At Hawkins High, it didn’t take long for people to notice the walking contradiction that was Eddie Munson and Ashi.
Eddie, loud and unapologetically himself, swaggered through the halls like he owned the place—leather jacket draped over his shoulder, combat boots thudding against the floor, and a permanent smirk stretched across his face. He was chaos wrapped in denim and rings, the kind of guy who was always one wrong look away from flipping someone off or hopping onto a cafeteria table to rant about conformity.
And then there was Ashi.
Soft-spoken and delicate,she barely spoke above a whisper. She walked like she was afraid of taking up too much space, her hair cascading in gentle curls down her back, often hiding half her face. Her eyes— always wide with caution—rarely held contact with anyone for more than a second.
But if you paid attention, you’d see the way her eyes lit up when Eddie showed up at her locker.
You’d see how he leaned down just enough for her to tuck her face shyly into his chest, his arms coming around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. He called her “angel” in that rough voice of his, and her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink every time.
the most surprising part? Eddie Munson, freak, troublemaker, self-proclaimed satanic cult leader—was utterly, ridiculously gentle with her.
His friends noticed it too. Hellfire had never seen him so quiet as when Ashi sat beside him, nervously twirling the end of her braid around her finger while he explained the rules just to her. His voice low, patient, like she was the only one that mattered.
She barely said anything, but she didn’t need to. He understood her silences. She liked to sit close, liked when their hands brushed under the table, and she liked how he always walked on the outside of the sidewalk without making a big deal of it.
He’d fight the world for her.
And she—looked at him like he hung the stars just for her.