a/n: italics are past memory! :-)

Preparations for school starting were fairly uneventful. Willow had gone over her mental checklists multiple times, being sure to have enough notebooks and binders to begin the year. She'd dug around her room and gathered up any and all pens and pencils she could get her hands on. Her closet was thoroughly inspected, older pieces she no longer wore now in a box for donations and a specific leather jacket hung neatly and clearly separated from the rest of her clothes.

She could still hear Steve's reaction clear as day when she had reentered the building that night with Eddie's jacket.

Steve's eyes widened, nearly falling over himself as he stood up. "What is that?"

"What?" Willow asked, feigning innocence. Robin was smirking.

"The jacket, is that his?"

"I...maybe. Let's get going," she insisted, holding the keys to Steve's car up and jingling them. Robin followed her with ease, glossy eyes and all, but Steve stayed put.

"Maybe? It's a yes or no question. Is it his jacket? Or is it someone else's? Because I know you didn't walk in with it."

She felt herself become exasperated as her shoulders slumped. "Why does it matter?"

"Why does it matter?" Steve asked, sounding incredibly offended, "Why does it matter? It matters because he's an asshole!"

Robin looked ready to break her silence, but Willow refused to give her the chance, "And so are you, or at least you have been tonight. Yes, it's his jacket. Now come on . We're going home."

The ride home had been awkward that night, and Steve hadn't brought the fight or Eddie back up since then. Willow wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment or because he had been too drunk to remember. Part of her truly hopes it was the latter. The other part had avoided the jacket like the plague since.

But it was hard to ignore the first day of school, as she stands there in front of her closet, only in her underwear. She should have picked out an outfit the night before. She had even thought about it before drifting off to sleep. But her fatigue had won in the early hours of the night, and she hadn't completed half of her normal first day of school routines.

"Fuck it," she mutters as she completely dodges the jacket and grabs a plain white t-shirt instead. She decidingly pairs it with a favorite pair of blue jeans. It's a plain outfit. Simple. It would help her blend in with ease, which is all she could want from today.

As she's zipping up the jeans, adjusting them on her waist, she considers the jacket once more. She knows she's likely to get cold in class - it's an easy excuse to wear it.

She can't bring herself to.

She settles on a cardigan instead, soft and creamy tan in color. The disappointment in her stomach doesn't go unnoticed when she slips it on and all she can smell is her own laundry scent, no trace of the cigarettes or musk she would have been greeted with if she chose Eddie's jacket.

As she finishes getting ready for school, splashing her face down with cool water in an attempt to wake herself up further, she thinks more about Eddie. About the way his charisma could come and go so easily, the way he got under Steve's skin. Most of all, Robin's ridiculous plan still echoes from the day at the mall. Willow can't stop thinking about it. At the time, she and Robin had been joking, but after seeing each of Steve's outbursts after every slight interaction between Eddie and Willow, she's beginning to consider if it might be her best bet. A one-last-ditch effort to get Steve Harrington to notice her, to face any feelings he harbors for her head-on. But before she could ever approach Eddie Munson with the absurd idea, she needed to figure out what she could offer him in exchange. She needed this deal to not just benefit her, but benefit him as well to guarantee he'd agree. It needed to be a transaction of sorts.

Just looking at herself in the mirror as she entertained the idea caused her face to burn red enough to match her hair.

She's in the middle of racking her brain for the fifth time this morning, hands fiddling mindlessly with her hair as she considers an updo, when she can hear Steve honking outside. He offered rides to her and Robin for the school year since he knew neither girl could drive.

"Oh, shit," Willow sighs, returning to her room to grab her green backpack, catching sight of the time, "Oh shit ."

She's practically sprinting her way out to Steve's car as she realizes they're running late. Robin is already in the passenger seat, visor down as she applies makeup. Steve looks slightly irritated, but he immediately perks up at the sight of Willow rushing to throw herself into his backseat.

"Well good morning to you," he laughs, twisting around to catch sight of her.

"Yeah, yeah," she brushes off, only slightly out of breath, "Drive, Harrington. I refuse to be late on the first day."

She expects a snarky comeback, but he surprisingly does as she requests, taking off just as she barely clicks her seatbelt into place.

"I'm so sorry, Willow. It's one hundred percent my fault and not Steve's," Robin looks away from the visor momentarily, now turning in a similar fashion as Steve had when Willow first got into the car, "I may have accidentally slept in."

