radioactive, radioactive {eddie!}

[STELLA HINES]

There were a lot of good songs to run to.

You could take just about any normally shitty techno or dubstep song, and it’d be perfect. You could take the upbeat, poppy ones with the awesome rhythms. You could take the loud ones with the inspirational lyrics. Or maybe you needed a certain genre to listen to, whatever. But for Stella Hines? Literally anything and everything would work.

As of late, she’d been pretty obsessed with that Radioactive song. Something about Dragons? Who cared who sang it, really. All that mattered was that she could listen to it and pretend she was dealing with an apocalypse and running from zombies. What better motivation to run than by running for your life? … Er, sort of running for your life. You know, your imaginary life. Your zombie apocalypse life.

And in her zombie apocalypse life, she was one of the last people on Earth. Well, one of the last people who didn’t wander around moaning and craving brains. Where even was the proof that zombies ate brains? Like, who came up with that? Maybe if she read some more books or something she’d know. Oh! Maybe she could ask Eddie. He usually knew things. Though she doubted he’d know anything about zombies. He only usually knew boring things. Ah well. Plan B.

That today was a cloudy and windy one totally helped her zombie apocalypse mood. She was already rather grumpy because she’d had to endure an hour long phone call with her mother, and then she’d found out the essay she actually for once worked really hard on was only given a C. And it was basically a really sucky day and all she needed was to go running, and if she could weave and duck and dodge some zombies while doing it. Well. Perfect. (And if she could pretend to shoot them down, that’d be even better.)

This is it, the apocalypse.

Something about the chorus got her pumped. She couldn’t be bothered to go to Central Park, so she’d settled on Baum’s track. Like every other time she ran it, she found it incredibly boring to run in circles. Then again, she wasn’t at Baum or even in New York. She was somewhere completely different in the country, another big city with abandoned cars and crumbling buildings. She found herself singing along, quietly at first, and then loudly, and then quietly again. It didn’t help with keeping her breathing even, but she did it, anyway. With a song like this, you sang along no matter what.

We’ll paint it red to fit right in.

Alright, it had to have been at least half an hour. With the song on repeat, she’d heard it at least ten times already. Veering off the track and towards the tree where she’d left her bag, Stella turned the music up as opposed to turning it off. No such thing as getting sick of a song. She rocked on her feet for a minute before slowly lowering herself down and laying flat on her back. She lay as if she were making snow angels, her eyes closed as she slowly caught her breath. The zombies would be on her soon. She couldn’t rest long.

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[EDGAR BROOKE]

Broken. His favorite headphones. Were broken. Broken.

Now, it wasn't like Eddie couldn't afford new ones. His mom had recently gotten him a credit card (which she came and delivered herself as a surprise, though luckily she hadn't insisted on coming to Baum), and the limit was way beyond what any teenage boy would spend ever. He never really cared much about having so much money from his parents' share of the music industry. The only part he cared about was the actual making of music, and even then, he wasn't so open about it. He didn't even tell people who his parents were. But he was getting away from the issue at hand.

His headphones were the standard iPod headset with the volume adjuster on the right ear. He had gotten them from a friend back in Boston before he left, and had been using them ever since. They weren't the best quality out there, though they were pretty great okay, and the white was a little gray, but he still used them as opposed to any other headphones ever. Though Eddie had taken great care of them, they had run through the washer and dryer a few times after being left in his pocket, but they still somehow worked, until now.

The right headphone had gone out completely. All they had been doing lately was sitting in a drawer! And suddenly the right headphone refused to work, whch he had unfortunately found out when he was trying to listen to 'Radioactive' by Marina & The Diamonds, to no avail, during the walk he was taking. The left headphone was fine, but only one headphone working was a pet peeve of hi-

Wait, Eddie Brooke? Taking a walk? What?

