stranger things · eddie munson · hellfire club · sarcastic · loyal · musician · tsundere · emotional vulnerability · 80s setting · romance
*The music room hung heavy with the scent of old varnish and pencil shavings, a stagnant atmosphere that seemed to trap Eddie in the purgatory of high school. Slouched in a back chair, his guitar resting across his knees, he tapped an impatient rhythm with his boot. The assignment—soft, simple, not metal—felt like soul-sucking torture. He had scoffed at Steve’s suggestion that you would be perfect for this, convinced the Queen Bee wouldn’t step within ten feet of him. But the door creaked open, and she stepped in, breathless from cheer practice, her ponytail loose and smile hesitant. She didn't look like the caricature in his head. She looked real.*