Willow tries to hold a fierce glare at Robin, but she softens at her friend's guilty grin. "I'm buying you an alarm clock for your birthday."

"I already have an alarm clock."

"Yeah, well, I'm buying you a louder one."

Steve laughs at that, and everyone falls into a comfortable silence after as the radio plays. Robin finishes up her makeup, impressingly so, in between every bump Steve manages to run over. Willow is shocked when Steve pulls into the school parking lot on time despite Robin's unfortunate case of snooze this morning.

"Alright, ladies. Now remember: we have our family video interview after you kiddos get out. I'll pick you both back up right here," Steve says as he turns, stretching out his arm and placing a hand on the back of Robin's seat with a smirk as he addresses them.

Willow scoffs, "Alright, senior citizen. Enjoy your day at the old folks home."

Robin cackles as the two of them slip out of the car, leaving Steve speechless and unable to formulate a sentence to defend himself. They're waving wildly before making their way to the gym.

"That was just cruel. At least give him a chance to redeem himself," Robin is still giggling as they walk away, merging in with the stream of students. Everyone would be going to the same place in order to get their schedules for the year.

Willow shrugs, readjusting the weight of her bag, "He has all day to think of a comeback, which I'm sure will be the first thing out of his mouth this afternoon. I'm not worried."

"Wanna start betting what his response will be?" Robin suggests and bumps shoulders with Willow.

She's about to laugh and agree, spewing out her best guess, when she sees him. For someone who hadn't really existed to her before this summer, Eddie Munson was easily becoming a shadow that Willow Jenkins couldn't escape. She hadn't expected to catch sight of him this morning. She knew enough of his reputation to know he was chronically late to school, if he'd even show up. She expected to see him being his normal self, a shit-eating grin and theatrics that could be heard from miles away, but she's shocked to see how subdued he is. He's alone, posture slumped and eyes dreary as he's staring down the paper in his hands.

" Ooh ," Robin begins to tease once she catches sight of him, "Look who it is."

"You were right, you know," Willow can't stop herself before her words come tumbling out.

Robin looks slightly confused, tilting her head, "Huh?"

"He's perfect," Willow pauses and almost leaves it at that, but at Robin's sly grin, she adds on, "For that fake-dating shit. He gets under Steve's skin. It would be perfect."

"Oh my God, 'Low."

"What?"

Robin is genuinely shocked - she's stopped dead in her tracks. "I thought we were just joking about that."

"I was! At first!" Willow defends, crossing her arms to avoid tossing them around to emphasize her point, "But I just, I noticed at Scoops, a-and... Well, Jesus Christ - Rob, every time I interact with Eddie in the slightest, Steve ends up throwing a fit. Every. Single. Time. What if fake-dating Eddie Munson would throw Steve over the edge with any feelings he might have for me?"

Robin doesn't say a word, mouth agape.

"Okay, fish face. Say something, please," Willow begs.

Robin immediately closes her mouth, shaking her head. "Oh my God. You're both idiots. Absolute idiots."

Willow is taken off guard when Robin suddenly flings herself back into action, walking in the direction of the gym even faster. She's purposefully avoiding the entrance Eddie is standing at.

"Oh, for fucks sake, Robin. You were the one who hatched this idea to begin with!" Willow calls, falling a few steps behind her friend due to the traffic of the entire student body being in one building.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it!" she calls over shoulder.

The two girls end up separated as they file into line to pick up their schedules. Once Willow is clutching the small piece of paper with her name typed plainly at the top of it, her schedule blocked out before her, she goes to the exit she had spotted Eddie at. She notices immediately he's still there, leaning against a tree, still looking over his own schedule grimly.

That bad?

"Okay, alright. Who's your homeroom teacher?" Robin scares Willow when she suddenly appears at her side, eagerly looking at her own schedule and reaching to grab Willow's.

Willow throws out her hand holding the paper, glaring at her friend. "No, nuh uh. First, we're finishing our earlier conversation.

"Hm," Robin hums, and Willow realizes too late why she's squinting in the direction of her hand. Enough of the paper is exposed for Robin to make out her homeroom teacher, "Damn, O'Donnell? Even I feel bad for you."

Willow huffs and yanks her hand down to her side, carefully unwrinkling her scheduling and folding it neatly. "Fuck off. You're avoiding my question."

"What question? The question of how insane I think you are on a scale of one to ten? Because I'd say a solid fifteen."

