✧˚ · THE SWEET JULIET AND THE FREAK ROMEO ↞​​˚

March 18, 1986

Joan Harrington and Eddie Munson only had one thing in common: they were both unhappy with their lives. She was tired of her mother's expectations for her and her father's absence, and he was tired of being a walking failure. At twenty years old, he hadn't graduated high school yet, and his future was unknown-quite the opposite of Joan, who had every part of her day planned to perfection.

They were both a weird combination, but they didn't feel like their differences were a burden when they were together. They had developed a chemistry that Joan had never felt with any other boy. Not even with her last boyfriend, whom she had broken up with a few months before her encounter with the Russians and the Upside Down last summer.

At the start, Joan feared Eddie would be offended that she preferred to keep their relationship a secret and that he would think she was ashamed of dating him. Actually, the last thing she wanted was for her mother to find out, because she was sure she would judge the boy just because of how he looked on the outside. Not to mention Steve, who seemed to be jealous of Eddie since he had formed a friendship with Dustin Henderson.

If he knew, besides, Munson was dating his little sister... well, Joan didn't want to think about the drama that awaited her.

However, Eddie surprised her when he agreed so calmly to hide whatever was happening between them. He didn't plan to tell her, but the truth is that he was relieved that Joan wanted to keep everything a secret because he didn't feel enough to date someone like her.

Because she was Joan Harrington. Everyone knew her name, everyone respected her, everyone adored her. She was the fucking cheerleader's captain, among many other titles that Eddie wasn't even capable of remembering. He didn't have anything to offer her, just the punishment to date the idiot who wasn't capable of finishing high school yet.

Besides, although keeping a relationship secret was fucking difficult, he didn't find it to be something so serious. On the contrary, it provoked a satisfactory amount of adrenaline that made each encounter more exciting than the last. Joan woke up feelings in him that not even he knew he had inside. And to be honest, both of them had been like a pair of secret spies out of a movie because they had been together for seven months without getting caught.

Almost.

The first to catch them was Max Mayfield, which was inevitable considering that the redhead lived just in front of the Munson's caravan. It was just a matter of time before she caught them in Fraganti over the course of so many months, even though it took her more than a month to find out.

"Really, how much time did he have to beg you until you accepted to date him?" Max asked her the next day after seeing them.

Joan observed her with a frown, and, even though she tried, she couldn't hide a laugh.

"Maxine!" she reprimanded her, even though you could see a small smile on her lips. "He didn't have to beg me; why do you think that?"

"Well... do you really want me to list all the abysmal differences between you two?"

Joan let out a snort as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm aware that we aren't the couple that one would expect to see in a society that cares more about social differences than people's feelings, but that doesn't mean that I can't feel really attracted to him," argued the blonde with indignation. She knew Max didn't want to offend her; far from it, she was just joking. Her anger wasn't towards her but towards the people who really thought like that. Like her parents, for example. "Precisely for that, we chose to keep everything a secret, because we wanted to avoid a hard time.

Max nodded, thinking and looking at nothing in particular. Then she turned towards her with a funny smile on her lips, and Joan knew she would not like what was coming.

"Eddie my loveeee, I love you soooo" she sang, teasing. Joan gave her a withering glance, which didn't work because Max started to laugh again.

That was what she earned by following her brother's example and being friends with someone younger than her. However, soon Joan ended up giving up and continuing to laugh out loud with Max, who hadn't shown that sincerity in a long time.

On the other hand, the second person who found out about them, when they were dating for four months, was more of an accident than anything else. An oversight. It was one time that the Hellfire Club reunited for one of their campaigns. Eddie had spent all day directing his group on a new adventure, while Joan had organized a practice with the cheerleaders to build a routine for the next match of the Tigers. They both would stay in school until late, so they didn't find anything wrong with meeting after everyone else had gone to spend at least a while together. They didn't count on the fact that one of the members of the club was still hovering in the halls.

If there was something that characterized Dustin Henderson, it was his cap, which he never got rid of. Yes, he could change the model, but he wasn't Dustin if he didn't wear a cap. Except that day. It was just the first time-and last!-that he removed it, so there he was, retracing his steps to come back to the club.

He would never have imagined what he would see when he opened the door.

"But... what the...!?"

Eddie, like always, was sitting on his 'throne'. But he wasn't alone this time. The last thing that Dustin saw before putting a hand over his eyes was the blonde hair of a girl sitting astride the leader of Hellfire.

"Shit, Henderson!"

