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Eddie meets Steve Harrington's confusingly badass girlfriend by complete accident.

He's kicking around the community college campus, definitely not looking at it as a place he might be able to go eventually, but also absolutely looking at it as just that, when she walks by. Long dark hair with pale violet ends, blunt cut bangs, pierced and tatted -- knuckle tattoos, Eddie notes, which is just so fucking cool -- and wearing all black with a big leather jacket. She's totally metal and he's pretty sure if she wasn't Steve's girlfriend and if there wasn't a burgeoning crush he's completely confused about, he'd be drooling on his own shoes over her.

That she's Steve's girlfriend makes it easy to approach her, though. A lot easier than it would be otherwise, because while she's super hot, she also looks a little scary. On purpose, he's willing to bet. Pretty girls put up with the worst shit.

"Hey," he says, hurrying to keep up with her, but also keeping his distance. Her boots look like they would sincerely hurt if one were to connect with his balls. "Hey, hi, I'm a friend of Steve's."

"Good for you," she answers, barely giving him a glance.

Damn, maybe he'll fall in love anyway.

"I'm Eddie," he offers. Maybe Steve has mentioned him.

She stops at that and turns to face him, eyebrow arched. "Yeah," she says. "I know. You're the reason he got himself bitten by a bunch of creepy demon bats, right? My idiot boyfriend gets himself into enough trouble on his own, he doesn't need help, thanks."

"Right," Eddie says, cringing a little. "Okay, fair point, you're completely on the nose there and I apologize. Sincerely. The demon bats were not my idea of a good time, I promise."

Maeve relaxes a little, still staring at him with a cool gaze, and he wonders how many dudes she's caused to slink away with just that look. He's about ready to do it himself.

"I'm Maeve," she says finally.

"I know," he answers, then risks a grin. "Do you go here?"

"No," she says. "But my boyfriend does."

"Right," Eddie says, then laughs. "Meeting him, that makes sense. When he's out of class? We could hang for a bit..."

By the time Steve finds them at the nearest coffee shop, Eddie has lost count of how many times Maeve has rolled her eyes at him, but he's made her laugh, too. And he's absolutely not into Steve's girlfriend, he's definitely into someone else -- which he also realizes he kind of wants to talk to Steve about -- but he thinks he could be. In another world.

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Overall, Steve is doing better than he thought he would in (community) college, but there are definitely days where he just feels like he's dumb as hell. Like, a bag of rocks would understand some of this shit better than he does, he's pretty sure.

This class was a rough one, and he's not feeling super great about himself. None of the tools he used to fall back on in high school work here. It doesn't matter that he's popular or charming or good at sports. No one gives a shit how much money his parents have. And it's not even like he wants to be that person anymore, but it feels like he should have a better idea who he is now, shouldn't he?

At least he gets to see Maeve, and he always knows who he is with her.

When he enters the coffee shop, he's surprised to see Eddie and Maeve sitting at a table together, chatting amicably. It makes Steve stop short, and he leans against a counter and watches them for a bit before they can spot him. Seeing them together makes him feel a weird swirl of emotion, and he can't really pinpoint any of it. He isn't jealous, even if Eddie might be more Maeve's type. Or maybe they're too similar.

Maybe that's why it's weird. Or not weird, but something else. Something confusing, and somehow that makes him feel worse, like he's so dumb that he can't even figure himself out. Or maybe he's just cranky and needs a nap.

"What do we have here?" Steve asks as he approaches the table. He's wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater, and his only accessory is his watch. He doesn't feel cool at all, and he realizes that after so long of finding Munson's whole thing weird, he's now the cool one. Maybe because he's like Maeve in that way, and Maeve is the coolest person he's ever known.

"Hi," Maeve says when she looks up and she smiles at Steve, the sort of smile very few people besides him ever get to see. She stands to greet him, reaching for his hand and rising onto her toes to press a kiss to his mouth.

She lingers, this isn't just a quick peck, but it isn't as if she's putting her tongue down his throat either. They're in public, after all, and Steve's friend is politely looking elsewhere.

"I met the guy who got you bitten by bats," she says, which is obvious. "And I scolded him for it."