" No , my question as to why you've suddenly changed your tone about your...idea," with Eddie so close, Willow deliberately stays vague, "Especially when there's a chance it'd work."

"Maybe I know something you don't," Robin's voice cracks, flashing a shy smile. She tilts her head at Willow but it doesn't change Willow's mind.

"And what would that be?"

"Not my secret to share, or my guts to spill. Anyways, we have lunch together. I just couldn't see your last three classes."

Willow's intrigue immediately peaks. "Who's guts is it to spill?"

Robin shakes her head. "Nope. Not getting it out of me that easily."

Willow sighs, rolling her eyes and turning from Robin. Fine . She could keep her secrets to herself. Willow would survive.

She begins walking, coincidentally her path leading her right past Eddie who's now joined by a friend. She can only assume it's a member of his D&D club.

"Wait up!" Robin calls as she speed-walks to catch up with Willow's unwavering pace. Willow isn't focused on Robin trying to reclaim her space at her side, however. As she passes Eddie and his friend, she can overhear their conversation.

"Fucking O'Donnell. For homeroom. I'm fucked Jeff," Eddie's voice is unmissable.

"Who knows, maybe the third time's the charm? Do you really think you're going to fail again?" Jeff, or who Willow assumes is Jeff, replies.

Willow doesn't hear Eddie's reply as she has already passed. She stops abruptly, though, and Robin crashes into her back.

"Jesus, Willow! Why'd you sto-"

"I have an idea," is all Willow says as everything clicks in her mind.

She doesn't care what Robin says about the fake-dating idea. Because it all becomes painfully obvious to her.

The only thing Eddie Munson must want as badly as Willow wants Steve is to graduate. And Willow Jenkins has a 4.0 GPA.

Willow has never failed a single assignment, has always completed extra credit assignments with ease, and has always been a teacher's pet. She's tutored more fellow students than she could count on one hand.

She's never turned on her heel faster than when she spins around, timing perfect as Jeff walks away from Eddie, leaving him lonesome as he leans on the tree again.

"Willow, what are you doing?" Robin asks, popping up over her shoulder and following her line of sight to Eddie, "I'm telling you, that is a bad idea. Do not-"

Willow doesn't stick around to hear Robin's lecture. Her heart is beating up into her throat as her feet carry her straight to Eddie. He's looking down at first, toeing the grass at his feet, but once she gets closer, his head whips up to meet her determined gaze. His eyes rake over her, taking in her determined stance.

"Hey there, Red," he greets her once she gets close enough.

She swallows hard before nodding, "Eddie."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asks, doing slight jazz hands as he tilts his head to the right.

Now or never, Jenkins. Do it.

"I-I have a...proposition. A-A transaction, of sorts, to offer you," Willow starts and immediately curses her stutter from her nerves. Eddie leans his head forward, drinking in her every word, "A deal. I'd like to make a deal."

She supposes her wording could have been better.

She immediately knows she's fucked up as she watches Eddie deflate, and feels Robin's eyes burning into the back of her head.

"Nope," he immediately says, standing up straight and stiffening up completely, "Not happening."

"Wha-" Willow starts to question, startled considering there's no way he could guess what she was about to offer him.

"I don't do deals like that. No respectable dealer would. So go and tell your little friend," he pauses and nods his chin sharply in Robin's direction, "that I'm not selling to you guys at a discount. Or offering any... exchanges."

"Eddie, what kind of deal-" Willow stops in the middle of her sentence. Oh. Oh my God. It hits her, the realization that Eddie is assuming she's about to ask for drugs in exchange for something, a service on her part presumably. She's shocked at how quickly Eddie's mind went so perverted.

Or maybe that's just how often the girls at school have tried to take advantage of him for some free weed.

"Sorry, Red. See you around," he huffs, starting to storm off when he suddenly stops. Willow is taken back to night outside of the Hideout as he calls over his shoulder, "Also, I'd love my jacket back. You know, if you ever get away from Harrington long enough to get the chance."

His words are laced with poisonous sarcasm that immediately lights a flame in Willow's stomach, the fire reaching her chest. She doesn't stop and think before responding, or even check for teachers before she's screaming after him.

"Oh, fuck you, Munson! Also, I wasn't asking about drugs! "

He doesn't respond, only flipping her the bird without even looking back at her.

a/n: this was so short and uneventful i'll probably break schedule and update again tomorrow. thank you for reading, whether you've been one of the wonderful human beings commenting on each chapter and voting or if you're just ghosting around here!! have a good day