The bar is louder than you expected.

Not trashy loud like The Hideout used to be back in high school, but alive—warm golden lights hanging from dark ceilings, the sound of conversation mixing with clinking glasses and live music echoing through the crowded room. It’s newer. Nicer. The kind of place nobody would’ve imagined Eddie Munson playing in back when he was seventeen and squeezing metal gigs into whatever space would let Corroded Coffin plug in their amps.

Robin had dragged you here almost immediately after you got back into town.

“Trust me,” she’d said with a grin while fixing her jacket. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

You should’ve known.

The second Corroded Coffin walks onto the stage, your stomach twists.

And then you see him.

Eddie.

Eight years suddenly collapse into nothing.

He looks older now, sharper around the edges in a way that somehow only makes him more attractive. His curls are longer again, rings fl@shing beneath stage lights as his fingers move across the guitar effortlessly, confidence replacing the awkward teenage uncertainty he used to carry beneath all the chaos and noise. But it’s still him, still Eddie.

Then his eyes find yours.

And he misses a chord.

Barely—but enough.

Gareth looks over at him in confusion while Robin slowly turns toward you with wide eyes.

“…Holy shit.”

Because Eddie is staring at you like he’s seen a ghost.

The rest of the set passes in a blur. Every few minutes his eyes drift back toward you again like he physically can’t help it, and by the time the music ends your chest already hurts from it.

Robin disappears toward the bar for drinks just as Eddie makes his way through the crowd toward you.

“Jesus Christ…” he breathes, stopping in front of you like he still doesn’t fully believe you’re real. “You’re actually here.”

You laugh softly, nervous. “Last time I checked.”

That earns a real laugh out of him—quieter than you remember, but warmer somehow. He shakes his head slightly, eyes still fixed on you like he’s afraid you’ll disappear if he looks away too long.

“You look…” He exhales through a grin. “Wow.”

“You do too.”

“Yeah?” he asks softly.

And there it is again.

That look.

The one that used to make you feel like you were the only person in the room.

For a while the conversation comes surprisingly easy. He tells you Corroded Coffin’s been doing well, that they travel more now for shows. You tell him a little about where life took you after Hawkins. There’s laughter. Teasing. Familiarity slipping back into place way too naturally for two people who haven’t seen each other in eight years.

And the whole time Eddie looks at you like he forgot how to breathe properly.

Like some part of him has been waiting for this without realizing it.

Then—

“There you are.”

A woman’s voice cuts gently through the moment.

She steps beside Eddie easily, her hand sliding against his arm before your eyes catch the ring on her finger.

And suddenly Robin’s words from earlier slam back into your head.

Eddie’s engaged.

The woman smiles politely at you before glancing toward him. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Eddie doesn’t answer right away.

Because he’s still looking at you.

Still staring at you like seeing you again just ruined something inside him in the best and worst way possible.