Maeve's whole face changes when she sees Steve and his mood instantly improves as she stands up and reaches for him like she's so excited to see him, even though it's only been a day since they've seen each other.

She kisses him and Steve forgets all about Munson sitting there for a second as he kisses her back, feeling some of his stress melt away as he wraps an arm around her waist. Their mouths part and Steve gives her another kiss on her cheek and then her forehead.

He rolls his eyes fondly when she speaks, huffing out a laugh as he tugs her against his side so that they're both facing Munson. "Now, babe. Don't blame him for needing a knight in shining armor."

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie says, flapping his hand at the two of them. He still doesn't get it, but it's definitely undeniable, the way they look at each other. Maybe he'd thought Nancy Wheeler was in love with Steve, but whatever he had seen in her eyes, it hadn't looked anything like this.

Maybe they're all just a little bit more grown up now.

"Come on, Harrington, take a seat," he says, kicking out an extra chair. "We're having a great time!"

"You sniffed out my hot girlfriend all on your own, huh?" Steve asks as he takes a seat between them, shifting his chair until he's next to Maeve and can look at Munson across the table.

"He has no idea how a dumb jock like me could bag a girl like you," he tells Maeve in a stage whisper, kissing her cheek before leaning back in his chair to wink at Munson, arm draped casually along the back of Maeve's chair. Honestly, he's curious about the answer to that riddle himself sometimes, but he tries not to examine it too closely. He just thanks his lucky stars that she keeps him around.

"It was about ninety percent oral sex," she answers with an innocent expression. Under the table, she squeezes Steve's knee, making it clear this is entirely a joke -- well, not entirely, that he's so willing to go down on her and go good at it is a definite bonus -- and mostly she just wants to see if she can make Eddie stumble over his words or blush.

Metalheads, in Maeve's experience, are some of the biggest and sweetest dorks she's ever known.

"A selfless lover," Eddie proclaims. "Good for you, Harrington."

Steve splutters out a laugh and gives Maeve a surprised glance, squeezing her hard against his side as her hand curls around his knee. Maeve is always very bold and candid in the things that she says, but he still wasn't quite expecting that. He doesn't think that any other girl he's ever dated would have even said oral sex out loud.

At Eddie's response, Steve gives a little flourishing bow over the table, nearly touching his head to the surface before sitting up again and flicking his hair out of his face.

"A man's gotta eat," he says with another laugh, turning his head to give Maeve an amused look. "Anything else you'd like to tell him about our sex life, sweetheart?"

"I'm all ears," Eddie says, leaning his elbows on the table, chin in his hands as he flutters his eyelashes at Maeve and Steve. For the most part, he's just messing around, he doesn't expect either of them to actually tell him anything.

On the other hand, they're both pretty attractive, and hearing it might give him some masturbation material for the next little while, which he thinks he'll need as he reminds himself over and over that Chrissy needs a friend, not a freak trying to make her his girlfriend.

"Okay, that's enough," Steve says with a laugh, rolling his eyes as he reaches out to push playfully at Eddie's face. His face even feels a little hot, and he isn't even entirely sure why. It's not like he's a prude or anything.

"So, what were you guys doing before I showed up?" He asks as he takes Maeve's hand and threads their fingers together, lifting their joined hands until their elbows are resting on the table and the back of Maeve's hand is in front of his face. He presses a kiss to the back of her hand and then rests his chin on their hands, smirking over at Eddie. "Bonding over knuckle tattoos and eyeliner?"

"He'd look good in eyeliner, wouldn't he?" she asks, tilting her head slightly to study Eddie. She's actually a little surprised she's the only one of the two of them with her nails painted black, chipping at the edges.

Their rings are similar, but she definitely has more visible tattoos.

"I was thinking about the nose piercing," Eddie answers, then says, "I mean, we're just hanging out. Waiting for you."

"I can honestly say that I've never given it much thought," Steve replies with a laugh, but he does turn his head to look at Eddie consideringly. "He could probably make it work, though."

