Eddie's jacket was basically Willow's now. It didn't even smell like him in the slightest anymore, and the novelty for fellow students had worn off, as if the jacket had always been a staple in Willow's outfits rather than Eddie's. Even Willow felt that at times, especially when she was in class as she was now, fiddling with the zipper and the sleeves as a nervous tick.

She should be paying attention to the lesson. She should be listening to Mrs. Thompson's comparison of the use of informal versus formal you in Spanish.

She can't.

All she can think about is Eddie - how he's doing, how he's feeling, how his face is recovering. It had only been a day since the fight and this morning, his bruises had looked awful . Of course, when he'd asked her, she'd lied.

"Be straight with me, Red," he had said as he turned towards her once his van was in park at the school, "How bad do I look?"

Her eyes traced the blooming bruise that spread across his right cheek, focused under his eye while tapering off at his cheekbone and creeping up the bridge of his nose. There was a clear crack in the middle of his bottom lip, now scabbed over but it still made Willow internally cringe in the thought of how painful it must be.

His eyes are solemn, awaiting her answer patiently. She didn't have the heart to be honest quite yet. "Like a badass."

"God, you're such a liar."

"Am not!" she laughed, reaching down to pick up her backpack as Eddie did the same, "Black eyes are a man's best accessory, right?"

"Eh, I always thought my rings were mine," he countered, holding up a hand and wiggling his fingers so that the morning light would shine on the silver bands adorned.

"Did you even ice it any more like I told you to after you took me home?" Willow opened her door as he cut the engine.

He didn't answer her until he walked around the back of the van quickly, meeting her just as she adjusted her bag onto her back. "Absolutely, I did."

"Now who's the bad liar?"

The bell rings and releases the class - therefore releasing Willow from her intruding thoughts.

She doesn't know why or how Eddie has burrowed himself under her skin so quickly. His occupation of her mind is endlessly infuriating, distracting her at every turn, and she's completely helpless to it all. A month ago, the first thing on her mind would have been what plans she had with Robin that day, or if Steve was working at Scoops so she could visit with him. A month ago, Willow would feel scorned at how little she had seen of her friends since school had started. A month ago, Willow had an extra hangar in her closet, the one that now was home to the worn leather currently draped on her body.

Willow realizes that a month ago, there had been an empty space in not just her closet, not just her thoughts, but her life - an Eddie shaped space, although she hadn't the slightest clue of the shape before this ridiculous friendship blossomed.

She can't imagine starting her mornings without his obnoxiously loud music now, and the squeals of his reckless driving no longer spur on her anxiety but comfort her to some extent. Each time he tugs on her hair to get her attention in class, it grows harder to feign her annoyance at it. Every bad joke becomes harder to not laugh at, every nickname that pulls an involuntary blush out of her becoming the bane of her existence. It was annoying, wonderful, a nuisance, a miracle - it was contradictory in every sense of every word Willow has ever uttered in her life. It was the situation with Robin all over again; one day, Eddie had decided he was going to be her friend, and she never even had a chance to argue it.

Thirteen days. It had only been thirteen days, and Eddie Munson had sunk his lovable teeth into Willow Jenkins and caused her to genuinely enjoy his friendship.

She rolls the acceptance around in her mind as she finally walks up to her locker, spinning in her combination quickly. Once the locker is open, she's shrugging off the leather jacket, albeit reluctantly, and placing it carefully on the top shelf.

Chemistry was her next class, and would be her next chance to see Eddie if he didn't ditch. Although he was doing exceptionally well in attending O'Donnell's class, he had accumulated a few absences in Edwards' class.

Willow almost screams when a pair of arms wrap themselves around her shoulders from behind as she's trading her notebooks out.

"Boo," the familiar voice whispers, cracking as he holds back laughter at her jump.

She doesn't hesitate to spin in his grasp and smack Eddie with her notebook. He lets go as he throws his head back in laughter before throwing himself to lean against the locker beside hers. "Asshole."

"Asshole? I'm just being a loving boyfriend, thank you very much."

"What part of creeping up on me while I'm at my locker and scaring me screams 'loving boyfriend' to you?" Willow scoffs and plunges back into her locker to find what she needs. Eddie is unnecessarily close, his shoulder bumping against hers with every move both of them make.

She doesn't mind. It was all just part of the act. She knew it, he knew it.

"I was actually thinking the part where I carry your books to our next class did," Eddie hums, and Willow glances over at Eddie in short-lived shock, "What? I saw Jason do it for Chrissy. I can't let them one up us."

"We're not in competition with Jason and Chrissy."

"Not anymore, we aren't."

As if to prove his point, he silently walks back behind her and places his chin on her shoulder as his arms suddenly travel to wrap around her waist. She has to focus immensely to not react to his touch, to not jump and shiver at the feeling of him being so intimate and close to her. There's an awful fluttering traveling from her stomach to her chest that she has to ignore.

It's just an act. Pull yourself together, Jenkins.

Another beat of silence passes, Willow listening to Eddie's breaths against her ear, when she understands what he means.

Whispers.

She can hear students passing them, whispering about them.

