he will kill me.”
“You really want your little friends around me?” His eyebrows raised.
“You aren’t dealing to them, you’re holding his hand.”
“I don’t hold hands.”
“I saw you holding hands with the blonde guy last week.”
“We were crossing to my van, I have to be somewhat responsible Harrington.” He couldn’t help but smile.
“He’s so nice. I promise. He loves the nerd game, loves to read, can kick my ass in almost anything.”
“So why aren’t you taking Sinclair?”
“Henderson is my best friend. I’m taking my appointed little weirdo. You’re going to take my other one.”
“No.”
“Come on, siblings get sacked with each other. Hargrove won’t come near you.”
“How’d we bring Hargrove into this?”
“He almost killed Lucas.”
“What?”
“Why else would he beat me?” He was missing a huge chapter in Steve’s life now.
“He told everyone you were alone with his sister.” Steve snorted.
“What a fucking dick.”
“You weren’t.” It was a statement.
“Did you really think that?” He sounded hurt, he turned towards the board despite Eddie trying to talk to him again.
“Please know I didn’t really think that.” Eddie rushes out at the end of class. Steve sighs.
“I get it.” He sounds dejected and Eddie groans, not getting another word out. He signs up for a kid named Sinclair despite his better judgement.
He’s in the auditorium looking around, the kids are being paired and he’s watching Steve and this kid with curly hair do a very elaborate and extensive handshake. It ends and the kid is hanging off of his neck. Then Steve’s pointing at him to another kid before saying something to him and he seems sheepish coming up to him.
“Hey Eddie this is Sinclair. Lucas Sinclair.” Steve has a lopsided smile.
“I see that. I guess your stuck with me.”
“Steve said you have a dnd club. Is he messing with us? He messes with us a lot. But he did know where to get that thing.” The curly hair kid said fast.
“You’re a migraine in human form sometimes.” Steve said looking at him.
“I’m Lucas.” The kid looked uncomfortable, eyes darting around the room.
“Hi Lucas. I’m Eddie. And yes I do have a dnd club.”
“Steve, Billy didn’t show for Max.” The kid he guesses is Henderson is telling him before Steve is sighing.
“Let me go to talk to them.” He waves at a girl who literally scampers over to the group, she’s glaring at Eddie suddenly as Steve talks to a staff member.
“Why are you here?”
“Aren’t you peachy.”
“I asked first.”
“I sit next to Steve in earth science. Are you one of the girls who colors in Steve’s notebooks?” Her face flushes.
“Me and Jane color in them.”
“I like the decorations on every page.”
“He has boring boy notebooks, no personality.”
“Steve has a personality?” Lucas is smiling at her who snorts in response.
“Yeah an annoying one.”
“He quoted Star Wars yesterday to me.”
“He did?” Max lights up.
“Yeah, he can say parts of the movie when we watch it now.”
“Oh I’m never letting him live that down.”
“Hey you can stay with me the rest of the day since Billy is sick or whatever.” Steve is rolling his eyes.
“Thanks.” She smiles at him.
“So who is ready to hate high school?”
“You sure you hate it? Now that you’re a nerd.” Steve’s face looks to Dustin.
“You little shit!” Eddie is watching them push off one another laughing. Shit. He likes Steve Harrington.