Yeah, it was a habit he had picked up after that day at the docks with Stella. It was just time to think about things, which no that wasn't it. That was bullshit, and even he would argue that he could easily think about things in the comfort of his own room. It was just - okay, he knew Stella liked to go running, alright? And she might like be taking a run where he was walking, or something, and then he'd see her outside of basically every class and just generally have platonic conversations about platonic things. Just because Eddie was hoping to see her more often did not mean that he felt anything more than platonic feelings for her, obviously. Who could argue with that logic? No one, that was who.

Which was exactly why he was walking alone, annoyed with the one headphone that was in, convincing himself not to go to the headphone store until at least he was on the way back. 'Radioactive' by Marina & the Diamonds was still playing on repeat with the volume all the way up, because he couldn't listen to anyone else in these conditions. Marina was the exception. Not that he would ever tell anyone, ever.

Eddie saw someone laying down on the ground. Strange, who could possibly oh it was Stella. Oh! It was Stella! Taking the one headphone out without turning the song off, he smiled and realized she couldn't see him because her eyes were closed. He tapped her ankle with his foot gently (though not as gently as he meant to) to get her attention, as he suddenly realized he couldn't think of what to say? Oh well.

[/justify]

[STELLA HINES]

All systems go, sun hasn’t died.

Time to get up, Stella. Everybody you know is dead and you’re on your own. If you don’t get moving, you’ll be next. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she slowly stretched out, rolling her wrists and shoulders and ankles and hips, as best as one can, anyway, while lying down. She probably looked ridiculous, but that was okay, because there was nobody else out here. It was just her. She was on her own. She’d have to—

If this day was ever brought up, Stella Hines would vehemently deny how loudly she’d screamed. The nudge at her ankle startled her out of her tranquil little bubble, the loudest part of the song conveniently playing the moment it happened. Without even thinking or opening her eyes just yet, Stella kicked out, feeling a huge sense of satisfaction when her foot connected. Whoever it was had to have hit the ground hard. She opened her eyes and finally got up, practically leaping on the person once she found where they were.

Still in her zombie apocalypse mindset, Radioactive playing in her ears, she pointed her fingers at their face like a gun, breathing heavily and looking a little scared. Again, not that she’d ever admit that. For what felt like hours and was actually only fifteen seconds, she seriously thought she was in some sort of danger. And then her dumb little imagination cleared and she saw none other than Eddie Brooke beneath her. At first, she slowly lowered her hands, and then she gave him a fierce glare and punched him in the shoulder.

“Edgar Michael Brooke!!!” She snapped, not even meaning to use his full name, but assuming she might sound more threatening if she did. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You never sneak up on a person with their music in and their eyes closed!” Stella leaned in closer, ignoring how her hair sort of hung around them and their noses could be touching if she moved any nearer. One of her headphones had fallen out and now she was in the awful situation of hearing music in one ear and nature noises in the other.

Growling a little, she jabbed her finger right in his chest and started up again. “I could’ve had a heart attack! I could’ve died!” She neglected to mention that it was the zombies who would’ve killed her. “How did you even survive the apocalypse?” Stella muttered next, entirely unintentional, not realizing how stupid she must’ve sounded. She felt like it could almost still be the end of the world, and how in that little universe, she’d actually be really happy to find somebody else alive, even if it was Eddie.

[EDGAR BROOKE]

Eddie literally jumped at how loud she screamed, and it was this sudden lack of balance that caused him to fall over when Stella kicked him and he fell over, because otherwise he was totally stong enough to withstand that impact of her foot otherwise. He was suddenly on the ground, his head and heart poundng, and Stella was on top of him. Oh shit, she had headphones in. He hadn't realized.

He was kind of terrfied at this point. Stella could have definitely killed him if she had, like, an actual gun at this point, not to mention the sudden proximity. His headphone had fallen near his ear and he could hear his music, and tried to use that to calm him down and distract him.

When you're around me, I'm radioactive
My blood is boiling, radioactive.