Joan wasn't sure if the sudden wave of heat that flooded her body was because of the little intimate moment that she was sharing with Eddie or if it was the fact that the friend of her brother just saw her in a very compromising situation with a boy. And not any boy, because Steve really detested Eddie Munson. A lot.

Without thinking twice, Joan jumped to her feet and straightened her uniform, avoiding complete visual contact with any of the two boys.

"My eyes! My eyes!"

"Henderson, you could barely see something before starting to shout like a freak," Eddie reminded him, rolling his eyes. "Now, you can look. C'mon"

With a certain doubt in his movements, Dustin removed his hand from his face. He could still not believe what he just saw-Eddie Munson and Joan Harrington? In his head, he tried to make calculations to comprehend at what moment those two could exchange even a word.

Joan used that uncomfortable minute of silence to clear her throat and attract both their attention.

"Eh, I... I think it's time to go," she announced with a hesitant voice, picking up clumsily her bag from the floor. "Steve must be almost here, so..."

She observed Eddie with her lips pressed, trying to demonstrate to him that she didn't want to go but she needed to. The boy, however, didn't put up any resistance and let her go.

And when the blonde went through the door, the expression of the curly-haired boy darkened. Dustin swallowed; he and his friends knew Eddie had an explosive nature, so he and his friends tried not to make him angry, so it didn't take long for him to want to run behind Joan.

"I'm... I'm sorry, mate... I didn't want to interrupt; I just... eh, I wanted my cap back..."

Instinctively, he directed his eyes to the table where the damn cap rested. Eddie followed his gaze and, thereupon, threw the cap to his face.

"You and your stupid cap, Henderson!"

"I'm sorry! I promise to never take it off again!"

Eddie clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. He wasn't really mad; he would never admit it aloud, but to him, it was impossible to get mad at Dustin.

"Listen," he said, letting out a sigh. "You can't tell no one, okay? Specially Steve. I have enough with her ex's hate; I don't need also the brother's."

"I think Steve would understand," Dustin said, shrugging. "But I'm not going to tell him. I promise it on behalf of my mother."

Eddie nodded, and his facial features relaxed, notably. Next, he sat on his chair and brought his hands to his face, resting his elbows on the table, in an attempt to relax. Dustin got close to him extremely slowly, fearing to ask the question that had been hovering in his mind for the last five minutes.

"And... eh..." Dustin added, with a glimpse of doubt in his voice. Eddie peeked his eyes between his fingers but didn't move away the hands on his face. "Does this mean... Joan is your girlfriend?"

Dustin couldn't lie; for him, it wasn't just a surprise to find out that Eddie was dating a girl, the most incredible part was that that girl was Joan Harrington. Eddie wasn't a bad guy, but the truth is that he didn't have the best temper, and there weren't a lot of people who got close enough to know him.

A bitter chuckle escapes Eddie's lips, calling his attention.

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked mockingly. "Do you really think she could be my girlfriend?"

In his voice, there was a slight resentment, which made Dustin feel bad for asking the question.

"You haven't even asked her, right?"

The brown eyes of the older man gave off a slight glow of fury upon hearing that. But it wasn't a lie; Eddie didn't dare propose to her to be his girlfriend, even though they had been seeing each other for four months on the sly. He was afraid that she would reject him and end up ruining the connection that was forming between them. After all, they were good like that. They didn't need a title. Or that was what he was trying to convince himself of.

The apprenticeships that life has taught him have made him accustomed to receiving rejection as the only answer, but what Eddie didn't know was that Joan was waiting for the boy to ask her. For her, officializing the relationship would mean that what they had was real and not something temporary. And even though she feared the reaction of her family, she was aware that she wanted him next to her, even if that entailed fighting with her environment. At the end, the people who really cared about how she felt would end up accepting that Eddie was the person that she had chosen.

And that was how they got to seven months of relationship without labeling it, because they both feared the same thing: being rejected and ruining that little part of their lives where they were happy.

"We're going bowling this night, are you joining?"

The voice of her best friend returned her to the real world. Emma Washington was looking at her with an elevated eyebrow, like she was imagining what the answer would be. Joan finished tying her hair in a ponytail and tried to save time by saving her uniform inside the locker.

"It's Tuesday, Em." Joan remembered her with a monotonous voice. "You know my Tuesday nights are busy."

The brunette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Joan tried to avoid her look by locking the locker with the combination. The training left her tired enough to, on top of that, have to argue with her best friend because of stupid things.

"Of course," she mumbled with a slight disdain. "That secret activity that you don't want to talk about."