His brow lifts as Eddie speaks and he looks at Maeve again, narrowing in on the jewelry in her nose. Steve never thought he'd be into alternative girls, but then he met Maeve. He thinks she's stupidly hot no matter what she's wearing, whether she's done up in heavy eyeliner and fishnet tights with her fuck you boots, or when she's fresh from a shower and in pajamas, hair wet and feet bare. She's always beautiful.

"About Maeve's in particular, or are you thinking about getting one?" Steve asks curiously, absently rubbing the pad of his thumb back and forth across Maeve's knuckles, over rings and ink, before leaning in to press a quick kiss to the cheek. "You're corrupting the poor kid."

"Getting one, dude," Eddie answers. "And I play DnD, remember? According to the fine community of Hawkins, Indiana, I'm beyond corruption. Can't get much worse than worshipping Satan, right?"

Maeve gives Steve a look and says, "He's probably right, honestly. I don't think I'm capable of corrupting him beyond that."

"I got a college level lecture on inclusivity in punk and metal," Eddie supplies with a cheerful grin at Steve. "Did you know Rob Halford is gay? From Judas Priest. Maeve said he came out in the nineties. But it all ties back to uh..."

He pauses. "Help me out?"

Maeve's eyes roll and she looks at Steve, because he's certainly heard a version of this from her before. Not about metal, but other areas. "Heavy metal started off predominantly white, male, heteronormative, an entire genre that built itself around a band with a homosexual lead singer, even though they didn't know it. Even the typical metal fashion was something Halford drew from gay clubs in London. Metal struggled to be inclusive, even with someone like Halford at its helm."

"If any of them had just watched you guys play that game, they would have known that you were all just a bunch of nerds," Steve says with a laugh, but he knows that he was part of that. He judged Eddie before he ever really knew him, and that's something he'll have to atone for.

"I did not know that," Steve says, brows lifting as he turns his head to look at Maeve. As she speaks, Steve's expression goes softer and fonder, because Maeve cares so much about people. She cares so much about so many things, and Steve considers himself so lucky to be one of those things.

"It sucks, you know," Steve says with a thoughtful frown, reaching for his coffee. "That people felt that they couldn't be themselves."

As Steve speaks, Maeve watches him and smiles softly. From what she knows, from what he's told her of where he's from, both the time and place, this isn't something he would have likely said before Darrow. She can see that reflected in Eddie's expression, the way his eyebrows draw up in something both surprised and almost fond.

She knows, too, that Eddie knows Steve better than Steve knows Eddie. That would be tough, she has to imagine.

"It's bullshit," she agrees as Eddie points at them from across the table.

"Complete bullshit," he crows in agreement. "Who does it hurt, man? Not me. Not you. Not that guy out there peeing in the garbage can while he thinks no one is looking!"

Steve doesn't miss the almost surprised look on Eddie's face, and he gives the guy a sincere, apologetic sort of smile. He knows that he was an asshole back home, that he was trapped in the tidal wave of being normal and popular, stamping down on any sort of otherness that would have isolated him from the social status that had seemed so important at the time. Eddie fell victim to that, at least peripherally, and Steve is relieved that they can move past it. He doesn't want to pretend that he never said or did awful things, but he's glad that his past actions don't have to define him, either.

"Bullshit," Steve parrots, because he still doesn't want to be left out of things, but he's laughing. The Steve from five years ago couldn't ever have imagined himself here at this table, with these people, but that's okay. That Steve sort of sucked anyway. "What?"

He twists around to try and spot who Eddie is talking about, only to see a guy in a trench coat peering guiltily over his shoulder. He makes a disgusted face, and then a judgemental one, shaking his head. "Dude."

"Hey, when you gotta go," Eddie answers.

"At least he's trying to hide it," Maeve says, although she doesn't look convinced, and Eddie points at her.

"Yeah, no one is being forced to look at his dick, right?" he asks. "I mean, still kinda messed up. He could at least head into the alley or something. What if he peed on someone by accident?"

He pauses, considering, then shudders. "Why are we talking about someone being peed on by accident?"

"You brought up the whole thing, dude," Steve says matter-of-factly, quirking his brows at Eddie as he lifts the hand not holding onto Maeve's to gesture with it. "From the peeing to the getting peed on. All you."