"Ow," he said, after she punched him in the shoulder. Not that it hurt or anything. Wow no the music wasn't helping him at all, because his heart was still racing and he was just staring at Stella, who also looked a little terrified. She used his full name and he would have laughed and given her name right back at her to combat her hypocrisy if he had the ability to run away from her. Which, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize you had your headphones in. Otherwise I wouldn't have done that."

Waiting for the nightfall, for my heart to lightup
Oh baby, I want you to die for, for you to die for my love.

Wow okay she was really close to his face. For a second, Eddie considered... No, no no no. Fuck no. Where the hell did that even come from? Oh god no just, no Eddie Brooke, do not look at her lip, keep eye contact god dammit fuck he needed a distraction. And fast.

Her other headphone had fallen out right next to his other ear, so he had both songs playing at once. Was she... "Is that Radioactive by Imagine Dragons?" he asked, almost smiling. He heard a mashup of both Radioactives that was pretty good once. "How ironic," he added unintentionally, cursing internally because dammit, she would want to know why it was so ironic and his headphone was so vulnerable and he couldn't move his arms at the moment.

She continued to speak and then... Wait, what? How did he survive the apocalypse? After a few moments, he realized what was happening, okay. She was probably pretending she was in a zombie apocalypse or something? That's what he often related that song to, and what many other people related that song to. He needed to say something to make her not mad, and also to get her off him... well, that latter thing wasn't top priority, though it should have been you nasty pervert ugh Eddie hated being a teenage boy sometimes. "Well, uh, I've seen Zombieland twenty-three times..." he said, hoping that would work.

[/justify]

[STELLA HINES]

“Yeah, uh huh, okay. I’m so sure.” She rolled her eyes, not believing a word he said. Besides, if she’d found him lying down somewhere, she would’ve done the same. If not just to get his attention, but to also scare the living daylights out of him. Mostly just because it was pretty much expected of her by now. If it wasn’t marker mustaches, it was everything else. Shit, don’t think about that dumb prank. She was still recovering from that hell of an evening. “Like you couldn’t have heard it from where you were standing, I had the volume all the way up.” But then she noticed that he had been listening to music as well. What he said next had her a little embarrassed. For some reason, she didn’t want Eddie to know what she was listening to. What if he judged her for it?

She frowned a little but moved on, wondering next what the hell he meant by ‘ironic.’ “What’s that supposed to mean?” Without a second thought, she grabbed for one of the headphones and stuck it into her ear. Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons apparently, was playing in her right, and the other playing in her left. And… “what the fuck.” Oh god, why was she hearing the word Radioactive in both ears. Shit. Fuck. This was weird. Thiiiiiiis was uncomfortable. Still, she found herself a little interested by it and she understood just then what the hell he’d meant by ‘ironic.’ The songs went together remarkably well, though, and she ended up bobbing her head a little bit to it. And then she remembered exactly the situation she was in and she quickly took both out and resumed her glaring at him.

“What song is that? Are you stalking me? Why are you listening to a Radioactive song the same time I am?” She was joking, but she used her slowly melting anger to seem genuinely annoyed. “How’d you know I was here, anyway?” It hit her then that Eddie had to have been… on a walk… to find her here. Eddie never…?? Being so tiny, Stella could only stay angry for so long, and confusion was starting to engulf her. No. Wait. Shut up. If it were even possible, Stella shoved the feelings away and glanced to the other headphone. Had he been using that one? She reached for it and tested it and – “Ohmygod! This one’s broken! ” But before she could get too into that and how much that irritated her and how was he doing it and did he want to borrow a pair of hers, he said he’d seen Zombieland twenty-three times.

“Bullshit!” she said immediately, “you have not!” No way had Eddie, the master of all things boring and dreadful, seen Zombieland twenty-three times, much less once.

[EDGAR BROOKE]

"No, really," he meekly argued, unable to produce a lot better in his position. Stella was kind of stubborn and she probably wouldn't believe him. Rolling his eyes, he made no attempt to move, and added, "Besides, it's one of my favorite songs. I would have known if I could have heard it." It was true, as it was one of the songs he liked that they played on popular radio stations. He liked some of Imagine Dragons' other stuff too.

