The embarrassment is still raw for Willow as she walks into her homeroom, Ms. O'Donnell's English class.

She can't tell which part of the interaction had stung the most: was it the part where Eddie thought so lowly of her that his mind had jumped to her wanting to scam him out of some free drugs? Or the part where he'd requested his jacket back? The part where he once more, reduced her down to nothing more than Steve Harrington's friend?

"Please take your seats everyone," O'Donnell calls from her spot at the front of the classroom, sharp eyes watching as each student files in.

Willow isn't even shocked when her eyes find Eddie slumped in a desk in the farthest corner, legs stretched out and a bored expression gracing his face. At this point, she nearly laughs out loud bitterly. Of course the cause behind her bright crimson cheeks would share a homeroom with her. Because why not?

She's about to take a seat in the front of the classroom when O'Donnell clears her throat, eyes staring right at Willow. She's only confused for a moment before O'Donnell taps the chalkboard and a freakishly neat seating chart is written out. She had just assumed based on Eddie sitting snugly in his corner that it was free seating. She had forgotten this part of O'Donnell's reign, which Steve had indeed warned her of.

"Seating chart, miss Jenkins."

"Right. Sorry."

Willow's eyes scan for her name, starting with the seats farthest from Eddie. She hopes for luck but comes up empty-handed. Her name is written in all capital letters on the square right above the square that was filled with Eddie Munson's name.

"By Munson?" she complains, not keeping her voice soft enough for O'Donnell to not hear her.

"She hates back-talkers, snide comments, that kind of stuff. Don't complain in front of her," Steve had warned. Willow felt like an idiot at O'Donnell's glare.

"Is there a problem, Miss Jenkins?" O'Donnell questions, quirking an eyebrow as she crosses her arms. Jesus, she really was the stereotypical evil teacher, wasn't she?

"No ma'am," Willow assures, voice sickly sweet as she's well aware she needs to be on this teacher's good side, "None at all."

Neither say another word as Willow turns and starts to make her way to her seat. Eddie's too busy tracing the surface of his desk to notice her until she's right in front of him, and has to softly clear her throat once she catches sight of his shoes propped up in her chair.

Her voice is so quiet, she's lucky Eddie pays her any attention at all. "That's my seat."

Eddie is wordless, stare hard and cool as he slowly removes his sneakers off the chair.

"Thanks," Willow mutters, dropping herself into the seat immediately. She considers the fact that maybe, just maybe, sitting in front of Eddie is a good thing. She won't have to see him at all during class. Technically, if he is the truant everyone claims he is, she won't have to see him before class either.

Ms. O'Donnell starts up class once the bell rings right on time, wasting no time as she brings up the summer reading they were assigned. Each student had to choose a novel of their choice at the end of the last school year to read and annotate over the summer. Obviously, their choices had to be approved before the last day of school, but other than that, it had been a simple assignment (in Willow's opinion).

"Now, I am giving you all the benefit of the doubt that you did, in fact, complete this reading, as it will be crucial to our first project," the stuffy classroom was filled with stifled groans at the prospect of already being assigned homework. "No complaints, please. I choose to skip any ice-breakers the first day due to this very assignment."

Willow is intrigued, she can't lie. Steve hadn't mentioned what the first project would be.

Ms. O'Donnell turns and grabs a piece of chalk before continuing her speech. "For your first assignment of this semester, you will be paired off and will be exchanging the novels you chose to annotate for the summer."

Everyone stays dead silent, bated breaths as they await for O'Donnell to continue.

Everyone except Eddie Munson.

Willow can hear his chuckle from behind her, soft and low, reminding her that this wasn't his first time taking O'Donnell's class. It was his third.

O'Donnell is quiet now as she suddenly begins drawing neat circles around students' names. The seating chart, and therefore classroom, is set up with five vertical rows, six students per row. She starts with all the front students seated up front, and Willow is quick to pick up on the pattern as she circles for Connor Williams and Astrid McKinney to work together, Connor turning in his seat to face Astrid.

No.

She continues onto now placing circles around the third and fourth students of each row.

Fuck me.