He chuckles a little and then ducks his head to hide a smile, looking over at Maeve.

"This is what rural Indiana does to a person's brain," he says somberly, jerking his chin toward Eddie and expertly maintaining a straight face. "Very sad, really."

"Good thing you've been here for such a long time," she answers, just as sincerely. "Seems that yours has healed quite well. You decided to date me, after all."

"Aww," Eddie says, leaning his chin on his hands, his elbows on the table. "You guys are so cute. It makes my little crush on you both that much worse." His eyes bat, long lashes fluttering as if he's a maiden about to swoon.

Maeve snorts and rolls her eyes, but then looks at Steve. "I guess I can't really blame you."

When Eddie starts to coo over them, Steve rolls his eyes and is about to tell him to knock it off, but what he says next kind of stops Steve in his tracks, leaving him to gape over at Eddie in confusion. He's joking, Steve realizes, huffing out an amused breath. Right? He's totally joking.

"You can always date us in your dreams," he volleys back as he recovers, reaching across the table to boop Eddie's nose with the tip of his index finger.

"I'm not generally doing a lot of dating in my dreams, dude," Eddie volleys back, wrinkling his nose when Steve's finger presses against it. "Dating is great and all, but my sleeping brain is definitely more id than ego, if you catch my drift."

"Are you telling us you've had sex dreams about my boyfriend?" Maeve asks, leaning her elbows on the table.

"About Steve?" Eddie asks in return. "Nah. Not yet anyway."

Steve has totally lost track of this conversation, and his face feels hot for some reason. Eddie and Maeve talk about sex dreams about him, leaning in toward one another, and Steve looks back and forth between the two of them and feels-- well, confused, mostly. That isn't all that rare. Steve is often confused, but this feels different. He's Confused, with a capital C.

They both have great hair. Maeve's looks like it might be softer and Steve finds himself wanting to reach out and touch them both to be sure, but he doesn't. He just sits there, pink in the cheeks and Confused.

"Well, I'm offended," he declares, maybe with a bit of bravado to try and hide that he's a little freaked out for reasons he can't seem to specify. "Not one sex dream about me? That's rude of your id. I'm great in bed and even better in dreams, I bet."

"I wouldn't worry that a dream version of you has to prove anything to anyone," Maeve promises, looking amused as she reaches over and pats Steve's thigh.

"Yeah, dude," Eddie adds. "I said not yet. I bet it'll come eventually."

Maeve can't help but grin, looking down at the table as she shakes her head. She honestly doesn't know if Eddie is attracted to Steve or if he's just doing this to give him a hard time. Either option is delightful in its own way.

"There's nothing to worry about," Steve volleys back, grinning as he leans over and drapes his arm across Maeve's shoulders. "I'm perfectly confident in my ability to rock your world."

He laughs softly and squeezes Maeve's shoulder as he winks across the table at Eddie. "And Munson's, if that dream ever rolls around."

It feels a little like he's flirting, but he's not, he thinks. He's joking. Maybe there's a fine line between flirting and kidding and he sort of thought that line was a penis, but maybe now he's not so sure. Wait.

Eddie's eyes widen further than they need to for comic effect and he looks at Maeve, pretending to be scandalized. It's all just fun and messing around, because Eddie's pretty well head over heels for Chrissy, even if she doesn't know it, but it is fun.

And he thinks Steve might be flirting, even if it's just playful.

"I think your boyfriend is hitting on me," he says to Maeve in a stage whisper.

"Don't give me ideas," she whispers back.

"If I was hitting on you, you'd know it," Steve replies with a flirty smirk, letting himself just lean into it because they're all just kidding around, and it doesn't mean anything. He's with Maeve. And he's not into guys. That should probably be the first reason, because he's not.

"What ideas?" He asks Maeve, eyes widening a little as he looks between Eddie and Maeve as they lean in toward each other. Steve feels the wild urge to grab the back of their heads and push their mouths together like dolls, and he blinks a few times to clear it. "What's going on in that beautiful and terrifying mind of yours?"

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