Shit. "Well, uh..." before he could explain, she had his headphone in her ear, and was listening to his music. Oh god, she'd never let him live it down. He'd just have to play it cool, that would probably work. Maybe. "That's Radioactive by Marina & the Diamonds. There's a great mashup of the two songs, though I wouldn't call it a 'mashup' so much as Marina's vocals with Imagine Dragons' music, but it's still gre-" He paused when she took the headphones out, wondering if he could hear any of what he was saying. She was literally an inch away from his face still, but maybe the music had been too loud.

"No, I'm not stalking you." Eddie rolled his eyes again. "It's just a coincidence." A lot of coincidental things seemed to happen with them, but he didn't question it. He didn't care if some higher power dropped him into these situation, he was just there and that was that. "I didn't, that's just another coincidence. I was talking a walk, and by that I mean going to get some ice cream."

"That one's-" Yeah, she already had it up to ear and was pointing it out before he could finish the sentence. "Yeah, it's broken. They're pretty old. I was considering getting new ones, but..." no, he didn't want to get into it. He attempted to shrug, but moving his arms like that made him all sorts of uncomfortable and he realized that oh maybe it was because Stella was still on top of him. Before he could remind her, though...

"Have to! I bought it like three weeks ago and it's the only movie I've been watching since!" Eddie scoffed, no one called bullshit on him. "I'll prove it to you. It's still in my DVD player." He wanted to fold his arms, but again, uncomfortable. "If you would get off me so I can walk, I could actually show you."

[/justify]

[STELLA HINES]

Shit, was she still on top of him? Stella leaned up, finally getting out of his face, and proceeded to unintentionally put more weight on him than before. She'd been on her knees, practically straddling him (ohmygod, she was not blushing), and now she all but sat down. If she'd been actually thinking straight, Stella would've properly gotten up and let him breathe, but she was still too distracted by zombies and Radioactive and broken headphones. She made a humming sort of noise, as if accepting Eddie's story. She supposed it was possible for it to be one of his favorite songs. Honestly, she just found it hard to believe that Eddie even listened to music that wasn't classical.

Who the heck Marina and the Diamonds were, she didn't know and didn't really care. Though, okay fine, maybe she'd search for the mash up later just to see if Eddie really knew what he was talking about. "Who knew you knew anything about good music," she teased, not quite realizing that was the closest Stella usually got to compliments (for Eddie, at least). He rolled his eyes and she had the urge to hit him again, but she fought it and instead thought about all the weird coincidences that happened with them. What was that even about? Not that she really minded. It... well, she had to admit, it was interesting to say the least.

"You don't take walks," she started to say, before he continued and she followed with a quiet 'oh.' Why didn't he just have ice cream at his dorm? They had freezers for that exact reason, didn't they? He was talking again, explaining the broken headphone, and she almost cut him off. Didn't she have, like, three extra pairs of earbuds? She supposed it wouldn't kill her to let Eddie have one of them. And she was pretty sure at least one of them were solid white or black. Which was really saying something for Stella, who only ever bought brightly-colored things. She quickly took a second to wrap up her headphones and put her music player into her back pocket, realizing she'd kept them in hand.

"No way, I'm still calling total BS on that." She almost didn't want proof, as if knowing Eddie actually had good taste in movies would somehow change her opinion on him. (Never mind that the fact that he actually listened to good music was already impressing her). ... Shit, she was still on top of him. Definitely blushing now, she hurriedly got up and stepped away, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't offer to help him up and she didn't even look at him. Not until she was positive her cheeks were no longer bright red. God, being a teenager really sucked sometimes. "Fine, but first we stop by my dorm to get you ice cream and new headphones. Spending money is stupid."

Though it'd be just her luck that the two tubs of ice cream in her freezer were his least favorite flavors and that the three extra pairs of headphones she owned were lime green or turquoise.