⇢ ˗ˏˋ ✰🎨 🎸 ࿐ྂ

"𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠."
➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ˗ˏˋ ✰꒰ 📎 🍒 ꒱✰ ˎˊ- ➶ °*ೃ
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𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: brief mentions of abuse, drugs, and alcohol.

—𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙵 '𝟾𝟻—

CERISE HARRINGTON'S INVOLUNTARILY SHAKING hands were jittering ceaselessly with agitation, her nerves tiring from the deprivation of rest. The flaming burn of lingering cocaine in her nose, pierced her sinuses as she rubbed it incessantly. It was a miracle that Cerise hasn't tripped on any stray branches in the forest behind Hawkins High.

The discernable smell of vanilla butterscotch bourbon stained her gray sweatshirt, the mixture of alcohol and drugs in Cerise's body, inducing the cancellation of her motor system. She internally thanked her father who left open his cabinet of alcohol, knowing her own stash was severely running low.

However, her mind was contradicting itself.

Because of the precarious act of stealing from her father's stash, a faint purple-blue bruise and a two-inch laceration rested right above her left cheekbone. Steve wasn't home this time and her father was already drunk. So her punishment became more physical this time. 

She sat alone on the picnic bench in the forest, needing to get away from the house. Steve and Robin were at their new job, Nancy and Jonathan were doing their own thing, and Cerise didn't want the party to see her like this.

That's why she was utterly alone.

However, when Cerise heard the snap of a branch from behind her, her body instantly tensed, not bothering to turn around.

What is it now, another Demogorgon? Cerise thought internally.

But when she turned around, she saw the most beautiful 'demogorgon.' His curly locks reached just below his shoulders, his doe sparkling eyes shimmering under the green reflection of the forest. Cerise has seen him several times in her life, considering that Hawkins was a close-knit community.

Eddie instantly took a notice of the girl, knowing her as Cerise Harrington. The girl has always caught his eye, the way she would without hesitation stand up for someone who was being bullied in school, or the way she would flash her infectious smile to people who said hello. Nobody dared to mess with the Harrington's. They were asking for a death sentence if they dared to try.

But with the death of Billy, Cerise's emotions were on the brink of breaking. Her vulnerability was taken advantage of by her 'friends' and her mind was swarming with incoherent thoughts, it made high school even more unbearable.

Turning her head back around, Cerise attempted to ignore the boy as best as she could, but when she heard the approaching footsteps become louder, she pivoted her head to see that Eddie was sitting across from her at the picnic table.

Her gaze was glued to the grooves of the desiccating wood on the table, not daring to look up at the boy.

Eddie practically stared down Cerise, eyeing every inch of her body. Not in a creepy way, no, but in a curious and concerned way, hoping to decipher what the girl was feeling right now. However, when he spotted the purple-blue blemish on her cheek, a sudden rush of anger waved in his body.

He knew not to ask about it, knowing it could possibly trigger unwanted memories. From experience, Eddie knew to keep his mouth shut and divert his attention away from the bruise.

"Erm, hello there." Eddie's sweet endearing voice perked Cerise's ears. She instinctively lifted her head to see the curly-haired boy flashing a heart-stopping smile, waving his hand softly. It almost made Cerise forget all of her problems, seeing this one man's smile.

"Hi?"

"I see you're sitting at my table," Eddie murmured in a tone that was incomprehensible to Cerise. Automatically assuming it held malice, she shot up from the splintery seat, waving her hands in the air.

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry, I'll leave right now—"

"No, no, please stay!" Eddie tried to hide his mask of pleading but failed miserably as his voice cracked. His sparkling eyes betrayed him when Cerise stared intently at them, seeing they both needed the company.

Cerise curtly nodded her head, sitting back down on the bench. She fiddled with her scrunchie that was leaving small indents on her wrist, twirling it in hopes of attempting to find a subject to talk to with the boy in front of her.