"Hear that, sweetheart? We're the talk of the town," Eddie chuckles lowly, directly into her ear, and Willow can't even fight off the shiver that goes down her spine. He lets go of her once more, the moment of confusing feelings passing as quickly as it was sprung onto her.

"Actually, I think they're whispering about how weird it is to see you actual here, at school, in the flesh," Willow's tone is teasing as she finally shuts her locker and recovers from his touch, arms full with her chemistry textbook and binder, "You know, not ditching like you normally do."

"Me? Ditching?" Eddie gasps, "I would never . I'll have you know, the only time I've ditched this year was when this awful red-head was simply the worst influence on me, convinced me to go home and throw around a bag of frozen peas, and then take a nap."

"Wow, she sounds like a menace," Willow hums and turns to walk towards their class when Eddie snatches the books out of her arms, "Hey!"

"She is. An absolute menace, that is," Eddie holds the books in his right arm, and throws his left arm over Willow's shoulder. She can tell, just between the two of them, it's a friendly embrace. But to all the prying eyes of their peers, it surely must look romantic. Willow tries to tuck herself into Eddie's embrace as if it's natural, as if he does it all the time. She needs to convince everyone she simply belongs there; Eddie has a spot carved out at his side just for her, perfectly fitting them together like jigsaw pieces.

"I didn't think you were serious about carrying my stuff for me," Willow murmurs, tilting her head back to look up at Eddie. He steers them effortlessly through the sea of students, eyes focused straight ahead.

"Deadly serious, Red."

She watches how his jaw moves with the words, memorizing the outline of his nose. It's hard to imagine that she had spent the last several years avoiding him based on senseless rumors. Sure, she had witnessed his loud-mouth firsthand on multiple occasions, but who he was towards people like Jason Carver didn't solidify who he was in a quiet room, alone with those who cared enough to get to know him.

It was the same way she felt about Steve. It was awfully funny, the way Willow had a habit of gravitating towards the ones with reputations large enough to cover the state of Indiana - and how neither boy actually filled their reputations out, drowning in them behind closed doors.

"Is this going to be our new normal?" Willow asks to take her focus off his side profile and all her comparisons to Steve, finally looking forward to try and help him navigate the busy halls. It's not the easiest task when he's persistent on keeping them attached at the hip.

Eddie shrugs and his hand starts to twirl a strand of her hair that's tangled beside where his wrist is limp against her. "It can be, why? You dig it?"

"Sure," She would shrug if not for his weight against her shoulders, "Also, you definitely have ditched before yesterday. You've missed chemistry like, twice."

"Good thing I'm going today, then."

They don't talk the rest of their walk to class. Willow is too focused on catching the tidbits of every whisper that passes them in the hall that's clearly about them, counting up how many students stare a moment too long and how many shamelessly do double takes. This wasn't sudden, in retrospect - people had been nosey, just the way Willow and Eddie had needed them, since the first week of school when they'd decided to sit next to each other in their shared classes. And the jacket had gotten even more attention. But this was something more, the Hawkins' High student body was shook to its core at actually seeing Eddie 'the freak' Munson get the girl. It wasn't just a rumor that a jacket was his, or that she had come to his rescue during a fight only a handful of students witnessed.

No, he had his arm around Willow, a prize to be seen as they paraded the halls.

The first bell hasn't even rang by the time they walk into Edwards' classroom, Eddie's arm finally dropping as the teacher gives them a second glance.

Was getting on other students' nerves part of the plan? Absolutely, always. But getting on the teacher's nerves with their fake romance? Not so much the plan.

They head straight for one of the back tables. Aside from O'Donnell's, this was the only class Willow didn't sit within the first row for. She could blame Eddie for that.

"We doing labs today?" Eddie questions, staring at the equipment that has been placed on each tabletop.

Willow bites back a laugh, quirking an eyebrow at Eddie as she gives him a side eye. "You seriously don't pay attention during class, do you?"

"When did he mention we were doing labs?" Eddie whines as she wastes no time sitting down, "Am I even dressed right for it?"

Willow has to tilt her head back to look over his outfit. A tattered Iron Maiden t-shirt, his staple vest, ripped jeans, his white sneakers. Nothing against the labs' dress codes that Edwards had gone over earlier in the week. "You're fine."

Eddie huffs in response and takes his seat beside Willow. She's trying to think if there's anything either of them might be forgetting: they're both wearing closed-toe shoes, neither are wearing glasses, neither have long sleeves that might get in the way-

Oh shit.

Willow shoves her hand amongst her pockets, desperately seeking out a hair tie. She always keeps a spare one on her.

"Wait, why are you doing that?" Eddie asks her when he notices her slight panic, hand coming up empty from her left pocket.

"Doing what?"

"Diggin' through your pockets. What did we forget? What are you looking for?"

Willow pauses, shoving her loose strands of hand behind her ears as she looks at Eddie. It was endearing, the way he seemed so worried over her distress, considering her distress was over a fickle matter.

"Our hair," Willow states simply, and Eddie still looks confused, "We need to tie our hair back."