Joan released a snort before turning to face Emma, who kept her blue eyes on her. In some sort of way, she understood that her friend felt 'replaced', by calling it some way, because there had been months where she had invented excuses to not hang out with her friends. However, that didn't justify the fact that she tried to make her feel bad for being busy.

"It's not a secret," the blonde replied, feeling her body tense, scared that she could discover that she was lying. "I have already told you that I've committed to taking care of one of my neighbors while his parents are not home.

Even though it wasn't a complete lie, because Joan did work as a nanny some nights, especially the weekends. However, on Tuesdays, she went to see Eddie play with his band at an almost desolated bar called The Hideout. If someone asked, she told her friends that she needed to take care of a kid, and to her parents and brother, she told them that she had training until late. Nobody had discovered her lying so far, except at that time, when Steve insisted on going for her at the end of the training.

Eddie almost killed them, driving even more unhinged than usual to be there on time and not be discovered.

Emma sighed, turning her gaze toward her own feet.

"I know, I know," she murmured. "I don't want to sound so hard, Jo. It's just that... sometimes I think that you're only looking for excuses to not hang out with us. Are you sure this is not for Chrissy?"

Joan had to contain the impulse to roll her eyes.

"Chrissy and me are still friends," she assured, and this time she was being completely sincere. "That she's now dating my ex doesn't mean I hate her; how could I? The girl's an angel."

"And Jason?"

"Em, do you really think that I'm going to invent that I have to take care of a kid to not hang out with my all-time friends? Because Jason and I are on good terms, there's no reason for his presence to bother me."

Well, she was inventing the idea that she needed to take care of a kid, but not because she didn't want to hang out with her friends. There was a difference.

Finally, Emma stopped insisting. If there was something that Joan hated, it was lying; she wasn't used to it, but it was what she did the most since she started to date Eddie.

'Everything's going to be fine', she tried to tranquilize herself via her thoughts. In no time, high school would be over, and Eddie and her would not need to hide anymore. They'll leave the town and send everything to hell.

This was her year.

The first thing that could be perceived upon arriving at The Hideout was an intense cloud of smoke accompanied by a strong smell of tobacco. That was the only place where Joan felt relatively 'safe', because she knew perfectly well that none of her acquaintances would go to a place like that. She wouldn't even approach the entrance if it wasn't for Eddie. Also, it wasn't the most frequented bar in the world. The drunken were always the same and could be counted by the fingers of a hand.

The music coming from the speakers was so loud that there was a sensation that everything was shaking. It wasn't the music genre that Joan enjoyed the most, she had to admit, but she liked it when it was Eddie who played it. Was there a logical explanation? Joan didn't know.

A few minutes passed until, at last, Corroded Coffin was presented. Eddie's face illuminated with a smile seeing Joan there, in the front row, like every Tuesday. He wasn't used to receiving all that attention from someone; all his life was based on surviving, so for Eddie, it was incredible that a girl like Joan Harrington had found an interest in a failure like him.

Joan was fascinated by the way the boy carried himself on the stage; he showed genuine self-assurance; to Eddie, it was like being in his safe place, and Joan admired him for that. And even when he was self-absorbed by the chords of the song, Eddie couldn't help looking in her direction from time to time. They smiled with complicity, and really, it was like there was nobody else on Earth. Between them, there were not necessary words; after all, it was true that a glance could capture their thoughts perfectly. That's how they learned to communicate-their secret language.

As soon as the presentation ended, Joan was the first to stand and cheer with euphoria. Eddie smiled at her tenderly and winked at her.

At the end of the night, Joan waited with patience for Eddie to finish helping his friends and bandmates save all the instruments and get ready to come back home. And when Eddie walked to her, Joan jumped to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug.

"This was your best night!" she exclaimed against his neck, sounding just like a little girl happy for a new toy for Christmas. That was the sensation that Joan felt when she was close to him.

"You say that every Tuesday," Eddie objected with fun.

Joan separated in the act, although she kept her arms around his neck and observed him with her lips parted and an offended expression in the face.

"Because every night you do better than the last."

Eddie released a chuckle and gave a soft kiss to the blonde cheek. Joan rolled her eyes, but a smile crept into the corners of her lips.

"Ready to go home, sweetheart?"

"Only if it's with you."

Holding hands, they headed to Eddie's old van. At the start of their relationship, Joan didn't want to get into a vehicle driven by him, because she knew how reckless he was behind the wheel. She sure knew it, if that was how she met him. But after some time, she yielded, so Eddie tried to be as thorough as possible.

Although that doesn't mean that he wasn't still a madman behind the wheel, to Joan's dismay.