"May I ask why you're sitting alone, crying in the middle of a forest?" Eddie's tone was filled with genuineness and it made Cerise's heart do multiple cartwheels. She swore her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

"Nothing, just family stuff," Cerise whispered, not meeting Eddie's eyes. She nearly physically felt the way his eyes were boring into her head. Subconsciously lifting her head to the invisible pull in front of her, Cerise was met with a sympathetic look from Eddie.

The Munson boy inhaled sharply and placed a black tin lunch box on the table. Unclasping the tarnished clip, Eddie lifted the lid. Cerise instantly was smacked in the face with the distinguishable aroma of weed. She was about to speak up to ask Eddie if she could buy some off of him, but he had other plans.

Instead of pulling out what Cerise was hoping to be drugs, she heard the sounds of plastic crinkling in Eddie's hands. Closing his lunch box, Eddie held in his hands Hostess Snoballs.

Coincidentally, these were Cerise's favorites.

"Want some?" Eddie offered, holding his hand out for Cerise to take the coconut chocolate marshmallow cake. A smile etched its way on the young Harrington's face as she grabbed it out of his hands.

"How do I know if this is laced or not?" Cerise partly asked with sarcasm. She heard Eddie chuckle, putting his hand over his to wipe off the excess chocolate. Her attention was diverted to his hand that was placed over his mouth.

Those hands...the rings, Cerise thought, staring not-so-subtly before redirecting her attention back to his eyes.

"I'm not stupid, Cerise. I can see it in your eyes that you're already on something. It wouldn't be wise if I were to give you more, especially when you're already partially under the influence."

Cerise stared in awe at the boy in front of her. Besides Steve, no other man in her life dared to show her this much care before and it felt so foreign.

Yet, it felt so right with him.

"Thank you, Eddie. I appreciate it."

"Y-You know my name?"

"I'm an observant person. Plus, I know a lot of people's names," Cerise elaborated with a small smirk. Cerise flipped her ponytail dramatically over her shoulder, but apparently, she did it with so much force, that her ponytail wrapped one hundred and eighty degrees around her head, whipping the other side of her face with her hair.

She winced internally, at the pain but was mostly embarrassed at the event that happened. Hoping Eddie didn't witness what just happened, Cerise scratched the back of her neck, acting as if nothing happened.

But when boisterous laughter erupted in front of her, Cerise looked up to see Eddie nearly falling out of his seat. His infectious smile and laughter made Cerise feel an unknown emotion in her chest.

"Hey! It was not funny." She tried her best to hold a serious facade but it dropped when Eddie fell onto the ground, leaves, and dirt flourishing in the air.

Eddie's eyes were filled with tears and he held his hand to his heart, his other hand slapping the ground in order to contain his composure.

"It was a little bit funny," Eddie said in between laughs.

"You're a little shit, you know that, Munson?"

"I'd like to think I'm charming," Eddie exclaimed overdramatically. He was walking back to the picnic bench when a hidden tree branch hid between the disheveled leaves on the ground. The boy tripped ungracefully, his face nearly landing face-planted on the ground.

He shot up from the ground, attempting to act cool as if nothing happened.

"Yeah, that very charming," Cerise sarcastically agreed, a smile still cornering her cheeks when she saw the playful glare Eddie was shooting her.

"You know what, Harrington..."

"Tell me, Mr. Munson?" Cerise rested her chin in her hands, patiently waiting for what Eddie had to say.

Eddie sat back down on the table, mimicking the same hand gesture Cerise held. He leaned in forward closer to the girl and she did the same, both of their eyes scanning the beautiful imperfections on their faces.

"I like you. You're different."

That was simply the start of the blossoming relationship between Cerise Harrington and Eddie Munson.

do you guys want more flashback sequences, and if you do, what scenes do you want me to write?

The next chapter will resume back to the present day!

also thank you all so so much for 76k reads!! you're all literally the best. <3