"Jesus, Red, you're just worried about your hair? I thought it was going to be something awful like you suddenl-"

"Not just my hair. Our hair, genius. Part of the safety dress code is that hair has to be pulled back, especially anything past the shoulders."

Eddie's mouth falls open into a small 'oh' of realization, looking lost in thought for a moment. When his hand comes up to pinch at his lips, Willow catches sight of his bare wrist and thinks of an idea.

She doesn't say anything as she grabs for his other wrist. He starts to shout in protest, capturing the attention of the students surrounding them as it mixes with the first warning bell, but Willow silences him immediately.

"Where's my scrunchie?" she asks, dumbfounded when she finds his wrist that has carried her scrunchie for the last week just as bare as the other.

"Where's my jacket?" Eddie bites back instead of answering her.

Her panic of finding something to tie not only her hair back with, but Eddie's hair as well, is paused as she glares at him, "In my locker, asshole. I didn't want to risk messing it up during our lab that I actually remembered. Did you lose my scrunchie?"

"Why do you immediately assume I lost it?"

"Did you?"

"Well, now my answer is yes, just to piss you off."

Willow finally tosses Eddie's hand out of hers, annoyed as she turns and taps one of the girls nearby. She doesn't know her name, but clearly Willow has been kind enough to her thus far in the class that when she asks the girl for two hair ties, she's willing to lend them to her without question.

Once she turns back to Eddie, she's already bundled her hair up into a messy ponytail, snapping the elastic into place. "You're insufferable, you know that? I want my scrunchie back."

"Then give me another one to replace it," Eddie shrugs, "Can I request a specific color this time, though? I think a black one would match my outfits better."

She opts to ignore him, placing the second hair tie on the table as she adjusts herself to better face Eddie. She motions him to turn his back to her.

"What?" his eyebrows scrunch, lines deepening between them.

"Turn."

"Why?"

"God, why do you ask so many questions?" Willow complains as she places her hands gently on each of his shoulders, forcing him with a certain gentleness he has to comply with.

"Red, don't you dare touch my hair or-"

Eddie doesn't get to finish his sentence. Willow's fingers are already running through it and he yanks away.

"Eddie-"

"No touching my hair! Hard limit," he snaps as he turns to look at her over his shoulder, "I've been working on this mane for years , Jenkins. Years!"

"Sorry to tell you, Eds, but if you don't let me put up your precious 'mane'," she uses air quotes dramatically and it leads to Eddie's scowl deepening, "Then it's going to catch fire and it's going to burn away. I think you can handle me touching your hair for ten seconds to prevent that, can't you?"

She's shocked when her reasoning works. He turns, albeit still pouting and crossing his arms, allowing her to thread her fingers through his curls again.

It's soft. A little knotted, but Willow works out the tangles with quite a bit of ease. She recalls the way the week before, he had been an absolute pest in O'Donnell's while yanking on her hair. At the time, she had been just as irritated as he was in this moment, but now she understood - playing with other people's hair was kind of nice.

Eddie jerks after one particularly bad one and she can hear a groan of protest.

"Don't be a baby," she teases as she finally stops messing with it, bundling it into a low ponytail, safely tucked away from any fires they may encounter today, "Have you ever braided your hair?"

At this, Eddie turns immediately, his hair out of her reach with wide eyes, "You are not braiding my hair. Fuck off."

"Okay," she bites back the smile blooming on her lips, turning her focus on Mr. Edwards at the front of the class.

He's giving a quick and brief lecture on the textbook concepts they'll be evaluating during their lab, something about the states of matter. It's not a complicated lab; Willow isn't worried.

At least, until she watches Eddie fumble relentlessly with the instructions.

"Edward Munson," she gasps when he nearly knocks one of their beakers off their table, Eddie thankfully catching the glass before it can fall to the linoleum floor and shatter.

"How do you know my full name is Edward?" he sighs as he places the beaker back on the table. It's still too close to the edge for Willow's comfort, so she takes the tip of her finger to push it closer to the center of their station, "What if my government name is something like Edwin? Or Edgar? Or Eduardo -"

She cuts him off, "Okay, I get it. What's your government name?"

He's grinning as she looks down at the packet that's been handed out, writing down an answer they've just discovered. "I'll tell you on one condition - you come to Hellfire again tonight."

"I can't," she fights rolling her eyes, "I have work. And even then, what a shit deal. I'm just going to start referring to you as Edgar, now. Congratulations."

"Work? Till what time?"

"I'm closing up with Steve, so we'll probably get out a little after eleven," Willow is moving on with their experiment as Eddie stares her down, nodding softly while clearly in deep thought. She completes it quickly and once she's written down their results, she slides her packet in front of him. "Here, just copy all that down."

"Hey, Red," he suddenly bumps his knees against hers as he picks up his pencil, grinning ear-to-ear.

"I'm scared to ask what," she says nervously, wondering why his eyes were gleaming. It's not as if she can see the mechanics working behind his eyes - whatever brilliant idea he's thought of that he's so proud of has already been conducted in his mind, the dirty work done as he looks eager to share with her.

"Want a ride home from work tonight?"