Eddie opened the door of the van and made a sign for her to get in. Joan let out a giggly laugh.

"Who could tell that Eddie Munson could be a gentleman?"

"I'm full of surprises, eh?"

The blonde smiled and got in the van. While Eddie went to get into the driver's seat, Joan saw a cassette next to a piece of paper written by hand above the glove compartment. Without doubt, she bowed her head to read what was written on the tape.

'To: my sweet Juliet.

From: your freak Romeo.'

Joan frowned, and just in that moment, Eddie slipped into the seat next to her. Eddie, noticing what the girl just saw, turned unusually nervous. He gave it a quick slap and hid the cassette inside his jacket. Joan looked at him with arched eyebrows.

"You weren't supposed to see that yet," he murmured, letting out a nervous chuckle and hiding part of his face with his hair. "Eh... I'm not that type of boy and... wanted to wait for the perfect moment for, well..."

"Eds," the blonde stopped him, fighting not to smile because of how cute he looked like that. "I'm not sure if I'm following you; what type of boy?"

Eddie tensed his jaw and kept his lips clenched for a few seconds, searching for a way of explaining what he wanted to say. He had planned everything-absolutely everything. Joan was a person who transmitted him tranquility; with her, it wasn't a problem to find the words because they weren't even necessary. But, at the same time, sometimes she reminded him of one of her characters from his favorite game, Dungeons and Dragons, because in front of her, he used to lose the thread easily, like if Joan was a sorceress who handled him as she pleased.

"You know," he stammered, drumming the wheel with his fingers. "The type of boy who gives romantic gifts, prepares luxurious dates... or plays basket..."

"Wow!" Joan intervened again, this time with a black face. "It looks like you have described Jason Carver; you just needed to say that you're not the type of guy who goes to church, and then there would be everything."

Eddie rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to be serious here, you know?"

"And I'm trying to make you understand that I don't care what type of boy you are. If I wanted to date Jason, I wouldn't have ended up with him in the first place, don't you think?" Eddie parted his lips to talk, but Joan wasn't ready to let him talk yet. "I'm not an idiot, Ed. I've noticed you've made me a tape, you don't have to be embarrassed. Unless I've assumed that it was for me and you were planning on giving it to another girl..."

"What?" Eddie frowned in a way that reminded Joan of a little kid. "To what other girl would I make a tape? Have you lost your mind?"

"Then why are you making so much drama?" Joan teased, making her biggest effort not to laugh.

Eddie opened his mouth but didn't let out any sound. The problem was not that he had made the tape, but what he was planning on doing before giving it to her. However, now that he had Joan Harrington right under his nose, the idea of asking her to be his girlfriend officially looked stupid. Very well, Munson. Running away again.

"I don't know," he lied, smiling sideways. "Maybe because I have never made a tape for anyone."

"What about the one you gave me last week?"

"That one doesn't count; that one was just to make you see what you're losing because you prefer to listen to ABBA."

Joan shook her head, entertained. It was seven months in which Eddie fought constantly to make the blonde like the music that he was passionate about. However, he didn't want to give in to music that wasn't metal or rock.

Finally, Eddie drove to the street that led to the Harrington's house. Along the way, Joan insisted him to give her the tape because she was very curious to know which songs he had chosen. But the boy refused, claiming that she should listen to them when she was alone.

He parked one block away from her house to not be seen. Joan insisted again, and Eddie didn't have any choice but to give it to her.

"It's cute that you think we are like the Shakespeare characters," she commented when she read again what was written on the tape. "But have you forgotten that Romeo and Juliet die at the end of the play?"

Eddie frowned and observed with confusion.

"They die? Well, I guess I should have read it to the end, but it was so boring."

Joan laughed while she shook her head.

"I think it's romantic," she admitted, outlining a little smile. "They fought for their love even when they had everyone against them, and they chose death to be together."

Eddie also smiled, but his reason had a name and surname. Hearing her talk about the things that made her passionate transmitted to him the same feelings. If someone asked him what his favorite part about Joan was, he wouldn't hesitate to answer that her smile.

They kept talking for some more minutes, between laughs and caresses, until it was time to say goodbye. Joan's parents would start to suspect if she arrived too late, so after a last kiss, she returned home. Her hand was clinging to the tape that Eddie gave her, which she couldn't wait to hear.

I'm so so so so sorry for the delay, but my laptop is broken. I had to do the translation via my tablet, which was a nightmare 💀

I'll probably edit this later because I feel like the translation is horribly done, but whatever.