Willow is slumped in defeat as she watches a perfect circle encompassing her own name as well as Eddie's.

"These will be our pairs. I'm going to give you this class period to get to know each other, and begin to plan out exchanges. I'm also going to come around and hand out the instruction sheet to go with this project. Please, be mindful and use inside voices."

People launch into action then, swiveling in their seats as an immediate buzzing of murmurs start up. Introductions and friendly greetings passed around. Willow, however, stays frozen. Her copy of Little Women is burning a hole in her backpack at her feet, and she can already envision her smeared writing cramped into the margins, several pages passionately dog-eared and harsh lines swiped beneath her favorite passages for emphasis. Hell, she's sure there's still a stain on one of the middle pages from when she dropped a half-eaten strawberry onto it, leaving the off-white of the page to turn pink and sticky. All of the love, the enjoyment, the vulnerability she packed into a novel she now considered one of her favorites, only to be damned to be in the hands of Eddie Munson.

"Uh, hey," she feels a sudden tapping at her shoulder, making her jump. She takes a deep breath before turning to face a grinning Eddie. He's clearly not smiling out of joy for the assignment, but seems to be thriving off the predicament they're now in, "Looks like we're partners."

"Oh, joy," Willow sarcastically remarks, her body now fully turned to face him.

"Well, don't hold your applause, Red. I can just see you bouncing out of your seat to work with me."

"Right, because that's what everyone hopes and dreams of: having to work with you after you've failed this class twice," Willow immediately wishes she had swallowed that insult back down, feeling a bit cruel despite how he treated her outside.

The world seeming stops as Willow awaits Eddie's reaction at her cruel statement. But instead of taking it to heart, Eddie sucks in a tight breath, faking pain jokingly as he grasps at his chest, "You wound me."

"You'll survive," Willow fights a smile, realizing Eddie wasn't offended, but still trying to tread carefully given their earlier interaction.

"Yeah? I don't know. Doc says it was a superficial wound but...feels pretty deep to me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup, I think you might've nicked a bone," Eddie leans forward onto his desk, sparkling brown eyes gazing into Willow's, "We might need a second opinion to be sure, though."

They both chuckle before the moment passes, and suddenly, Willow can feel the weight of that embarrassment back on her shoulders. The image of Eddie not looking back at her, flipping her off. Eddie clearly sees her drop in mood as she mulls over their fight this morning.

Maybe it's for the best. Maybe she couldn't really blame Eddie for jumping to that conclusion. Maybe, just maybe, it's the Universe giving her a sign to let go of the fake-dating antics.

Willow hadn't realized how quiet she had gone as she processed through first her anger, now her guilt, until Eddie suddenly asks her, "Penny for your thoughts?"

He's clearly anxious, playing with the rings on his fingers as he's watching her softly.

"You couldn't afford my thoughts, Munson. They're gonna cost you more than just one cent," she decides to tease him, thinking she preferred the energy between them more when they were joking than whatever it was when they were fighting (if Willow could even call it that).

"How much? I think I've got a twenty in my locker, but for that much, you'll have to add in some extra sweet-" Eddie is cut off from whatever dirty joke he was surely making by Ms. O'Donnell walking up to them, looking very unimpressed.

"Miss Jenkins," she first nods to Willow, "Mister Munson," when she says Eddie's name, it's with a stern glare. It didn't take a genius to know that he had probably pissed her off in previous years.

"Deborah," Eddie greets with a dopey smile, already pushing her buttons. Willow is wide-eyed, anxiety creeping up at the interaction.

How the hell will I get O'Donnell to like me enough to take pity on me with him , the probable bane of her existence, as my partner?

"Not this year, Mister Munson. I've already told you you're not to refer to me by my first name," O'Donnell scolds, pulling two pieces of paper from her arms. She holds them out to Willow.

Willow takes them quickly, nodding and muttering out a quick 'thank you' as Eddie continues to grinds her gears. "C'mon now, do I really need that paper? Think I've got this assignment memorized by now."

"Good. Then hopefully, you'll actually complete it this time," at this, Willow immediately looks at Eddie in panic, already sensing the impending doom for her grade. He smiles sheepishly, all the false confidence and charisma he played up for O'Donnell gone as he channels what feels like genuine guilt her way, "This year, I've paired you strategically, you see. Miss Jenkins here has an impeccable GPA, and nothing but glowing reviews from her previous teachers," O'Donnell pauses, glancing at Willow, "I'm hoping she might manage to break through in a way I clearly haven't yet. Maybe teach you some work ethic."

"Or maybe I'll rub off on her. I bet I'll have Jenkins here wearing all leather and blasting Iron Maiden by the end of the semester," Eddie winks at Willow at the end of his tease, reaching to grab one of the papers that Willow had been holding in a viper's grip.

"I'll keep him in line, don't worry, miss O'Donnell," Willow interrupts and shocks them both, smiling painfully as she wishes the teacher would leave them alone so Eddie would stop digging his own grave.

O'Donnell is shockingly pleased with the response, nodding and muttering 'I'm sure you will' before moving on to the other students.

"What was that?" Willow whispers, slightly irritated at Eddie as she places the instruction sheet on her desk, "Are you trying to get her to hold you back a third time before the assignments have even begun?"

"Nah, I'm trying to get her to hate me so much she pity-passes me. Except not out of pity for me, pity for herself. I've never seen a teacher nearly have an aneurysm at just the sight of me like she does," Eddie laughs and leans back into his seat, holding the instruction sheet out in front of him with both hands, "It's fine, though, since you're going to keep me in line. Right, Red?" his eyes flicker up to hers over the page, one eyebrow quirked and hidden within his bangs.

Willow can't help but remember the offer she was going to make for Eddie. That if he fake-dated her, burrowing himself under Steve Harrington's skin every chance he got, that she would guarantee he graduated by any means possible. She knew that probably would have included soiling her moral code and offering to be his partner-in-crime when it came to cheating, but it seemed worth it at the time. Honestly, it still seemed worth it, even with the rejection from this morning.

Let it go. Stop thinking about it. He'd never agree.

"I'm not a magician, I can't magically snap my fingers and make a diploma appear in your hands."

"Oh? Well, what about a wizard?" Eddie puts down the instruction sheet, and suddenly folds his hands and props his chin up with them.

"What?"

"You're not a magician, but are you a wizard? A wizard could probably do some magic and make me graduate with no effort."

Willow scrunches her nose, "No. I'm not a wizard."

"Sorceress?"

"No."

"Bard?"

"What the hell is that?"

"A cleric, perhaps?"

"Eddie, you're losing me."

"You ever heard of a little fantasy game called Dungeons and Dragons?" Eddie questions, eyes tracing her face for any reaction. Bad, good, anything. Willow could tell her was on edge asking her this despite trying to still seem nonchalant and teasing.

"Oh," she realizes whatever things he had been naming off must have been referencing the game he had a club for, "I've heard of it, yeah. Mainly when people talk about your little club for it."

Eddie visibly perks up. "Yeah! Hellfire. We meet on Fridays."

"Great, I do my homework on Fridays, like you know, most normal people," Willow replies. She tells herself they need to get back on topic, discuss the project and exchange books like many around them have. But she's actually enjoying getting to know Eddie, even if they're only scratching the surface of each other at the moment.

"Normal people do not do their homework on Friday," Eddie scoffs, "Even as the school freak, loser, whatever you want to call me... I know that ."

"Normal people with 4.0 GPAs who plan to graduate top of their class do," Willow doesn't mean to come off as snooty as she does, but her chest still puffs up in pride. She worked her ass off the last three years, she's pretty sure she's earned some bragging rights.

"No shit?" Eddie seems genuinely excited for her for a moment, before falling back to his teasing demeanor, "What a nerd."

"Nerd? You're the one who plays D&D," Willow fights back. She hadn't even noticed the way she leaned in closer to Eddie until she found it more comfortable to lean an elbow onto his desk and prop up her own head.

"Nerds come in all shapes and sizes, Red."

The conversation naturally drops off, both staring off into space. Willow knows it's perfect timing to bring up the project, to finally discuss it before the bell rings, but when she opens her mouth to say something about it, completely different words than intended spill out.

"I'm sorry about this morning."

Eddie looks as shocked as Willow is. "Oh, you mean that nine thousand pound elephant in the room?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just... I got a bit defensive. I was sort of a bitch. I'm sorry," she continues her apology but is unable to meet Eddie's eyes. Instead she drops her hand that was propping her head up on the desk down to the edges of his instruction sheet, gently fiddling with it.

She only looks open when Eddie's hand smooths out over the paper, stopping her fiddling. "It's fine. I was a dick. At least you can handle taking the shit you give. I was curious, though..."

Willow glances up as he trails off, searching his eyes as she mumbles, "Yeah?"

"If you weren't asking about, you know," he pauses, eyes looking around the classroom before dropping his voice, " drugs, then what were you wanting?"

Willow isn't sure how to respond. All her determination and confidence from the morning is gone, long buried somewhere by that stupid tree he rejected her at. "Oh, it was nothing. Don't worry about it, Munson. Honestly? Just forget about it."

She curses at her word vomit.

"Doesn't sound like nothing?" he says as his eyes squint at her, leaning in closer. She can smell his cologne, ever so faintly, the same scent clinging to the leather jacket in her closet.

"It is. I swear."

Eddie suddenly leans all the way back and crosses his arms over his chest, eyes scanning Willow in a way that fries her nerves. She hopes her cheeks aren't scorched as well, giving away just how nervous his gaze makes her. Really, she isn't even sure why his gaze makes her nervous, just that it does . Terribly so.

"You're lying to me," he suddenly tuts.

"What? No, I'm not."

"You are. And you're terrible at it, by the way."

"Am not!" Willow defends herself, possibly a bit too loudly as several classmates and Ms. O'Donnell herself stare at her. She's immediately humiliated.

Eddie only waits a moment, once the lingering stares have turned back to mind their business, before grinning and whispering, "Yes, you are, Red. Terrible, really."

"I have a name, you know," she changes the subject. Every time he calls her Red, her heart speeds up for a few beats. It's annoying.

"Yeah, I do know. And now you have a nickname," Eddie sits up dramatically, waving his hands in a rainbow shape for effect as he says, " Red ."

"You're the only one who calls me that," Willow sighs, reaching a hand up subconsciously to twirl a piece of her scarlet hair. It had managed to grow on her just enough to stop any panic attacks regarding it this morning.

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Willow is ready to shoot back a snarky comment, keeping up the easy flow her and Eddie had settled into this entire period, when the bell interrupts her.

How the hell is class already over?

Willow realizes with a sinking stomach that they didn't mention the project once. "We didn't talk about our books."

"I don't have mine on me anyways," Eddie shrugs as he shoves the instruction sheet messily into his backpack. It appeared to be the same brand as Willow's bag, but in black. She doesn't miss the sight of the small, metal lunch box he grabs up from beside it.

"Oh," Willow sighs. So maybe not talking about the project worked out, maybe Eddie had been avoiding the topic to avoid embarrassment of admitting he didn't have his book, "Well...Don't forget it tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Eddie jokingly solutes Willow as he slings his backpack over his shoulder. She's barely fitted the instruction sheet neatly into her binder and is returning it to her bag, standing up simultaneously with him.

Willow's curiosity burns at her as she catches sight of Little Women in her bag. "Hey, what book did you choose to annotate?"

Eddie is looking down at her due to their height difference, wearing what she's now believing is his signature grin, as he says, "Guess you'll just have to find out tomorrow."

"What? Why? That's such a stupid thing to keep secret," Willow chastises, knowing she was being a hypocrite.

"Hm," Eddie hums, walking backwards down the aisle and keeping his eyes on her, "Look who's talking, Red ."

a/n: three cheers for double posting and finally more willow and eddie interaction!!! like proper interaction!!! this is my favorite chapter so far because this story was originally going to be enemies to lovers where they hated each other, but once i realized eddie munson was a softie, i changed it a little where it's just a lot of banter and getting under each other's skin :-) i hope you all are having a good week, and i'll see you all again on sunday!!